In the New Testament, we often hear about the Father and pray to hm. But what do we mean by “Father”? Many people define God as Father based on their experience with human fathers, good or bad. This can distort our understanding. God the Father is not just a better version of a human dad. To truly know the Father, we must look only to the Son.

1. The Son reveals the Father by who He is.
Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”  Everything Jesus says and does shows us the Father. His love, compassion, and lowly self-giving reveal what the Father is like.  So, we don’t project human fatherhood onto God.  We look at Jesus to understand the Father. The Father is Christ-like.

2. The Son reveals the Father through a relationship. Jesus relates to the Father in perfect love, and the Father to the Son in the same way. This loving relationship shows us that the Father is relational.  Even His holiness, justice, and sovereignty are lived out in relationship with the Son, through the Spirit.  And also with us.

The New Testament often speaks of “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” An we know the Father only through Jesus, the Son, who he is and how he relates to the Father. The Father sent the Son so that we could understand what He is like, and he also sends the Spirit of his Son into our hearts so that we can experience this relationship as our own. Through the Spirit, we share in Jesus’ “Abba,” cry deepening our personal connection with God as our loving Father.