Q: Is God my Father?
Suggested Daily Reading: Matthew 6: 9-15
A: Scripture speaks of God as the Father of people in three ways:
God is the Father of all people by creation (Isaiah 64:8). God created each of us. All of the billions of correctly matching components in our genetic code are designed and placed by God. The millions of cells in our brains, the hundreds of thousands of nerve connections, and the thousands of miles of blood passageways in our bodies are all planned and formed by the Lord. Why did God create us? So that we would know, love, serve and enjoy Him as our God forever. God is our Father as our Creator.
God is the Father of church people (Hosea 11:1). Those who are set apart from others, circumcised (Old Testament) and baptized (New Testament) to God, and brought up under His Word and covenant, God calls “His people” or “His children”. As members of His church and covenant, God has set you apart and is your Father in this way also.
God is the Father of His saved children (Romans 8:15). When God regenerates and saves a sinner, He adopts this person as one of His children. All those who repent from their sin, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and obey the Lord in love are adopted children of God in a saved sense. God is a personal Father of all His adopted children.
God is your Father by creation. He is likely your Father by church membership confirmed in baptism. Is God your Father by personal conversion, salvation and adoption?
Are you saved? Is God your personal Father by regeneration? Are you an adopted child, by God’s grace? How can you tell?