Fatherhood of God

In the Old Testament, God compares Himself to a Father to the nation of Israel. For example, when He was about He release them from bondage in Egypt, He said to Pharaoh, through His servant Moses, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord; “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.””

Again, the same event is referred to in Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out Egypt I called My son”.

God continued using this comparison to the end of the Old Testament. In Malachi 1:6, “A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honour?”

We see, then, in the Old Testament, God uses this comparison in a corporate sense. In the New Testament, however, it is seen in a personal sense.  In Galatians 4:4-7 we read, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ”.