The Proper Name of the CREATOR
Part 8B:
How the Term “Father” Is Used in Acts through Revelation
By Ken Burns
Part 8A of this series of articles titled "The Proper Name of the CREATOR"
discussed the use of the term “father” (and related terms) in the Gospels. This
article will present the categories of usages of the term
“father” (and related terms) in Acts through Revelation. The texts of all the
relevant verses are again presented for ease of reference.
Categories of Usages of “Father” in Acts through Revelation
1. The Terms “Father” and “Fathers” Used As Forms of Address (Cp. Usage 1 in
article 8A)
1.1. The Term “Father” Used As a Form of Address Directed toward the CREATOR
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Rom. 8:15)
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your
hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (Gal. 4:6)
1.2. The Term “Fathers” Used As a Form of Address
And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto
our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
(Acts 7:2)
Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. (Acts
22:1)
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Eph. 6:4)
Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. (Col.
3:21)
I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.
I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write
unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. (1 John 2:13)
I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the
beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the
word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. (1 John 2:14)
2. The Terms “Father” and “Fathers” Used by Themselves (and Not As Forms of
Address) (Cp. Usage 9 in article 8A)
2.1. The Term “Father” Used by Itself
2.1.1. The Term “Father Used by Itself Regarding the CREATOR
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore,
knoweth that I lie not. (2 Cor. 11:31)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (Eph. 1:3)
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
(Eph. 4:6)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Pet. 1:3)
2.1.2. The Term “Father” Used by Itself Regarding Someone Other Than the
CREATOR
Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of
days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest
continually. (Heb. 7:3)
2.2. The Term “Fathers” Used by Itself
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless
and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for
murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, (1 Tim. 1:9)
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave
them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of
spirits, and live? (Heb. 12:9)
3. The Terms “The Father,” “The Fathers,” and “The
Fathers’” (Cp. Usage 4 in article 8A)
3.1. The Term “The Father”
3.1.1. The Term “The Father” Used of the CREATOR
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not
depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he,
ye have heard of me. (Acts 1:4)
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which
the Father hath put in his own power. (Acts 1:7)
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the
Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see
and hear. (Acts 2:33)
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life. (Rom. 6:4)
That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. (Rom. 15:6)
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in
him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. (1 Cor.
8:6)
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father (1 Cor.
15:24)
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even
the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. (2
Cor. 1:3)
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies,
and the God of all comfort; (2 Cor. 1:3)
Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the
Father, who raised him from the dead;) (Gal. 1:1)
Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
(Gal. 1:3)
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you
the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: (Eph. 1:17)
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. (Eph. 2:18)
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Eph.
3:14)
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ; (Eph. 5:20)
Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. (Eph. 6:23)
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father. (Phil. 2:11)
We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always
for you, (Col. 1:3)
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light: (Col. 1:12)
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; (Col. 1:19)
That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all
riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the
mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; (Col. 2:2)
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God and the Father by him. (Col. 3:17)
Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is
in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace,
from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 1:1)
To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord. (2 Tim. 1:2)
To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God
the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. (Tit. 1:4)
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave
them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of
spirits, and live? (Heb. 12:9)
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
(James 1:17)
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the
fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from
the world. (James 1:27)
Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are
made after the similitude of God. (James 3:9)
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification
of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace
unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1 Pet. 1:2)
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according
to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: (1 Pet.
1:17)
For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a
voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased. (2 Pet. 1:17)
(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew
unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto
us;) (1 John 1:2)
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have
fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his
Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any
man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (1
John 2:1)
I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.
I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write
unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. (1 John 2:13)
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love
the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15)
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:16)
Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist,
that denieth the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22)
Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that
acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. (1 John 2:23)
Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that
which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall
continue in the Son, and in the Father. (1 John 2:24)
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him
not. (1 John 3:1)
And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour
of the world. (1 John 4:14)
[For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (1 John 5:7)]
Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. (2 John 3)
I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have
received a commandment from the Father. (2 John 4)
Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not
God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. (2 John 9)
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are
sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: (Jude
1:1)
3.1.2. The Term “The Father” Used of Someone Other Than the CREATOR
And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought
for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem (Acts 7:16)
And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a
bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and
healed him. (Acts 28:8)
And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the
faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all
them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be
imputed unto them also: (Rom. 4:11)
And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but
who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had
being yet uncircumcised. (Rom. 4:12)
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise
might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that
also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (Rom. 4:16)
Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many
nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. (Rom. 4:18)
But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. (Gal.
4:2)
But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served
with me in the gospel. (Phil. 2:22)
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he
whom the father chasteneth not? (Heb. 12:7)
3.2. The Term “The Fathers”
For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise
up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things
whatsoever he shall say unto you. (Acts 3:22)
And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto
the fathers, (Acts 13:32)
I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought
up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect
manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this
day. (Acts 22:3)
Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is
over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. (Rom. 9:5)
Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of
God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: (Rom. 15:8)
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the
fathers by the prophets, (Heb. 1:1)
And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell
asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (2
Pet. 3:4)
3.3. The Term “The Fathers’”
As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the
election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. (Rom. 11:28)
4. The Term “A Father” (Cp. Usage 10.1 in article
8A)
4.1. The Term “A Father” Used Regarding the CREATOR
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the
Lord Almighty. (2 Cor. 6:18)
For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have
I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a
Son? (Heb. 1:5)
4.2. The Term “A Father” Used Regarding Someone Other Than the CREATOR
(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom
he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which
be not as though they were. (Rom. 4:17)
As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a
father doth his children, (1 Thess. 2:11)
Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as
brethren; (1 Tim. 5:1)
5. The Terms “My Father” and “My Fathers” (Cp. Usage 3 in article 8A)
5.1. The Term “My Father” Used by Jesus Regarding the CREATOR
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they
be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. (Rev. 2:27)
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not
blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my
Father, and before his angels. (Rev. 3:5)
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also
overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (Rev. 3:21)
5.2 The Term “My Fathers”
But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so
worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the
law and in the prophets: (Acts 24:14)
And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation,
being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. (Gal. 1:14)
6. The Terms “Thy Father” and “Thy Fathers” (Cp. Usage 5 in article 8A)
6.1. The Term “Thy Father”
Honour thy father and mother (Eph. 6:2)
6.2. The Term “Thy Fathers”
Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. (Acts 7:32)
7. The Terms “His Father,” “His Father’s,” and “His Fathers” (Cp. Usage 2 in
article 8A)
7.1. The Term “His Father”
7.1.1. The Term “His Father” Used Regarding the CREATOR
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Rev. 1:6)
7.1.2. The Term “His Father” Used Regarding Someone Other Than the CREATOR
Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from
thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now
dwell. (Acts 7:4)
Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred,
threescore and fifteen souls. (Acts 7:14)
Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there,
named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed;
but his father was a Greek: (Acts 16:1)
Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because
of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was
a Greek. (Acts 16:3)
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto
his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. (Eph. 5:31)
For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him (Heb. 7:10)
7.2. The Term “His Father’s”
7.2.1. The Term “His Father’s” Used Regarding the CREATOR
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred
forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
(Rev. 14:1)
7.2.2. The Term “His Father’s” Used Regarding Someone Other Than the CREATOR
In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his
father's house three months: (Acts 7:20)
It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such
fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have
his father's wife. (1 Cor. 5:1)
7.3. The Term “His Fathers”
For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on
sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: (Acts 13:36)
8. The Terms “Our Father” and “Our Fathers” (Cp.
Usage 6 in article 8A)
8.1. The Term “Our Father”
8.1.1. The Term “Our Father” Used of the CREATOR
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and
peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 1:7)
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ. (1 Cor. 1:3)
Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Cor. 1:2)
Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil
world, according to the will of God and our Father: (Gal. 1:4)
Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Eph. 1:2)
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ. (Phil. 1:2)
Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Phil. 4:20)
To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be
unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Col. 1:2)
Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is
in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace,
from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 1:1)
Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience
of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; (1 Thess.
1:3)
Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto
you. (1 Thess. 3:11)
To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even
our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. (1 Thess.
3:13)
Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: (2 Thess. 1:1)
Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2
Thess. 1:2)
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved
us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, (2
Thess. 2:16)
Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our
Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Tim. 1:2)
Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Philemon 1:3)
8.1.2. The Term “Our Father” Used of Someone Other Than the CREATOR
And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto
our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
(Acts 7:2)
What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath
found? (Rom. 4:1)
And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but
who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had
being yet uncircumcised. (Rom. 4:12)
And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our
father Isaac; (Rom. 9:10)
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son
upon the altar? (James 2:21)
8.2. The Term “Our Fathers”
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath
glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of
Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. (Acts 3:13)
Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our
fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the
earth be blessed. (Acts 3:25)
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. (Acts
5:30)
Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great
affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. (Acts 7:11)
But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers
first. (Acts 7:12)
So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, (Acts 7:15)
The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so
that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live (Acts
7:19)
This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake
to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles
to give unto us: (Acts 7:38)
To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their
hearts turned back again into Egypt, (Acts 7:39)
Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had
appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion
that he had seen. (Acts 7:44)
Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession
of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the
days of David; (Acts 7:45)
The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when
they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he
them out of it. (Acts 13:17)
Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples,
which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? (Acts 15:10)
And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know
his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
(Acts 22:14)
And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know
his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
(Acts 26:6)
And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews
together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren,
though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers,
yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. (Acts
28:17)
And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had
spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our
fathers, (Acts 28:25)
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our
fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; (1 Cor. 10:1)
9. The Term “Your Fathers” (Cp. Usage 7 in article 8A)
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy
Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. (Acts 7:51)
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them
which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the
betrayers and murderers: (Acts 7:52)
When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. (Heb.
3:9)
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as
silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your
fathers; (1 Pet. 1:18)
10. The Term “Their Fathers” (Cp. Usage 8 in article 8A)
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I
took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they
continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. (Heb.
8:9)
11. The Term “Many Fathers”
For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many
fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. (1 Cor.
4:15)
12. The Term “My Forefathers”
I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without
ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; (2 Tim. 1:3)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Bolding was added to the verses above to highlight the relevant terms. The
outline scheme was chosen for ease of translation with the various email
programs.)
If upon review you discover that I have overlooked or mis-categorized any
verses, please let me know.
In GOD’s love,
Ken Burns
[Please feel free to share the article
above with anyone, as long as you send the material in its entirety, unedited,
and include my name and contact email address along with it:
Ken Burns
kenNO-SPAMburns@hawaii.rr.com.
(Just remove the "NO-SPAM", leaving kenburns@ . . ., to send me a message.)
Thanks and GOD bless you. Your comments would be appreciated.]