Remember that Jesus taught us to pray, "Our Father, who are in heaven " We pray to God the Father, a Person distinct from God the Son. Though both are one Being, they are separate Persons, as is the Holy Spirit. Jesus repeatedly spoke to His Father and said that God is His Father.
Of all the names attributed to Jesus in Isaiah 9:6, Everlasting Father intrigues me the most because it's the one I understand the least. How can Jesus the Messiah, the second person of the Godhead, be called Everlasting Father? 1. Isaiah is not confusing Jesus the Messiah with the first person of the Trinity.
Isaiah isn't teaching us that God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, is. Graciously, our heavenly Father shares the wonder of his fatherhood with us men. To be a father, therefore, is a sacred privilege and a high calling.
Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. Luk 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. God is our Heavenly Father, a literal spiritual parent (see Hebrews 12:9).
1 God the Father has a tangible body of flesh and bones (see D&C 130:22). Our Heavenly Father gave us the plan of salvation (see Alma 34:9). Ways we can come to know our Heavenly Father: Feast on the scriptures (see 2 Nephi 32:3).
Come to know Jesus Christ (see John 14:9). Jesus is our Mediator, Savior, our Advocate with the Father. Sometimes you may hear people within the church discouraging the use of the term "Lord" when addressing Heavenly Father in prayer.
This is because The Father did not pay for our sins, is not the same person, and is not our Savior. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. ~ John 16:23-2 7 In Matthew 7 Jesus makes a contrast between earthly Fathers and God, our heavenly Father.
So, with that said, what does it mean when it says Jesus is our "everlasting father" or "Jesus is our heavenly Father"? The answer to this question, at least in my thinking, is much simpler than many make it. This relationship is extended to believers, who are invited to call God "Father" through their faith in Christ. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus instructs His disciples to pray, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name" (Matthew 6:9).
The Apostle Paul also emphasizes the fatherhood of God in his epistles. God's fatherhood is eternal. He is eternally the Father of Jesus Christ, and through Jesus He is our Father.
Through Jesus we receive the Father's love and are called "children of God." What an honor it is that God calls us His children and gives us the assurance that as His children we are heirs and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).