3. God reveals Himself as “our Father.”
But regardless of God’s comfort with taking on feminine attributes, how does God reveal Himself?
As our Father.
When Jesus teaches us to pray, He tells us to pray like this, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9). Seven times in Matthew and Luke, Jesus calls God our “heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:48; 6:14; 6:26; 6:32; 15:13; 18:35; Luke 11:13), and another 17 times in Matthew, Mark and Luke, “our Father in heaven” or “our Father who is in heaven.”
This is something that’s continued into the epistles, with God being called “Father” at least nine times by Paul and Peter.
This should tell us something very important: While God is very comfortable attributing feminine characteristics to Himself, when He does so, it is typically in the form of a simile—God’s love and longing for His people is like that of a mother hen’s for her chicks. His anguish over sin is like that of a woman in labor.
But when God chooses to reveal Himself, and when He gives us context for our relationship with Him, He does so in the masculine—as Father.
So, how should we talk when we talk about God?
We should talk about Him the way God Himself does.
Embrace both masculine and feminine characteristics as He does, but pay close attention to how God speaks of Himself. He is our Father, and He wants to be referred to as such.
Let’s make sure we honor His wishes.
