Eternal Father: What does it Mean?

Eternal Father: What does it mean?

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6.

What sort of father did you have? I had a good one, not a perfect father, but a good one. He was a child of the depression era, then fought in World War Two. He was the strong, silent type of man who was honest and honorable. He was the same good man both in and out of our home. I never doubted his love and support for me.

But not everyone had a good father. Some didn’t have a father in their life at all. Other had fathers who were alcoholics or drug addicts. Or a father who was mentally ill. Many had a father who beat them and/or their mother.

The image of God as my father is comforting for me. But maybe the image of God as your father doesn’t sit well with you. If this is the case, I pray you can pour your heart out to God about it so you can see Him as your perfect father.

The responsibility of “father” is a huge one. The word means exactly what we think it does: male parent. All the way back to Bible times the role of the father meant the one responsible for the family. The one who was a figure of authority and respect. The father was responsible for the spiritual, moral, and physical welfare of his family. The term father could also include grandfathers, great grandfathers and ancestors.

Most importantly, the word father God carried with it the connotation that GOD was the ultimate father.

Here in Isaiah 9:6, the prophet wrote that the coming Messiah would be the “eternal father.” The word eternal means: perpetual, without end, continually----eternally.

God is our father (a good father), our Dad, our Daddy, our Papa, continually and forever without end.

Carla Killough McClafferty