Call No Man Father?
Oftentimes, anti-Catholic/Orthodox Protestants will quote the following words of our Lord to condemn the practice of calling the Pope, Bishops, Priests etc. “father”:
“And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” Matthew 23:9
In this post I will show how this interpretation pits Scripture against Scripture, creating contradictions within the canon when in fact there are none. I will then add a corrective by explain what our Lord meant.
To begin with, we find all throughout the Hebrew Bible where prophets, kings, and administrators are called “father” or where others are said to be their children, obviously in a spiritual or metaphorical sense:
“Now it happened when they crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.’ And Elisha said, ‘Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.’ And he said, ‘You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.’ As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and it separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. And Elisha was seeing this and he was crying out, ‘My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.” 2 Kings 2:9-12
“Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, ‘My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?’” 2 Kings 6:21
“Then Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told to him, saying, ‘The man of God has come here.’ And the king said to Hazael, ‘Take a present in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, “Will I be restored to life from this sickness?”’ So Hazael went to meet him and took a present in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads; and he came and stood before him and said, ‘Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, “Will I be restored to life from this sickness?”’” 2 Kings 8:7-9
How ironic that a pagan king is said to be the son of the prophet Elisha!
There’s more:
“Now Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die. So Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, ‘My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’” 2 Kings 13:14
“Then it will be in that day, That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, And I will clothe him with your tunic And tie your sash securely about him. I will give your authority into his hand, And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open.” Isaiah 22:20-22
This practice is carried over into the New Testament, where the Apostles and/or the other disciples apply the term “father” either to their ancestors or the elders whom they address:
“But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, ‘Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.’” Acts 3:12-13
“And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, ‘O Master, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,’” Acts 4:24-25
“And he [Stephen] said, ‘Hear me, brothers and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,’” Acts 7:2
“‘Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.’ And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even quieter; and he said, ‘I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but having been brought up in this city, having been instructed at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strictness of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today… And he said, “The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from His mouth.”’” Acts 22:1-3, 14
“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?… and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be counted to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised… For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be according to grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the seed, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all—as it is written, ‘A father of many nations have I made you’—in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, ‘So shall your seed be.’” Romans 4:1, 11-12, 16-18
The Apostles take this a step further by calling believers whom they have converted and/or disciples their very own children, and address themselves as their spiritual fathers:
“I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.” 1 Corinthians 4:14-17
“I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit which you did not receive, or a different gospel which you did not accept, you bear this beautifully.” 2 Corinthians 11:1-4
The above is interesting since Paul likens the Corinthians to a virgin daughter whom he, as their father, has betrothed to one spiritual Husband, namely, Christ!
Other examples include:
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, our hope, To Timothy, my genuine child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” 1 Timothy 1:1-2
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” 2 Timothy 1:1-2
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as exiles, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen,” 1 Peter 1:1
“She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark.” 1 Peter 5:13
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;” 1 John 2:1
Now this means that we either have a contradiction in Scripture, as well as a clear act of disobedience on the part of Jesus’ followers who went around calling themselves fathers to believers, and addressing their disciples as their own spiritual children. Or this is simply another case of Protestants misinterpreting the blessed words of our Lord.
A closer look at the context helps us appreciate the meaning of our Lord:
“Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and keep, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. And they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by men. But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called instructors; for One is your Instructor, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
“‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. [Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.] Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
“‘Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is obligated.’ You fools and blind men! For which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold?And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.And whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears both by the sanctuary and by Him who dwells within it.And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
“‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
“‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
“‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. In this way, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
“‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’So you bear witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?’” Matthew 23:1-33
As the readers can see, our Lord was refuting blind allegiance to religious authorities, submitting to them with wholehearted and unquestioning allegiance, since even religious figures can be deceivers and themselves be deceived.
Therefore, the point isn’t that one cannot use these titles for human figures and authorities. Rather, the issue is one of attitude, namely, believers in Christ are not to look to any fallible human leader with absolute trust and undivided loyalty, since such allegiance and devotion are to be given to the Godhead alone. Believers are to give total allegiance and must perfectly, completely submit to the Father, Son and Spirit, since they can never be wrong, and can and will never mislead or deceive anyone. Since the Father, Son and Spirit are truth itself, they can be fully trusted and believed in to guide believers to all truth, having complete trust that the Godhead knows what’s best for believers since they desire to guide everyone unto the truth of salvation.
This is the kind of trust and allegiance that can never be given to any human authority on earth, since mankind by nature is imperfect, fallen, sinful, capricious, selfish, and duplicitous. As the scriptures themselves proclaim:
“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not establish it?” Numbers 23:19
“Thus says Yahweh, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from Yahweh. And he will be like a juniper in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will dwell in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh And whose trust is Yahweh. And he will be like a tree planted by the water, That sends forth its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor refrain from yielding fruit. The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can know it?’” Jeremiah 17:5-9
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:7-11
“Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, when they saw His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.” John 2:23-25
“Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O Yahweh, God of truth.” Psalm 31:5
“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘plans for peace and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13
“‘Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.’ Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How do we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.’” John 14:1-6
“I still have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” John 16:12-13
“In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.” Hebrews 6:17-18
This explains why the holy Apostles, though they were the leaders and foundation of the Church,
“for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:18-22
Did not exploit their status and position by taking advantage of and/or lording it over the flock. Instead, they used their authority to serve believers in order to ensure that no one would idolize them or make them much greater than they actually were:
“And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshly men, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are still not able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.” 1 Corinthians 3:1-10
“Do you not know that you are a sanctuary of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the sanctuary of God, God will destroy him, for the sanctuary of God is holy, and that is what you are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, ‘He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness’; and again, ‘The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.’ So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-23
“For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus.” 2 Corinthians 4:5
“For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will consider me beyond what he sees in me or hears from me.” 2 Corinthians 12:6
“Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion, but willingly, according to God; and not for dishonest gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,” 1 Peter 5:1-6
In adopting this attitude, the blessed Apostles were faithfully carrying out the directive of our glorious Lord Jesus who epitomized and exemplified humble servitude:
“Then James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying to Him, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.’ And He said to them, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ And they said to Him, ‘Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.’ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?’ And they said to Him, ‘We are able.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.’ And hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. And calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, ‘You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’” Mark 10:35-45
“Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He tied it around Himself. Then He poured water into the washbasin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel which He had tied around Himself.
“So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, ‘Lord, are You going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What I am doing you do not realize now, but you will understand afterwards.’ Peter said to Him, ‘You will never wash my feet—ever!’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.’ Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.’ Jesus said to him, ‘He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’ For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’
“So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.’” John 13:1-17
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 New International Version (NIV)
Unless indicated otherwise, scriptural references taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).