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Fathers play a critical role in the growth and development of their children. They don’t just provide the financial needs for the family. Their love and leadership enable their sons and daughters to grow in confidence and become the young men and women that God intended them to be. On Father’s Day, we pause to honor the physical and spiritual fathers we have in our lives and all that they have done.
“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him,” (Psalm 103:13). Fathers are the first example we have of God’s love for us as our heavenly Father. But often, that example is not perfect. As humans, our earthly fathers can sometimes fail us, leaving us with a distorted view of our heavenly Father. But God is perfect and promises to be a “father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5) and a shepherd to those in need of a refuge. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God,” (1 John 3:1).
The Scriptures consistently remind us that God is our Father and that we can depend upon Him for our everyday needs. “In the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son,” (Deuteronomy 1:31). God’s love is an unfailing love. It will never disappoint us. Instead, it makes us free. “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15).
On this Father’s Day, let’s take a moment to honor all our fathers – our biological fathers, the spiritual fathers who have guided us on our journeys, and most importantly, our heavenly Father who has never failed us.
30 Scriptures from the Bible about Fathers
Proverbs 17:6 – Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.
3 John 1:4 – I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Isaiah 64:8 – But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Proverbs 23:24 – The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
2 Corinthians 6:18 – And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.
Deuteronomy 1:31 – In the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.
Ephesians 4:4-6 – There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Isaiah 40:11 – He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
Luke 15:20 – And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
Psalm 68:5 – Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
1 John 3:1 – See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
Deuteronomy 4:9 – Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children.
Psalm 103:13 – As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
Matthew 7:9-11 – Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Proverbs 4:1 – Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight.
Romans 8:15 – For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Deuteronomy 5:16 – Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Colossians 3:21 – Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Proverbs 3:12 – For the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
John 1:12 – But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
Genesis 17:4-6 – Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
Hebrews 12:7 – It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Ephesians 6:4 – Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Proverbs 14:26 – In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
John 14:23 –Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 – And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Matthew 6:6 – But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Malachi 4:6 – And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.
Scripture is quoted from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.
Give a Gift
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart,
not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7