By Ap Joshua Emmanuel
When we talk about fathers, sons, and kings, we are talking about a relationship that predates creation, a relationship that is eternal. One that is even beyond heavenly grounds because the heavens are part of creation. This is the very essence of God; the Son has always been in the bosom of the Father (John1:18). God, in His goodness, has extended to man various father-son relationships that are still a mystery to us because we cannot perceive or understand the blessings that this dynamic relation carries. Because of that, we are living way below what is available to us. In fact, the absence of the father-son relationship in a community leads to a curse (Malachi 4:5-6).
Proverbs 25:2-3: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, so the hearts and minds of kings are unsearchable.”
It is significant for us to search out the matter of fathers and sons so we can walk in the fullness of the father-son relationship and the blessings that come with it.
Different words to mean father
The Hebrew and Aramaic word “ab” that is translated as “father” in the Old Testament has meanings and are used in the following contexts in the King James Bible:
- Father of an individual
- Of God as father of His people
- Head or founder of a household, group, family, or clan
- Ancestor
- Originator or patron of a class, profession, or art
- Of producer, generator
- Of benevolence and protection
- Term of respect and honour
- Ruler or chief
As we talk about fathers, we are not limiting ourselves to the head or founder of a household, but all nine categories are included. This means there will be instances when women operate in a few categories of this office like prophetess Deborah presented in Judges 4 and 5.
Also, the Greek word “pater” that is translated as “father” in the New Testament is used in the following contexts:
- Generator or male ancestor
- The originator or transmitter of anything
- One who stands in a father’s place and looks after another in a paternal way
- A title of honour for example teachers, members of the Sanhedrin.
- God as the father of stars, angels, Christians.
Based on the meanings of the original words, no man is self-made, and no man is an island. There will always be a father figure responsible for who you have become.
Fathers are teachers to sons
One of the reasons Abraham was chosen to be a father of nations was because he was going to teach and instruct his offspring in the fear of the Lord.
Genesis 18:18-19:“Since Abraham is destined to become a great and mighty nation, and all nations of the earth will be blessed through him. For I have known him [as my own], so that he may teach and command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is righteous and just, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has promised him.”
Part of fatherhood is teaching, instructing, and training sons in the ways of the Lord. In fact, it is about raising disciples and the great commission is about discipling nations (Matthew 28:18-19). The act of discipling nations that we have been commissioned to do is a fulfillment of the promise that God gave Abraham; that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
“Listen carefully, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and wonders [that will occur] in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion” (Isaiah 8:18). Fathers will, therefore, pour their DNA in their children; they will be responsible for the image and likeness that we will see in their sons. They must reproduce themselves into the next generation; so, we must see their kind, not something laughable or vague because they did not do their work. Proverbs 13:24 says: “He who withholds the rod [of discipline] hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines and trains him diligently and appropriately [with wisdom and love].”
The writer is a minister at House of Revival Church.
