Is Allah called "Father"? How can we know God as our Father?
In the Muslim tradition, there are 99 names of God. Not one of these names refers to Allah as Father. In fact, the Qur'an teaches that Allah is the Mighty (3:6) and Most Holy (59:23; 62:1) but does not mention Allah in a familial-type relationship as in Christianity.
In contrast, Jesus taught His disciples to pray to God as Father. Matthew 6:9 teaches, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." Jesus also called God "your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). The Gospel of Matthew refers to God as Father 43 different times, clearly communicating His role as One who is a Father to His spiritual sons and daughters.
How can we come to know God as our heavenly Father? In John 1:12, we read, "But to all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." The way to know God the Father is through His Son Jesus Christ. This takes place by receiving Jesus as Lord or leader of your life by believing in Him by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). When you do, you become a child of God, making God your Father.
John 14:6 makes clear this is the only way to know God. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." The early followers of Jesus also affirmed this teaching, saying, "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
As children of God, we also share in the inheritance God has for His children, which includes eternal life with Him in heaven: "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:16-17).
First John 3:1-2 even promises, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." When Christ returns or we die and go to Him in heaven, we will see God as He is. His children will be with Him forever (John 14:1-3).
As God's children, He has called us to live according to His ways (1 John 3:10; 5:2). He makes us part of His family when we receive His Son through faith. In this new relationship, we are given a new life with a new purpose, called to live according to His plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11; Matthew 28:18-20).
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