Matthew 1:1,16, This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of
Abraham:16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of
Jesus who is called the Messiah.
Matthew 1:18-25 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[d]: His mother Mary
was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be
pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and
yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.20 But
after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph
son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her
is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f]
because he will save his people from their sins.”22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had
said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call
him Immanuel”[g] (which means “God with us”).24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the
angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not
consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Matthew 13:55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his
brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?
Luke 3:23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was
the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,the son of Heli
Luke 3:38 the son of Enosh,the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Matthew 3:16-17 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment
heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased.”
What do we see from the scriptures above? Jesus was a spiritual son of Joseph, who served as
his natural father—not in a biological sense, but as part of God’s plan for his life. For 30 years,
Jesus submitted to Joseph, and God affirmed his sonship during his baptism.
We see spiritual father/sonship and divine Father/sonship
1 Corinthians 4:15 or even if you were to have ten thousand teachers [to guide you] in Christ,
yet you would not have many fathers [who led you to Christ and assumed responsibility for you],
for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the good news [of salvation].
1 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent to you
Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of
life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
What do we learn from the scriptures in 1 Corinthians 4? We observe a pattern of a father
walking with his son. This pattern is also evident in the relationship between Elijah and Elisha,
where a father figure closely mentors his followers, providing training, teaching, and imparting
grace and anointing. A father imparts identity and teaches through his own example, which is
why we see references to a specific way of life. Timothy submitted to Paul as a son would to a
father. Ultimately, a spiritual father points us to our heavenly Father.
John 1:35-39 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw
Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”37 When the two disciples heard him say
this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What
do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”39
“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”So they went and saw where he was staying, and
they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
Our way of life is evidence of our ministry! Relationships are key to growing in grace. These
relationships are characterized by deep friendship, authenticity, teaching, availability, and
instruction, among other things. In this dynamic, fathers instruct, and sons obey. Just as
Abraham obeyed God, Isaac also obeyed his father at Mount Moriah. Grace is communicated
through Fathers who teach us the Word and ways of our heavenly Father. Timothy was able to
show others the ways of Paul because those ways had become his own. Josiah, a grandson of
David, followed David’s example and considered him a father. 2 Kings 22:2 He did what was
right in the eyes of the LORD and followed completely the ways of his father David, not
turning aside to the right or to the left.
Christ is our everlasting father and son (Isaiah 9) and our pattern for fathers and sons
relationships (Dr Sagie Govender)
Ephesians 2:19-22 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow
citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the
whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in
him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
The building of believers happens in a household – a family. I (Ciiru) believe that God sets the
lonely into families. In 2005, He placed me in a spiritual family that has significantly contributed
to my growth in identity in Christ and understanding and fulfilling my purpose.
From Paul’s words in Galatians, we see that the goal of a spiritual father and son is for Christ to
be formed in the son. Maturity enables us to effectively administer the Kingdom of God here on
earth as it is in heaven. My goal in exploring this topic within the identity series is to create a
shared understanding that God ordains fathers for the formation of Christ in us. The model of
the Father and Son is an essential part of our faith heritage. Despite past abuses, we should not
reject these godly patterns.