When Christians pray to God, they address him as Father or Heavenly father. This is the most common address for God in all Christian liturgies and prayers made to God by the worshippers individually or congregationally. God is a spirit-being. How can one address him as Christians do? One classical definition of God goes like this:  “God is an eternal absolute, infinite and immutable Spirit Being (person) from who all things have their origin, their sustenance and their end. It is also said that none is greater than God. How such a being can be addressed by mortal Man as ‘Father’ or ‘Abba’?
God is immaterial and incorporeal. This question requires an answer. Further, how do we consider statements made about God having bodily parts, such as, eyes, ears, arms, hands, etc.? Well, it should be mentioned here that this is theologically understood as ‘anthropomorphism’, and is used so that we can meaningfully understand God. In the same way, we can experientially understand God when we use words or terms that we use in our human relationships. God of the Bible is not a God of the philosophers. The concept of God’s Fatherhood is entirely a spiritual and transcendental concept. This is to help human persons to understand, meaningfully, how God relates to us. God is loving, He is gracious. He is the Creator, Sustainer and Preserver of the created order. But we cannot understand him unless he reveals himself in his love, care and protection for us. The divine, supernatural relationship between God and Man is manifested through God’s parenthood. 
The Bible is replete with the idea or concept of God’s fatherhood—both in the Old Testament and the New. Without this, we do not have any meaningless relationship with God. The metaphor of the Fatherhood of God is used for this purpose. Some Biblical verses are mentioned here to illustrate this concept. Through Moses, the Law giver it was said in the book of Deuteronomy about the ancient Israelites: “You are the children of the Lord, your God.” (14:1). When that people acted corruptly against God they were rebuked: “Is this the way you repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and who formed you?” (Deuteronomy 32:6). Scriptures in the Old Testament like, Exodus 4:22-23; 2 Samuel 7:14, Isaiah 63: 16, 64:8, Jeremiah 3:19, Hosea 1:10, 11:1, Malachi 2:10, etc., etc.
In the New Testament, we have the four Gospels mention that Jesus refers to God seventy times as his Father, and twenty-five times as ‘our Father’, When one of Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, Jesus told him : ‘Pray like this, ‘Our Father in heaven’ . . .” (Matthew 6:9).
As already hinted out, Christians are God’s children in a spiritual or mystical sense of the term in and through faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, this concept is also related to the Christian teaching of universal brotherhood of all followers of Christ.
That God is the heavenly Father to Christians and that they are his children in the exclusively spiritual sense is taught in the Holy Bible. God’s being the heavenly Father to Christians speaks of the transcendental and spiritual relationship that serves as a model for all other fatherhood or parenthood serving as a foundation of a close personal relationship between God and his people.  This truth gives us comfort and a clear sense of direction for our practical life and conduct as we have access to God’s throne of grace as his children. This is how our worship, our prayers and devotion to God are meaningful and intelligent. The concept of the fatherhood of God brings home the message of Christian faith in down-to –earth practical life and living in all human relationships: relationship with God, fellow people, nature and our inner selves.
The word ‘Father’ does not necessarily mean a father in the biological sense. While thinking in spiritual matter, we need to rise above mundane. The fatherhood of God is the central Christian belief in practical terms. Christianity teaches that the divine meets the mundane in Christ. God has reconciled to himself sinful alienated Man in Christ. This emphasises the deeply personal loving and unchangeable relationship between God and man, whom he adopted as his children because of their faith in what he did for the salvation of man from the bondage of sin.
God is the initiator of selfless love. The concept of ‘Fatherhood of God’ refers to the role model. Those who believe in this are supposed, not only to believe, but also to obey the Father’s Word and his commandments. If we believe and love God, we are to obey him. God disciplines his children for their good just like an earthly father or parent does. The Bible has multiple teachings on this subject. The Psalmist rightly sang, “Your Word, O Lord, is eternal, it stands firm in the heavens. . . Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119: 89, 105).
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The writer is a Christian Theology teacher and a Church leader