God the Father: The Eternal Source
A Journey into the Heart of the Creed
"O eternal Father, You are the unbegotten Source from whom all life flows. As we contemplate Your mystery, open our hearts to know You not merely as Creator, but as the Father who eternally begets the Son and from whom, with the Son, the Holy Spirit proceeds. Grant us the grace to become Your adopted children. Amen."
Why Begin with the Father?
The Creed begins with the Father because He is the beginning—not in time, but in the eternal order of the Trinity. To understand the Christian faith is to understand that God is not a solitary being, but a communion of Persons. The Father is the principle without principleThe Father is the eternal source from whom the Son and Spirit proceed, yet He Himself has no origin. He is unbegotten, the first origin of the Trinity., the eternal origin from whom the Son is begotten and from whom the Spirit proceeds.
"Christians are baptized 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.' Before receiving the sacrament, they respond to a three-part question when asked to confess the Father, the Son and the Spirit: 'I do.' 'The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity.'"
"Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: not in their names, for there is only one God, the almighty Father, his only Son, and the Holy Spirit: the Most Holy Trinity."
The First Article of the Creed
"I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth."
These simple words contain profound mysteries:
- God - The one true God revealed to Israel
- Father - Not merely Creator, but eternally Father in relation to the Son
- Almighty - Omnipotent in power, yet revealed through weakness
- Creator - The free act of bringing all things into existence from nothing
Scripture Foundation
"For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world."
Key Terms
PrincipleFrom Latin 'principium' - that from which another proceeds. The Father is the principle of the Trinity because the Son and Spirit proceed from Him. (principium) - That from which another proceeds
PaternityThe Father's eternal relation of begetting the Son. This is not a role the Father plays, but who He IS - His very identity as Person. - The Father's eternal relation of begetting the Son
InnascibilityThe property of being unbegotten. This belongs to the Father alone - He has no origin, no source, no beginning. He simply IS. - The property of being unbegotten; belonging to the Father alone
In this session, we will explore who the Father is in His eternal identity, how He has revealed Himself through the Son and Spirit, and what it means to call Him "Father" and "Creator." This is not abstract theology—it is the foundation of your identity as an adopted child of God.
The Father as Principle
The Unbegotten Source
The Father is the Principle of the Godhead
St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that a principleFrom Latin 'principium' - that from which another proceeds. The Father is the principle of the Trinity because the Son and Spirit proceed from Him. simply means "that from which another proceeds" (ST I, Q.33, Art. 1). The Father is called Principle because:
- The Son is eternally begotten from Him
- The Holy Spirit proceeds from Him (and the Son)
Why "Principle" and not "Cause"?
The term "principle" is preferred over "cause" because "cause" implies:
- A difference in substance between cause and effect
- A dependency or inferiority in the effect
But the Son and Spirit are consubstantialOf the same substance. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share one divine nature, one divine substance. They are equal in power, glory, and majesty. with the Father—of the same divine substance. They are equal in power, glory, and majesty. "Principle" preserves this equality while acknowledging an eternal order of origin.
"The apostolic faith concerning the Spirit was confessed by the second ecumenical council at Constantinople (381): 'We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father.' By this confession, the Church recognizes the Father as 'the source and origin of the whole divinity.'"
"Father" - The Proper Personal Name
"Father" is not just a title—it is the proper name of the First Person. A proper name distinguishes one person from all others. The Father is distinguished by His paternityThe Father's eternal relation of begetting the Son. This is not a role the Father plays, but who He IS - His very identity as Person.—His eternal act of begetting the Son.
In human experience, "father" is a relationship a person has. In God, the relationship IS the Person. The Father's paternity is not something He possesses; it is who He is.
"Jesus revealed that God is Father in an unheard-of sense: he is Father not only in being Creator; he is eternally Father in relation to his only Son, who is eternally Son only in relation to his Father."
The Property of Innascibility
The Father alone is unbegottenThe Father has no origin, no source. He is innascibilis - unbegotten. This property distinguishes Him from the Son (who is begotten) and the Spirit (who proceeds). (innascibilis). This means:
- He is not from another
- He has no origin
- He is the "principle not from a principle"
This property distinguishes the Father from the Son (who is begotten) and the Spirit (who proceeds).
"No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known."
When you pray "Our Father," do you realize you are addressing the eternal, unbegotten Source of all divinity—the One from whom the Son and Spirit eternally proceed?
Revelation of the Father
How the Invisible Father Becomes Known
The Father Cannot Be Known by Reason Alone
Human reason can know that God exists by observing creation. But to know God as Father in the Trinitarian sense—eternally begetting the Son—requires divine revelation. This is a mystery of God's inner life, accessible only because God chose to reveal it.
"The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the 'mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God.'"
General Revelation: "Father" in the Old Testament
Israel called God "Father" primarily as:
- Creator of the world
- Covenant partner who chose Israel as "my first-born son" (Exodus 4:22)
This revealed God as:
- The first origin and transcendent authority
- A God of goodness, care, and protection
"Many religions invoke God as 'Father.' The deity is often considered the 'father of gods and of men.' In Israel, God is called 'Father' inasmuch as he is Creator of the world."
Specific Revelation: The Father Revealed by the Son
Jesus revealed the Father in an entirely new way. He revealed that God is Father not merely because He creates, but because He eternally begets the Son.
"Philip said to him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father.'"
"It is therefore by His mighty works, and by the words of His doctrine, that the Father who dwells in the Son makes Himself visible—even by those words and works whereby He abides in Him, and also by Him in whom He abides."
— Against Praxeas, Ch. XXIV
The Father and Son Revealed by the Holy Spirit
The full revelation of the Trinity is completed by the sending of the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit's mission, the Father is revealed as "the source and origin of the whole divinity."
"The Latin tradition of the Creed confesses that the Spirit 'proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque).' The Council of Florence in 1438 explains: 'The Holy Spirit is eternally from Father and Son; He has his nature and subsistence at once (simul) from the Father and the Son. He proceeds eternally from both as from one principle and through one spiration.'"
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
The missions in time (Son sent, Spirit sent) reveal the eternal processions (Son begotten, Spirit proceeding). What God does reveals who God is.
The Father as Creator
"Creator of Heaven and Earth"
Creation: The Foundation of Salvation
The doctrine of creation is not separate from salvation—it is the beginning of the history of salvation. The world was created with Christ as the goal.
"Creation is the foundation of 'all God's saving plans,' the 'beginning of the history of salvation' that culminates in Christ. Conversely, the mystery of Christ casts conclusive light on the mystery of creation."
Creation Ex Nihilo - "Out of Nothing"
God created the universe ex nihiloLatin phrase meaning 'out of nothing.' God needed no pre-existing material to create. He brought all things into existence by His word alone.—from nothing. This means:
- God needed no pre-existing material
- Creation is not part of God or an emanation from Him
- Creation is a free act of God's will, born of wisdom and love
"We believe that God needs no pre-existent thing or any help in order to create, nor is creation any sort of necessary emanation from the divine substance. God creates freely 'out of nothing': If God had drawn the world from pre-existent matter, what would be so extraordinary in that? A human artisan makes from a given material whatever he wants, while God shows his power by starting from nothing to make all he wants."
"Scripture bears witness to faith in creation 'out of nothing' as a truth full of promise and hope. Thus the mother of seven sons encourages them for martyrdom: I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws… Look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. Thus also mankind comes into being."
Why Did God Create?
God did not create to increase His glory (which is already infinite) but to show it forth and communicate it. The motive for creation is God's sheer love and goodness.
"Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: 'The world was made for the glory of God.' St. Bonaventure explains that God created all things 'not to increase his glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it.'"
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
"Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they existed and were created."
The Human Person: Imago Dei
Among all creatures, humanity holds a unique place: we are created in the image and likeness of God (imago DeiLatin phrase meaning 'image of God.' Humans uniquely bear God's image through our spiritual capacities: reason, free will, conscience, capacity for relationship with God.).
This likeness is spiritual, not physical. It resides in:
- Openness to truth and beauty
- Sense of moral goodness
- Freedom and conscience
- Capacity to know and love God
"It means knowing the unity and true dignity of all men: Everyone is made in the image and likeness of God."
Faith and Science
Faith in God the Creator does not oppose scientific inquiry. Science answers "how" and "when"; faith answers "why" and "for what purpose."
"Faith and science: 'Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth.'"
When you look at the stars, the mountains, or a newborn child, do you see the Father's love made visible?
The Father Almighty
Omnipotence and the Mystery of Evil
What Does "Almighty" Mean?
The Creed confesses God as "Father Almighty" (Omnipotens). His power is:
- Universal - He rules all He has made
- Loving - He cares for His children's needs
- Mysterious - Often hidden, revealed through weakness
"Of all the divine attributes, only God's omnipotence is named in the Creed: to confess this power has great bearing on our lives. We believe that his might is universal, for God who created everything also rules everything and can do everything."
The Greatest Display of Power: Mercy
God's omnipotence is revealed most powerfully not in domination, but in mercy and forgiveness.
"God is the Father Almighty. His fatherhood and his power shed light on one another. God's parental tenderness can also be expressed by the image of motherhood, which emphasizes God's immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature."
The Problem of Evil
If God is all-powerful and all-good, why does evil exist? This is the most difficult question of faith.
God does not answer evil by preventing it from outside. He answers it by entering into it. The Father reveals His almighty power through the voluntary humiliation and Resurrection of His Son.
"…Only faith can embrace the mysterious ways of God's almighty power. This faith glories in its weaknesses in order to draw to itself Christ's power. The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of this faith, for she believed that 'nothing will be impossible with God,' and was able to magnify the Lord: 'For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.'"
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
The Cross: Power Made Perfect in Weakness
The Cross appears to be the ultimate defeat. But by raising His Son from the dead, the Father transformed the greatest evil—the murder of God's own Son—into the source of salvation.
"…Christ crucified is thus 'the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.'"
In your own suffering, can you trust that the Father's power is at work, even when it seems hidden?
Divine Fatherhood
The Human Family Rooted in God
All Fatherhood Comes from the Father
Human fatherhood and motherhood are not the model for God's Fatherhood. Rather, God is the origin and standard of all human parenthood.
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named."
"God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard: no one is father as God is Father."
The Fourth Commandment: Honor Your Father and Mother
The command to honor parents is rooted in the theological reality of God the Father. Human parents are "the first representatives of God for man."
The honor due to them flows from the honor due to God Himself, who is the uncreated source of all life and authority.
Adopted Children of the Father
Through Baptism, we become adopted children of the Father. This is not a legal fiction—it is a real participation in the divine life.
"God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength."
The Family as "Domestic Church"
The Christian family is a domestic churchThe family as a miniature church where faith is first learned and lived. Parents are the primary teachers of faith, and the home becomes a place of prayer, worship, and Christian formation.—a community that reflects the divine family. In the family, we learn to live in communion with the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.
"See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are."
"But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God."
The Lord's Prayer: "Our Father"
When we pray "Our Father," we invoke:
- The Son in that name (for He is the eternal Son)
- Our adoption as children
- The Church as our mother
When we say "Our Father," the Son is invoked in that name. Furthermore, "our mother the Church" is also recognized, for the Church arises from the reality of the Father and the Son.
Do you live as a beloved child of the Father? How does your family reflect—or fail to reflect—the love of the Trinity?
Prayer
Prayer to God the Father
"Gracious and Holy Father, give us the wisdom to discover You, the intelligence to understand You, the diligence to seek after You, the patience to wait for You, eyes to behold You, a heart to meditate upon You, and a life to proclaim You."
Discussion
Ten Contemplative Discussion Questions for Session 2: God the Father
1. The Gradual Reveal of the Father
God didn't drop the full reality of His Fatherhood on humanity all at once. In the Old Testament, Israel called God "Father" primarily as Creator and covenant-maker. Only through Jesus was the "unheard-of sense" revealed—that God is eternally Father in relation to His only Son, a truth about God's inner life that reason alone could never discover.
"In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through a son."
"Jesus revealed that God is Father in an unheard-of sense: he is Father not only in being Creator; he is eternally Father in relation to his only Son, who is eternally Son only in relation to his Father."
2. The Father as Principle Without Principle
The Father is called the "principle without principle"—meaning He alone is the eternal source who Himself has no source. He is unbegotten, un-originated, the font from which all divinity and all existence flows. Yet He Himself flows from no one. He simply is.
"I AM WHO I AM."
"The revelation of the ineffable name 'I Am who Am' contains the truth that God alone IS. The Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, and following it the Church's Tradition, understood the divine name in this sense: God is the fullness of Being and of every perfection, without origin and without end. All creatures receive all that they are and have from him. He alone is his very being, and he is of himself everything that he is."
3. All Fatherhood is Named from Him
St. Paul writes that "all paternity in heaven and on earth is named" from God the Father (Eph 3:14-15). This means human fatherhood doesn't define God's Fatherhood—rather, God the Father is the origin and standard, and human fathers are reflections (sometimes clear, sometimes distorted) of Him.
"From whom every family in heaven and on earth is named."
"God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard: no one is father as God is Father."
4. Created Out of Nothing, For Love
The doctrine of creation ex nihilo (creation "out of nothing") means God didn't need pre-existing materials, and He didn't create because He had to. Creation wasn't a necessary overflow of His being. He created freely, from sheer love, "to show forth and communicate" His glory—not to increase it (which is impossible), but to share it.
"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."
"Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: 'The world was made for the glory of God.' St. Bonaventure explains that God created all things 'not to increase his glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it.'"
5. Made in the Image of the Father
Humans are created imago Dei—"in the image and likeness of God." This isn't about physical appearance; it's about our spiritual capacities: our openness to truth and beauty, our moral conscience, our freedom, our desire for God. We bear a "seed of eternity" that makes us capable of knowing God and entering into relationship with Him.
"God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them."
"The human person: with his openness to truth and beauty, his sense of moral goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience, with his longings for the infinite and for happiness, man questions himself about God's existence. In all this he discerns signs of his spiritual soul."
6. The Weakness That Is Stronger Than Men
The Creed confesses God the Father as "almighty," yet this power is revealed most fully not in domination but in mercy—and supremely in the Cross. "Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Cor 1:24-25). The Father's omnipotence is shown when He enters into suffering through His Son and transforms evil into salvation.
"Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God."
"…Only faith can embrace the mysterious ways of God's almighty power. This faith glories in its weaknesses in order to draw to itself Christ's power. The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of this faith, for she believed that 'nothing will be impossible with God', and was able to magnify the Lord: 'For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.'"
7. The Father Makes Himself Visible Through the Son
Tertullian writes that when Philip asks Jesus, "Show us the Father," Jesus replies, "He who has seen me has seen the Father"—not because they are the same Person, but because "the Father who dwells in the Son makes Himself visible" through the Son's works and words. The invisible Father is revealed through the visible Son.
"Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."
"For this reason the apostles confess Jesus to be the Word: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God'; as 'the image of the invisible God'; as the 'radiance of the glory of God and the very stamp of his nature'."
8. Faith and Reason: No Real Discrepancy
The Catechism teaches that "there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason," because both come from the same God. Scientific discoveries about the age of the universe, the development of life, the vastness of the cosmos—these should not diminish faith but lead to "greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator."
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the works of his hands."
"Faith and science: 'Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth.'"
9. The Father's Tender Care for Your Needs
The Catechism describes the Father's omnipotence as not only universal but loving—He shows His "fatherly omnipotence" by tenderly caring for our daily needs, by granting us adoption as His sons and daughters, and supremely by displaying His infinite mercy in forgiving sins.
"Your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
"God is the Father Almighty, whose fatherhood and power shed light on one another: God reveals his fatherly omnipotence by the way he takes care of our needs; by the filial adoption that he gives us ('I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty'); finally by his infinite mercy, for he displays his power at its height by freely forgiving sins."
10. The Domestic Church
Because God the Father has made us His adopted children through Christ, the Christian family becomes a "domestic church"—a microcosm of the Church herself, a place where we learn to live in communion with the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. The family is not just a social unit but a sacred community reflecting God's Fatherhood.
"Our Father who art in heaven..."
"It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way 'by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity.' Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and 'a school for human enrichment.'"