God the Father: the Only True God and Supreme Being
God the Father: The Only True God and Supreme Being
One of the clearest truths revealed in Scripture is that God the Father is the one true God, the Supreme Being, the Source of all life, authority, and power. This truth does not dishonor Jesus Christ. Rather, it helps us understand who Jesus truly is: the only begotten Son of God, the One sent by the Father, exalted by the Father, and given all authority by the Father.
Many people become confused because they think that honoring the Father as the only true God somehow lowers the Son. But Scripture does not teach this. The Bible exalts both the Father and the Son, while still maintaining a clear order: the Father is the Source, and the Son proceeds from Him; the Father sends, and the Son is sent; the Father gives authority, and the Son receives authority; the Father is the Head of Christ, and Christ submits to the Father.
This is not a denial of Christ’s divine Sonship. It is the very foundation of it.
👑 1. The Father Is the Most High God
When the angel Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus, he said:
“He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
— Luke 1:32–33
This verse is very important. Jesus is called “the Son of the Most High.” This means that the Father is the Most High God — the Supreme Being above all. The Son is not called “the Most High,” but the Son of the Most High.
This does not make Jesus a mere creature. Rather, it identifies Him as the true Son of the Supreme God. His greatness, His throne, His kingdom, and His authority come from His Father.
The Father is the Most High because He is the Source of all things, the One from whom all life, authority, and power proceed.
✨ 2. The Father Is the Only True God
Jesus Himself plainly identified His Father as the only true God:
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
— John 17:3
Jesus did not say, “that they may know Us as the only true God.” He addressed His Father and called Him “the only true God.” Then He identified Himself as the One whom the Father sent.
This shows a clear distinction:
• The Father is the only true God.
• Jesus Christ is the One sent by the only true God.
Therefore, from this verse we can clearly see tthat Jesus is not “the true God” but rather the divine Son of the true God, the only begotten of the Father, who came forth from Him and perfectly reveals Him.
This does not lower Christ. It honors Him according to His true identity. Jesus is not a rival God beside the Father. He is the Son who came from the Father, inherited the Father’s divine nature, and reveals the Father’s glory.
🔥 3. The Father Is the Source of All Things
Paul gives a very clear statement of Christian faith:
“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”
— 1 Corinthians 8:6
Here Paul identifies one God: the Father. He is the One “of whom are all things.” This means He is the Source, the origin, and the fountain of all existence.
Jesus Christ is the one Lord “through whom are all things.” The Father is the Source; the Son is the divine channel through whom the Father creates, reveals, redeems, and gives life.
This order is consistent throughout Scripture:
• All things are from the Father.
• All things are through the Son.
• The Father is the Source.
• The Son is the divine Mediator and Revealer of the Father.
🛡️ 4. All Authority Was Given to Jesus
After His resurrection, Jesus declared:
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
— Matthew 28:18
This is a powerful statement of Christ’s exaltation. But it also shows that His authority was given to Him. If authority was given to Jesus, then the One who gave it has higher authority.
The Father gives authority to the Son because the Father is supreme. Jesus receives authority from the Father because He is the obedient Son.
This is why Jesus said:
“The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.”
— John 3:35
And again:
“All things have been delivered to Me by My Father.”
— Matthew 11:27
The Son is highly exalted, but His exaltation comes from the Father. His authority is not independent from the Father, but received from Him and exercised in perfect harmony with Him.
🙏 5. The Son Worships and Submits to the Father
Scripture repeatedly shows Jesus praying to the Father, worshiping the Father, obeying the Father, and submitting to the Father.
Jesus said:
“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”
— John 4:34
He also said:
“I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”
— John 5:30
In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed:
“Not as I will, but as You will.”
— Matthew 26:39
This shows the perfect submission of the Son to the Father. Jesus lived in complete surrender to His Father’s will.
But Scripture never says the Father submits to anyone. Scripture never says the Father worships anyone. The Father is never presented as under the authority of another being.
Instead, the Bible says:
“The head of Christ is God.”
— 1 Corinthians 11:3
This is a clear statement of divine order. God the Father is the Head of Christ. The Father is supreme, and the Son lovingly submits to Him.
This does not diminish the Son. It reveals the beauty of divine order, love, humility, and harmony.
🌿 6. The Father Alone Is Immortal in the Ultimate Sense
The Father is the Source of all life. All created beings depend upon Him for existence. Angels, humans, and every living creature continue to live only because God sustains them.
Paul describes God as the One:
“Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power.”
— 1 Timothy 6:16
In the ultimate sense, God the Father is immortal because He is the Source of all life. His life is underived, self-existent, and original. He does not receive life from another. He cannot die, because all life depends upon Him.
This also helps us understand why the Father sent His Son to die.
If the Father is the Source of all things, the Holder of all life, and the One who sustains all creation, then He Himself cannot cease to exist or die. Therefore, in His love for the world, He gave His only begotten Son.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”
— John 3:16
The Father did not send a created angel. He gave His own Son — the One who came forth from Him, inherited His divine nature, and could take humanity upon Himself to die for us.
⚖️ 7. What About 1 John 5:20?
Some people use 1 John 5:20 to argue that Jesus is called “the true God.” The verse says:
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”
— 1 John 5:20
At first glance, some assume that the phrase “This is the true God and eternal life” refers to Jesus because Jesus is mentioned immediately before it. But this is not necessarily correct. The Bible does not always follow the rule of the nearest antecedent. Context must decide.
The context of 1 John 5:20 points to the Father.
John says that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know “Him who is true.” This echoes John 17:3, where Jesus says eternal life is to know the Father, “the only true God,” and Jesus Christ whom He sent.
So the flow of thought is:
• The Son came.
• The Son gives us understanding.
• The purpose is that we may know Him who is true — the Father.
• We are in the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ.
• This is the true God and eternal life.
Therefore, 1 John 5:20 should not be used to contradict John 17:3. Jesus clearly identified the Father as “the only true God.” John would not later contradict the words of Christ by teaching that Jesus is also “the true God” in the same supreme sense.
Rather, 1 John 5:20 is best understood as referring to the Father as the true God, while also showing that we come to know and abide in the true God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
📖 8. Jesus Is Divine, But Not the Supreme Being
The Bible presents Jesus as divine, worthy of honor, and far above all created beings. He is the only begotten Son of God, the express image of the Father, the Creator through whom all things were made, the Redeemer of humanity, and the One appointed as Lord and King.
But Scripture also presents the Father as supreme over all, including over Christ:
“Then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:28
This shows that even after all things are placed under Christ, the Son Himself remains subject to the Father. The Father is the final Supreme Authority. The Son reigns under the Father and for the glory of the Father.
Therefore, the Bible does not teach two supreme beings. It teaches one God, the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ, His divine Son.
🌟 Conclusion
Scripture clearly reveals that God the Father is the only true God, the Most High, the Supreme Being, the Source of all life, authority, and power.
Jesus Christ is not a created being. He is the only begotten Son of God, who came forth from the Father, inherited the Father’s divine nature, and perfectly revealed His character. He is worthy of honor, worship, love, trust, and obedience because the Father Himself has exalted Him and commanded all to honor Him.
But the Son does not replace the Father as the only true God. Rather, the Son leads us to the Father, reveals the Father, obeys the Father, glorifies the Father, and brings us into fellowship with the Father.
The Father is the Source.
The Son is the divine Revealer.
The Father is the Most High.
The Son is the Son of the Most High.
The Father is the only true God.
Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son whom He sent.
This is why Jesus said:
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
— John 17:3