I need someone to explain a verse for me

[Uri_ruiz]

Being a Hispanic from Mexico, I was born into a Catholic family. We went to church and everything but were never fully committed. Recently I’ve been having doubts about the Catholic religions and where I stand on it. As we know, we call the priest, father “insert name here” or in Spanish padre “insert name here”. I recently came Matthew 23:9 states, “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and He is in heaven.” Can anyone explain this?

 

[Jesuslover]

This is an example of Jesus saying something he does not mean literally to make a point. When he says to hate your father and mother (Luke 14:26), do you really think he wants you to hate your parents? Rather, in this particular passage, Jesus is making the point that the Father must reign supreme in all of our lives.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Our hosts have a great article for you:

Call No Man "Father"? | Catholic Answers Tract

 

[JerryZ]

That is a very common verse used by protestants to try and diminish the role of the priesthood. Here read these other verses in the Bible

Acts 7:2 And he said, Brethren and fathers, hearken: The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran.
Acts 7:3) and said unto him, Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee.

Romans 4:16 For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace; to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.

I Corinthians 4:14 I write not these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.
I Corinthians 4:15 For though ye have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I begat you through the [1] gospel.

I Thessalonians 2:11 as ye know how we dealt with each one of you, as a father with his own children, exhorting you, and encouraging you , and testifying.

I Timothy 5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but exhort him as a father; the younger men as brethren.

As you see the Matthew passage does not command us not to call another person to whom we owe respect “father” rather it was explicitly pointed to the Pharisees whom showed great pleasure in being called “fathers” but whom lived not according to the real Law of GOD, Love HIM above all and your fellow men as yourself.
For if that was the case then the Bible would contradict itself.
Hope this helps

 

[Dan_Defender]

The Bible passage is about not attributing to any man what truly belongs to the Lord alone. If one were to take it literally, then one wouldn’t be able to call one’s biological father: father.

 

[po18guy]

Jesus actually said “Call no man YOUR father” and He was speaking with the Pharisees, who constantly justified themselves as being “sons of Abraham.”

Paul calls himself “Father” in 1 Corinthians 4, and refers to himself as the father of both Timothy and Titus in those two letters.

Whoever is telling you this does not read their bible, but they are prejudiced against the Church which gave them the bible.

 

[Elf01]

I was born into a Catholic family.

What do you call your male parent?

 

[Cathoholic]

I’ll try to get something up in the next day or so.

But we have ONE Father, our Father in Heaven.

But other people have differing SHARES in that ONE Fatherhood of God.

We see the same thing with Priests and Mediation.

We have ONE Priest-Jesus Christ. At least one efficacious Priest.

And we have differing SHARES in that ONE Priesthood.

• The priesthood of all of the baptized (you and I) have a share.
• The ministerial priests have a greater share into that ONE Priesthood of Jesus.
• The Bishops have an even deeper share in that ONE Priesthood.

Regarding mediation, Jesus is the ONE Mediator.
Jesus works in and through us to provide mediation that is good and apporpriate.

That’s WHY works can be salvific AFTER you become a child of God through Baptism. Good works that have efficacy in justification are with Christ and IN Him.

Redemptive suffering the same paradigm. Since we are made partakers of the Divine nature we can and MUST suffer with Jesus.

Jesus redeems us by His very nature (true God and true Man).

We are allowed a participation in that redemptive suffering by grace.

The Blessed Virgin Mary particularly so (as coredemptrix or allowed to redeem WITH Jesus by grace). We see it prophecied in today’s reading of the Gospel in the Latin Rite (Luke 2:35). Jesus allows us via baptism to be crucified WITH HIM in a very real sense.

See that in Romans 6:3-5.

God bless.

Cathoholic

 

[Maximian]

Taken literally, it would mean that we cannot even call our own parents “Father”. Obviously this is not what Jesus meant. He also can’t have been referring to personal spiritual relationships, because in that case St Paul would not have referred to St Timothy as his son.

So what was he referring to? From the context he was referring to the use of “Father” in a tribal sense, as in “our Father Abraham”, since this opposed his message of salvation for all.

 

[poche]

I think that that is dishonest on their part because they have other names that have essentially the same meaning, Reverend, Pastor, etc…

 

[TheLittleLady]

Not to mention that they celebrate Father’s Day.

 

[Todd_Easton]

Being a Hispanic from Mexico, I was born into a Catholic family. We went to church and everything but were never fully committed. Recently I’ve been having doubts about the Catholic religions and where I stand on it. As we know, we call the priest, father “insert name here” or in Spanish padre “insert name here”. I recently came Matthew 23:9 states, “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and He is in heaven.” Can anyone explain this?

This verse (Matthew 23:9) is part of the gospel (Matthew 23:1-12) read at Mass on the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year A of the three-year cycles of Sunday Mass readings. So, growing up, you, as a Catholic, should have heard some sort of explanation of the verse in the homily at Mass in your Catholic church once a year, every third year. (If you were a daily Mass goer, you may have also have heard it explained at Mass on Tuesday of the 2nd Week of Lent every year and on Saturday of the 20th Week of Ordinary Time every year when it is the gospel reading; homilies are optional at weekday Masses.)

Haydock’s (1859) commentary on Matthew 23:9-10 says:

Ver. 9-10. Call none your father … Neither be ye called masters, &c. The meaning is, that our Father in heaven is incomparably more to be regarded, than any father upon earth: and no master is to be followed, who would lead us away from Christ. But this does not hinder but that we are by the law of God to have a due respect both for our parents and spiritual fathers, (1 Corinthians iv. 15,) and for our masters and teachers. (Challoner) — This name was a title of dignity: the presidents of the assembly of twenty-three judges where so called; the second judge of the sanhedrim, &c. (Bible de Vence) — Nothing is here forbidden but the contentious divisions, and self-assumed authority, of such as make themselves leaders and favourers of schisms and sects; as Donatus, Arius, Luther, Calvin, and innumerable others of very modern date. But by no means the title of father, attributed by the faith, piety, and confidence of good people, to their directors; for, St. Paul tells the Corinthians, that he is their only spiritual Father: If you have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet not many Fathers. (1 Corinthians iv. 15.)

On Matthew 23:8-12, The New American Bible, Revised Edition (2015), says:

[23:8–12] These verses, warning against the use of various titles, are addressed to the disciples alone. While only the title ‘Rabbi’ has been said to be used in addressing the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:7), the implication is that Father and ‘Master’ also were. The prohibition of these titles to the disciples suggests that their use was present in Matthew’s church. The Matthean Jesus forbids not only the titles but the spirit of superiority and pride that is shown by their acceptance. Whoever exalts…will be exalted: cf. Lk 14:11.

 

[Todd_Easton]

The New Testament, Confraternity Edition (1941), foot-note to Matthew 23:8-11, says:

8-11: It would be blameworthy for Christians to give or receive such titles as “master,” “father,” “doctor,” without recognizing that one is “father in Christ,” that is, in union with and subordination to our Lord and to the Father.

Supplemental commentary to the above, the Catholic Biblical Association’s 1942 A Commentary on the New Testament, says:

8 f. Christians are forbidden the use of titles for the mere purpose of ostentation; see foot-note to the text. All you are brothers: in the Apostolic age “brother” and “sister” were the only titles used among Christians, including the Apostles themselves (cf. Acts 9, 17; 21, 20; 2 Cor. 1, 1; 2 Pet. 3, 15; Apoc. 1, 9). The expression “the brethren” was synonymous with “the Christians.” 10. Cf. John 13, 13. 11. The same words in [Matthew] 20, 26.

Similar to po18guy’s earlier post, I think Jesus was teaching against boasting, boasting about one’s ancestors, such as the Pharisees did, saying, “We have Abraham as our Father” (Matthew 3:9) or about one’s teachers, such as the Corinthians did, saying, "I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas.” (1 Corinthians 1:12) St Paul said, “So let no one boast of men.” (1 Corinthians 3:21)

 

[Cathoholic]

Our Fatherhood derives from the fact that we are co-creators with God.

Subordinate creators to be sure, but still co creators.

Let’s look at this in the context of fatherhood.

MATTHEW 23:9 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

Jesus is talking about “Father” in an ultimate sense, as Tim Staples has said.

That’d be God the Father and ONLY God the Father.

Biologic fathers can only have a share in that ONE Fatherhood of God.

Likewise ministerial priests (spiritual fathers) have a share (a different share) in that one fatherhood of God.

Let’s look at “the biologic fathers dimension for a moment.

Consider Ephesians 3 (which even has a layer of meaning of spiritual fatherhood too but I’ll ignore that here).

EPHESIANS 3:14-15 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named , . . .

As Dr. Scott Hahn points out, the Greek language here literally reads . . .

EPHESIANS 3:14-15 “14 For this reason I bow my knees unto the Father, 15 from whom every fatherhood (patria or patria) in heaven and on earth is derived (onomazetai = “is named” or “derives it’s name” – see that here), . . .

With the Protestant NIV you can see the “Derived” portion . . . .

EPHESIANS 3:15 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

The Douay-Rheims version shows the “paternity” of “fatherhood” aspect quite clearly.

EPHESIANS 3:15 15 Of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named,

EPHESIANS 3:14-15 (DRV) 14 For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom ALL paternity (patria see that in Greek here) in heaven and earth is named,

Emphasis and parenthetical mine.

 

[Cathoholic]

And this is Catholic Church teaching too.

CCC 2367a Called to give life, spouses share in the creative power and fatherhood of God . . . . .

Without God, there is no living children in the biologic act.

Why not?

Because although mom and dad contribute the biology, God creates the soul. (And St. James reminds us a body without a soul is dead).

EVANGELIUM VITAE (34 excerpt) The life which God offers to man is a gift by which God shares something of himself with his creature.

Now let’s look at Spiritual Fatherhood.

It is the same concept with spiritual Fatherhood (the Ministerial Priesthood).

1st CORINTHIANS 4:15 (RSVCE) 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers (pater or pathr). For I became your father ( Gennao or gennaw), in Christ Jesus through the gospel .

Interestingly, the Latin equivalent of the Greek word gennao is where we get the word “progeny” (meaning offspring) or “progenitor.”

Acts 16:3 tells us specifically St. Timothy’s father was a Greek . Yet the Jewish St. Paul calls Timothy HIS beloved child. St. Paul is Timothy’s spiritual “father”.

2nd TIMOTHY 1:1a, 2-3 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus . . . 2 To Timothy, my beloved child : Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience, as did my fathers , when I remember you constantly in my prayers.

God is the source for ALL human fatherhood. Biologic fatherhood AND spiritual fatherhood.

• Biologic Fatherhood—God is the source
• Spiritual Fatherhood—God is the source

.

CCC 2214a The divine fatherhood is the source of human fatherhood

For some other Scriptural examples of referring to “men on earth” as “Fathers” see also: Sirach 44:1, Elisha calling to Elijah 2nd Kings 2:12, Matthew 1:1-16, Acts 7:1-2, 12, 29-32, 54-60, Romans 4:11-12, 2nd Timothy 2:1-2 (St. Paul again refers to St. Timothy as his “son”—the same type of language is seen in 1st Timothy 1:1-2, 18-19a, Philippians 2:19-24 and 1st Thessalonians 2:10-12), 1st John 2:12-14, and Jesus Himself falling into this alleged sin in Luke 16:24, 27-30.

And this has always been what God has taught humanity. That’s why in the book of Judges, Micah can ask his own son to stay with him and be to him a “priest and a FATHER”!

JUDGES 17:10a 10 And Micah said to him, "Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest . . .

As a Catholic man once asked Tim Staples before Tim became a Catholic Christian:

The question isn’t; “Why do you Catholics call your leaders “Father”.

The question IS; why DON’T Protestants call their leaders “Father” when it is so pervasive in Scripture?

(Song which MANY Bible-ONLY Churches have kids singing in Sunday School:
“Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father . . . .”)

 

[EndTimes]

Even Joseph (assumed father of Jesus) is referred to as His father.

In that sense it means biological father.

The Bible has roughly 1,100 uses of the word, “father”

wrt God - Father has a differing meaning.

 

[JohnR77]

Jesus could not have been speaking literally as he would have been contradicting his own prohibition in other passages.
Therefore, Jesus was not speaking literally but showing how fathers and teachers find their true authority and foundation only in God.
And the Bible shows that Christian leaders are called fathers therefore, it is most biblical to call priests “father.”

See biblical details at
Call no man Father :
Catholic Response

John