In the October 2025 study edition of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Study Article 33 focused on “Accept Jehovah’s Love.”
At first glance, it seemed like a standard article. But if you read carefully—especially paragraphs 14–16—a profound truth emerges. Here are key quotes from that article:
- para 13 Jesus wants us to see Jehovah as he does. In the Gospels, Jesus referred to Jehovah as “Father” over 160 times. And when speaking to his followers, he used such expressions as “your Father” or “your heavenly Father.”
- para 15 Our loving heavenly Father continues to see the good in you that you may not see in yourself.
- para 16 By describing Jehovah as our Father, Jesus is, in a sense, telling us: “Jehovah is not just my Father; he is your Father too.
“Did anyone notice it? Did you catch the point?” This truth has major implications for how we understand our relationship with God.
Jehovah as Father
The article emphasizes that Jehovah is our Father. But stop and think for a moment. I have a son. My son calls me Father. I also have friends. My friends never call me Father.
Friendship ≠ Sonship
If a friend suddenly called me “Father,” it would feel unnatural. Friendship and sonship are completely different relationships.
So if Jehovah is truly our Father, what does that make us? Children. Despite this, the teaching promoted by Jehovah’s Witnesses often emphasizes that most believers are friends of God, not children.
They even published a book titled: You Can Be Jehovah’s Friend. But is that really what the Bible teaches? Was Jesus searching for friends, or was He establishing a family?
What the Bible Actually Says
“However, to all who did receive him, he gave authority to become God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name."
John 1:12–13
Jesus was granting the authority to become reconciled to God and thereby become adopted as sons, brothers of Jesus. And in this they were inheritors of all of Jehovahs belongings. Just as a child inherits his father's estate.
The Adoption Illustration
Think of foster parents. They may care deeply for a child, but legally the child is not yet their son or daughter. If they later adopt the child, everything changes. The child becomes their legal son and can rightly call them Father. And more importantly the son becomes the inheritor of the father's estate.
Through faith in Christ, believers are authorized to be adopted into God’s family.
Paul and John repeatedly affirm our sonship:
“God foreordained us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 1:5
“You received a spirit of adoption as sons… ‘Abba, Father!’”
Romans 8:15
“Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”
Galatians 4:4–6
“See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”
1 John 3:1
Believers are children, not merely friends.
Sonship and the Lord’s Evening Meal
The Lord’s Evening Meal is not just symbolic—it is an expression of our sonship; an acknowledging that Jehovah is really our father.
Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 11:23–26:
“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you… keep doing this in remembrance of me… For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord until he comes.”
And in John 6:53–54, Jesus says:
“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life.”
Only those who are children of God, adopted through faith in Christ, can properly partake and receive spiritual life.
Why This Matters
If we are truly God’s children:
- We can call Him Father.
- We participate in the Lord’s Evening Meal as members of His family.
- We are united with Christ and with one another in one body (1 Corinthians 10:17).
If we were merely friends, we would have no authority to call God Father or partake in the meal that symbolizes life through Christ. Sonship and participation are inseparable.
The Point That May Have Been Missed
Jehovah is our Father, and believers are His children, not merely His friends. Through adoption by faith in Jesus Christ, participation in the Lord’s Evening Meal, and the guidance of the Spirit, we can fully embrace our identity as members of God’s family.
Are you living as a child of God, or settling for friendship?