"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." Many of us recognize those words as the beginning of that which has become known as "the Lord’s prayer" as it is recorded in Matthew 6:9 of the traditional King James Version of the Bible. How many of us, however, understand what we are really saying when we say "Our Father which art in heaven?"

There are two ways by which we have the authority to call someone "Our Father." One way is by birth, through which the essence of the father is passed on to the child. This child is said to be "begotten" by its father. The other way is by adoption, by which a man chooses to take someone to be his child. This child is said to be "adopted" by its father.

According to Yahshua (Jesus), God has only one "begotten" Son. He said that God gave His "only begotten Son" with the promise of everlasting life to those that believe in Him:

Paul says of Yahshua that He was the Son of God "made (ginomai) of a woman" under the law:

He was, in fact, the Word of God made (ginomai) flesh as the "only begotten (monogenes) of the Father:"

He was made flesh under the law, which was given to Moses:

Even though He was made flesh under the law, Yahshua was not under the law because He existed before the law. In fact, He says that He existed before Abraham, who lived long before Moses:

He already existed "in the beginning." Before all of creation He was the Word of God, which was (and still is) God:

It was the "Word of God," which is the "Word of Yahweh," that spoke to Abraham, while he was still called "Abram," and told him that He is his "exceedingly great reward:"

The Word of Yahweh continued to speak to Abram and gave him a promise. He told him that he would have a child that would be his "heir:"

Since both Abram and Sarah were old and childless, the promise of an heir conceived by Abram seemed impossible. Therefore, to help the Word of Yahweh fulfill His promise, Abram had a son by Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant, and named him Ishmael:

However, even though Ishmael was born as the first son of Abram through his flesh, he was not the promised heir. Yahweh promised Abram and Sarah a son, named Isaac, who would be the heir to the covenant of the promise:

Abram was ninety nine years old when Yahweh changed his name to Abraham, confirming His covenant with him that He had made him a "father of many nations:"

Even though Ishmael was the firstborn son of Abraham according to the flesh, Yahweh counted the son that was born by faith, Isaac, as the only son of Abraham:

He again confirmed His promise that it was through the "seed" of Abraham that "shall all the nations of the earth be blessed:"

His seed would inherit the blessing of the Word of Yahweh, which is the "exceedingly great reward." The promised blessing, however, would not be inherited by the children born as physical heirs according to the flesh. The heirs of the promise are those who, like Isaac, are the seed of Abraham born in faith:

The physical descendants of Abraham are the children of the flesh and are not the children of God. It is those that receive the promise by faith that are counted as the seed. These are the children of the promise that are blessed with faithful Abraham:

The "word of promise," which Abraham believed, was that a son would be born to Sarah, not by works, as it was with Ishmael, but by faith, as it was with Isaac:

Like Abraham, Sarah also believed Yahweh. Therefore, she believed His promise and the child was born by faith:

The Word of Yahweh, which is the "only begotten Son" of the Father, dwells in the Father. It is the Word of Yahweh that has "declared" the Father to the world from His dwelling place, which is "in the bosom of the Father:"

The "bosom of the Father" is in the Father. Yahshua tells us to believe that He is in the Father and also that the Father is in Him:

Not only did He say that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him, but He promised that the "Comforter," which is the "Spirit of truth," would also dwell in us:

Yahshua said that He would come to us as the Comforter. That is when we would know that He is in the Father, we are in Him, and He is in us:

He was speaking of His Spirit. Paul says that unless the Spirit of the Messiah (Christ) dwells in us, then we do not belong to God as His children:

The Father sent the Son to redeem us who were born under the law. The Spirit of His Son is our "exceedingly great reward." Dwelling in our hearts, He enables us to "receive the adoption of sons." As adopted sons (and daughters) of God, we have the authority to call Him "Our Father:"