Father, Not God
Jesus addressed God as 'Father' in prayer and rarely used the title 'God' for him at all.
In the red-letter corpus, when Jesus speaks to God or speaks of his relationship to God, the dominant term is 'Father' (Greek: patēr). The Lord's Prayer begins 'Our Father' (Matthew 6:9) and Jesus's prayers in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39, 42), John 11 (verse 41), and John 17 (the entire prayer) address God as Father. The word 'God' (theos) appears in Jesus's speech but primarily when quoting scripture, making theological statements about others, or in the cry of dereliction (Matthew 27:46, quoting Psalm 22). The direct address, when he prays, is consistently 'Father.' The one notable exception — 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me' — is explicitly a psalm quotation.
Red Letter Sources
Matthew 6:9Matthew 26:39John 17:1Matthew 27:46
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Evidence Notes
John 17 contains 6 direct 'Father' addresses in a single prayer. Cross-gospel pattern consistent.
Correction Note
Source verses corrected 2026-06-19: Matthew 27:46 moved to context_verses. Corpus gap: Matthew 27 is absent from kjv_redletters.json. Matthew 27:46 is red-letter (Psalm 22 citation at the cross) but cannot be validated until the corpus is updated. Core claim survives on remaining source verses. [2026-06-20] CORPUS UPDATED: Matthew 27:46 has been restored to source_verses. It is a genuine red-letter verse (Jesus's cry of dereliction from the cross). It was temporarily moved to context_verses on 2026-06-19 due to a gap in the red-letter corpus (Matthew 27 was entirely absent). The corpus has now been patched and Matthew 27:46 is confirmed in the red-letter corpus.
