God the Father
We believe that God the Father began to assume his place as Father in relation to the Son and Holy Spirit in the council of the Godhead before creation and time (Ps. 2:7-10
); that, although equal in nature, the Son and Holy Spirit have been subordinate to the Father since the council and will remain in that relationship until eternity future (I Cor. 15:28), and the subordination is for the purpose of executing the divine purpose (John 4:34, 5:17-18, 14:16; Eph. 1:3-14). The Father is the ultimate source of all things (I Cor. 8:6; Ephesians 3:9); sustains a Fatherhood relationship to spirit beings (Job 1:6; Heb. 12:9); sent the Son into the world (John 3:16), and with the Son sent the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, 15:26), but the Father is never the sent one. The Father enters a Fatherhood relation with men through their spiritual new birth (John 1:12-13, 3:1-7); indwells believers (John 14:23; Eph. 4:6); makes them partakers of the divine nature (II Pet. 1:4); calls them his born ones (I John 3:9); forgives their sins (I John 1:9); and answers their prayers (John 16:23).