Albert Barnes Commentary Matthew 23:9

"And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, [even] he who is in heaven." — Matthew 23:9 (ASV)

And call no man your father, etc. This does not, of course, forbid us to apply the term to our real father. Religion requires all proper honour to be shown to him (Exodus 20:12; Matthew 15:4; Ephesians 6:1–3).

But the word father also denotes authority, eminence, superiority, a right to command, and a claim to particular respect. In this sense it is used here. In this sense, it belongs eminently to God, and it is not right to give it to men.

Christian brethren are equal. God alone has supreme authority. He alone has a right to give laws, to declare doctrines to bind the conscience, and to punish disobedience.

The Jewish teachers affected that title because they seem to have supposed that a teacher formed the man, or gave him real life, and sought therefore to be called father. Christ taught them that the source of all life and truth was God, and they ought not to seek or receive a title that properly belongs to Him.