Charles Ellicott 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)

Call no man your father — This title, in its Hebrew form Abba, was also one in which the scribes delighted. In its proper use, it embodied the idea that the relationship between scholars and teachers was like that of a child to a father. But precisely because it expressed such a noble idea, its merely conventional use was full of danger.

In this respect, the history of ecclesiastical titles in Christianity offers a remarkable parallel to the titles of Judaism. We find examples of similar language, liable to the same abuse, in titles like "Abbot" (derived from Abba, meaning Father), "Papa," and "Pope"—which evolved from being applied to every priest until culminating in the Pontifex summus of the Church of Rome—and in our own title "Father in God" as applied to bishops.

Of course, it would be a slavish literalism to interpret our Lord’s words as an absolute prohibition of these and similar titles in church or civil life. What was meant was to warn people against acknowledging the fatherhood of men in such a way that they forget the Fatherhood of God. Even the teacher and apostle, who is a spiritual father to others, needs to remember that he is like a "little child" in relation to God (Compare to Saint Paul’s claim in 1 Corinthians 4:15).