Originally posted by galveston75
This scripture is referring to calling someone Father in a spiritual sense, not in a parental sense. The term Father in the spiritual sense is reserved for God only as the scripture in Matthew is saying.
Actually, Jesus makes no distinction between spiritual or parental. He clearly forbids calling anyone father, teacher or master. But obviously this is not to be taken literally because in the NT, St Paul identifies himself as a teacher (1Tim 2:7, 2Tim 1:1) as well as others (1Cor 12:28). St Paul also calls himself a father in Christ to the Corinthians: "I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (1 Cor. 4:14–15). Throughout the NT, the Scripture writers refers to their readers as their children (Gal. 4:19; 1 Tim. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:1; Philem. 10; 1 Pet. 5:13; 1 John 2:1; 3 John 4).
In context, Jesus is condemning the Pharisees who 'love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'' His condemnation of titles must be read in this light. No one should exalt themselves and seek personal glory. No one should revel in titles of religious superiority. However, the early Christians clearly did use these titles. They did understand themselves as teachers and fathers but
in a different way to the Pharisees. Catholics call the Pope 'father' because he has taken upon himself a spiritual paternity of all Catholics. He is not, however, a Pharisee.