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And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.

Matthew 23:9

Thank you very much for those words from the Lord Jesus about calling no man on earth "father." Very appropriate for Father's Day! And it opens up such a brilliant panorama of faithful NT teaching and example.

So a key question for us is, are we going to interpret this by the way the New Testament interprets it? Or are we going to lean on our own personal interpretation?

Do the saints of the NT use the word "father" for anyone on earth, either their natural parent, or as an honorary or customary way of referring to respected men or a spiritual relationship? Let's look.

This is what God's Word says:

Matthew 1:2
Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers
Matthew 4:21
...James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, Matthew 15:4
For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’
Mark 15:21
...it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.
Luke 1:67
Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit...
Luke 2:33
And the child’s father and mother were amazed...
Luke 8:51
...He did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother...
Luke 15:20
So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.
Acts 7:2
And Stephen replied: “Brothers and father, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran...
Acts 7:4
Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there ...
Acts 7:8
Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs (lit: father rulers)...
Acts 22:1
“Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you.”
Romans 4:16
...Abraham, for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)...
1 Corinthians 4:15
Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
Ephesians 6:4
And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Philemon 1:10
I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment.
1 John 2:13
I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.
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Christians, all through the NT and even to this day, have always understood calling men on earth "father" --- natural fathers, elders, and spiritual fathers ---to be correct, and not offensive to God.

Is this because Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Stephen, and the rest of tem, were either ignorant of what Jesus said, or dismissicve of His words?

No, it's because they understood that the message was that all fatherhood on earth (like all "teacherhood" and "masterhood") is secondary and subordinate, derives from God who is the only ultimate father, master, and teacher.

You and I need to go to Holy Scripture as our reliable guide on this, rather than a merely human interpretation.

The tagline is Ephesians 3:15

>>And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.

Matthew 23:9<<

You interpretation of this passage is incorrect for an obvious reason: The divinely inspired sacred scriptures include the use of the word “father”! GET REAL!