Calling God Father

[Evangelical]

Sinclair Ferguson said this:
You cannot open the pages of the New Testament without realizing that one of the things that makes it so 'new,' in every way, is that here men and women call God 'Father.' This conviction, that we can speak of the Master of the universe in such intimate terms, lies at the heart of the Christian faith. ~ Sinclair Ferguson

A teaching that says that people only called God Father in the new testament is a wrong concept and means Ferguson is not that good as a theologian. Intimacy with God is throughout the Old Testament. In fact, love was characteristic of God's relationship with Israel (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).

The following websites confirm that God was called Father in the Old Testament:
Calling God as “Our Father”, is not a new idea only seen in the New Testament. It is a recurring depiction of the close relationship between the Creator and His people, commonly seen in the Old Testament. Yeshua and the New Testament writers did not invent this idea. Rather they built upon the thought of having such a loving Creator, who was willing to call His creation “His Children”. Our Heavenly Father has, and will not change. He has always seen the ones who love Him as Children, and His people have also understood their Creator to be a loving Father from ancient times. I hope you are empowered with Scripture, to show the truth to people who say, that God has changed and that He came into a “Father – Son” relationship only in the New Testament.

https://biblethingsinbibleways.wordp...old-testament/
From :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_the_Father#Judaism

The Jewish concept of God is that God is non-corporeal, transcendent and immanent, the ultimate source of love,[25][26][27][28] and a metaphorical "Father".[2] The Torah declares: "God is not a man (איש : ['iysh]) that He should lie, nor is He a mortal (בן–אדם : [ben-'adam]) that He should relent". (Book of Numbers 23:19 Hebrew: לא אישׁ אל ויכזב ובן־אדם ויתנחם ההוא אמר ולא יעשׂה ודבר ולא יקימנה‎‎)[71][72][73]

The Aramaic term for father (Hebrew: אבא ‎‎, abba) appears in traditional Jewish liturgy and Jewish prayers to God (e.g. in the Kaddish).
According to Ariela Pelaia, in a prayer of Rosh Hashanah, Areshet Sfateinu, an ambivalent attitude toward God is demonstrated, due to His role as a Father and as a King. Free translation of the relevant sentence may be: "today every creature is judged, either as sons or as slaves. If as sons, forgive us like a father forgives his son. If as slaves, we wait, hoping for good, until the verdict, your holy majesty." Another famous prayer emphasizing this dichotomy is called Avinu Malkeinu, which means “Our Father Our King” in Hebrew. Usually the entire congregation will sing the last verse of this prayer in unison, which says: "Our Father, our King, answer us as though we have no deed to plead our cause, save us with mercy and loving-kindness."[74]

While some may cherish the thought of being able to call God Father, few will teach, like Witness Lee, that the indwelling resurrected Christ is the greatest difference between the old and the new testament.