Abba Father

 

 

“Throughout Scripture God uses a number of different images to convey our relationship with Him.  The shepherd/sheep metaphor is often employed, for example; it focuses on our total dependence upon God and our helplessness without Him.  But like God’s striking portrayal of Him as a wooing lover to an unfaithful wife in Hosea, the Father/son imagery God uses (and the degree to which He takes it) it meant to convey something particularly powerful to us” (Alan Cornett, Focus Magazine, Issue 69, p. 23).

 

Jesus and the Father

 

“And He was saying, ‘Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will’” (Mark 14:36). “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety” (Hebrews 5:7).

 

The term “Abba” is the Aramaic for “Father”.  This is the term that belonged to the familiar, daily conversation of little children talking to their father.  It is an Aramaic “nursery word”, the equivalent of “papa” or “daddy”.  It was such an intimate word that the Jews of Jesus’ day hesitated to use it in reference to God. This expression could be translated, “Father, dear Father”.

 

God is our Abba Father

 

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15).

 

“Because you are sons, God has sent for the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6).

 

“When Paul uses the term ‘Abba’, he is using the imagery of the Father/son relationship to help us understand how our relationship with God ought to be.  To drive that point home the word ‘Abba’ shocks us into realizing how far God intends to take that intimacy.  Jesus could cry ‘Abba’ and now we, as God’s children, have that right as well” (Cornett p. 23).  This is the fulfillment of God’s long awaited purpose, “And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me” (2 Corinthians 6:18); “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10).

 

Surprised by the Intimacy

 

I think many of us are prepared to be God’s servant but we are somewhat shocked by the fact that God actually wants us to be His son or daughter.  The term Abba reveals that God is wanting a very intimate relationship with us.  He is not wanting a distant or cold relationship.  He yearns for with us a similar (though not identical) relationship that He has with His only begotten Son. 

 

Romans 8:15 “For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father”

 

The Holy Spirit did not bring a message that simply swapped one form of fear-bringing slavery for another (something to seriously consider for those that are always worrying about their salvation). Being led by the Spirit should not produce in the son of God an attitude or disposition of slavish fear.  Instead, being a child of God should have led us into an attitude of confidenceto approach God and call Him our Father.  We cry, expressing a loud cry that indicates expressing deep emotion (Vincent p. 91).  As a child runs into the arms of their father when he returns home with deep joy and gladness. “The term adoption may smack somewhat of artificiality in our ears; but in the first century A.D. an adopted son was a son deliberately chosen by his adoptive father to perpetuate his name and inherit his estate; he was no whit inferior in status to a son born in the ordinary course of nature”. [1]

 

Galatians 4:6 “And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father”

 

“And because ye are sons”: Christians are actual sons of God (1 John 3:1 “and such we are”).  “God sent forth”: Notice the close parallel with “God sent forth His Son” (4:4). “The Spirit of His Son”: The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is called the "Spirit of His Son", because He was sent in the name of Christ (John 14:26), or sent by Christ Himself (John 15:26). The Holy Spirit would simply reveal the will of Jesus and glorify Jesus in the process (John 16:13-14). The purpose of this verse is to demonstrate that the Holy Spirit had a role in creating this relationship of Sonship and also confirms in some way that we are indeed children of God in Jesus Christ. “Into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba Father’”: The Holy Spirit revealed that mankind can enter a relationship of sonship with the Father. As a person believes this revelation from God and acts upon it, he cries to God as his Father. Therefore, the Spirit produces the cry in his heart through his work of revelation” (pp. 187-188).  “Abba Father”:  “It (Abba) was the usual informal word applied by a child to its father within the home” (Cole p. 117).  “The Jews sometimes prayed in the synagogue to ‘our Father’, using a more formal expression.  But never did they use Abba, a child's word for father used only in the affectionate intimacy of the family circle” (Boles pp. 104-105). This was an "objective" experience that all the Galatians had experienced.  Notice the statement "our hearts".  Each one of them had been convicted of their sins by the Spirit's message and convinced that Jesus was the Son of God, the answer for their sin. The acceptance of such facts had moved them to cry out for deliverance and express gratitude and affection towards the Father who had made all this possible.

 

Practical Applications

 

·        The perfect role model:

 

We may have lacked role models in the past, or even a loving Father, yet in Christ we now have both.

 

·        God will allow us to experience some suffering:

 

Just as a loving parent does not instantly deliver their children from tough situations, so our Father will allow us to undergo certain trials, for such things can help us mature (Hebrews 12:5-10).  We need to view trials as not being evidence of either God’s displeasure or apathy, but rather as evidence of loving discipline.  “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines” (Hebrews 12:5).  “It is all too common to conclude that sufferings are always sent by God as punishment for sin.  It must be remembered that Christ, God’s unique Son, learned through His suffering (2:10), and believers should adopt His mind on this matter” (Kent p. 261). “God deals with you as with sons”: The necessary inference is that good fathers discipline their sons! True love will exercise discipline that hurts.  “Corrections are pledges of our adoption and badges of our sonship” (Wilson p. 164). “What normal lad has not been secretly envious of the boy who never had to give any accounting for his actions to a sometimes stern father?  There comes a time, however, when the wisdom of a disciplined life is clearly apparent, and the folly of an unchastened boyhood becomes tragically obvious” (Kent pp. 262-263).  A lack of chastening is not proof that God really loves us, rather it may indicate that a person is really not a child of God after all.  “He disciplines us for our good” (12:10).  That is, God never makes mistakes, and His methods are always wise.  “There is nothing hit or miss about God’s discipline” (Reese p. 222), and the application is that we should never question God’s love for us.  The term “good” here means, “profit, benefit, advantage”.  “So that we may share His holiness” (12:10).   God allows us to suffer and be persecuted so that we may become “holy”, that is, separated from the world and different from sinners as He is different (1 Peter 1:14-16).  The goal for the Christian is to become more and more like God in the way we think and act (Matthew 5:48; John 13:34-35; Ephesians 4:31-32).  This infers that God wants far more than us simply being in His family or sharing some space in heaven with Him, but He wants us to completely take on the family likeness.  This involves thinking, valuing, acting and feeling just like Jesus and Himself.

 

 

·        He desires our heart:  

 

He equally yearns for our words, just like any parent wants to listen to the heart of their child (1 Peter 5:7).  In failing to pray, not only are we depriving ourselves of a blessing, we are equally depriving God of what would be a blessing to Him.

 

·        He desires our love:

 

It is significant that God is not satisfied with mere obedience or servitude.  Jesus said that the great commandment in the Law was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).  Even as imperfect humans, we can understand God’s perspective on this point.  Relationships void of love are very fulfilling.  A child at home who does not respect nor love their parents is nothing but a renter, and no human being really wants to be in a marriage, unless the other person is deeply in love with them.  Similarly, God is only interested in having children who love Him.

 

·        He desires our gratitude:

 

Our prayers of thanksgiving are very meaningful to God (1 Timothy 2:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

 

·        Our loyalty is very meaningful to Him:

 

When we follow the Bible we are not simply observing some isolated command, rather we are expressing our loyalty to this Father (John 14:15).  Thus, obedience is not a cold formality with God, and it means much more to Him than to us at the moment.  Just like earthly parents feel betrayed when their children abandon their instruction, so God is grieved when we forsake His instruction and opt for the instruction of the irresponsible and unloving father, the devil (John 8:38-44).

 

·        This is personal:

 

That is, He desires a warm, loving, intimate relationship with each and every Christian.  “Abba! Father!’ informs us that this God wants to run up to us and hug us just like a loving earthly father does to his children.  We see in this in the story of the Prodigal Son, “His father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).  Perhaps this is one reason why many do not come to Christ, because they are uncomfortable with such a display of love.  Yet we shall be the losers if we fail to seize the chance to be part of this relationship.

 

Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017

www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com

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