I
want to specially welcome you to this special edition of today’s topic which
centers on the word “Abba Father”. In our previous post, we discussed these
topics: Christian and religious matters
Today’s
Discussion Question: "What does it mean that God is our Abba Father?"
Answer: In Scripture
there are many different names used to describe God. While all the names of God
are important in many ways, the name “Abba Father” is one of the most
significant names of God in understanding how He relates to people. The word
Abba is an Aramaic word that would most closely be translated as “Daddy.” It
was a common term that young children would use to address their fathers. It
signifies the close, intimate relationship of a father to his child, as well as
the childlike trust that a young child puts in his “daddy.”
While
most people, at least those who do not irrationally deny the existence of God,
would claim that all are “children of God,” the Bible reveals quite a different
truth. We are all His creations and under His authority and Lordship and will
all be judged by Him, but being a child of God and having the right to truly
call Him “Abba Father” is something that only born-again Christians are able to
do (John 1:12-13).
Understanding
that not all people are children of God and that becoming a child of God only
happens when you are adopted by God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians
3:26) is important for understanding how and why God deals with people
differently. If we are born again (John 1:12, 3:1-8), we have been adopted into
the family of God, redeemed from the curse of sin and are “joint-heirs with
Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:17; also Galatians 4:7). Part of that new relationship
is that God now deals with us differently, which includes His chastisement when
we sin (Hebrews 12:3-11). Because of that new relationship, Christians may sin,
but they cannot be comfortable or content living a life of habitual, ongoing
sin. If people are living a life enslaved to sin and are comfortable in that
sin and without the chastisement of God upon them, then we know they are
“illegitimate and not sons” (Hebrews 12:8). In other words, they are
unbelievers.
The
misguided but popular concept that all people are children of God and can
truthfully call Him “Abba Father” is simply not true. Just as children do not
choose to be adopted or choose who will adopt them, neither do Christians
choose to become children of God. Instead, God chooses them. He predestines
them “to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good
pleasure of His will” (Ephesians 1:5), having been chosen by God from “before
the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).
It
is life-changing to understand the full force of what it means to be able to
call the one true God our “Daddy” and what it means to be joint-heirs with
Christ. Because of our relationship with God, we know He no longer deals with
us as enemies; instead, we can approach a holy God as our heavenly Father with
“boldness” (Hebrews 11:19) and “full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 11:22). We
have that confidence because of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who
“bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children,
then heirs—heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with
Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17).
The
benefits of being adopted children of God are many. Becoming a child of God is
the highest privilege and honor that can be imagined. Because of it we have a
new relationship with God and a new standing before Him. He deals with His
children differently than He deals with the rest of the world. Being a child of
God, adopted “through faith in Christ Jesus” is the source for our hope, the
security of our future and the motivation to “walk worthy of the calling with
which you were called” (Ephesians 4:1). Being children of the King of Kings and
Lord of Lords calls us to a higher standard, a different way of life and a
greater hope.
As
we come to understand the true nature of God as revealed in the Bible we should
be amazed that He not only allows us, but even encourages us, to call Him “Abba
Father.” It is amazing that a holy and righteous God, who created and sustains
all things, who is the only all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God, would
allow sinful humans to call Him “Daddy.” As we come to understand who God
really is and how sinful we are, the privilege of being able to call Him “Abba
Father” will take on a whole new meaning for us and help us understand God’s
amazing grace.
Recommended
Resources: Knowing God by J.I. Packer and Logos Bible Software.
While
he is not the author of every article on GotQuestions.org, for citation
purposes, you may reference our CEO, S. Michael Houdmann.
Philip
Ryken on the misuse of “Abba”
It
isn’t quite right to say that the Aramaic “abba” means “daddy.” In other words,
to call the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob “daddy” at the outset of our
prayers is a bit too casual and irreverent. Philip Ryken explains:
“To call God
‘Abba, Father’ is to speak to him with reverence as well as confidence. Abba
does not mean ‘Daddy.’ To prove this point, the Oxford linguist James Barr
wrote an article for the Journal of Theological Studies called ‘Abba isn’t
“Daddy”.’ What Barr discovered was that abba was not merely a word used by
young children. It was also the word that Jewish children used for their
parents after they were fully grown. Abba was a mature, yet affectionate way
for adults to speak to their fathers…
…The New
Testament is careful not to be too casual in the way it addresses God. The
Aramaic word abba appears three times in the New Testament (Mark 14:36; Rom.
8:15; Gal. 4:6). In each case it is followed immediately by the Greek word
pater. Pater is not the Greek word for ‘Daddy.’ The Greek language has a word
for ‘Daddy’ – the word pappas – but that is not the word the New Testament uses
to translate abba. Instead, in order to make sure that our intimacy with God
does not become an excuse for immaturity, it says, ‘abba, pater’…
…The best way to
translate abba is “Dear Father,” or even “Dearest Father.” That phrase captures
both the warm confidence and the deep reverence that we have for our Father in
heaven. It expresses our intimacy with God, while preserving his dignity. When
we pray, therefore, we are to say, ‘Our dear Father in heaven.’”
-
Philip Ryken, When You Pray, p. 57-58.
Biblical
Article Source: http://www.gotquestions.org/Abba-Father.html