Abba (not the 70's Swedish pop band)

 

Sorry, this isn’t about the 70’s Swedish pop band, it’s about something even better. 

“Abba” is an Aramaic (an ancient near east language) word meaning something like “father” and it appears 3 times in the New Testament. 

There is some debate about it’s exact meaning with some scholars saying it’s a childlike term such as “daddy” or “papa”. Other scholars insist it is not necessarily a childish term but concede that it is a term of endearment between a father and his child.  In either case, it is a profound way to address God Almighty. 

Paul the Apostle uses it twice in his epistles (see footnote about sons and daughters*): 

“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!””  Galatians 4:6

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”” Romans 8:15

Creator: kieferpix

In his commentary, Tim Keller asks an excellent question, then answers it: 

“Why would Paul use an Aramaic idiomatic phrase in a letter to Greek-speaking Galatians (or Romans) who didn’t know Aramaic…?  Because Jesus Christ used it in talking to His Father (Mark 14:36).”

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before his crucifixion, Jesus asked his Father if there was any other way to redeem humanity:

“And he said, “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

Can you imagine that those of us who believe the gospel and trust Jesus to redeem us, can actually refer to Jesus’ Father in the same manner that he does?  Keller continues:

“It was a daringly familiar term to use to address the LORD Almighty. So when Paul says that we should use it, he is vividly asserting that we have legally inherited the rights of Jesus Himself… all that is his is ours.”

Although sin (through free will) has shattered our world, we can still know that the Father, Creator of the cosmos, loves us as He loves His own divine Son (John 17:23) and we share in his inheritance. 

Sometimes things are too good *not* to be true. 

*Some newer translations render “sons” as “children” but Keller points out: 

“If we are too quick to correct the biblical language, we miss the revolutionary… nature of what Paul is saying. In most ancient cultures, daughters could not inherent property. Therefore, “son” meant “legal heir”... but the gospel tells us we are *all* sons of God in Christ. We are all (both men and women) heirs.”  

This would have flown in the face of the Greco-Roman patriarchal society of the time.