Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Tonight’s Study, Session 20: Abba – God Our Father

Introduction: Though the Old Testament provides many rich names and titles for God, the New Testament reveals Him most fully. Jesus, in fact, shocked and offended the religious leaders of His day by claiming that He had a Father/Son relationship with the God whose name they feared even to pronounce. Furthermore, by inviting His followers to call God “Father,” He made this the primary name by which God is to be known to His followers. Because of Jesus, we can boldly pray the prayer He taught His disciples, “Our Father who art in heaven.”

Key Scripture where the name Father, referring to God, is Matthew 6:6.

Scriptural Context Where the Name Father (Abba) is Found

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore, do not be like them.

For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:5-13)

Understanding the Name

The Hebrew Scriptures normally depict God, not as the Father of individuals but as Father to His people, Israel. Pious Jews, aware of the gap between a holy God and sinful human beings, would have never dared address God as Ab (Hebrew) or Abba, the Aramaic word for “Daddy,” which gradually came to mean “Dear Father.” Jesus shocked many of His contemporaries by referring to God as His Father and by inviting His followers to call God “Abba Father.” Rather than depicting God as a typical Middle Eastern patriarch who wielded considerable power within the family, He depicted Him primarily as a tender and compassionate Father, who extends grace to both the sinner and the self-righteous.

Abba signifies the close, intimate relationship of a father and his child, as well as the childlike trust a young child puts in his or her “daddy.”

The most frequent term for “Father” in the New Testament was the Greek word pater. The first recorded words of Jesus, spoken to His earthly parents, are these: “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49 NIV). In John’s gospel, Jesus calls God His Father 156 times. The expression “Abba, Pater” (AB-ba pa-TAIR) is found three times in the New Testament, all in prayer. Abba is always followed by the word Father in Scripture, and the phrase is found in three passages. Jesus used it in His anguished cry in Gethsemane. And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” (Mark 14:36)

In Romans 8:15*, “Abba Father” is mentioned in relation to the Spirit’s work of adoption that makes us God’s children and heirs with Christ. In Galatians 4:6*, again in the context of adoption, the Spirit in our heart cries out, “Abba Father.” Together the terms Abba and Father doubly emphasize the fatherhood of God. In two different languages, we are assured of God’s care for His children.

*Romans 8;15 – For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

*Galatians 4:6 – And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!

Many claim that all people are “children of God,” but the Bible reveals quite a different truth. We are all His creations and under His authority and Lordship, and all will be judged by Him, but the right to be a child of God and call Him “Abba Father” is something that only born–again Christians have. John 1:12-13 says, But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. When we are born again, we are adopted into the family of God, redeemed from the curse of sin, and made heirs of God. Romans 8:17 says, 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. Part of that new relationship is that God now deals with us differently, as family.

It is life-changing to understand what it means to be able to call the one true God our “Father” and what it means to be joint-heirs with Christ. Because of our relationship with our Abba, Father, He no longer deals with us as enemies; instead, we can approach Him with boldness and in full assurance of faith. “The Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16-17).

Becoming a child of God is the highest and most humbling of honors. Because of it we have a new relationship with God and a new standing before Him. Instead of running from God and trying to hide our sin like Adam and Eve did, we run to Him, calling “Abba, Father!” and finding forgiveness in Christ. Being an adopted child of God is the source of our hope, the security of our future, and the motivation to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (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, in the future, “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:4).

Conclusion: When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He began with the words Our Father. There is much truth in those two words alone. The holy and righteous God, who created and sustains all things, who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present, not only allows us, but encourages us to call Him “Father.” What a privilege is ours. What amazing grace that God would love us so, that Jesus would sacrifice Himself for us, and that the Holy Spirit would indwell us and prompt our intimate cry of “Abba, Father!”

Next Week, Session 21: Light Of The World