Twin City church of Christ Blog
“Jan 15, 2024 - Abba! Father!”
Categories: 2024 Reading Devotionals
Abba! Father!
Reading: Galatians 4:1-7
Imagine a child in a wealthy family. He is, at the same time, the “owner of everything” and ill-equipped to handle his own business. Many such families would put him under a guardian (or governor or tutor) until he came of age. Paul says that this is the state of those Jews who lived under the law—simultaneously wealthy and enslaved (Gal 4:1). When Jesus comes, all that changes. “In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons”(Gal 4:3-5). The slavery has ended, there is no longer a need for the law, and we can be recognized as sons!
Paul makes clear that God has signaled this end by sending: first his Son (Gal 4:4), then his Spirit (Gal 4:6). “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”(Gal 4:6). The Galatians’ manifestation of the Spirit was obvious (see Gal 3:5), while ours is not so clear. We have the assurance that the Spirit indwells us (“into our hearts,” Gal 4:6), but no details on precisely how that works. Instead, we follow the Spirit and watch as he bears his fruit in our lives (Gal 5:16, 22-23). God has given us a part of himself so that we may know that we are his children! Why would we turn our backs on this great gift and revert to the guardian?
“Abba, Father” speaks to a remarkable familiarity. Where “father” is a description, “abba” is something like “papa” or “daddy.” There is no evidence that this term was ever used in standard Judaism at this time to refer to God, probably because it seemed disrespectful. Yet Jesus spoke of his Father this way (Mark 14:36) and God invites us to know him as our Dad—with all the closeness, emotion, and respect that implies.
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One Thing to Think About: Why does God tend to use humble means to accomplish his will (Gal 4:4)?
One Thing to Pray For: A sense of closeness to God as my Father
