One of the biggest impediments to a close personal relationship with our Abba Father is seeing him only as a detached God. He revealed in the Scripture how our relationship with him is personal and intimate. We dived into the three primary Hebrew names of our Abba Father in detail because he connected himself to his names as a means for us to relate to him.
Scripture reveals two close, familial relationships with our Abba Father for us to enter into. The first is the “child of God” relationship. Romans 8:15-17, “For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him.”
Believers are adopted children of our Abba Father. Being his child is fantastic, but it is only half the relationship. As children of human parents, we have a reference point for being someone’s child. But we are called to leave those parents and go our way which is not the case with our Abba Father. We miss his majesty, glory, and joy if we do not see him correctly in his majesty and intimate relationship with us. Please note the phrase above, “that we may also be glorified together” (as children of our Abba Father). Please pray on that.
God is our Abba Father. Abba is a very special ancient word that is not only the most intimate word for father there is, but it also connotes obedience to him when we use it. A common belief is that “abba” means daddy because of its intimate personal nature, but that leaves behind the obedient nature of the word, so I am not a fan of the daddy view. It is not enough of a description. Obedience is the key to relating to our Abba Father.
When we are stuck in ELB, we only see “God up there” and “us down here.” Hopefully, we know he calls us to pray and worship him, so we broadcast our messages and requests into space, much like a radio station sends words into space as electromagnetic waves. Then we go back to what we were doing.
To indeed have a relationship with our Abba Father, we must see him not just as God but as our Abba Father AND bring to life the feeling of obedience to him that it includes, even as adults. We are his children, and we must live in that identity with our earthly family. Our Abba Father is the true patriarch we obey and never leave for eternity. To have that relationship, we must first envision that relationship.
Jesus teaches us to pray to the Father, Mathew 6:8-9, “Be not, therefore, like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name . . .” That prayer is called the “Lord’s Prayer,” but it is “our prayer.” Jesus presented it as how we are to pray to the Father, so I call it the “our Father prayer” as a reminder of our relationship with him.
Ask yourself, is God a hat our Abba Father wears, or is Abba Father a hat our God wears? The progression of Scripture from beginning to end clearly shows that God is a hat our Abba Father wears. God IS our Abba Father. Let’s look at how Jesus uses Abba, Mark 14:34-36, “And he saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death: abide ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass away from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; remove this cup from me: howbeit not what I will, but what thou wilt.”
Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, not wanting to be sacrificed but still expressing his obedience to his Father when he uses Abba, “not what I will, but what You will.” Returning to Paul in Romans 8, the context of his letter to the Romans is that it is in obedience while in the midst of suffering that he teaches us to cry out, Abba Father.
Let’s look at another child on his way to being sacrificed, Isaac. Abraham is “Abba” obedient to God, and Isaac is “abba” obedient to his father, Abraham. Isaac is suspicious at first (dad, where’s the lamb?) but went through being tied and placed on the altar without a recorded word. Our Abba Father’s call for our obedience to him and to follow his commands is to be ready to walk into death because he holds our eternal life within his hands. Please pray on that.
Romans 8:17 from above, “and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him.” Let’s practice imprinting that on our hearts. Our Abba Father is not an accessory to this life; we are an accessory to his life, created to glorify him. I implore all readers to lift this life up to our Abba Father. The second familial relationship our Abba Father gives us is the bride and groom relationship in which Jesus, our Abba Father’s only begotten son, is portrayed as the Groom with the church of believers as the bride (us) as described in the following message.
