“OUR FATHER”

15 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

Can we actually call God, “Father?”

The word “Abba” is an Aramaic word that means “Father.” In our language, it is equivalent to “Daddy.” It signifies intimacy, affection, confidence, and trust. The Bible tells us that since we put our faith in Jesus, we have the right to be called children of God (John 1:12). Now that’s a big deal because before believing Christ, we were considered enemies of God (Romans 5:10). Our relationship with God has since moved from enmity to paternity.

In this part of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explains that believers no longer have an obligation to give in to their fleshly desires. As unbelievers, we were controlled by our sinful nature (Ephesians 2:1-3). One of the effects of sin is fear, i.e., fear of death and eternal punishment. But when we placed our saving faith in Jesus Christ, we received the Spirit of adoption (or sonship), specifically into the family of God. We are adopted into God’s family as sons and daughters, not as slaves. In NT times, adoptive sons received the same privileges as biological sons.

Our relationship with God through Christ also made us co-heirs with the Messiah. We are recipients of God’s spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3) now, and will share with the Lord Jesus in all the riches of God’s Kingdom in the future (1 Corinthians 3:21-23).

So, we Christians, instead of cringing in fear like a slave, can now intimately approach God and call Him “Abba Father.” We can cultivate a personal relationship with God because we are His spiritual children. We come into the very presence of God without worry because He looks at us as children and not as slaves (Hebrews 4:16).

God is a loving Father who withholds no good things from His children (Psalm 84:11). The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives enables us to do good things that are pleasing to the eyes of the Father. We may not have all the riches of the world, but we don’t have to be depressed about that. Why? Because we have all the spiritual riches in Christ Jesus.

Undoubtedly, God gave us beautiful things in this life and the life to come. Our earthly fathers are far from being perfect—they can and will disappoint us. But we have a Father who art in heaven who is perfect in every sense. He is the all-powerful God who made the heavens and the earth and yet He lets us call Him, “Father.”

Pursue the Saviour today!