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Text Sermons : Greek Word Studies : Abba (Aramaic for "father") (3962) abba

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Abba (0005 - click to listen to pronunciation accentuating second syllable) (Abba) is transliterated as Abba into English from the corresponding Aramaic word which was used in the everyday language of families as a term addressing one's father. Children, as well as adult sons and daughters, used Abba when speaking to their fathers. And so Abba conveys a warm, intimate sense just as with our expression "Dear father." Abba emphasizes the warm, intimate and very personal relationship which exists between the believer and God. In Abba filial tenderness, trust and love find their combined expression.

William Barclay...

There is a world of loveliness in this word Abba, which to our western ears is altogether hidden, unless we know the facts about it. Joachim Jeremias, in his book The Parables of Jesus, writes thus: "Jesus' use of the word Abba in addressing God is unparalleled in the whole of Jewish literature. The explanation of this fact is to be found in the statement of the fathers Chrysostom, Theodore, and Theodoret that Abba, (as jaba is still used today in Arabic) was the word used by a young child to its father; it was an everyday family word, which no one had ventured to use in addressing God. Jesus did. He spoke to His heavenly Father in as childlike, trustful, and intimate a way as a little child to its father." We know how our children speak to us and what they call us who are fathers. That is the way in which Jesus spoke to God. Even when he did not fully understand, even when his one conviction was that God was urging him to a cross, he called Abba, as might a little child. Here indeed is trust, a trust which we must also have in that God whom Jesus taught us to know as Father.

Swindoll explains that...

The Aramaic abba stems from what might be called “baby talk.” According to the Jewish Talmud, when a child is weaned, “it learns to say abba [daddy] and imma [mommy]” (Berakoth 40a; Sanhedrin 70b). In time, the meaning of the word was broadened so that it was no longer a form of address used by little children, but was used by adult sons and daughters as well. The childish character of the word diminished and abba acquired the warm, familiar ring which we may feel in such an expression as “dear father.”

Nowhere in the Old Testament do we find the term abba used in addressing God. The pious Jews sensed too great a gap between themselves and God to use such a familiar expression. Rabbinic Judaism has an interesting example of abba being used with reference to God. The Talmud records, “When the world had need of rain, our teachers used to send the schoolchildren to Rabbi Hanan ha Nehba [first century B.C.], and they would seize the hem of his cloak and call out to him: ‘Dear father [abba], dear father [abba], give us rain.’ He said before God: ‘Sovereign of the world, do it for the sake of these who cannot distinguish between an abba who can give rain and an abba who can give no rain” (Taanith 23b). Note that the rabbi used the respectful invocation, “Sovereign of the world,” rather than the term abba, in addressing God.

Jesus used abba when addressing God the Father in His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. “ ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will’ ” (Mark 14:36). In using this expression Jesus spoke as a child would speak to its father. This reflects something of the intimacy and trust that characterized His relationship with God.

As the Holy Spirit testifies that believers are God’s children (Rom. 8:16), they are invited to cry “abba, Father” (Ro 8:15; Gal. 4:6). Believers can address God in this way because of their relationship with God through faith. What an encouragement to know that we can pray to the Father with the same sense of warmth and intimacy in our relationship with God that Jesus enjoyed.

My children know how to ask for favors in such a way that they get a positive response. They know that demanding and nagging don’t work. They have learned that I respond best to sweetness, love, and respect. My daughter might say, “Daddy dear, there is a terrific dress on sale at Nordstrom’s. Would you split the cost with me?” How can I say anything but yes to that kind of an appeal? God made dads for this very purpose and there is joy in fulfilling our destiny!

As I delight to respond to my children and meet their needs, so God the Father delights to answer those who address Him as abba, “Dear Father.” He has both the resources and the resolve to answer our prayers and meet our needs. (Understanding Christian Theology- Charles R. Swindoll, Roy B. Zuck)

Abba is a family word which indicates a close, personal, intimate relationship with God as one's Father. This "family term" was used by Jesus in His prayer in Gethsemane (Mk 14:36). Abba is used two other times in the NT (Ro 8:15, Gal 4:6), one of the Spirit crying out and the other of believers crying out "Abba" to God because the Spirit of God has made it clear that they are God's children.

Spurgeon

Oh, blessed, blessed state of heart to feel that now we are born into the family of God, and that the choice word which no slave might ever pronounce may now be pronounced by us, “Abba”! It is a child’s word, such as a little child utters when first he opens his mouth to speak, and it rune the same both backwards and forwards,-AB-BA. Oh to have a childlike spirit that, in whatever state of heart I am, I may still be able to say, in the accents even of spiritual infancy, “Abba, Father”!

Jews of Old Testament times never used Abba to address God, but as discussed more below, Jesus used Abba when praying to His Father (Mark 14:36). In so doing, Jesus the Mediator of a New Covenant (Heb 9:15, cf Heb 8:6, Heb 12:24) was foreshadowing the new way of approach and address to the One Whom "No man has seen...at any time." (Jn 1:18, cf Jn 6:46, Ex 33:20). The apostle Paul applied this great truth to all who have entered the New Covenant through faith in Christ, resulting in God adopting them as His sons and making them joint heirs with Christ of His heavenly inheritance (Ro 8:15-17; Gal 4:5-6)

The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters comments that...

The original meaning of Abba and the original usage of the phrase “Abba, Father” in addressing God have long been discussed among NT scholars. The majority view (following J. Jeremias) considers Abba an Aramaic word (abba) used by small children in addressing their fathers.

Abba expresses the intimacy of the family relationship as one would expect from a unhesitating trust and dependence from a child who is wholly secure in the loving arms of their father, thus prompting a crying out of "Dearest Father." Hughes agrees noting that "Abba meant something like Daddy—but with a more reverent touch than when we use it. The best rendering is “Dearest Father.”"

James Alexander

"Abba." It is the word of the babe, when first in that dialect he knows the filial language, and reads the father's soul in his eyes; the simplest articulation of language; the most trustful outburst of affection—"Abba, Father."....When trials grow heavier and more frequent, remember Him, who under the greatest and heaviest trial, still looked up, and said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto you—take away this cup from me; nevertheless not as I will—but as You will!" (CONSOLATION)

Although the New Testament is recorded in Koine (common) Greek (which was the common language of the Roman Empire and would reach the largest audience), most scholars feel that Jesus actually spoke in Aramaic in everyday conversation and so it follows that whenever He spoke the words Father (Greek, Pater), Jesus was actually addressing His Father with the endearing term Abba.

Come to Our Poor Nature’s Night
In us “Abba, Father!” cry,
Earnest of the bliss on high,
Seal of immortality,
Comforter Divine.
--George Rawson

Adam Clarke (commenting on Mk 14:36) writes...

This Syriac word, which intimates filial affection and respect, and parental tenderness, seems to have been used by our blessed Lord merely considered as man, to show his complete submission to his Father’s will, and the tender affection which he was conscious his Father had for him,

In the Babylonian Talmud (Barnes says the Babylonian Gemara), slaves in a Jewish household were forbidden from using the term Abba in addressing the head of the family. What a beautiful picture then that saved sinners can now address the thrice Holy God as "Abba!" In another writing in the Babylonian Talmud Abba was combined with the word "rav" (master) to coin the term "rabba" a term of respect for revered Torah sage.

In Gal 4:6 and Romans 8:15-16, Abba, is used to describe the cry of the newly adopted child of God. By way of tone of expression, it is associated with “crying,” krazo, being onomatopoeic, sounding like a screeching bird, or the children “shouting in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’” (Matt. 21:15).” In the human realm, one of the first expressions of recognition by a young child is “papa” and “mama.” In an analogous way the new born believer is impelled to cry out Abba! Father!" in assurance that they now are sons and daughters who possess an intimate, unbreakable relationship and oneness with the Father not known in the Old Testament, but now made real and personal through Jesus and the New Covenant in His blood.

Martin Luther

The apostle places a Hebrew word in apposition with a Greek word; he says Abba, Pater (Father). In the Hebrew, Abba means "father"; hence the prelates in certain cloisters are called "abbots." In former times the holy hermits gave their chiefs the name Abba, Father. These terms were introduced also into the Latin and German. Abba, Pater is equivalent to "Father, Father." In full German, Mein Vater, Mein Vater; or Lieber Vater, Lieber Vater--My Father, My Father, or Dear Father, Dear Father.

Dictionary Articles on "Abba"

Abba is used only 3 times in Scriptures (Mark 14:36, Ro 8:15, Gal 4:6 - see below) and each use is the identical phrase "Abba! Father!" which in Greek is "abba ho pater", literally "Abba, the Father. The phrase "the Father" serves to "translate" the Aramaic word "Abba" to any Greek reader who might not understand the Aramaic word. It is notable that all three NT uses of Abba are in the context of crying out to the Father in prayer. Abba is an intimate term which supports the truth that those who are impelled to use it in addressing God enjoy a close relationship with Him. Jesus Christ used Abba as a consequence of His natural sonship of God, whereas we as believers use it as a result of our adopted sonship of God.

John D Grassmick writes that...

Significantly, almost nowhere in Jewish devotional literature is this familiar word used to address God out of intense respect for His sovereign majesty (Sir. 51:10 is an exceptional use). In an entirely new departure, Jesus used this intimate term to address God in prayer thereby expressing His Own unique relationship to God as Father. The early Christians carried on the use of "Abba" in prayer as indicated in Gal 4:6 and in Ro 8:15, thereby giving expression to their own "adoption as sons of God" through Christ and their possession of the Spirit. As those "in Christ" believers experience a truly intimate relationship with God as Father. So, even today, Christians often begin their prayers with the words "Dear heavenly Father...." (Darrell Bock, editor. Bible Knowledge Word Study - Acts through Ephesians. Page 179. 2006)
John MacArthur writes....

Abba is an informal Aramaic term for Father, connoting intimacy, tenderness, dependence, and complete lack of fear or anxiety. Modern English equivalents would be Daddy, or Papa. When Jesus was agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane as He was about to take upon Himself the sins of the world, He used that name of endearment, praying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). (Romans)

A Scriptural Description of Abba...

In 2Cor 6:18 Paul quotes God Who promises "I will be a Father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to Me," says the Lord Almighty (all powerful and able to fulfill what He promises - Do you believe that beloved?) And in another place Paul explains that God "predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will" (Eph 1:5), and fulfilled our "destiny" by sending "forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, that He might redeem those who were under (subject to, totally under the power, authority and control of) the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" (Gal 4:4-5) which occurred when we "received Him (Jesus and God gave us) the right (and authority) to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name (Jesus)" (Jn 1:12). Now because we are God's sons and daughters, we have not received "a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but (we) have received a spirit of adoption by which we cry out "Abba! Father!" "for through Him (Jesus) we have our access into one Spirit to the Father." (Eph 2:18) Again Paul writes that "because (we) are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts (Ro 5:5, Ro 8:9) crying, "Abba! Father!" (Gal 4:6)

Barnhouse: (God) has come to us in Jesus Christ, and to those who receive Him, He gives the authority to become His sons, even to as many as believe on His name (John 1:12). This is the new birth. He then puts within their hearts the Holy Spirit of adoption, of placement as sons. It is this public acknowledgment before the universe that makes it possible for the believer to come in spirit and in truth, to look up into His face without fear, and to call Him, “Abba, Father.” (God’s Heirs: Romans 8:1–39)

Spurgeon: This work (of regeneration, Jn 3:7) is wonderful because of the grandeur of the relationship into which it introduces us. The child that is born has a father from the very fact of its birth, and we that are born from above cry “Abba, Father,” from the very fact that we are regenerated. Adoption gives us the rights of children, but regeneration alone gives us the nature of children. Because we are sons God sends forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, whereby we cry “Abba, Father.” (Ro 8:15) If I have been born again, no matter what my station in life or position in society, then God is my Father, and it follows that Jesus Christ is my Brother; and this not merely in form and in name, as men call each other brethren when there is no actual relationship, but there is a real relationship between us and Christ Jesus and the divine Father, for we are made “partakers of the divine nature.” (2Pe 1:4) We are the sons of God (1Jn 3:1), and if sons of God, then are we brethren of Christ. It must be so, and it follows from this that, if children, then heirs, and if Christ is the heir, we are joint-heirs with Him (Ro 8:17). My brethren, what privileges spring out of the relationship which arises from the new birth, for our Father then pledges Himself for our support, for our comfort, for our education, for all that is necessary for our perfection in the day of the home-bringing when we shall see Him face to face. What can happen to a man so great as to be born again? Suppose some of the poorest of the earth who have swept the streets for a paltry pittance should suddenly be elevated by royal favour to the peerage, or imagine that by some revolution of the wheel of providence they should become emperors and kings themselves; yet what of that? The change would be extraordinary, and men would wonder at it; for the passages in history which have been thought most noteworthy have been those wherein paupers have mounted from the dunghill to the throne, and fishermen have cast aside their rough garments to put on the imperial purple. But these strides from nothingness to greatness are inconsiderable and trifling compared with rising from being a slave of Satan to become a son of God. To be elevated by God Himself from the darkness and degradation and bondage under which we are brought by the fall and by actual sin to the liberty, to the glory, to the eternal blessedness of the children of God—this surpasses all conception. This can only be ours through our being born again. Our first birth makes us sons of Adam, our second birth makes us sons of God. Born of the flesh, we inherit corruption; we must be born of the Spirit to inherit incorruption. We come into this world heirs of sorrow because we are sons of the fallen man: our new life comes into the new world an heir of glory, because it is descended from the second man, the Lord from heaven. Thus I have spoken upon the wonderful character of this work, as well as upon the thoroughness of it. (EVERY MAN'S NECESSITY)

While there is only one Son of God Who is "the radiance of His (God') glory and the exact representation of His nature" (Heb 1:3), by grace through faith many sinners become sons through the process of "divine adoption" (Jn 1:12, 1Jn 3:1-2). Indeed, though we all "were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds" (Col 1:21) divine...

adoption makes possible a remarkably intimate relationship with God in which we can now address Him as "Abba," the Aramaic word of endearment for "Father." While all men are the creation of God, only the regenerate are His sons by adoption. This sonship is so personal and intimate that the believer may feel perfect confidence in addressing God as "Abba." (W A Criswell. Believer's Study Bible)
Kent Hughes writes that...

Jesus transformed the relationship with God from a distant, corporate experience into an intimate, one-to-one bond, and He taught His disciples to pray with the same intimacy. And that is what He does for us. The way we are to pray is "Our Father"—"Our Abba"—"Our Dearest Father." This is to be the foundational awareness of all of our prayer. We must honestly ask ourselves if this awareness pervades our prayer life. And then we must go further and ask ourselves if the sense of God's intimate Fatherhood is profound and growing. The impulse to address God as "Abba" (Dearest Father) is not only an indication of our spiritual health, but is a mark of the authenticity of our faith. (Abba, Father: The Lord's Pattern for Prayer)

The idea that God is our Father, our Abba, is not only a sign of our spiritual health and of the authenticity of our faith, it is one of the most healing doctrines in all of Scripture. Some grew up only with a mother and no father. Others grew up in conventional homes where the relationship with the father was negative at best. But whatever our background, we need the touch of a father, and our God wants to provide that. Some of us need to bow before God and simply say, "Dearest Father, Abba" and so find the wholeness and healing that he wants to give us....The problem among some evangelical Christians today is the opposite - they have sentimentalized God's fatherhood so much that they have little concept of His holiness. Many Christians are flippantly sentimental about God, as if He is a celestial teddy bear. Such flip familiarity outwardly suggests super-intimacy with God but actually hides a defective knowledge of God. (Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom. Crossway Books) (Emphasis mine)
Comment: I can personally affirm the truth of Hughes' comments. My biologic father deserted my mother before I was one year old and my step father created a home environment wherein I was in constant fear of doing wrong, so that I "walked on eggs" continually in fear of not being good enough to be accepted by him (which I like so many children today never experienced). It was not until age 39, when I was born again, that I realized it was not an issue of my worthiness, but of Christ's perfect inestimable worth. And while I still wrestle with my heavenly Father's acceptance of me, especially after I have sinned and confessed my sins, I am learning more and more to live like a child who is assured of an (undeserved) intimacy that nestles me near the heart of my Father and enables me to cry "Abba! Father!" Indeed, the Word of God declares that the antithesis of the bondage of fear is God's gracious gift of a spirit of adoption whereby we can draw close to the heart of God and confidently cry "Abba! Father!"

Abba, Father! We Approach Thee
“Abba, Father!” We approach Thee
In our Savior’s precious Name;
We, Thy children, here assembled,
Now Thy promised blessing claim;
From our sins His blood hath washed us,
’Tis through Him our souls draw nigh,
And Thy Spirit, too, hath taught us,
“Abba, Father,” thus to cry.
--James G Deck

Harold Hoehner also cautions us to have a reverential attitude when calling God "Abba", noting that while all...

Believers may address God with the endearing term (Abba) because He is "our Father," yet (we) should never use this term in the spirit of unsavory familiarity but with the full acknowledgement of His majesty. (Darrell Bock, editor. Bible Knowledge Word Study - Acts through Ephesians. Page 179. 2006)

Warren Wiersbe commenting on Ps 76:7 asks...

What is this fear Asaph mentions? It's the fear of the Lord, that reverent respect and awe that we show to Him because of His greatness and power. We are God's children, and the Holy Spirit in our hearts says, "Abba, Father." We can pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven." We can draw close to God, and He will draw close to us. But remember that God is God and we are human beings. He is in heaven, and we are on earth. He is eternal, and someday we will be with Him in heaven. Meanwhile, our earthly existence is temporal. (Prayer, Praises and Promises)

Lee Strobel records an interview with NT expert Dr. Ben Witherington in which he discusses the apologetic (defense of the faith) value of Jesus' use of "Abba, Father"...
(Strobel asks) Jesus used the term "Abba" when he was relating to God. "What does that tell us about what He thought about Himself?" I asked.

'Abba' connotes intimacy in a relationship between a child and his father," Witherington explained. "Interestingly, it's also the term disciples used for a beloved teacher in early Judaism. But Jesus used it of God-and as far as I can tell, He and His followers were the only ones praying to God that way."

When I asked Witherington to expand on the importance of this, he said, "In the context in which Jesus operated, it was customary for Jews to work around having to say the name of God. His name was the most holy word you could speak, and they even feared mispronouncing it. If they were going to address God, they might say something like, 'The Holy One, blessed be He,' but they were not going to use His personal name."

"And 'Abba' is a personal term," I said.

"Very personal," he replied. "It's the term of endearment in which a child would say to a parent, 'Father Dearest, what would you have me do?'"

However, I spotted an apparent inconsistency. "Wait a second," I interjected. "Praying 'Abba' must not imply that Jesus thinks He's God, because He taught His disciples to use the same term in their own prayers, and they're not God."

"Actually," came Witherington's reply, "the significance of 'Abba' is that Jesus is the initiator of an intimate relationship that was previously unavailable. The question is, What kind of person can change the terms of relating to God? What kind of person can initiate a new covenantal relationship with God?"

His distinction made sense to me. "So how significant do you consider Jesus' use of 'Abba' to be?" I asked.

"Quite significant," he answered. "It implies that Jesus had a degree of intimacy with God that is unlike anything in the Judaism of his day. And listen, here's the kicker: Jesus is saying that only through having a relationship with Him does this kind of prayer language - this kind of 'Abba' relationship with God-become possible. That says volumes about how He regarded Himself." (The Case for Christ- A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus- Lee Strobel)

C H Spurgeon

I have all in all to all eternity, when I can call God my Father. "Father!" He that can lisp that word upon his knees has uttered more eloquence than Demosthenes or Cicero ever knew! Abba, Father! He that can say that, has uttered better music than cherubim or seraphim can reach! Abba, Father! There is heaven in the depth of that word! "Father!" There is all that I need! All that I can ask! All that my necessities can demand! All that my wishes can contrive! "Father!" (Even So Father)

I have that which cherubim before the throne have never gained; I have relationship with God of the nearest and the dearest kind, and my spirit for her music hath this word, ‘Abba, Father; Abba, Father.’” Spurgeon

That flower of glory consists perhaps, too, in eloquence. “Eloquence,” say you, “how can that be?” I said the glory of the old nature might be eloquence, so with the new, but this is the eloquence — “Abba Father.” This is an eloquence you can use now. It is one which when you cannot speak a word which might move an audience, shall still remain upon your tongue to move the courts of heaven. You shall be able to say, “Abba Father,” in the very pangs of death, and waking from your beds of dust and silent clay, more eloquent still you shall cry, “Hallelujah,” you shall join the eternal chorus, swell the divine symphony of cherubim and seraphim, and through eternity your glory shall never part awry. And then, if wisdom be glory, your wisdom, the wisdom which you inherit in the new nature, which is none other than Christ’s who is made of God unto us, wisdom shall never fade, in fact it shall grow, for there you shall know even as you are known. While here you see through a glass darkly, there you shall see face to face. You sip the brook to-day, you shall bathe in the ocean tomorrow; you see afar off now, you shall lie in the arms of wisdom by-and-bye; for the glory of the Spirit never dies, but throughout eternity expanding, enlarging, blazing, gloryfying itself through God, it shall go on never, never to fail. Brethren, whatever it may be which you are expecting as the glory of your new nature, you have not yet an idea of what it will be. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” But though he hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, yet, I fear we have not fully learned them. However, we will say of this glory, whatever it may be, it is incorruptible, undefiled, and it fadeth not away. The only question we have to ask, and with that we wish, is — are we born again? Brethren, it is impossible for you to possess the existence of the new life without the new birth, and the glory of the new birth you cannot know without the new heart. I say — are you born again? Do not stand up and say, “I am a Churchman, I was baptized and confirmed.” That you may be, and yet not be born again. Do not say, “I am a Baptist, I have professed my faith and was immersed.” That you may be, and not be born again Do not any, “I am of Christian parents.” That you may be, and yet be an heir of wrath, even as others. Are you born again be Oh! souls, may God the Holy Ghost reveal Christ to you, and when you come to see Christ with the tearful eyes of a penitential faith, then be it known unto you that you are born again and that you have passed from death unto life, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned.” God help you to believe! (THE NEW NATURE)


A W Tozer

By the new birth, He gives some of His own delightful, divine nature to the sinner (2Pe 1:4). And the sinner looks up and says, "Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6) for the first time in his or her life. Now he or she is converted. (The Attributes of God – Volume 1: A Journey into the Father's Heart)

Arise, My Soul, Arise
My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.
--Charles Wesley





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