Knowing God as My Father Series: From Slave to Child, from Child to Heir (Part 4)

We called God, our Father – Abba Father (the same way children called their father dad or daddy but more). It conveyed the idea of a sense of closeness, affection, and confidence which had not been present before we know God of the Scriptures. Now, to continue the previous article [to read CLICK HERE], the second time the name Abba appears in the Scripture is in Galatians 4:6. To set the context, I quote Galatians 4:4-7: "[But] when the right time came, God sent his Son, born a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father.' Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir."

This passage declares that God sent the Son’s Spirit to us to make us want to relate to God as our Abba. Is it remarkable that we believers have been so slow to respond to this, so slow to call God Abba. Note the progression mentioned in this passage. God, through the Son, bought us out of slavery. But He didn't keep us as slaves or possessions (even though He "buy freedom for us"). God adopted us into the family and called us His "very own children." This is Good News! At least, it is good news for me. My father has left my family when I'm still studying at university. It is painful every year during Father's Day because I don't really have a biological father to celebrate with. As for me, God knows that need very well. When God adopted me, He did not keep me – and you – emotionally isolated from Himself. He offered and still offers His love. God desires a close relationship with us, so He draws near and nearer to us and allows us to call Him Abba.

But God doesn't stop there! God has not just adopted us. Through His limitless grace, He has done a much more amazing work. We have been transformed from slaves to children, and from children to heirs (the literal meaning of heir is "someone who has been appointed to receive an inheritance." Taken from www.gotquestion.com). God has made us more than stepchildren, He has actually shared the inheritance of the Son with us, the former slaves. In short, that inheritance consists of the fullness and completeness in God – unimaginable, yes – that's the whole point!

I remember a life story that my student told me. His dad had died very suddenly when he was about 7 years old and so he lived with his mother. He had been a very sensitive and somewhat clingy child. But the loss of his dad, the financial burden and the fact that his mother having to work, leave him to spent most of the day with his grandmother. This made him extremely dependent and timid, mama's boy. Sometime later, his mother married a godly man (that was the exact description he used for his step-father). He remembered one day when he was playing with his new father, he said, "Catch me, daddy!" as he jumped out of a tree into his arms. His eyes teared down, "Brother Richard, my dad has made a big difference in my life, my personality and in my manhood."

Wow! If Jesus Christ, the Son, is your Lord and Saviour, then God is your Father. This is not just a spiritual fact, consciously you must realize that intellectually and emotionally that God is your heavenly Father – Abba Father. No matter how old or either you have a biological father or not, good or bad, we all need a spiritual and emotional relationship with God our Father. Surely, it will make a huge difference in your life.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Knowing God as My Father Series: Where Did Jesus Go When He Was Distressed, Troubled and Depressed? (Part 3)

We called God, our Father – Abba Father (the same way children called their father dad or daddy). It conveyed the idea of a sense of closeness, affection, and confidence which had not been present before we know God through Jesus Christ, the Son. In my observation, the name Abba represents an aspect of our relationship with God that has been overlooked in much of the teaching we have heard about God today. The word ab (Hebrew) is used in the Old Testament for father and the word paterno (Greek) is used in the New Testament for father-parent with only three exceptions. Those exceptions are the three times when God the Father is called Abba (Aramaic). This is the name that Jesus used when he called out to God.

The first time [the other two I will share in the next blog posts] we find Abba used is in Mark 14:36. Let's look at the surrounding verses to understand the context and background involved in this use of the word: "They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, ‘Sit here while I go and pray.' He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them, ‘My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.' He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. ‘Abba Father,' he cried out, ‘everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.' Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Couldn't you watch with me even one hour?" (Mark 14:32-37a, NLT).

Jesus described himself to his best friends as "deeply troubled and distressed" and "grief to the point of death." Depression? These were his closest friends – his inner circles – the ones with whom he shared his deepest, most private hurts and fears. But at the time when Jesus was greatly depressed, they fell asleep. Like many people, I've experienced times in my life when I too was very distressed and deeply grieved ("Killed me, Lord!" I once said, like Prophet Elijah). But Jesus' pain was worse than yours and mine and – to add to the pain – his friends failed to act like real friends! They had always been ready when Jesus wanted to give and bless them. But when he needed them, they were emotionally absent.

This left Jesus the Man emotionally needy and alone, facing future physical torture, accusations, betrayal, and mockery. He was being rejected by his own followers and by the religious leaders, his own people. He will be facing certain, slow and painful death. Yet worst of all, he knew he would be separated from God. He will bear the sins of the world! Jesus knew (we also knew as we read the Scripture) that even God would turn away from him at that time. Where did Jesus go under anguish and pressure like that? To whom he turned to? Jesus fell down to the ground and cried out, "Abba Father." What intimacy, what affection, what closeness this was! It is emotionally moving to imagine how real was Jesus' pain and need… but at the same time, it is magnificently blessed to know (too) how real God's Fatherhood is! This is beyond awesome, this is a joy!

Pray to your Abba Father.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Knowing God as My Father Series: He Is and Wants to Be Our Father (Part 2)

God's offer of Fatherhood – through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ – is one of the most basic and fundamental truths of theology. We cannot know God entirely without accepting His Fatherhood. In unconditional love, God has chosen to present Himself to us as our Father. He calls us and indeed makes us His children when we accept His offer of adoption into His family through His Son (read Romans 8:15, Greek "…you received a spirit of Sonship"). This fact is presented with overwhelming clarity in God's Word.

Old Testament – Father to Israel. Listen to this, Exodus 4:21-23: "[The Lord] told Moses, ‘When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh… tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. I commanded you, ‘Let my son go, so he can worship me.'" When God announced Israel was His son, He came to Israel's defense. If I were to paraphrase it, it will be like this: "Hey, that's My son! You can't treat him that way. I won't allow it!" That makes me so proud of having a Father like Him, smile deep inside me. I've been with students for about 8 years now, and I can tell you that there are a lot of hurting young people today. I realize how many of those hurt could have been avoided if a dad (or mom) would have stood up and spoken up for his own child. I bet some of you who read this have that anger toward your parent(s) who failed to protect you when you're growing up. Not so with God. When He claimed Israel as His son, He went immediately to Israel's defense.

When God talked to Moses, He did not tell Moses to announce His Fatherhood to the Israelites. Instead, He told Pharaoh, an outsider, through Moses, "Let my son go." Why? Why not? Because God is the Initiator in the Father-son relationship. If you go through the Book of Exodus, you don't read about how Israelites band together and ask God to be their Father. No! God was the One who makes the choice. Before Israel ever existed, God already chooses him. When Israel was still under slavery in Egypt, God loved him. "Israel is my firstborn son." It's like adopting a baby at birth. The adoptive parents are the ones who initiate the action, not the baby. God wants to be Israel's Father.

Many years later, God reaffirmed His promise of Fatherhood through David to his son Solomon, saying, "Your son Solomon will build my Temple… for I have chosen him as my son, and I will be his father" (1 Chronicles 28:6). David himself, a man after God's own heart, once blessed God and prayed: "Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever" (1 Chronicles 29:10, NKJV). God continuously reminding the children of Israel of His Fatherhood through His prophets too. Prophet Hosea wrote: "Yet the time will come when Israel's people will be like the sands of the seashore – too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,' it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God'" (Hosea 1:10). Prophet Jeremiah proclaimed God's Word: "I would love to treat you as my own children... I look forward to your calling me ‘Father,' and I wanted you never to turn from me" (Jeremiah 3:19). These verses and many more from the Old Testament are the proof that God wanted Israel to be His children and Him their Father. But in spite of God's repeated offer (almost ‘begging'), Israel never responded consistently to God.

New Testament – Father to All Who Have Faith In the Son. As God continued to reveal more about Himself and His plan of redemption, I see a significant change in His offer of Fatherhood. The offer first was made just to the Jews, then after Jesus came, God makes it all the more available to all who would accept His Son. For Jesus, "My Father" and "Your Father" meant the same thing (Matthew 18:10, 14). The passages in which Jesus referred to God as our Father are so many that it would be impossible to quote them all. Let me quote one verse that is very familiar to all of us: "Pray like this [Jesus said]: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy…" (Matthew 6:9).

Jesus' teaching of God as our Father was continued as a central theme by the apostles. Paul's letter to the Romans, for example, begins: "May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace" (Romans 1:7). Perhaps one such greeting would not be enough to state the case. But similar greetings also appear in eight of Paul's other letters (see 1 Corinthians 1:3; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Titus 1:4). Because of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, we have been reconciled (adopted) to God and "to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). God's offer of Fatherhood is now openly available to all who believe in Jesus. "See how much our Father loves us," writes John the Apostle, "for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1). The bottom line is this: God is and wants to be our Father and us to be His children. Would you called Him Father?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Knowing God as My Father Series: Through His Names, We Know His Characters (Part 1)

When I read the Bible, I can see that it was necessary for God to reveal Himself to His children in progressive steps (the theologians called it Progressive Theology), rather than all at once. In this way, it was easier for His children – us – to learn and respond to Him, a little at a time. One way to trace the progress of this revelation is to study the names of God.

Old Testament Names of God. One of the earliest names of God used was the name Elohim. This word came from a root which meant "to be smitten with fear." Elohim is a plural form and may have been related to some form of primitive ancestor worship. It was a general name of God (In other cultures and religions, they also called their gods ‘Elohim'). This name picture God as very strong and as the object of fear. Now, as our knowledge and experience with God increased, God introduced a new name for Himself. This new name, Adonai, meant "to judge or rule." In other words, the first followers of God were given revelation to see God as a Judge or Ruler. This name implied that we human being was the servant of God. Obviously, being God's servant was more fulfilling that relating to God as the "feared One." Yet, God revealed Himself still more. Next, He introduced Himself as the God of all power who would subject all things to His work of grace and comfort. The name was El Shaddai and it was with this name that He identified Himself to Abraham in Genesis 17:1.

We can already see the differences between God's earliest name of fear and His later name of comfort. Of course, it is important to point out that the later knowledge does not put away with the earliest knowledge – it is simply the additional knowledge that revealed truth progressively.

Elohim. Adonai. El Shaddai. These earliest names were gradually replaced by the name Yahweh. Yahweh later pronounces as Jehovah (from A.D. 1517, the history recorded) because to the Jews it was such a sacred name that they would not even dare to pronounce it. Why? Because they claimed this was in keeping with the third commandment of the Mosaic Law (see Exodus 20:7). When reading, they substituted the name Yahweh to Adonai. The vowels of Adonai were added to the consonants "J[Y]HWH" to form the name Jehovah. In Exodus 3:14, Yahweh is translated "I Am Who I Am." Specifically, this name seems to refer to the fact that God never changes in His relationship with His people. Its stresses His faithfulness. I have to admit, it is difficult for me (us!) to grasp the full meaning of this concept that God never changes. This is a good news actually, it also means God's love for us does not change with our ups and downs or our successes and failures. No matter how much we change, God is always the same, "I am the LORD, and I do not change" (Malachi 3:6).

New Testament Names of God. Just like my relationship with my students (teacher-student relationship), I'm not comfortable when they relate to me with fear and scare-respect. God too is not pleased when we relate to Him with that attitudes. So, He revealed more of Himself than just His being the object of fear. Basically, there are three names for God recorded in the New Testament. The word Theos was used most commonly to mean God (that's why we called the study of God as Theology) and was used to refer to pagan gods as well. It can be a common noun ("He is a god") or a proper noun ("You are God"). Next, the word Kurios refers to the one with power and authority. It is usually translated "Lord" and refers not only to God but also to Jesus.

Finally, the last name used for God is pater, the word translated "father." This name refers to God's relationship with Israel and generally with His children. It designates God as the Source or the Creator and as the Father of all who accepted the Son. Because of that, it also refers to the relationship between God the Father and God the Son (this is another difficult concept for me. I'm not in doubt but in amazement!). This was what Paul said when he wrote, "[You] have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.' For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children" (Romans 8:15). Wonderful!

You see, this is one of the great values of studying God's names. We can better understand (yes, we can understand!) the character of God and what He really like based on His names, especially the name "Father." As you and I journey on the discovery to learn more about Him in this series Knowing God as My Father, we can develop a stronger relationship with Him. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.