Adopted into God’s family

Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 4;6-7 NIV)

“Abba” was what a son or daughter in first-century Palestine would call their father throughout their lives; it was a familiar word, like Dad or Papa, in the Aramaic language that was spoken in Jesus’ day.

Jesus used this word in prayer and taught His disciples to do the same, because it expressed the close, endearing, familial relationship believers should have with God.

Jesus’ use of Abba (Father) set the tone for the personal relationship we are privileged to have with God because of the gift of salvation.  We are the sons and daughters of God; not in the same way as Jesus is, but as children adopted into God’s family.

When we pray, we are coming before Abba, our Father. To say Abba was to share in a common sonship and a common inheritance with Jesus.

We, as children adopted into the family of God, also have a relationship with the Father. We are able to have an intimate connection with Him, as we would with our earthly father. [1]

Jesus Christ opens wide the doors of the treasure-house of God’s promises, and bids us go in and take with boldness the riches that are ours. - Corrie ten Boom

[1] Anchor Abba’s Beloved Child