Skip to main content

abba! father!

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 ESV)


Francis Schaeffer comments on this passage in The Finished Work of Christ...


We have received the Holy Spirit, and we are to let Him lead us. If we are truly saved, there should be some evidence of this in our lives. But Paul isn't saying these things to make us grovel in sorrow, searching our hearts and beating our chests, wondering, “Am I really a Christian?” We will see that the rest of this chapter is a great cry of victory and assurance. If you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, then indeed you should walk in the Spirit and you should be led by the Spirit. At the same time, interwoven with these reminders is the tremendous realization that, having accepted Christ as Savior and being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, God is our Father. [8:15-17]  He loves us and cares for us.
If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, God the Father, the Creator, the very one we have sinned against, can now be called “Daddy.” [8:15] Paul has pointed out the absolute gap between being saved and being lost. He has reminded us of the importance of recognizing that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit—the importance of, moment by moment, living according to the Spirit. How marvelous this is! But if, as we contemplate all of this, our hearts begin to fail us, how gentle is our God! How tenderly He picks us up and says, “Don’t you understand this is not to cause you to fear, it’s not to break your heart. It isn't to crush you to the earth. Quite the contrary, it’s to assure you that I have come to you and that I am your papa, your daddy.”
The word “Father” in this verse is the Greek word for father, while “Abba” is the Aramaic word for father. There is a very precious and a very important distinction between the two words. The Greek word “father” can be used like our English word “father.” It can have either a harsh or a gentle meaning. But the word “Abba” in the Aramaic is rather parallel to our word “Daddy.” It is a gentle term. Each language, surely, has a gentle word for “father,” which cannot have a harsh meaning.  Paul wants us to understand the wonder and glory of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He wants us to do some heart searching as to whether or not we are living up to this highest of callings, this greatest of challenges. And yet at the same time, he wants to give us the greatest possible comfort. For the transcendent God of the universe is the one who in the stillness of the night, or when I have fallen in the mud, takes me by the hand and invites me to call Him Daddy.


From Chapter 11, "Life in the Spirit", in The Finished Work of Christ: The Truth of Romans 1-8, by Francis A. Schaeffer (Crossway Books, 1998)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90.  This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3.  Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I.   Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews.  Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews.  Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches.  Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos.  The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90:    CHAPTER 36  ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ,  the High Prie...
Post a Comment
Read more

Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...
2 comments
Read more

bible reading july 5-6

Bible reading for July 5 -- 6 July 5 -- Jeremiah 1 and Matthew 15 July 6 -- Jeremiah 2 and Matthew 16 ================    HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, July 4! Throughout the years I have felt varying degrees of loyalty to this nation. The more I have studied history, however, and have observed God's working in it, the more deeply I have come to appreciate the founding principles of this country. In practice this nation has allowed a greater freedom for the gospel to go forth and for the church to flourish than any other nation. Along with the UK the US has been the sending base for thousands of missionaries around the world. The freedoms we have are not to be treated lightly. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." ( The Declaration of Independence ) ================    "...my people have committed t...
1 comment
Read more