Abba, Father

In my reading of Galatians 4 this morning I was reminded of this previous truth:
"But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 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 4:4-7)

The main point about the Book of Galatians is that Paul wrote this book to deal with the problem of circumcision and Jewish legalism toward Gentile believers (see BibleHub). The Jews were God's chosen people. But before Jesus came, they were like underage heir to God's inheritance. Underage heir is no different from slaves (verse 1). Although they own God's estate, they are subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by God the Father (verse 2). Moreover, the underage will have the tendency to give way to (or be enslaved by) the elemental spiritual forces of the world (verse 3). So when Jesus came, he changed everything. It's like the underage has come of age! Now being the son of the living God comes with lots of privileges we can enjoy NOW!

This is an important point for the Galatians (as well as for us) when it comes to whether to obey everything in the Jewish laws or be freed from them. The laws were written so that the underage would know what not to do, like parents setting rules to protect them from harm. But now that they are of age, they can trust that the lessons learned as a child and the new power given to them through the Holy Spirit would be sufficient to live the godly life intended for them. The old ritual of circumcision has given way to the new "circumcision of the heart". It is no longer needed, not just for the Jews, but also for the gentiles.

The gift of "the Spirit of his Son (Jesus)" works like a seal to prove that we are God's children. So we are free to call God "Abba, Father".

I once learned this prayer which has become a great short prayer for every situation: "Abba Father, I belong to you.". I teach others to pray this prayer whenever they run into difficult situations. I sometimes even refer my patients to watch this video by Brennan Manning called "The ABBA Experience" or "Brennan Manning's classic sermon Abba Father"(each is an hour long) which some have found helpful. I hope it is helpful to you too.