WORD of the Week

ABBA

And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"

Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6 NKJV

Recalling back to my adolescent years, I remember a contemporary Swedish rock band that emerged with four singers.  The members of this group took the first initial from each of their names and formed an acronym, which in turn made the title to their pop group ABBA.  Twenty years after the team concluded their tours; a fan asked the former members what Abba meant in their lives today.  Björn Christian Ulvaeus, a founder of the band, responded stating that “not a day goes by without something or someone reminding me who I am.”¹

Interesting that the former singer would remark this way “… reminding me who I am” especially with the title name of his past band being Abba.  Those two words “I AM” remind me of Exodus 3:14 where the LORD tells WHO HE is…

And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM" …

When the Heavenly Father spoke with Moses, He made an awesome statement when referring to Himself in this manner, for there is none other who can claim to be God, or to be like Him.  There is no one that came before Him, nor none who is yet to come, that can compare to WHO God is.  And HE tells us in Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another...”

God is never changing.  The very nature and character of Who HE is when the world was formed is the same even today. And the very same God reveals Himself to us today as Abba, Father.

Notice the double emphasis here… Abba, Father.  “Abba” is somewhat like the title of who HE is, that is being our Heavenly Father, and “Father” is the relationship HE has with HIS children, that is being the parent.

In the New Testament, the word “Abba” appears in 3 verses (Mark 14:36, Romans 8:15, and Galatians 4:6).  In Mark 14, Christ is passionately praying, speaking to His Father in Heaven, while in Romans 8 we see that as we become children of God (through Jesus Christ), we are “adopted” into His family, thereby giving us the right to call Him “Abba, Father!”  Galatians 4 goes on to show how special this name is to every believer.  “Abba, Father” as a term of endearment in the same manner a young child would call their father “daddy”, or “papa”, implying a form of tenderness and dependency.

Abba, Heavenly Father…. Daddy!  When problems face us, what joy it is to know we can find strength in the powerful arms of our loving and gracious Daddy… and when there are exciting moments in our life, we wish to share; we can tell our awesome Papa all about it!

Abba, Father!  The one Who knew us before the foundations of the world, the one Who knows us even now, and the one Who desires that we know Him in return.  What ever life may seem to throw our way this week, remember that Abba, Father is here with us desiring to guide us, mold us, and use us so that we may bring Him glory.  He will not allow anything above which we cannot handle to come our way, He will never leave us nor forsake us, and He desires that we know Him on a personal level.  He wants us to bring our joys and our sorrows to Him.  He wants to be part of our life every second… every moment of every day.  He is our Abba, Father! And He loves you very much!

"I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand;…” (Isa 42:6 NKJV)

1. Information & quote obtained from the web sites http://www.abbasite.com/people/bio.php?id=395&page=2 and http://www.abbasite.com/askabba/