Adopted in His family – Abba – Father, God.

Adopted in His family – Abba – Father, God.

GALATIANS 4 v. 1 – 6
‘Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.
So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’
Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son; and, if a son, then an heir through God.’

The readers / hearers of Paul’s letter would be familiar with sons inheriting from fathers, but that a child would have that inheritance held in trust for them until they matured into adults and became full beneficiaries as sons-and-heirs. For Paul, the law has acted like a guardian, an overseer, but now that Jesus, the rescuer has come, we are fully adopted into the family, and are co-heirs with Christ.

‘Think about it this way: Jesus gave everything to rescue people proven by the law to be sinners. We did not deserve anything, but He rescued us. He gave everything to get to us. And amazingly, He gave us everything in that rescue. What do I mean? Well, we were not simply set free from the prison to live on the outside somewhere. Jesus came to rescue us and bring us into the full fellowship of His family.
Now His Abba is our Abba!
The fellowship of the trinity is the fellowship that is ours.’

PRAYER
Abba, Father,
let me be
Yours
and Yours alone.
May my will forever be –
evermore Your own.
Thank You for adopting me, claiming me, and filling me
now and for ever.
AMEN.

CHALLENGE
Try calling God by a new name today.
Abba could mean – Father, Dad, Daddy, Papa, Pops…all made possible through the self-giving of our Brother, Jesus.

Phil Gough