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For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
What are the privileges of sonship?
1. Name change – “sons of God.” This is a name that scripture seems to reserve exclusively for the people of God.
a. We have been liberated from slavery to adoption.
b. We have the very great privilege of addressing the God of creation as “Father.”
A lot of people, including some scholars, such as the late famed Joachim Jeremias, attempt to make a huge issue of the Aramaic word Αββα here. Jeremias even went so far as to suggest that Αββα is some sort of diminutive alternative for “Father,” which would make it equivalent to the term 'daddy,' 'papa,' or some other diminutive expression. This idea is however largely rejected by most scholars, and rightly so.
In order to clear up any misconceptions about what Αββα means and how it should be understood, let us look at the grammar of the address. This word is only used three times in the New Testament and always in the same context.
* Jesus’ prayer in the garden in Mark 14:36, καὶ ἔλεγεν Αββα ὁ πατήρ πάντα δυνατά σοι παρένεγκε τὸ ποτήριον ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ τοῦτο ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τί ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλὰ τί σύ.
* Galatians 4:6, Ὅτι δέ ἐστε υἱοί ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, κρᾶζον Αββα ὁ πατήρ.
* Romans 8:15, Οὐ γὰρ ἐλάβετε πνεῦμα δουλείας πάλιν εἰς φόβον ἀλλ᾽ ἐλάβετε πνεῦμα υἱοθεσίας ἐν ᾧ κράζομεν Αββα ὁ πατήρ.
The construction of Αββα ὁ πατήρ is the same in each text. Although ὁ πατήρ is nominative in its spelling it is used as a vocative of address. This is not at all uncommon in Greek grammar. There are many examples of this in the New Testament. One such example would be Hebrews 1:8-9 where the Father address the Son as ὁ Θεός. Θεός is nominative spelling but it is used as a vocative of address.
In each of the thee places where Αββα is used, the meaning of the word is clearly set forth by the user. Both Jesus and Paul ascribe the word 'Father' as the definition and equivalent of Αββα. Αββα is not offered as a proper name for the Father as some have suggested because of the use of the definite article with Θεός. It is simply an address – Father. This is certainly not a diminutive form of address. There are Greek diminutive forms of father (παππας, τατα, τέττα, and perhaps even πατρίδιον), but none of these are used in connection with Αββα in any of these three passages.
There is really nothing spectacular about the word itself. Both Jesus and Paul provide the meaning of the word as 'Father'. The point Paul is making both here and in Galatians 4 is that being able to address God as ‘Father' is a profound privilege. This is a big deal. This is what separates the son from the mere servant. As adopted sons, we are privileged now to address God as “Father,” not merely collectively as was the Jewish custom, but individually which was inconceivable to Jewish thinking. This is why the Jews attempted to stone Jesus for blasphemy in John 5:18 when he called God his Father. “For this reason, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” Paul says our freedom to address God as “Father” is a privilege we now enjoy that we did not previously have.
2. We have the privilege of family status because we are now “children of God.”This grants to us all the rights and privileges that come with family membership, including the right of heirship.
3. We have the privilege of heirship – “heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ.”
This actually reflects first-born privilege. We have a first-born share of the inheritance. We share in everything Jesus inherited from the Father. This inheritance is of course something that will not be fully realized in this life.
a. 1Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great, mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” We are privileged to partake of his glory “...if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
b. In Revelation 21:7 Jesus says, “He who overcomes will inherit these things, (all of the blessings previously mentioned in chapters 20 and 21) and I will be his God and he will be My son.” This is full realization of the promise that God made to Abraham way back in Genesis 15.
4. In the end, we will one day be privileged to sit on the very throne of God.
Revelation 3:21, “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” This verse represents the magnitude of our inheritance. When one is given the throne itself, this means that he is in possession of all that is governed by that position. If you have the throne, what will not have?
5. We also share in the privilege of suffering – “if indeed we suffer with Him.”
This certainly requires a different way of viewing the experience of suffering. For the Christian, suffering is no longer something that must simply be endured. Now, there is meaning in suffering. The world sees no meaning in such experiences and they certainly do not regard them as privilege.
For the Christian, suffering is a privileged way of identifying with the Lord. As Paul expressed it in Colossians 1:24, “I want to fill up in my flesh that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.” In other words, “I want more of it.” Paul was not a masochist. He did not enjoy suffering, but his attitude about suffering was that, “If that identifies me more closely with my Lord, then bring it on.”
There is reward at the end of our suffering that the world cannot take from us, not even in death. This is why Paul can say in verse 18, “Our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”