The Names Of God Series - Abba

Abba - Father

As we bring our 3-week look at the names of God to a close, we have to ask an important question. What name do those who are closest to Him call Him by? And, in particular, what name did Jesus use when He spoke to God?

Let’s look at a verse that really slam dunks this point. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Jesus had been highly critical of the leaders of Israel for their praying. They were showy and pretentious and hypocrisy oozed from their fake prayers. So Jesus taught His Disciples this:

Matthew 6:8-9

“So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven...’”

God is a Father to us. The Hebrew word for Father is Ab, (or the very personal Abba) and it is represented in this verse by the Greek word, pater. Jesus has made known to us that the primary name we should use when we speak to God is Father.

There is a general rule when studying the Bible that if you want to know how important a word is, count. Why count? Because the Bible often repeats important things. Father is found 227 times in the Gospels. That’s just in the first four books of the New Testament! If you search the entire Bible you will find that word almost 1000 times.

Don’t get me wrong ... not every one of these is a reference to the name of God. But, the point is that the idea of fatherhood is central, in fact it is crucial, to understanding who God is. That is by design.

When we call upon Him, He loves to hear us honor Him with praises, titles, glorious thoughts and blessings. But the name He desires to hear most from us is this: Father.

This is the relationship we have with God. We are His children and He is our Father. Our Father in Heaven.

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.