On the Name of the Father

Transcript from show #286. 

(Please note that the transcripts are written pretty well as they were delivered on air).

Radio Show...

This program continues on various series of different topics on theology such as end times, prophecies, daily living, etc. as the subject matter comes up.

The e-book on end times and Revelation, answering the questions “where are we in the events of the end times?” and “Are we now in the tribulation?” is available on this web site, which you can find throughout the pages. 


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Opening Narrative

A few months ago I did a program on the name of the Father that is thoroughly misunderstood in a particular scripture in the New Testament and which has become a popular quote by many Christians – laypeople and preachers alike...

I heard it misquoted again recently, but, also, just a couple of days ago, I heard it innocently mentioned “correctly”, “properly” -- by an individual from a pure Jewish background, which brings another confirmation of the true meaning of the misinterpreted scripture... I will share that later on in the program.

And this is what strongly precipitated me to replay that program – but updated with more Biblical facts to emphasize further the importance of this issue as another added defence of the many misinterpretations of the word of God caused by our lack of research into the original language of the scriptural text ...

2nd Timothy 2:15 says--
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

and Acts 17:11 --
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

We will get into that right after this opening music, prayer and worship time...

(Opening Music interlude on the live radio show)

Let us pray...
The Lord's Prayer...
Praise God Doxology...
Worship Music...

Narrative #1

Alright so let's move into the message for today regarding this word that I mentioned in my opening narrative...

You have no doubt heard the word from a number of Christians over the past recent times... and that word is the word “Daddy” as recently mis-ascribed by some to God Almighty... it is actually more prevalent than I expected as I began to search the scripture for the truth.

I mentioned this to a friend who happened to drop by my place on the day that the Lord led me to do a proper exegesis... (exe-ge-sus)

(For those who don't know, exe-ge-sus means a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture. "the task of biblical exe-ge-sis". Synonyms: interpretation,  explanation, exposition · etc.)

And as we got into talking about the Word of God, I shared with her about this assignment from God that I had received, expressing my concern over its misunderstanding by many Christians.

Her immediate response was to defend the use of this terminology as an intimate reference to God the Father, an endearment, casual expression of intimacy with Father God...

this being echoed by many Christians in this day and age. How can we call God Daddy after reading the vision of God by Ezekiel? Interestingly, it is also surprisingly opposed by many in Christian forums that I visited.

Those who defend the term “Daddy” to address God our Father, usually refer to the scripture within which the word is found, as the source of this teaching; they actually say that the Bible teaches that, or even that Jesus taught it Himself.

The scripture used to come up with this teaching is Mark 14:36 where it says:

“And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt." (KJV).

But the word Abba does not mean 'Daddy' at all... and I will show you why in a moment.

Getting back to the defensive response of many Christians on this issue, they will insist that this is perfectly right and ok to call God Daddy. It's amazing how much people will believe and follow the many new teachings that come through some pulpits whether in person or via technology. It just gets picked up without discretion or discernment...

...just like the new teaching that born-again Christians “cannot” sin... no kidding, some people have fallen into that too and as I also researched this teaching I was amazed at the names of those teachers – but not surprised. I did a radio show on that issue which ended up in a 3-or 4-part series because there were so many scriptures to back up its repudiation.

Charles Spurgeon said on Discernment: “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”  In a similar line in business there is a saying that goes: “if it's not quite right, it's wrong” -- which I try to live by as much as I can by the way.

So, the main scripture that Christians use to back up their defence of the use of Daddy to address God the Father as we already saw is,

Mark 14:36 which says: “ And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”

And there are also 2 more scriptures that use the word Abba... and those are:

Rom 8:15 & Gal 4:6 --

Rom 8:15 -- “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

And the other is Gal 4:6 -- “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

These 3 scriptures are the only ones that have the word Abba in them... and it does not mean “Daddy”...

This word is the Chaldean interpretation or Aramaic of the word Father. If you look at the scripture that everybody says is the source of the “teaching” of Jesus (of course it's not a teaching from Jesus, but that's what those who propagate this misunderstanding say), on the use of the word “Daddy”, you will find that the translation of this New Testament scripture “Abba, Father” is actually, Father, Father.

“Abba” is the Strong's concordance G5 (abba) which is the Aramaic use of the word Father, and “Father” is Strong's #3962 of the Greek word “pater” (pat-ayr) which means father.

From the Thayer's Greek Lexicon we read this: “in the Chaldean emphatic state, אַבָּא i. e. ὁ πατήρ, a customary title of God in prayer. Whenever it occurs in the N. T. (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6) it has the Greek interpretation subjoined to it; this is apparently to be explained by the fact that the Chaldee אַבָּא, through frequent use in prayer, gradually acquired the nature of a most sacred proper name, to which the Greek-speaking Jews added the appellative from their own tongue."

This is what the word abba is all about—it has nothing to do with daddy as many have assumed from the English sounding word.


Now this scripture of Mark 14:36 -- “ And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”,
as you know is the event that took place when Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray with His disciples just before His arrest by the chief priests, scribes and elders.

But this event is also reported in two other gospels – in Matthew 26:42 and Luke 22:42.

Let's look at those:

Matt 26:42-- “He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”

and Luke 22:41-42 -- “And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Now did you notice something?

The word “Abba” is not there in these scriptures; Why not?

We'll take a look at that in a moment.

(Music interlude on the live radio show)

(Station ID)

Narrative #2

So, three gospel writers wrote about this event that took place in the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed that famous prayer, but only one actually included the word “Abba” in his gospel report... and that's Mark.

Why might that be?

Well to get there we have to understand what is going on at this point in the Gospel history.

First of all, as we've already seen, this word “Abba” is the Chaldean translation of the word “Father”.

At the time of Christ's visit to this earth in the 1st century A.D. there were 3 basic working languages...

Aramaic (or Chaldean), Greek and Septuagint – it is said that Jesus knew all three and would have used these to teach and preach His good news to the people.

The Septuagint is the earliest Greek translation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch translated around the mid-3rd century BC.

Basically, Aramaic Syriac or Chaldean was the default working language of the people;

Other languages spoken would be Greek and Aramaic Hebrew; and the language of worship would be Septuagint (around Gallilee). These would be the languages of the Jews in Canaan.

Similarly, The Jews outside of Canaan would have used Greek, Aramaic Syriac (Chaldean) and Septuagint.

The High Priest in the Temple in Jerusalem would use Aramaic Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic Syriac and Aramaic Hebrew (or Masoretic).

And the Romans would use Greek, Latin and Septuagint.

Prior to this, after the Babylonian Captivity of 605-536 BC, the Jews used the Hebrew language less and less until the time of Alexander the Great in around 330 B.C. when almost none of the Jews spoke Hebrew anymore. That is amazing.

Outside of Judea the Jews spoke Greek in their synagogues and used the Septuagint exclusively from 280 BC, before the time of Christ.

Now why would Mark use the word Abba and not the other gospel writers. Since the other two did not use the word “Abba”, then Mark used it for a reason...

We know that the gospel of Matthew was written specifically to a Jewish audience.

Mark on the other hand writes to a general population of Gentile thinking, and we notice also his use of Aramaic Chaldean words in several places – such as Mark 5:41 and 7:34 which indicates that he was reaching out to the common working language of the people.

And Luke, the physician writes to Theophilus, a gentile of high standing.

So Mark added this word to reach the general population of Gentile who commonly spoke the Aramaic or Chaldean language... it was to emphasize the teaching of God as Father as opposed to the common thought that God was some high and lofty judge above, as the religious Jews had made Him to be known to the people.

For example we read a story in John, chapter 8, verses 37-59 where Jesus' Jewish opponents were extremely angered that Jesus would put Himself on the level of God the Father.

(Music Interlude)

Narrative #3

So here's the story in John, chapter 8, verses 37-59 where Jesus' Jewish opponents were extremely angered that Jesus would put Himself on the level of God the Father... listen to this conversation carefully:

v.37. I know that ye are Abraham's seed (that's Jesus speaking); but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

38. I speak that which I have seen with my Father (capital F): and ye do that which ye have seen with your father (small f).

39.They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

40.But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

41.Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

42.Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

43.Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

44.Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Wow Jesus sure wasn't beating around the bushes.

v.45.And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

46.Which of you convinceth (convicts) me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

47.He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

48.Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?

49.Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.

50.And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.

51.Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.

53.Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

You see they had a completely different idea of who the Father is -- to them it was all about ancestry to Abraham.. God to them was through Abraham.

v.54.Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:

55.Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

Oh boy, this is quite an intense conversation going on here... have you ever been there trying to defend accusations against your belief in Jesus Christ and the Gospel, when they reject and oppose the truth that you know deep down in your bones because you have the truth in you of knowing who God really is through your personal born-again experience... hmmmm

v.56.Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

57.Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

And here's that famous scripture:

58.Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

And the last verse, 59 -- Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”


So here we see that Jesus's opponents were so angered that they impulsively blurted out “God is our Father” as an incongruous admittance of the very thing they criticized Jesus for saying. They were provoked to admit that God was their Father, but this as they knew Him within the Abrahamic covenant. They were never aware of what that really meant.

For some, their father God was a creator, and for others like the Platonists of the time, God was merely a hidden deity who dwelt above the heavens and had no direct contact with material things.

So being keenly aware of this, Mark used a common Chaldean expression to drive the point that God is a true Father to them. “Abba” being Chaldean and Father being Greek... both being the same word in translation but speaking clearly in their own languages of understanding.

It was not uttered by Jesus at all, neither was it meant to be “Daddy”.

This term “Daddy” is just a recent secular translation of the Chaldean wording 'Abba' that sounds emotionally endearing.

Now there is another confirmation of this, when one looks up the word for father in the Hebrew language... which I will get into next.

(Music Interlude)

Narrative #4

So as we can see this word “Abba” was not used by Jesus, as “daddy” as many have been led to believe... yet in their misunderstanding many Christians actually say that Jesus “taught” us to use the intimacy of the word “Daddy” -- because they miss-read it in Mark 14:36 -- It was never a teaching of our Lord nor was it of the Bible.

The word “Daddy” was not even in existence at the time of Christ.

This word came up within the 1500's.

The Webster's dictionary of the early 1900's describes “daddy” as:
“A diminutive form of dad, a childish name for father. And “Dad” as: Imitative of a child's attempt to say father. A familiar name for father.

From 'theOdysseyOnline.com', we read this:

“Daddy” came into the English vocabulary in 1523, at the beginning of the modern English time period. The exact origin of the word “daddy” is unknown though, but specifically, it is claimed that the origin of the word may have come from baby talk. The forms “dada” and “tata,” meaning “father,” originated from childish speech.”

And this timeline is also confirmed by other sources.

Christians call God their Father because that is what Jesus taught his disciples to do. God is the Creator but also the Redeemer... that makes Him a very intimate God as we saw earlier through that intense conversation when Jesus was confronted by the religious opponents Jesus had a unique and sure testimony of his relationship with God the Father that he was quite clear about and anxious to teach to the people he came to save from sin, as we read in John 14:9:

“He who has seen me has seen the Father,” he said . “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Jesus also made it clear that He and the Father were two persons, although within one God – particularly on the cross when He said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34) and “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46) there is no doubt that he was not talking to himself.

And here's the other confirmation from scripture that “Abba” does not mean 'Daddy'...

When one looks up the word 'father' in Hebrew, the word is “ab”.

Father in Hebrew is "ab" -- in Aramaic it is "abba", and in the Assyrian language it is "abu" – all meaning 'father' in english... (from the (Gesaynius) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon...it was common to all the Phoenecio-Shemetic languages), 

and this is what it means in the various scriptures wherein this word is used:
“ab”, “abba” or “abu”,

1.father of an individual; 2.of God as father of his people; 3.head or founder of a household, group, family, or clan; 4.ancestor or forefathers of people); ruler or chief, etc...

(the exact meanings are according to the context of the passages), but none refers to a word as daddy or anything similar to it.

In practical terms, the relationship that the Son has given us with God the Father is analogous to his own. In the Son, we have become heirs of the Father’s kingdom, co-rulers with him and even judges of the angels (1 Cor. 6 verse 1 to 3:

1.“Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

2.“Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

3.“Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Now does God expect us to be children or grown up and mature as heirs to join Him in the ruling of the universe... why would we call Him 'Daddy' as little children, when we are slated to be rulers with Him.... no, He wants us to strive to be perfect from the get go of becoming born-again... we are a new creature, a peculiar people, mature, perfect, holy before God, a priesthood...

Paul said: “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. (1 Corinthians 13:11).

When we come to God, we put away childish things. This high calling comes with a price... we are taught the Word of God by the Holy Spirit. Even as young converts... we immediately begin to grow spiritually and just as Jesus glorified his Father while on earth, so we too are called to glorify him as the God of the Universe and Creator of all things.

I encourage you to read John 17:1–26 after this program today because we just don't have the time here in this hour...

In the new Testament, “father” in the Greek language is : pater (pat-ayr), which – in addition to the description we saw earlier of the Hebrew word for “father” - means the following amongst other things:

God is called the Father,

A._of the stars, the heavenly luminaries, because he is their creator, upholder, ruler (and this is from the thayers Greek – English Lexicon of the new testament...

B._of all rational and intelligent beings, whether angels or men, because he is their creator, preserver, guardian and protector...

1._of spiritual beings and of all men...

C._of Christians, as those who through Christ have been exalted to a specially close and intimate relationship with God, and who no longer dread him as a stern judge of sinners, but revere him as their reconciled and loving Father...

D._the Father of Jesus Christ, as one whom God has united to himself in the closest bond of love and intimacy, made acquainted with his purposes, appointed to explain and carry out among men the plan of salvation, and made to share also in his own divine nature...

i._by Jesus Christ himself

ii._by the apostles

So why would we want to bring God and ourselves down to a “Daddy” relationship as onto little children?

The point is that the word “Abba” did not, does not and will not ever mean “Daddy”.

This is a man-made mistaken move on the part of some irresponsible teaching and I might add secular point of view.

I mentioned at the beginning that I would share what I recently heard innocently mentioned “correctly” and “properly” by an individual from a pure Jewish background, so here it is.

I actually read it, rather than heard it... in a newsletter that I receive regularly from a Jewish ministry. Writing about the recent remembrance of the terrible holocaust that took place one generation ago, the founder referred to the importance of the Jewish parents to pass on this historical fact to their children. She wrote that her father had taught her to do that at a very young age. And this is where the word was used... she wrote “My abba and she added the translation of the word for her non-Jewish audience in bracket -- “father”. (My Abba and in bracket (father).

Should we be wrongly taught to call God “Daddy” as a child calls his/her human father? God is looking for strong co-workers. See, the problem is, it's all about what we are taught by the leaders, or piers in some cases, who we are in Christ Jesus... we are victorious, we are overcomers like our Lord... we ought to teach this in the Church... but we don't hear it much... and we are weak people... crying like babies... not understanding who we are in Christ.

(Music Interlude)

Closing Narrative…

Before I dismiss the service today, I want to read to you the Blessing that was read to the people of God in Numbers 6:24-26 which is the benediction from God to you today:

“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."

I hope and pray that you will come back next Sunday at SpiritFM.ca, 7 am and 7 pm pacific time. And if you want to hear the service again at any time, you can go to my website at TimingRevelation.com, and click on the Radio Shows navigational tab along the left side. The replays are available there for five weeks, then they are transcribed into articles as new radio shows are put up.

I encourage you to go to your Bible and read further on the scriptures that were given throughout the program today. And if you like these programs and you've been blessed, call or write the station and let them know... if you said the prayer and have accepted the Lord or you've been healed or touched in some way by the Holy Spirit, write to me on the contact form of this web site...

...and this web site is also where you will find the Free Offer of the “Christian Growth and Maturity Chart” that I talked to you about in the last weeks... you will see the graphic on any page called “Get your free CGM Chart”, click on it and it will take you to a page that will tell you about it and how you can subscribe to my newsletter to get your free copy of the Chart sent to you.

Until next week, Maranatha, the Lord is coming, very soon. Goodbye and Blessing.

Click here to hear "Great Speckled Bird"

(The speckled bird represents the church who is different, unique amongst a world that does not know God as their father... we are to be different, a peculiar people as the Bible says – a priesthood... and that is what the bible teaches us... the Word of God, Jesus Christ our Lord teaches us to be a priesthood.)

/DMH

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Blessings,

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