Joseph Prince’s Encouraging Reminder of What ‘Abba’ Really Means

Joseph Prince, the renowned preacher and senior pastor at the New Creation Church in Singapore, has a heartwarming and encouraging message about what ‘Abba’ really means to our relationship with the Father in Christ.

On a video posted to his Facebook page, Prince shares how significant it is that, when Jesus cries out ‘Abba’ (Mark 14:36, Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6), it was not translated into Latin originally, but remained in Aramaic, Jesus’ native tongue. Prince credits this translation choice directly to the Holy Spirit. 

It is so that it would remain the familiar ‘daddy’, and that that denotes a closeness we have with God that was unprecedented in Scripture.

There are many names for God in Scripture, but not until Christ came to earth, this name for God had not yet been revealed.

“The greatest name, that Jesus came to reveal,” he says, “encompasses all these names, is the name “Daddy” God, ‘Abba.'”

He then refers to Romans 8:15, which says, “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.'”

He explains that what this means is to not be caught up in the fear and bondage of the Old Testament, because in Christ we have this newfound familiarity with God.

“Do not receive the fear of bondage of the Old Testament again,” he explains, “but you have received the spirit of sonship, by which you cry ‘Daddy, Abba.'”

What he means by this is that our closeness with God should be a constant comfort to us, and cast down any fears we might have, no matter how great.

“You may have had a bad childhood, you may have grown up in a family where your father was either physically or emotionally abusive,” he says, “but listen, the Father God is not like that, and He wants to be your Father. I don’t care how old you think you are, you will always be a child.”

Even if we can’t articulate our prayers or our needs, this simple cry of “daddy” is all we need to experience the love of our Father.

“Even when our only prayer is ‘Daddy God’, I will tell you this, fears, guilt, depression, will melt like butter in the presence of Daddy God.”