And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father.
Read Chapter 4
Ambrosiaster
AD 400
He says of the Gentiles who believed in Christ, “You are sons,” having previously been enemies. There can be no doubt that believing Jews were also said to be sons of God, since they had long been called by that name. They had received the name of sons at one time as though by anticipation in order that this sonship might subsequently be understood in Christ, being incomplete without the Spirit. .
Yet the love of God for humanity is such that by grace He becomes Father of those in relation to whom he had previously only been Maker. He becomes their Father when created beings receive ‘into their hearts the Spirit of the Son crying out, ‘Abba, Father’ [Gal 4.6]., as the apostle says. These are the ones who, by receiving the Word, receive authority from him ‘to become the children of God’ (John 1.12). Being creatures by nature, they would not become ‘sons’ except by receiving the Spirit of the natural and true Son. So it was in order to bring this about and to make humanity receptive of divinity that ‘The Word became flesh’ (John 1.14)… Accordingly, the Father calls ‘sons’ those in whom He sees His own Son and He says, ‘I begot’ since ‘begetting’ signifies ‘sons’ while ‘making’ is indicative of the works. Therefore we are not begotten first but made [created], for it is written, ‘Let us make humanity’ (Gen 1.26). But when we later receive the grace of The Spirit, we are henceforth ...
There are two words that he has set down so that the former may be interpreted by the latter, “for Abba” means the same as “Father.” Now we see that he has elegantly, and not without reason, put together words from two languages signifying the same thing because of the whole people, which has been called from Jews and Gentiles into the unity of faith.
The Spirit of His Son. The Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. This is an argument from effect to cause, as when we say, "Where there is smoke there is fire." God first sent forth the Spirit of His Son to us, from which it followed that we became sons of God. Because we are sons, therefore, we know that He hath sent forth the Spirit of His Song of Solomon , else should we not be sons. Because, therefore, denotes not so much the efficient cause as the logical reason.
Or, better still, we may connect the particle because with the cry, "Abba, Father." God hath sent forth His Spirit, not to make you sons, but to make you cry, "Abba, Father."
Crying. Causing you to invoke God ardently, confidently, with filial affection. It is the clamour of the heart, not of the mouth, as in Exodus 15:15.
Abba. The Hebrew Ab, the Syriac Abba, which in Greek and Latin becomes Abbas, denotes father. See my notes to Romans 8:15. As this place is a terror to the lukewarm, who rarely exp...
Behold the whole array of those three powers through one power and one Godhead. For God, he says, who is the Father, sent his own Son, who is Christ, and again Christ, who himself being the power of God is God, … sent the spirit of his Son, who is the Holy Spirit. .
Crying, Abba. That is, Father; Christ taught us in prayer to call God our Father, he having made us his adoptive sons by his grace, and heirs of heaven. (Witham)
Had not we been first made sons, we could not have called Him Father. If then grace has made us freemen instead of slaves, men instead of children, heirs and sons instead of aliens, is it not utter absurdity and stupidity to desert this grace, and to turn away backwards?
