I was reading William Hendrickson's commentary on Gal 4:6 yesterday and his exposition filled my heart with unspeakable joy. I wanted to share it with you all.
Gal 4:6 - And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "œAbba! Father!"
Gal 4:6 - And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "œAbba! Father!"
The redeemed are now sons, not minors but majors. They have reached maturity and with it freedom. It is remarkable that the apostle is saying this to the Galatians! He says, as it were, "œYou, Galatians, weak, foolish, erring, must consider that you, yes even you, are sons of the heavenly Father, the Father of your Lord Jesus Christ." In other words, he is not giving up hope with respect to them, even though he is baffled about their present behavior (4:11).
Now because they are sons, God, the Father, having adopted them as sons, has sent forth the Spirit into their hearts. They are sons; hence they receive the Holy Spirit. They receive the Spirit; hence they become conscious of their sonship (Rom. 8:15). All three persons of the Holy Trinity are indicated in this passage, and their harmonious co-operation as the one true God is beautifully set forth. Moreover, the third person is called "œthe Spirit of his (God the Father´s) Son." He is the Spirit of the Son because he proceeds from the Son (John 15:26), as well as from the Father, and because he glorifies the Son, causing men to ponder the Son´s teaching, love unto death, heavenly intercession, and constant care (John 16:14).
"œGod sent forth his Son" (verse 4); "œGod sent forth the Spirit of his Son" (verse 6). The same word is used with reference to the sending of the Spirit as was previously used in connection with the sending of the Son. The two are equally real, and also equally important. In fact, the salvation that was bought for God´s people by the Son will not avail except it be also wrought in their hearts by that Son´s Spirit. The heart, moreover, controls the entire personality. It is the core and center of man´s being, man´s inmost self. It is the hub whence radiate all the spokes of his existence, the fulcrum of feeling and faith as well as the mainspring of words and actions (Rom. 10:10; cf. Matt. 12:34; 15:19; 22:37; John 14:1). "œOut of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23).
In dwelling on the great mysteries of salvation, matters in which he himself has become intensely and lastingly involved, Paul frequently changes from the second to the first person plural (Gal. 1:3, 4; 2:14, 15; Eph. 1:17, 19; 2:1, 5; 2:8, 10; 2:13, 14; 5:1, 2; 6:11, 12; Phil. 3:2, 3; 3:15, 16; Col. 1:11"“13; 2:13; etc.). So also here: "œAnd because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts." About such marvelous realities he is unable to write in an abstract, detached manner; hence not you "¦ your, but you "¦ our. And why is his soul thus lost in wonder, love, and praise? The very contents of verses 4"“6 clearly shows why. First, the Father had sent the Son, sent him from his very heart, as it were: "œhe spared not his own Son!" (Rom. 8:32), his only Son (John 3:16). He sent him into a world of sin and ruin, where for our sake and in our stead he was to suffer innumerable reproaches. And what did we (all those who were to be redeemed) do? We (that is, our sins) nailed him to the cross! This we did to him who came to dwell with us. Yet, instead of casting us away forever from his presence of love, the Father then sent the Spirit of his Son, in order that this Spirit (and in him also the Father and the Son) might draw even closer to us, dwelling not just with but within us, in our very hearts, and transforming these hearts from being hateful to being loving, from being rebellious to being obedient, from being distrustful to being faith-filled, and from being despondent to being exuberant with praise and adoration. Within these hearts the Spirit speaks peace, assurance. He bears witness with our spirit that we are God´s very children, his adopted sons and heirs. Is it any wonder that such hearts begin to respond to the Father´s love, so that love answers love, and a blessed interchange takes place? Is it not natural that the Spirit, dwelling within these hearts, impels them to address their Benefactor jubilantly, calling him "œFather"? The text reads: crying, "œAbba! Father!" In reality the outcry of joyful recognition, sweet response, appropriating love, overwhelming gratitude, and last but not least, filial trust, is ascribed to the Spirit. Nevertheless, this must be understood mediately, meaning that it is the Spirit "œwhereby we cry Abba! Father!" (Rom. 8:15). Similarly, in connection with the church´s yearning for Christ´s return we read, "œAnd the Spirit and the bride say, Come" (Rev. 22:17). Here, too, the bride is moved by the Spirit. Spirit and bride always work together (Rom. 8:16).
It is a well-known fact that those who have acquired proficiency in more than one language will at times give preference to their native tongue as a vehicle for the expression of their deepest emotions. Being "œa Hebrew of Hebrews" (Phil. 3:5), a Hebrew son of Hebrew parents, Paul must have been fond of the language spoken by the Jews as they returned from the lands of the captivity, namely Aramaic, akin to Hebrew (Acts 21:40). Aramaic, in fact, was a very important language in those days, being spoken not only by the Jews but by many others besides, even far outside the borders of Palestine. Jesus, too, spoke Aramaic, and it is altogether probable that in his frequent teaching about the Father, he had often used the term Abba. His disciples, therefore, relished the use of this word. Thus it passed into the vocabulary of the primitive church. Naturally, in writing to churches consisting for the greater part of people who were non-Jews, the word Abba had to be translated into the Greek pá̄ter, as Paul does here. Paul, then, is giving expression to his own inner devotion as well as to the deepest feelings of the early church when he tells us that now that freedom has arrived, through the redemption accomplished by Christ, and the way of access to the throne of God has been opened wider than ever, redeemed humanity, both Jew and Gentile, takes hold on God by crying, "œAbba! Father!" By means of this expression of filial trust and closeness to the Father believers echoed the words of their Lord, spoken at a time when, in order to obtain this closeness of fellowship for us, he himself was being driven into isolation, was losing this very sense of nearness to his Father. It was in Gethsemane that Jesus, in deep anguish, said, "œAbba," which by the evangelist Mark is similarly rendered into the Greek equivalent for "œFather" (Mark 14:36).
Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. 1953-2001. Vol. 8: New Testament commentary : Exposition of Galatians. Accompanying biblical text is author's translation. New Testament Commentary . Baker Book House: Grand Rapids
Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me... 
