Hymns: Who You Say I Am

In this series, I (as an old guy 😀) take a look at some modern worship songs. I’m desperately trying to settle down in the 21st Century – unless some kind person can tell me how I can travel back in time.😀

I don’t really know much about Hillsong. I often hear it criticized in the circles that I move in. I suspect that like any large or small movement, you get some bad apples. But that doesn’t stop me believing that there’s also many wonderful devout believers in the movement. But I’m only really focusing on the songs themselves. Even if I didn’t sing them in my own church, I would still like to familiarize myself with them and use them in my personal devotion.

The core message of the song is from the following verse:

John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

When I look at the lyrics, they all make sense. The only slightly puzzling line is:

I am chosen

Not forsaken

I am who You say I am

To understand this, I would think of the following illustration. Suppose that you were like Annie, living in an orphanage. Annie was a delightful musical. I remember seeing the stage show in London in 1982. I was about to go to the Gandhi film in Leicester Square, but it was full. So, I went around the corner and saw the Annie stage show. I saw it some years later in Cork. And of course, I saw the film too – and I eventually watched Gandhi 😀.

But we know that so many children live very tragic lives in orphanages. Let’s say that the authorities treat you like dirt and your fellow orphans think little of you. And then you’re adopted by the most loving person imaginable. Now you’re chosen, no longer forsaken. And you see yourself as that loving person sees you. I am who you say I am. Imagine being adopted by God himself!

Adoption is a term used throughout the New Testament of those who come to Christ. In one sense, we are God’s children because we are born again, and in another sense, we are his children because we are adopted when we come to believe.

John 1:12-13
But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Romans 8:15
“The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

1 John 3:1
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”

Hebrews 2:11
“Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”

Galatians 4:6-7
⁶ And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

What does Abba actually mean? Let me ask Microsoft Copilot:

Quick Answer: In the New Testament, Abba is an Aramaic word meaning “Father”, used by Jesus and Paul to express an intimate, trusting relationship with God. It conveys both closeness (like “Papa” or “Daddy”) and reverence.

I wondered why it wasn’t translated. Here is what Copilot told me:

Great question! The reason Abba was not translated in the New Testament but instead left in its original Aramaic form has to do with both linguistic nuance and theological weight. Abba carried a special sense of closeness that no single Greek or Latin word could fully capture. Early Christians saw Abba as a distinctive word Jesus used, marking His unique relationship with God. By retaining it, the New Testament highlights that believers share in this same intimacy through adoption.

Here are a couple of songs that address the Father as Abba:

To the theologically minded, you can listen to Wayne Grudem’s Adoption lecture. And here are another couple of hymns that touch on the theme of adoption: