The Spirit Bears Witness Romans 8:16

Paul the apostle told the people in Rome, “you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear;

but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father”, and in chapter eight and verse sixteen of Romans, Paul told his readers how, “the spirit bears witness” where we read:

The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

The verse begins, “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, ...” Paul began with the words, “the Spirit itself” which refers to “the third person of the triune God who is the Holy Spirit and coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son” “bears witness” or “testifies” “with our spirit” which means “alongside Paul's, his companions' and his believing readers' simple essence which is devoid of all or at least all grosser matter and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting”. Paul shared how “God's Holy Spirit” “testifies” to the “spirit” that is within believers in Jesus.

The verse continues, “... that we are the children of God:” Paul continued with the words, “that we are” which means “that Paul, his companions and his believing readers are” “the children” or “the offspring and descendants” “of God” which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Paul shared how “God's Spirit” “testifies” that “believers in Jesus” are the “children” of Almighty “God”.

When we think through these words of Paul, we see how God's Spirit within believers “gives and bears witness” to the fact that they are God's “children”. Although people make generalizations about being God's “sons and daughters”, unless they have the “Spirit of God” within them, they are deceived. God desires to live and dwell within every person, and He sent His Son Jesus Christ to provide a way for that to happen. “Believing and trusting” in Jesus as a personal “Savior and Lord” permits God's Spirit to “bear witness” of His presence within, and when people “receive” Jesus and are filled with “the Spirit of God”, they become His “children”.

Next time Paul writes to his readers how they are, “children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.