The Spirit’s Witness

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. 

Romans 8:16 

How do we know we are the children of God? According to our text it is the result of the witness of the Holy Spirit. It includes a response from our own spirit. There is a common agreement or consensus between the Holy Spirit and us. The foundation of our belief in God rests upon His revelation of Himself in creation and through the Scripture. We know from our own experience that God has done a work in us. We had no time for God or Christ. God awakened us to Him. We truly saw Christ for the first time. We realized we could not make ourselves acceptable to God by keeping the law. We embraced Christ as the Gospel offers Him. We are alive spiritually whereas we were dead in trespasses and in sins. We are not who we were. In humility, we can take no credit for this transformation. We recognize it constitutes a real and ongoing change. Our spirit finds community with the Spirit of God. We share common cause with Christ. From this witness of the Spirit and the response that arises from our own spirit, we conclude that we are indeed, the children of God. This is a deeply spiritual experience. It is deeper than we can adequately describe. It brings us a sense of belonging we could not have any other way.  

Our Good and Gracious God, 
we rejoice that You have given us Your Holy Spirit. 
We praise You that He testifies to us 
that we are the children of God. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning