![]() This deserves emphasis in the face of possible misunderstanding. 12:3-17), and the Spirit impresses these words upon the hearts of believers for their comfort and edification. Many texts of Scripture describe our sonship and its various blessings (e.g., John 1:12 Rom. These truths suggest that the Spirit’s testimony to our sonship comes, at least in important part, through Scripture itself. 1:18) and we have been born again “through the living and abiding word of God” (1Pet. Yet even here the Spirit does not work independently of the word, but through the word: God gave us birth “by the word of truth” (Jas. This is a quintessential blessing of the Spirit, an inward, secret, and mysterious reality (John 3:5-8). (The Spirit also works through the sacraments, although I will not discuss that here.) Consider regeneration. On the other hand, the Spirit ordinarily works through the word. While both believers and unbelievers hear the word, the Spirit accompanies the word when it comes to believers, and this distinguishes them from the others (e.g., 1Thes. 4:12), but the Spirit is the one who makes it effective. On the one hand, the word depends on the Spirit. Word and SpiritĪ second general truth important for understanding the Spirit’s witness to our sonship is that God’s word and Spirit stand in the closest relationship. Testifying to our sonship, sealing, guaranteeing, and being the firstfruit are all aspects of the Spirit’s wonderful work of giving Christians a foretaste of the good things to come. Therefore, if adoption is a new-creation blessing and if the Spirit is the Spirit of the new creation, the Holy Spirit is ideally suited to testify to our sonship. Having a right to such an inheritance stands in contrast to a state of slavery to the “elements” of this present world (Gal. In context, this refers especially to a heavenly, new-creation inheritance (Rom. Paul explains that because Christians are adopted they are heirs (Rom. This is so relevant for the Spirit’s testimony to our sonship because our adoption is itself a new-creation blessing. 8:23), for the same Spirit who raised up Christ will raise us at his return (Rom. The Spirit is the firstfruit of a greater harvest (Rom. The Spirit is God’s seal and guaranteed down-payment of the good things to come (2Cor. Those indwelt by the Spirit enjoy a foretaste of the new creation. It is thus no surprise that the Spirit is a heavenly gift for us. He then poured out the same Spirit upon his people (Acts 2:33). The Spirit empowered Jesus in his work during his state of humiliation, but now, having finished that work, Jesus received the Spirit in a yet greater way, as the glorified God-Man. What seems amazing, in light of all this, is that the Father then bestowed the Spirit upon Jesus when he exalted him to his right hand (Acts 2:33). The presence of the Spirit was a sign that the kingdom of God had arrived (Matt. 3:16), miracles (Mark 1:34), crucifixion (Heb 9:14), and resurrection (Rom. Accordingly, the Spirit was instrumental in Jesus’s conception (Luke 1:35), baptism (Matt. 4:2-4), the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the shoot that sprouts from the stem of Jesse (11:1-2), God would put his Spirit on his chosen Servant (42:1), and the Messiah would say: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me” (61:1). The coming Branch would cleanse Jerusalem by the Spirit of judgment and fire (Isa. How would the people recognize their Messiah? They would know him by the Spirit who blessed and empowered him. Since our adoption as sons is a new-creation (or eschatological) gift, this truth deserves our reflection.Īlready in the Old Testament, the promise of the Spirit was a promise of the last days when the Messiah would arrive. He comes from heaven and thus he reveals and ministers the life of the coming new creation. One of the truly marvelous things Scripture reveals about the Holy Spirit is that he is the Spirit of the age-to-come. Then we turn to Romans 8 and see what Paul teaches about the Spirit’s witness. We do so here first by reflecting on two general truths about the Spirit and his ministry, as important background for our topic. But the Spirit’s testimony to our sonship is worth consideration in its own right. 8:16) and the work itself is often overshadowed by related doctrines, such as the nature of adoption and the assurance of salvation. Only a single biblical verse speaks explicitly about this work of the Spirit (Rom. The Holy Spirit’s testimony to Christians’ sonship is a beautiful reality, yet easy to overlook.
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