¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Believers are described in various ways in Scripture: saved, justified, led by the Spirit, indwelt by the Spirit, redeemed, etc. These are logical certainties that bring us theological assurance of our standing with God. We find our subjective assurance implicitly in the fact of our faith. We have eternal life because we believe, and we know that we believe, as the apostle John teaches us in 1 John 5:11-13.

Here in our verse today, we find spiritual assurance, the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. This is not just a feeling of being saved or self-talk. It is not objective in the sense of providing proof to other people, but it is sufficient proof for the individual that he himself is a true believer. That proof is the supernatural, inner prompting of the Holy Spirit that is unmistakable to the discerning Christian.

The irony today is that many Christians are seeking proof that God is really there by looking for undeniable, supernatural and charismatic happenings. While on the surface, they think that the supernatural will help their witness to the unsaved world become more fruitful, we suspect the real desire is to prove to the believer himself that God is really there, that he is more than just make-believe. We want to see Him at work, to be assured that our God can and does take control, at least once in a while. Unfortunately, when we sense God is not doing His miraculous thing, then we fear that it is because our faith is lacking somehow—and that God is therefore angry with us. This throws us back into a pre-justification way of thinking that God’s work and acceptance of us somehow depend on our keeping the rules.

Yet the Spirit provides proof not just that God exists, but something even greater. He supernaturally gives us an internal witness that we belong to God’s family, fully accepted and justified. Not matter how far short we fall as believers, He is still our Papa into whose arms we fall continually. What a wonderful assurance. I know God exists; that is completely settled. But I need His continual reassurance that I am loved by Him (see also Mark 14:36, Gal 4:6). And as His beloved child, I am an heir of His along with His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I am now fully entitled to all that is my Father’s. Only a miraculous work of the Spirit can give me that assurance, especially when life becomes difficult—and that is to what the apostle Paul turns to next.

Father, Abba, it is because of Your Spirit that I know for sure I am Your child.