How does the Holy Spirit work in the sons of God? He leads them to put sin to death, causes them to cry out Abba! Father!, and testifies with their spirit that they are the children of God.
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How Does The Spirit Work In The Sons Of God?
Romans 8:14-16
For some time now Paul has been making a distinction between two completely different groups of people. In chapter 5 he told us that some have Adam for their Representative Head, and others have Christ. In chapter 6 he said that some are slaves to sin, and others are slaves of God. In chapter 7 he said that some are married to the Law and others are married to Christ. In chapter 8 he said that some are “in the flesh” and others are “in the Spirit.” Paul is contrasting those who are saved with those who are lost; those who are headed to Heaven, with those who are headed for Hell. Those who are damned, with those who are justified.
Well, in Romans 8:14-17, Paul uses another phrase to describe those who are saved – “sons of God.”
One of the best ways to study your Bible is to try to identify the central idea of the passage that you are studying. And one of the best ways you can do that is to simply notice repeated words or phrases. As we do that in Romans 8:14-17, we will notice two different groups of words.
The first group of words has to do with the word “sons.”
Romans 8:14, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Romans 8:15, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God”
Romans 8:17, “And if children, then heirs…”
Notice that in every verse of our passage Paul refers to sons or children of God.
Another repeated word that keeps occurring in this passage is the word “Spirit.”
Romans 8:14, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Romans 8:15, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God”
So, the two great ideas of this passage in Romans are “sons of God” and “Spirit of God.” Therefore we can conclude that the central idea is how the Spirit of God works in the sons of God.
This morning, as we work our way through Romans 8:14-17, we are going to see 4 great truths emerge. How does the Spirit of God work in the sons of God?
- The Spirit leads them to put sin to death
- The Spirit causes them to cry out, “Abba! Father!”
- The Spirit testifies with their spirit that they are children of God
- The Spirit assures them of their glorious inheritance
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The Spirit Leads Them To Put Sin To Death
Verse 14 reads, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” When I was a young believer, I was told that this verse means that you can tell if you are a Christian because the Holy Spirit will guide you to make important decisions in your life. For example, if you need to know whether you should marry someone, or go to this college or that college, or move to this city or that state, the Holy Spirit will provide supernatural guidance, and you will know what the right decision is. I have now come to believe that that is NOT what this verse is teaching. Why? Because of the word that starts verse 14 – “For.” You students of the Bible, pay careful attention to the connecting words in a sentence like, “Therefore” and “since” and “so that” and “in order that” and “for” and “but.” All of these words are clueing you in on the meaning of the sentence. The word “for” has the meaning of “because.” Verse 14 is explaining why those who put to death the deeds of the body will live. It is because all those who are being led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Do you see that Paul explains what he means by “being led by the Spirit of God” as “putting to death the deeds of the body.” You see the Holy Spirit is holy! The Holy Spirit is always leading Christians into greater holiness. The way He leads us primarily is to put sin to death in our lives.
The expression “led by the Spirit” is used only one other time in the New Testament regarding Christians. It appears twice in Luke pertaining to Jesus and His temptations. But regarding believers, it only appears one other place, in Galatians 5:16-18. Let’s take a look at it.
Galatians 5:16-18, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.”
When Paul talks about being “led by the Spirit”, what is the context? He is talking about being led by the Spirit, in opposition to the desires of the flesh. In other words, to be led by the Spirit, is to fight and oppose the lusts of the flesh. This is exactly what He is talking about in Romans 8:14.
Now, what is the great truth of Romans 8:14? Those that are led by the Spirit to put sin to death, these and these only, are sons of God. Do you see that in our text? “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. My friends, if you do not wage war on sin as your regular lifestyle, you should not believe you have any reason to claim that you are a child of God. Every child of God wages war on his/her sin. But the flip side of that is also true. If it is the regular pattern of your life to wage war on your sin, this is good solid evidence that you are a child of God! Praise God!
The Holy Spirit is always leading a believer to put sin to death in his life. If you are a Christian, He is leading you to do that today, this week. The only question is, “Are you following His lead? Are you surrendering to His leading? Are you partnering with Him to crucify your sin?”
Another implication from verse 14 is that not all people are the children of God. It is common when I go out and witness to lost people for them to say, “we are all God’s children, right?” The answer is, “wrong!” No, we are not all God’s children. Galatians 3:26 says, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” Only those who have been justified by faith are the sons of God! It is popular in our modern mindset to believe that all roads lead to God, and everyone will go to heaven who are sincere. That’s a lie from the pit of hell. The devil would like everyone to believe that they are headed for heaven because they are sincere, and after all, we are all God’s children, right? No, Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day, “You are of your father, the devil” (Jn.8:44). Either you are in Satan’s family or God’s family. You can be religious, moral, and sincere, and still be in Satan’s family. You must be born again and adopted into God’s family!
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The Spirit Causes Them To Cry Out, “Abba! Father!”
The first question we must solve in this passage is what does Paul mean by “spirit” of slavery and “spirit” of adoption? In the NASB, you will notice that the word “spirit” has a small “s”. In other words, the translators of the NASB, believed that this was talking about our spirit, or attitude, or disposition. You could understand this verse to be saying that the Christian did not receive an attitude or disposition of slavery leading to fear again, but he did receive an attitude or disposition of adoption as sons. In the Greek language in which Romans was written, there is no punctuation. The authors did not use capital letters to distinguish the Holy Spirit from man’s spirit. We must decide what “Spirit” is being referred to by other factors. There are two reasons why I believe that “spirit” in verse 15 refers to the Holy Spirit.
First, notice the surrounding context. In verse 14, the Spirit of God is expressly mentioned. In verse 16, again it is the Holy Spirit (The Spirit Himself…”). Therefore, verse 14 and 16 function as bookends, both referring to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I conclude that it is more likely that the reference to “spirit” in verse 15 also refers to the Holy Spirit.
My second reason is a parallel passage to this one. It is found in Galatians 4:4-7, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”
Now, here we have a parallel passage to Romans 8:15. In both passages “adoption as sons” is mentioned. In both “Abba! Father!” is mentioned. In both “heir” is mentioned. However, in this passage instead of “spirit of adoption”, we have “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts…” Therefore, it is clear to me that when Paul speaks about the “spirit of adoption” in Romans 8:15, He is talking about the Holy Spirit of adoption. He’s not talking about our spirit, or attitude, or disposition. So, I take every reference to “spirit” in Romans 8:14-17 to be the Holy Spirit, except for Romans 8:16 where it says, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit, that we are children of God.” There, it is obvious and clear that our own spirit is intended.
So, let’s go back and paraphrase verse 15. “When you were saved, the Holy Spirit did not come in to give you a cringing slavish fear of God. Instead He was the Spirit that confirmed your adoption into God’s family, by causing you to cry out, “Daddy! Father!”
Let’s take a look at the first half of the verse. This is the negative part of the verse. Here, Paul tells us what the Holy Spirit did not do when we became Christians. “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again…” Notice the word “again”. Paul is referring to a time in the life of these Roman believers when they were under the Law. Romans 4:15 says “the Law brings about wrath.” Before they were converted, they lived under a sense of unpardoned sin. The only way they could imagine they could be freed from their sin was to obey the Law. But the more they tried, the more they failed, and the greater their sense of wrath and punishment. They knew that the Law pronounced a curse on all who did not keep it. But, when the Holy Spirit came to them, He did not perpetuate these feelings of dread, forebodings, and fear of punishment.
Now, let’s look at the second half of the verse, the positive part. “but you have received a Spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Holy Spirit is called a “Spirit of adoption”, because when He indwells the believer, He confirms and makes real the truth that God has adopted them into His own family. All of us were born into the devil’s family, and were slaves in His kingdom. But when we were converted, we were translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. We were adopted! We are no longer the sons of Satan. Now, we are the sons of God!
In the ancient world, adoption was a very serious and common practice. A father would often adopt a son in order to make sure his name did not die out. When a child was adopted, three legal steps were taken immediately:
1) The adopted son was adopted permanently. He could not be adopted today and disowned tomorrow. Once a child was adopted, he was a member of the new family for the rest of his life. He was secure as a son.
2) The adopted son received all the rights of a biological son in the new family.
3) The adopted son completely lost all rights in his old family. The adopted son was looked on as a new person. If he had any debts and obligations in his old family, they were canceled and abolished as if they never existed.
So, what is Paul’s point of verse 15? He is telling us that when we were saved, God replaced the fear of a slave toward his master with the love of a son for his father. In other words, Paul is saying that when a person is saved, his feelings toward God change. When he was under the Law, and trying to gain freedom from punishment by obedience to the Law, he was afraid of God and His wrath. But now that the Spirit has confirmed his adoption into God’s family, his feelings toward are completely changed. He now has confidence, and love, and joy towards God.
Real Christianity has to do not only with beliefs, but with affections! If all you have are certain doctrinal beliefs, that produce no affection for God, you don’t have the real deal! If you are still afraid of punishment, and wrath from God, you are still lost. True believers have had a heart change. They feel differently toward God. The fear of a slave has been replaced by the affection of a son.
So, just how does this work? Well, Romans 5:5 says, “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” The first act of the Spirit when He is poured out in our hearts, is to reveal to us that we are loved by God. And notice, this is an experience, not just a doctrinal position. The believer experiences the love of God being poured out in his heart. The Holy Spirit makes real God’s love for the believer. Have you ever experienced this? Do you now you are loved deeply, and eternally?
Then what? The Spirit brings about a response in the Christian’s life. What is it? We cry out, “Abba! Father!” Now, Romans 8:15 says that we cry out. Galatians 4:6 says the Spirit cries out “Abba! Father!” Which is it? It is both! The Spirit cries out within us, and we cry out with Him. He causes us to cry out. Part of the Spirit’s work is to cause us to cry out.
Notice the phrase “cry out.” The word implies strong emotion. The word means to “scream, call aloud, or to shriek.” It was used in Mt. 8:29 when the demons cried out, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” It was used in Mt. 9:27, when the two blind men followed Jesus crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” It was used in Mt. 14:30 when Peter came walking to Jesus on the sea, but began to sink, and the cried out, “Lord, save me!” I think you get the point. This is not a calm, dispassionate voice. It is a cry full of emotion and affection.
And what does the believer cry out? “Abba! Father!” The first word is Aramaic, and the second word is Greek. They both mean the same thing. The word “Abba” was the word a tiny child would use for his father. We would use the word “Papa” or “Daddy” today.
So, what is Paul saying? He’s saying that when God saves a person, He sends His Spirit into their hearts, and this Spirit causes them to cry out, “You are my Papa! You are my Daddy! You are my Father!” You aren’t just a harsh, cruel, wrathful master. You are my Daddy! You love me! You care for me! You are for me! You are good! When the Spirit of God comes in to our hearts, He convinces us that God is our father, and we don’t need to fear His wrath and punishment any longer.
What is the difference between a slave and a son? The relationship of a slave to his master is based on his work. The relationship of a son to his father is based on his position. If a slave does poor work, the master can sell him, punish him, or even execute him. But if the son does lousy work, the father may correct him, but he will never cast him out or disown him. The son will always remain a son. The son has security, while the slave does not. The slave’s security depends on the performance of his duties. The son’s security depends on his position in the family. Why am I not afraid of God’s wrath? Because I am His son. I am secure in His love for me. I believe and know He will never cast me out. Jesus said in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”
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The Spirit Testifies With Their Spirit That They Are The Children Of God
Verse 16 says, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” This is speaking about assurance of salvation. How can a person know whether he is saved? As I have searched the Word of God, I have found that there are three different ways we can receive assurance. The first is to believe the objective promises of the Word of God, like John 3:16 or John 3:36. The second is to experience the signs of life, like those outlined in 1 John (practicing righteousness, not practicing sin, loving the brethren, believing in Christ, overcoming the world). The third is when the Holy Spirit testifies with your spirit that you are a child of God. When all three of these means of assurance are firing, your assurance will be at its highest.
This third way of gaining assurance is very different from the first two. This is subjective. It is experiential. It is an immediate communication of the Holy Spirit with your spirit. Now, how does the Holy Spirit testify with your spirit that you are a child of God? I believe it is what we have already read in verse 15. He comes into our hearts, reveals that God loves us, and causes us to cry out in joy, relief, and confidence that God is our Daddy! He is our Papa!
One of the very first expressions of a baby’s new life, when it is born into the world, is its cry. Whenever it has a need, it cries. If it is hungry it cries. If it is thirsty, it cries. If it is wet, it cries. If it is too hot, it cries. If it is too cold, it cries. The little infant knows instinctively that its parents will come to meet its need when it cries. So too, when a person is born again, there is an instinctive cry produced by the Holy Spirit. “Daddy!”
Conclusion
So, my friends, let me leave you with some questions this morning.
1) Are you putting sin to death in your life? Only if those who wage war on their sin are the sons of God.
2) How do you feel toward God? Can you only relate to him as to a cruel and exacting Master, who will pour out His wrath on you if you don’t work hard enough, or keep His Law? If that is how you feel toward God you have never come to know Him.
3) Have you experienced the Holy Spirit welling up within you and causing you to cry out to God, “Daddy! Father!” Don’t take that for granted! That is a blessing only the sons of God experience!
4) Do you have loving, confident, joyful affections for God? The true Christian just doesn’t have correction beliefs about God. He has holy affections for God. Grow in your love for God!
5) Do you have assurance of salvation? We have to be careful here. There are some people who have assurance that shouldn’t have! They are lost, but think they are saved. And there are others who have no assurance but should have. They are saved, but have no assurance that they are so. How much better to be saved, and be assured of it. Peter says that we should be diligent to make our calling and election sure.
Oh friends, marvel this morning that you are a son or daughter of God! “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are!” 1Jn.3:1. What a privilege! There is nothing greater than to be a child of God! Let’s pray.
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