The Holy Spirit Our Helper – Part Four

The Assuring by the Holy Spirit

Paul tells us in Romans 8:

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:14-16)

There are two ways the Holy Spirit gives us assurance that we are saved. Paul mentions the first way in verse 14. We are “led” by the Spirit, by which Paul means that the Holy Spirit is producing spiritual growth in us. Spiritual growth is a clear evidence that we are saved. The problem is, we can always have a more negative evaluation of our own growth. So the second way the Spirit gives assurance is by testifying with our spirit that we are God’s children.

I like what the Expositor’s Bible Commentary says about this:

We sometimes come to the point of doubting our salvation because our sanctification has proceeded so slowly and so lamely. The Spirit, however, does not base his assuring testimony on progress or the lack of it in the Christian life. He does not lead us to cry, “I am God’s child.” Rather, he leads us to call upon God as Father—to look away from ourselves to him who established the relationship. (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)