The Spirit of Adoption: How You Know You Are His
11 June 2025 · 1 min read · Understanding the Bible
How does anyone know they belong to God? Paul's answer is not a certificate but a cry: ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The proof of the family is the instinct of the child.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
The inner witness
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Deeper than argument, the indwelling Spirit produces a settled filial confidence — the reflex that runs toward God in trouble rather than away, the 'Father' that rises unbidden.
The same Spirit is called the earnest of our inheritance — the down payment, heaven's deposit guaranteeing the rest. Assurance is not presumption; it is the receipt.
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Living like an heir
Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. The orphan-spirit — anxious, earning, hoarding — is unlearned slowly as the Spirit of adoption teaches the family posture.
When accusation whispers that you are too far gone or too little use, answer with the family cry. Abba is not a password for the qualified; it is the vocabulary the Spirit gives the adopted. Cry it, and note who taught you how.
