The Spirit is the means for the believers to take Christ as their righteousness by faith. “We by the Spirit by faith eagerly expect the hope of righteousness” (Gal. 5:5). “By the Spirit” here is in contrast with “by the flesh” (Gal. 3:3). Furthermore, “by faith” is in contrast with “by the works of law” (Gal. 3:2). The hope of righteousness is the righteousness we hope for, which is Christ Himself (1 Cor. 1:30). It is not by works of law in the flesh but by faith in the Spirit. Christ is our hope of righteousness. He is our righteousness today, and He is our hope to come. We are not looking for earthly success. By the Spirit and by faith we expect Christ as the hope of righteousness.
It is in the divine fellowship that we through the Spirit as the means take Christ as our righteousness by faith. As we enjoy Christ in fellowship with the Triune God, we realize that every day, even every moment, Christ is our righteousness. Of ourselves we do not have any righteousness; on the contrary, our righteousness is the Christ whom we live. When we live Christ, He is our righteousness. We do not have our own merit before God. Our only merit before God is the Christ whom we live daily. Therefore, in our fellowship with the Triune God we do not take our behavior or character as our merit. Instead, we take Christ as our merit, as our righteousness, enjoying Him in our fellowship with God.
In Galatians 5:5 Paul puts the Spirit together with faith. According to Galatians 3:14, the Spirit is typified by the good land. Faith may be compared to a camera that photographs the divine scenery. In order to have the proper enjoyment of Christ, we need the Spirit as the all-inclusive land and faith as the means to enjoy this land. Then as we enjoy the Spirit by faith, we eagerly expect the hope of righteousness.
Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God.” There is a Witness within us who testifies that we are children of God. This means that within us someone is reminding us that we are God’s children. Sometimes this reminding One regulates us or safeguards us. This regulating comes from the Spirit, who is witnessing with our spirit.
In Romans 8:14 Paul speaks of the sons of God, and in verse 15, of the spirit of sonship. Why in verse 16 does he suddenly speak of the children of God? The reason is that the Spirit witnesses to something basic. He witnesses to our primary or initial relationship with God. We may be children without the growth of a son, and we may be sons without the qualification of an heir. For the Holy Spirit to witness that we are all heirs of God would be premature. Most of us are not mature enough for such a witness. Thus, the Spirit witnesses to the most basic and elementary relationship-that of being the children of God. He witnesses with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Romans 8:16 does not say “in our spirit” but “with our spirit.” If this verse said “in our spirit,” this would mean that only the Spirit of God witnesses but that our spirit does not witness. However, the Spirit witnesses with our spirit, meaning that both witness together. The Spirit of God witnesses, and simultaneously our spirit witnesses together with Him. However, sometimes we may not feel that the Spirit is witnessing within us. But we cannot deny the fact that our spirit is witnessing. As long as our spirit is witnessing, the Holy Spirit also is witnessing. In his wisdom Paul said that the Spirit witnesses with our spirit. When our spirit witnesses, that is also the witnessing of the Spirit, for the two spirits have been mingled together as one. With our spirit the Spirit witnesses that we are God’s children.
Often we exercise our mind to try to figure out certain things related to our Christian life. From experience we know that this is a distraction. What we need is the living witness of the Spirit. According to 8:16, the Spirit witnesses with our spirit, not with our mind. Paul says clearly and explicitly that the Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.
Furthermore, the Spirit bears witness that, as children of God, we should not do certain things or go to certain places. Many times this witnessing bothers us. On the one hand, it assures us that we are children of God. On the other hand, it convicts us when we do things that are not in keeping with being a child of God. This indicates that to be a child of God is to be limited and restricted. However, this limitation and restriction is not a suffering but a protection. Thank the Lord that we are preserved and protected by the inner witnessing of the Spirit with our spirit.
The work of the indwelling Spirit in witnessing with our spirit that we are children of God is also a matter of the divine fellowship. As the Spirit keeps us in fellowship with the Triune God, we enjoy being children of God. We have the sweet and intimate inward sense that we are God’s children.
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