The Spirit who indwells the believers cries with their spirit, Abba, Father. Two verses speak of this. “Because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father!” (Gal. 4:6). “You have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15). We have received a spirit of sonship by the Spirit of God coming into our spirit. Because the Spirit of God has entered into our spirit, our spirit has become a spirit of sonship.
Galatians 4:6 says that God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. Actually the Spirit of God came into our spirit at our regeneration (John 3:6; Rom. 8:16). Because our spirit is hidden in our heart (1 Pet. 3:4), and because the word here refers to a matter that is related to our feeling and understanding, both of which belong to our heart, it says that the Spirit of God’s Son was sent into our heart.
Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6 are parallel verses. Romans 8:15 says that we who have received a spirit of sonship cry, in this spirit, Abba, Father, whereas Galatians 4:6 says that the Spirit of God’s Son is crying in our heart, Abba, Father. This indicates that our regenerated spirit and the Spirit of God are mingled as one and that our spirit is in our heart. Whether we cry or the Spirit cries, we both cry together. When we cry, He cries in our crying. When He cries, we cry with Him. According to grammar, the subject of crying in Romans 8:15 is “we,” but in Galatians 4:6 the subject of crying is “the Spirit.” These verses prove that our spirit and the Spirit are one. When we cry, Abba, Father, He joins with us in our crying. The Spirit cries in our crying because the Spirit of the Son of God indwells our spirit.
“Abba” is an Aramaic word, thus a Hebrew word, which means father, and “Father” is the translation of the Greek word pater. Such a term was first used by the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane while praying to the Father (Mark 14:36). The combination of the Hebrew title with the Greek expresses a stronger affection in crying to the Father. Such an affectionate cry implies an intimate relationship in life between a genuine son and a begetting father. When these two terms Abba and Father are put together, the result is a deep, sweet sense, a sense that is exquisitely intimate. “Abba, Father” is sweetness intensified. The sense we have when calling in this way is sweet and intimate. We enjoy this sweetness and intimacy in our fellowship with the Triune God.
Although the Spirit of sonship has come into our spirit, the Spirit cries in our hearts, Abba, Father. This indicates that our relationship with our Father in the sonship is sweet and very intimate. How tender and sweet it is to call God, Abba, Father! Such an intimate calling involves our emotion as well as our spirit. The Spirit of sonship in our spirit cries, Abba, Father, from our heart. This proves that we have a genuine relationship in life with our Father. We are His real sons.
As the Spirit works in the believers, He bears witness in their conscience. In Romans 9:1 Paul says, “In Christ I speak the truth, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit.” This verse proves that the conscience is a part of the human spirit. We have seen that the Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit (Rom. 8:16). However, in this verse we are told that our conscience bears witness in the Holy Spirit. Therefore, because the Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit and our conscience witnesses with the Holy Spirit, our conscience must be part of our spirit.
As we enjoy fellowship with the Triune God, our conscience often confirms our standing, and the Spirit bears witness to our standing in our conscience. However, the situation may also be the opposite. If we do something wrong or are on the wrong standing, the Spirit in our conscience will witness to us in a negative way. Both the positive and negative witness of the Spirit in our conscience is the work of the Holy Spirit in our enjoyment of the divine fellowship.
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