Romans 8:14-16

For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship [or adoption]. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

Paul says that those being led by the Holy Spirit in sanctification are true sons of God. Christians realize that sanctification always accompanies and is the evidence of sonship. God does not respond to us; rather, He leads us to move and respond to Him by His Spirit. He works in us. What does it mean to be “led by the Spirit?” Consider five things:

(1) We are governed by the Spirit constantly. Paul’s not saying that certain Christians receive extraordinary swaying by the Spirit during certain trials; that may be true, but that’s not what Paul is talking about here. Paul is talking about the believer being governed constantly, not sporadically or occasionally, but every second by the Holy Spirit. (2) The leading of the Spirit is primarily about correcting not protecting. The Spirit is not protecting us from suffering, but leading us through the refinement of suffering. The Spirit is making us like Christ so that we can share in His glory. (3) The Holy Spirit does not merely guide us; He empowers us. It’s not like an Indian guide who takes you across the mountains through the treacherous passes, because he knows the way. He doesn’t just have information that you need, but He is actually the force that keeps you going. He’s the One who gives you the energy to start the trail in the first place and to finish it just as surely. (4) The leading of the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean that you are lost. He doesn’t displace you; instead He encourages and ages you. It’s truly you who are growing in grace. It’s truly you who are following in the way of the Spirit. The Spirit is encouraging and aiding you to be you. (5) The Holy Spirit always leads us in the way of truth. How many times have you had Christians come to you and say, “Well, the Spirit is leading me to do ‘X.’” And you sit there scratching your heard, thinking, “What you’re saying that you’re being led to do is wrong.” The Holy Spirit never leads against the word of God or the will of God.

In v14 Paul confirms that eternal life invariably issues from sonship. If you are a child of God, you have eternal life. If you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior, then God has given you the right to be called His child (John 1:12). Have you heard people say, “We’re all children of God”? We’ll we’re not. Only those who have Christ are children of God. Likewise, sanctification is the invariable expression of sonship. The children of God are always growing in grace. So Paul says in v12 that we ought to grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18), because we are under obligation; in v13 we ought to grow in grace, because sin kills and putting sin to death brings life. And in v14, we ought to grow in grace, because we, as believers, are sons of God. The purpose of the Holy Spirit in making us sons of God is to make us like our Heavenly Father.

I have my driver’s license photo at age 16 and my dad’s at the same age. We looked very much alike, and people who have seen them wonder which is which. I don’t mind looking like my dad, because I love my dad. And He’s nice looking at age 53, and I would love to be nice looking when I’m that age. Similarly, the Holy Spirit’s purpose in indwelling believers is to make us look like our Heavenly Father so that people say, “You know, you have a striking family resemblance to the good and perfect and just and righteous Heavenly Father that rules this universe. Could you be family?” And wouldn’t you be excited to answer, “Yes, yes. I’m a son of that God. By grace I’ve been adopted into His family, and the Holy Spirit is making me to be like Him. So I am beginning to have some of the character qualities that He has.”

The presence of the Spirit testifies for us, that we are God’s children. Paul’s point in v15 is that Christians are sanctified through the work of the Holy Spirit through whom we approach God as Father as adopted children. Paul is saying that Christians are to be mindful of Who the Spirit is that they have received. The Holy Spirit is not the Spirit of bondage. He’s the Spirit Who came to set us free from the domination of sin and guilt. He’s the spirit of adoption. He’s the One Who brings home the benefits and the effects of the fact that the Heavenly Father has received us into His family. The Spirit witnesses, along with our spirit, that we are truly children of God, and thus heirs of God. Christians are assured of their sonship and their inheritance by the witness of the Spirit.