Romans 8:14-16 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

For as many as are led, guided and governed, by the Spirit of God As a Spirit of truth and grace, of wisdom and holiness; they are the sons of God That is, they stand related to God, not merely as subjects to their king, or servants to their master, but as children to their father; they are unspeakably near and dear to God, being spiritually begotten of him, and partaking of his nature. See on John 1:12. For ye Who are real Christians; have not Since you believed on Christ with a living faith; received the spirit of bondage A servile disposition, produced by the Spirit of God convincing you that you are in a state of guilt and wrath; again Such as you had formerly, before your conversion; to fear Condemnation and wrath from God, which you knew you had merited, and therefore to fear him with a servile fear, and death with a fear producing torment. But ye have received the Spirit of adoption An assurance of your reconciliation with and filial relation to God, through the influence of the Spirit of Christ, Galatians 4:6; producing in you such confidence toward God in approaching him, as dutiful children feel toward a loving father. Whereby By which Spirit; we All and every believer; cry The word, χραζομεν, denotes a vehement speaking, with desire, confidence, constancy; Abba, Father The latter word explains the former. By using both the Syro-Chaldaic and Greek words, the apostle seems to point out the joint cry both of the Jewish and Gentile believers; who, in consequence of that assurance of God's favour, and adoption into his family, with which their minds were filled, since they had received the gospel, felt that disposition of reverence for, confidence in, and grateful love to God, which is here properly termed the Spirit of adoption: that is, the spirit of children. We may observe here, that both the spirit of bondage to fear, or servile spirit, and the Spirit of adoption, or filial spirit, as above explained, are produced by one and the same Spirit of God, manifesting itself in various operations, according to the various circumstances of the persons; first causing them to see and feel themselves to be in bondage to the guilt and power of sin, to the world, to Satan, and obnoxious to the wrath of God; and then assuring them of their deliverance therefrom, and of their reception into the favour and family of God, as his sons and daughters. The Spirit itself Αυτο το Πνευμα, the self-same Spirit, whereby we cry. Abba, Father; beareth witness Greek, συμμαρτυρει τω πνευματι ημων; witnesseth together with our spirit Or our enlightened and renewed conscience, by his internal and gracious operation, giving us to know and feel with assurance, gratitude, and joy, that we are the children of God By special adoption and regeneration. For it is by his influence, and his alone, that we can know the things that are freely given to us of God, namely, what they are, their nature and excellence, and that they are ours, 1 Corinthians 2:12. And hence this Spirit is said to be the seal of our sonship, and the earnest of our inheritance in our hearts, 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30. Happy they who enjoy this testimony clear and constant! Some, by the testimony spoken of in this verse, understand the extraordinary or miraculous gifts of the Spirit. These undoubtedly were a divine testimony to the mission of Christ, and the truth of the gospel; but certainly (according to our Lord's own declaration, that many, whom he never acknowledged to be his, would say to him in the day of judgment, that they had prophesied and cast out devils in his name, &c.) they are not a satisfactory proof of the truth of any one's grace, the reality of his conversion, or of his being a child of God. Accordingly this apostle testifies, 1 Corinthians 13:2, If a man have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and have such miracle-working faith, as to be able to remove mountains, that, with respect to real religion, he is nothing, if he have not love, namely, to God and man.