Romans 8:15 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

This verse proves the former, that we are led by the Spirit of God, and are his children, and that by an effect of the Spirit in them, which is to enable them to call God Father. He doth not here speak of two distinct Spirits, but one and the same Spirit of God, in different persons and at different times, is both the spirit of bondage and the Spirit of adoption. The spirit of bondage seems to respect either that state of servitude, which the people of God were under in the time of the ceremonial law; see Galatians 4:3,9; or it respects the publishing of the moral law upon Mount Sinai, which was with horror and fear. Compare Exodus 19:16, with Hebrews 12:18-21: see Galatians 4:24. Or else it respects that horror and slavish fear, which the Spirit of God doth work in men's hearts and consciences, by the ministry of the law, when he opens the eyes of men to see they are in bondage and slavery to sin and Satan, and that they are subject and obnoxious to the wrath and vengeance of God; this is many times preparatory and introductory to their conversion; but when they are regenerated they are delivered from it: see Luke 1:74 Hebrews 2:15 1 John 4:18. Objection. Many of God's children are full of doubts and fears. Answer. These are not always from the suggestions of God's Spirit, but the misgivings of their own spirits. Some distinguish between the spirit of bondage and desertion; the children of God are delivered from the former, but exercised with the latter. The Spirit of God is called the Spirit of adoption, both because he works and effects it in us, and because he testifies and assures it to us. He might have said, the Spirit of liberty; the antithesis required it; but he said as much, when he called him the Spirit of adoption, for children are free. Whereby we cry, Abba, Father; or, by whom we cry. Acceptable prayer is wrought in us by the Spirit, Romans 8:26. Abba is a Hebrew or Syriac word, signifying Father; why then is the word Father added in the Greek? To signify, that God is the Father both of Jews and Gentiles, Romans 3:29, Romans 10:12; or to show the double paternity that is in God, he is the Father of all men by creation, of believers only by grace and regeneration: or, rather, to denote the importunity and earnestness which ought to be in prayer; and so it agrees with the former word, crying. Ingeminations carry an earnestness with them. There are two places more where these two words are repeated or used together, Mark 14:36 Galatians 4:6.