The Cry of the Spirit

Romans 8:15-17 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

The cry of the Spirit is given so that believers can call upon their heavenly Father, enjoying relationship with Him. Knowing that they can call upon their Father anytime, they should boast in this by lifting high what the Spirit does for them.

The believer, immediately following the act of salvation (justification), is adopted into the family of God. Having been adopted into God’s family they now have the Spirit who calls upon God. It is as if the believer is given a tuning device enabling them to communicate with God the Father. The believer can now call upon the Lord. This cry of the Spirit brings many blessings upon the believer. It is what gives the believer the right to the eternal inheritance of membership in the family of God. And it is also the cry that makes the believer a brother of their Savior, Jesus Christ.

This cry of the Spirit gives the believer several blessings to boast in. The believer can boast in the fact that they have intimate fellowship with Christ and God because of the Spirit who cries, “Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:7 says, “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” This Spirit not only gives intimate fellowship, but also guidance. This is how one knows they are a part of the family of God. This is seen in Romans 8:14: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The believer can boast in knowing that he – when receiving this Spirit – can always call upon his Father, being a true son of God. The believer can boast in the knowledge that he is a believer. Once receiving the Spirit, he will forever have the Spirit. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” Once a believer of the Gospel; always and forever – with the Spirit as their witness – a believer of the gospel. The believer can boast in the gospel because they bear the Spirit in their hearts in perfect communion, making them a son of God in an intimate relationship with the Father. Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Another way the believer can boast in the Triune God is in seeing that this truth of the Spirit is what makes the believer an heir of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. What is sweeter to know, and what is more beautiful to dwell upon, than knowing that upon receiving this Spirit they have become part of a family that is not physical, but of the spiritual realm that will never end. When joining this family it is great to often look towards the future of glorification when one day the believer will bear the likeness of the glorified body – of Christ. Then the believer will boast always and forever in the gospel, glorified like Christ, so that they can worship Him and boast in Him perfectly, for eternity. In 1 John 3:2, this is stated perfectly: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” Oh, how greatly will the believer rejoice then! The cry of the Spirit is what gives the believer the inheritance of all things, adopted in the Son of God. In 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, Paul says, “So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future–all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”

There are a number of areas of this “cry” that may be boasted in. The experiences that it allows (the enjoyment of membership in the family of God) and the ways in which it makes the believer today boast in the gospel, are sweeter to the soul of mankind than all else. For this is the very highest blessing of the gospel itself. There is no aspect of the gospel more beautiful than God’s adopting His children. These blessings that the believer can enjoy – in praising God in thanks – are not only enjoyed on earth but will be enjoyed forever in heaven with their Father; worshiping their Father, crying no longer in need, but in worship alone, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb.”