The Witness of the Spirit

1How many misguided people, not understanding what they were saying or what they were affirming, have twisted this Scripture to the great harm, if not the utter ruin, of their souls! How many have mistaken the voice of their own imagination for the witness of God’s Spirit, falsely presuming they were children of God while actually doing the devil's work! These people are truly religious fanatics—deluded enthusiasts in the worst sense of the word. Yet it is extraordinarily difficult to convince them of their mistake, especially once they have drunk deeply of that deceptive spirit. Any attempt to help them see themselves as they truly are is treated as fighting against God. The reckless passion and stubbornness they call 'contending earnestly for the faith' lift them so far above reason and conviction that we might well say, 'With human beings it is impossible.'

2Who, then, can be surprised if many thoughtful, sensible people, seeing the dreadful fallout of this delusion and striving to stay as far away from it as possible, swing toward the opposite extreme? It is understandable if they are reluctant to believe anyone who claims to possess this inner witness, given how grievously others have erred. They may be ready to label anyone a fanatic who simply uses the biblical phrases that have been so badly abused. Indeed, they may even question whether this testimony is the privilege of ordinary Christians at all, wondering instead if it was merely an extraordinary gift reserved exclusively for the apostolic age.

3But are we really forced to choose between these two extremes? Can we not steer a middle course—staying well clear of wild fanaticism and error without denying God's gift or surrendering the precious birthright of his children? Surely we can. To that end, let us examine this subject reverently in the presence of God:

First, what is the witness or testimony of our own spirit; what is the testimony of God’s Spirit; and how does He 'bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God'?

Secondly, how can this joint testimony of God’s Spirit and our own be clearly and solidly distinguished from the arrogant presumption of an unrenewed mind and from the deception of the devil?

1Let us first consider what the witness or testimony of our own spirit is. But before we begin, I must urge those who try to collapse the testimony of God's Spirit entirely into the rational conclusions of our own mind to look closely at the text. Here the apostle is so far from speaking only of our own spirit's testimony that one might well ask whether he is mentioning it at all, or speaking solely of the testimony of the Holy Spirit. The original Greek text can fairly be understood this way: after stating in the preceding verse, 'You received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, Abba, Father,' the apostle immediately adds, Αυτο το πνευμα (some manuscripts read το αυτο πνευμα) συμμαρτυρει τῳ πνευματι ημων, οτι εσμεν τεκνα Θεου, which can be translated, 'The same Spirit bears witness to our spirit that we are the children of God' (the Greek preposition *syn* simply indicating that He witnesses this at the very moment He enables us to cry, 'Abba, Father'). But I will not argue this point, because numerous other scriptures, along with the lived experience of all true Christians, clearly prove that every believer has both the testimony of God’s Spirit and the testimony of their own spirit that they are a child of God.

2Regarding this second testimony—the witness of our own spirit—its foundation rests upon numerous passages of Scripture that describe the unmistakable marks of God’s children. These marks are written so plainly that even someone passing by can read them. Many Christian writers, both ancient and modern, have gathered and illuminated them. Anyone who needs more clarity can find it by listening to the preaching of God's Word, meditating on Scripture privately before the Lord, and talking with mature Christians who understand His ways. God gave us reason and understanding not to extinguish them through religion, but to bring them to perfection. As the apostle says, 'Brothers and sisters, do not be childish in your thinking; be infants with respect to evil, but in your thinking be mature' (1 Corinthians 14:20). By measuring themselves against these biblical marks, anyone can know whether they are a child of God. For instance, if a person knows first that 'all who are led by the Spirit of God' into holy dispositions and actions 'are children of God' (having the infallible promise of Scripture), and secondly, 'I am being led by God's Spirit in this way,' they can easily conclude: 'Therefore, I am a child of God.'

3This fully harmonizes with the plain declarations of the apostle John in his first letter: 'We can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments' (1 John 2:3). 'Those who obey God's word truly have the love of God made perfect in them. That is how we know we are in him'—that we are truly God’s children (verse 5). 'Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are born of him' (1 John 2:29). 'We know that we have passed from death to life because we love each other' (1 John 3:14). 'This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence' (verse 19), because 'we love not just with words or speech, but in deed and in truth.' 'This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit' (chapter 4:13). Wesley describes this Spirit as loving. And 'this is how we know that he lives in us: by the Spirit he has given us' (chapter 3:24). Wesley describes this Spirit as obedient.

4It is very likely that from the beginning of the world until now, no children of God have ever been farther advanced in God's grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ than the apostle John when he wrote these words, along with the mature believers to whom he wrote. Even so, it is clear that neither the apostle nor those pillars in God's temple looked down on these marks of being God's children. Rather, they applied them to their own souls to strengthen and confirm their faith. Yet all of this is rational evidence—the witness of our own spirit, our reason and understanding. It all comes down to this simple deduction: Those who have these marks are children of God; we have these marks; therefore, we are children of God.

5But how do we know we actually have these marks? That question still remains. How do we know that we truly love God and our neighbor, and that we keep His commandments? Remember, the question is not how it appears to others, but how it is evident to ourselves. To anyone asking this, I would reply: How do you know that you are alive right now, or that you are currently at peace and free from physical pain? Aren't you immediately and directly conscious of it? By that exact same immediate consciousness, you know whether your soul is alive to God—whether you have been rescued from the misery of proud anger and now enjoy the peaceful rest of a meek and quiet spirit. In the same way, you cannot fail to perceive whether you love God, rejoice in Him, and delight in His presence. In the same way, you have direct awareness of whether you love your neighbor as yourself, whether you feel genuine goodwill toward everyone, and whether you are full of gentleness and patience. As for the outward mark of God's children—which, according to John, is keeping His commandments—you certainly know in your own heart whether God's grace has produced this in your life. Your conscience tells you every day whether you speak God's name only with reverent awe; whether you remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy; whether you respect your father and mother; whether you treat everyone the way you want to be treated; whether you keep your body in holiness and honor; and whether, in your eating and drinking, you are temperate and do everything for the glory of God.

6This, then, is strictly what we mean by the testimony of our own spirit—the clear witness of our own conscience that God has enabled us to be holy in heart and holy in our daily conduct. It is an inner awareness that, through the Spirit of adoption, we have received the holy dispositions described in God's Word as belonging to His adopted children. It is having a heart full of love toward God and toward all people—leaning with childlike trust upon God our Father, desiring nothing but Him, casting all our worries upon Him, and embracing every fellow human being with warm, sincere affection. It is knowing within ourselves that God's Spirit is conforming us inwardly to the image of His Son, and that we walk before Him in justice, mercy, and truth, doing what pleases Him.

7But what is that testimony of God’s Spirit which is added to, and joined together with, this witness of our conscience? How does He 'bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God'? Human language struggles to describe 'the deep things of God.' In truth, no human words can fully express what God's children experience. But we might describe it this way (asking anyone taught by God to refine, soften, or strengthen the phrasing): the testimony of the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, by which the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit that I am a child of God, that Jesus Christ loved me and gave Himself for me, that all my sins are wiped away, and that even I am reconciled to God.

8By the very nature of things, this testimony of God's Spirit must come before the testimony of our own spirit. Consider this single truth: we must actually be holy in heart and life before we can be conscious that we are holy—before our own spirit can testify that we are inwardly and outwardly renewed. But we cannot be holy at all until we love God, because love is the root of all true holiness. And we cannot truly love God until we know that He loves us: 'We love him because he first loved us.' Furthermore, we cannot know His forgiving love for us until His Spirit witnesses it to our spirit. Since the testimony of God's Spirit must come before our love for God and all holiness, it must also come before our inner consciousness of that holiness—that is, before the testimony of our own spirit.

9Then, and only then—when the Spirit of God bears witness to our spirit, 'God loves you and has given His own Son as the sacrifice for your sins; the Son of God has loved you and washed away your sins in His blood'—then 'we love God because he first loved us,' and for His sake we love our brothers and sisters too. Of this love we cannot help but be conscious within ourselves: we 'know the things that are freely given to us by God.' We know that we love God and obey His commandments, and 'by this we know that we belong to God.' This is the testimony of our own spirit, which, so long as we continue to love God and keep His commandments, remains united with the testimony of God's Spirit 'that we are the children of God.'

10I do not mean to suggest in any way that the Holy Spirit is absent from the testimony of our own spirit. Not at all! He not only works every good thing within us, but He also shines His light upon His own work, showing us clearly what He has done. The apostle Paul highlights this as one of the primary reasons we receive the Spirit: 'that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God.' The Spirit strengthens the witness of our conscience regarding our 'godly sincerity and integrity,' enabling us to see with greater clarity and confidence that we are now living in a way that pleases Him.

11If someone still asks, 'How does the Spirit of God bear witness with our spirit that we are children of God, removing all doubt and confirming our adoption as true?' the answer is clear from what has already been said. First, consider the witness of our own spirit: the soul senses its love, delight, and joy in God just as clearly and directly as it senses its love or delight in anything on earth. It can no more doubt whether it loves, delights, and rejoices in God than it can doubt its own existence. Therefore, if this reasoning is sound: Whoever loves God and rejoices in Him with humble joy, holy delight, and obedient love is a child of God; I truly love, delight, and rejoice in God in this way;

Therefore, I am a child of God.

A Christian can then have no doubt about being a child of God. For the first statement, he has an assurance as complete as his conviction that the Scriptures are from God; and regarding his own love for God, he has an inner certainty that is entirely self-evident. In this way, the testimony of our own spirit is revealed to our hearts with such deep conviction that it proves the reality of our adoption beyond all reasonable doubt.

12Exactly how this divine testimony is revealed to the human heart, I do not attempt to explain. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to attain! The wind blows wherever it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. Just as no one knows a person's inner thoughts except the person's own spirit within, so too no one understands the mysterious ways of God except the Spirit of God. But the fact itself we know with certainty: the Spirit of God gives believers such an undeniable assurance of their adoption that, while it shines upon their soul, they can no more doubt they are God's children than they could doubt the shining sun while standing in the full brilliance of its midday beams.

1Next, we must consider how this joint testimony of God’s Spirit and our own spirit can be clearly and solidly distinguished from the arrogant presumption of an unrenewed mind and from the deception of the devil. It is of vital importance for everyone who desires God’s salvation to examine this with the utmost care, so that they do not deceive their own souls. A mistake here generally has disastrous consequences—especially because anyone caught in this error rarely discovers their mistake until it is too late to correct it.

2First, how can this testimony be distinguished from the presumption of an unregenerate mind? Someone who has never been truly convicted of sin is always ready to flatter himself and to think far more highly of his spiritual condition than he ought. Therefore, it is not at all surprising when someone puffed up with worldly pride hears about this privilege of true Christians—a group to which he arrogantly assumes he belongs—and quickly talks himself into believing he already possesses it. Such examples are common in the world today, as they have been in every age. How, then, can the genuine witness of the Spirit with our spirit be distinguished from this dangerous, soul-destroying presumption?

3My answer is that the Holy Scriptures provide an abundance of clear marks by which the real can be distinguished from the counterfeit. The Bible describes in the plainest terms the things that come before, accompany, and follow the genuine witness of God's Spirit with a believer's spirit. Anyone who carefully weighs and pays attention to these marks will never mistake darkness for light. They will see such a vast difference between the real and the counterfeit witness of the Spirit in every single aspect that there will be no danger—I might even say, no possibility—of confusing the two.

4By these scriptural marks, anyone who falsely presumes upon God’s gift could easily know, if they truly cared to examine themselves, that they have been trapped in a powerful delusion and allowed to believe a lie. Scripture lays down clear and obvious marks that precede, accompany, and follow this gift—marks that honest reflection would quickly show have never existed in their soul. For example, Scripture consistently shows that repentance—a deep conviction of sin—always precedes the assurance of pardon. Scripture proclaims: 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near' (Matthew 3:2); 'Repent and believe the good news!' (Mark 1:15); 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, for the forgiveness of your sins' (Acts 2:38); and 'Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out' (Acts 3:19). In keeping with this, our Church consistently places repentance before pardon or its assurance: God 'pardons and absolves all who truly repent and sincerely believe His holy gospel,' and 'Almighty God has promised forgiveness of sins to all who turn to Him with heartfelt repentance and true faith.' But the presumptuous person is an absolute stranger to genuine repentance. He has never known a broken and contrite heart. The memory of his sins was never painful to him, nor their weight intolerable. When reciting such liturgical prayers, he never meant what he said; he was merely paying empty lip service to God. For this reason alone—the complete absence of this preparatory work of God—he has every reason to fear that he has grasped a mere shadow and has never known the true birthright of God’s children.

5Furthermore, the Scriptures describe the new birth—which must happen before we can receive the witness that we are God’s children—as a vast, transformative change. It is turning 'from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God,' a passing 'from death into life,' like being raised from the dead! As Paul wrote to the Ephesians: 'You were dead in your trespasses and sins, but God made you alive with Christ' (Ephesians 2:1). And again: 'Even when we were dead in our sins, he made us alive together with Christ... and raised us up with him, seating us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus' (verses 5–6). But what does the self-deceived man know of such a change? He knows nothing about it at all! It sounds like a foreign language to him. He claims he has always been a Christian and has never needed any radical change. By this alone, if he would stop and think honestly, he might realize that he has never been born of the Spirit, that he has never known God, and that he has mistaken the whisper of his own sinful nature for the voice of God.

6But setting aside what a person has or has not experienced in the past, we can easily distinguish a genuine child of God from a presumptuous self-deceiver by their present attitudes and fruits. Scripture describes the joy in the Lord that accompanies the witness of His Spirit as a humble joy. It is a joy that brings a person low in the dust, prompting a pardoned sinner to cry out, 'I am unworthy! Who am I or my family? My eyes have seen You, and I despise myself in dust and ashes!' And wherever true humility exists, there is meekness, patience, gentleness, and long-suffering. There is a gracious, unselfish spirit, a mildness, sweetness, and tenderness of heart beyond what words can capture. But do these fruits accompany the false assurance of a proud, presumptuous person? Quite the opposite! The more confident he feels of God's favor, the more conceited he becomes. He elevates himself; his entire demeanour becomes arrogant and entitled. The stronger he imagines his spiritual witness to be, the more overbearing he acts toward everyone around him, completely unable to receive correction and impatient with anyone who disagrees with him. Instead of becoming gentler, humbler, and 'quick to listen and slow to speak,' he is slow to listen and quick to speak. He refuses to learn from anyone; his temper becomes fiery and harsh, and his speech contentious. Indeed, perhaps at times a kind of fierceness may appear in his expression, tone of voice, and whole conduct, as though he were ready to take judgment out of God's hands and devour God's enemies himself.

7Once more, Scripture teaches that 'loving God means keeping his commandments' (1 John 5:3). And our Lord Himself said, 'Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me' (John 14:21). Love rejoices to obey and delights to do whatever pleases the Beloved in every detail. Whoever truly loves God eagerly does His will on earth just as it is done in heaven. But is this true of the person who falsely claims to love God? Not at all! He claims his 'freedom' gives him a license to disobey and break God's commands rather than keep them. Perhaps back when he lived in dread of God's wrath, he strove to obey. But now, seeing himself as 'no longer under the law,' he imagines he is free from any obligation to live righteously. As a result, he is less devoted to good works, less cautious about avoiding evil, less watchful over his own heart, and less disciplined with his tongue. He is less willing to deny himself and take up his cross daily. In short, his entire lifestyle has deteriorated ever since he began imagining he had spiritual liberty. He no longer trains himself for godliness, no longer wrestles with flesh and blood as well as spiritual powers, no longer endures hardship, and no longer strives to enter through the narrow gate. Instead, he thinks he has discovered an easier route to heaven—a wide, smooth, paved highway where he comfortably tells himself, 'Take it easy; eat, drink, and be merry.' It follows with absolute clarity that this man does not have the true testimony of his own spirit. He cannot genuinely be conscious of marks he simply does not possess: humility, gentleness, and obedience. Nor could the Spirit of the God of truth ever bear witness to a lie by declaring someone a child of God who is clearly a child of the devil.

8See yourself as you truly are, you poor self-deceived soul! You boast with supreme confidence that you are a child of God, saying, 'I have the witness within myself,' and so defying all your opponents. You have been weighed on the scales of God's sanctuary and found wanting! The Word of the Lord has tested your soul and exposed you as worthless counterfeit silver. You are not humble in heart; therefore, you have never received the Spirit of Jesus to this day. You are not gentle or meek; therefore, your boastful joy is worthless—it is not joy in the Lord. You do not obey His commandments; therefore, you do not love Him and have no share in the Holy Spirit. Consequently, as surely and clearly as God's Word declares, His Spirit does not bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God. Oh, cry out to Him that the scales may fall from your eyes! Pray that you may see yourself as you really are, and recognize within yourself that you are under a sentence of death until you hear the voice of Him who raises the dead saying: 'Take heart; your sins are forgiven; your faith has healed you.'

9'But how can someone who possesses the genuine witness within distinguish it from presumption?' Tell me, how do you tell day from night? How do you distinguish bright light from deep darkness, or the faint twinkle of a star or a flickering candle from the brilliance of the midday sun? Isn't there an obvious, unmistakable difference between the two? And don't your physical senses perceive that difference immediately, provided your eyesight is healthy? In the exact same way, there is an essential difference between spiritual light and spiritual darkness—between the brilliant light that the Sun of Righteousness shines into our hearts and the faint, deceptive glow created by the sparks of our own making. And this difference is perceived directly and immediately, provided our spiritual senses are healthy and alive.

10Demanding a precise philosophical explanation of exactly how we distinguish this, or asking for academic criteria to prove how we know the voice of God, is to demand something that cannot be explained—not even by someone who walks in the deepest fellowship with God. Suppose that when Paul made his defense before King Agrippa, a learned Roman had asked, 'You speak of hearing the voice of the Son of God. How did you know it was His voice? By what precise philosophical tests did you recognize it as the voice of God? Explain to me how you distinguish His voice from that of a human or an angel.' Do you think the apostle would have even tried to answer such a pointless question? Yet there is no doubt that the instant Paul heard that voice, he knew with absolute certainty it was the voice of God. But how did he know? Who could ever explain that? Perhaps neither human nor angel could put it into words.

11To bring the matter even closer to home: suppose God speaks directly to a soul right now, saying, 'Your sins are forgiven.' God surely intends for that person to recognize His voice; otherwise He would be speaking in vain. And God has the power to make it known, for whenever He wills to act, He has the power to do so. And He does accomplish it: that soul is given total, peaceful certainty, knowing, 'This is the voice of God!' Yet whoever possesses this inner witness cannot explain it to someone who has never experienced it. Nor should we expect them to! If there were some purely natural argument or logical formula by which the things of God could be proven to an unregenerate person, then the unspiritual person could comprehend the things of the Spirit of God. But this directly contradicts what the apostle teaches: an unspiritual person 'cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned'—perceived only through spiritual senses that an unrenewed person does not possess.

12'But how do I know that my spiritual senses are healthy and reliable?' This is another question of immense importance, for if a person is mistaken here, they may wander into endless delusion. 'How can I be certain that this isn't happening to me, and that I'm not mistaking my own imagination for the voice of the Spirit?' You know it by the testimony of your own spirit—by 'the answer of a good conscience toward God.' You recognize the authentic witness of God's Spirit by the fruits He produces in your life. This is how you can know beyond doubt that you are not under a delusion and have not deceived yourself. The direct inward fruits of the Spirit reigning in the heart are 'love, joy, peace, heartfelt compassion, humility, meekness, gentleness, and patience.' And the outward fruits are doing good to everyone, doing harm to no one, and walking in the light through a sincere, faithful obedience to all of God's commandments.

13By these very same fruits you can also distinguish God’s voice from any deception of the devil. That proud enemy can never humble you before God. He neither can nor will soften your heart, melting it first into deep repentance that mourns after God, and then into the warm, filial love of a trusting child. The enemy of God and humanity will never enable you to love your neighbor selflessly, or to clothe yourself with meekness, gentleness, patience, self-control, and the full armor of God. Satan is not divided against himself; he will never destroy sin, which is his own handiwork. No, it is the Son of God alone who came 'to destroy the works of the devil.' Therefore, just as surely as holiness comes from God and sin comes from the devil, so surely the witness you experience in your soul is not from Satan, but from God.

14With good reason, then, you can say: 'Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!' Praise God, who enables me to know 'in whom I have believed,' who has 'sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father,' and who even now bears witness with my spirit that I am a child of God! Make sure that your life, and not just your lips, shows forth His praise. He has marked you with His seal as His very own; glorify Him, then, in your body and your spirit, which belong to Him. Dear friends, if you have this hope within you, keep yourselves pure, just as Christ is pure. As you marvel at the extraordinary love the Father has lavished upon us—that we should be called children of God—cleanse yourselves from everything that defiles body or spirit, growing into complete holiness in the reverent fear of God. Let all your thoughts, words, and deeds be a spiritual sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ!