Romans 8:16

The Spirit itself, &c. The "Spirit of Adoption" is here seen, as it were, at His mysterious work, teaching us to "cry Abba, Father." He "witnesses" with a witness which concurswith a witness borne by our own "spirit," our own consciousness of will and affection. On this "secret of the Lord" (Psalms 25:14) some light is thrown by ch. Romans 5:5. There the Holy Spirit is said to "shed abroad the love of God in our hearts;" i.e., in ways of His own, to assure the believer of the love of the Father for him. Meantime, the human heart thus visited is humbly but clearly conscious that it loves the Father. Thus the family affection of Divine Grace is owned on both sides. The Divine Spirit evermore meetsthe Christian's filial love with fresh assurances of the Paternal Love which is the origin of the whole blessed relationship. The witness of "our spirit" is so met as to be verifiedby the witness of the Paraclete.

are The word is slightly emphatic by position in the Gr.