What does Romans 8:16 mean?

Romans 8:16
King James Version
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

What does this mean exactly?

Does anyone have any experiences of something like that happening for them?

Oops, never mind that last post I guess. I think I might have misunderstood what it meant.

From what I can tell, Paul is saying if one is led by the Spirit of God, rather than the deeds of the flesh body, then it’s evident that person is a child of God. Paul is saying the Spirit of God is a witness to this as well as our own spirit is a witness to this.

If I remember correctly, having a witness to something in their society was important to establish credibility. Maybe John 8:17 applies here.

Romans 8:12-17 KJV
12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17And 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.

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The Greek word translated "beareth witness" means to corroborate, viz:
authenticate, validate, verify, confirm, etc.

This particular variety of corroboration is an act of God.

NOTE: Rom 8:16 never happened for Mother Teresa. She complained in
private correspondence with spiritual counselors that she felt not the
slightest glimmer of the Lord's presence virtually the entire five decades of
missionary work in India; leading her to wonder if there really is a God out
there; and she sometimes spoke of Jesus as "the absent one".

The Spirit of adoption, spoken of in verse 15, is supposed to make God's people
feel at home; not feel left out. I don't know what went wrong with Teresa but for
sure her spiritual condition was not good.
_

There are verses prior and post. If you read the verse in queztion in the greater context of the entire passage; you question will be answered quite clearly.

Consider of all you knew about the Bible eas from scripture just a suggestion and consideration on how to interpret that just my opinion

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭6:63‬ ‭KJV‬‬

now here are some of his words in the gospel witnessing To our hearts and faith that we are Gods children

Jesus says to his disciples that believe the gospel

“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:9

Jesus says to then again when they ask how do we pray lord ?

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Again he says to believers who hear his words which he said “ the words I’m speaking to you are spirit and life “

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

just three examples of many. Consider if the Bible is meant to interpret its own self so one more quick example using the same idea

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5:24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭6:63‬ ‭

what if we can understand what pauls saying here

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:1-2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

or this maybe we should hear and accept this first

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
‭‭John‬ ‭8:31-32‬ ‭KJV‬‬

to really ever understand this

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey;

whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:16-18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Maybe if we plant our foundation on the things the lord said , we would better understand the things Ten e apostles were saying ? As far as the terminology goes especially


Maybe the apostles are speaking on a foundation of what Jesus had already established in the gospel and better explaining those things of his kingdom to us

It means exactly what it says, and it's not just Romans 8:16 that promise it, and only can come from God, and has always been promised as well.

It means that we can have a personal relationship with our Lord. We can actually talk to Him like we would to a friend. This relationship brings us blessed assurance and drives out anxiety and fear.

Yes. God wants everyone to have that experience. Seek and you shall find.


Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

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• Rom 8:9 . . If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not
belong to Christ.

The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of a son.

• Gal 4:5 . . Because you are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son
into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father.

Abba means father, but not as a label. It's an Aramaic vocative; which can
be roughly defined as calling out to someone to get their attention.

For example "Dad" is merely an identifier when my son and his mom are
talking about me in the kitchen while I'm out in the garage, But when my
son yells out "Dad, where are you?" that's when dad becomes a vocative.

Now the important issue here is that the spirit of His son compels Christ's
siblings to call out to his Father, never to his mother. So if people are
comfortable praying to Jesus' mom , then I'd have to say they don't have
the spirit of His son in their hearts because Christ never did that, and never
would do that.

That's not all.

• Gal 4:6a . .Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son;

Christ is God's next of kin-- His direct descendant --which of course entitles
him to the lion's share of God's estate. But Jesus' followers are God's kin
too-- not directly like Christ, but indirectly; by adoption.

Well; adopted kids have some rights that exceed the rights of foster kids.
Adopted kids have the right to a place in their dad's genealogy, and a right
to be known by his name, and a right to their dad's providence, and a right
to his love, and a right to an inheritance just the same as kids born in the
home.

( A note of caution to guys out there who perchance are thinking of adopting
their wives' children by another man. Should you and your wife break up,
you will be the one liable for child support; not the other guy. Your wife's
first husband remains the kids' biological father, but you will be their legal
father.)

My association with the world above underwent a radical revision when I
bought into the gospel. Whereas at one time I was alienated from God and
worried about my prospects in the afterlife; now I'm in God's genealogy, i.e.
He and I are kinfolk-- an astounding improvement to my circumstances
made possible by Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

• Gal 4:6b . . and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
_

well, in a more modern version, a little less "Shakespeare-ian" ...

15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

It is talking about how we are one with God, as we have become "adopted" sons and daughters... so when we pray, or "cry out" to God, not only does our spirit pray, but the Holy spirit cries out with our spirit.... which proves that we are truly sons/daughters of God.
A slave has no right to "cry out" to his master, but must do as the master tells him to do.... no discussion. The slave's opinions, wants, desires, mean nothing to the master.
We are no longer slaves, but we have been adopted into the family, we have full access to ask our Father for whatever it is that we think we want, or need.
And to PROVE that we have that right, the Spirit of God joins with us in our requests....

sir, no offence, but it's Galatians 4:6-7 in my Bible and memory and Biblegateway

I think it's referring to the Holy Spirit as our helper/friend/Comforter...

Romans 8:26-27 ESV Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

This Scripture explains it very well --John 8----you need 2 witnesses to have validation -that you are a child of God ---so our Human Spirit is one witness and testifies about ourselves being a Child of God and the Holy Spirit is the 2nd witness who testifies with our Human Spirit that we are in fact a child of God ----


John 8:14-18---Jesus is speaking here about having 2 witnesses to show who He is ------He testifies for Himself and His Father testifies about Him

Amplified Bible

14 Jesus replied, “Even if I do testify on My own behalf, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

15 You judge according to [a]human standards [just by what you see]. I do not judge anyone.

16 But even if I do judge, My judgment is true and My decision is right; for I am not alone [in making it], but I and the Father who sent Me [make the same judgment].

17 Even in your own law it is written that the testimony of two persons is true [valid and admissible].

18 I am One [of the Two] who testifies about Myself, and My Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”

This is a witness of the Spirit to our spirit that we are truly a child of God. It is intended as an assurance for the believer that God has indeed done a work of salvation in them and all the benefits that attend this are theirs.

Yes, I have, and when you find God as scripture clearly shows that all can know Him, most everything you ever thought about yourself, other people, life will be a bit different. We all were given God's word to find Him, and a Comforter to confirm the word that has been given for all to truly understand as is promised in His word. God's word is eternal. God has asked that we seek Him to find this out for ourselves individually. Man cannot give you what God has asked that all seek by faith in Him by the measure of faith given to all, which is His word.

You guessed right, as it is very clear in what it says.

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Rom 8:15-16 tells of a supernatural close encounter of a third kind, so to
speak.

Not every Christian undergoes the experience. For example: adherents of
Catholicism honestly don't know for sure where they stand with God-- we're
talking about something like 1.3 billion people. That number represents a
minimum 49% of the world's Christians unsure of what to expect when they
cross over to the other side. It's difficult to tag the number of Protestants
because they are so diverse in their beliefs and practices.
_

The word "exactly" in you question might trip me up because I'm not claiming to be "exact" in my wording. But partly it means that the Spirit itself is a witness... a provider of observable evidence once the spirit of God is received by us, hence becoming OUR spirit and bringing forth the evidence of that change. In simplest terms, when a person receives the spirit, they start speaking in tongues (aka. worshiping God in spirit... which is a requirement ). It happened to ALL in the first outpouring (Acts 2:4) and was promised to all those present and to "ALL that the Lord shall call" in Acts 2:39.

Without that happening, a person can claim to have the spirit.. and can suggest that the change in their works or behaviors are evidence... but none of those are the spirit itself. Once Peter and those believing Jews that came with him saw and heard Cornelius and that group speaking in tongues, they KNEW that they had received the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is a witness. It comes bringing evidence. And that initial evidence is the speaking in tongues. "If I pray in an unknown tongue, my SPIRIT prayeth". He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men but unto God. The SPIRIT praying IS the WITNESS.

Love in Jesus,
Kelby