"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons[a] of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Romans 8:14-15

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In this Sunday’s message, Pastor Josh Kelsey reminds us that the Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus by forming His life within us. What Christ accomplished for us, the Spirit now applies in us.

The Spirit of the Son confirms that we are now sons and daughters of ABBA Father.

Greek: Huiothesia — “placement as a son.”
The Spirit does not simply inform us that we are God’s children; He confirms it within us. Through the Spirit, we cry “Abba, Father,” entering into the same intimacy Jesus had with the Father.

1. The inner witness is the Father’s delight in the Son shared with you.

• The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we belong to God.
• The same delight the Father expressed over Jesus now rests upon His sons and daughters.
• The Spirit replaces striving with assurance, fear with belonging.‍
• The inner witness is the Father’s delight in the Son shared with you
• The Spirit’s inner testimony replaces insecurity with assurance; you are not earning love, you’re living from it.

2. Heirs with Christ: suffering is not abandonment but presence and participation.

• The Spirit affirms that being an heir of God means sharing in both Christ’s glory and His suffering.
• Suffering becomes a place of communion, not distance—it’s where the Spirit makes Christ’s nearness known.
• The presence of pain is not the absence of God; it’s participation in the redemptive story of Jesus.

The inner witness is the Father’s delight in the Son shared with you

Greek: Karpos — “fruit, result, or evidence of life.”
The Spirit does not modify behavior; He reproduces the inner life of Jesus in His people. The same Spirit who empowered Christ now empowers believers to live like Him.

3. The Spirit forms the Son’s character in the Father’s children.

• Transformation is the Spirit’s work of shaping us into the image of Jesus.
• The Spirit cultivates Christlike character where human effort cannot.

4. The Spirit grows the inner life of Jesus within His people.

• Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness are not traits to perform but fruit to bear.
• The Spirit matures what the Father plants—He grows divine life in human hearts.

5. The law can command; the Spirit can create.

• The law reveals what holiness requires, but the Spirit produces what holiness looks like.
• The Spirit fulfills the law by birthing God’s nature within us.

6. Belonging to Christ means agreeing with His verdict over the old self.

• To belong to Jesus is to accept His judgment that the old self has been crucified.
• The Spirit empowers us to live from victory, not for it—freedom begins with agreement.

7. The life Jesus lived by the Spirit is now the life the Spirit lives in us.

• The same Spirit who filled, led, and sustained Jesus now indwells His people.
• The Spirit continues Christ’s life through ours—His obedience becomes our way of life.

Discussion Questions

• How does the Spirit’s inner witness change how you relate to God as Father?
• Where might suffering be an invitation to experience God’s presence, not His absence?
• What fruit of the Spirit is the Father cultivating in you right now?
• How are you agreeing with Christ’s verdict over your old self?
• What does it look like to let the Spirit live the life of Jesus through you this week?