Topic
Witness of the Spirit
5 passages cited, from 2 classic reference works.
These works date from 1897–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Romans 8:16Easton · ISBE
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
- John 1:12ISBE
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
- John 5:10ISBE
¶ The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
- Romans 5:5ISBE
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
- Ephesians 5:1ISBE
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 1 references
(Rom. 8:16), the consciousness of the gracious operation of the Spirit on the mind, “a certitude of the Spirit’s presence and work continually asserted within us”, manifested “in his comforting us, his stirring us up to prayer, his reproof of our sins, his drawing us to works of love, to bear testimony before the world,” etc.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 5 references
This phrase arises from the words of Ro 8:16: "The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God." With this may be grouped, as illustrative, 1 Joh 5:10: "he that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him." in interpreting, we may approach the former passage through the latter. To the man who "believeth on the Son of God," so as to prove him by reliance, He becomes self-evidential in experience, verifying himself to the believer as the divine response to his whole spiritual need. Thus, believed on as the Son, he awakens in the soul which he embraces the filial attitude toward God, the cry, "Abba, Father." On the other side the Spirit, both in the written Word (e.g. Joh 1:12) and in his secret converse with the believer in the life of faith, assures him of the paternal love toward him, as toward a "dear child," (Eph 5:1) of the Father of his Lord. There is thus a concurrent "witnessing." The believer's spirit says, "Thou art my Father"; the Spirit, says to the believer's spirit, "Thou art His child." We may compare Ro 5:5: "The love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit."
Handley Dunelm
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.