In this post we look at the Holy Spirit’s most important role of witnessing in the hearts of God’s children there relationship status with the Father. We also look at four different Greek words for ‘children’ or ‘son’ and it’s relevance to Romans 8:14-16 as we continue ‘Roaming through Romans.’

[Tweet “By two immutable witnesses, the Word and the Spirit, you have full assurance of salvation.”]

Romans 8:16 (KJV)
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

The Holy Spirit Is a ‘He’ Not an ‘It’

• The King James Version use the word ‘itself’ to describe the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:16.
• This is theologically an incorrect translation.
• The Holy Spirit is not an ‘it’.
• The Holy Spirit is a ‘Him’, a person with full and living attributes, and so this should have been translated in the King James ‘The Spirit Himself’.

The Spirit Bears Witness

• The Spirit’s number one job is to bear witness in your heart that you are a child of God.
• The word ‘bears witness’, συμμαρτυρέω/symmartyreō in the Greek, means to confirm by testimony, bear witness of, show to be true, agree with.
• The believer in Christ does not only have the testimony of God’s Word for our salvation to give them confidence that we are children of God.
• He certainly has that but he has even more.
• He has the third person of the Godhead, the mighty Holy Spirit Himself who will, in a tangible way, confirm your status with God in your spirit.
• By these two immutable witnesses, the Word of God and the Spirit of God, you have full assurance of salvation.
• We believe the Word and we sense the Holy Spirit in our spirits and both of them together translate into a a firm confident cannot be shaken knowing.
• We KNOW that we are children of God.
• The word ‘witness’, for the witness of the Spirit, is found in Romans 1:9, 2:15, 9:1, and Hebrews 10:15.
• The word witness means to provide supporting evidence by testifying. It means to confirm or to support by testimony. ¹
• The Holy Spirit bears witness, He provides supporting evidence, He confirms within your inner being that you are God’s very own son.
• Never again does a believer have to fall prey to the lies of the enemy in this area.
• Never again should you doubt your salvation.
• Never again should the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:7) ever be knocked from your head.
• The answer lies within your heart.
• Four Powerful Son-ship Words
• Paul ends verse sixteen with a qualifier about the area of the Spirit’s witness.
• It comes in the area of your son-ship status with God.
• We are the children of God.
• The term ‘children of God’ is equivalent to term ‘sons of God’ back in verse 14.
• The word ‘children’ is the Greek word ‘teknon’ and the word ‘sons’ is the Greek word ‘huios’.
• Though they are different Greek words, both terms imply the same family relationship meaning.
• There are different Greek words for offspring.

Four Powerful Son-ship Words

Greek Word – ‘brephos’

1 Peter 2:2 (NKJV)
2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

• The word means a very small child, baby, fetus, or infant.

Luke 1:41 (NKJV) 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

• Luke 1:41 proves that a fetus is a living being because the same word for babe here is the same word found in 1 Peter 2:2.
• In other words, a baby in the fetus is the same word as a baby outside the fetus.

Greek word – ‘nepios’

Ephesians 4:14 (NKJV)
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

• The word children refers to a very young child.
• It also refers to a nursing child as in 1 Thessalonians 2:7.
• Louw Nida says it is a small child above the age of a helpless infant but probably not more than three or four years of age. ²
• Vines adds that the word ‎literally means ‘not-speaking’. ³
• Believers in the church at Corinth were spiritually acting like ‘nepios’ when they should have been acting more mature.

1 Corinthians 3:1 (NKJV)
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.

• The word ‘babes’ is not to be confused with the Greek word ‘brephos’ used for infant.

Greek Word – ‘paidion’

Matthew 2:14 (NKJV)
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,

• The word ‘paidion’ means a child, normally below the age of puberty.
• Jesus was at least two years old when the wise man came to visit Him.
• 1 Corinthians 14:20 uses the words ‘padian’, a child below puberty and ‘nephios’, an infant or unborn fetus in the same verse.

1 Corinthians 14:20 (NKJV)
20 Brethren, do not be children (padion) in understanding; however, in malice be babes (nephios), but in understanding be mature.

Greek word – ‘teknon’

Ephesians 5:1 (NKJV)
1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

• Louw Nida says ‘teknon’ means one’s immediate offspring, but without specific reference to sex or age—‘child, offspring.’
• ‘Teknon’ occurs 91 times in the New Testament.
• It is the word used in our passage in Romans 8:16 ‘children of God’.

So What’s the Difference?

• Romans 8:14 says all who are led by the spirit are sons (hious).
• Romans 8:16 says the Spirit bears witness that we are children (teknon) of God.
• What’s the difference between ‘hious’ and ‘teknon’?
• They are the both referring to the same person in the flow of Romans 8:14-16.
• Vines says that ‎’huios’, “son” gives prominence to the fact of birth, whereas ‘huios’ stresses the dignity and character of the relationship.
• In other words, ‘hious’ speaks to the fact that we are led because we are sons genetically by the Spirit.
• But ‘teknon’ speaks to more of a mature relationship that is as genetic Spirit sons we are coming to know the Father more and more.

Call to Action

Never doubt your salvation. You are an adopted maturing child of God. Learn to trust the witness you have in your heart from Him.

Question: Was there ever a day when you doubted your salvation? Please share how your experience of overcoming in the comments section below.

________
References: