HEAVEN ON EARTH 185the spirit of error" (v. 6).
Your salvation is at the very heart of the work of the
Holy Spirit. In fact, it is He that actually adopts you into
God's family. Paul writes, "For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not
receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received
the Spirit of adoption" (Rom. 8:14-15).
And here is how you express it. By him "we cry out,
'Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself bears witness, with our
spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs
—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we
suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified
together" (vv. 15-17).
Up for Adoption
The Spirit looked at you and saw an orphan. He said, "I
will adopt you." He's your Father. Why? Because He is the
Spirit of the Father. Do you remember Dottie Rambo's
song, "Holy Spirit, You Are Welcome in This Place"? She
was inspired to write, "Omnipotent Father of mercy and
grace." That's what the Spirit is.
Without Him it is impossible to approach the Father.
Paul tells you, "For through Him we both have access by
one Spirit to the Father" (Eph. 2:18). Through whom?
Through Jesus, both Jew and Gentile can approach God by
the Holy Ghost.
But here's the most exciting part of all. The Bible says
that the Holy Ghost has been given to you as a guarantee
of eternal life. "Having believed, you were sealed with the
Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the
praise of His glory" (Eph. 1:13-14).
There's no doubt about it. The Holy Spirit is preparing