Romans 8:16 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”
How is it possible for intelligent, educated, and rational minds to believe things for which there is no apparent evidence? Naturally, we believe things that we have personally experienced or things for which there are credible witnesses or things for which there is reliable evidence. But, “the children of God” know things which we have not naturally experienced, things for which there is no living witness to give testimony of, and things for which natural man can find no reliable evidence. These things which we know, tend to fail the reliability test in the scientist’s lab and are summarily dismissed by those who “seek after a sign” (Mark 8:12, Luke 11:29). Natural intelligence rejects the Word of God, declaring it to be without evidentiary fact or merit. Yet, there is a “great multitude” (Revelation 7:9) of intelligent people who believe in God and believe that, by His grace, they “are the children of God”. To the natural mind, such belief is dismissed as ignorance and weakness and wishful thinking; while the believers “rejoice with joy unspeakable” (I Peter 1:8). So, how can an intelligent mind so adamantly believe such things? The answer is quite simple, at some point between conception and death, the “Spirit” of God (Romans 8:11) comes to and indwells “the children of God”, instantaneously giving them Spiritual Birth (John 3:1-8) and the internal “substance” and “evidence” whereby they confidently declare “I know that my redeemer liveth” (Job 19:25), “I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods” (Psalms 135:5), and “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Those who are “not of God” (John 8:47), they are “not of” our Lord’s “sheep” (John 10:26); thus, they simply do not have this blessed “substance” and “evidence”, the indwelling “Spirit of God” to believe in God. Without this “substance” and “evidence”, the indwelling “Spirit”, a person does not have even the slightest desire for or interest in the things of God. But, at the instant that the “Spirit” of God indwells a person, their blessed knowledge of God and who they are by grace becomes more valuable to them than all this world’s wealth and power, even more valuable than life itself. With this blessed, God-given knowledge we joyfully sing, “O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder consider …” (Carl Boberg).