Study of ROMANS 8:14-17

The attestation of the believer's condition- Read Romans 8:14-17

Verses 14-17 explain the Spirit's ministry of confirming the reality of the believer's position as a son of God to him or her.312 Paul believed that the believer who is aware of his or her secure position will be more effective in mortifying his or her flesh (cf. 6:1-11).
8:14 Paul wrote to the Galatians that the law leads people to Christ (Gal. 3:24). The Holy Spirit does this too (John 16:8-11). Having come to Christ the Holy Spirit continues to lead us in the moral will of God. The Holy Spirit leads every true child of God (Gal. 5:18). He goes before us and expects us to follow Him, as a shepherd does his sheep. However we can choose to follow or not follow Him, to walk according to the Spirit or to walk according to the flesh (v. 13). The Spirit leads us objectively through the Scriptures and subjectively by His internal promptings (John 20:31; Rom 8:16; Gal. 4:6; 1 John 3:24; 5:13).313 Another view is that to be "led by the Spirit" here, and in Galatians 5:18, means that the Spirit determines the direction of one's life as a whole rather than that He guides us.314
"There is deep mystery, no doubt, in the great double fact of [sic] God is working in us to will, and on the other hand, of our choosing His will, moment by moment. We can only affirm that both are taught in Scripture . . ."315
The Holy Spirit acts as a guide for the Christian by showing him or her the way to go, like a guide goes before hikers on a mountain pathway blazing a safe trail for them. However, as with hikers, Christians do not have to follow their Guide. We can turn aside, and sometimes do, taking a more dangerous path.
8:15 Unlike sin, the Spirit does not enslave us. He does not compel or force us to do God's will as slaves of God. Rather He appeals to us to do so as sons of God. The "spirit" in view is probably the Holy Spirit who has made us God's sons by regeneration and adoption.
"Abba" and "Father" are equivalent terms, the first being a transliteration of the Aramaic word and the second a translation of the Greek pater (cf. Gal. 4:6). Probably Paul used the Aramaic as well as the Greek term to highlight the intimate relationship the Christian disciple enjoys with God. The Lord Jesus revealed this intimate relationship during His training of the Twelve (Mark 14:36).316 In their translations, J. B. Phillips
312On the link between this section and chapter 9 see George C. Gianoulis, "Is Sonship in Romans 8:14-17 a Link with Romans 9?" Bibliotheca Sacra 166:661 (January-March 2009):70-83.
313See Bernard Ramm, The Witness of the Spirit.
314E.g., Moo, p. 498.
315Newell, p. 310.
316See Joachim Jeremias, The Central Message of the New Testament, p. 28.

2013 Edition
Dr. Constable's Notes on Romans 105 paraphrased "Abba! Father!" as "Father, my Father," and Arthur S. Way
rendered it, "My Father, my own dear Father."
Adoption is another legal term (cf. justification). It indicates the legal bestowal of a legal standing. Both adoption and justification result in a permanent condition, and both rest on the love and grace of God.317
"Paul could hardly have chosen a better term than 'adoption' to characterize this peace and security. The word denoted the Greek, and particularly Roman, legal institution whereby one can 'adopt' a child and confer on that child all the legal rights and privileges that would ordinarily accrue to a natural child. However, while the institution is a Greco-Roman one, the underlying concept is rooted in the OT and Judaism [i.e., God's adoption of Israel]."318
God has provided the believer with two witnesses to his or her salvation, the Holy Spirit and our human spirit (cf. Deut. 17:6; Matt. 18:16). The former witness is objective in Scripture and subjective (cf. v. 14), while the latter is only subjective. Another view is that the Holy Spirit bears witness to God when we pray (v. 15).319 Incidentally, this second reference to "spirit" is probably the only one in Romans 8 that is not a reference to the Holy Spirit.
The term "children" identifies our family relationship based on regeneration whereas "sons" stresses our legal standing based on adoption. We are both God's children, by new birth, and His sons, by adoption.
Being an adopted child of God makes us His heirs (cf. 1 Pet. 1:3-4). We inherit with Jesus Christ our brother (v. 29). We inherit both sufferings, as His disciples now, and glory, most of which lies in the future (cf. 1 Pet. 4:13).320 The phrase "if indeed" seeks to render the first class condition in the Greek that in this case we could translate "since." Just as surely as we share His sufferings (Gr. sumpaschomen, any sufferings we may experience because we live for Him, not just those connected with our bearing verbal witness for Christ) now, we will share His glory in the future. This is a reference to the glorification that every believer will experience at the end of his or her life (vv. 18-25). Our glory then will be somewhat proportionate to our suffering for His sake as His disciples now (cf. 1 Pet. 4:12-19).