mes
also obtained the liberty of the Spirit.

As soon as thou believest in Christ, He comes to thee, a deliverer and
Savior; and now the time of bondage is ended; as the apostle saith, the
fulness thereof is come.

Verse 6. "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His
Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Here we see plainly that
the Holy Ghost cometh to the saints, not by works, but by faith alone.
Sons believe, while servants only work; sons are free from the law,
servants are held under the law, as appears by those things that have
been before spoken. But how comes it to pass that he saith "because ye
are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit," etc., seeing it is before
said that by the coming of the Spirit we are changed from servants to
sons: but here, as tho we could be sons before the coming of the Spirit,
he saith "because ye are sons," etc. To this question we must answer,
that Paul speaks here in the same manner that he did before, that is,
before the fulness of the time came, we were in bondage under the
rudiments of the world: all that shall become sons are counted in the
place of sons with God: therefore he saith rightly, "because ye are
sons," that is, because the state of sons is appointed to you from
everlasting, "God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son," to wit, that
He might finish it in you, and make you such as He hath long since of
His goodness determined that He would make you.

Now if the Father give unto us His Spirit, He will make us His true sons
and heirs, that we may with confidence cry with Christ, Abba, Father;
being His brethren and fellow heirs. The apostle has well set forth the
goodness of God which makes us partakers with Christ, and causes us to
have all things common with Him, so that we live and are led by the same
Spirit. These words of the apostle show that the Holy Ghost proceeds
from Christ, as he calls Him his Spirit. So God hath sent forth the
Spirit of His Son, that is, of Christ, for He is the Spirit of God, and
comes from God to us, and not ours, unless one will say after this
manner, "my Holy Spirit," as we say, "my God," "my Lord," etc. As He is
said to be the Holy Spirit of Christ, it proves Him to be God of whom
that Spirit is sent, therefore it is counted His Spirit.

Christians may perceive by this whether they have in themselves the Holy
Ghost, to wit, the Spirit of sons; whether they hear His voice in their
hearts: for Paul saith, He c