7. But what is that testimony of God’s Spirit, which is super-added to and conjoined with this? How does he _bear witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God_? It is hard to find words in the language of men, to explain _the deep things of God_. Indeed there are none that will adequately express, what the children of God experience. But perhaps one might say (desiring any who are taught of God, to correct, to soften, or strengthen the expression) the testimony of the Spirit, is an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly _witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God_; that Jesus Christ hath loved _me_, and given himself for _me_: that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God. 8. That this _testimony of the Spirit of God_ must needs, in the very nature of things, be antecedent to the _testimony of our own spirit_, may appear from this single consideration. We must be holy of heart and holy in life, before we can be conscious that we are so; before we can have _the testimony of our spirit_, that we are inwardly and outwardly holy. But we must love God, before we can be holy at all; this being the root of all holiness. Now we cannot love God, till we know he loves us. _We love him, because he first loved us._ And we cannot know his pardoning love to us, till his Spirit witnesses it to our spirit. Since therefore this _testimony of his Spirit_ must precede the love of God and all holiness, of consequence it must precede our inward consciousness thereof, or, the _testimony of our spirit_ concerning them. 9. Then, and not till then, when the Spirit of God beareth that witness to our spirit, “God hath loved thee, and given his own Son to be the propitiation for thy sins; the Son of God hath loved thee, and hath washed thee from thy sins in his blood:” _We love God, because he first loved us_, and for his sake we _love our brother also_. And of this we cannot but be conscious to ourselves: we _know the things that are freely given to us of God_. We know that we love God and keep his commandments. And _hereby also we know that we are of God_. This is that testimony of our own spirit; which, so long as we continue to love God and keep his commandments, continues joined with the testimony of God’s Spirit, _that we are the children of God_.