the same time, by calling him father we bind ourselves to an obedience, a reverence, and a love becoming such a father. And therefore, when the apostle says, that by the Spirit, we cry Abba, Father! he thereby teacheth us, that this Spirit is the author of faith, boldness, confession, piety, and sincere obedience. XXIV. But let us now consider the other effect of the Spirit, which, according to the apostle, consists in this that he “beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”