servitude in fear, but you have received the Spirit of the adoption of sons, in whom we cry out: 'Abba, Father'! For the Spirit himself renders testimony to our spirit that we are the sons of God.(Roms 8:15-16) First of all, when St. Paul speaks here of sons, he is including daughters as well. What is this Spirit of adoption? In baptism we became sons and
daughters of God and therefore we can call God, Father. God has only one naturally begotten Son, the Word. According to Roman Law, a man can legally adopt a person who then becomes his son or daughter. If this person was a slave or had any debts, these were removed. Once adopted, the person can never be cut off from the father's inheritance nor can that person be abandoned by the father. The father knows this and freely chooses to adopt. God our Father freely chose to adopt us when we were baptized, removed all our debts (sins) and gave us his eternal promise and seal, the Holy Spirit. There upon, we can call God Abba, Father,
receiving from him unconditional love and learning to love in return.