Romans 8:16
Romans 8:1616The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that the Spirit's witness in is exclusively an anointed-class experience. Only the 144,000 have the Spirit testifying with their spirit that they are God's children. The "other sheep" do not receive this inner witness and are not considered children of God in the adoptive sense — they are "friends of God" with an earthly hope. The Watchtower treats this verse as proof text for the two-class system: those who feel an internal conviction of heavenly calling are anointed; everyone else should not expect or claim such assurance.
The Protestant reading situates inside the golden chain of — foreknown, predestined, called, justified, glorified — where the same group flows through every link with zero forks. Paul's "our" and "we" include all the Roman believers he is writing to, not a special anointed subset. The Spirit's testimony is intensely personal and direct: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" (8:16). This is not mediated through an organisation. And verse 17 draws the immediate consequence: "if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ." There is no second-tier status. Everyone in whom the Spirit dwells receives the same witness, the same adoption, and the same inheritance. If the golden chain of verses 29-30 applies only to the 144,000, then verse 28 — "God works all things together for good" — also applies only to them, and verse 31-39's assurance that nothing can separate believers from God's love likewise excludes the other sheep. The chapter is one argument addressed to one audience; it cannot be partitioned between classes.