There is a "spiritual instinct" in the newborn believer that he is a child of God—the Holy Spirit tells him that it is so. He does it primarily through the Word—as a Christian reads the Bible, the Spirit confirms the truth that, because he has trusted the Savior, he is now a child of God. So the Holy Spirit enables us to see that God is "our Father" and that we are "His children" (Rom 8:15-16). God's Spirit has transferred us from a place where fear reigns, and put us in a secure and loving family with a Father who is strong enough to protect us from all that would harm us.