Q. in Heb. 10:15, " Whereof the Holy Ghost Is a Witness to Us," Is This Witness the Word in the Two Verses Following?

A. There is the personal witness of the Holy Ghost now come, as well as the corroboration of it by the Old Testament Scripture. As in 1 Peter 1:12, " The gospel is preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." The passage in Heb. 10 refers to Lev. 16, the day of atonement. The high priest goes in with the blood and makes an atonement in the holy place; then he comes out and puts the sins of Israel upon the scapegoat and sends them away. This is the " not remembering any more their sins and iniquities." But this will be for Israel only when He comes out, and He is not yet come out. How then do we in the meanwhile get the witness of atonement? By the Holy Ghost coining out instead; so applying the principle of the scapegoat, " our sins and iniquities are remembered no more."
The indwelling of the Spirit is the distinctive privilege of Christianity. As long as God was claiming to be a Father to Israel, those born of Him, true children did not get their proper place. When he had come to His own and His own received Him not, then to as many as did receive Him, He gave title to become the sons of God (John 1:12, margin). And when the Jews claimed to be God's children (John 8:41), the Lord says " If God were your Father ye would love me." Gal. 4:1-5 shows the effect of the Jewish system, therefore, upon the true children. As long as it lasted they were at school with the schoolmaster, and those at school do not say " Father." Thus if you take the Psalms (for many the inspired book of Christian devotion) the cry of Abba Father is not once there.
Not understanding this distinction between Jewish ".sons " and Christians, causes confusion with many in the interpretation of Luke 15 People think the prodigal son must needs be a wandering child of God, but this would entirely destroy the application to those whom the Lord had before Him, as in ver. 1, publicans and sinners on the one hand, and Pharisees on the other. " This man receiveth sinners " was the objection of the latter to which he is replying. In Matt. 21: 28 there is another parable of two sons, which the Lord Himself applies by saying " the publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you,"
Verse 17. " If children then heirs." The moment you bring in heirship with Christ, you have suffering as the necessary road to the inheritance.
Suffering, with Christ is not merely natural suffering such as all are partakers of. It is the suffering resulting from being in His path and partaker of His Spirit. It is not merely the result of persecution. He must necessarily have suffered, having the knowledge of God as He he had in the world that was far from Him. This suffering flows from the very joy we have in God, just as light let into a room makes shadows, while it dispels darkness.
Suffering for Christ is in Suffering rejection with Him the rejected One. Suffering with Him includes this, but is wider. There is a difference again between suffering for righteousness' sake, and Christ's sake. You have these two distinguished both in Matt. 5:10,11, and Peter iii. 14 and iv. 14. People admire righteousness when it does not conflict with their own interest, but they do not like Christ at all, and in that way we find the most bitter persecution and the highest blessedness.
Verses 19 to 21. The whole creation is waiting to get its blessing when the children of God are manifested in resurrection glory. Creatures have not the liberty of grace as we, but wait to share the liberty of the glory (as "glorious liberty " should be rendered). The creature was subjected by God to man, and so fell with him (was made subject to vanity), not willingly, or of its own will, and in hope of deliverance with him.
Verses 23 and 24. We have not yet received the inheritance, the new body or the glory, but we have the Spirit of God as first fruits. Thus we get our grapes of Eschol before we enter the land (Num. 14).
The perfection of the hope is seen by our being ale to wait for it with patience. If it was not certain we should be impatient necessarily. When we are certain to get all that God has promised we can afford to wait.
Verses 26 and 27. In the meanwhile we have the intercession of the Spirit that is in us. "He that searcheth the hearts" knows it. This goes beyond what we may be able to express intelligently, but when we can only groan, God knows what the groan means.
If we get the truth of the Spirit of God personally interceding, we see at once how a form of prayer is only unbelief. People say it prevents irregularities, and enables them to express themselves in a proper way. It is quite true we fail, but it is no remedy for failure to take the whole matter out of the hands of the Spirit, as though He had failed. He makes intercession for the saints according to God, not according to His will merely, but thoroughly according to His mind. Our place is only to be absolutely subject to Him.
Verse 28. We do not know what to ask for as we ought, but " we do know that all things work together for good to them that love God." It is not said to those whom God loves, though that is true, but we have here what is similar to 1 John 3:22. God can manifest Himself to an obedient child (and obedience is the true test of love to Him) as He cannot towards one who is careless. Those who love God are " the called according to His purpose;" that is what people call effectual calling, as in 1 Cor. 1:25, " to them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." To others, who had just as much the general call of the gospel, He was a stumbling-block or foolishness.
Verses 29 to 39. "For whom He did foreknow," etc.