The witness comes first

That the testimony of the Spirit of God must, in the very nature of things, come before the testimony of our own spirit, may appear from this single consideration. We must be holy in heart and life before we can be conscious that we are so. But we must love God before we can be holy at all, this being the root of all holiness.

Now we cannot love God until we know he loves us. We love him, because he first loved us. And we cannot know his love to us until his Spirit witnesses it to our spirit. Until then we cannot believe it. We cannot say, The life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Then, only then, we feel our interest in his blood, and cry with joy unspeakable, You are my Lord, my God.

Since, therefore, the testimony of his Spirit must come before the love of God and all holiness, it follows that it must come before our consciousness of that love and holiness.