You can know for certain that you are a Christian and that you belong to Jesus.
There is a three-fold confirmation that Christ is in you.
- The Word of God (Bible)
- The Holy Spirit
- The Changed Life
The Word of God
The Bible, the written Word of God, testifies that those who have Jesus have eternal life.
But to all who have received him – those who believe in his name – he has given the right to become God’s children. (John 1:12)
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life. (1 John 5:11–12)
You can know that you are in Christ because the Bible says so.
We have faith in the trustworthiness of the Bible because it is the Word of God. Even though strong feelings often accompany your fellowship with God, we do not rely on feelings.
The Christian living is a life of faith in God and in Jesus Christ.
Faith, Facts, and Feelings
Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. So, anyone can have faith. People can have faith in science, faith in themselves, faith in their parents, faith in their friends, etc.
When the Bible talks about faith, it is talking about faith (trust and confidence) in God the Father and His Son, Jesus the Messiah (Christ) as the Lord and Savior.
Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
Practically, to have faith in God involves trusting His Word, the Bible.
Our faith in God and in His Word is what drives our Christian living.
The facts of the Bible — all the promises and commands of God as well as many truths about Him, and examples through His dealing with His people — are the basis for our trust and confidence in Him.
Feelings are unreliable when it comes to knowing spiritual truths. Because we are physical-spiritual-relational beings, any number of physical and relational situations can influence our feelings.
Even though the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit often accompanies a sense of peace or joy, He remains present with us even when we don’t feel anything.
We don’t trust feelings. We trust God and His Word.
Thus, there is truth to the saying, “God says it. I believe it. That settles it.”
The Holy Spirit
In addition to the external witness of the Word of God, there is an internal witness of the Spirit of God.
When you trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, He gives you His Holy Spirit to dwell in you.
The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:16)
Pastor John Piper explains it this way:
It means a heartfelt cry rises up in us to God as our Father and Christ as our Lord: “You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit.”
So, when there arises in the believer’s heart a humble, authentic, dependent, thankful, happy, “Father, Father,” that is the Holy Spirit, because a person who is without Christ cannot call out to God in a dependent, loving, thankful, humble way. They are too selfish. They are too self-reliant. They don’t treat God that way. And the reason I said it is also a heart cry to Jesus as Lord is because he says almost the same thing in 1 Corinthians 12:3: “Therefore I want you to understand no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.”
So if your heart rises up not only to say, “Father, Father, I need you,” but also rises up to say, “Jesus, my Master, my Lord, my God, my everything,” that is the Holy Spirit in you. That is the evidence of God in your life. That is part of his assuring work.
Changed Life
The third confirmation is your changed life.
Just as marriage changes you from the life of a single person to that of a husband or of a wife, you will begin to see changes in your life as one in a close relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
You may have dramatic or miraculous changes. There are times and seasons when you may not see any visible changes. But over the course of months and years, as you faithfully cultivate your fellowship with Jesus, your life will become more conformed to that of Jesus.
The fruit of the Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22–23)
The fruit of the Spirit is the result of walking daily with Jesus, being guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The late Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) explains that the fruit of the Spirit is love expressed in eight different ways: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The more you know and experience the love of God your heavenly Father in Christ Jesus, the more you will be assured and confident that you belong to Him.
Video Resources
Be Sure You’re A Christian, Part 1 of 4
Be Sure You’re A Christian Part 2 of 4