We Can Know that We Know Him

1 John 2:3

“And we can be sure (know) that we know him if we obey his commandments”.

The apostle John’s vocabulary in his gospel, epistles, and even in Revelation is quite distinctive. The verb “know,” for example, occurs more in John than in any other gospel, and more in 1 John than in any other epistle. He emphasizes by this that the Christian life is based on knowledge.

In 1 John 2:3, for example, we can test the genuineness of our knowledge of Christ as Savior by whether or not we keep His commandments.

Some of the other tests listed by John in his first epistle are as follows:

 1 John 2:29

“Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.“

1 John 3:14

If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves (We know)that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.

1 John 3:24

Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

1 John 2:5

But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.

1 John 5:13

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.

There are other similar “tests of life,” but these make the point.

If you havetrulybeen born again through faith in Christ and His saving work then you can have assurance of your salvation,

If you truly believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

If youguard and honor God’s Word

If youmanifest the presence of the guiding, purifying Holy Spirit in your life

If youkeep His commandments and live righteously

If youmanifest real love for your Christian brethren.

This is not to say that if one fails one or more of these tests he is necessarily unsaved. There are, however, no grounds for real assurance of salvation without them. Therefore, as Paul suggests,

2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you[a]; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.