Our Assurance: Not Our Performance, God's Promises

I.🔹 1. What is Assurance in the New Testament?

Assurance in the NT refers to a confident trust in God's saving work, presence, and promises. It is not arrogance or presumption, but a settled peace that one belongs to God.

Key Greek words:

• πληροφορία (plērophoria) – full assurance, complete confidence (Heb 10:22, Col 2:2, 1 Thess 1:5)
• παρρησία (parrēsia) – boldness, confidence, especially in approaching God (Heb 4:16, 1 John 3:21; 5:14)

🔹 2. The Grounds of Assurance (What Ensures It)

✝️ a. The Character and Work of God

• Assurance is rooted in who God is—His faithfulness, mercy, and truth.
• “If we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Tim 2:13)
• “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion...” (Phil 1:6)

🩸 b. The Finished Work of Christ

• Jesus’ death and resurrection secures justification (Rom 5:1).
• “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 8:1)

🕊 c. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

• The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Rom 8:16).
• He is a guarantee (arrabōn)—like a down payment—of our full inheritance (Eph 1:13–14; 2 Cor 1:22).

📖 d. The Promises of God’s Word

• Assurance grows through faith in what God has spoken, not through feelings (1 John 5:13).
• “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith...” (Heb 10:22)

🔹 3. The Role of Humility

Assurance is not self-confidence, but God-confidence. We must:

• Avoid pride: “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Cor 10:12)
• Remember that salvation is by grace: “By grace you have been saved through faith… not your own doing...” (Eph 2:8–9)

Humility is maintained by:

• Recognizing the source of assurance is God’s mercy, not our merit.
• Ongoing dependence on God's grace through faith and repentance (John 15:4–5).
• Living with a healthy reverence for God: “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you...” (Phil 2:12–13)

🔹 4. Signs and Fruits That Confirm Assurance (Without Boasting)

While our confidence is in God's promises, the NT gives evidences of genuine faith:

• Love for others (1 John 3:14)
• Obedience (1 John 2:3–6)
• Perseverance in faith (Heb 3:14)
• Conviction of sin and repentance (1 John 1:8–10)

These aren’t grounds for assurance but can be signs that the Spirit is at work.

🔹 5. Balancing Confidence and Humility

• Confidence: “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus...” (Heb 10:19)
• Humility: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled...” (Luke 14:11)
• The two meet in the cross of Christ—where we see both the seriousness of sin and the magnitude of God’s grace.

🔹 6. Encouragement: What Assurance Produces

True assurance, rooted in Christ and maintained with humility, leads to:

• Peace (Rom 5:1)
• Joy (1 Pet 1:8–9)
• Courage in suffering (Rom 8:18, 2 Tim 1:12)
• Love and service to others (Gal 5:6)
• Eagerness for the return of Christ (2 Tim 4:8)

💬 Summary Statement

Assurance in the New Testament is not based on our performance, but on God's promises, Christ’s work, and the Spirit’s testimony. We can walk in confident hope while remaining humble, because our security is in God, not ourselves.

II.🔹 Assurance Comes from Trust

In the New Testament, assurance flows from trust, and trust is the heart of faith. This is not blind optimism but a relational confidence grounded in God's character, promises, and actions. True assurance is not just about being certain of salvation; it’s about continually entrusting yourself to God—because you know Him and believe Him.

"Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him."
(Hebrews 11:6)

This verse connects:

• Faith (trust)
• Drawing near to God (relationship)
• Pleasing God (our aim)
• And the reward—which includes the blessing of assurance.

🔹 Faith Is Trust That Rests and Acts

Faith (Greek: pistis) in the NT is not just belief that God exists—but trust in who He is:

• His mercy (Luke 18:13–14)
• His power (Mark 9:23–24)
• His goodness (Romans 8:32)
• His promises (Romans 4:20–21)

This trust leads to assurance, because we know that:

• God cannot lie (Titus 1:2)
• He is faithful even when we are not (2 Tim 2:13)
• He keeps those who trust in Him (Jude 24, John 10:28–29)

🔹 Assurance Is the Fruit of Relational Faith

In other words:

• Trust leads to faith.
• Faith pleases God.
• God responds to that faith with the peace of assurance.

This is seen in:

• 🔸 Abraham: “Fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised.” (Rom 4:21)
• 🔸 The woman who touched Jesus: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” (Mark 5:34)
• 🔸 The thief on the cross: “Remember me…” → “Today you will be with Me…” (Luke 23:42–43)

Their trust was not about getting every doctrine right. It was about knowing God’s heart and entrusting themselves to Him. The result? Peace, confidence, and closeness.

🔹 Why This Kind of Assurance Keeps Us Humble

If assurance comes from trusting God (not ourselves), then:

• We can’t boast in it (Eph 2:8–9)
• We remain dependent on grace
• We walk in gratitude, not pride

This is beautifully expressed in:

“I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have entrusted to Him…” (2 Tim 1:12)

Paul’s confidence isn’t in his faithfulness—but in God’s faithfulness to what Paul has entrusted—his very life.

🔹 Assurance in the Daily Life of the Believer

Because trust is ongoing, assurance can:

• Grow (as in Col 2:2: “full assurance of understanding”)
• Be strengthened (Heb 10:22: “with a true heart in full assurance of faith”)
• Be renewed after failure (1 John 1:9)

It’s not static. But it becomes more solid as we continue to:

• Seek God
• Remember His faithfulness
• Obey in love
• Repent quickly
• Rest in His character

🔚 Summary

Assurance is not pride in our status but peace in God's faithfulness.
It is the fruit of trusting God, which is the very faith that pleases Him.
The more we know Him, the more we trust Him—and the deeper our assurance grows.

III.🔹 The Refrain: “By This We Know…”

John repeatedly uses the phrase “By this we know…” (Greek: ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν) as a marker of spiritual discernment, relational confidence, and assurance in the truth. Let's look at what we know, how we know, and why this produces humble assurance.

1 John is a masterclass in assurance grounded in relationship with God. The apostle John wrote so believers would know they have eternal life (1 John 5:13) and not live in fear, doubt, or self-deception. But this assurance isn’t mechanical or arrogant—it’s deeply relational, moral, and spiritual, tied directly to how we trust God and walk in His light.

🧠 1. We Know God by Obedience

“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.”
(1 John 2:3)

• Knowledge of God isn’t intellectual alone—it’s relational and evidenced by trust-driven obedience.
• This is not legalism, but love expressing itself through faithful action (cf. Gal. 5:6).

🧭 Assurance grows not from how perfectly we obey, but from the trajectory of a life that trusts and follows Jesus.

❤️ 2. We Know We Are in Him by Living Like Jesus

“Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.”
(1 John 2:6)

• A heart genuinely joined to Christ reflects His character.
• Walking like Jesus doesn’t mean moral perfection but imitation of His humility, love, truthfulness, and dependence on the Father.

This creates humble assurance: we’re not self-congratulating, but we see His life being formed in ours (Gal. 4:19).

💡 3. We Know We’ve Passed from Death to Life by Love

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.”
(1 John 3:14)

• Love is not just a command but a proof that the Spirit is at work.
• When we begin to love people in costly, patient, Spirit-enabled ways, that’s not natural—it’s supernatural evidence of the life of God in us.

🕊 4. We Know by the Spirit He Has Given Us

“By this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
(1 John 3:24, also 4:13)

• The indwelling Holy Spirit is the primary agent of assurance (cf. Rom. 8:16).
• His witness is internal (conviction, joy, hunger for God) and external (producing fruit—Gal. 5:22–23).

📖 5. We Know the Truth Because We Believe and Confess

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”
(1 John 4:15)

• Assurance comes from trusting the truth about Jesus: His incarnation, atonement, and lordship.
• This confession is both verbal and embodied.

🛡 6. We Know God’s Love and Are Made Perfect in It

“We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.”
(1 John 4:16)
“Perfect love casts out fear…”
(1 John 4:18)

• Here lies the core of assurance: not fear of judgment, but confidence in God’s love.
• Knowing God’s love frees us from tormenting fear and leads to boldness in the day of judgment (v. 17).

✍️ 7. These Things Are Written So You May Know

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”
(1 John 5:13)

• John explicitly says the purpose of this letter is assurance.
• That assurance is for those who believe—not those who perform flawlessly.

🔁 Synthesis: How All This Connects to Trust and Humility

• Assurance comes from trusting God's love and promises, and from seeing evidence of His Spirit at work.
• All the “we know” passages flow from union with Christ—faith in Him, love for others, obedience to His Word, and the Spirit’s internal testimony.
• This kind of assurance is not proud but humble, because:
  • It rests on God’s grace, not our works.
  • It grows through abiding, not achieving.
  • It is affirmed by fruit, not feelings alone.

🔚 Summary

Assurance in 1 John is a relational confidence grounded in:Faith in Jesus as the Son of GodLove for othersObedience to God’s commandsThe Spirit’s indwelling witnessThe knowledge of God’s love for us

This assurance doesn’t make us arrogant—it makes us bold in love, humble in heart, and confident in God's mercy.