First Peter 1:18 and 19 say, “Knowing that you were redeemed not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, the blood of Christ.” These verses indicate that the believers have been saved from the vain manner of life handed down from their fathers. The believers have been saved from a life that is vain, a life that has no purpose. As those who have been saved from the vain manner of life handed down to us, we now have a life full of purpose, a life with God’s goal in view.
Now we come to a matter that is both crucial and most pleasant, and this is the fact that the believers have been saved with assurance. We have not been saved with ambiguity or uncertainty. On the contrary, we may have the assurance that we are saved.
First, our salvation is assured by the Word of God. God’s faithfulness guarantees His Word. First John 5:13 says, “I write these things to you that you may know that you have eternal life, to you who believe in the name of the Son of God.” Here we see that the written words of the Scriptures are the assurance to the believers that they have eternal life and are saved. Our believing in Christ to be saved and to receive eternal life is a fact; the words of the Scriptures are the assurance concerning this fact. They are the title deed of our eternal salvation. We have salvation, and we also have the Word of God as the title deed to assure us concerning this.
We also are assured of our salvation by the Spirit witnessing with our spirit. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God.” The indwelling Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are God’s children. This witnessing of the Holy Spirit began at the time of our spiritual birth. The fact that the Spirit witnesses with our spirit means that the Spirit of God and our spirit witness together. The Spirit of God witnesses, and simultaneously our spirit witnesses together with Him that we are children of God. Therefore, the Holy Word outside of us and the Holy Spirit indwelling us assure us of our eternal salvation.
A further assurance of our salvation is loving the brothers. First John 3:14 says, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.” In our natural life we are not able to love certain kinds of people. But in the divine life we are able to love all the brothers, all the believers in Christ, no matter what their race or nationality may be. This love of the brothers is an assurance that we have been saved. Because the essence of God is love, the life of God has the nature of love. Love is the essence of God’s nature. When we have Him as our divine life, we have the nature of this life, which is love. Therefore, as saved and regenerated ones, we love all the children of God. The Word of God, the Spirit witnessing with our spirit, and our love for the brothers are the full assurance and guarantee that we have been saved.