7. I can know that I have been born again if God has given me of His Spirit.
I John 4:13 says, “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”
When we were saved and trusted in Christ, we received an inheritance “That we should be to the praise of his glory.” After we heard the word of truth, which is the gospel of our salvation, we were sealed with “that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (See Ephesians 1:11-14)
At the time of salvation, a person is sealed with the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit has come to live inside, just as Jesus promised, that person cannot be lost again. He or she is saved for ever. The Holy Spirit is that person’s earnest, or down payment, of their inheritance. He is the Christian’s promise and assurance of better and greater things to come.
How can you know if you have the Holy Spirit? If you understand spiritual things, you know that you have the Holy Spirit. If you do not understand spiritual things, you must examine your heart. You may not be saved. I Corinthians 2:14 says, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
If the Holy Spirit is living inside of you, then you will be able to discern between truth and error, and you will understand how to walk in the way of truth. Jesus explained how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. In John 16:13,14 He says, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”
You can know that you have been born again if God has given you His Holy Spirit.
8. I can know that I have been born again if I confess that Jesus is the Son of God
I John 4:15 says, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”
Many people believe in one God, but some do not understand the three-fold nature of God. Though God is one, He manifests Himself as three persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Godhead has unique characteristics and functions, yet all three are one. This is hard to understand, but we know it is true because the Bible reveals it to be true. Throughout the Bible, various passages of Scripture tell us about the activities of one of the persons of the Godhead. Sometimes the persons of the Godhead work together. One example of this would be the creation of man, during which God said, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness….” (Genesis 1:26). And that is just what God did. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:27)
Rarely, the persons of the Godhead are mentioned together in verses of Scripture. One of these verses is Matthew 28:19 which says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” “Holy Ghost” is simply another term for “Holy Spirit.”
Jesus, God the Son, usually referred to in Scripture as “the Son” or “the Son of God,” is the one whom the Father sent down from Heaven to die for us that we might be saved. He shed His blood on Calvary and paid the price of our sin in His own body on the cross so that we would not have to pay that price. He did that redemptive work for you, and He did it for me. He was able to do this because He was (and is) the perfect, sinless Son of God.
To be born again, you must believe in Jesus, the Son of God. The Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” (See Acts 16:31) This is the assurance that we have in Him. The Scripture says, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (I John 5:12)
You can know that you have been born again if you confess that Jesus is the Son of God.