This Day in History: 0000-06-02
June 2 – 1 John 4:13-16
And God has given us His Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
Do you ever struggle with doubts about who you are in Christ? The words of Scripture were written so long ago, it’s truths can seem so distant; so out of reach. We can begin to wonder if the Holy Spirit is real, and if He really is living in us. These thoughts can swirl around, causing fear and doubt to rise. These tactics, while incredibly common, are nothing less than the schemes of the enemy, my friends! We must fight those lies with the Truth found in Scripture. (Just like Jesus did when He was being tempted in the wilderness.)
That truth is this: God HAS given us His Spirit. There were so many people surrounding Jesus throughout His earthly ministry, and their testimonies were stacked against each other as proof that what they said was true. They were witnesses to the fact that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, sent to save the world from sin. When He ascended to the Father, Jesus promised His followers that He and the Father would send them the Holy Spirit as proof that they had been changed, that they now belonged to God, that they were His very own children. He did not fail to keep that promise, and today we still bear that mark, assuring us that we, too, belong to Him.
How can we be sure? How can we know that we have the Holy Spirit of God living in us? How can we be assured that we live in God and He lives in us, as these verses say? One word: LOVE. We can ask Him to fill us with His love. He will, and we will find all the proof we need as we see His supernatural love flow from us. We will be overwhelmed, too, with the security that comes in knowing way down in the depths of our souls that we are His forever!