Hi George,
To me there are nuances to this 'knowing.' When you have your eyes opened, when you are learning these truths and doing what you have learned, you 'know' you are in Christ.
1John 2:3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
v. 4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
v. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
1John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
v. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
So if the spirit is indwelling, we are living differently, we have put on the "new" man/woman and you 'know' if this is happening in you.
Eph 4:21 if indeed you have heard Him and were taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus.
v. 22 For you ought to put off the old man (according to your way of living before) who is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
v. 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
v. 24 And you should put on the new man, who according to God was created in righteousness and true holiness.
Now can we be certain and sit back and feel we have it made? Of course not. Here is some of Ray study 'Can We Lose God's Spirit?'
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,7047.0.html ------
Rom 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life…
Now here is the point I want to make, spirit is life and life is spirit. Now back to verse 15.
Can we lose out… well we read the Scripture that if you sin willfully - willingly there is no more sacrifice for you. Now look at this verse, many people probably never really saw it before.
1 John 3:15 Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal (eonian or age lasting) life abiding (the Greek is “staying or “REMAINING”) in him.
So the Greek is staying or remaining. Now if you just read that without all the background that I’m giving you, then you get the feeling that, well he won't be given God’s abiding life. No, he already has it. The only way something cannot stay in you or not remain in you, is if it’s in you. Do you follow that? It’s in you.
He’s not talking to Barbarians here or infidels, he’s talking to the congregation who have the spirit of God. But he says if you hate your brother the spirit of God will no longer stay with you, it will no longer be in you. If the Spirit of God is not in you, you are no longer His. Then you are going to the judgment. That’s just how simple that is. All through these Scriptures if you read carefully, maybe it doesn’t have it just like this, but this is just a poor translation. But if you read Concordant and Rotherham and all, they will tell you to ‘stay’ - ‘remain.’ It means to remain, but it won’t remain. You see it’s there, but it’s coming out.
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Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death (this is talking about baptism in the sixth chapter of Rom.), we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection:
Philippians 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Is there a point in time where you say no matter what I do I’m going to be in the former resurrection, because I have this and that promise and pledge? Was Paul lying when he said, “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” Meaning I’ll do everything that I know of or can think of to be sure that God is pleased with me. “By any means,” Why would he say that if it’s a done deal?
Notice it, how do we come up in the likeness of His resurrection? “If” at the beginning of the verse, “If we have been planted together in the likeness of His death.” We know what baptism pictures, it pictures dying to yourself, dying to the evil, carnal, lustful things that are bad about human nature. You die to that and that’s what baptism pictures.
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Rom 8:13 For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but
IF (that little word again)
you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.
v. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
That’s how you do it. There it is!
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2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
v. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
v. 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
v. 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (love).
v. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
v. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for IF (there that little word “if” again) ye do these things (but here is the consolation, here is the inspiration, the hope and assurance…), ye shall never fall:
Now that’s pretty good. So all these things Paul is talking about here, I bring it into subjection, I bind it, I turn myself into a slave for Christ, lest I myself should be rejected or turned away or unapproved or disqualified. But if we “do these things.”
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(YLT) 1 Cor 9:27 but I chastise my body, and bring it into servitude, lest by any means, having preached to others--I myself may become disapproved.
So while you are doing right you are approved, qualified, you're in the race. But if you give up or you turn or you just sin willfully, willingly, knowingly hate your brother, then it’s gone. It can happen. Maybe I just need to explain why is that so.
Because the flesh is weak. Know how much spiritual stuff we know, well we are still very very weak. If we knew we didn’t have to persevere, guess what? Maybe most of the time or at least some of the time… we wouldn’t.
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mercy, peace and love
Kat