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Where Assurance Comes From
Just a quick quote today on some of my favorite verses in the Bible. They're really important and far less known and understood than they should be. So much of 1 John so far has been focused on people who think that they know God, but are revealed by their deeds (or lack thereof). These verses in chapter 3 focus on the other side: those who truly know God, but doubt their salvation:
"If we repunctuate verses 19–20, we can better clarify John’s thought, particularly if we make the first clause clearly point to what comes before. Initially, therefore, John is making two points, which we can paraphrase in this manner:
19a:
“In this [the love and obedience we exhibit, vv. 11–18] we will know that we are of the truth.”
19b–20:
“We will reassure our hearts in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us, because (1) God is greater than our hearts, and (2) God knows all things.”
This paraphrase gives a clear strategy about what to think when moments of profound insecurity overtake us. Our assurance is anchored in God and God alone, never in our own ability to generate feelings of confidence. John is urging that God is the final arbiter of our personal spiritual well-being. We do not look into our hearts to see if we feel secure and then use this as evidence of our security in the truth. If our conscience condemns, God overrides its verdict. This is possible for two reasons: God is mightier than our hearts, and he knows far more about us than we can ever imagine." [1] (emphasis mine)
Where Assurance Comes From
Just a quick quote today on some of my favorite verses in the Bible. They're really important and far less known and understood than they should be. So much of 1 John so far has been focused on people who think that they know God, but are revealed by their deeds (or lack thereof). These verses in chapter 3 focus on the other side: those who truly know God, but doubt their salvation:
"If we repunctuate verses 19–20, we can better clarify John’s thought, particularly if we make the first clause clearly point to what comes before. Initially, therefore, John is making two points, which we can paraphrase in this manner:
19a:
“In this [the love and obedience we exhibit, vv. 11–18] we will know that we are of the truth.”
19b–20:
“We will reassure our hearts in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us, because (1) God is greater than our hearts, and (2) God knows all things.”
This paraphrase gives a clear strategy about what to think when moments of profound insecurity overtake us. Our assurance is anchored in God and God alone, never in our own ability to generate feelings of confidence. John is urging that God is the final arbiter of our personal spiritual well-being. We do not look into our hearts to see if we feel secure and then use this as evidence of our security in the truth. If our conscience condemns, God overrides its verdict. This is possible for two reasons: God is mightier than our hearts, and he knows far more about us than we can ever imagine." [1] (emphasis mine)
[1] Gary M. Burge, Letters of John, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 163-64.
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