7 VITAL SIGNS YOU HAVE NEW LIFE IN YOU

First vital sign of new life with us is that we hear God’s Word and we keep His commandments. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments:

He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. (1 John 2:3-5)

When we are born again our lives will show a habit of obedience to God’s Word. As mentioned earlier, we will never be perfect, but being a child of God there will be a desire in our hearts to hear, believe and obey His word.

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

(1 John 4:4-6)

We know that we are saved when we are eager to hear the Word of God and not the words of this fallen, sinful world. We are eager for the apostles’ teaching; that is we desire to learn what Scripture tells us about God and about all of life. In Acts 2:47 we are told that in the early church the believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” When you are born from above you love God’s Word. You believe what Jesus said is true “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

There are some people who do not want to hear the Word of God. For some people it goes in one ear and then out the other. But when you are born from above you love God’s Word and you strive to keep His commandments. The apostle Peter tells us to “desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby.”

Second vital sign is that those who are born from above love others, especially those in the family of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest:

Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. ( 1 John 3:10-14)

There are two stunning statements here. One is that Cain was of the wicked one. And his self-righteousness and hate resulted in the murder of Abel. Hatred is the seed that leads to murder. Conversely, the second stunning statement is that “we know that we have passed out of death” and into life “because we love the brethren.” And this love is evidenced not just in words and sentiment but in deeds. By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. (1 John 3:16-19)

We are called to the same standard of love that God's anointed one has for all of us. His was the supreme sacrifice of his life in death. Our sacrifice is in serving one another in meeting needs. In Philippians 2:4 we are told, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7, 8)

God our Father is the essence of love. And if we are His children His nature is in us. And we will love one another as He loves us. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His uniquely begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation - mercy seat - for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:9-11)

God’s love for us is sacrificial and beneficial. We did not deserve this love or earn it an any way. Being born of God we are to love others in the same way. And sometimes people need to be loved when they least deserve it. As Romans 5:8 reveals “God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners the Messiah died for us.” Our love is to be real, practical, beneficial and even at times sacrificial.

Third vital sign of those who are born again is that we do not love the world.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 john 2:15-17)

When we are born again the love of God our Father is in us. We should love what He loves and hate what He hates. There are things that are wicked and evil in our world. And Romans 12:9 exhorts us to, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” Even when the things of this world are all dressed up and sparkle and entice us, we need to learn to see beyond the glitter to not be deceived.

Fourth vital sign of life for those who are children of God is that we confess that Jesus is the Messiah.

Romans 5:5: Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Messiah? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

(1 john 2:22, 23)

To deny that Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one of God, is to deny God, for God testified that Jesus is His Son. And if you deny that Jesus is the Messiah you cannot be saved.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:15)

what a remarkable statement this is! If you confess, if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, then God abides in you and you in God. The realm in which you live, all the time, is God.

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. (1 John 5:1)

No one is saved or born from above by just believing in God. We are not born again by being religious. But we are born of God when we believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, God’s anointed servant. God was at work in Jesus the Messiah reconciling the world to Himself. Therefore there is no salvation in any other person than Jesus the Messiah When we confess that Jesus is who God says he is we are born of God. And we not only love God, we love everyone who is born of God.

Fifth vital sign is that we strive to live a life of obedience and faith, we desire to live a holy and righteous life.

But whoever keeps his word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in him. He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked. (1 John 2:5, 6)

Our Lord lived a life of love and faithful obedience to God and we should desire to do the same. And this includes not only faith, but our kindness, mercy and love to all. Our lifestyle is one of striving to do what is good and right.

And now, little children, abide in him, that when he appears, 

we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

(1 John 2:28, 29)

If we are born of God then we are a partaker of His nature. This means that we practice living in righteousness rather than sinning. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him there is no sin. Whoever abides in him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen him nor known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. (I John 3:4-10)

A born from above child of God makes it a joyful habit to trust God and to worship Him, to fellowship with other believers, to pray to give and to serve. Although we still have a sin nature and we sin and stumble, the dominant pattern of our lives is that we make it a practice to strive to be holy and righteous like Gods' anointed one Jesus.

The Greek word translated practice is "poieo" and it means to practice as you would an art or musical or athletic skill. Some areas of Christian growth and holy living are easier for one believer that it is for another. Financial giving may be easier for you than for me.

Being tender hearted and forgiving may be easier for you 

than someone else. Some of trust God much faster than others. But all of us should desire to strive to grow and mature in the faith. And we all mature at our own pace.

But if we are not reading God’s Word and learning the truth and walking in love and worshiping God with he family of God, we should take stock of our lives and our priorities and do the right thing.

Sixth vital sign of new life is the gift of God’s Spirit with in us.

And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus the Messiah and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit [which] He has given us. The Spirit is the active power and life of God in the Messiah in us. (1 John 2:23, 24)

We know that God abides in us, we know that we are born from above, by the Spirit of God is in us. Literally the word “by” should be “out from” the Spirit. Every believer can manifest the Spirit; evidences come out from the Spirit. We can speak in tongues, interpret tongues, and prophecy. We can receive from God a word of knowledge and word of wisdom; we can discern the presence of spirits. We can evidence great faith to bring about gifts of healings and workings of miracles at God’s direction. We can also see the fruit of the Spirit in our character. Our lives can be full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Through the Word of God and the Spirit of God we are becoming more and more like God's anointed one. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. (1 John 4:12, 13)

The Christian life is more than believing certain things. It means that we become new people, by means of the new birth. Through the Spirit we are regenerated and washed clean from sin. We have a new nature and everlasting life.

Seventh vital sign of new life is that we overcome the world.

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:1-5)

The Greek word translated “overcome” means to conquer. It means to achieve a victory that is evident to all. Jesus the Messiah used this word to describe himself. In John 16:33 he said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

You and I no longer need to pattern our lives according to the course of this world. We no longer need to fear what it fears or love what it loves. This fallen, sinful world no longer holds us spell bound. Our thoughts and affections can be set on godly things. As each new day dawns what we think and how we behave is shaped by the Word of God. This is because we are born from above. In God's anointed one we are a new creation. And when the Messiah who is our life appears, then we too shall appear with him in glory.

Bruce Lyon: thefaithofjesus.blogspot.com