THE INWARD WITNESS
Acts 5:31–32 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Jesus was raised from the dead after suffering on the cross and becoming sin, taking our poverty, and carrying every sickness and disease for us. The Bible tells us in the book of Acts that His soul was not left in hell. Jesus went to hell, the seat of Satan, to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus did just that according to Colossians 2:15, which says that Jesus made a show of the devil openly, and Jesus triumphed over the devil in His death, burial, and resurrection.
Then we learn in the Gospels and in Hebrews that Jesus ascended to the Throne Room where the Father sits, and there He put His own blood on the Mercy Seat; and then Jesus did something very important for us: He sat down. Jesus sitting down at the right hand of the Father is of great importance to our lives as believers because it means the work of Jesus is finished; and we, too, have been raised up to sit with Jesus in heavenly places according to Ephesians 2:6.
We are grateful to have forgiveness of sins through repentance. It is by grace through faith that we are saved. Then our scripture tells us that we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God bears witness. He bears witness to the truth. His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are born again (Romans 8:16).
1 John 5:6–10 talks about the Spirit of God bearing witness. In Verse 6, the Word brings out that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and He bears witness of Jesus. Then the Word goes on to talk about the Trinity of God bearing witness. Then the Word further explains that the witness of God is greater than the witness of men, or the truth of God is greater than the facts of men. Man’s truth cannot hold a candle to God’s truth. God’s truth, and the witness to that truth, are greater than man’s “truth.”
Lastly, we see why all this witness revelation is important for you to absolutely know you are born again. If you ask someone if they are born again, and they say, “I hope so” or “I am not sure” or “I hope my good outweighs my bad,” then you know they are not born again because salvation is a know-so experience. Salvation is a know-so experience because of the witness.
1 John 5:10 says, “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself…” When you believe in your heart that Jesus was raised from the dead and confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, you will be born again, and the Holy Spirit will bear witness with your spirit that you have been born again because you now have “the witness” living inside you. That witness never leaves you; you know so. That same witness, which is the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, will then begin to lead and guide you in life. God lives in you, and you know that because you have the witness.
I am grateful to have a know-so and not an I-hope-so or a maybe-so. My hope for everyone is that they too would come to a know-so experience with the Lord Jesus Christ.