First John is essentially a series of tests through which professing Christians can examine themselves to see if they are true Christians. John knew how important that assurance of salvation was in his day, and it is equally important for us today.

The Bible teaches that loving God and loving others is a sign of true salvation. No place is that better explained than in 1 John, chapter 3. In this compelling chapter John gives a specific test that every professing Christian must take in order to determine whether they are truly saved.

In John chapter 3 the apostle John draws several crucial conclusions about how love, or the absence of love, confirms the true condition of the professing Christian's heart. Those who truly love God and His people can be said to have passed from spiritual death to spiritual life.

In this magnificent chapter the apostle John gives every professing Christian a test to determine whether they are a true Christian. He explains that if you are a professing Christian and you are ruled by an angry, hateful, murderous spirit—especially toward believers—you do not have eternal life in Jesus Christ.

As the apostle John continues to explain why loving God’s people is a sign of true spiritual life, he uses the Lord Jesus Christ as the perfect example of this kind of love. It is Jesus Christ Himself who provides both the definition and the pattern of biblical love. If you want to see what true love for God and His people should look like, Jesus stands as the perfect example of such affection.

The apostle John teaches that love isn’t merely an affection or feeling; it is a true, tangible sign that proves whether someone is a Christian. Authentic love for God and His people is marked by self-sacrificing love—love that looks to meet other people’s needs first rather than your own. The New Testament records that Jesus Christ was the perfect example of this love.

Many professing Christians struggle with the doctrine known as the “assurance of salvation.” This simply means that some Christians are not fully confident that they have spiritual life in Christ. But in the first century, the apostle John wrote 1 John in order to give every Christian assurance of salvation.

The Bible teaches that God is omniscient, that is, He knows all things. And as the apostle John continues to argue that true love is a sign of spiritual life in Jesus Christ, he reminds his readers of the omniscience of God in order to give them confidence in their salvation.

In 1 John 3, the apostle John explains that loving God’s people gives us as Christians an assurance of salvation. But at the same time, this assurance must also give us confidence to boldly approach the throne of God in prayer. John’s point is that if we truly are sons and daughters in the family of God, we must have confidence that our heavenly Father wants us to pray to Him and that he also hears every single one of those prayers.