Be Convinced in Your Heart

John 2:23-25 (AMPC) says “23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in His name [identifying themselves with Him] after seeing His signs (attesting miracles) which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, for His part, did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people [and understood the superficiality and fickleness of human nature], 25 and He did not need anyone to testify concerning man [and human nature], for He Himself knew what was in man [in their hearts—in the very core of their being].

If you read this Scripture in the NKJV, it is titled the Discerner of Hearts. See, Jesus knew the wickedness of man’s heart before we even did. He knew the very essence of man because He was God in flesh, He knew all things, no one had to tell Him or show Him, He knew!

What I found the most interesting about this Scripture is that although those who believed at the Passover feast identified themselves with Jesus, Jesus, for His part, did not identify Himself with them. Why, you might ask, if verse 23 said they believed.

Let’s look at the word entrust, which means to put something into someone’s care or protection due to one’s loyalty or fidelity. In this Scripture, Jesus did not put Himself in their protection or care due to their human nature, which caused them not to be loyal and fake due to what was in their hearts.

Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV) “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

It wasn’t enough that those people believed in Jesus because they saw Him; they were not convinced in their hearts. Has that been you? Too driven by flesh that the move of God only took root in your eyes and not in your heart?

Ezekiel repeats this two times in Scripture: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26)

Saints, being reborn and then led of the Spirit is imperative because you will miss God and not be able to be entrusted with His Sacrifice, Jesus Christ, if you continuously walk by your human nature. 2 Peter 1:4 (NLT) says, “And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

That sharing in His Divine nature is receiving His Spirit, which works against your flesh (your human nature) to change your heart and soften it towards the things of God, as Ezekiel prophesied. Remember, you are no longer subject to the superficial, wicked, and instability of your human nature; it is a choice. Choose to be convinced of God with your whole heart and walk in step with His Spirit to guide the way!