1 John 5:4

…for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith ~ 1 John 5:4

 

What does it mean, we “overcome the world” in this Bible verse? Well, I believe there are a few ways in which we do this through our faith in Jesus Christ. We overcome the darkness of this world, the sin, the depravation, the lusts which call us to follow. We do not do this of our own accord, but through the power of the Holy Spirit with which Christ has endowed us with. The Holy Spirit within, if we listen to Him, calls us toward all that is like Christ, toward all that is holy. We also overcome evil with good. The Bible tells us in Luke 6:27 to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,” and even more so, “bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:28). Again, we do not have the natural tendency toward these principles. Our natural tendency is to hate when we are harmed, to get angry and offended. But, through the power of the Holy Spirit we can forgive and move onward. Our faith is the strength which enables us to do this, but our faith does have to grow within. Faith does not suddenly bring about miraculous changes within our character, but as we grow and live as Christ followers, our faith grows. As our faith grows, so we become more victorious over the ways of the world. Faith shows us a better way, a way from the worldly pleasures, vices, and empty values. Faith leads us instead toward the heavenly reward, toward the fountain of life eternal. For all this to take place within us, we must be born again. We must ask Jesus Christ to live within us and transform our hearts and our minds to become like His. Faith is to believe He is the Son of God.


Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t
Read more

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh
Read more

Isaiah 43:19

Image
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert ~ Isaiah 43:19 When we meet a challenge, we are often found discouraged, lost, even hopeless. Nothing is working, everything seems to be against us. We do not know how to move forward, so we remain curled up in a ball. Then, a glimmer of light shines through! Hope is regained and movement is stirred within. Don’t we become excited when we begin to feel it? God moves like that. We cannot see our way around it, but He can and does. And He makes a way for us out of the calamity of our fears. It is the feeling of springtime after a long winter, or the smell of fresh cut grass. Life stirs within and we move and we see what God saw all the time – the answer to our dilemma. Our desert place becomes an oasis, and we can do what we are called to do. Something totally unexpected happens, something unheard of, but it begins in our life, and we feel the
Read more