1 João 5

Arthur Pink · Citado em PreceptAustin

1 João 5:4

Pink - The "world" is in direct antagonism to God and His people, and we may detect its presence and identify it with certainty by perceiving the effect it produces on our hearts in this way: The world is that which ministers to the carnal nature—be it people or things—and which tends to render obedience to God irksome and unpleasant. Any one or any thing which draws your heart away from God and His authority, is for you "the world." Whatever lessens your estimate of Christ and heavenly things, and hinders practical piety is, for you, "the world"—be it the cares of this life, riches, receiving honor from men, social prestige and pomp, the fear of man lest you be dubbed "peculiar" or "fanatical" is, for you, "the world"—and either you overcome it, or it will fatally overcome you. (Faith as an Overcomer) David Smith says kosmos is "the sum of all the forces antagonistic to the spiritual life." R C Trench summarizes the definition of the anti-God world system as "All that floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations, at any time current in the world, which it may be impossible to seize and accurately define, but which constitutes a most real and effective power, being the moral, or immoral atmosphere which at every moment of our lives we inhale, again inevitably to exhale." (Synonyms of the NT) Jesus repeatedly addressed the word in His prayer to His Father "But now I come to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy made full in themselves. “I have given them Thy word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep (tereo) them from the evil [one.]… 18 As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world… 21 that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, [art] in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me." (Jn 17:13-15, 18, 21+) W Hall Harris has this note on kosmos - The central passage in the Johannine Epistles that deals with the believer’s relationship to the world… is undoubtedly 1John 2:15-16. Here it seems clear from the context that the negative aspect of the term kosmos is in view, since the readers are being warned not to “love the world” (this is in stark contrast to the author’s opponents, who apparently do “love the world”). In 1Jn 2:15-16 the author presents his readers with only two alternatives: Either one loves “the Father” or one loves “the world,” in which case “the love of the Father is not in him.” (Read the full article A Look at "κόσμος" in the Johannine Literature) Kosmos in John's writings (>50% of all NT uses) -John 1:9-10, 29; 3:16-17, 19; 4:42; 6:14, 33, 51; 7:4, 7; 8:12, 23, 26; 9:5, 39; 10:36; 11:9, 27; 12:19, 25, 31, 46-47; 13:1; 14:17, 19, 22, 27, 30-31; 15:18-19; 16:8, 11, 20-21, 28, 33; 17:5-6, 9, 11, 13-15, 18, 21, 23-25; 18:20, 36-37; 21:25, 1 Jn 2:2, 15-17; 3:1, 13, 17; 4:1, 3-5, 9, 14, 17; 5:4-5, 19; 2Jn 1:7; Rev 11:15; 13:8; 17:8 J C Ryle on the world - By "the world," be it remembered, I do not mean the material world on the face of which we are living and moving. He who pretends to say that anything which God has created in the Heavens above, or the earth beneath, is in itself harmful to man's soul — says that which is unreasonable and absurd. On the contrary, the sun, moon, and stars — the mountains, the valleys, and the plains — the seas, lakes, and rivers — the animal and vegetable creation — all are in themselves "very good." (Genesis 1:31.) All are full of lessons of God's wisdom and power, and all proclaim daily, "The hand that made us is Divine!" The idea that "matter" is in itself sinful and evil — is a foolish heresy. When I speak of "the world" in this paper, I mean those people who think only, or chiefly, of this world's things, and neglect the world to come — the people who are always thinking . . . more of earth than of Heaven, more of time than of eternity, more of the body than of the soul, more of pleasing man than of pleasing God. It is of them and their ways, habits, customs, opinions, practices, tastes, aims, spirit, and tone — that I am speaking when I speak of "the world." This is the world from which Paul tells us to "Come out — and be separate." (2 Cor 6:17-18) (From his sermon "The World") Victory (3529)(nike) means overcoming of an enemy or antagonist. The word clearly implies warfare and in the NT speaks of our ongoing, daily spiritual warfare with invisible forces, demons (Eph 6:12+) and fallen flesh, as well as the visible force of the godless world. Nike means "victory, or the power that confers victory." (see online NIDNTT). This is the only NT use. BDAG - victory, then as abstract for concrete - the means for winning a victory (but cp. also the custom of speaking of the emperor’s nike; ‘victoria’ as attribute of the emperor on coinage Charles Allen - In the Bible there are three distinctive meanings of grace; it means the mercy and active love of God; it means the winsome attractiveness of God; it means the strength of God to overcome. Webster - Conquest; the defeat of an enemy in battle, or of an antagonist in contest; a gaining of the superiority in war or combat. Victory supposes the power of an enemy or an antagonist to prove inferior to that of the victor. Victory however depends not always on superior skill or valor; it is often gained by the fault or mistake of the vanquished. The advantage or superiority gained over spiritual enemies, over passions and appetites, or over temptations, or in any struggle or competition. NIDNTT (see online NIDNTT) on nikao and nike in the OT - nikaō is used in the LXX almost exclusively to denote victory over hostile powers. The real victor is God, who has power over his own enemies and those of his people and of the righteous (1 Chr. 29:11; cf. Ps. 51:6). The people’s victory does not primarily depend upon the strength of their soldiers but upon whether God has delivered the enemy into the hands of the Israelite armies (Jdg. 7; 1 Macc. 3:19). For this reason the rallying cry for the “Holy War” in Maccabaean times was “Victory with God!” (2 Macc. 13:15). Finally, the faith of Israel waits and prays for the time when God will defeat all the enemies of the people. In the wisdom literature the word victory acquired a spiritualized metaphorical meaning. The wise man does not allow himself to be conquered by the beauty of an adulteress (Prov. 6:25), but rather reason overcomes instinct (4 Macc. 3:17; 6:33). Nike is found only twice in the the Lxx - 1Chr 29:11 and Pr 22:9. The majority of uses are in the Apocrypha - 1 Esd 4:59; 1 Macc 3:19; 2 Macc 10:28; 13:15; 15:8, 21; 3 Macc 3:20; 4 Macc 7:3 Faith (4102) pistis is synonymous with trust or belief and is the conviction of the truth of anything, but in Scripture usually speaks of belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it. For more on faith see Dr Wayne Grudem's book Systematic Theology - scroll to page 616, for an an excellent, uncompromising, imminently readable resource for the layperson. Stephen Olford - Faith touches the invisible; calls those things which are not as though they are; laughs at impossibilities and cries, “It shall be done.” Faith claims (all the power of a risen Christ); commands (the mountains of spiritual barriers to be removed and they are removed); and conquers (Heb. 11 – this is the victory, even your faith). Ian Paisley - The Birth, the Battle and the Belief "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." I John 5:4 I. The Tremendous Birth "For whatsoever is born of God" There is a birth which is human and that which is born of the flesh is flesh and remains flesh. You can have religious flesh but it is still flesh. There is a birth that is divine and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. It is that birth which is the one thing needful. Are you born again? II. The Terrible Battle "overcometh the world" The spiritual and the natural are locked in the most terrific battle of all ages. It is a life or death struggle and never ceases the tomb side of the grave. "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:7-8) The flesh must die in order that the Spirit can reign. III. The Triumphant Belief "this is the victory which overcometh the world even our faith" Have I that faith Which looks to Christ And overcomes the world and sin Receives Him, Prophet, Priest and King And makes the conscience clear? Lord, increase my faith! Vance Havner -True Christianity 1. True Christianity must be vital—it must have life. 2. It must be vocal—it must be an articulate faith. 3. It must be visible—showing up in daily conduct. 4. It ought to be vivid—glowing, not pale and colorless. 5. And it ought to be victorious for "...this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4). James Smith - DOST THOU BELIEVE IN THE SON OF GOD? John 9:35. If ye do believe on the Son of God— 1. Then you have no doubt about His divinity (Matt. 16:16). 2. Then you have repented of your sins (Acts 20:21). 3. Then you have EVERLASTING LIFE (John 3:36). 4. Then you are JUSTIFIED FROM ALL THINGS (Acts 13:38-39). 5. Then your HEART IS BEING PURIFIED (Acts 15:9; Heb. 9:14). 6. Then you are a WORKER BY LOVE (Gal. 5:6). 7. Then you have VICTORY OVER THE WORLD (1 John 5:4). 8. Then you look upon THE THINGS UNSEEN (Heb. 11:1:2 Cor. 4:18). 9. Then you SEEK FOR SOULS. "Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of souls" (1 Peter 1:9). Adrian Rogers - By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong. Acts 3:16 Think of all that comes to us by faith: • Salvation—"Since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1). • The Holy Spirit—We receive "the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3:14). • Victory—"This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith" (1 John 5:4). • Victory over Satan—"Take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one" (Eph. 6:16). • Sanctification—Jesus told us that we were made holy "by faith" in Him (Acts 26:18). Peter Kennedy - Peace in Penn's Woodlands From Generation to Generation: Devotional Thoughts "This is the victory that has overcome the world even our faith."—1 John 5:4 William Penn was the son of a famous British Admiral in the seventeenth century. He became a Christian in the Quaker church at age twenty-two. Following his father's death Penn was bequeathed a large area of land in North America that became known as Pennsylvania—Penn's woodlands. Penn was determined to govern Pennsylvania according to God's commandments. The Indians of Pennsylvania hated the white man's settlements. Yet Penn sought a peace that would last. At the great elm at Shakamaxon Penn met with the local tribes. There they made the only treaty between Europeans and Native Americans that did not end in bloodshed. Penn's love in Christ for humanity was so compelling that both sides kept the peace. In his sermon "A Call to Christendom" Penn said, "For in Christ Jesus, the light of the world, are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; redemption and glory. They are hid from the worldly Christian, from all who are captivated by the lusts of the world. For whoever sees them must come to Christ Jesus, the true light of their consciences, bring their deeds to him, love him and obey him." Today in prayer, ask the Lord to strengthen your faith so that the world may know the victory of love. "It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it."—Dr. J. R. Miller Vance Havner - "This Is the Victory" "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33 The world is too much with us nowadays. We cannot explain it for God holds that secret and the world by its wisdom knows not God. We cannot endure it by a Stoic stiff-upper-lip philosophy. Thousands are trying to bluff through, whistling their way past the graveyard, wearing the royal robes of a put-on fortitude over the sackcloth of inner wretchedness (2 Kings 6:30). We cannot enjoy the world for "she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth," it is all a lifeless counterfeit. But we can overcome the world and any of us, regardless of circumstance, can get in on this. Christ did not dodge or deny the fact of trouble: he declared plainly that in this world we might expect it. But he follows it with, "Be of good cheer." He overcame the world and whoever is born of God and believes that Jesus is the Son of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith (1 John 5:4, 5). This business of overcoming the world is open to you. You may be an invalid, you may be in straits, you may be poor and ignorant and despised, but there is no condition in which you may be placed that can keep you from overcoming the world if you will receive him and let him live his overcoming life in you. "Be of good cheer." He is the way out. Robert Neighbour - We Know by Our Victory Over the World "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (I John 5:4, 5). "He that is born of God overcometh the world." We do not mean that all Christians live a life of absolute separation, or of absolute victory. All too many Christians stumble and follow the world. What we do mean is this: Every believer, because he is born of God, has within his reach a victory, supreme and complete, if he, by faith, will claim it. This much is sure — all overcomers may know they are born of God. This life of victory is altogether impossible to the unregenerate; they cannot, under any condition, overcome the world. They are of the world; yea, they are the world. In these days, when so many are walking arm in arm with the world, it will prove helpful to consider, once more, the believer's attitude, Scripturally, to the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life — the things which dominate the men of the world. 1. The believer is called out of the world, and is commanded to "love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (I John 2:15). 2. The believer is not of the world; his citizenship is not of the world; his treasures are not of the world. He is in the world, but the world must not be in him. He may possess things that worldly men possess, but these things do not possess him; they must not form the pulse and purpose of his life. 3. The believer should crucify the world; this is his glory: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14). In truth, those who are in Christ, walking in Him, "have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Gal. 5:24). 4. The believer is promised victory over the world. Through Christ Jesus "we are more than conquerors" (Rom. 8:37). In Christ Jesus, we are made partakers of "His triumph" (see II Cor. 2:14). Jesus Christ met satan and vanquished him: He spoiled him and all of his principalities and powers; therefore, He assures His victory to His born-again ones. When this victory is realized in a believer's life, he knows that he is born of God Vance Havner - Any Day Is V-Day! When we are passing through great trial and testing we are inclined to wait until the storm is over and the battle ended before we celebrate victory. We lift our weary and tear-dimmed eyes to some blessed day ahead or to heaven itself and sigh for ultimate deliverance. We plod along through gloomy days and desolate nights looking for light at the end of the tunnel. Today is just another dark chapter to be endured. Our Waterloo is behind us and we are engaged only in mopping-up operations! But to the Christian, V-Day can be today, no matter what the circumstances are. "... this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4). Our victory was won at Calvary and the open grave. Our Waterloo is behind us and we are engaged only in mopping-up operations! When the battle is fiercest and no end seems in sight, if we have walked by faith and triumphed over fear in spite of feelings and conditions, that is victory NOW and we need not wait to celebrate. I am passing now through a time of great trial. I do not know what the outcome will be. I do not know when clouds will lift and the burden fall. I am not merely trying to hold out until then. Today can be a triumph as great and maybe even greater than when the storm abates and the battle ends. I stand in Christ complete. The full and final realization of His triumph has not yet come. We see not yet all things put under Him but we see Jesus and in Him everything is as good as done. This IS the victory! There is no doubt as to the outcome. Sin, death, and the devil are still here, disease and disaster, heartbreak and bereavement are with us but they are defeated foes and we have but to wait a little while to see them all forever past. To move through this world as a citizen of heaven is victory now. The Christian belongs to a Kingdom of the heart, an invisible world at present, but one day it will be set up visibly right here on earth. Meanwhile we taste even now the powers of that age to come and enjoy foretastes of glory before the King returns. To move through this world as a citizen of heaven is victory now. Principalities and powers battle us fiercely but greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world, and by the shield of faith we can ward off the fiery darts of the Wicked One. The outcome is sure, there is not a moment's doubt as to how it will all come out. The devil is on the way out although he may stir up quite a rumpus in his exit. You can end this drab day with celebration if you live it by the faith of the Son of God. We do not have to wait until we see how it will turn out. It has already turned out! This is the marvelous truth of the gospel that we start from victory and work from it. The ultimate outcome merely climaxes what is guaranteed from the start. You do not have to stand on Jordan's stormy banks and cast a wishful eye to a distant Canaan. We are in Beulah Land now. We can shout hallelujah over the potential until we wait for the actual. True, we do not live by feeling but if all things are working together for good there ought to be some happiness now! Let us celebrate victory provided in the past, possible in the present, perfected in the future but victory anytime! This IS V-Day! Let us celebrate victory provided in the past, possible in the present, perfected in the future but victory anytime! This IS V-Day! Ours is the Victor and we follow in the train of His triumph. All things are ours already and we are Christ's and Christ is God's. Moravian Daily Texts And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. 1 John 5:4 Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer! Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer! God of our strength and salvation, we give you thanks for the courage to face each day, each decision, and each moment with the assurance of your presence among us. Amen Conflict is Inevitable 1 John 5:4 Genesis 21:9-21 After the birth of Isaac, the true nature of Ishmael was revealed. Nothing of his life is known before Isaac's birth. Even this points out a significant truth for the believer. It is not until a person receives the new nature, through receiving Christ as Saviour, that he discovers the real character of his old nature. The discovery is a painful one and even causes some to doubt their salvation as they see the struggle taking place in their lives. However, the very fact that there is conflict is proof of salvation. There is no conflict when there is only the old nature. But when the new nature comes in to control the life, the old nature sets up an intense conflict. Paul referred to this conflict when he said, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Gal. 5:17). This is the condition that results when a person receives Christ as Saviour. He receives a new nature, which is in opposition to the old nature. There is conflict between the spirit of liberty and the spirit of bondage. Even as in the case of Ishmael and Isaac, where one had to be expelled, the believer cannot yield to both natures but must choose the one he will obey. "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" -- 1 John 5:4 Vance Havner - Defense Line of a Lost Cause While I was preaching in Petersburg, Virginia, I spent two mornings at a lovely lake near the old earthworks of the Confederate defense line where men fought and died one hundred years ago. Someone has told of two brothers who fought on opposite sides in that great struggle. They were buried in the same grave and the marker carried this inscription: "Only God knows who was right." States Rights was a just cause, but we are seeing the final defeat of it in these days of growing centralization of power in Washington. The Confederacy lost, and around Petersburg ragged, hungry men made a last stand against overwhelming odds. It was the last defense line of a lost cause. This set me thinking about another cause. The church has gone on the defensive these days. She has thrown up barricades and dug in to withstand the onslaughts of Communism, secularism and all other foes. This is bad strategy. Ours is not a lost cause. "... this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4). Almost every day I read or hear religious leaders express darkest pessimism and defeatism. Our best ambition seems to be to hold our own. "The best defense is an offense," but we are as terrified as the Israelites before Goliath, and we take counsel of our fears. Nobody seems remotely inclined to take the initiative. I read of a little band of desperate soldiers encompassed by great odds. The captain had no notion of surrendering. "Men, we are surrounded," he shouted, "don't let one of them escape!" Like Elisha at Dothan, the church needs to turn a deaf ear to distraught alarmists who see only the enemy in the valley. We need to look up where heavenly hosts surround us and where the angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear Him to deliver them. Ours is not the last defense line of a lost cause. We were here first. The meek shall inherit the earth and the saints shall judge the world. We are not going to convert the world or Christianize it, but we can evangelize it. And we can Christianize more of it than we are doing now. There are citadels that can be taken, strongholds of evil that can be demolished. We need some Davids who will call Goliath's bluff. We need more Gideon's bands to scatter the Midianites. We were never meant to hide behind our breastworks and maintain the status quo until Jesus comes. The status needs to be "un-quoed"! In this warfare there is no "holding our own." If we do not advance, we retreat. There is no substitute for victory. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. That does not mean that hell's armies cannot break our defenses. It means that hell's bulwarks cannot withstand our assault. Consolidating all our forces into one ecumenical host is not the answer. The early church at Jerusalem had dug in, but persecution scattered them everywhere preaching the Word. We need to be diffused, not consolidated. Nor shall we prevail by closing ranks in a motley mob infiltrated by subversives and infested with traitors. We need a hard core of commandos who will advance without any plans to return, spearheads of expendables who do not count their lives dear. Our comfortable Sunday-morning regulars, well-uniformed and overloaded with top brass, have entrenched themselves in million-dollar fortresses, but this expensive defense line is not holding. It is beset without and within. God never mobilized us merely to man bases already held. He called us to carry the battle to the foe. "... speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:" (Exodus 14:15). Ours is not the defense line of a lost cause. Robert Neighbour - The Faith That Overcomes "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even oar faith. "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (I John 5:4, 5). There are three great foes that beset the Christian's pathway. These foes are strong against all who love the Lord. They are the world, the flesh and the devil. They attack from around, from within and from above. 1. In meeting the world, God has provided us with victorious faith. "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Of course, this faith is the exclusive possession of those who are born of God and who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. The unbelievers are children of the wicked one. The wicked one is the prince of this world and his children walk according to the course of the world. Believers are called out of the world, they are not of the world. The very fact that they are born from above is proof sufficient that the world hateth them. Believers overcome the world by faith because faith aligns them with the great Overcomer, the Lord Jesus Christ. His victory is their victory; they are led in the train of His triumphs. Believers overcome the world by faith because they go outside the camp with their Lord; they hold in their vision another age and a better, and refuse to be conformed to this one. 2. In meeting the flesh God provides us with a victorious faith. The flesh is our "old man," our self life — the deadly foe of the "new man," the life begotten of God. Through the "hearing of faith" the Spirit was received; the Spirit wars against the flesh; if we walk in the Spirit we are victors and will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh; finally, this walk is a walk of faith for "we walk by faith and not by sight." Thus our victory over the flesh is through the indwelling Spirit, but is also by faith. 3. In meeting the devil God has provided us a victorious faith. It is "the shield of faith that overcomes all the fiery darts of the wicked one." Satan is easily overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony — but both the saving, sheltering Blood, and the testimony of saints is the accomplishment of faith. Thus faith holds an important place in the overcoming life. "O for a faith that will not shrink, Though pressed by every foe; That will not tremble on the brink Of any earthly woe. "That will not murmur or complain, Beneath the chastening rod, But, in the hour of grief or pain, Will lean upon its God. "A faith that shines more bright and clear When tempests rage without; And when in danger knows no fear, In darkness feels no doubt. "Lord, give us such a faith as this, And then, whate'er may come, We'll taste e'en here the hallowed bliss Of an eternal home This is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 1 JOHN 5:4 In his book Forever Triumphant, F. J. Huegel (BORROW Forever Triumphant, The Secret of Victory in the Christian Life) told a story that came out of World War II. After General Jonathan Wainwright was captured by the Japanese, he was held prisoner in a Manchurian concentration camp. Cruelly treated, he became "a broken, crushed, hopeless, starving man." Finally the Japanese surrendered and the war ended. A United States army colonel was sent to the camp to announce personally to the general that Japan had been defeated and that he was free and in command. After Wainwright heard the news, he returned to his quarters and was confronted by some guards who began to mistreat him as they had done in the past. Wainwright, however, with the news of the allied victory still fresh in his mind, declared with authority, "No, I am in command here! These are my orders." Huegel observed that from that moment on, General Wainwright was in control. GOD WANTS YOU TO BE A VICTOR, NOT A VICTIM ILLUSTRATION OF OUR POSITION, PRIVILEGE AND POWER TO OVERCOME THE WORLD BECAUSE EVERY BELIEVER IS IN CHRIST - Warren Wiersbe tells about... A Civil War veteran used to wander from place to place, begging a bed and bite to eat and always talking about his friend “Mr. Lincoln.” Because of his injuries, he was unable to hold a steady job. But as long as he could keep going, he would chat about his beloved President. “You say you knew Mr. Lincoln,” a skeptical bystander retorted one day. “I’m not so sure you did. Prove it!” The old man replied, “Why, sure, I can prove it. In fact, I have a piece of paper here that Mr. Lincoln himself signed and gave to me.” From his old wallet, the man took out a much-folded piece of paper and showed it to the man. “I’m not much for reading,” he apologized, “but I know that’s Mr. Lincoln’s signature.” “Man, do you know what you have here?” one of the spectators asked. “You have a generous federal pension authorized by President Lincoln. You don’t have to walk around like a poor beggar! Mr. Lincoln has made you rich!” To paraphrase what John wrote: “You Christians do not have to walk around defeated, because Jesus Christ has made you victors! He has defeated every enemy and you share His victory. Now, by faith, claim His victory.” The key, of course, is faith, but this has always been God’s key to victory. The great men and women named in Hebrews 11 all won their victories “by faith.” They simply took God at His word and acted on it, and He honored their faith and gave them victory. Faith is not simply saying that what God says is true; true faith is acting on what God says because it is true. Someone has said that faith is not so much believing in spite of evidence, but obeying in spite of consequence. Victorious faith is the result of maturing love. The better we come to know and love Jesus Christ, the easier it is to trust Him with the needs and battles of life. It is important that this maturing love become a regular and a practical thing in our daily lives. (Bible Exposition Commentary) Dr. Stephen Olford states, "The triumphant believer is one who fights not for victory, but from victory. The battle has already been won at Calvary and it is the believer's privilege and joy to celebrate that victory in every situation of daily life." J Mike Minnix - Eighty soldiers from Fort Dix were fighting a forest fire, when a pilot flying overhead dropped three weighted notes. With the notes he gave directions on how the firefighters wer to escape the flames. He could see from above a way of escape which they could not see from below. When they read the note, they fled. They did not doubt the authority of the pilot, but immediately fled to safety. They had a message of escape that came from above. That is what God offers our world. A message of safety and salvation that comes from above. Adrian Rogers - Are you an overcomer? I mean honestly, are you an overcomer? Or, are you just simply trying to hold on ’til Jesus gets here? Are you like that lady who said, “I can overcome anything but temptation?” Now, there are a lot of folks like that. I mean, they talk a lot about being overcomers, but they are not overcomers, they are overcome. They sing “Victory in Jesus,” but they are (not) victors. They are victims and they do not live a life of continuous, perpetual victory and overcoming. Now my dear friend, an overcoming Christian is not a super Christian. He is a normal Christian. The Christian who is not overcoming is a sub-normal Christian. It is God’s plan. It is God’s blueprint for you—day by day, this day, and the rest of your life— that become an overcomer. And, when we meet one another around here in the church and we walk up and I say, “Bob, how are you doing?” He ought to say, “I’m overcoming.” “Margaret, how are you doing?” “I’m overcoming. I am living a life of victory, a life of overcoming.” (See sermon "Overcoming") Faith...is not blindly believing in spite of evidence, it is boldly obeying in spite of consequences. Faith is not simply believing that what God says is true. Faith is acting upon it because it is true. May I say that again? Faith is not simply believing that what God says is true, faith is acting upon it because it is true. Faith is not blindly believing in spite of evidence. Faith is something else. It is acting and it is obeying in spite of consequences. Let me say it again. It is not blindly believing in spite of evidence, it is boldly obeying in spite of consequences. Regardless of the consequences, regardless of whether it seems right or wrong to you in the flesh, you say, “If God said it I’ll do it.” Now, when you begin to have enough faith to say, “I’m going to obey God simply by faith.” You know the reason that many of us don’t obey God? We really just don’t believe God.... Why does, how does belief help you to overcome. Well you see, what belief does is it makes Jesus Christ real to you, real to you. You see, look in 1Jn 5:5. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. I’m not talking about believing that abstractly, but when you believe that the Son of God is in you. And, what is Jesus? Prophet, priest and king. As prophet, He will enlighten you. As priest, He will intercede for you. As king, He will clear the way for you and supply every need that you have. Jesus Christ becomes a bright living reality to you. And, if Jesus Christ is not a bright living reality to you, you’ll never really overcome. (See sermon "Overcoming") Look full into His wonderful face and the things of earth will go strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. THE NEW BIRTH: ITS EVIDENCES AND RESULTS 1 JOHN The Apostle John does not point out in this Epistle how regeneration can take place, because that he had already done in his Gospel, particularly John 1:12, 13+, and the whole of chapter 3. Here in his Epistle he points out the proofs whereby we may know we are born from above. I. Faith is both the condition and the proof of regeneration. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God” (1 John 5:1+). II. Love. “Every one that loveth is born of God” (1 John 4:7+). III. Life. “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit (margin, “practice”) sin; or as W., “No one who is a child of God is habitually guilty of sin” (1 John 3:9+). This is to say, one of the clearest proofs of the new birth is to be found in the fact that a new life is begun. Not a life of sin as before, but a life of victory—there may be, there usually is, especially in the early days, lapses into sin, but not a life of sin. By and by we learn the secret of full victory. IV. Overcomes. “For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world” (1 John 5:4+). V. Kept. “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but He that was begotten of God (i.e., the Lord Jesus) keepeth him” (1 John 5:18+, R.V.). The begotten one is kept by the only Begotten of the Father. And the result? VI. Holiness. Personal holiness. “Every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29+). (James Smith - Handfuls on Purpose) JOHN PIPER SUMMARIZES JOHN'S EVIDENCE OF NEW BIRTH I think God wants the totality of this book to have its impact on us. It is dominated by the concern to give “tests of life” or effects and evidences of the new birth. He gives at least eleven evidences that we are Born Again. We could probably boil them all down to faith and love. But for now let’s let them stand the way he says them. Here they are: 1. Those who are born of God keep his commandments. 1 John 2:3-4-note: “By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 3:24-note: “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him.” 2. Those who are born of God walk as Christ walked. 1 John 2:5-6-note: “By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 3. Those who are born of God don’t hate others but love them. 1 John 2:9-note: “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.” 1 John 3:14-note: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.” 1 John 4:7-8-note: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:20-note: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” 4. Those who are born of God don’t love the world. 1 John 2:15-note: “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 5. Those who are born of God confess the Son and receive (have) him. 1 John 2:23-note: “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 4:15-note: “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” 1 John 5:12-note: “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 6. Those who are born of God practice righteousness. 1 John 2:29-note: “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.” 7. Those who are born of God don’t make a practice of sinning. 1 John 3:6-note: “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” 1 John 3:9-10-note: “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” 1 John 5:18-note: “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” 8. Those who are born of God possess the Spirit of God. 1 John 3:24-note: “By this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” 1 John 4:13-note: “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” 9. Those who are born of God listen submissively to the apostolic Word. 1 John 4:6-note: “We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” 10. Those who are born of God believe that Jesus is the Christ. 1 John 5:1-note: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” 11. Those who are born of God overcome the world. 1 John 5:4-note: “Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” Two Wrong Conclusions - One of the effects of all those “tests of life” is to overwhelm us with the sense that John may be saying: “If you’re born again, you’re perfect. If you’re born again you don’t sin at all. There is no defeat in the Christian life. There is only victory.” Another effect that these tests might have in our minds is to make us think we can loose our salvation. That is, we can be born again for a while and then begin to fail in these tests and die and lose the spiritual life that we were given in the new birth. Two Key Clarifications - John is very aware that his words could be taken in these two wrong ways. So he is explicit as any writer in the New Testament that this is not the case: Christians are not sinless, and born-again people cannot lose their spiritual life and be lost. He says in 1 John 1:8-10-note, “If we say we have no sin [present tense], we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins [present tense], he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” So John is at pains to say that “walking in the light” (1Jn 1:7-note) does not mean walking flawlessly. It means that, when you stumble, the light of Christ causes you to see it and hate it and confess it and move forward with Christ. And John is just as jealous to make sure we don’t infer from these “tests of life” that we can be born again and then later lose our life and be lost. 1John 2:19-note is one of the clearest statements in the Bible that there is another way to understand what happens when a person abandons the church. It says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” Notice three things John says to protect us from misunderstanding. 1) Those who seemed to be born again and forsook the faith never were born again—they never were of us. “They went out from us, but they were not of us.” In other words, the explanation is not that they lost their new birth. They never had it. 2) Those who are truly born again (“of us”) will persevere to the end in faith. 1Jn 5:19b-note: “For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.” Endurance is not the cause of the new birth. The new birth is the cause of endurance, and endurance is the evidence of new birth. 3) God often makes plain who the false Christians are in the church by their eventual rejection of the truth and the people of God. Verse 19c: “But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” It became plain. And it often becomes plain today. (Everyone Who Has Been Born of God Overcomes the World) The best way to overcome the world! Thomas Chalmers "Do not love the world or anything in the world." 1 John 2:15 There are two ways in which a person may attempt to displace the love of the world from the heart: 1. By a demonstration of the world's vanity, so that the heart shall be prevailed upon simply to withdraw its regards from an object that is not worthy of it. "When I surveyed all that I had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve—everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun!" Ecclesiastes 2:11 "This world is passing away along with its desires!" 1 John 2:17 2. By setting forth another object, even Christ, as more worthy of its attachment, so that the heart shall be prevailed upon to exchange an old affection for a new one. The best way to overcome the world, is not with morality or self-discipline. Christians overcome the world by seeing the beauty and excellence of Christ. They overcome the world by seeing something more attractive than the world—the Lord Jesus Christ! "Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!" Song of Songs 5:16 From Thomas Chalmers classic sermon on "The Expulsive Power of a New Affection" Here is a related quote from a sermon by Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones in which he is describing how believers are to put on the new and put off the old. He writes "Indeed, as I have already said, you cannot truly deal with the negative unless you are at the same time doing the positive. (AMEN TO THAT - NOTICE THE ORDER - Col 3:1-4+ MUST BE "PUT ON" BEFORE YOU CAN EFFECTIVELY KILL SIN in Col 3:5+. IN Gal 5:16+ YOU ARE TO FIRST WALK BY THE SPIRIT AND THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL YOU BE ENABLED TO NOT CARRY OUT THE DEEDS OF THE FLESH! OUR FALLEN FLESH TRIES TO INVERT THE ORDER AND THE RESULT IS INVARIABLY FAILURE TO KILL SIN! IN Ro 8:13+ IT IS BY THE SPIRIT YOU PUT TO DEATH THE DEEDS OF THE BODY!) The way to get rid of the defects is to cultivate the virtues. To use a well-known phrase of Thomas Chalmers, what we need is to apply the “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection”. I use a simple illustration. The way the dead leaves of winter are removed from some trees is not that people go around plucking them off; no, it is the new life, the shoot that comes and pushes off the dead in order to make room for itself. In the same way the Christian gets rid of all such things as bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking and all malice. The new qualities develop and the others simply have no room; they are pushed out and they are pushed off. Arthur Pink - Overcoming the world - (Faith as an Overcomer) "For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith." 1 John 5:4 One of the fruits of the new birth, is a faith which not only enables its possessor to overcome the sensual and sinful customs, and the carnal maxims and policies by which the profane world is regulated—but also the lying delusions and errors by which the professing world is fatally deceived. Now, the only thing which will or can "overcome the world" is a God-given—but self-exercised faith. And faith does so, first, by receiving into the heart God's infallible testimony of the same. He declares that "the world" is a corrupt, evanescent, hostile thing, which shall yet be destroyed by Him. His Holy Word teaches that the world is "evil" (Galatians 1:4-note), that "all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father—but is of the world" (1John 2:16-note), that "the whole world lies in wickedness" (1John 5:19-note) and shall yet be "burned up" (2Peter 3:10-note). As faith accepts God's verdict of it, the mind is spiritually enlightened; and its possessor views it as a worthless, dangerous, and detestable thing. Faith overcomes the world secondly, by obeying the Divine commands concerning it, God has bidden us, "Do not be conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2-note), "Do not love the world, neither the things that are in the world" (1John 2:15-note), and warns us that "Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world, becomes an enemy of God." (James 4:4-note). By heeding the Divine precepts, its spell over the heart is broken. Faith overcomes the world thirdly, by occupying the soul with more glorious, soul-delighting and satisfying objects. We often hear and see 2Corinthians 4:16-17-note quoted—but rarely the explanatory words which follow. The daily renewing of the inner man and our afflictions working for us an eternal weight of glory are qualified by: "While we look not at the things which are seen—but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2Corinthians 4:18-note). The more the substance of the heavenly world engages the heart, the less hold will the shadows of this earthly world have upon it. Thus, faith wrought in the saints of old: "You accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions" (Hebrews 10:34-note). "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:9-10-note). Fourth, by drawing out the heart unto Christ. As it was by fleeing to Him for refuge, that the soul was first delivered from the power and thraldom of this world, so it is throughout the Christian life. The more we cultivate real communion with Christ, the less attraction will the baubles of this world have for us! The strength of temptation lies entirely in the bent of our affections, "for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21-note). While Christ is beheld as "the chief among ten thousand" (Song 5:10) as "altogether lovely" (Song 5:16-note), the things which charm the poor worldling—will repel us. Moreover, as faith beholds in the mirror of the Word, the "glory of the Lord," the soul itself is "changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2Corinthians 3:18-note). The world gains the victory over the unregenerate by captivating their affections and capturing their wills; but the Christian overcomes the world, because his affections are set upon Christ and his will yielded to Him. What is the extent of the Christian's victory? Through temporary weakness of faith, he may neglect the means of grace and fall into sin—yet his soul will be so wretched that he will return to Christ for cleansing and fresh supplies of grace. "Though the conflict of grace with corrupt nature, and the attractions and terrors of the world, is often very sharp, and though regenerate men may be baffled, cast down, and appear slain in the battle; yet the Divine life within him, being invigorated by the Holy Spirit, will again excite him to arise and renew the conflict with redoubled fortitude and resolution; so that at length, the victory will be his decidedly" (Thomas Scott, 1747-1821). The life of faith is a "fight" (1Timothy 6:12-note), a warfare in which there are no furloughs or "vacations," and our success therein depends upon renouncing our own strength, and counting solely on the sufficiency of Christ's grace. Here—then, we have a sure criterion by which we may determine our Christian progress or spiritual growth. If the things of this world have a decreasing power over me—then my faith is becoming stronger. If I am holding more lightly the things most prized by the ungodly—then I must be increasing in an experimental and soul-satisfying knowledge of Christ. If I am less cast down when some of the riches and comforts of this world are taken from me—then that is evidence they have less hold upon me. If I find the company of the most cultured and charming worldlings have a dampening effect upon my spirit, and I am happy when relieved of their presence—then my faith is overcoming the world. O may my heart be occupied, So wholly, Lord, with Thee, That with Your beauty satisfied, I elsewhere none may see. D L Moody - He that “is born of God overcometh the world”; rising above the storms, and disturbing elements of flesh and nature, and all out of which Christ has risen, it seeks its own native element springing up into everlasting life, like the frigate bird which, when the storms agitate the surface of the ocean, when winds and waves rage in contempt of life on every side, rises aloft into the calm above the storms, and floats securely and tranquilly in that peaceful atmosphere, where it finds itself at home and at rest! Defeat or Victory? Read: 1 John 5:1–13 Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4 Each year on June 18 the great Battle of Waterloo is recalled in what is now Belgium. On that day in 1815, Napoleon’s French army was defeated by a multinational force commanded by the Duke of Wellington. Since then, the phrase “to meet your Waterloo” has come to mean “to be defeated by someone who is too strong for you or by a problem that is too difficult for you.” When it comes to our spiritual lives, some people feel that ultimate failure is inevitable and it’s only a matter of time until each of us will “meet our Waterloo.” But John refuted that pessimistic view when he wrote to followers of Jesus: “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). Enable us to overcome the world through faith and obedience to You. John weaves this theme of spiritual victory throughout his first letter as he urges us not to love the things this world offers, which will soon fade away (2:15–17). Instead, we are to love and please God, “And this is what he promised us—eternal life” (v. 25). While we may have ups and downs in life, and even some battles that feel like defeats, the ultimate victory is ours in Christ as we trust in His power. Lord Jesus, Your ultimate victory in this fallen world is assured, and You ask us to share in it each day of our lives. By Your grace, enable us to overcome the world through faith and obedience to You. When it comes to problems, the way out is to trust God on the way through. David C. McCasland How to conquer the world! - Thomas Brooks, "The Unsearchable Riches of Christ") Perhaps the world—the smiling world or the frowning world, the tempting world or the persecuting world—lies as a heavy stone or burden upon your heart, as it does upon the hearts of thousands in these days; (witness their attempting anything to get the favors, honors and riches of this world! Ah! how many have turned their backs upon God, and Christ, and truth, etc., to gain the world!) How will you get this burden off? Only by exercise of faith. Many men hear sermons much—and yet remain worldly. They may pray like angels—and yet live as if there were no heaven nor hell. They will talk much of heaven—and yet those who are spiritual and wise, smell their breath to stink strong of earth. All their endeavors can never cure them of this soul-killing disease—until faith breaks forth in its glorious actings. A man may hear sermons and pray many years—and yet remain as carnal, base, and worldly as ever! There is no way under heaven to remove this burden—but the exercise of faith! "For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:4-5 Faith presents the world to the soul under all those notions which the Scripture holds forth the world unto us by. The Scripture holds forth the world as an impotent thing, as a mixed thing, as a mutable thing, as a momentary thing. Now faith comes and sets this home with power upon the soul—and this takes the soul off from the world. Faith causes the soul to converse with those more glorious, soul-satisfying, soul-delighting, and soul-contenting objects. Now when faith is busied and exercised about soul-ennobling, soul-greatening, soul-raising, and soul-cheering objects—a Christian tramples the world under his feet! In Hebrews 11, it was the exercise of faith and hope upon noble and glorious objects—which carried them above the world—above the smiling world, and above the frowning world, above the tempting world, and above the persecuting world! Faith conquers the world, by assuring the soul of enjoying of better things. Men may talk much of heaven, and of Christ, and religion, etc.; but give me a man who does really and clearly live under the power of divine faith—and I cannot see how such a one can be carried out in an inordinate love to these poor transitory things. Jesus gave us grounds for good cheer and confidence by declaring, “I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). He accomplished this by His death and resurrection, and secured the victory for all generations. Preacher and author Watchman Nee (1903-1972) wrote, “Oh, that we might learn the undefeatedness of God!” According to Jesus, it’s possible to experience His “undefeatedness” in every adversity. Paul testified, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). And the apostle John wrote, “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 Jn. 5:4). We need never be defeated By the trials that come our way; Since the Lord has overcome them, Victory is ours today. —Sper We can go through anything because Jesus goes with us. Living Victoriously Julie had been married only a year when she suffered a massive stroke that left her unable to walk or talk. Her parents offered to take the responsibility for her care so that her husband Mark could be free, but he refused. For 25 years now, he has continued to love and care for Julie. Many people might feel sorry for Mark, saying that he has foolishly deprived himself of the only good that life can offer—present happiness. But Mark doesn’t need their pity, because he has strong faith in Christ. As Christians, we love God because He first loved us, and we have made obedience to God our highest delight. Our love relationship with Him makes this obedience a source of joy instead of an oppressive burden. Nonbelievers ask, “How can you be happy when you have to forfeit so much?” The answer is simple: We can look at life from the perspective of eternity because we have been “born of God.” John wrote, “This is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 Jn. 5:4). God gives those who trust and obey Him the confidence that what He has for us is better than anything the world can give us. He makes us victors. Although this life may bring us pain, Our faith in Christ can help us see That if we will obey His Word He'll give us joy and victory. —Sper Surrender is victory when we surrender Celebrate The Beginning Most celebrations of national independence mark the day of final victory in the struggle for freedom. Perhaps it’s a mark of our American brashness that we celebrate the adoption of our Declaration of Independence, which occurred 7 years before the final treaty ending the Revolutionary War (September 3, 1783). The Declaration’s adoption on July 4, 1776, burned the final bridges of Britain’s authority over America. It was a bold and risky start. We still celebrate the beginning. Christians often ask each other, “When did you accept Christ as your Savior?” That bold beginning of faith, which may have seemed at the time like the greatest risk in the world, is worth noting and celebrating. With spiritual battles looming ahead, we still salute the birth. The apostle John said that everyone “born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 Jn. 5:4). “Born of God.” Commencement, debut, unveiling. A step of faith. A new beginning. A break with the past. A humble confidence in the grace and power of a forgiving God. The start of true freedom. THINKING IT OVER Have you been born again? See John 3:1-18. What did Jesus do to free you from sin's penalty? Do you sense an increasing freedom from sin's power? Our greatest freedom is freedom from sin. C H

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