For whatever is born of God overcomes the world
1 John 5:4-5 Faith alone has the power to overcome the darkness and evil of the world
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
1 John 5:4-5 NASB1995
Today we’re back to the first of the epistles of John to the early Christian church. Just last week we visited 1 John 2:17, and in that devotional there is a bit of background about who this John is. The important thing to know about the first epistle is that John is impressing upon his readers that two things are necessary for their growth as followers of Jesus Christ — love and fellowship with God.
As he begins to wrap up this epistle in Chapter 5, John teaches the readers a very powerful principle: Believers are born of God and will overcome this world. John firmly believed that nothing born of God could be defeated by worldly things, and we must believe that as well.
What has given us the ability to overcome the world? Our faith! Since belief in Jesus Christ is key to being born again in God, our victory is powered by our faith. And it’s not just an emotional faith that fills us when we respond to an altar call, but a lifelong abiding faith, trust, and reliance on Jesus Christ.
This is such an important part of our lives as Christians that John repeats it again — “Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Jesus alone gives us the life that overcomes the burdens and temptations of the world.
You’ll notice that this doesn’t say that we overcome the world because of what we do, but who we are in Christ. We are born of God because we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and we base our lives on that fact.
In 1 John 2:13-14, John says that those growing in their walk with Jesus have overcome the wicked one. The Apostle John tells us in John 16:33 that because Jesus has overcome the world, we too shall overcome the world as we abide in Him.
Faith in Jesus Christ gives us the unique power to overcome the darkness and evil of the world, and that is the Good News.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
God, I thank You for Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross. He has already overcome the world, and through my faith in Him, I can also overcome the world. I give You thanks that I have been born of the Spirit, am clothed in His righteousness, and hate been accepted in Christ. Help me to submit to You completely, living in spirit and truth every day. I ask this in Jesus’ name, AMEN.