1 John 5:1-5 : Overcomers
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
Thanks to Mandisa and the broken record called Christian radio, one cannot think of the word overcomer without belting out her popular song aptly named from a few years back. I will spare you from hearing me rock that song right now even though it is most certainly playing in my head.
However, the word has actually been around much longer than just this century. It is a word that is very powerful. It is a word that requires perseverance, character, steadfastness, and courage.
From an earthly standpoint, as well as a spiritual standpoint, one cannot help but be amazed at overcomers - namely those who continue in the faith even in the hardest of times. We all should be overcomers as believers and true believers are overcomers - however, there are some that just seem to epitomize what it means to be an overcomer.
One such overcomer that comes to my mind is Elisabeth Elliot. She and her husband, Jim Elliot, were called to be missionaries to the Quechua (ketch-u-a) Indians in Ecuador. They had met at Wheaton College and eventually married in 1953. They had individually been called to work with these people of Ecuador even before the married and had individually already served there on the mission field. Thus, it was fitting that they were actually married in Ecuador.
However, tragedy struck them in 1956, when Jim was speared to death along with four of his missionary friends while trying to attempt contact with the Huaorani (who-air-rani) tribe. Their daughter was only 10 months old at the time.
Most would have bailed on any mission attempts at this point. But not Elisabeth. She continued on and ended up making contact with the Huaorani (who-air-rani) tribe. As God’s providence would have it, she ended up getting to learn some of the language from a couple of women who had left the tribe. Using this newfound language she reached out and was eventually invited to speak to the tribe. Many became open to the Gospel and the violence of the tribe greatly diminished.
She could have given up. Should could have bailed easily. She had every excuse not to persevere. She had every excuse not to be an overcomer. Yet she did overcome. How? By the strength and grace of Jesus Christ.
Lets turn today to our reading and see what John has to say about overcoming.
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 John 5:1-5
Read Full Scripture:
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Prayer
As we start to try to understand what it means to be an overcomer - we need to start with the basics. That brings us to our first point today:
I. Overcomers…Are Open to the Truth (1)
I. Overcomers…Are Open to the Truth (1)
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
Everyone who believes. This word ‘believes’ is in a verb state that indicates that this believing is a continued believing. It is a belief that perseveres. It is a belief that will overcome.
Who can believe? The Scriptures teach that the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ is sufficient for everyone.
Then John gets into the what does everyone (meaning all true Christians) believe. They believe that Jesus is the Christ who has been born of God. This statement sounds much like an early creed for the first century church. This was a foundational doctrine in the early church. Jesus is the Christ - the Messiah - the sent one of God. He was sent to take the sins of the world away. He was sent to die a substitutionary death on behalf of the world - so that by faith in Him and Him alone and repentance of sin one would have eternal life.
We must see that this belief in Christ is not intellectual only. This belief requires submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This is the type of belief that when paired with the drawing of God - leads to a regenerated heart. One is born again through this belief and the work of the Holy Spirit.
There is another subtle teaching that John has here in this first verse. John parallels two things. He equates Jesus Christ with the Father as being the same. This is another Scripture that teaches at least part of the Trinity. That God is one God - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It also shows that Christ is equal to God and is God.
The other parallel is that those who believe in Christ have been born of God - they are regenerated as we just mentioned. Those who are regenerated will also love others who have been regenerated. Love for the brotherhood is a mark that one is saved.
If you find a man or woman who does not love the brotherhood, namely Christ’s church and the gathering of believers - one who rejects the koinonia - or fellowship - then you have found someone who likely isn’t a believer or at least one who is in sin and needs to repent. Of course the church is full of sinners. It is not the healthy who need a doctor as Jesus said.
31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Matthew West - writing the same vein of this Scripture wrote:
But didn't you say the church should look more like a hospital
A safe place for the sick, the sinner and the scarred and the prodigals
- Matthew West
We come to church because we love the Father and we love those born of Him - namely believers. We receive the power to do this because He first loved us as we have just learned the past couple of weeks and He loves others through us. Those who are unable to love their brothers and sisters in the mess that we call the church are in grave danger of not being believers.
God has been clear that the gathering of believers in church is how He intends to grow His people.
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
As we see here in Hebrews - we are not to neglect gathering as a body of believers. We are to continue loving and caring for one another. We are to encourage one another. How are we to instill courage in one another if we are not meeting as a body of believers? We must be together in order to encourage.
I understand that you may have been hurt by some people at a former church. You may bring baggage with you from your previous church experiences. I do not in any way condone any sinful acts that those in the church commit. However, if these struggles keep you from being able to love the brothers and sisters of the church then you are in danger my friend. You are not seeing yourself as wretched and sinful as you should. You are not seeing that you are just as sinful and in need of a Savior as they are. You must let go of bitterness and resentment and ask God to love others through you. He can heal your broken heart and heal the scars that you have from the negative experiences you might have encountered. Be open to the truth of the Gospel. Accept Christ’s forgiveness. And be open to the commands from the One who is the Truth. Forgive as you have been forgiven.
John shows us here that overcomers are open to the truth. They are open to the truth of the Gospel. And they are open to the truth of the Word of God.
Overcomers also:
Scripture References: Luke 5:31, Hebrews 10:25
II. Overcomers…Are Obedient to the Truth (2-3)
II. Overcomers…Are Obedient to the Truth (2-3)
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
It is one thing to be open to the truth. This is definitely the first important step. Yet after being open to the truth, we must be obedient to the truth.
John fleshes out the importance of being obedient to the commands of God.
As we consider the commands of God, it is helpful for us to start with the The Ten Commandments, seen in Exodus chapter 20, which is a great example of the parallel of our obedience to God and our love for His children. The first four commandments focus on a right relationship with God. The next six focus on a right relationship with others.
Complete obedience to God requires both. We can’t just be all about God and hate our brothers. We have seen Jesus knock that time and time again. In fact we just saw that last week:
20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
Yet, we also cannot just be a humanitarian and do all kinds of good for others and ignore the Word of God and ignore the commandments of God. This is also a grievous evil and one that many churches are falling into in the 21st century.
This shying away from sharing the Gospel as we do mission work both locally and internationally is nothing more than a humanitarian aid that the Federal Government could do. Why, Christians, do you serve the community without sharing the Gospel? Why, Christians, do you serve at a soup kitchen, or homeless shelter, or inner city kids programming and not share the Gospel? Why, Christians, do you help rebuild or remodel someone’s house and not share the Gospel?
If I might be so bold - when we serve others and do not share the Gospel - we are in great danger of sinning. We are loving others but we are not loving and obeying God. God clearly commanded us in Matthew 28 to share and preach the Gospel. I’m not saying we need to bash people over the head with a Bible. But what I am saying is that we should have an ulterior motive for everything we do.
Ah ha! - the unbeliever says. I knew you just did nice things for others in order to peddle your religion.
It’s not like that my friends. We do not peddle a religion. We share the wonderful news of salvation! We share the only Gospel (good news) out there. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only Gospel that says you can’t work your way to God. It is the only actual good news out there. Other religions scream keep working - hopefully you will make it! While Jesus said - It is finished.
And what is our ulterior motive friends? It is that the person we are aiding does not just have a wonderful worldly blessing of food, or clothing, or shelter - which are great but as we know these earthly blessings will pass away - but that their soul may be saved from Hell.
If we truly love others and love God we will be willing to share the Gospel with them. Their worldly needs should pale in comparison to their spiritual need of Jesus Christ. We must see people where they are. Lost. They are slaves to sin and need set free from the pangs of death more than they need their car fixed. They are children of Satan and need adopted as sons and daughters of Jesus Christ more than they need dinner.
May we use our worldly goods in order to help others by meeting their physical needs - but may it be done with the loving ulterior motive to help others see the truth of Jesus Christ.
Many of you will remember the horrible flooding that we had in Elkview, WV in June 2016. At least 23 people will killed and many homes were destroyed or ruined. My oldest sister, Michelle, and I went and volunteered with Samaritan’s Purse to help clean up some houses. When we went to the training offered that morning, I was amazed by something that they said. They were unapologetic about the goal of our mission. We were certainly there to help clean up and work our tails off - but that wasn’t the goal of the mission. The mission was to share the Gospel. Our ulterior motive - our overarching goal - was to make much of Christ by telling others about Him. They were clear that if we had an opportunity to talk about Jesus with a homeowner in the area in which where we were working - that we should stop what we were doing and take the opportunity to share the Gospel. They were clear that none of us were to be upset with anyone who stopped working in order to share the Gospel. They saw the eternal work of sharing the Gospel as the utmost of priorities.
Overcomers are obedient to the truth.
They do not see the commandments of God as burdensome. The Greek for burdensome is barys (bar-eese) which can mean heavy, weighty, important, and even fierce.
The dictionary definition of burdensome is undesirably restrictive. This word is usually used in English with situations such as governmental regulation and red tape that one must get through in order to get something done.
When an unbeliever sees all of the commands of God - they may feel that these commands are burdensome. They can be viewed as restrictive. You can only have one wife or husband. You need to be mindful of what you say. You need to be holy as God is holy. Why can John honestly say that God’s commands are not burdensome?
First of all - we must admit that God’s commands are demanding. Those who would deny that God’s commands are demanding would be quickly deserting what is an orthodox faith.
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
This sounds a lot like a very demanding request to me!
What John is saying, is that God’s commands are not a terrible weight or burden that we cannot bear. God’s standard is set high. Be holy as I am holy. But He doesn’t just set the bar high and leave us by ourselves to try to clear it.
He is not giving a 10 ft pole and asking us to vault a 50 ft bar.
He gives us the grace and ability through the Holy Spirit to accomplish this obedience.
This same wonderful Savior who set the bar so high in Matthew 16 as we just read also said the following:
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The Pharisees of the first century loaded the Jews with all kinds of burdens and yet did nothing to help them. In fact - they just kept raising the bar time and time again with their ridiculous rules and regulations.
Yet, Jesus lets the people know that He will bear their burdens for them. He will give them rest.
God sets the bar high. His commands are very much demanding. He desires us to live a holy life. Yet, He takes our burdens and strengthens us through His grace to accomplish what He calls us to do.
We should be open to the truth and we should be obedient to the truth.
Commit yourself to being obedient to the commandments of God. And make this commitment by the power of the Holy Spirit.
After being open and obedient to the truth:
Scripture References: 1 John 4:20, Matthew 28:16-20, Matthew 16:24-26, Matthew 11:28-30
III. Overcomers…Are Overcomers by the Truth (4-5)
III. Overcomers…Are Overcomers by the Truth (4-5)
4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
What exactly does it mean that those born of God overcome the world. This means that those who are born-again believers overcome the world by resisting the evil one. They resist his temptations to deny the Jesus Christ is God. They resist his temptations to be disobedient to their Creator.
We need to note that the word overcomes in its original Greek is in its present tense. John is letting us know that the fighting is still in progress but the victory has been won! We still battle with the evil one day after day. But eternally speaking, the victory is assured my friends.
What brings about this victory in our lives? Faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone. This faith is of utmost importance. Victory is found in one name and one name only.
And John nails home that one name with verse 5 with a heart-seeking rhetorical question. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
John answers this question for you. No one overcomes the world without Jesus Christ. salvation is found in Him and Him alone.
The late John Stott stated that John gave three tests of what it means to be true believer in these 5 strong verses:
The true Christian, born from above, believes in the Son of God, loves God and the children of God, and keeps the commands of God.
Belief, love, and obedience are marks of the new birth.
- John Stott
Overcomers overcome by the truth. We see this no more clearly spelled out than in the book of Revelation. In the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, we see special promises that are given to all overcomers. Pastor and theologian John MacArthur does an excellent job explaining these in his commentary. I have borrowed from his great work as I have put these verses together. I will use the NASB95 translation for these because the ESV uses the word conqueror instead of overcomer.
To the church in Ephesus:
7 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’
Here we see overcomers back in a perfect relationship with Jesus Christ prior to Genesis chapter 3.
To the church in Smyrna (Smur-na):
11 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’
Death comes upon all men (for you Bible trivia people - it did not happen for Elijah and Enoch). However, apart from those two men who were taken into heaven before dying - all men will face the first death. The death of our physical bodies that are marred by sin. Yet we will not face the second death - the Lake of Fire - Hell.
To the church in Pergamum:
17 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’
God promises to provide for our needs - which the manna symbolizes. And He grants to us a white stone - which is a stone of victory. It was a stone that was given to victorious athletes in the first century. We are given victory in Christ.
To the church in Thyatira:
26 ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star.
We are promised that we will rule with Christ in His Millennial Kingdom and we are promised that we will have Christ - the morning star. The Millennial Kingdom is a topic that would take quite a while to explain in detail - but it is Christ’s ruling on earth after the Tribulation.
To the church in Sardis:
5 ‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. As we discussed last week - Christ’s righteousness is imputed - or placed upon us. Our sins are covered by Jesus. Jesus lets us know that our salvation is sure! Our name will not be erased from the book of life. And Jesus promises to intercede for us to the Father by confessing that we are His.
To the church in Philadelphia:
12 ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Jesus promises that believers will be immovable. They will not be cast out - which again speaks of the security the believer has eternally. He finishes with discussing the wondrous eternal citizenship of the believer with Christ.
To the church of Laodicea:
21 ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Finally, Jesus ends with a promise of eternity with Him in Heaven.
To summarize all of this information, overcomers, namely believers are promised:
1. Eternal Life with a Secured Salvation
2. Citizenship in Heaven with Christ
3. Imputed Righteousness from Christ
4. An Intercessor in Christ
5. Ruling and Reigning with Christ in His Millennial Kingdom
6. Victory in Christ
7. Provision from Christ
8. Avoidance of the Second Death - Hell
9. A Perfect Relationship with God
Scripture References: Revelation 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:26-28, 3:5, 3:12, 3:21
Conclusion
Today we have spent some time discussing what it takes to become an overcomer. I pray that you have heard today - not a works-righteousness talk - but instead a sermon on grace and the power of God. Only by Christ’s power can we overcome the evil world that we live in.
Prayer
If you would like to learn more about salvation through Jesus Christ or want to obey Jesus by obeying the first commandment of a believer in going through the waters of baptism - please see me after the service.
God bless and have a blessed week!