Overcoming in Christ

1 John 5:4-5 “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?”

무릇 하나님께로부터 난 자마다 세상을 이기느니라 세상을 이기는 승리는 이것이니 우리의 믿음이니라 예수께서 하나님의 아들이심을 믿는 자가 아니면 세상을 이기는 자가 누구냐

1. Overcoming through faith (5:4)

2. Overcoming through trusting in Christ (5:5)

1. INTRODUCTION

2. BODY

a. Overcoming through faith (5:4)

i. John continues this idea of what he says at the end of verse 3. The question is why are God’s commandments easy to bear? To recap, the love of God motivates us in our desire to keep His burdens. Because of His love for us, we want to live to please Him. That is the ultimate motivation. If that doesn’t motivate you, then you are not a child of God.

ii. Our love for God is the prime evidence that we are children of God. There is no child out there that is born that does not love his/her parents if they show their child that they love them. All children know the love of their parents. Similarly, all Christians know the love of the father. How? Because all children of God know that Christ came to die on the cross on their behalf that they might have new life in Christ (2:2)

iii. So going back to verse 4, the one who is born of God overcomes the world, because this person’s life is focused on loving God and living the life that God has planned for this person. Therefore, this person is living the life that God enables this person to live by the power of the Holy Spirit and this is the reason that this person lives without burdens.

iv. John is telling us in verse 4, by emphasizing not the victorious person, but rather, the victorious power. It is not the man, but his birth from God that allows him to overcome. So what have we overcome with our faith?

v. We have to know that the world is what we have overcome. But what about the world? The love of the things of this world. You see, everything in the world will cause us to want to do those things over doing the things God wants in our lives. So when John writes that our faith is the victory over the world, it is simply that God has defeated the things that make it difficult for us to obey in God. You see we can overcome the world; we can choose to obey God instead of the world because of His great love for us. It’s because of His great love, because He first loved us, that we can love Him back.

vi. You see without receiving salvation, we don’t have the power to overcome our sin. This is why everywhere you look around you, people will make promises, new year resolutions and fail. We want to improve our lives but we don’t have the discipline or ability to sustain it. We might be able to quit for a period in our lives but to quit forever is difficult. What John is telling the believer is that Christians are different. We can overcome these things because of the Holy Spirit working in us and giving us the ability to overcome these things.

vii. This is the promise Jesus made us in John 16:33[1]. We will and can overcome the world because He has overcome the world. One of the greatest threats to this statement is our own faith. This is why John writes in verse 4, that the one who overcomes the world is the one who has faith.

[1] John 16:33 이것을 너희에게 이르는 것은 너희로 내 안에서 평안을 누리게 하려 함이라 세상에서는 너희가 환난을 당하나 담대하라 내가 세상을 이기었노라

viii. When we read this verse, John definitely has in mind John 16:33. Why do I say this? Because Jesus is the one who overcame the world. Only those who are born of God can therefore overcome the world because of His power. He will enable us to overcome the world. This is why the Christian’s ability to keep His commandments is not burdensome. It is the Spirit’s leading and Spirit’s power that will strengthen us to overcome. This is what Paul was writing in Philippians 4:13, when he writes that he can do all things through Christ who gave Him strength. You see Paul was saying the same thing. The reason that he was able to overcome his obstacles because he knew that Christ was with Him and enabling him to overcome those obstacles. The reason he was able to live with nothing and endure was because he knew that Christ was with Him.

ix. One of the greatest lessons I have learned from listening to the preaching of Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones is this very teaching. We must always ask God expecting to receive from Him. Afterall, we are His children and He is our Father. He loves us and will give us everything we need. We must ask trusting in Him for everything. We must have faith that He will answer our prayers.

x. One of the lessons I’ve gone over and was fortunate to go over again is 1 Corinthians 13. 1 Corinthians 13 is the chapter of love and in verse 4-7, Paul details to us what love is. If we are honest, this is the most difficult chapter to live by in the whole Bible. Why? Because loving others is difficult. But John argues, if you are a child of God, you will keep His commandments (1 John 5:3).

xi. So in this context, what does it mean to love others? What does it mean to love the soul of others? 1 Corinthians 13:4[2] tells us love is patient. I’ve read this many times but through my study of 1 John 4:16, I’ve come to change the word love with God. This has helped me process why I am to love. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us what love is, but if we know that love is God, 1 Corinthians 13 tells us the motivation for why we love. As John tells us, we are reminded that we are to love because we love Him (4:19) and we are to love because as children of God, our purpose in life is to please Him and live in a way that honors Him.

[2] 1 Corinthians 13:4 사랑은 오래 참고 사랑은 온유하며 시기하지 아니하며 사랑은 자랑하지 아니하며 교만하지 아니하며

b. Overcoming through trusting in Christ (5:5)

i. So John questions, who’s faith overcomes the world? John stated at the end of verse 4 that our faith is what overcomes the world. If we read verse 4 alone, then we would think that John is stating that our faith itself is what overcomes the world. But in context, when we think about what verse 3 is saying, we can understand that John is not saying this.

ii. Rather John is saying that God allows us and helps us to keep His commandments because they are not burdensome. He allows us to keep them. This is why our faith in Him helps us to overcome the world. The point John is making is, our faith alone can do nothing but our faith in God, because He allows us to have faith in Him, is the reason we can overcome the world.

iii. So John asks the question in verse 5, who is the one who can overcome the world? How does a person overcome the world? He answers this question by saying, the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God.

iv. This is the main theme of the whole book. The Holy Spirit who dwells in us gives us the knowledge to keep His commandments and overcome the world. John makes it clear here that our faith is not what overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God. Notice that John is saying that the one who believes in Jesus, is the one who can overcome the world. Why? Because Jesus made it clear in John 16:33 that He has overcome the world.

v. Therefore, the one who puts his trust in Jesus’s work, will also, be able to overcome the world just as He has. Everything in the Christian faith points back to God. God is the one who has started and will finish the good work that He has started in us. This is what separates the Christian faith from every other religion. We don’t put our trust in our own works, but rather the finished work of Jesus.

vi. With that in mind, are we overcoming through faith in Christ? Let me rephrase this. When we look at our lives, are we praying and believing that God will answer our prayers?

vii. I will say that I used to struggle with this a lot more than I do now. Here are some struggles that I’ve seen people struggle with when dealing with prayer.

viii. It’s easy to say that we can overcome through Christ. But it is another thing to believe it. We pray asking God to answer our prayers and we see more often than not that God doesn’t answer our prayers and due to this, we are stuck. We pray because we were taught to pray but don’t understand why we should. We want to believe because well we do believe. At the same time, we struggle to believe because we feel God is not listening and is distant.

ix. Another instance people have shared with me is similar but different. It is the person who prays and asks God, but deep down inside, doesn’t have confidence that God will answer our prayers. What do I mean by this? It is the person that believes, and is truly a believer, but says that God doesn’t want this for me and this is not God’s will. So instead of asking God from their heart what they want, they change it because deep down inside, they believe that God won’t and can’t do what we ask. What does this look like? When we pray, we always add, “God if you don’t answer my prayer, give me the strength to accept your decision.” And through this, as God doesn’t answer our prayers, we are struggling in trusting in Jesus because like the first instance, we are struggling to believe and see God’s goodness.

x. Well if you are either of these situations, let me tell you that you are not overcoming through faith. Either of these situations reveal a problem in our faith. Both situations don’t believe that God can or will do what we ask.

xi. The first situation of the person who is praying and asking God to answer but struggles because the person truly doesn’t believe that God can answer our prayers. Honestly, both situations fail to do this. This is why I say we are not overcoming with our faith because well we are not trusting in God. Remembers Hebrews 11:1[3]tells us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is trusting and knowing of things hoped for, conviction of things not seen is trusting that God will do the very thing we ask even when we don’t see it.

[3] Hebrews 11:1 믿음은 바라는 것들의 실상이요 보이지 않는 것들의 증거니

xii. You see when John is saying the one who overcomes is the one born of God, this person is the one who trusts in God and believes God indefinitely. We are not trusting in potential or whether we think God can do it. We are trusting in the character of God. We are trusting that God will do the very thing we ask. Why? Because we believe God loves us and wants the best for us. You see, we must believe that God is for us. This is what Romans 8:31 reminds us.

xiii. The problem with the second situation is that this person is looking at sovereignty backwards. They pray saying God is sovereign and He can do all things, yet because of His sovereignty, He doesn’t do what we ask. This is true sometimes, but God’s sovereignty should never be relied on before God answers our prayers. No, we should trust in God’s sovereignty after we pray and this time passes. Why? Because we trust God’s decision to listen or not listen to our request is based on His goodness. You see, God’s sovereignty tells us despite our requests if it is in our best interest, God will give and provide for us what we need. But when He doesn’t give us what we want, it is because He knows there is something better. That is trusting in the sovereignty of God. That is the correct understanding of the sovereignty of God.

xiv. The last instance of the believer is the one who is fully trusting in God and enjoying fellowship with God. This person is the person who is struggling through life, but holding on because God is holding them. I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 4:8-10[4], which explains to us what a Christian’s life should look like. You see this is the tension of the Christian life. It’s not a easy life but it’s a joyful life because Christ is with us.

[4] 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 우리가 사방으로 우겨쌈을 당하여도 싸이지 아니하며 답답한 일을 당하여도 낙심하지 아니하며 박해를 받아도 버린 바 되지 아니하며 거꾸러뜨림을 당하여도 망하지 아니하고 우리가 항상 예수의 죽음을 몸에 짊어짐은 예수의 생명이 또한 우리 몸에 나타나게 하려 함이라

xv. Why is this the biblical picture of the Christian walk? Because this person trusts not in God’s gifts, but rather enjoys the fellowship with God. You see when we pray, we should not be praying for what we want. We should be asking God to show Himself, to reveal Himself to us in our prayer. When we pray to God and we need something from Him, we should ask Him to help us by revealing Himself to us. This could mean that He gives us what we need, but more than that, we are praying for His presence. Psalm 16:11 is the prize of life. Living in the presence of God. This is what prayer is for. It is to know God and enjoy His fellowship.

xvi. This is where we want to be. This is what Jesus calls us to do. This is what it means to overcome the world. We overcome the trials not because God gives us what we want. But we overcome the world because Christ is with us. Read 2 Corinthians 4:10. Our purpose in life is to live like Jesus. It is to know Jesus and trust in Jesus that when we are beaten by the world, the only thing we can do is trust in Him that others might see Him working in us. The goal of the Christian life is not receiving what we want. It is to enjoy fellowship with God.

3. CONCLUSION