Faith and the Victory of God

1 John 5:1–5 NKJV

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Prayer

Faith and the Victory of God

I want to begin today with a bit of an aside and I think you will see quickly how it applies to our text for today.

In the 1500’s there was a shift in thinking which took placed called the Enlightenment.

This period of time deeply affected the way our generation understands the Scriptures.

This period laid the foundation for the deep skepticism of our day.

In broad brush strokes, I want to sketch out two of those commitments and then their implications for today.

Christ Alone—The Uniqueness of Jesus as Savior Enlightenment Consequences on Christ Alone: The Loss of Christ’s Exclusivity

The Enlightenment, then, brought a particular combination of ideas that challenged the validity of the church’s confession. The idea that (1) only human reason is necessary for human knowledge entailed (2) the idea that we can make sense of the world without God’s personal involvement.

These two commitments have laid the bedrock for a deep misunderstanding of today’s text.

These two commitments are demonic and worldly.

If human reason alone becomes the basis to ground our knowledge, then the Bible becomes ONLY a historical book.

If human reason alone is how we come to understand anything than reality is reduced to naturalism (only the created world).

If God does not have personal involvement with the world, then everything is left to the scientific method.

If God does not have personal involvement with the world, then we can just remove faith from the human experience.

If everything is determined by human reason and God does not have personal involvement, then religion’s will slowly just disappear.

But do you know what has happened since this period of history?

People have NOT become any less religious.

Now what this period of history tried to do is say that it is impossible to have faith in anything outside of the physical world.

So people would place their faith in the things they could see.

They would place them in their job.

In their family, in their careers, in science, and in anything observable.

Rather, they have become lost, confused, purposeless, and without hope.

Everyone has faith in something.

What is utterly different about a Christian?

What makes a Christian distinctively different?

How is a Christian able to overcome in a world like this?

By being born again, you are able to exercise faith in Christ, to love God and one another.

Only by faith alone, in Christ alone, will you overcome the world and its schemes.

Now in 1 John, John is coming to the end of a circular book which has given us numerous tests.

And these verses sit as a capstone which include all the tests in one brief sentence.

What is utterly different about a Christian?

1 John 5:1 NKJV

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.

Born from Above

“Grounds for the Victory”

If we were to ask John, “What is a Christian?”

I think the first thing he would tell us is they are ones who have been born from above.

1 John 5:1 (ESV)

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God

Notice the direction of these verses.

The person who believes that Jesus is the Christ has already been born of God.

Take note of two words here in these verses, “believes” and “has been born”

The first represents an ongoing process, which is belief.

The second represents something which happened in the past and now has an abiding effect.

The person who believes has been born of God in the past and now the abiding state is one of belief.

Regeneration Proceeds Faith

1 John 5:1 (ESV)

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God

Regeneration proceeds faith.

Now regeneration is the act of God to make a person born again.

This is FIRST an ACT of God.

Belief in Jesus is the consequence of the new birth.

Now to be clear, we can’t go around and look for a stamp on people which says, “Born again”

There isn’t a personality which characterizes people who are “born again”

We should not walk around with our “Born-Again-O-Meter” measuring who we think are actual Christians.

That’s NOT John’s intentions.

The act of God regenerating a person and believing faith generally happen simultaneously.

His intention here is to show that SALVATION is PRIMARILY an act of God.

We are NOT Christian’s because we made a decision.

We are Christians because God has changed our hearts.

John 1:12–13 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

To all who did receive Him, that is whose hearts were open to do so.

Not of blood.

Not of the will of the flesh.

Not of the will of man.

But of God.

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Faith is the instrument, but grace is the unmerited favor of God.

Implication - Humbling Reality

This is the most humbling thing ever.

It means that there was nothing in you or me to make God love us.

There was nothing about what we have done to woo or compel Him toward us.

It means that salvation was first and foremost as work of sheer grace toward sinners.

If you are a believer, then you are first and foremost one who has been born again.

But let’s consider for a moment if John would have said...

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ makes himself born of God...”

Faith proceeds regeneration

This statement would be saying is that a person needs to believe in Jesus in order to be born again.

That would mean that the birth is not really from God, it’s actually from us.

Consider that Ephesians passage we just saw..

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

It would be like saying, by faith through grace.

Ever so slightly it begins to say, you can change.

You can do it.

You just need to have faith.

SO regeneration proceeds faith…

But there is also an object on which our faith hangs.

1 John 5:1 (ESV)

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God,

Faith Requires an Object

Before we go any further, it is important that we get a quick definition to the word faith…

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The word there for substance could just as easily be translated as “the reality” “the realization”

Hebrews 11:1 NET 2nd ed.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.

Another way to say it is that faith is the vehicle by which God has given to His children the means to be saved.

And that vehicle is trusting in the Son of God.

And the writer of Hebrews presents it as pretty important because…

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

The object of a person’s faith is critically important.

Christ Alone—The Uniqueness of Jesus as Savior Solus Christus contra Rome’s Theology and Practice

We are justified by faith alone “because we are justified by the object of faith alone, that is by the merits of Christ only, without which we can have no righteousness whatever: for we are justified for Christ’s sake. Nothing but the merit of Christ can be our righteousness in the sight of God, either as a whole, or a part only. We are justified only by believing, and receiving the righteousness of another, and not by our own works, or merit.”

The object of our faith is what holds us.

So we can’t have something that is flimsy holding us.

We need something which is sure and steady, and that is Christ.

It also means that those who love the Father, will love those who are born of the Father.

Again, John is clearly showing that a person who loves the brothers does so because they love God.

What makes a Christian distinctively different?

1 John 5:1–3 NKJV

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

Loving God and People

“Weapon of Choice”

This seems like pretty circular reasoning

The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary Love

The logic would be: (1) Everyone who loves the parent loves the child; (2) every Christian is a child of God; (3) therefore, when we love God we love our fellow Christians.

The logic becomes even more clear with an example.

Billy has been living with his girlfriend for about a year and half now.

He’s been coming to church like normal.

He goes to Wednesday Bible study.

His friend Bob, who also goes to the church, recently found out about it.

But rather than talking with Billy, Bob decided it would be “more loving” to just wait and “let the spirit convict him”.

Now I am fearful that a story like this is all too common…

That for “loves sake” Bob would continue to be silent about his friend’s sin.

1 John 5:1–2 (NKJV)

and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.

Loving Others by Loving God

Another way it can be said is that we love people well when we love God supremely.

The point is simple, we love fellow believers MOST when we love God.

We love fellow believers when our love for God is primary.

We are NOT loving fellow believers when we disobey God for them.

We are NOT loving fellow believers when we encourage them (even with our silence) to be disobedient to Christ’s commands.

We are NOT loving fellow believers when we are more fearful of losing the relationship than their relationship with Christ.

When God is loved as primary, then all other friendships and relationships will be able to be loved correctly.

When God is loved and obeyed chiefly, then we will truly love our fellow believers.

So our friend Bob here needs to hear that he is not loving Billy to silently stand by and watch him make a wreck of his life.

It is NEVER more loving to allow our brothers and sisters to continue in sin without going after them.

So Loving Others by Loving God.... but John goes on.

1 John 5:2–3 NKJV

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

John even says in another place…

John 14:15 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

The unity here between love and obedience is important.

Love —> Obedience

Now I want to be really clear, John is NOT saying that love is equal to obedience.

They are bound-up together, but they are distinct.

They are mutually working together but they are different from one another.

If we make the mistake of equating them together, then the hardworking legalist will use his obedience to prove he loves God.

If we make the mistake of equating love and obedience, then every time we fail we will become fearful that we’ve fallen out of love.

It is important to see that a part of loving God is keeping His commandments.

1 John 5:3 ESV

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

In one sweeping statement, John blows out the caverns of simply emotional experience.

Because the emotional experience wants to say that love is only about how it makes me feel.

And John’s reply would be, “No! Love is much more than a feeling!”

John is showing that the love he has in mind is practical and active.

It’s action and truth.

1 John 5:3 ESV

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

Obedience ≠ Burdensome

Along with destroying emotional experience...

John is sweeping the legs from underneath the hardworking legalist.

Because God is not looking for only those who white knuckle their way to obedience.

And John’s reply would be, “You may obey, but you hate the commandments, which shows you don’t love.”

These commands will not be “weighty” or “heavy” for the Christian.

Psalm 119:24 ESV

Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.

Psalm 119:35 ESV

Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.

Psalm 119:92 ESV

If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

Obedience is never burdensome.

Like Jesus promised in Matthew 11...

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

This does not necessarily mean that obedience will be “easy” because it won’t always be easy.

But there is a difference between difficult and burdensome.

Difficult means it requires us to lean on the Holy Spirit for help.

Burdensome means that in the face of God’s commands, we resent them.

We groan and complain at the commands.

We feel as though God is imposing Himself upon us with an impossible load.

Let me give you a real world example…

You’re watching a movie with your family on a Friday night.

You’ve heard so many good things about the movie.

It’s a 3 hour long movie, so its a time commitment.

But you get an hour and half in, and there begins to be nudity scenes you weren’t prepared for.

In that moment, you as a parent have a choice.

You can turn off the movie or fast forward..

Let me ask you, do you groan at the thought of that?

Do you groan at the thought of obedience?

Do you feel as though the taskmaster has asked the impossible of you?

But the commands are never the burden, they are the freedom that God has given us.

Galatians 5:1 ESV

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

We will be acutely aware of how much of a failure we are.

But we WON’T resent the commands.

We show our love for God in keeping His commandments.

Love is the banner that the church of Jesus Christ picks up.

Romans 12:21 ESV

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Love is the weapon by which we do warfare.

If you have been born again, then you are able to exercise faith in Christ and love by keeping His commands.

How is a Christian able to overcome in a world like this?

I recently had someone point out to me the way evil functions in movies..

Have you ever noticed that the bad guys are always extremely intelligent?

Take in the movie Batman, the Joker.

He is everywhere at once, and he is LITERALLY ONE MAN.

I don’t think this is by happen stance.

To the natural man, the power of evil are uncontrollable.

To the unregenerate man, it is uncontrollable.

The person who has not been born again has no ability to resist the evil one.

1 John 5:4–5 NKJV

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Faith that Overcomes

“Victory in Jesus”

Now I want to be clear, to have faith does not mean that our situation will get better in a temporal sense.

Listen to the way the writer of Hebrews describes those great legends of the faith.

Hebrews 11:36–38 ESV

Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

How is a Christian able to overcome in a world like this?

Faith As the Victory

Again, the overcoming here is the fruit of the fact that a person has been born again.

Notice too that John is NOT emphasizing the person being victorious.

He is emphasizing ‘the victorious power’ (Plummer)

1 John 5:4 ESV

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

John is emphasizing the victorious power within us.

It’s NOT that we are great, but that the ONE who has taken US from the realm of Satan into the realm of light is the overcomer.

Hebrews 12:2 (NET 2nd ed.)

keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

Keeping our eyes fixed upon the only ONE who has overcame.

That is where our victory comes from.

Trusting in His finished work, which will be credited to us.

Trusting in His resurrection, which will be ours.

Not even trusting in our own faith, but trusting Him alone.

1 John 5:4–5 ESV

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Victory over the World

The term world here as we have seen before refers to everything which is against God and His kingdom.

It is ‘the world’, ‘the flesh’, and ‘the devil’ that we are fighting against.

World War II Example

I once heard a story of the surrender of the Japanese during WWII.

On September 2, 1945, a formal surrender was signed aboard the USS Missouri.

Designating the day as the official Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day).

Now the war in Japan was extremely brutal.

Years of hard fighting.

Some soldiers, who were hidden in tunnels and holes in the ground did not hear of the surrender.

So even as U.S. Soldiers continued to confront Japanese soldiers, there was hard fighting.

The war was over.

The victory has been won.

But the war still raged on.

This is similar to how the life of the Christian is.

Christ has already won the victory.

He has already won the war.

But the war still rages on.

And the way the Christian overcomes is by faith.

Commentaries on the Catholic Epistles Chapter 5

Having such a force to contend with, we have an immense war to carry on, and we should have been already conquered before coming to the contest, and we should be conquered a hundred times daily, had not God promised to us the victory. But God encourages us to fight by promising us the victory.

And the only way to find victory over these things will be by faith in the Son of God.

1 John 5:5 ESV

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

It will only be BY Faith that we overcome.

1–3 John—Fellowship in God’s Family Faith Is the Victory that Conquers the World (vv. 4, 5)

Christians don’t fight for victory; we fight from victory.

We fight as ones who have already conquered.

Only by faith alone, in Christ alone, will you overcome the world and its schemes.