One of the things I love about spending time in God’s word
on a daily basis is the way certain words will stand out on any given day so
that we know what the Spirit is saying to us as clearly as if he had penned the
words just that moment.
This morning, I took another look at this Scripture and
noticed one particular word standing out:
4 For EVERYONE who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this
is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. (I John 5)
For a long time I have had to include in my ministry how to
relate the “good news of great joy”[1]
to children of God who believe their particular problems are more difficult for
God than what others deal with. There is no doubt that people experience
traumatic situations that wound and isolate their souls. However, there is also
no doubt that there are no exceptions to the promises of God for our “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit.”[2]
With that in mind, consider what it means that, “EVERYONE who has been born of God overcomes
the world.”
The only condition to overcoming the world is that we have
been “born of God”. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”[3] He
then added, “Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”[4]
The point is that there is only one kind of Christian: those
who have been born again by the Spirit of the Living God.[5] Therefore,
whoever “has been born of God” is
part of the “everyone” who “overcomes the world.” No exceptions.
Now, to be sure we understand this, and accept why it is so
clear that every true believer in Jesus Christ overcomes the world, John
explains what exactly is “the victory
that has overcome the world.” It is, “our
faith”.
The reason that faith overcomes the world for “EVERYONE who has been born of God” is
that “by grace you have been saved
through faith.”[6]
It is grace that saves us completely; it is faith that, now made alive in
Christ, embraces the grace that has saved us. This is true for all believers in
Jesus Christ.
Now, to clarify, Paul adds this distinction to make sure we
do not make distinctions! “And this is
not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no
one may boast.”[7]
Us being saved by grace through faith is not something we do. It is something
we receive. It is a gift. It cannot be accomplished by works.
It is the gracious nature of the gift that makes us fully
alive in Jesus Christ that takes away any grounds for boasting, but also any
grounds for believing we are more difficult for God than other people. Just as
we cannot boast that we did something to get ourselves saved, we cannot boast
that there is something so wrong with us that the promises of God do not work
for us by faith.
The question is, have any of us conditioned ourselves to
believe we are an exception to the promises of God regarding our salvation?
There is only one exception that keeps people from one hundred percent of the
promises of God for his children, and that is that they are not “born of God”. The people who are not
born of God cannot experience any of the promises of God to his children, while
those who are born of God are able to experience all the promises of God to his
children.
If there is something in your life that is holding you back,
hindering your walk with God, giving ground to unbelief and wrong beliefs, look
at what God is saying in I John 5:4 about faith. “Our faith” overcomes the world.
What if we don’t believe we have that kind of faith? We go
to the source. “So faith comes from
hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”[8] We
can admit that we struggle to believe what God says, but then we go to the word
of Christ, the Scriptures, and meditate upon them so that faith can come
through us hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches.[9]
Instead of continuing to tell ourselves why the promises of God for our
salvation are not true, we can interact with the Spirit about what he is
telling us through the word that is true. As we take God at his word, our faith
grows.
Which brings me back to where we started, that I love the
way spending time with God on a daily basis gives us the experience of seeing
how even one word can stand out in such a way as to build up our faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. This post is just one example of how God has done this for
me. Since this faith is “for EVERYONE who
has been born of God,” it can be yours just as much as mine.
© 2016 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
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