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1 John 5:1-12
“Being Overcomers”
Through his Epistle John has gone to great lengths to ensure the readers understand who Jesus is … and the eternal security we can have when we put our faith in Jesus.
John continues to have that same focus in our text this morning which is 1 John 5:1-12.
1 John 5:1-12
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves His child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 This is the One who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which He has given about His Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Reading through these verses should cause us to say, “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
We say “Yes” because we know that Jesus has come in water and blood.
The water represents the Baptism of Jesus which, in turn, signalled the beginning of a three year ministry of preaching about the need to repent.
The blood represents the crucifixion of Jesus where Jesus makes the blood atonement so that those who do repent can be forgiven and have eternal life.
Effectively the phrase “water and the blood” is a way to summarize the whole ministry of Jesus.
In response to this saving ministry of Jesus … we say “Yes”.
We also say “Yes” to the greater testimony that God has given us about His Son.
The testimony of a human being can carry great weight. The greater testimony of God carries eternal weight.
When Jesus was baptised God made the testimony … this is my Son in whom I am well-pleased. Even before the ministry of Jesus started God knew the ministry of Jesus would accomplish all that God would require.
On the third day after Jesus was crucified the empty tomb becomes a visual testimony from God that the sacrifice given on the cross had fulfilled all the requirements of the law, now the way of salvation is open to all who call upon the name of Jesus.
We say “Yes” to this testimony which is the very foundation of our eternal hope and security.
We also say “Yes” to the eternal life that God has given us.
When we confess our sin and put our faith and trust in Jesus we are given the Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing our place in eternity. This deposit means that, the next time we see Jesus face to face, we know He is going to say to us “your place in the new heaven and new earth is prepared and ready to receive you.”
When we have Jesus we have life. We say “Yes” to such a life.
Yes to the saving work.
Yes to standing secure on the foundation built by Jesus.
Yes to the sure and certain hope of eternal life.
When we say “Yes” to such an extensive saving work we would expect that our “Yes” to will lead to a life of spiritual transformation and obedience. Indeed, through this letter, John has been teaching us what that life of obedience will look like.
4 Whoever says, ‘I know Him (Jesus),’ but does not do what He commands is a liar.
1 John 2:4
15 If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.
1 John 2:15
9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
1 John 3:9
6 Whoever knows God listens to us (the apostolic teaching); but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.
1 John 4:6
That isn’t even the whole list of obedience verses which John gives us … let alone other aspects of obedience spoken in the rest of Scripture. However, even with just this list before us, there is an expectation in the Scriptures that the spiritual transformation which results from putting our faith in Jesus is not going to be a small transformation.
Spiritual transformation and obedience is not just a matter of adjusting our attitude a little, or make a few minor changes.
Where we think that all we need to do is tweak a few dials here and there in our spiritual life to bring us back into tune.
Or perhaps we talk ourselves up because we’ve been doing this Christian thing for a while now, and we think we have a handle on it.
Sure – we don’t get it all right all the time – but what can God expect, “We’re only human.”
We’ve already got most of this under control, I just need a bit of refinement.
There is a sense where we could call that spiritual transformation – but it is a dried toast spiritual transformation. Kind of bland an uninspiring.
We know that when we know Jesus … dried toast spiritual transformation is not the obedience outcome Jesus has in mind.
Yet isn’t it also our experience that, when compare our spiritual transformation with the expectations of Scripture
… when we do that, we have times when we find ourselves thinking
… I don’t know if I can do this.
… I don’t know if I have what it takes.
… I don’t know if I can meet the expectations.
It all feels a little dry.
Despite what John says in 1 John 5:3, there are moments in our Christian walk when we find the Lord’s commands are indeed burdensome.
We have days when we really want to walk closely with Jesus and trust that He has our life in His hand.
But there is so much pressure on our plate.
And we are so tired.
And we’re wondering if God is trying to push us a little too hard.
We look at what God is asking of us in that moment – and we start to feel spiritually overwhelmed.
We do have moments, and days, and even seasons when we struggle with sin. And it makes us feel fearful, and anxious, and frustrated and defeated.
We are convicted that we need to repent … and we do repent. Yet we keep falling into the temptations which pile up on us. And just when we think we have a handle on one area of our spiritual life a new area of challenge opens up, along with a new spiritual battle.
We have said “Yes” to all that God has done. We are so thankful and full of praise.
We are committed to living a life of obedience and we yearn for the spiritual transformation that comes with obedience.
But … keeping the commands has become a burden.
And because it is a burden, we don’t feel victorious … we feel defeated.
We have been overcome.
And then we read these words of Scripture
4 (E)veryone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
1 John 5:3-4
The testimony of Scripture to all who are born of God is that they will have victory and overcome the world.
The reality of the Christian journey is there are times when we feel defeated and we have been overcome.
The contrast between these two outcomes raises some important questions.
If I don’t feel like an overcomer does that mean I am not an overcomer?
If my spiritual transformation is not one of victorious overcoming … am I to take this as an indication that … actually … I am not born of God.
As we work through a biblical response to these questions we do want to recognise that feeling defeated and feeling overcome is an experience that has existed since the days of the early church.
We know this is the case because of the words Jesus inspired John to write to the seven churches in Revelation. With regards to five of those churches this is what John is inspired to write with regards to the outworking of spiritual transformation and obedience that existed in those churches.
To the Church in Ephesus – Revelation 2:4-5
4 I hold this against you: you have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
To the church in Pergamum – Revelation 2:14
14 I have a few things against you: there are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
To the church in Thyatira – Revelation 2:20
20 I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads My servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.
To the church in Sardis – Revelation 3:1-2
1 I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of My God.
To the church in Laodicea – Revelation 3:15-16
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of My mouth.
Among these first century churches there is a cold mechanical faith, which has lost the initial love of Jesus. There is a mixing of different religions. People where tolerating untruth and making peace with error. There are spiritually lazy fence-sitters who are on the verge of being spiritually dead. The world has distracted them, or caused them to lose focus, or lulled them into a false sense of security. The hardships of faith were just too much, and some are finding it difficult to count the cost.
That doesn’t look anything like the spiritual transformation of victorious over-coming, does it. And yet this is what Jesus also says to these churches.
To the Church in Ephesus – Revelation 2:7
7 To the one who overcomes
(it is the same Greek word uses by John in 1 John 5:4-5)
I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
To the church in Pergamum – Revelation 2:17
17 To the one who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
To the church in Thyatira – Revelation 2:26
26 To the one who overcomes and does My will to the end, I will give authority over the nations.
To the church in Sardis – Revelation 3:5
5 The one who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before My Father and His angels.
To the church in Laodicea – Revelation 3:21
21 To the one who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with My Father on His throne.
The same people who looked defeated and overcome. Those with a cold mechanical faith. Those who are spiritually lazy fence sitters.
To these people, Jesus says, “I am still able to declare that you are overcomers.”
You may not look like an overcomer, but that does stop you from being an overcomer.
How can that be?
How can Jesus make such a declaration regarding a situation that looks like the very opposite of the victorious over-coming of obedient spiritual transformation.
Let’s go back to 1 John 5:3-5
3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
When we read these words there is no doubt that a victory is being promised.
Who are the recipients of this victory? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Can we be those who don’t keep Gods commands … while also believing at the same time that Jesus is the Son of God? Yes we can!
Can we be those cry out to God and say, “I’m finding your commands burdensome” … while also believing at the same time that Jesus is the Son of God? Yes we can!
Can we get caught up in the world and give over to the temptations of the world … while also believing at the same time that Jesus is the Son of God? Yes we can!
Can we be those who have a weak and stumbling faith, where we struggle against doubts, and fears, and guilt, and shame, and hopelessness … while also believing at the same time that Jesus is the Son of God? Yes we can! This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
John doesn’t say anything about a victory that comes about because that is how we feel. The victory that overcomes is not determined by the circumstances we find ourselves in, or our spiritual fervency. The ones who are overcomers are the ones who testify that the journey we are on is not a journey we do in our own strength – rather it is a journey that is walked in unity with Jesus who comes to us and tells us that we can be those who overcome the world. All we need to do is believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
This belief, and only this belief, will be the belief that equips and empowers us with the victorious over-coming of obedient spiritual transformation. That will be the case even when we feel that we are spiritually failing in our relationship with Jesus.
We see the exact same outcome take place in the life of the disciples. On the evening before Jesus was crucified Jesus said to His disciples
John 16:32
32 ‘A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for My Father is with Me.
As the next 24 hours unfolds the disciples will declare that they will die with Jesus. Yet all of them will run and hide. All of them will loose faith. All of them will slink away in defeat. But how does Jesus want then to respond in that situation?
33 ‘I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace.
Peace. Even as they are running away.
Peace. Even when they were denying that they knew Him.
Peace. In the middle of what can reasonably de described as a colossal spiritual failure.
Peace is that place in our relationship with God where we have total assurance that, despite the circumstances, our eternal relationship with God remains secure.
How can there be peace in that situation?
In this world you will have trouble.
Jesus is not talking here about the trouble which comes with being Christians in a world that is against us. The trouble which we endure because the organisers of the Paris Olympic games think it is quite appropriate to have a blasphemous parody of the Lord’s Supper
That is also called “trouble” in the Scriptures. But that is not the sort of trouble Jesus is talking about.
The “trouble” spoken of here is the trouble that eventually caused the disciple to scatter.
The trouble where we allow ourselves to be tempted, and dragged down, and carried away.
The trouble where our minds get polluted and we know we have guilt and shame.
The trouble where our faith wanes and we allow our convictions to be stifled.
The trouble where our lives are punctured with immorality and we compromise our integrity.
The trouble where our spiritual life has lost its shine.
The trouble where the disciples ran, and were scattered, and hid.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.
When Jesus went to the cross to be punished for our sin, what happened? He secure victory.
When Jesus was laid in the tomb suffering death as the punishment for sin what happened? He walked out! He secured victory.
When Jesus ascended to the Father to be at His right hand, why was He allowed to sit at the right hand? Because He secured the victory.
And there is still to come a day when Jesus will return in victory.
To the One who believes that Jesus is the Son of God … the victory of Jesus becomes their victory.
If I don’t feel like an overcomer does that mean I am not an overcomer?
If my spiritual transformation is not one of victorious overcoming … am I to take this as an indication that … actually … I am not born of God.
No. Rather, when we are those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God Jesus declares to us “You are and you always will be, an overcomer.”
You are and you always will be, an overcomer.
Jesus makes that declaration to the scattering disciples … but who are also those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
You are and you always will be, an overcomer.
Jesus makes that declaration to the believers in the Revelation churches. The ones with a cold mechanical faith, and who were tolerating error, and who were spiritually lazy … but who also believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
You are and you always will be, an overcomer.
Jesus makes that declaration right here, right now.
Even to those who are thinking “I don’t feel or look like an overcomer.”
To every single person Jesus says, “It doesn’t make a difference what you think you are. All that matters is what I say you are.
And if you are the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Then Jesus declares, “You are and you always will be, an overcomer.”
Prayer
