1 John 5:4 - Victory is in Jesus - The Supreme Relationship in Your Life.
Every child of God can obey him,
defeating sin and evil pleasure
by trusting Christ to help him.
1 John 5:4 (TLB)
To overcome the world is to gain victory over its sinful pattern of life,
which is another way of describing obedience to God (v. 3). Such obedience
is not impossible for the believer because he has been born again and the
Holy Spirit dwells within him and gives him strength. John speaks of two
aspects of victory: (1) the initial victory of turning in faith from the
world to God ("has overcome"); (2) the continuing day-by-day victory of
Christian living ("overcomes"). [NIV SB]
Let no one think he can overcome without the help of God. You must have the
energy, the strength, the power, of an inner life developed within you. You
will then bear fruit unto godliness, and will have an intense loathing of
vice. You need to constantly strive to work away from earthliness, from
cheap conversation, from everything sensual, and aim for nobility of soul
and a pure and unspotted character. MM144
Faith is the cause of victory, the means, the instrument, the spiritual
armour by which we overcome. In and by faith we cleave to Christ, in
contempt of, and in opposition to the world. Faith sanctifies the heart, and
purifies it from those sensual lusts by which the world obtains sway and
dominion over souls. It has the indwelling Spirit of grace, which is greater
than he who dwells in the world. The real Christian overcomes the world by
faith; he sees, in and by the life and conduct of the Lord Jesus on earth,
that this world is to be renounced and overcome. He cannot be satisfied with
this world, but looks beyond it, and is still tending, striving, and
pressing toward heaven. We must all, after Christ's example, overcome the
world, or it will overcome us to our ruin. [Matthew Henry]
Jesus never promised that obeying him would be easy. But the hard work and
self-discipline of serving Christ is no burden to those who love him. And if
our load starts to feel heavy, we can always trust Christ to help us bear it
(see Matthew 11:28-30). [Life Application SB]
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