“The Victory!”

Scripture: 1 John 5:1-12

This is our final week of examining the book of 1 John. Over and over, we have read about the love that the Lord has for us, and the call of God to love him in return.
We read that if we love God, then we must also love our brothers and sisters, even when their love for us is minimal at best. But if we hate our neighbor, we also hate God, and in our lack of love, we become no better than the most violent murderer who has ever lived. Love God and love your neighbor – the Lord says that it has to be that way.
We read that in our love of God, we no long can harbor any fear of living our life in him. In the power of Almighty God, love wins, fear loses. There is no possibility of it ever being different than that.
We read that love of God acknowledges that Jesus is truly Emmanuel – God in human form. The love of God reveals that incredible truth to us, and if we accept that love, we also accept Jesus. There is no other way.
We have read that anyone who stands in opposition to God and his teachings through Jesus Christ, stands with the Satan, and they become antichrists. With and for God, or with and for Satan – these are the only possibilities, there is no third way.
We have read that when we claim Jesus as Lord, we walk in the Light of God with all who love the Lord, and when we do, the darkness is banished. But if darkness remains, then our witness is nothing more than a lie. There is no half way, no middle ground, no duality, no other hope.

There were more lessons for our lives in this book, but these were some of the major ones. And our text for today puts all of them into context.

Read 1 John 5:1-5

This concluding chapter, and this passage in particular, has a focus that is definitely Christ centered. We experience the love of God when we believe that Jesus is the Anointed One –the one who God has sent. The love of God is expressed in the sending of Jesus to the lost and hurting of earth. The point here is that while the Lord’s greatest desire is that no one should be condemned in their sin, the reality is that none of us has the ability to overcome our sin on our own. And the only one who can overcome sin is the one who defines it as sin in the first place – God.
And by believing in Jesus as the Christ, as Emmanuel, as the incarnate love of God, we become “born of God”. What does that mean? Remember the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus on that dark night? (John 3:1-21) The Pharisee was told that no one can ever enter the Kingdom of God unless they are “born again” (NIV), or “born from above” (NRSV). As Christians, we experience 2 births – one by human means, and one by Godly means.
We read that we are born of water and the Spirit – for many, the reference to being born of water means baptism, but I believe that it refers to our human birth, while Spiritual birth refers to being “born of God”. Our spiritual birth acknowledges and receives God’s love into our lives – receiving the new and eternal life, the ability to truly love our neighbor as ourselves, and the desire to understand and follow God’s commands as given to us through the teaching of Jesus Christ.
And this expression of faith, this allowing the love of God to become active through us, will overcome the ways of the world. Overcoming the world, gaining victory over the world, means that we obey the commands and ways of God, and reject the false ways of the earth. “Who overcomes the world? Only he who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” Without confession in Jesus, the world will continue to triumph in our lives, and the blessing of being “born of God” will continue in its illusiveness.

Read 1 John 5:6-12

Again, we have a reference to water and the Spirit, and this time “the blood” is included. The commentaries are all over the board as to the meaning of this, but I’ll give you my take – Water refers to Jesus’ humanity, the Blood to his Divine sacrifice, and the Spirit is the one who guides us in the truth of Christ. By why does John offer that all three are in agreement?
Perhaps he is telling us that our understanding of all three must be in agreement, as a test of the truth of Christ. What did Jesus’ teaching bring to our lives, what did his sacrifice on Calvary bring to our lives, and what does the leading of the Holy Spirit bring to our lives? If our thoughts regarding of any one of these is not in accord with the others, then we have to admit that our belief is false. And that is a test that is difficult to accept – we will always want our understanding to prevail, but the writer tells us that God’s testimony is greater than any that we will ever have! And we have to trust that the Lord is right!

And the bottom line that we are given is about as simple as it can possibly get – we can believe what God has said to us and done for us, and we will have eternal life. But if we deny what God has given and said, it isn’t God who has lied – it is our lie, and that glorious life in eternity will continue to elude every effort that we will ever make.

This book is about a victory that is just waiting for each of us, but it has nothing to do with our efforts in the ways of earth. The New Interpreters Bible says “1 John reminds us that this world does not have the last word, that our allegiance and our victory as Christians ultimately belong elsewhere.” And that ultimate victory is completely based in the love of God as evidenced in the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Do you know the love of God? Have you received it into your heart and soul? It overcomes the pain and failures of our earthly lives; it guarantees an eternal life that is unlike anything we have ever experienced before; it brings us to a resounding victory that represents the defeat of all that stands against our Almighty God.
The Father sends his love by the power of faith in Jesus Christ. Have you ever made a commitment in that faith? Do you have the feeling that you need to recommit to that faith? Have you given the inadequacies of this world over to the Lord, admitting that they no longer hold any joy or hope for you?

If not, today can be the day. I want us to begin singing “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” acappella (546 LH, Insert), and as your brothers and sisters sing softly, if you have never given your life to Christ, I invite you to come forward today. We will pray together, and we will rejoice together. Won’t you come?



“Dear Lord Jesus,
I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior. Guide my life and help me to do your will.
In your name, Amen.”