Copyright © S P Townsend
This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4
In recent weeks we have been concentrating on spiritual warfare. For the most part we have seen this warfare as a battle against an enemy who is seeking to destroy us, and to nullify God’s work in us and through us. We have seen that, powerful as he is, the enemy has no hold in us whatsoever so long as we remain under the shadow of the Almighty. Peter says that we “through faith are shielded by God's power” (1 Peter 1:5). It is our position in Christ, and our claiming of that position through faith, that enables us to overcome the enemy. But there is another dimension to our spiritual warfare, as John indicates in our text. Although the enemy may and does make use of this other dimension to attack us, it can challenge us even when the enemy is not directly involved.
John describes this other dimension as “the world.” What does he mean by this term? Does he mean all the people who make up humanity? No, because Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 6:12 that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, not against people. Does he mean the earth and all of its physical resources? No, because Paul again makes it clear in Ephesians 6:12 that our battle is against spiritual forces of evil, not physical. Does he mean national or international government or authority? No, because Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:13 to submit ourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men, not to try to overcome authority. Does he mean what is secular, all of the various institutions of men that are not specifically ecclesiastical in nature or origin? No, for Paul tells us that the church itself has the potential to conform to the pattern of the world (Rom 12:2). So what does he mean then?
Earlier in his letter John clarified what he meant by “the world”. “For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:16). John says that the world consists of all that mankind holds dear, promotes and elevates, that does not spring from the heart of the Father. So love, that which motivates us to give what we are and have for the benefit of another, is not of the world, since it comes from the Father’s heart. But lust, that which motivates us to take from another, to possess and control for ourselves, is of the world, since it does not come from the Father’s heart.
Thus everyone and everything that promotes, encourages and supports attitudes and actions that do not come from the Father’s heart, these all come into what John describes as “the world”, whether these are individuals, groups, social conventions, organisations, and so on. The more support they receive from society so the more power they have to pressurise us. Paul speaks of the “the powers of this dark world,” (Eph 6:12) and encourages us not to “conform any longer to the pattern of this world” (Rom 12:2).
The more a society turns away from godly principles, so the more will the power of the world dominate its values. And so the more will the pressure to conform affect the church and the individual Christian. But this should not discourage us nor develop a siege mentality in us. These verses from John carry both a promise, and insight into how the promise will be fulfilled.
The promise is that everyone born of God overcomes the world. If you belong to Jesus then you are an overcomer. There is no question about it. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble; but take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). You are an overcomer because Jesus overcame. And Jesus prayed to the Father, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it” (John 17:15,16). You are an overcomer, quite simply, because you do not belong to the world but to Jesus, and the Father is going to grant Jesus’ request to protect you.
But how does this happen? The answer is, it happens just as everything else happens that God is doing in your life and mine: we experience it by faith. The scripture says “the righteous shall live by faith” (Heb 10:38), and it is the same in this area of our Christian lives as any other. Our verse says: “this is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith”. It is not that our faith is the direct cause of our overcoming – it is Jesus’ overcoming the world, and the fact that we are in Him and He is in us, that is the reason we overcome. But faith is the means by which we enter into and remain standing in victory. Now before we look in more detail into how this works, let’s just reflect for a moment on the other way we might attempt to overcome the world – by works.
Now it is easy to fall into a trap laid for us by the enemy in this regard. In Eph 6:11 Paul encourages us to “stand against the devil’s schemes.” This is one of them. He will try to persuade us that the best way to overcome the world is to come out of the world. Don’t get involved. Avoid people who don’t follow your principles. Classify all activities as either worldly or godly, and then ban or avoid all the worldly ones. Is the film industry of God or of the world? Clearly not of God, so cinemas are worldly, so don’t go to the cinema. Is clubbing until the small hours of the morning of God or of the world? Clearly of the world, so clubbing is worldly, so don’t do it. Are parties where some people abandon self restraint of God or of the world? Clearly of the world, so parties like this are worldly, so don’t go to them. And so on. Your lifestyle is made up of acceptable and unacceptable things to do and places to go, and provided you avoid all the worldly ones you won’t be worldly, right? Wrong! You’ve fallen for the devil’s lure, hook, line, sinker, float and reel.
So what’s wrong with this way of thinking? First of all, it is not God’s way. It does not come from His heart, so is itself by very definition worldly! Jesus prayed “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one … as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:15-18). Far from avoiding places and activities where worldly people gathered, Jesus was attracted to such as a bee to a honey pot, and He expects the same of His followers. “You are the light of the world,” He said, “let your light shine before men” (Matt 5:14,15).
Secondly this way of thinking leads us to depend on what we do, or don’t do, to protect ourselves from the world, rather than depending on God’s grace and power. Like the Pharisees, who were so critical of Jesus eating and drinking with sinners, we become self-righteous, proud and judgemental. Instead of being free of worldliness we actually embrace it without realising it. Hypocrites, Jesus called people like this. Like window-frames painted brightly but inside eaten away by rot and decay.
And thirdly, it is just not true. Even in the most unlikely places we can often find expressions of the Father’s heart. Take rock music for example. Many Christians view this as part of what John was referring to when he wrote “Do not love the world or anything in the world” (1 John 2:15). But consider the following lyrics, taken from the song that currently holds the record for the number of weeks it remained at the top of the UK charts (16 weeks in 1991). I don’t know if Brian Adams was thinking of it when he wrote these words, but few songs in the 20th Century so expressively describe true self-sacrificial agape love, the love burns in the heart of the Father for the lost, and in Jesus for his Church.
Look into my eyes - you will see
What you mean to me
(Bryan Adams, Robert Lange, 1991)
So we must avoid the trap of the enemy to try to overcome the world ourselves by merely following a list of do’s and don’ts. Our text says that the victory that overcomes the world is faith. So how does faith to overcome the world?
There are two essential things for us to remember about faith.
First of all, faith comes through hearing God speaking to us, and doing what He tells us. The scripture says “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). It is not just that we have the written word of God, although that is essential if we are to understand God’s ways and confirm what He says to us. But in Christ we now have God’s word put into our minds and written on our hearts (Jer 31:33). We hear a voice saying “this is the way, walk in it” (Isa 30:21). Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). The only way to ensure that what we do or say comes from God’s heart, and not from the world, is to keep ourselves tuned in to hearing his voice and responding to what He says.
Secondly, whether we can exercise faith is a helpful indicator of whether a proposed action is from God or from the world or the devil. The letter to the Hebrews says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb 11:6). Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). Perhaps you thought sin was breaking God’s law? So provided you are not coveting or stealing or lying, etc, then you are not sinning? That isn’t what these verses teach us. Anything I do, if I do it in my own strength, not trusting in God, then it is impossible for it to please Him – it is bound to fall short of the mark. But whatever I do, if I do it holding his hand and with my eyes looking into his, then it will satisfy Him. As a child has said, “If I hold my daddy’s hand I know he’ll be pleased with me. It’s when I let go that I get into trouble.” Whatever you are inclined to do, ask yourself, “Am I doing this by faith?” Are you able to commit it to God, and to depend on His grace and power to carry it out? I call this the “Grace Test”. Just as we say grace before eating a meal, can you pray a similar prayer of thanksgiving and dependence upon God before something else you are about to do? As soon as that question raises doubts in your mind, then is the time to think again. Will I have another drink? Will I buy this book or magazine to read? Shall I go and buy some new clothes? Shall I go to that party? Will I respond to that invitation? Can you thank God for the opportunity presented and ask Him to bless the activity and enable you to complete it to His glory? Then do it with all your heart, with thankfulness and joy. But if not, seek God’s power to resist and refrain. And similarly, if your inclination is to abstain from some activity or another, can you commit that also to God, and seek His blessing on the decision?
Have you ever wondered why it was that on one occasion Jesus said “No” when presented with the opportunity to turn stones to bread, but on another said “yes” when he had the opportunity to multiply the loaves and the fishes? There isn’t a scripture that says, “turning water into wine: good; turning rolls into more bread: good; turning stones into bread: bad.” Jesus listened for His Father’s voice. Here is the verse He quoted to the devil in response to his tempting: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). This wasn’t just some grand spiritual principle he was quoting in order to strengthen his resolve. It wasn’t that Satan can’t stand scripture, much as Superman can’t stand kryptonite, so the more scripture you fire at him the more he will wilt. He wasn’t saying something super-spiritual, like “I don’t need to eat, Satan, it is enough for me to just read the Bible.” I believe it was far more practical than that, far more down-to-earth. He was saying in effect, “Only by hearing my Father’s voice will I know what is the right thing to do in order to live a life that pleases Him. So, Satan, I’m only going to turn stones into bread if and when my Father says so, and right now He isn’t saying so.”
So this is what I think the scripture means when it says that faith is the victory that overcomes the world, and maybe some of what we have looked at will help us all to live by faith more effectively in the days ahead. As Paul wrote to the church at Colosse, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17).
And a final word of advice. If we are to recognise God’s voice and hear Him clearly in our day-to-day lives, then we must have a thorough knowledge of the scriptures, even as Jesus did. It is through them that we gain a better understanding of God’s heart, and are thus better prepared to distinguish between His voice and other voices that might lead us astray. Many times God has made it quite clear in the scriptures just what He wants us to do or not to do in certain situations. We should not presume to wait for Him to speak to us again in a more specific or individual way before doing what He asks.
Copyright © S P Townsend