1 John 5:1, 4 1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 4For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
Note “everyone” in verse one. It doesn’t mean someone, it doesn’t mean a select few. It means that God’s salvation is offered to everyone, it doesn’t matter who you are.
As you read the New Testament you discover a theme that repeats itself over and over. It is the theme of victory and joy. The key word in verse 4 is “victory.”
Even when the Bible necessarily talks about life’s darkest realities—our sin and Christ’s death because of our sin—it always holds out hope and ultimate triumph because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
If it had simply ended with the cross there would have been no victory. The people in the New Testament were not left wringing their hands in despair. More likely they were clapping them in praise . . . because they knew Jesus was alive.
And the New Testament people were not apologetic about their faith—“oh we’re sorry if we offend you talking about the crucified Christ”—they were bold and confident. Without a doubt they knew that Jesus was the only way.
In 30-40 years they turned the world upside down with the Good News of Jesus Christ. The news about the resurrected Jesus had gone to every part of the known world.
The men and women of the early church were gloriously alive and happy. They were a singing and victorious people who conquered the paganism of the Roman world.
They had a deep assurance of God’s presence in their lives. They had a deep assurance of His victory over evil. They understood His purpose for them. They were convinced that God was active right then—in their time—in their lives.
They felt the power of the Holy Spirit to witness to all others about their active and exciting faith in Jesus Christ. They were a triumphant Church. They knew they had won the victory.
As we come to the Lord’s Supper table today, Christ wants you to know that you, too, have won the victory. You were saved by the same sacrificial Christ as they were.
You have the same Holy Spirit living in you as the believers of the first church in Jerusalem. The same risen, living Christ is active right now in your life.
You are connected with an unbroken chain to the believers of the first church in Acts. You are a vital part of Christ’s triumphant and victorious church. Christ has put you here for a purpose—to triumphantly worship and serve Him.
Two thousand years ago God came into this world in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. The world has never been the same since—it will never be like it was again. At the empty grave the angel said, (Mark 16:6) "Don't be alarmed, you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.”
Just as the resurrected Jesus came and stood among the disciples where they had gathered, He is here among us today. Jesus gave them His peace. He gives His peace to you today.
He breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” When you asked Jesus to be your Savior, He breathed on you and gave you His Spirit.
Just like the Christians of the first century, and through every generation, because you have God’s Spirit living in you, you are victorious, you are triumphant.
Our Lord Jesus, on the very night before He was crucified gave us a symbol of what it cost God in order for us to be victorious. We call it the Lord’s Supper. Paul wrote the words of Jesus about that night.
Jesus said, (1 Cor. 11:26) “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." For every Christian, our homecoming with Jesus is the sweet victory we look forward to.
We are the victorious ones. As we prepare to take the bread, let us stand in victory, and sing, “Victory in Jesus.” (Serve the bread).
1 John 5:5 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Your victory in Jesus depends upon what you believe about Jesus. Remember what we read in verse 1? 1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.
Scripture could not be more clear that you must believe that Jesus is the Christ. He is the Promised One—He is the Savior, the only Savior for the world.
Jesus said about himself in John 14:6 6“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
You must believe what Jesus says about himself, that He is the only way of salvation—He is the only way to God the Father in heaven.
Now in verse 5 you must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. How important is His virgin birth? It is one of the bedrocks of our faith. You must believe it.
Sometimes people say to me, “You are so inflexible.” Well, I can be flexible in interpretation of some areas of Scripture, but concerning the way of salvation, there can be absolutely no deviation.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He was born of a virgin with God as His Father. There can be no flexibility about this. There can be no debate as to His virgin birth.
There can be no debate about His sinless life, a life lived in hardship and suffering to bring to us the Good News that God loves us, you and me, and has provided a way for us to spend eternity with Him.
You must believe that Jesus was mercilessly and brutally killed—but, at the same time, understand that His life wasn’t taken from Him—He willingly went to the cross to take your sins and my sins upon Himself so that you and I could be forgiven and stand before God clean and whole.
You must believe that three days later Jesus was raised from the dead. He was brought back to life by the very power of God, and He is alive today. You must believe this.
You must believe that His Spirit lives in every person who accepts Him as their Savior.
Jesus is God’s Gift. He is your assurance of life and victory. When you face surgery tomorrow, He is with you. When you suffer with a debilitating disease, He suffers with you.
When your husband or wife is not a Christian, Jesus is still in your marriage, and He is convicting your loved one of their need of the Savior. When your children turn against you, Jesus is still in their lives convicting and correcting.
When you don’t know where to turn, you can always turn to Jesus. At the cross Jesus became your blessed Savior and Comforter. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has given us the victory.
As we prepare for the second element of the Lord’s Supper, let’s prayerfully sing that wonderful hymn, “At the Cross.”
This juice reminds us to be thankful to God, that Jesus was willing to shed His own precious blood for the forgiveness of your’s and my sin to give us the victory of life ever more. (Serve the juice)