Overcomers

I John 5:1-5

Do you look at yourself as an overcomer, as one who succeeds in gaining the victory over some problem or difficulty?  I’m sure we would all like to think of ourselves as such, as we all have troubles, obstacles, and people causing us difficulty.  No one wants to think of themself as a loser! In our Scripture reading for today, the Apostle John talks about overcomers, who they are and what they can get the victory over.

The overcomers John talks about in our passage are those who have placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. As a result, they can have victory over the world, the world system of beliefs and values that Satan has dominion over, and that is in opposition to God.  There are several characteristics of the overcomer that are brought out in our passage here that we can look at.

The first characteristic is that the overcomer must have saving faith. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah sent by God (vs. 1, 5).  This saving faith not just a head knowledge about Jesus, but wholehearted dedication to Him.   When we have placed our faith and trust in God’s Son, God says that we are His beloved children, and joint heirs through Jesus.  If we are born of Him we overcome the world. Our victory was won on the cross with the Blood of Jesus. Our faith gives us the victory to stand in difficulty. When the world and the devil tries to knock us down, we can keep getting back up. We do this by faith in Jesus. He provides all we need to be that overcomer. Jesus is greater than Satan (I John 4:4).

The second characteristic of an overcomer is that they love God and fellow believers (vs. 1-2).  When we put our trust in Jesus we became children of God. As such, all fellow believers are our brothers and sisters.  John says that a believer will both love God and also his brothers and sisters in the Lord. This was a big theme of John’s in this epistle, that as believers we have love for one another (I John 3:10-23; I John 4:7-11, 20-21).  No one can have truly saving faith and not love God. Even though there may be times when two Christians disagree over something, even firmly, an overriding love for our brothers and sisters in the Lord should still be evident.

A third characteristic of the overcomer John talks about is that they are obedient to God (vs. 2-3).  One proof of our love for God will be our obedience to Him. If we love Jesus we will want to love, serve, and obey Him.   The world wants us to believe God’s commands are stifling, ridiculous, or hateful. However, John tells us here that God’s commands are not burdensome, and if we love Him, we will strive to keep His Word.  Man-made religious traditions are burdensome.  Also, when we try to obey God in our own strength and power we will fail, and then it does become a burden.  Instead we need to rely on the Holy Spirit who will empower us. We need to come to Jesus and cast our burden and struggles upon Him, and instead take His yoke upon ourselves, for it is not burdensome (Matthew 11:28-30).  Jesus’ yoke will lead us away from sin, and into eternal joy. We cannot say that we love Jesus but not be obedient to His commands.

Saving faith, love for God and other believers, and obedience are three characteristics of a Biblical overcomer.  Satan has a worldwide system of deception and wickedness. He operates a system of demonic and human evil in this world.  This world is a battleground, not a playground for the believer, but through Jesus and His provision of salvation we are a victor.  Our faith and dedication to Him makes us an overcomer. An overcomer has victory and conquering power. They overthrow the enemy for all to see. Because we are united with Jesus, we partake in His victory over Satan.