Whoever
is Born of God Overcomes the World!
"Whoever
believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God… Whatever
is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory
that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is he who overcomes
the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God"
1 John 5:1, 4, 5.
The victory
of faith that overcomes the world is more fully understood
as we look at the life and experience of Abraham.
Abraham
was instructed, "Get out of your country, from your family
and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make
your name great; and you shall be a blessing… And in
you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" Genesis
12:1-3.
Paul
comments on some of the promises made to Abraham. "For
the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not
to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the
righteousness of faith…
"He
did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but
was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being
fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able
to perform. And therefore 'it was accounted to him for righteousness.'
"Now
it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed
to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe
in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was
delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because
of our justification.
"Therefore,
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by
faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God…
"For
when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died
for the ungodly… God demonstrates His own love toward
us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we
shall be saved from wrath through Him.
"For
if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through
the death of His Son, much more then, having been reconciled,
we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also
rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
we have now received the reconciliation." Romans 4:13,
20-25; 5:1, 2, 6, 8-11.
Paul
further provides clarification of reconciliation to God through
faith, "Just as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted
to him for righteousness, therefore know that only those who
are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing
that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the
gospel to Abraham beforehand saying, 'In you all the nations
shall be blessed.' So then those who are of faith are blessed
with believing Abraham.
The point
here is that Abraham was blessed because of his faith in God
and God's promises, and he acted on the instructions God shared
with him because of his faith. He made mistakes like the rest
of us; he lied about his relationship with his wife Sarah,
once to a Pharaoh of Egypt and once to Abimelech, a king in
the territory of the Philistines. However, Abraham was blessed
because of his faith and trust in God. You and I may receive
the same blessings as Abraham.
Paul
commented on the faith of Abraham, "By faith Abraham
obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he
would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing
where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise
as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and
Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise" Hebrews
11:8, 9.
Abraham
received another blessing and promise from God, "In your
seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because
you have obeyed My voice" Genesis 22:18.
It was
through Abraham's Seed, (the same Seed as referred to in Genesis
3:15 "the Seed of the woman"), through whom "all
the families of the earth shall be blessed! (Gen. 12:3)."
That Seed was Jesus Christ.
Paul
continues to provide insight on the blessing of Abraham through
faith, "Christ has redeemed us… that the blessing
of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that
we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith"
Galatians 3:6-9, 13, 14.
Abraham
believed in the promises of God, and was fully convinced that
what God had promised, He was able to perform, and 'it was
accounted to him for righteousness.'
Likewise,
those who put their faith and trust in the awesome Creator
who led Abraham out of the land of his fathers into the promised
land, will be blessed. Today, we are in a similar situation
as was Abraham. We are nearing the final convulsions of this
earth's history, just prior to the 2nd coming of Christ as
described in Daniel 2 and 7; by Jesus in Matthew 24; and by
Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17; and the promised new earth
as described by John in Revelation 21 and 22.
"Therefore,
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ" Romans 5:1.
Our faith
in the One who gave Himself to die for our sins on the cross
is the One who gives us the victory to overcome the world!
May you
be blessed with the same blessing received by Abraham!
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