Invincible

Read: 1 John 5:1-5

Every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 1 John 5:4

IN WORD

It’s a beautiful promise—everyone born of God overcomes the world. But what exactly does that mean? Do we eventually become sinless, even after falling to the same sins again and again? Do we find success, even after running into the same obstacles repeatedly? Do we become immune to trials and tribulations or perhaps even no longer have to deal with them? Are we ever able to insulate ourselves from the pride and corruption of the world? What does “overcoming” look like?

You may answer those questions in a variety of ways, depending on your particular weaknesses and run-ins with the world’s ways. Whatever your situation, overcoming the world can imply a lot of things: It no longer defines you; it’s no longer your judge; it’s no longer your dominant influence; it no longer kicks you around; you no longer listen when it tells you how meaningless or fruitless or wasted your life has been; and you no longer live by its demands. “Overcoming” means you live above the world’s ways. You have a higher purpose and an otherworldly source of life. You win victories over the world’s systems and aren’t victimized by its trends and whims and criticisms. You are rooted in a Kingdom that overlaps with the presence of a false value system but is never subject to it. You will endure longer and live deeper than anything the world can offer you. You are born of God.

IN DEED

Refuse the world’s mind-sets. Reject its false identities. By faith, you live in the Kingdom culture as one of its permanent citizens. By faith, you are not a victim, a mistake, or a temporary phenomenon. By faith, you are a child of the King who will win battles, tear down walls, remove obstacles, and plunder the rival kingdom. And because He is in you—because you are not left to your own resources—you cannot be defeated. Eventually, somehow, you will overcome.

ADDITIONAL READING: Romans 8:31-39

A person who wholly follows the Lord is one who believes that the promises of God are trustworthy, that He is with His people, and that they are well able to overcome.

WATCHMAN NEE