March 11
‘This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.’ 1 John 5:4b
Bible reading: 1 John 2:12-17 (Go to the Bible passage)
Not once, but twice, we read in this passage: ‘You have overcome the evil one’.
Closely reading these verses, we understand that this victory is directly linked with the knowledge of God and with faith. Faith is closely related to trust, and how could we genuinely have faith in God and put our trust in Him, if we do not know Him?
And when the Bible talks about 'knowledge', it does not refer to ‘being informed about’, but rather to a mutual understanding, as Paul says, ‘Those who think they know something, do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God, is known by God’ (1 Corinthians 8:2,3). Knowing God thus means: loving Him because He knows us.
Faith in God does not originate with man in the first place, but with God Who reveals Himself to us in such an impressive way, that we start to trust Him above everyone and everything else. So that kind of faith is not a traditional, theoretical faith, but a living faith in a living God, and it is that faith in the risen Lord that overcomes the evil one!
Do we have such faith, which arises in the relationship with the living God? Then we will experience victory over the evil one, as God promises us here in His word.
If we do not have such victorious faith, we must certainly not attempt to gear ourselves up to it, for that only results in spastic fanaticism. No, we should try to recognize important things in our life for what they are: God’s faithful dealings with our life, and then start thanking for them. Then we will come to trust Him more and more, and we will be released from the powers of the world.
That is the victory that overcomes the world!

Share This