Faith.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. – 1 John 5:1 ESV 1 John 5:1-5

Faith is an interesting subject. For many of us it is an all-too-familiar word that has lost much of its meaning. We use it easily in conversation, but would be hard-pressed to explain exactly what it is, if asked. We tend to use the word, faith, interchangeably with the words, belief and trust. We see faith referred to throughout the Scriptures. Paul writes, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17 ESV). The disciples asked of Jesus, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5 ESV). Paul told the Corinthian believers, “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV). Jesus told us to “have faith in God” (Mark 11:22 ESV). And John has told us that faith is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). As followers of Christ, we are sometimes referred to as people of faith. But there are people of other faiths. Faith is not exclusive or unique to Christianity. People live by faith each and every day. Some put their faith in the political process. The majority of us place faith in the banking system to keep our money secure. The Greek word for faith most often used in the New Testament is pistis, and it means, “conviction of the truth of anything, belief.” It refers to belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence). There are those who place their confidence or trust in themselves. Others are convicted that their particular concept of the truth is the right one, whether they believe in many gods or no god at all. Even atheists have faith that God does not exist. Faith is not what sets us apart as Christians. It is the object of our faith. Our faith is in Christ. Our belief, our conviction of the truth is solely based on Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. That is what sets us apart. Paul wrote, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:8-9 ESV). It was the same message Paul and Silas had given the Philippian jailer. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31 ESV). Standing before the Jewish high priest and religious leaders, Peter declared, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 ESV). Jesus is the object of our faith. Jesus is the source of our salvation. It is in Him we place our trust, hope, belief, and confidence. And when we do, we are born of God. We experience a spiritual transformation that is the work of God. Our faith does not change us, God does. It is not the depth or quality of our faith that brings about our spiritual rebirth. It is the object of our faith.

A big factor when it comes to placing our faith in Christ is that it requires that we turn from trusting in something else. When Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV), He was declaring that there was no other way by which men could be made right with God. No other religious system, belief, claim, or teaching was going to work. No matter how much faith you placed in it or how hard you believed about it. Part of what it means to repent is to “to change one's mind for better.” It is not just to turn away from your sins, but it is to change your thinking about everything you have known to be true. It is to have a change of mind regarding your own righteousness. It is to turn from whatever it is you have been trusting in and placing your confidence, hope and belief in Jesus Christ alone. When we place our trust in Christ, we are changed. God accepts us as His own and gives us a new nature. He places His Spirit within us. And He loves us as His own children. But our faith is not to stop there. Our belief and trust in Jesus is to last a lifetime, better yet, an eternity. It is our ongoing faith in Jesus that overcomes the world. We will constantly be tempted to place our trust in other things. Circumstances will compel us to turn away from Jesus and start placing our faith in something or someone else. But the Christian life is to be lived by faith in Christ alone. Paul warned the Galatian believers, “How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (Galatians 3:3 NLT). We are saved by faith. We are sanctified by faith. It is a spiritual endeavor, accomplished by the power of God. I must constantly remind myself that my faith must remain focused on Jesus as the Son of God and my source of salvation. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. But only if that faith is place in Jesus Christ. Any other faith in any other thing will prove disappointing in the end.

Nike.

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? – 1 John 5:5 ESV

When John speaks of overcoming the world, he uses the Greek word, nikaō, which means {to carry off the victory or to come off victorious.’ It comes from the root word, nikē, which simply means “victory.” Of course, we know it as the name of a certain sporting goods manufacturer. John had a certain affinity for the word, using it five different times in his letter and 17 times in the Book of the Revelation. While exiled on the island of Patmos, John received a vision from Jesus Christ Himself, providing him with divine insight into the end times. John was instructed to write about what he heard and saw. Near the end of his book, he recorded these words from Jesus, “‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.  The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son’” (Revelation 21:5-7 ESV). Jesus used the same Greek word to refer to those who will come off victorious in the end. But the victory will not be due to anyone's efforts other than those of Jesus. He is the one who will declare, “It is done!” On the cross, He cried out, ”It is finished!” He work of sacrifice was completed. He had done what His Father had set out for Him to do. He had given His life as a payment for the sins of mankind. But He rose again, because there was still more for Him to do. At this very moment He sits at the right hand of the Father, mediating on our behalf. He is our personal representative before God the Father. It is His very resurrected life that allows us to come into the Father's presence and enjoy intimate communion with Him. We enjoy the love of the Father because of the love of the Son. In fact, Jesus loves us so much, that He is actively involved in the everyday affairs of our lives. He didn't just save us, He is out to transform us into His likeness. His goal for us is our ever-increasing holiness. In the Book of the Revelation, John recorded these words of Jesus to the church at Laodicea: “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:19-22 ESV). This was a church that Jesus described as “lukewarm.” They were neither hot or cold in their love for Him. They were contentedly complacent. In fact, Jesus went on to describe their attitude in less-than-flattering terms, “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17 ESV). They were blind to their own spiritual reality. Rather than see their need, they mistakenly assumed they were spiritually healthy and whole. But Jesus begged them to zealously repent. He described Himself as standing at the door of their fellowship, knocking and pleading to allow Him into their midst. He was offering to have fellowship with them.

It would seem that the key to our victory, our nikē, is an ongoing, uninterrupted fellowship with Jesus. Our relationship with Him did not end at the cross. He is not only our Savior, He is our Lord and King. He is our brother. He is our mediator and intercessor. It is He, along with the indwelling Holy Spirit, who makes it possible for us to live victorious. We can overcome the world, from its daily temptations to give in to “the desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eyes and pride of life” (1 John 2:16 ESV) to its ongoing hatred for us (1 John 3:13). It is our faith in Jesus as Savior and our soon-and-coming King that gives us the victory we seek. It is our faith in Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God. There is no other means by which we can be saved and there is no other way we can experience victory over this world. Human effort will fail. While Nike's slogan, Just Do It, may sound reasonable and motivational, it will not work in the spiritual arena. Our faith must not be in ourselves and our own ability to pull off some degree of spiritual stamina. Our faith must reside in and remain in Jesus Christ. It is NOT our faith that makes the difference, but the object on which our faith rests: Jesus. We read these encouraging words from Jesus, spoken to the church at Laodicea. “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see” (Revelation 3:18 ESV). He was speaking to believers. He was inviting them to come to Him for all that they needed. He was offering Himself as the source for all their spiritual deficiencies. Jesus stands ready to help us. He wants to make us victorious. But we keep our faith solidly placed on Him and nothing and no one else.

Born From Above.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this its the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. – 1 John 5: 4 ESV 1 John 5:1-5

As he has done so many times before in his letter, John uses a comparison or contrast to make a point. He has used light and darkness, truth and falsehood, sin and righteousness, as well as love and hate. Now he brings up a slightly more subtle comparison. And yet, it is the key to understanding who we are, what it is we are up against, and how we are to come out victorious in the end. It is not exactly a new topic, because he covered it before. But this time he ties it to something highly significant: our victory. On one side of the comparison or contrast is John's term: “born of God.” This term is a differentiator for John. He is not referring to creation. All men and all things were made by God. But not all are “born of God.” That distinction is made possible only by belief in Jesus as the Christ. So for John, all mankind falls into one of two categories. They are either born of God or of this world. Or as he put it in even starker terms earlier in his letter: “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil” ( 1 John 3:10 ESV). There is a clear line of demarcation that separates one group from the other. It is the new birth. We often refer to it as being “born again.” It is interesting to note that when Jesus was secretly pursued by Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council, that Jesus said to him, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above,  he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 NET). The Greek word Jesus used was anōthen and it has a double meaning. The one we traditionally see rendered in this verse is “anew or again.” But the other meaning is “from above, from a higher place; of things which come from heaven or God.” It seems likely the Jesus was referring to being born of God or from above, and that Nicodemus, based on his response, heard Jesus to say he had to be born again. It would seems that Jesus is teaching us that our new birth is a work of heaven. It is not of this world. It is a supernatural, divine undertaking that is based solely on faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world.

Belief in Jesus as Savior and as the only means by which men can be made right with God results in a divine act of procreation. When one places his faith in Jesus, he is born from above. This is an incredible transaction that takes place at the very throne of God in heaven. Which is why Jesus said to a very confused Nicodemus, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” (John 3:12 ESV). Jesus had tried to explain to Nicodemus what this heavenly birth meant. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6 ESV). Faith in Jesus as our sin substitute and Savior results in a new birth and a new identity. We become children of God who have been born from above by God. And then John gives us the encouraging news, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world” (1 John 5:4 ESV). But what does that mean? We have been born from above, but we have been left below. We remain in this world, suffering with the same temptations, the same results of the fall, including sickness, disease and eventually death. So how have we overcome? What has our faith in Jesus given us victory over? The apostle Paul gives us the answer in words that are far to eloquent to attempt to paraphrase them.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?  Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:31-39 NLT

Our faith in Jesus results in our new birth. Our new birth makes us children of God. Our new status as His children makes us victorious. We win in the end. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Our own sins can't condemn us or remove us from our rightful place as His sons and daughters, because Christ has paid for our sins once and for all time. We are overcomers. We are victors. We are more than conquerors. We have been born from above.