“Living in the Victory of Jesus”

I John 5:1-6

1) Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

2) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

3) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

4) For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

5) Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

6) This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.

Introduction

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he saint of God gains victory in his life by believing and accepting what God has done. God is looking for the redeemed to express faith in their acceptance that all that happens in their lives is directed by Him, as opposed to faith expressed through the receipt of things.

The victory of Jesus demands that we accept the true cause of our problems. That cause is neither people, nor “things,” but rather, our preoccupation with, and love of our flesh. This preoccupation leads to our needing to put a “face” on our problems. As with most other things in this world, this does nothing to help us, but rather, satisfies us by allowing us an excuse.

In the life of one who would be pleasing to God, there is no room for excuses, for absolutely everything that comes into the life of the child of God is allowed by Him that that individual would be the complete entity that the Lord intends him to be.

Main Thought

By now, we should have discovered that it is simpler to live in the Lord’s victory than to attempt to win our own. The only reason that this is not clear to us is that when we insist upon operating in the flesh, nothing that is spiritual makes any “sense.”

Though only the Lord knows what is best for us, the “human” being prefers to do what is comfortable. The very fact that we choose “comfort” over “completion” should prove to us the inferiority of the flesh.

We should be thankful that no one knows better than the Lord the necessity of disturbing the “comfort zone” of those whom He has created. You see, in that all that one encounters in salvation is unfamiliar to the “natural man,” if He is to get His “money’s worth” from us, He will have to change our “focus.” We cannot afford to view our “new life” with the same vision that we had in our “old.” After all, the plan of salvation is precisely about bringing us into contact with others that they might be won.

It is important that we accept that being in a body of flesh is not what makes us fleshly. What makes us fleshly are our actions in response to what is allowed to come our way. The “body of flesh excuse” was put to rest for all time with the arrival of Jesus and His conquest over His flesh.

As with most things involving human beings, our desire is to be able to get “something for nothing.” Specifically, when it comes to the Lord, our desire would be to be able to “take” from Him without having to “give.” Or, if we fool ourselves into believing that we are willing to give, generally, it is less than what He wants of us. Why is this? Because what He wants is our lives—our submission to Him.

Like it or not, we must deal with the “laws” that are already in place. Many things that are established in the Bible are established as early as the Book of Genesis—but, all too often, ignored.

Take, for example, the “Law of Genesis.” What is established in the first chapters of this book is that our flesh will “rule over (us).” Since the Lord already knows what is in the flesh, the law was neither enumerated nor established for His benefit, but rather, for the benefit of those who would break it. Therefore, the Lord never set out to train it, but rather, to kill it.

Subsequently, our baptism in Jesus’ name and the infilling of the Holy Spirit makes us “ready” to live for God, but our compliance is not “automatic.” Part of the reason for this is that for as many years as it took before we came to salvation, the commitment to our lives has been to ourselves. Since it is impossible for us to be “weaned” from ourselves, salvation requires a total “mortification” (on our part) of that with which we are familiar.

In order to live in “the victory of Jesus,” we must accept that we cannot protect ourselves. When one attempts to do so, he finds himself “on the wrong side of God,” for one can do nothing against his fellow man and not end up there. Besides, if we live according to God’s word, He will protect us.

The greatest victory that Jesus affords us is the victory that we are granted over ourselves through our victory over our flesh. This in turn, frees us from the domination of our minds, evidenced in our way of thinking. Believe it or not, this is one of the worst impediments to our receiving our blessings.

One of the best illustrations of how “living in victor of Jesus” will bless us is found in the retelling of the incident of the widow woman and her meal. In this story, a widow with only enough meal to make bread for her and her son one last time is asked to feed the prophet. Before she was asked, the woman knew that once she used what she had, she and her son would die. Despite this, she was obedient—without giving thought to what would become of her and consequently, she found that her needs were met, and then some. Too many of us would have thought of ourselves, first, thereby allowing no room for God to work.

God intends for us to be freed from all that encumbers the human being. However, in order for this to come to pass for us, we must be willing to be more than a human being. Those who are will find themselves reaping the benefits of “living in the victory of Jesus.”