God does so many wonderful things for us through Christ that make a tremendous difference in our lives. Some of these changes are dramatic and instantaneous, while others are gradual and persistent. 1 John 5 demonstrates some of these amazing changes.
1 John 5:1 NKJV Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…
1 John 5:4 NIV84 For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
Pay attention to the difference Jesus has made in our lives.
Jesus makes a difference in whether we have victory or defeat in our lives.
The text says, “Everyone born of God overcomes the world,” and “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” Everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. This is good news that impacts every area of life.
Romans 8:38-39 NKJV For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus makes a difference in life or death.
John 5:24 NKJV “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 NIV84 Death has been swallowed up in victory… through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus made a difference in us when He delivered us from the power of death and gave us new life.
Jesus makes a difference in our access or denial.
Hebrews 4:16 NKJV Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
With Jesus in our lives, we have access to the Father. We have access to the covenants of promise. We have access to all of the heritage and benefits in Christ. We have access to the mercy and grace of God. None of this is true without Christ. We were shut out, but now we can boldly come to the throne of grace.
Look what the Lord has done in your life.
If you have been born again, you have been made an overcomer through Christ.
1 John 5:18-19 NLT We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
This is dramatic. Since we are God’s children, we do not deliberately and knowingly make a practice of sinning. We have been made free from the bondage of that life. Now, Jesus Christ God’s Son holds us securely and the evil one cannot touch us. It is a comfort to our souls to know that we are being held securely by Jesus Christ.
Do you see how this sets us apart from the world? These are great changes that have occurred in us. We have been born into God’s family and into a new life of overcoming victory in Christ. We have been dramatically changed from the inside out. As a result, we practice living in the victory that overcomes the world.
Think about the great security we have in Christ Jesus. We are held and sustained by Him and are strengthened in Christ and made more than conquerors. Not only is Satan defeated, he cannot touch us.
Our NEW LIFE is a testimony that we belong to Jesus Christ.
Belonging to Jesus has changed us. Since we belong to Him, we have received His great joy, peace, and comfort. We know that we are held safely by Jesus Christ, God’s Son and His blood covers us and shields us. The extent of this security is seen in that “God’s Son holds us securely” and “the evil one cannot touch us.”
Look how different we are from the world around us.
“The world around us is under the control of the evil one.”
- We are different from the world.
- We have been purchased by the blood of Christ.
- We have been forgiven and made clean.
- We have been accepted in Christ.
- We are covered and protected by that precious blood.
- We are now the children of God.
After showing how different we are from the world around us, John talks about a new relationship we have with the Father.
1 John 5:20-21 NLT And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And NOW we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and He is eternal life. Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
We should consider this thoroughly. When we come into fellowship with Jesus Christ, we gain access to God the Father. Now we live in fellowship with the true God. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love. He took our place and carried our cross. He laid down His life and set us free.
Jesus makes a difference in us by taking people who were dead in sin and giving them new life, fellowship, and access to the Father.
As a result, God the Father has dramatically changed the whole nature of our existence. We have been brought out of the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God, (Romans 8:21).
- Right now, we have access with boldness to the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Right now, we have access to grace and mercy.
- Right now, all of the Father’s power and glory is before us.
We were dead in our old life. Sin ruled and reigned and Satan had control of our world. We lived in darkness and the kingdom of darkness. We experienced the power of sin over our lives.
Romans 6:23 AMP For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We have been changed by this new life through Christ Jesus. Think about the change that has happened in you since Jesus gave you this new life.
When you were born again, you received a new life. That new life has impacted everything about who you are. The life of darkness and death has been conquered. You have been brought out into the glorious liberty of sons and daughters of God.
We need to stop spending so much energy and time on the Romans 7 part of our lives.
Romans 7:15-20 NLT I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
Romans 7:24 NKJV O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
This one verse opens up the difference that Jesus Christ makes in our lives. Jesus Christ our Lord has delivered us from the wretched life of defeat and death.
Romans 8:1-2 NKJV There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Jesus Christ has made an amazing difference in our lives.
God’s life, nature, power, and Spirit remains in us. The power of this new life is working inside of us.
- It is the power of the Holy Spirit in us.
- It is the life of Christ working in us and bringing change.
- It is a life of victory over the evil one.
- It is producing a life of victory over sin.
This resurrection life of Christ that is in us is overcoming the power of death and sin. We are being brought into this new life of victory in Christ.
Watch how the power of this new life in Christ confronts and overcomes the weaknesses of our flesh and sin.
Christ in you has changed our fundamental nature.
God is working on the inside. His Spirit is conforming and transforming us into the image of Christ. His Word and His Spirit are actively bringing us into this new life.
Listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you.
- If you have sinned — He says, “Repent and go on with God.”
- If you are weak in the face of your temptations — He says, “Turn your eyes of faith to Jesus Christ and He will give you strength.”
- If you feel that you just don’t measure up — He says, “Put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.”
You will find overcoming victory in Christ Jesus your Lord. Right now, give the Holy Spirit permission to direct your life. God will give you strength and overwhelming victory. In Christ, you have the victory and the evil one cannot touch you. Do you see the difference that Jesus wants to make in you? Right now, let Him have His perfect work in you.
- He will not only cleanse you from your past sins, He will give you power to resist sin and the devil.
- He will give you the ability to live in the victory that overcomes the world.
- He will overflow you with the joy of the Lord.
- He will build you up and give you an open access to the Father and the mercy seat of heaven.
