M: Alleluia. Christ is risen!
C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia.
St. John gives us a great deal to ponder in these six verses in his epistle. Today, we will focus on this one sentence: “Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world” (1 John 5:4). The questions that spring from this one verse include these: Why does one have to be born of God? How is one born of God? How do you know that you are born of God? And what does it mean to overcome the world? We will begin by considering that last question.
When we think of overcoming the world, we probably think in terms of great
accomplishments. Alexander the Great overcame the world by conquering
nations and deposing kings. People like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and
Warren Buffett have overcome the world through economic influence. Or
perhaps you think of Google and Apple. They have overcome the world by
having their fingers in so much of your life. We are coming up on the
time of graduation speeches where every member of the graduating class will be
told that they can go out and conquer the world. And every graduate will salivate
at the possibility.
The reality is that you have been overcome by the world. You are
influenced by the world more than you care to believe. You observe the
attitudes which are held by many people, including friends and people who you respect. Because they are so common, you and I are
drawn into adopting them even if they are contrary to God’s word. The spirit of the world which is held by so
many influences us. Just one example is
recognized in how the company we keep influences our speech. If you work with people who constantly speak
profanities, tell obscene stories, and boast of debauchery, you are likely to
adopt their speech so that you feel like you are one of the guys. To stand out is to be left out, which is at
the least uncomfortable. At worst, you become
a target.
The
world has embraced sinful ways. It is driven by greed, pride, lust, arrogance,
boasting, and self-exaltation. We have learned to play by those
rules. Because it is common, everyone thinks it is okay. You and I have been influenced by
these things, even concluding that God need not be taken too seriously. But God does not ease back on his Commandments
to accommodate what is commonly accepted.
The world overcomes all people in the end.
No matter how rich, how influential, how accomplished someone is, he
will die. All people will die and go the
way of the world. The world and all its glory and all its promises are
passing away. Because it has been marred
with sin, the world is under a curse. It
is bound to death and decay. Because
people have been corrupted by sin, we all are under a curse. We are bound to death and decay, and no one is
going to overcome that. The world will finally be consumed in fire on the
Last Day. Anyone who loves the world will perish with it. And this is why you need to be born
of God. This is your only hope, but this hope has been granted and, in
fact, guaranteed to you. Through the Risen Christ, we overcome the world.
That which is born of the
flesh is flesh (John 3:6), and it will perish with the world. But
that which is born of God is not of the world. It is set apart from the
world. To deliver you from the world, the only begotten Son of the Father
came into this world through the flesh of the Virgin Mary. This flesh and
blood Savior ransomed us from the devil, the world, and our own sinful
flesh. The ransom price was his life—first a life lived in purity and
perfect obedience to God’s Commandments. By this, Jesus demonstrated a
perfect love for his Father and then also for his fellow man. By this
perfect life, Jesus avoided the curse which comes upon sinners. But the
ransom price was also Jesus’ life as it was given into death. At his
death, Jesus was cursed on behalf of us. The curse was lifted from us and
put upon Jesus. His holy life was given
in exchange for our wickedness. His precious blood is the ransom that
sets us free from the curse of sin and the power of death.
St. John wrote, “This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ;
not by the water only but by the water and the blood” (1 John 5:6). This refers to what John witnessed at Jesus’
death. “One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there
came out blood and water” (John 19:34). And this is how you
are born of God. Just as life came to the Bride through the side of Adam,
so also the life of Christ’s Bride, the Church, comes from his side. From
the side of Jesus flowed the water that gives life to the Church and the blood
that sustains that life. It is by the waters of baptism that you are born
again—born of God and of imperishable seed.
Since you are born of imperishable seed, you shall live forever. Though your body will be buried, it will
spring up again at Jesus’ word to live forever. The new life which has
begun in you is sustained in you by the blood of Christ which is fed to you in
the Holy Supper. Your new life in Christ has begun in this life, and it
continues in a life that knows no end. The world will pass away, but you
will not; for you are of God and in Christ. Through the risen Christ, we
overcome the world.
This is how you know you’ve been born of God: God does the work for you. God saves you. God provides the new life in you. He applies it through water and blood and word. He does not tell you to look at yourself for
assurance, but to him. At the same time,
he produces evidence of your new life through good works. You don’t have to wait until heaven for proof
that you are children of God. You are
his now, and your new life has already begun.
You are set apart for higher things. St. John says this so that
you can know that you are of God. John wrote, “Everyone
who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone
who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know
that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his
commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments” (1 John 5:1-3).
You have been given new birth into God’s kingdom. He converts your
status: You are no longer merely born of flesh and belong to the world, but you
are born of God and belong to Christ. More than that, he also converts
your mind and your heart. He has convinced you that God’s word is true
and that his Commandments are right. “And his commandments are
not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). If they seem burdensome, it is because
the sinful nature still clings to us and presents reasons why it is too hard or
too unrewarding to do God’s will. But now you have a new nature in you,
so that you delight in doing what God has created you for.
Children
learn to be like their parents. They observe what their parents do, how
they speak, and how they act toward other people. You are children of the
heavenly Father. He shows you what it is
to be good. Your heavenly Father
continues to show mercy upon you, pardons all your sins, and is even patient
with you in your weaknesses. Therefore, you
learn to imitate his forgiveness and adopt his forbearance toward others.
That was the spirit which Jesus showed when he met the apostles on Easter
evening. The apostles had all failed Jesus to some extent. But when
Jesus appeared to them, he did not review their faults. He was not angry
or disappointed. He came to them declaring peace with God and with
him. Even Thomas, who refused to believe the testimony of his fellow
apostles, was not shunned by Jesus for his skepticism. Thomas also got to
hear the words of peace and forgiveness. Therefore, when you return to
God in repentance, he will not speak to you in terms of punishment or
probation, but of peace. Since this is how God treats us, we who are of
God strive to do the same. This is not the way of the world, but it is
the way of our God. Through the risen Christ, we have overcome the world.
“By
this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his
commandments” (1 John 5:2). To love God is to love his word.
Certainly, we love his promises and words of grace. But we also love
everything he says. We know that he only has our well-being in mind when
he instructs us in godly living. Therefore, it is right to follow God’s
will even when the world does not. It is
good to be kind to people whose fears and stresses make them
short-tempered. It is good to be patient toward people whose opinions
have been honed by a sinful world. It is right to have mercy upon all
people; for how will anyone know that the Lord is a God who saves if they only
know him as the God who hates sinners?
It is good, right, and salutary to hear
the word of the Lord. And it is necessary
to sustain your faith. The world will
never stop trying to influence you, and it will promise you great rewards for conforming
to its ways. You need to hear God’s word
so that you will not be deceived and led astray. The devil is pleased to use fine-sounding
arguments to convince you that God’s word is outdated, filled with inaccuracies,
or promotes hatred. Some arguments sound
convincing. Where do you turn to find
assurance? Too many Christians choose to
keep listening to their friends who despise God’s word rather than to actually
turn to God’s word. Only Jesus has the
words of eternal life. The world and all
its wisdom will pass away. He who is preserved
by the word of the Lord will endure forever through that word. “For this is the love of God, that
we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:3). That word, in turn, will
keep us.
Through the risen Christ, we have overcome the world. The world may make its merry march to destruction. They may revel in intoxication and infidelity. But do not be deceived by the happiness they claim to have. If they remain apart from Christ, they will perish. The world will see its end. But not you; you are in Christ. You are no longer be of the world, but you are in the world. Who else but those who are God’s people can show them that there is rescue from a world that is perishing, comfort from the sins that plague our hearts, and hope for a greater glory? In the risen Christ, there is peace with God. Through the risen Christ, we overcome the world. With the risen Christ, we will live forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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