“for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
Why are the true followers of Jesus Christ called overcomers even though many still face stiff challenges?
The reason is that Christian are called to be overcomers in an evil worldly system that is yet to be redeemed by God. Because Christians live in an evil world there would be challenges yes, but they are called to live by the example already laid out by our Lord Jesus who lived in the same worldly system but who never compromised himself with the system.
Jesus is an overcomer. He is a conqueror because He overcame sin and eventually defeated death for believers by His resurrection from the grave.
For the true believer in Christ, therefore, our lives must be lived in the faith that Jesus died and paid the wages of our sins, knowing that on the third day he resurrected and death had no power over him. This is the faith of the true believer, this is the good news, that the wages of our sins have been settled forever and that Christ has already defeated death for us.
I Corinthians 15:17 says: “ If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins”. Thankfully Christ’s resurrection settles it all for all true believers, our sin has been forgiven and death cannot prevent us from enjoying eternal life with Him.
When Christ conquered death for the true believer he removed the sting of death which is sin- that is the believer would not be judged by God according to his sin rather he will stand before God robbed in the righteousness of Christ, the only perfect righteousness. ( 1 Corinthians 15:56)
The good news cannot be over emphasized, that the true believer is an overcomer because Christ indeed has received the judgement of death on behalf of the believer and by so doing paid the penalty for his sin. (Revelation 20:14).
Therefore everyone who believes has the calling to live an overcoming life in this present evil world by living a crucified life to worldly pleasures, sin and selfishness.
This life is lived by faith in the atoning death of Christ and by the help of the Holy Spirit. Christ therefore demands nothing less but an overcoming life from a believer. ( Galatians 2:20).
Reading
1 John Chapter
