SOAP 01/02/2017; 1 John 5:5

Today's reading: Genesis 3, 4, 5; Luke 2*

S) "⁹ Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"

1 John 5:5 (NASB)
*This verse was highlighted before I kept these entries online, so I wrote a new entry

O) What I love about this verse, is the way that John echoed what he heard (and recorded) from Jesus in John 16:33. The simple choice to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, aligns us with Him in such a way, that we are sharing in His victory over the world. Jesus warned us that we'd have difficulties in the world, and John certainly came to understand that firsthand. However, the wonderful promise is that Jesus has overcome the world first, and that with Him, we also overcome the world.

A) Sometimes, it feels like there can be a burden of faith. It can feel like I need to muster my faith to a certain point in order to see healing, prosperity, obedience, or victory in my life. However, that isn't really what is revealed in this passage. The simple choice to believe that Jesus is who He said He is, that He is the Son of God - that choice to believe is an act of faith that delivers victory in my life. Because I am with Jesus - because He is the Son of God - I am allied with the Victorious One. I overcome the world, with all it's threats and pitfalls and temptations, when I am submitting myself to the truth of God's Word, revealed in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.

P) Father, thank You for such sweet, simple victory, Lord God! You have done all the work for me, and that grace simply cannot be overstated. Even the faith You require of me, it is so much less than the faith I imagine that I need, sometimes. My victory was secured in Jesus, who first overcame the world so I didn't have to. Now I can overcome the world with Him, simply by believing that He is Your Son. Thank You for opening my eyes and ears, to know and understand the truth of the gospel, Father God. Let my every victory bring glory and praise to Your name. Let Your kingdom come, and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.