Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He is descended from Adam according to the flesh, but he is conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit. He is the one beloved Son of the Father with whom he is well pleased. We believe this. But do we experience the victory that this belief entails? Or are we still subject to the world? Does it still boss us around and tell us what will make us happy, what will make us sad, what we must do, and what we must not do?
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
In order to experience victory over the world we must receive the life of the Son who has overcome the world. Only by participating in his life can we have the freedom from sin and death which only he can offer. We participate in this life through faith in him.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
We believe the testimony of the Spirit, the water, and the Blood. We believe the Father's testimony about his Son in baptism. We believe him again when he raises Christ from death to life. When we learn to believe the Father's truth about the way things are rather than how we feel or what we think we begin to experience victory in our own lives.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
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