In 1 John 5 we see Christ as our life and our victory.
First John 5:1 says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten of God.” We must believe that Jesus is the Christ sent by God to be our Savior before we can obtain the life of God. We do not need to do anything but believe this in order for the Holy Spirit to enter into us, give us God’s life, and cause us to be regenerated, to be born of God. Whoever believes that the man Jesus is the Christ, God incarnate (John 1:1, 14; 20:31), has been begotten of God and has become a child of God (1:12-13). Our being begotten of God is the base of our enjoyment of Christ.
First John 5:4-5 continues, “Everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory which has overcome the world—our faith. And who is he who overcomes the world except him who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” The word everything in verse 4 refers to every person who has been begotten of God. Yet such an expression should refer especially to that part, that is, the spirit of the regenerated person, that has been regenerated with the divine life (John 3:6). The regenerated spirit of the regenerated believer does not practice sin (1 John 3:9) and overcomes the world. The believer’s divine birth with the divine life is the basic factor for such victorious living.
Both in his Gospel and in this Epistle John stressed the divine birth (John 1:13; 3:3, 5; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18), through which the divine life is imparted into the believers in Christ (John 3:15-16, 36; 1 John 5:11-12). This divine birth, which brings in the divine life, is the basic factor of all the mysteries concerning the divine life, such as the fellowship of the divine life (1:3-7), the anointing of the Divine Trinity (2:20-27), the abiding in the Lord (v. 28—3:24), and the divine living that practices the divine truth (1:6), the divine will (2:17), the divine righteousness (v. 29; 3:7), and the divine love (vv. 11, 22-23; 5:1-3) to express the divine Person (4:12). The divine birth with the divine life assures the God-begotten believers, giving them confidence in the ability and virtue of the divine life.
Regeneration takes place definitely and particularly in our spirit. John 3:6 says that that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. This indicates that regeneration takes place in our spirit. Because our spirit has been regenerated, it cannot sin. On the contrary, our spirit can overcome all negative things.
Our spirit has been regenerated with the divine life. This means that the divine life has been imparted, or infused, into our spirit. Regenerated believers have the capability in the divine life to overcome the world, the powerful satanic world system. Regarding overcoming the world, we should not trust in our own ability or effort. Instead, we need to trust our spirit. Our spirit is well able to overcome Satan and the world, the evil system. But in ourselves we cannot overcome the world. When we exercise our spirit, stay in our spirit, and walk by our spirit, we will see that our spirit has the life ability to overcome all negative things. This is why we need to exercise our spirit to have fellowship with the Lord and pray concerning the enjoyment of the Lord. We also need to exercise our spirit to call on the Lord’s name and to pray-read the Word. This exercise stirs up the ability in our spirit to overcome the world.
It is the divine life in our spirit that has the ability to overcome the evil, satanic world. We are surrounded by temptations. What can overcome them? The divine life in our spirit can overcome temptation. We all need to see that our spirit is mingled with the divine life and is the organ that can overcome the world.
Although we have been born of God, according to our experience we still commit sins. After a person has been saved through regeneration, experientially speaking, he still can sin. Even 1 John says that to this day we still have the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the vainglory of life (2:16). Why is it then that chapter 3 says, “Everyone who has been begotten of God does not practice sin” (v. 9)?
The only thing in the universe that has been begotten of God is our spirit. Our flesh and our soul, including our mind, emotion, and will, were not begotten of God. No one can deny that the spirit in us has been begotten of God. Our flesh as well as our mind can sin, but our regenerated spirit cannot practice sin. In fact, while our flesh is sinning, our regenerated spirit continually admonishes us not to sin. There is only one place in this universe that has been reserved by God and does not have Satan’s footprints on it—our regenerated spirit. Satan cannot cross this boundary to reach us. How we need to take refuge in this high tower!
Our regenerated spirit, as that which has been begotten of God, keeps us from sinning. We can testify that many times we have been kept by this spirit, which has been begotten of God. We all are vile sinners and are capable of committing gross sins, yet our regenerated spirit has kept us. In our spirit we are safe from the evil one. This is our hiding place, our refuge, and our high tower. To this place we flee whenever Satan comes. If we find our temper flaring, we must not struggle to keep it under control. Instead of fighting to keep our self-control, we must withdraw to our spirit. This is our refuge.
The writings of Paul have this same thought, expressed in different terms. Galatians 5:17 says, “The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.” The word Spirit here refers to the Holy Spirit mingled with our human spirit. There is a part of our being, the flesh, which is against another part, our spirit. In verse 16 Paul exhorts us to walk by the Spirit in order that we may not fulfill the lust of the flesh. We must not stay in our flesh but abide in our spirit, the part of our being which is born of God. Romans 8:4 also tells us that we are not to “walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.” Within us we have not only a spirit, which has been born of God, but also the flesh, which was born of the fallen nature. We must choose to walk in the part that has been born of God, does not and cannot sin, overcomes the world, loves what God loves, and keeps us from the evil one.
Now that we have been born of God in our spirit, we must remain in our spirit. We should not try to do anything outside of our spirit. We should not attempt to do anything in our soul-life. We should not try to solve our problems by using our mind, act in our emotions, or rely on our will. The only part within us that counts in God’s eyes is our spirit, which has been born of God. This divine birth brings the divine life and nature into our spirit.
We should keep returning to our spirit. We should not take any action outside of our spirit. We should not even think about loving or hating, about doing good or doing evil. We should make sure only that we are in our spirit. When we need to love someone, we should tell the Lord, “Bring me into my spirit so that I can love this person.” We need to pray continually, “Lord, keep me in my spirit.” If you are a student, when you read textbooks, study assignments, or attend classes, you should stay in your spirit. As long as we abide in our spirit, we overcome the world, we do not sin, and we can do what the Father would do and love what He would love.
In 1 John 5:4b, John says, “This is the victory which has overcome the world—our faith.” This is the faith that brings us into the organic union with the Triune God and that believes that Jesus is the Son of God (v. 5) that we may be begotten of God and have His divine life, by which we are enabled to overcome the Satan-organized-and-usurped world. Faith is the substantiation of the unseen, divine, and spiritual things (Heb. 11:1); this substantiating power overcomes the world.
Actually, our trust should not be in our faith itself. The faith by itself does not overcome the world. Our faith brings us into an organic union, and it is this organic union, not the faith directly, that overcomes the world. We may say that faith is the means for us to be united with the Triune God. By believing in the Lord Jesus, we are brought into an organic union with the Triune God; this union, produced by faith, then overcomes the world.
In 1 John 5:5, John continues, “And who is he who overcomes the world except him who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Such a believer is one who has been begotten of God and has received the divine life (John 1:12-13; 3:16). The divine life empowers him to overcome the evil world energized by Satan. The Gnostics and the Cerinthians, who were not believers of this kind, remained pitiful victims of the evil satanic system. But our believing that Jesus is the Son of God brings us into an organic union with the Son, who is the embodiment of the Triune God. It is this organic union with the Triune God in the Son that overcomes the world.