1 John 5:1 – 5

1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

We who believe Jesus is the Son of God are Christians. We believe Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. We believe this because of the word which God gave us. This means we are born of God. If we love God, who is the Father of the Messiah, then we love Jesus the Son of God, He was born of God the Father.

When we love God we keep His commandments. Jesus said if we love Him we keep His word which consist of His commandments. (John 14:15, John 15:10) One of the commandments He gave us is found in John 15:12 (This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.) We know when we love our brothers and sisters in Christ that we are loving God and keeping His commandments.

Christ told us when we love Christ we are also loving God, and when we love God, then we also love His Son, Jesus. John 8:42 (Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. ) (Read John 14 & 15)

How hard is it to keep the commandments of God? We are to “love our neighbors” meaning we are to share the way of Salvation to them. The only things hard about God's commandments are what we make hard. When we are like that little engine who kept saying “I can't, I can't, I can't” then we make following the commandments difficult.

God is mighty, He is all powerful. When He raised Jesus from the dead He proved without doubt He is more powerful than the world which death reigns in. When we believed in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God we were born of God. It is our faith in Jesus as the Son of God which gives us victory over the world and the death which rules it. Our faith produces eternal life in us and gives us the opportunity to accept the Crown of Salvation which God provides to the faithful.

There is only one way to overcome the world and it's death and that is to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior, and the one who gives us eternal life and allows us victory over the world.