Our scripture for this lesson is 1 John 5:4-5. I call this “Already an Overcomer.” Before we get to that scripture, let me share some other overcoming verses. “To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Revelation 3:21, BSB). “The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son” (Revelation 21:7, BSB). “…he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels” (Revelation 3:5, BSB).

Do you want to be one who overcomes? We read those verses in Revelation and think: I want to overcome; Lord, I hope I overcome; help me overcome; don’t let me shrink back. But listen to these overcoming verses: “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5, ESV).

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? To be an overcomer, what do we need to do? It says: be born of God and believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Do you have those things? Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and are you born of God? Then you are an overcomer. There’s just one more thing in those verses. The victory that overcomes the world is our faith. And what is our faith but a gift from God, the author and perfector of our faith. When He gave us salvation, He gave us to be overcomers. It’s who we are as children of God.