Overcoming the World
(week 32/06)
Olubi Johnson
1 John 5:4-6 NKJV: 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? 6 This is He who came by water and blood–Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood and it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.
1 John 2:16 NKJV: For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world.
Ephesians 2:2-3 NIV: in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.
Here, the Bible tells us that as born-again Christians in Jesus Christ we are to overcome the world: the spiritual power released through the air operating on the sinful nature in the minds and bodies of men activating the lusts of the flesh, of the eyes and the pride of life.
We overcome the world using the weapons of love: the blood, the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit released through praying tongues.
Satan opposes our walk in love by using the lusts of the flesh so that he can hinder us from pleasing God and so receiving answers to our prayers:
1 John 3:21-23 NKJV: And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
Furthermore, by walking in love we enforce God’s will on the earth and cause His kingdom or dominion to be made manifest in the earth.
Luke 11:2 NKJV: “When you pray, say: our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
This is like what Joseph did in Egypt, Daniel and Esther did in Babylon and Persia, Elisha and Elijah did in Israel causing God’s dominion to be made manifest in the economic, political, social and moral lives of these nations. So in this end-time God is raising up a church that will overcome the world using governmental anointings: Joseph anointing for economic dominion; Daniel anointing for political dominion; Elijah-Elisha anointing for social and moral dominion.
The Elijah-Elisha anointing was used by God to break the power of idolatry: Baal worship over Israel. Today this will be equivalent to breaking the power of the idolatry of covetousness (Col 3.5) or the love of money which is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6.10) especially moral and social evils over our nations.
So in the light of this it is vital to see why there is a strong satanic opposition to the walk love so it takes wisdom and strength, released through using the weapons of love, to walk in love:
Philippians 1:9-11 NIV: And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.
Ephesians 3:16-19 NIV: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
In our article next week, we will see how to use these weapons of love.
