Has Jesus Really Overcome the World?

By Gerald Cowan

"I have overcome the world" (John 16:33)

    Jesus and the disciples, minus Judas Iscariot the betrayer, had finished the Passover meal. Judas had gone out to do his planned work of turning Jesus over to the enemies who would eventually crucify him. Jesus would have only a few hours more with them to sum up his ministry, to prepare them for his soon-coming church kingdom and the continuation of their own ministry – he would give them final instructions and a commission after his death and resurrection and before his visible ascension to heaven. Judas did not hear the “Let not your heart be troubled”  encouragement (Chapter 14), the enlightenment about the relationship of the Lord to all his disciples and followers (Chapter 15), the prediction and promise of Holy Spirit empowered victory that would continue into eternity (Chapter 16), and the impassioned prayer of the Savior who was nearing the victorious end of his mission to redeem and save a people for God’s own possession (Chapter 17, compare Titus 2::11-14). We cannot know what impact this would have had on Judas and his trajectory into darkness and perdition, but we are concerned to understand and continue the impact upon the other apostles, and upon all who follow Lord Jesus today. 

    “These things I have spoken to you,” Jesus said, at the conclusion of his sermons to the disciples and before his great prayer. These words may also be thought to apply to all his words and works during the three years or so of discipling these chosen and soon to be Holy Spirit guided and empowered men. But in particular he refers to what he has just told them about his coming departure from them but his continuing union and communion with them and his planned return to take them to the new place he will have prepared for them, not hiding from them the various persecutions and afflictions they would endure for his sake and the many blessings of grace and glory they would enjoy. He continued  his instructions for their continued occupation in his kingdom and the trouble they would have in the mission he was giving them. The prospect of winning the world for Him included both physical, social, and spiritual struggles against formidable foes: the world, the flesh, and the devil (we will notice this threesome in more depth below). Notice the summation of his stated purpose in his teaching of them: That in me you might have peace – that in spite of the tribulation you will have in the world you can be cheered and assured by knowing – I have overcome the world (John 16:33). 

    “That in me you might have peace.”  What kind of peace?  Not the kind of peace the world can give (John 14:27). In the world and from the world there will never be true and perfect peace – the peace in which there is no barrier to fellowship and no separation of one person from another or of any person from God. This peace is not primarily physical or social but spiritual. All who are truly at peace with God in Christ will necessarily be at peace with each other. It is the peace of being many different and differing members, but acknowledging and accepting each other as equal members with a proper place in one body composed of all its member parts (Ephesians 4:11-16). It is significant that he says might have (subjunctive) rather than do  have or will have. Even in the church we see competitive selfishness and discord, present because so many do not accept or pursue the peace the Lord makes possible. 

    Now let us notice the threefold enemy to peace: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world, as currently constituted, is inimical to peace. It promotes preservation and promotion of self not promotion and preservation of the whole. It pushes for the individual good not the collective good, for personal satisfaction not community satisfaction, and for subordination of the many to the few. There is no possibility of true and lasting universal peace in such a world. Unless such worldly ideas are suppressed and disallowed in heaven there could be no perfect peace even there. We may expect it in heaven but not many expect it or pursue it in the present world.  It is our loss, not a failure of the Lord to provide or fulfill a promise.

    The flesh is inimical to peace. Understanding the dichotomy of flesh and spirit, though perplexing and exceedingly difficult as limned in Paul’s epistle to the Romans, Chapters 7 and 8, must be clarified if we are to understand how the flesh is an enemy to the peace the Lord promises. The flesh (our carnality in contradistinction to our spirituality (Romans 7:14, 8:6-7,  1 Corinthians 3:1-4) is our humanity, not only our physical body but our human mind, desires, attitudes, disposition and inclinations. The flesh also reflects our limitations – some things are simply impossible for us, humanly speaking. James 4:3 is an insightful note: our requests to God may be denied because they are intended to satisfy human lusts and desires — not just the desires of the physical body but the thoughts and intentions of the heart/mind (Hebrews 4:12-13). The spirit is the other side of our nature, designed and intended by God to seek Him in whose image we are created, following the leading and pull of His Holy Spirit (emphasized by Paul in Romans 8-8). The cartoon with an angel perched on one shoulder of a person and a devil perched on the other is seriously awry from truth. When faced with a decision to do or not to do something – responding to temptation, testing, trial – it is not that the angel pulls one way and the devil pulls the other and we make the decision which one to follow. It is not even our “good side” and our “bad side” influencing our choice. Rather, it is the desires of our humanity that pulls one way while our spirituality pulls the other.  Whichever side of our nature to which we yield determines our actions, also determines the consequences of the choice we make.  What I want often prevails over what God wants and what I ought to want.  The flesh which is my enemy too often wins.

    The devil is inimical to peace with God and with myself because he promotes peace with the world as passive hostility to God.  He paints God as our enemy, withholding from us what would please us and make us like Him (consider the devil in the serpent tempting Eve and Adam, Genesis 3:1-6). Though not always clearly articulated, the devil’s intention is to thwart God’s purposes by disconnecting people from Him. In doing so, the devil is like a roaring lion – or any other predator – seeking to devour and destroy those he can separate from God (1 Peter 5:8-9). But since the devil so often offers what our fleshly side wants he persuades us to reject God’s appeal to our spiritual side – he capitalizes on the pull of the world and the flesh to defeat us.

    But do not give up, Jesus says, all is not yet lost. “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world (the flesh and the devil too).  I have overcome is a prolepsis. It is the condition that would prevail after Christ’s death and resurrection and ascension to heaven. The devil may effectively be (is deferred to as) the prince and god of the present world (John 12;31, 14:30, 16:11; 2 Corinthians 4:4), but his head, his vitality, persuasiveness, and power have been crushed (Hebrews 2:14-18, 4:14-16).He is  – he is overthrown; Christ has undone all the devil has done and is still able to do (1 John 3:8), including even the fear of death and consequences of sin in those who entrust their souls to Him. Nothing in or of the world, not even death itself, can stand against God and His Christ or His church (Matthew 16:18-19).  The world and all things of the world will end (1 John 2:15-17).  Satan himself will be cast into eternal hell (Revelation 20:10, 14). Jesus and his redeemed church will enjoy God’s heaven forever. That prospect should set every soul at peace, with the peace of the Lord, the prefect peace granted to those whose hearts are steadfastly set upon Him (Isaiah 26:3), the all-surpassing peace that guards our hearts and lives in Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:6-9). He is our defense from all that threatens and opposes us. We go to him, at his invitation (Matthew 11:28-30), to find rest and peace and fulfillment of our hope (Revelation 14:12-13).. 

    In Christ who loved us and gave himself for us we are more than conquerors of everything – the world, the flesh, and the devil. Nothing in the past, the present, or the future can overcome him or us who stand faithfully in him, nor can it separate us from him, from God or from the heaven-supplied and supported panoply given to defend and sustain us (Ephesians 6:10-17, Romans 8:35-39). In Him we do and will overcome. As overcomers in him we will sit with him in the heaven he will have prepared for us before he returns for us.

- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary, is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is available for Gospel Meetings and he may be contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com

“Are You Ready For A Gospel Meeting?”

By Bill Brandstatter

    Beginning Sunday, October 3rd, this congregation will begin a gospel meeting with Mike McDaniel. His subject will be “Preview of the Judgment Day.” Why do churches of Christ have gospel meetings? Why do we call them “gospel meetings? Let us consider three points as we get ready for our gospel meeting.

    The gospel saves. Paul indicates the importance of the gospel by declaring, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Rom. 1:16 NKJV). Paul also wrote to the church at Corinth and stated, “If our gospel be hidden, it is hidden to them that are lost.” (2 Cor. 4:3) Emotionalism is not the gospel. Yet the saving gospel does produce some emotions. The eunuch went on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:39). The Philippian jailer, after being baptized, “rejoiced.” (Acts 16:34)

    The gospel was the New Testament Rule and Guide. The apostles were

commissioned by Christ what they were to preach. They were told by our Lord “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15, 16) Paul knew the importance of preaching the gospel. He realized the importance of getting the gospel message out to the world. The apostle from Tarsus declares, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; ye, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.” (1 Cor. 9:16)

    The gospel is to be taken to the world. It was taken to the world of Paul’s day (Col. 1:23). God doesn’t tell us how the gospel is to be taken. We teach and preach on the radio, newspaper, publicly, and privately. The early Christians did this. Luke records, “They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4) One of the ways a person can help to get the gospel message out is to invite someone to services. Also, we should be friendly to a visitor who comes. That could lead to that person wanting to know more. It is important that you attend our gospel meeting, if at all possible; and please bring a friend.

- Bill Brandstatter preaches for the Marion Church of Christ in Marion, IL. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://marionchurchofchrist.com/

Confession And Consistency

By Joe Slater

    By confessing Jesus as Lord, we obligate ourselves to obey Him. “Lord” isn’t just a respectful title. It refers to a master, one who has the right to decide and control.

    Jesus asked this piercing question: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Calling Jesus ‘Lord’ acknowledges that He has the right to decide what we ought to do and to control our behavior. He has done so through His inspired word, the Bible. Do we recognize our own inconsistency when we call Him Lord, yet neglect to do what the Scriptures teach?

    An old cliché says, “Talk is cheap.” Truly, we can pay lip service to nearly anything. “You shouldn’t litter!” (Then I throw trash out of my car window.) “I love my family!” (Then I speak harshly, sarcastically, and rudely to them.)

    Confessing Christ as Lord certainly is a good thing! In fact, it’s essential to salvation (Romans 10:9-10). But Jesus demands more than mere lip service. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Moreover, we don’t get to pick and choose what parts of His will to obey. Those converted to Christ are to “obey all things that I have commanded you” (28:20).

    A servant who refuses to obey his master shouldn’t expect that master to be pleased with him. Do you expect Jesus to be pleased with you?

- Joe Slater serves as minister of the Church of Christ in Justin, TX. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://justinchurchofchrist.com

Stay With the Ship

By Joe Chesser

    If you like stories of action and suspense, you’ll love the story told in Acts 27. It’s a dramatic description of a shipwreck where everything is lost … except the people on board.  From what seemed like a promising beginning, the journey quickly turned into a nightmare.  A wind of hurricane force (called a “northeaster” - Acts 27:14) battered the ship as it was helplessly driven out of control.  Trying anything they could think of, they threw the cargo overboard, and the next day, the ship’s tackle.  After several days, all hope of being saved was lost (Acts 27:20).

    When we get to the place where all hope is lost is when the grace and power of God shines most clearly.  There were 276 people on board this ship, and all had given up hope until the Lord spoke to Paul, one of the passengers, assuring him that none would lose their lives (Acts 27:23-25).  However, there was one condition to being delivered by God.  Everyone had to stay with the ship.  When sensing that land was near, some tried to escape in the lifeboat.  Paul told the centurion, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved” (Acts 27:31).  The soldiers believed Paul and cut the ropes that held the lifeboat to the ship.  In most cases this would have been a very foolish thing to do, but because they believed, they had to do exactly what God had said, they had to make sure no one could escape.  Their only hope was that everyone “stay with the ship.”  All 276 arrived safely on shore, just as God had promised.

    God has given us an even greater promise.  He has promised that if we “stay with the ship” we can be saved eternally.  Throughout our lives we face the temptation to abandon God’s ship (like Israel – Hebrews 3.12 - 4.7).  It may literally be during hurricanes, or earthquakes or tornadoes. It may be when faced with cancer or heart disease.  It may be when someone we love is suddenly taken from us through violence or immorality or accidents.  It may be when we are hurt by those we thought loved us, or deceived by those we trusted. “Northeasters,” no matter in what form their brutality may come, can drain us of hope and our only thought is to abandon God and everyone else around us.

    But wait!  Just as God spoke to Paul words of hope for those around him, He has also spoken words of hope for every one of us.  And the words are essentially the same: “Stay with the ship.”  In this promise, the ship of safety that will deliver us unharmed to the shore of life is the church, the body of Christ.  Jesus clearly promised that the church He was to build to transport us to God could not be destroyed, even “the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18).  Stay with the ship and you’ll be saved.

    The “northeaster” didn’t suddenly stop when God promised to save the people on the ship.  They had to demonstrate that they truly believed His promise by riding out the storm.  The parallel is compelling for us.  The only way to reach the “other shore” is to ride out the storms of life by “staying with the ship.”  It’s our only hope (Revelation 2:8-11).

- Joe Chesser preaches for the Fruitland Church of Christ, Fruitland, MO.  He may be contacted at joeandareva@yahoo.com

One Gospel For All

By Ronald Bartanen

“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

    An increasingly popular view is that different cultures have different religions available to bring people to God.  While in America we are predominantly a somewhat Christian culture (at least for the present), in Muslim nations God is available through Islam, in Israel God is found through Old Testament law, in India access to God is through Hinduism, etc.  Tolerance of other faith-systems has been seen in the past as the allowing of liberty to differ, but it has evolved into the shaming of those who would seek to actually convert someone of another religious persuasion to one’s own view.  Some would even refer to preaching against the teachings of other religions as “hate speech.”  Such a concept would make the Great Commission of our Lord—the preaching of the gospel of Christ to all nations, as Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:47)—no longer acceptable.

    The gospel of Christ alone is “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).  It is one gospel for all.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6).  This may seem narrow-minded in our ears today, but it is either true, or Jesus is not to be believed.

    There is one gospel for all because all are alienated from God by sin.  “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23); and “The wages of sin is death…” (Rom. 6:23).   In such a state, man is alienated from god and from eternal life.  Dependence for acceptance with God on the basis of avoiding gross sins and being a good neighbor will not suffice.

    There is one gospel for all because Jesus, God’s Son, died for all.  “God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).  

    There is one gospel for all because salvation is found only in Jesus: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

    There being but one gospel for all, those who sincerely would follow Christ should look beyond popular opinion, men and denominations to the Biblical standard for the means of coming to God.   Believing Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God who died for us, was buried, and rose again (1 Cor. 15:1-4), let all accept Him as Savior and Lord in accord with God’s word—in repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38; 22:16), thus being assured by Christ, that “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16).      Continuing in faith and faithful living, we are assured, “Be thou faithful unto death (even to the point of dying for that faith) and I will give the a crown of life “  ( Revelation 2:10).

- Ronald Bartanen is a retired minister who for many years served the Lord's church in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. He may be contacted at: ron33dor@yahoo.com

Lord, Teach Us To Pray

By Bryan McAlister

    “Lord, teach us to pray…”

    Is it any wonder that such a question would be asked of Jesus? Can you imagine what it must have been like to witness His prayer life? Jesus prayed at His baptism (Luke 3:21); Jesus prayed as often as He could (Luke 5:16); Jesus prayed as He called His Apostles (Luke 6:12); He prayed alone (Luke 9:18); He prayed with friends (Luke 9:28-29); He prayed for His friends (Luke 22:32); He prayed for His courage (Luke 22:41-44); He prayed at His crucifixion (Luke 23:34). It’s really is no surprise, all the time Jesus prayed, and at all the moments in His life when He chose to pray. Bear with me for a moment, hopefully you’ll see where we are taking this seemingly tangent of a thought, but, years ago a silly song asked the question, “Where do my socks go when I put them in the drier?” Out of our fear, I think the same bewilderment may sometimes capture our prayers. Where do my prayers go when I give them to God? Let’s see some principles concerning prayer.

    Who is Prayer to? – Prayer, in short is to God, but we do not need to think of God in singular form. God, as we encounter Him throughout scripture is revealed to us in three distinct personalities or identities. The Hebrews had numerous words/names to describe God. One of them is Elohim, which we might think of as a family name. Genesis 1:26 said, “Let Us make man in Our image.” Notice the plural and notice the family nature. When we speak of God, we speak of deity. When we speak of deity we speak of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and through scripture all are revealed.

    Who is Prayer for? – Prayer is a spiritual blessing to those who are in Jesus Christ (Eph 1:3). “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers, but His face is against those who do evil” (I Peter 3:12). Prayer as it pertains to the relationship between God and the saved is wholly unique from prayer used by those outside the body of Christ, outside a covenant relationship with God. I’m thinking of the passengers on board a ship, bound for the city of Tarshish, when a violent wind began to endanger the ship and crew. All on board were praying to pagan gods, except one passenger, Jonah. Jonah was not praying at all, and his God was the true God, the God of Israel. The crew of the ship, began to pray to the God of heaven, in hopes that He would hear them and have mercy (Jonah 1:14). Incidentally, Jonah was on his way to a Gentile nation, to deliver to them a message of repentance. In the New Testament there is the example of Cornelius, a righteous man, who prayed daily, gave generously of his means, but he was not saved. He was praying, when an angel appeared to him, instructing him to send for Peter in Joppa, so he could teach Cornelius the gospel (Acts 10:1ff).

    These examples are simply to say, while prayer is reserved as a spiritual blessing, God is desiring of man to seek Him, and if man will seek God, he will find Him (Acts 17:27). Seeking Him, with an open and earnest heart will make the transformation of our life in every tangible and significant way.

- Bryan McAlister preaches for the Walnut Street Church of Christ in Dickson, TN. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: https://www.wscoc.com/

Wrapped In Light

By Al Behel

    When I read the Psalms I often wonder if I really know how to praise God. David and other Psalters seemed to grasp the essence of their Creator far better than we have done. Their recognition of His presence and power, as well as His love and mercy, caused them to lift up their voices is hymns of praise with hearts of devotion.

    One of those Psalms portrays the majesty of God by describing seven wonders of His creation. Following a declaration of God’s greatness as one who is “clothed with splendor and majesty”, King David outlines the various ways in which God has revealed Himself through His creation (Psalm 104).

    First, he declares that God “wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent” (v. 2). The sky is filled with evidence of His glory. The Hebrew word for “wraps” suggest that God “darkens” Himself with light. His splendor is so wonderful that man cannot see it, but can only stand in awe of it. We look at His creation and marvel at what He has made. The psalmist was able to look beyond the creation to the glory of the One who

made it.

    The second wonder David mentions is the earth, around which He has set a boundary (vs. 5-9). In another psalm he declared “the whole earth is full of Thy glory.” Next, he praises God for the water which God supplies to the earth and its inhabitants. When he looks at the grass and flowers and trees, he erupts in praise that the Lord has taken care of every need through massive vegetation. As one who spent many nights on the mountain ranges with the sheep he had shepherded, David couldn’t forget the moon and the sun. Their radiant beauty was a constant reminder that God was near. The sea, “vast and spacious” (v.25), is structurally balanced with the celestial realm of creation.

    The crowning part of God’s creation is man himself, to whom He has given life and for which He deserves to be praised and worshipped. David concludes his thoughts by saying, “May the glory of the Lord endure forever."

- Al Behel preaches for the Great Smoky Mountains Church of Christ in Pigeon Forge, TN. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://greatsmokymountainschurchofchrist.com/