Victory Over the World
Pastors Rodney & Adonica Howard-BrownePublish date: 09/08/2024
Foundation Scriptures:
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 NKJV
1. Two Kingdoms.
a. There are two kingdoms—the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil.
b. 1 John 5:19 AMPC - We know [positively] that we are of God, and the whole world [around us] is under the power of the evil one.
c. The “world” is referring to this world’s system, in which men are subject to the power and influence of the devil.
d. World (Greek kosmos) - the world, the universe; the earth; the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family; the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ; world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly.
e. Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).
f. When you receive Jesus, you become a citizen of the Kingdom of God—an eternal Kingdom.
g. 1 Corinthians 2:12 KJV - Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
h. You are IN this world, but you are not OF this world (John 17:14-16).
i. The Spirit of God in us is greater than the devil, and the evil antichrist spirits, who are in the world.
2. You Are of God.
a. If you have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then you are born again—you are a new creature in Christ, and you belong to Him (John 3:3-8; 1 Pet. 1:23; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15).
b. The Spirit of God comes to live and dwell in you—He is with you and in you (John 14:17; Rom. 8:16; 1 John 4:13-15).
c. You have a new, Heavenly family—you are a member of the body of Christ.
d. The Father has delivered us out of the control and dominion of darkness (the devil and demons) and transferred, or conveyed, us into His light and into the Kingdom of His dear Son Jesus (Col 1:13).
e. 1 John 4:7-8 NKJV - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
3. He That is in the World.
a. The Bible calls the devil the “god of this world” who has blinded the minds of those who do not believe in Jesus (2 Cor. 4:4).
b. Before He went to the Cross, Jesus referred to the devil as the prince, or ruler, of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).
c. Everyone in this ungodly world system belongs to the devil and his kingdom and is subject to him.
d. We know we (believers) are of God, and that the whole world lies in wickedness—under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:19).
e. The disobedient, unsaved world is under the power, control, and influence of the devil (Eph. 2:2).
f. They act like him and do what he does.
4. You Act Like Your Father.
a. Jesus told the Pharisees: “You are of your father the devil, who is a murderer, a liar by nature and the father of lies and all that is false. And you are practicing the lusts and gratifying the desires characteristic of your father” (John 8:44).
b. You act like your father.
c. If you belong to the devil, you act like him.
d. But if you belong to God, you are like Him and you act like Him.
e. 1 John 3:10 NKJV - In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
f. God’s children walk in His love, keep His commandments, and practice righteousness as a way of life.
5. Walking in Victory in Every Area.
a. Jesus thoroughly defeated the devil, and principalities and powers—openly triumphing over them and stripping them of any, and all, power and authority (Col. 2:15).
b. 1 John 5:4 KJV - For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
c. The devil may have some power over the unsaved world, but he has no power over the children of God, who serve Jesus and walk in their authority.
d. Ephesians 4:27 KJV - Neither give place to the devil.
e. Do not give the devil any opportunities—leave him no room or foothold in your life.
f. James 4:7 KJV - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
g. Live a life submitted to God; refute the devil’s lies and resist his temptations.
h. 1 John 5:18 KJV - We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
i. You cannot overcome the world if you act just like the world.
j. Anyone who makes themselves a friend of the world, makes themselves an enemy of God (James 4:4).
k. But you have been set apart and sanctified.
l. Yield fully to God, and do not yield to sin and unrighteousness in spirit, soul, or body (Rom. 6:11-14).
m. If you want to be an overcomer, turn your back on the world—love God, do His will, and serve only Him.
n. 1 John 2:15-17 NKJV - Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 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. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.