Reflections
Jesus Christ has already won every victory there is to win. Consequently, when the Bible speaks of the necessity for a saint to overcome, it is not talking about overcoming that which Christ has already defeated. Christ defeated Satan, and bore every sin ever committed by every human being. But if this is the case, then what must a believer overcome?
It should be obvious to any believer that despite the finished and full victory of Jesus Christ that we do not initially seem to be able to live in much of that victory. If Christ has won all victory, and has freely given us all, then why aren’t we automatically living in that victory? Well, herein is the need to overcome. We are called to overcome – not the forces that Jesus already defeated – but we are called to overcome the UNBELIEF that would keep us from standing in His finished victory. And there is only one way to overcome unbelief: By believing. That is why John is able to say, “For whoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. “(1 John 5:4)
“The world,” includes all that is of the earthly realm – which is the ground of Satan, and the realm to which belongs the old man in Adam. We are to overcome, not by turning and fighting Satan, but we are to overcome by relying and relinquishing our entire selves to the One in whom there is all victory.