Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

John defines for us who an "overcomer" is in I John 5. He tells us what's in store for those of us who are "overcomers" as foretold in Revelation 2 and 3. I'll get back to you on that in a moment but first to things that we know for sure, as confirmed by this chapter of I John.

Verses 11-13 tell us, on the record, how we can have a "know so" salvation. God, verse 11, has given us "eternal life". This is a gift from God for all of us who recognize that this life is in His Son.

The text tells us "this life is in His Son." The positive and negative are found in verse 12, "he that hath the Son of God hath life," and vice-versa, "he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."

The truth is very simple. There is no need to question or worry about salvation, eternal life. In fact, the reason John wrote this book is so that we can "know" for sure that we have eternal life. That's not a feeling, a "hope so" or a "guess so", but a "know so" salvation.

Then John gives us confidence about our "prayer life", and that confidence is found in the Lord, also. John tells us that if we ask anything "according to His will", we can know that the Lord hears us.

Then we are told that since He hears us, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him, verses 14-15. You may say, how can we know His will so that we can pray in His will?

The "Word of God" is the "will of God". Know the "Word of God" and you will know the "will of God". But you may say, I can't determine the "will of God" from the Word on a specific matter, that's where Romans 8:26-27 comes into the equation. When we can not determine the "will of God" the Holy Spirit takes over and intercedes for us according to the "will of God", Romans 8:26-27.

There is another "great nugget" for us to take away from our Bible reading today. It's found in I John 5:4-5. John, as I said earlier, defines who is an "overcomer". An "overcomer" is someone who is born of God. That would be someone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God who died for us and rose from the dead.

We must "admit" that we are sinners, in need of salvation. We then "believe" that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus was that which our Lord did to take away our sin. After admitting and believing, we then "call" upon Him to save us, Romans 10:13. An "overcomer" is someone who is "born again".

With this information we can see what is guaranteed to all "overcomers" as found in the "letters to the seven churches" of Asia Minor, Revelation 2 and 3. Common in all of the letters to the seven churches, he that is an "overcomer", precedes the promise that the Lord makes to all "overcomers."

We will read the entire chapter of I John 4 for our extended reading today. I John 4 is a marvelous description of what and who "love" is in our world today. Verse 8 jumps right out at me as I read about "love", from verses 7-21. In fact the word "love" is used 26 times in these verses.

John tells us "Who" love is in verse 8, "God is love". John then defines "love" by what God did, He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to become sin for us so that we might be saved, verse 10.

Then we are told to follow God's example by “loving” one another, since God “loved” us. John tells us how we can know God and know that He dwells within each of us, it is by "loving others," verses 10 & 12.

Verse 17 tells us how "our love" will be made perfect when we stand in boldness in the "day of judgment." Verse 18 tells us how to "cast out fear" by "loving" God and others.

John gives us a test so that we can know for sure that we "love" the Lord, Verse 20. This verse states that if we "hate" our brother, fellow man, and say that we "love" the Lord, we are "liars." How could we truly "love" the Lord Whom we have not seen and yet hate those whom we have seen.

I John 4 is a great statement about "love"; however, it is very interesting to see that the first four verses of this chapter deal with another issue all together. John warns us to not believe every spirit, but to try them, hold them up to the standard of the Word of God.

The reason for this is especially true for the days in which we are living today. The reason is that there are many "false prophets" out there.

John gives us another test, this one to determine the nature of these spirits or teachers that come our way. A true spirit or teacher that represents the one true God is the one that admits, confesses, that Jesus is the Son of God, come in the flesh.

If the spirit or teacher says Jesus was not the Son of God, then it is the spirit of "Antichrist." Any religion that claims "its god had no son" and that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God in the flesh is an "Antichrist religion."

That's God's Word, not mine, and God's Word is absolute. We live in a day of many false teachers and religions, these are the days preparing for, and leading up to the Antichrist, the last days.


PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me dear Lord to love You and others as I abide by Your Word and follow Your example.