1 John 5:4-5 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
The faith God gives us is manifested in such a way that we begin to appropriate it in ways that go beyond our logic’s ability or strength to understand. It allows us to rest and be still when everything else is going wrong around us. Faith allows us to know that the eye of the lover of our soul and His mighty hand surround us during the time of trial or tribulation. Faith becomes the power that propels us into action. That action becomes the works that others see. The result is—we are transformed into overcomers.
John 12:24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
In this verse, we see a mystery about a seed. This is absolute truth and one that defies worldly logic. How can life come from death? We can find another example of what Jesus meant in John 3:6. The flesh cannot bring about the resurrection life that we so desperately need. It also shows us the proof of a grace-filled reward that happens in a Christian’s life. We have nothing to do with our being born, our lives and what they comprise, the work of salvation, or the rewards we will receive in heaven. Grace could be explained in the following ways.
Grace has promised to do. It does what we cannot do. Its yoke is not burdensome or heavy. It is light. It not only gives us life, but also develops it within us. Grace births us and causes us to grow. It forgives us and transforms us. It causes us to be humble and keeps us that way. It gives us faith and causes that faith to develop and grow in strength and boldness. Grace teaches us the truth that you can’t, but God can.
Grace can also be explained like this. God gives us faith, He causes us to believe, He causes us to walk, and He then calls us and gives us our assignments. He enables us to accomplish what He has assigned and provides us with the power and the obedience to complete it. He does it all! He then rewards us as though we did it on our own. What wonderful good news!
Jesus told us that if you desire to follow Him we must deny (die to) ourselves, daily pick up the instrument of our death (the Cross), and follow Him (be humble, teachable, yielded, and surrendered). This means that we are dead in the flesh (to your sinful nature) and alive to Him in the spirit. He has control over all. He is the LORD of the harvest and His Father is the vinedresser (John 15:1, 4).
2 Corinthians 5:15-19 ... and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
These verses illustrate for us the main aspects of a transformed life. Paul tells us that if a transformation has taken place within us, we will be changed from the inside first, emanating outward like ripples from a pebble tossed into a mirror-surfaced pond in the morning.
Paul tells us that Jesus died for all, and that because of our reception of this new life, we are now enabled to live for Him and others. This means that before Jesus enters a person’s life, he is a slave to self-centeredness. He is not able to be unselfish. On the other hand, when the redeemed life of a Christian takes place and develops, a new perspective is birthed. The eyes of the heart are opened and the new life begins to mature. We begin to see the freedom found in serving others.
Paul then tells us that we no longer regard people according to the flesh. This means that we no longer examine the person’s actions from a human perspective, but in a Christ-like perspective. We now have the ability to look at action done in the flesh through eyes of LOVE. We are now enabled to separate the sin from the sinner. We are now able to be patient with others because of the understanding that we have received from Christ. He is very longsuffering with us, and it is this longsuffering that brought us to Him (Romans 2:4). He also states that we are now able to understand the mysteries of the Gospel where before our new birth, we were unable to understand (1 Corinthians 2:14). Because of this new ability, we know that a new birth has occurred and that old things have passed away.
In the final verse we are told the reasons why we now have a desire to reconcile with others. Again, this is not from us but from God. It is a supernatural result of our new birth in Christ.