Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20050109.htm

1 JOHN: DEFEATING MISLEADING SPIRITUAL ERROR TRULY TO COMMUNE WITH GOD
Part VI: Blessings The Mature "Father" Has In His Walk With God
I. The Blessing Of The Assurance Of SUSTAINED Spiritual Victories By A Life Of Faith In Christ
(1 John 5:3b, 4-5)
  1. Introduction
    1. True fellowship with God produces a tremendous, multifaceted, spiritually fulfilling lifestyle even on this earth, something John briefly stated in 1 John 1:3-4.
    2. So, having revealed the basic levels of growth, John gave insight into the blessings mature "fathers" enjoy for overcoming a reliance on others (along with the world's lusts) as a "little child" and of overcoming reliance on the world system and its lusts as a "young man". The ninth blessing noted is the assurance of sustained spiritual victories by a life of faith in Christ as described in 1 John 5:3b, 4-13 as follows:
  2. The Blessing Of The Assurance Of SUSTAINED Spiritual Victories By A Life Of Faith In Christ.
    1. After addressing the three levels of maturity in 1 John 2:12-27, John began an extensive treatment of the blessings that spiritual "fathers" experience as motivation for his readers to mature into fatherhood.
    2. The ninth blessing is assurance of sustained spiritual victories by a life of faith in Christ, 1 John 5:3b-5:
      1. John built on the initial deposit of faith in Christ one authors to become saved to claim this faith sets the stage for a continued life of faith as a believer, Bible Knowledge Commentary, N. T., p. 901.
      2. Accordingly, as a believer positionally becomes a victor over the world that is ruled by Satan (Eph. 2:2; 2 Cor. 4:3-4) through trusting in Christ as his personal Savior from sin (cf. 1 John 4:4a, 5), there exists continued SURE, experiential victory over Satan and the world for the mature "father" via his continued faith that is continually put in Christ, 1 John 4:4b; Ibid.
      3. To appreciate this truth in depth, we develop some of its numerous practical implications by reviewing or studying other related teachings in 1 John and other Scriptures as follows:
        1. We learned from 1 John 2:14b,c that believers at the intermediate, "young men" level of maturity have overcome Satan for two reasons: (1) they are "strong" and (2) the Word of God abides in them.
        2. We then learned the meaning and basis of this "strength" comes from (a) their having leaned on the indwelling Holy Spirit's power to live above the sin nature's power (b) and by their leaning on the Spirit's personally assigned spiritual gifts for service to serve God effectively, 2 Tim. 2:2; 1:14, 6-7.
        3. We also found that their faith in, submission to and heeding of God's written Word also equips them to discern and offset Satan's wiles and power like Christ did in His temptation, for Jesus there effectively cited passages out of Deuteronomy in their right context to defeat Satan's temptations (Matt. 4:4 with Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:7 with Deut. 6:16 and Matt. 4:10 with Deut. 6:13; 10:20).
        4. Accordingly, by a Christian life that is lived in CONTINUED faith in Christ and His written Word, which Word embodies Christ's will and direction for the believer's earthly life (cf. Rev. 19:11-13), and by a life of CONTINUED conscious dependence on the indwelling Holy Spirit Who rested on Christ to empower Him for His ministry in His earthly life (Isaiah 11:1-2, 3-4a with Luke 4:18-21), the maturing believer has God's promise of SUSTAINED spiritual victory over Satan and the world THROUGHOUT his earthly sojourn like Jesus did in HIS earthly life!
Lesson: Mature "fathers" are assured that IF they KEEP TRUSTING in the Incarnate Jesus so that they (1) KEEP consciously depending on the indwelling Holy Spirit given to them for victory over the sin nature, (2) if they KEEP relying on His gift for effective service and (3) if they KEEP heeding God's written Word, they are PROMISED LASTING VICTORY over the world and Satan in life and ministry, and that THROUGHOUT life like they POSITIONALLY gained when they FIRST trusted in Him!

Application: May we (1) KEEP living consciously dependent on the indwelling Holy Spirit's power for victory over the sin nature, may we (2) KEEP utilizing the Spirit's gifting for effective ministry and may we (3) KEEP heeding God's written Word that we may enjoy CERTAIN EXPERIENTIAL victory over the world and Satan THROUGHOUT our earthly lives no matter WHAT our earthly lives hold in our FUTURES! NO OTHER MORTALS HAVE THIS DEGREE OF ASSURED BLESSING RELATIVE TO THE UNKNOWN FUTURE OF THIS LIFE AS DO "FATHERS" WHO LIVE LIKE THIS!