Poem: THE VICTORY THAT OVERCOMES THE WORLD 1 John 5
Whoever believes, with heart made still,
That Jesus is the Christ of will,
Is born of God, by grace made new,
A life begun, both firm and true.
And he who loves the Father’s name
Will love the child who shares that claim;
For love, once kindled from above,
Flows outward still in faithful love.
By this we know that love is right,
When walked in truth, when held in light;
When God’s commands are not a weight,
Nor chains that bind, nor rules that grate.
For what He speaks is good and wise,
A path where truest freedom lies;
And those born of Him gladly move
Within the bounds His words approve.
For all born of God shall overcome
The restless world, its beating drum;
Its passing pride, its fleeting show,
Its empty gleam, its hollow glow.
And this the victory, sure and broad,
Our living faith that clings to God;
Not sight, nor strength, nor earthly claim,
But trust that rests in Jesus’ name.
Who overcomes the world’s array?
The one who walks the narrow way,
Who holds that Jesus is the Son,
The Holy and Eternal One.
He came by water and by blood,
Not word alone, but crimson flood;
And by the Spirit, ever true,
Who bears this witness clear to view.
For there are three who testify,
Whose voices cannot speak a lie:
The Spirit, water, and the blood,
In perfect accord, in sacred flood.
If we receive what men declare,
Shall we not heed God’s witness there?
For greater still the voice divine
That seals the truth of Christ’s design.
He who believes within the Son
Has witness there, a hidden one;
A testimony, deep and sure,
That shall through every age endure.
But he who will not trust this word
Has made a liar of the Lord;
For he rejects what God has shown
Concerning Christ, His only Son.
And this the record, bright and clear:
That God has given life sincere,
Eternal life, not faint nor brief,
Not bound to time, nor lost in grief.
This life is found in Christ alone,
The Son in whom the light has shone;
He who has Him possesses life,
Beyond the reach of death and strife.
These things are written, firm and plain,
That you may know, and not in vain,
That you possess, through faith made whole,
Eternal life within the soul.
Not guess, nor hope that sways with breath,
But settled truth that conquers death;
A knowledge anchored, deep and wide,
Where doubt and fear no more abide.
And this the boldness we may claim,
When we approach His holy name:
That if we ask in will aligned,
With hearts made pure, with yielded mind,
He hears, He answers, though unseen,
And works within what lies between;
So what we ask, in faith we hold,
As treasures granted, sure and told.
If one should see his brother stray,
Yet not in sin that ends the way,
Let prayer arise, let mercy plead,
And God shall grant him life indeed.
There is a sin, both grave and deep,
Where hardened souls no longer weep;
Of this I speak with measured tone,
For such is known to God alone.
We know that those of God’s own birth
Do not make sin their path on earth;
For He who keeps them, strong and near,
Preserves their steps, removes their fear.
The wicked one, though fierce and wild,
Cannot lay hold on God’s own child;
A guarded life, a sheltered flame,
Kept by the power of Jesus’ name.
We know that we are born of God,
Though all the world beneath the rod
Of darkness lies, in shadow cast,
A system built that cannot last.
Yet we are given eyes to see,
Through Christ, the truth of what shall be;
The Son has come, and we have known
The living God upon His throne.
And we are in Him, true and right,
In Jesus Christ, the Life, the Light;
This is the God both sure and real,
The One no falsehood can conceal.
Eternal life is found in Him,
Not fading out, nor growing dim;
The source, the sum, the end, the start—
The beating of the faithful heart.
Little children, hear once more,
A closing word, both rich and sure:
Keep far from idols, false and vain,
From all that seeks the heart to chain.
Let nothing take the sacred place
Of Him who saves by boundless grace;
For He alone is life above—
The God of truth, the God of love.
BDD
