Overcoming the world
The sequence from 1 John 2:14-15 seems abrupt: John moves from addressing children, fathers, and young men to the warning not to love the world. But there is a link between the “overcoming” in 2:14 to the “world” in 2:15. Every other time the verb “overcome” is used in John, it is closely linked with the Christian’s relationship with the “world.”
4:4: “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
5:4-5: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world - our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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