I have overcome the world
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
What would be one of the very difficult expressions to say in philosophical sense? It’s probably the words like that Jesus said, “I’ve overcome the world.” The world is an actual site of history where people live. Also it means, for an individual, the powers of all other things surrounding oneself. Therefore “I’ve overcome the world.” the word is that nobody can express if it does not on a position of the Lord God. And such words can be said only by the people believing in God. Jesus Christ was able to overcome the world, because He is the God who had existed already from the time of the world creation, and the Lord who came to save the world.
The lesson of Jesus when He stayed in the world could not escape from metaphors and symbols. For Jesus was the Lord from the kingdom of heaven, there was no choice but to talk about the kingdom of heaven. But those who listened to it could not understand the words Jesus said, on account of they had belonged to this world. Therefore Jesus’ lesson for people was bound to be a metaphor and symbol to the listener. But Jesus told disciples it will be talked clearly when the time come some later. And the spiritual eyes of man were finally opened newly by the presence of the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus, who ascended to heaven after the resurrection. Then by praying directly to God the Father in the name of Jesus, people became get enlightenment and response. All these changes were made possible by Jesus’ coming and the faith in Jesus.
Therefore, the cross of Jesus is a tool to extinguish the sins of man, and a bridge to connect man with God the Father. Anyone now can receive God’s grace through the cross of Jesus. A problem but left for person has to is what about and how much God’s love they receive. To be loved by God, we should know and love Christ Jesus. And if anybody listens to God’s words and obeys the lessons faithfully, he will be fully blessed. Some people make an effort to get any realization on human oneself, so-called, by leading an ascetic life of one’s moral sense. However even if they try so hard all their life, they will not learn about God and oneself right. Because it’s not a way they are walking on the right path of seeking after the Truth.
Jesus revealed his situation and said definitely. He said, in John 16:28, “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” This Jesus said has three contents: Christ who exists from the beginning forever, Christ who came to the world, and Christ who will ascend to heaven. That is a statement that clearly shows who Christ is and what He is for. Christ, who had existed from the beginning, came to the world, removed sins of all humans and resurrected, and went back to eternal kingdom of heaven. And after then the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus came, and the Spirit stays together in man now. When Jesus revealed on His future, the disciples said they believed in Jesus who had come from God.
But the disciples’ beliefs were still in an incomplete state. The faith they showed in appearance was nothing more than making up their minds. As the evidences, they were anxious and afraid when they were in crisis, and they denied Jesus and ran away. Belief of determination by will is important, of course, but it is only a faith of outer at the elementary level. Therefore, real faith cannot be made whole only by human will. That is same so, not only in faith, but like in any things a person does. With God’s permission and activities of the Holy Spirit together, human will and determination can make produce its results. Only after the disciples had been changed by coming of the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost, they could conduct actually the activities of evangelism for life-saving.
Even after three years with Jesus, the spiritual level of the disciples was nothing more than a child. Disciples would had follow Jesus, because they had seen the miracle of five breads and two fishes, and the miracle of cure of disease, and Jesus’ high personality and His great lesson. And yet they were scattered abandoning Jesus when at the critical situation. Only when you know Jesus who is with the Father, and Christ the Holy Trinity God, through the emotion of the Holy Spirit can you become a person who beats the world with peace and boldness in Jesus.
(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on June 27th 2021)