Bible Study
To live victoriously is to always overcome, to always conquer, to always prevail, to always triumph, to win all the time.
Every Christian should live a life of perpetual victory because of the finished work of Christ (1 John 5:4, 2 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:37).
In Part 1 of this study, we discussed the requirement for living a victorious Christian life- you must be born of God. First John 5:4 says everyone born of God overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). Please read up on The Scope of the Christian Victory in Part 2 and How Christians Became Victorious in Part 3.
Today we consider How Faith, Love and Hope Mix Together for Victorious Christian Living.
I John 5:4 says that the victory that overcomes the world is faith. Faith is the assurance, confidence, conviction, confirmation that we have the things we desire and hope for (Hebrews 11:1).
Therefore faith is central to the Christian victory. But faith doesn’t work alone; faith works with love and it is anchored on hope.
One of the truths uncovered in the study ‘More Than The Dynamics of Faith‘ is that the ‘works’ required to energize or power faith are what we do towards God and man including our expressions of love.
“So you see that Abraham’s faith and what he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did.”
James 2:22 ERV
Faith is perfected and completed by works. Without works faith is dead (James 2:26 NKJV). Living faith is therefore that which is mixed with works.
If we consider the hypothetical example of James 2:14-16 of a sister/brother in need who is sent off with only a ‘goodwill message‘ by another brother without an accompanying physical help or provision, this shows a faith that is without works or good deeds. How? Well, one reason people may not readily share what they have with others is if they think they don’t have enough for themselves. So there’s the fear of having less by giving out. A person acting in faith would share while believing God to supply and replenish. In this case then, the expected works is to give.
So faith is activated through words (Mark 11:24) powered by love (James 2:26 NKJV) and anchored by hope (Hebrews 6:19, Hebrews 11:1).
And for me, no scripture better shows the union between these 3 elements like 1 Thessalonians 1:3….
“remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father”
I Thessalonians 1:3 NKJV
First Corinthians chapter 13, is the love chapter (if you like). It clearly enumerates the characteristics of God-kind of love (we will discuss these later in this study). The 13th and last verse of this chapter lends credence to the union and inter-relatedness of faith, hope and love.
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13 NKJV
“And so faith, hope, love abide [faith–conviction and belief respecting man’s relation to God and divine things; hope–joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love–true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.“
1 Corinthians 13:13 AMPC
Hope provides an anchor for faith
Faith works with love and it is sustained by hope.
Hope is the joyful and confident expectation that we will indeed see and experience the things our faith has captured. Hope is the anchor for faith and it is based on the Word (Psalms 119:49, Jeremiah 17:7, I Timothy 1:1, Colossians 1:27).
Without hope, faith will fade, it will lapse, our believing will cease, we will tire out without the patience and endurance of hope. The reason we confidently expect things to change for our good and in our favor is because of the finished work of Christ. So, hope is the BECAUSE of our our BELIEVE. We don’t believe/unbelieve based on obvious circumstances. We believe because of Christ. Christ in us is our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). We overcome because the greater One lives in us (I John 4:4.
Hope does not allow faith slip away. When people experience repeated challenges in their health or any area of life, at some point the tendency to give and say ‘this thing is not working’ is there. Hope in Christ immediately reminds one that irrespective of how many times the devil attacks, Jesus finished His work. It is settled. Hope thus keeps faith steady, unwavering and steadfast.
Love makes faith complete and perfect.
I find it interesting that faith and love are frequently mentioned alongside each other in scriptures (Ephesians 3:17, Ephesians 1:15, Colossians 1:4, I Timothy 1:14, I Thessalonians 5:8, II Timothy 1:13, I Thessalonians 3:6).
I also find it very instructive that immediately following Jesus’s teaching on Faith in Mark 11:22-24 is His admonition to forgive others, especially when we pray…..
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Mark 11:25-26 NKJV
Unconditional forgiveness is a characteristic of love. Indeed, as we see in 1 Corinthians, the God kind of love is so much more than what we many times describe as love. Among many other attributes, love forgets, it keeps no record of wrong done. Sometimes there are legitimate a d cogent reasons not to forgive, but 1 Corinthians 13 gives no room to such excuses. Love is a command (John 13:34).
So don’t spend one hour speaking to God about your temporarily defiant teenager while the rest of the day you rain unimaginable abuses on him for not behaving well. Don’t spend one hour speaking faith words over your erring spouse while you meet up later with your buddies to mock him/her over drink. Don’t spend endless time praying about your current job, speaking faith for a new one, while you are not working in love with your current team.
Don’t say you are trusting God to get married while you waste no time to castigate established marriages rather than seize good opportunities to sow into them. Don’t say you’re believing God for a child and it never occurs to you to invest in newborn babies around you; you can give gifts to them, that’s works.
Some healings will not manifest with 10, 20, or more people on our ‘list of enemies’. Just like doubt and selfish prayers, unforgiveness hinders our prayers and hence deter our victory. Strongholds are not just satanic forces or influences, strongholds can be grudges or unforgiveness. And the devil capitalizes on these to keep saints oppressed and depressed.
Mix your faith with love and anchor it on hope
A fine mix of faith, love and hope is necessary for winning in life. The victory that overcomes the world is faith.
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” I John 5:4.
Therefore faith is central to experiencing Victorious Christian Living, however, faith doesn’t work alone. Faith is activated through words (Mark 11:24) powered by love (James 2:26 NKJV) and anchored by hope (Hebrews 6:19, Hebrews 11:1).
A living, perfect and unwavering faith is one anchored by hope and perfected by love (James 2:14-16, Colossians 1:27). This is effective faith.
Enjoy victory everyday and everywhere; mix your faith with love and anchor it on the Christian hope (Christ in you).
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Blessings & Love Always
