The Overcomers

The view that all believers are overcomers: According to this view, all believers become overcomers the moment they believe in Jesus Christ. The very act of believing overcomes the world: “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5). Faith, not faithfulness is the primary focus point in this position.

An overcomer is not someone who has some special power in the Christian life or someone who has learned some secret of victory. John himself defined an overcomer as a believer in Christ (I John 5:4-5). Thus every Christian is an overcomer, though the various promises in these seven letters are addressed particularly to each local believing group, and tailored to the special circumstances found in each church.

“This promise should not be construed as reward for only a special group of Christians but a normal expectation for all Christians.”

Note that a special word is spoken to the “overcomers” in each church (2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). These “overcomers” are not the “super-saints” in each church, a special group that will receive special privileges from Christ, but the true believers in each of these churches. We dare not assume that every member of every local church in every period of history is a true child of God. Those who truly belong to Christ are “overcomers” (1 John 5:4-5). In every period of history, there have been true saints in the professing church (often called “the invisible church”). Christ speaks a special word of encouragement to them, and certainly we may apply these words to ourselves today.12

But the promise is to “the overcomer.” Are all believers “overcomers”? Let him think twice who would answer a dogmatic “Yes” to this question. The letters to the seven churches, at least, suggested otherwise to an unprejudiced reader. Our standing in Christ is no artificial position of immunity. As there are degrees of punishment [in hell] so there are degrees of reward [in heaven]. One is made ruler over ten cities, another over five. “One star differeth from another star in glory.”14