We shall overcome

It's no secret that I love Christian Ska, I was recently overjoyed by the news of Five Iron Frenzy's return, indeed it is because of Christian Ska that I know my wife. The OC Supertones had a great song called We Shall Overcome and as I looked at 1 John this morning I found a strong basis for the Supertones' Statement.

1 John 4 speaks of spirits from God and from the world:
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1 John 4:4-6 NIV)
We are from God, says John, because we acknowledge Jesus as God in the flesh. It is a fitting thing to remember in advent that which sets Christianity apart, Christianity is about God reaching down to us to save us. Sometimes we can forget that God is more powerful than those that fight against us, sometimes our arguments seem so frail against our supposedly smart friends and we can forget about God's power. The spirits of the world are attractive to those who are of the world, and so the world will listen to them more than it will listen to God. We are doing God's work and so we know that we will overcome. It is through listening to God's word that we can know what is true and what is false.

The Supertones were right to say We shall overcome, but that's just part of the story, we have already overcame, Jesus has already won and we're just here waiting for his victory lap.