First Sunday after Easter AD 2026

What does “overcome the world” mean? When the New Testament speaks of the world, it refers to two things. First, it denotes God’s wondrous creation—the magnificent cosmos that includes our own beautiful planet as well as the entire universe. Second, it refers to what may be called the godless world: all those who are subject to the power of sin, evil, and death.

When Saint John says, “whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world,” he is speaking of the latter—the godless world that lies under the dominion of sin, evil, and death. Thus, to “overcome the world” means to gain victory over sin, evil, and death.

Sin is what separates us from God and stands in opposition to our very nature. Therefore, sin is evil, for everything that separates us from God—our Creator and the source of life—is evil. Inseparably linked with this is death, because when we are separated from God, we are also separated from true life and are subject to death.

Faith in Jesus Christ overcomes the world and delivers us from the power of sin, evil, and death. True faith means entrusting ourselves to Him who has saved us; who has given everything to reconcile and reunite us with God; who did not shrink from death so that we might live. For “this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”