Anthony Pritchard
Active Member
Blotting Out
Where the Name Endures and Faith Prevails
Overcoming (Part 2)
Blotting out is one of the most solemn themes in Scripture, and it is directly tied to the matter of overcoming. Overcoming begins with the believer’s relationship to the truth. Simply put, there are names in the Book of Life; some will not be blotted out, which means that some will be. This teaches us that all mankind conceived begins with their name in that Book. The Book of Life begins full; it is diminished only by unbelief. Scripture does not present overcoming as a contest of strength but as the steady alignment of the heart with what God has revealed. The believer is called, drawn, and awakened by the word of God, and overcoming is the human response to that divine initiative. It is not the result of human effort, but neither is it passive. It is the believer answering the voice that called him out of darkness and into light.
Revelation 3:5 presents both a promise and a warning: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Only the overcomer retains his name in the Book of Life. But Scripture does not leave us to guess who the overcomer is. John answers plainly: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4–5. The overcomer is the born again believer. To believe on Christ is to be born of God; to be born of God is to overcome. Salvation is not earned, it is received. And once received, it cannot be revoked.
This is where the matter of blotting out becomes clear. Blotting out is not the removal of sin, nor the erasure of a charge. It is the removal of a name. The name of a person that does not overcome, that is not born again, that is n is the name that is taken out. The name that answers the call of God, the name that believes, the name that is born of God, is the name that remains. Overcoming is the evidence of that remaining. It is the believer responding to what God initiates.
John’s writings make this pattern unmistakable. The one who is born of God, who is born again. overcomes because he believes, and the life of God is in him. The victory is His, not the work of man. The believer overcomes because he belongs to the One who overcame. The world’s pull, the flesh’s weakness, and the enemy’s accusations do not define the believer’s destiny. The believer’s destiny is defined by the life he has received. Overcoming is the expression of that life. It is the believer choosing truth over deception, light over darkness, and Christ over the world’s demands.
If you have not yet read my meditation on the phrase “in no wise,” I encourage you to do so. It explains the force of the absolute negation used in the New Testament and how Christ employs it to assure the believer of His unbreakable promise. The strongest language of Scripture is used to guarantee that the one who comes to Him is received forever. That study is posted separately under the title Absolute Assurance and Absolute Negation: “In No Wise” - The Strongest Promise Ever Spoken. It provides the foundation for understanding why overcoming is the natural response of the one who is born of God and why the believer’s name remains secure.
Nomen manet victori - The name remains to the overcomer.
~Tony
© A.K. Pritchard 1979 -
Free to use with proper attribution.
Where the Name Endures and Faith Prevails
Overcoming (Part 2)
Blotting out is one of the most solemn themes in Scripture, and it is directly tied to the matter of overcoming. Overcoming begins with the believer’s relationship to the truth. Simply put, there are names in the Book of Life; some will not be blotted out, which means that some will be. This teaches us that all mankind conceived begins with their name in that Book. The Book of Life begins full; it is diminished only by unbelief. Scripture does not present overcoming as a contest of strength but as the steady alignment of the heart with what God has revealed. The believer is called, drawn, and awakened by the word of God, and overcoming is the human response to that divine initiative. It is not the result of human effort, but neither is it passive. It is the believer answering the voice that called him out of darkness and into light.
Revelation 3:5 presents both a promise and a warning: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Only the overcomer retains his name in the Book of Life. But Scripture does not leave us to guess who the overcomer is. John answers plainly: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4–5. The overcomer is the born again believer. To believe on Christ is to be born of God; to be born of God is to overcome. Salvation is not earned, it is received. And once received, it cannot be revoked.
This is where the matter of blotting out becomes clear. Blotting out is not the removal of sin, nor the erasure of a charge. It is the removal of a name. The name of a person that does not overcome, that is not born again, that is n is the name that is taken out. The name that answers the call of God, the name that believes, the name that is born of God, is the name that remains. Overcoming is the evidence of that remaining. It is the believer responding to what God initiates.
John’s writings make this pattern unmistakable. The one who is born of God, who is born again. overcomes because he believes, and the life of God is in him. The victory is His, not the work of man. The believer overcomes because he belongs to the One who overcame. The world’s pull, the flesh’s weakness, and the enemy’s accusations do not define the believer’s destiny. The believer’s destiny is defined by the life he has received. Overcoming is the expression of that life. It is the believer choosing truth over deception, light over darkness, and Christ over the world’s demands.
If you have not yet read my meditation on the phrase “in no wise,” I encourage you to do so. It explains the force of the absolute negation used in the New Testament and how Christ employs it to assure the believer of His unbreakable promise. The strongest language of Scripture is used to guarantee that the one who comes to Him is received forever. That study is posted separately under the title Absolute Assurance and Absolute Negation: “In No Wise” - The Strongest Promise Ever Spoken. It provides the foundation for understanding why overcoming is the natural response of the one who is born of God and why the believer’s name remains secure.
Absolute Negation
Absolute Assurance and Absolute Negation “In No Wise”: The Strongest Promise Ever Spoken Introductory Note: I am posting this meditation to explain the meaning and force of the phrase “in no wise” as it appears in Scripture. A simply study of the language of Scripture and the assurance Christ...
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Nomen manet victori - The name remains to the overcomer.
~Tony
© A.K. Pritchard 1979 -
Free to use with proper attribution.