THE GREATER ONE
1 John 4:4 NKJV
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Here is one of my favorite and most quoted verses in the Bible. There are three truths in this verse that I am still excited about. One of the beautiful things about God’s living word is that we never exhaust all the depths and dimensions of its truth. There is always more to see in greater depth and understanding.
“You are of God, little children.” Another translation says you are from God. Another says you belong to God. I like, you are from God, the best. This tells me that we have been spiritually recreated, and we are God’s children. Some say we are all God’s children, but that is not theologically true. John, in his gospel, said that as many as have received Jesus, to these were given the right to become children of God. We are all creations of God, but only those who have made Jesus their Lord are born of God. In his epistle or letter, John speaks of being born of God and contrasts those who are of the world and those who are of God. We are of God, and we’ll celebrate that truth throughout eternity.
“And have overcome them.” This is such great news. Not only are we born of God, from Him, but we overcome all the work of the evil one, all the false prophets, and the spirit of Antichrist. Do I understand all the evil spirits that are in the world? Nope, but I do know the most important thing. Being born of God already puts me on the winning team. Everything else is no big deal.
Here is the reason why we are such overcomers: because greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. The He, who is in us, is the Spirit of the living God, the Holy Spirit. This is one of the greatest truths and benefits to being a child of God. That God would give us His Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, to come and live in us. And not only does He live in us, but He is there for a purpose. The Holy Spirit has been given to us to help us. Jesus told His disciples that it was to their advantage that He, Jesus, went away. Because if He went away to heaven, the Holy Spirit would come to live in them. And He would be there as their Helper. But the same Spirit that was in Peter, James, and John is the same Spirit, the same Helper, that has come to us. He has come to teach us and guide us into all truth. He is in us to help us as we meet the works of Satan, our enemy. And He is there to help us overcome, not simply survive. It’s no wonder that Satan has fought the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for so long. The more we know how much the Holy Spirit helps us, the more we overcome all the works of the devil.
When I came back to the Lord over 40 years ago, we used to sing a song that I still sing. “Greater is He who is in me. Greater is He who is in me. Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.” The words are simple but powerful and true. This is a verse worth memorizing and meditating on. What a privilege to be born of God as an overcomer and empowered by the mighty Spirit of God.
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, that I am of You, and I am an overcomer. Thank You that the Greater One is living in me now, regardless of what I see or how I feel.