1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2: Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 4: Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 5: They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6: We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Introduction

As we have been looking through this first epistle of John, we have seen that this letter is about assurance. It’s about truth. It’s about certainty and confidence. The more I study this book the more I am convinced the great importance of this book. Why? Because we live in a world of doubt and lies and errors and deception. And we need to hear truth and reassuring words. We need to hear and to know that despite the attacks we face as believers, the Christian life can be lived in victory. In this letter, John is dealing with those who are trying to deceive the believers he is ministering and at the same time he wants the true believers to have biblical assurance and confidence.

1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

This is a comforting and reassuring words. John begins this verse seeking to assure his readers that they are from God, that is, they are children of God. Oh, how we need to hear this truth today. With all the bombardment of false teachings in the church today, we, believers must never forget we belong to God and are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us and then live in the light of that truth.

I like what Steven Cole says regarding this phrase “ye are of God”, “He is pointing again to the new birth. Christianity is not just a matter of subscribing to certain creeds or correct doctrines, although that is essential. It is a matter of being born of God so that you receive new life from Him and become His child. This new birth is absolutely essential if you want to be able to understand and hold to the truth.”

This morning I invite you to consider with me 1 John 4:4 in three headings, namely, the Conflict, the Commendation, and the Cause.

I – The Conflict

We must remember that just because we are children of God does not mean we are exempt from struggle and conflict. John speaking of the believers writes this, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them”. The word “overcome” alone implies conflict and opposition. It implies enemies. We have enemies who seek to bring us down and they try to do this by their false doctrines and false accusation. The original recipients of this letter were facing threats and persecution and deception.

This conflict is not new. In the very beginning of human existence in the book of Genesis we see that the devil has declared war against God. The devil came declaring war against God and attacking the crown of God’s creation - mankind. He came throwing fiery darts of temptation and he still does, specially at the children of God. And so, Paul in Ephesians 6:16 says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

God made everything good and beautiful, but the devil seeks to destroy and corrupt it. He is clearly evil. Listen to what Jesus says of him in …

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Hiebert on 1 John 4:1-6 - “The conflict now presented forms the final aspect of the conflicts that mark the Christian life which John has been depicting since chapter 2 verse 18. He has already dealt with the conflict between truth and falsehood (2:18–28), the conflict between the children of God and the children of the Devil (2:29–3:12), and the conflict between love and hatred (3:13–24). This section points to the supernatural character of this conflict as ultimately involving ‘the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.’”

These are the conflicts that we face today as believers. But now the apostle John will tell us that the true believers he is writing overcame the false teachers. This brings us to the second heading which is …

II – The Commendation

1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them …

The Christians to which John is writing have overcome the false teachers. They have conquered them in that they have not been seduced by the false teachers’ deception. The false teachers have denied the doctrine that Jesus Christ the Son of God has come in the flesh. They have denied the deity and the humanity of Jesus Christ. But John commends the believers because they were not taken in by the false teachers’ defective views of Christ. They did not yield. They stood firm. They remained orthodox and faithful to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God.

John later in this letter writes in 1 John 5:4, “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?”

John asks a rhetorical question here, “Who is he that overcometh the world?” The answer is obvious—those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. John’s point is that everyone who is born of God is an overcomer. You may not feel like an overcomer today, but according to the Bible, children of God are victorious people. We don’t always see it. We don’t always feel it. We don’t always live like it. But it is true, nonetheless.

Consider the words of the Apostle Paul in …

Romans 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 

So regardless of whether you feel like it or not, dear tried child of God, know that you can and will overcome all evil opposition in Christ. Walther Günther explains overcome, “The battle has thus been decided, even if it is not yet over. By faith Christians participate in this victory and are thus placed in a position to overcome the world for themselves.”

III – The Cause

How did they overcome? Their enemy is not simply human. Paul explains in Ephesians 6:12 that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Our struggle is not against people made of flesh and blood though it seems that way most of the time. We are fighting against powers and forces that are unseen. It is Satan himself, who empowers the false prophets. Satan himself is the spirit behind the false teachers, and he is extremely subtle and deceptive. We are no match to Satan. So, how then did they conquer? For sure not because they were strong, not because they were intelligent or smart, not because they went to Bible school or seminary. John says they conquered “because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” They have overcome and remained faithful to the doctrine of Christ because of the God who is in them. It was the greatness of God that kept them bring deceived. It was the fact that God was greater than the spirit that was at work behind the teachers of error. This is what will keep you and me to stand firm in our faith in the Word of God today.

Now, who is John referring to as greater than the enemy? He could be referring to Christ who is in them. Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. But in the context of John is speaking about the Spirit. 1 John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” I believe he specifically referring to the Holy Spirit in them, and Who is infinitely greater than the spirit of the antichrist.

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20: For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Every believer has the Spirit of God abiding within and every believer can experience personal victory over the evil spirits through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. There may be “many false prophets are gone out into the world” but we can overcome them because the One who is in us is greater than all!

As a believer you are an overcomer because greater is He that is in you. He who is dwelling in you is God. God abiding in you; Christ dwelling in you by His Spirit. Understand that He is in you; not merely on your side, nor around you, but within you. He is working in you, and He is for you. Now, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Ro 8:31) Truly, “we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Ro 8:37)

Henry Morris writes, “The devil may be ‘the god of this world’ and have a multitude of demonic spirits under his control, but the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer is the omnipotent God. As long as we neither ‘grieve the Spirit’ nor ‘quench the Spirit’, we can take great comfort in knowing that through the Spirit and His Word we can overcome the wicked one”.

Closing Thought

I pray that you have been encouraged by the message today. Life is hard. Life is difficult and we are bombarded with falsehood, and we are surrounded with adversity. But those who are in Christ have nothing to fear. Remember that if you are a child of God, you are not without truth and guidance. Remember that if you belong to God, you have overcome, “because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” The God Who dwells in you is greater than all! Our God is greater than anyone or anything we will ever face. Our enemy will continue to throw darts of deception and accusation at us, seeking our defeat, but he will not be successful as long as we abide in Christ. If God is for us, and we know He is, who or what could prevail against us? The Spirit of God will lead us as long as we seek the Lord. He will give us spiritual discernment in these difficult times. John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. Isn’t it comforting to know that the Lord is not just on our side, but graciously and powerfully keeping us within His care!

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;

Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:

For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;

His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;

Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:

Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;

Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,

And He must win the battle.

1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

The great and precious truth that we have learned from this passage applies only to those who are of God, to those who belong to God. And so, the all-important question this morning is, are you of God? Can you confidently say that you belong to God? Can you confidently say that you are a child of God? Can you say without a shadow of out that your eternal home and destiny is Heaven? Do you know Christ as your personal Saviour? If not, by the authority of God’s Word, I invite you to come to Christ and to come without delay. Call upon His name and confess the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour.

AMEN!