1 John 4:4: He Who Is In Us Is Greater

1 John 4:4 "Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. How many times have you heard that phrase before? It's another one of those Christian phrases that gets thrown around a lot, but do we actually know what it means? And even if we do know what it means, do we knows its context? I would like to propose to you this morning that the phrase he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world has everything to do with battling the lies of the world and how we can overcome them through the power of God.

If we look at 1 John 4:4 in context we see that this verse is giving us hope and strength in "testing the spirits to see whether they are from God" (1 John 4:1). In this section of 1 John, John is encouraging his readers to judge the spirits (that is, people and their teachings) of this world to see whether they are the truth and therefore of God, or whether they are false and therefore of the evil one. Amidst this exhortation, John encourages us that he who is in us (that is, the Holy Spirit of God) is greater than he who is in the world.

Let us first and foremost note that this is a great verse for combatting the lie of this culture that we cannot "judge" someone else's opinion. We live in a postmodern age where "my truth is not your truth" and therefore we cannot "judge" someone else's opinion on something because that would be "discriminatory." We cannot say that abortion is wrong and we cannot say homosexuality is sin because that would make us "unfair." However, the Bible says otherwise. Rather than dismissing falsehood, the Bible encourages us to test all people and their teachings to find whether or not they are true--that is, whether or not they are from God. Although this does not warrant us to be biblical jerks who beat people with the truth of God's word, don't show mercy, and dish out hatred, it does warrant (and even command) us to find what is true and what is false, and live accordingly.

This is where the wonderful phrase we are speaking of here today comes in. These false lies that the culture tells us are often tempting to believe in. Furthermore, they influence the world around us and affect the way we try to live and function (I will give an example of this in the next paragraph). However, he who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. God is our strength when it comes to fighting the lies that this world tells us. He is strong enough to both help us discern them as well as combat them with truth. And the best part of all is that power is not only with us, but in us.

Let us bring this down to surface level. Many of the lies that the "spirits of the world" tell us in today's culture are as follows: truth is relative, God is irrelevant, homosexuality is morally acceptable, abortion is not murder, gender is changeable (fluid? negotiable? dare I say optional?), and heaven is attainable by works. How do we combat these lies? First, we must discern whether they are of the truth of God or of the falsehood of the world. Clearly all of the statements above are false, but try telling that to a secular college professor with three Ph.D.'s who has heard every Christian argument under the sun and is ready to debate. The point is that oftentimes it is harder to defend our faith than we admit. However, he who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. Furthermore, try living out any of those beliefs in our culture. People will insult you, call you crazy and unfair, and even work against you and try to harm you. However, he who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. Does this phrase make more sense now in its true context? I sure hope so.

So, how have you dealt with the world's lies? Have you taken heart that he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world? Have you "tested the spirits" of this age that you might know what is false and live accordingly? Or have you cowered down, given up, and lost the battle because you didn't want to fight against the lies of this world for fear of persecution? I encourage you: take heart. For he who is in you truly is greater than he who is in the world.