1 John 4:4,5 - He who is in you is greater

4:4

John again uses the affectionate term “little children”, then talks about them overcoming the antiChrist. So there is a familial term and then a more warrior like term. We need to grasp both these concepts. We belong to God, we are His children, He is our Father and we are dearly loved. There is belonging and security. At the same time we are in a battle, but it is a battle that we win.

The gnostics would have been sowing doubt and insecurity in the people, John reassures them that they are from God. This is quite a statement! Moreover, we have overcome the false teachers. The one who is in us, ie the Holy Spirit, is greater than the one who is in the world. We need to know this in our day. Society in the West seems to be in the grip of ungodly madness, this can make us fearful, but it should not, for the one who is in us is stronger than the one who is in the world. The world is following a defeated spirit.

4:5

We need to realise that we live in a fallen world, in a world that is in deliberate rebellion against God. So when the world speaks we should not be surprised if what it says is in direct contradiction to what God says. There are times and places when a society is founded on roughly Christian values, as much of the West was for a long time. This is not saying society was perfect, far from it as many wars, atrocities and social injustices testify, but the underpinnings were broadly Christian. Now in the West our societies are increasingly based on entirely unChristian principles. The undermining of marriage and the so-called sexual revolution are perhaps the most obvious examples of this, but the increasing desire to remove any references to our Christian heritage, the devaluing of human life etc are all signs of this happening.  So the world speaks rubbish, evil rubbish, and the world listens to itself. We should not be surprised.