This morning Graham looked at 1 John 4:1-4, looking in depth at verse 4 and the difference between the ‘one who is in us’ and the ‘one who is in the world.’

 

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1 John 4:4

…the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world

 

Intro
From last week – The Spirits
John is indicated that behind people’s comments or teachings there can be a spiritual influence, and in some cases an actual spirit. In order to assess the truth of a teaching it helps to try and identify its root, where it is coming from. This is as relevant today as it was then.

The Test
(a) “Acknowledges” or “confesses”. This is more than agreement with something. See James 2:19; Mark 1:24. It is the belief or conviction that is being communicated.
(b) The doctrine. That Jesus has come in the flesh. This is the core doctrine of what is known as the ‘incarnation’. Jesus was the one who had existed from the beginning and was both true God and true man.

I recommended my sermon of 20 Feb 2011, available on yorkelim.com when I taught in some details about the Trinitarian nature of God.

This week
1 John 4:4 …the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

The battle for ownership of the souls of men and women is still raging. This battle is raging in spiritual realms far removed from us. It also rages in our own realm and involves us, draws us in. This is a warning about the seriousness of the battle, yet a reassurance that they could know they were secure.

1) the one who is in the world.
He Exists
This person is often mentioned by Jesus by the title of “prince of this world”

John 12:31 Now is the time for judgement on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

John 14:30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me…

John 16:7-11 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

This awareness of opposition was a characteristic of the young church and features in Paul’s letters as a feature of the Christian life.

See Ephesians 6:10-13
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Far fetched? In current British culture there is a reluctance to admit to such powers. Those who do admit to believing they exist are often sneered at as foolishly superstitious.

Two replies to the sneering:
1 What of their own superstitions that are widely accepted? The sportsman with his ‘lucky’ routine, Horoscopes, “Touch Wood”, etc.
2 No shyness or apology is needed from us. If there is a God, and there are powers beyond our sight, neither miracles nor spiritual opposition should surprise us. If an enemy seems far fetched to them we can tell them we believe in stuff even more far fetched than that. More far fetched and more glorious.

Such as:
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

or
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

or Colossians 3:1-4
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

No clear information is given in the scriptures about our enemy. There are mentions, using the prophetic literary genre, there is poetry and Jesus sometimes used metaphor.

2) he one who is in you is greater

This, judging by the context, is referring to that spirit of the Antichrist rather than an earthly power.

See also:
1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. – He is not a lion, he is a rat with a megaphone.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Verse 4 “…Have overcome them…” Their victory was already in the past. See 1 John 2:13-14.

This is a present victory with a past and continuing withstanding of the influence of the false teachers, with the assurance that they will continue to do so.

We need to go back to the context to be sure we are getting the details of the meaning here. This is about confidence in the Holy Spirit in the believers, in the face of false teaching and the spirit behind false teaching.

One Pentecostal distinctive is confidence in the Holy Spirit. Some may say that is obvious, as the Holy Spirit is of the Holy Trinity and it is like saying we have confidence in God – which is obvious.

Let me illustrate:
I was sitting among a group of Christians that represented different brands of Christianity. One of them was delighted to mention that a young man they knew had become a Christian. They were confident about the authenticity of his experience of Christ and already spoke of him as born-again.
There then followed a conversation about whether anyone knew of any Christians who could connect with him after he left the city. I listened to an obvious anxiety that he would somehow fall from faith.
My contribution to the conversation was to say that God could cope, that the Holy Spirit within him would be his guide, and that all he needed to do in his new location was to pray and ask for good fellowship or for God to take care of him if that good fellowship was not how God chose to answer the prayer. My hearers seemed surprised. I realised they did not think like me.

That is what I mean about confidence in the Holy Spirit.

1 John 2:19-20,27
19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit— just as it has taught you, remain in him.

3) in you
Jesus in the believer
1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Chapter 4, where we find today’s scripture follows from this same theme of Christ abiding in a believer.

See 1 John 3:23-24
And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

See also:
1 John 2:27
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit— just as it has taught you, remain in him.

1 John 3:9
No-one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

The abiding Holy Spirit
John 7:37-39
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Acts 1:4,5,8
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
5 For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 2:38,39
Peter replied, Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off— for all whom the Lord our God will call.

Acts 8:14-17
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Acts 9:17-19
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord— Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here— has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptised, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.

Acts 19:1-6
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? They answered, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. So Paul asked, Then what baptism did you receive? John’s baptism, they replied. Paul said, John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

Luke 11:9-13
So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Application
Those who have received the Holy Spirit should know what now lives within them. Many of the appeals to seek more, or come forward for prayer to receive more, are more about the needs of the preacher than those listening.

Know what you have!

  • The Truth abides within you (also known as Jesus).
  • The Spirit abides within you (the spirit of Jesus).
  • He abides, doesn’t keep wandering off.
  • He will be within you as you face the challenges and opportunities of this week.