He is Stronger

“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.”—1 John 4:4

As Christians we overcome, but not because of anything we can do. By ourselves, we are nothing. That is the difficulty with many of the prosperity preachers and Word of Faith teachers in our world. They believe God is a “Genie in a Bible,” whereby we command and God acts—He has made it so. But, that is a completely skewed view of the Bible, a perversion and distortion of truth, and not the God of the Bible. That is idolatry. The God of the Bible is far different.

He is the Sovereign Lord of the universe and we come to Him humbly, but boldly because of what Jesus Christ has done. God, in a mystery that is beyond our ability to understand, has enabled us to be partakers of the divine nature. He has given unto us a portion (if it can be called a portion) of Himself. We are given His Spirit to dwell within us, to lead us into all truth—that is, into the knowledge of Him who is truth so that we might know how to live according to God’s standards and avoid the sin that so easily entangles. In years past, the Holy Spirit was also known as the “Holy Ghost” a word picture that conveys the idea of the divine presence within us, alive and well.

The apostle John, the writer of our text today wrote to a group of believers that had been decimated by false teaching. They were hurting, inside and out, with collateral damage of false teachers that had infiltrated the ranks of God and had poisoned the saints. They were damaged, despairing, and perhaps a bit depressed. John writes to encourage, exhort, and admonish them in their walk with Christ. He wants them to understand that they are from God and have already overcome their enemies, because God is in them, and God cannot fail. Satan is mighty, but is paltry and pathetic when placed next to God. Satan’s power looks like a dim 40 watt bulb in a dark room compared to God’s blazing glory and power displayed by the noon day sun. God is infinitely stronger. He is self-existent—He has no creator, Satan is part of the creation. God is all-powerful, Satan is not. God is all-knowing, Satan is limited. God is everywhere at one time, Satan is confined by space and time. God, being God, gives to us His creation, who trust in the sacrifice of His son, His Spirit so that we might be preserved and persevere until He comes again or we die. This world cannot hold us, it cannot stop us, and it cannot silence us. As one missionary said when facing persecution, “You can kill us, but you can’t harm us.” We are guaranteed to overcome. We may lose our lives, but by our death we overcome! By how we live and how we die, we show how great and excellent Christ is! It doesn’t matter what Satan may throw at us, for nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ! We are guaranteed to overcome and all of the universe will finally see, when we stand in the presence of God at the end of time as we know it.

Be strong today, loved one! Know that Satan cannot keep you down, or chained in your sin if you are a believer in Christ! God will guide, free, and strengthen you to lead the life that He has intended—which is for His glory! Trust in Him and by God’s grace, overcome!