He Who Is in Us Is Greater - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2025

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

He Who Is in Us Is Greater
You don't have to be older before you need to stand up against the enemy. John calls all the believers children in the sense that they are born of God (Gr. tekna). On the other hand, he differentiates between fathers, young men, and little children (Gr. teknia) in regard to their spiritual growth. With the latter Greek term, John addresses babes in Christ, very young in the faith. Someone who gets saved at 80 years old is a babe in Christ. The "little" ones have great privileges—as we all do—for the Holy Spirit lives in them since the moment they became believers (Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 5:4-5). God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are together involved in the new birth and in our functioning as Christians (Eph. 2:18). This is a divine mystery, for sure, but also a divine reality, thank God!

"He who is in you" in the above verse refers to the Holy Spirit who represents the Father and the Son. He is definitely "greater than he who is in the world," the enemy. How simple, yet how profound! Through Him, the "little children" can discern between right and wrong. He also helps them to confess "Jesus Christ come in the flesh" (1 Jn. 4:2). Besides, we all need to grow spiritually and cultivate the relationship with the Father and the Son, as well as with fellow believers. Let's realize that John was in fellowship with the other apostles and their ministry—the "us" of chapter 4, verse 6—even though they had already passed away. For us today, the same privileges and challenges remain, because the foundations the apostles have laid are still valid and essential: nothing more, nothing less. Are we satisfied with the One in us who "is greater" than he who is in the world, or not?

Alfred E. Bouter