1 John 4:4-6

1 John 4:4-6

You all are out of God, little children, and you all have conquered them because greater is the one who is in you all than the one who is in the world.  They are out of the world, because of this they speak out of the world and the world listens to them.  We are out of God; the one who knows God listens to us.  Whoever is not out of God does not listen to us.  Out of this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

John says, “You all have conquered them.”  The “them” in question is the people who have the spirit of an antichrist prom the passage that we studied yesterday.  John uses a great word when comparing those in Christ and the people who are attached to the world: “conquered.”  Those in Christ have already won because Christ has already won.  Christ came and the world killed Him.  But God demonstrated His superiority by raising Christ into new eternal life.  The world can do no worse to us, and God will do no worse to us.  Even if the world does not listen, rejects our message, and kills us then God promises our resurrection!  Victory is assured.  Greater is the one who is in us than the one who is in the world.

How does it make you feel to know that victory is assured?  Why is this important to remember each day?

Second Thought:

Once more John makes the preposition “out of” (In the Greek: “ἐκ”).  It is time to talk about this preposition and why John uses it so frequently.  When John is saying that we are out of God, he is rooting our origin rather than our destination.  We are out of God.  We are rooted in God.  We are filled by His presence.  Yes, we long for the time that we will be with Him in permanence.  But the reality is that we are already out of Him.  He is our source.  Others may choose to be rooted in the world and have their source in the world.  But we are out of God.  We are rooted in Him.

What does it mean to you to be “out of” God?  How can you demonstrate in your life that God is your source?

Third Thought:

We are left with reality.  The truth is that people who do not want to hear from God will not listen to Christian teaching.  As I was thinking about this idea, I came across a quote that I would like to share from William Barclay in his commentary on this passage:

When we come to think of it, that is obvious. How can anyone who believes that the basis of life is competition even begin to understand an ethic whose keynote is service? How can someone whose aim is the advancement of the self, and who holds that the weakest must go to the wall, even begin to understand a teaching whose principle for living is love?” 

This quote really got me thinking.  What is the goal of my life?  Is it asserting myself and making my name great or is it making God’s name great?  If I am struggling daily to make my name better than the next person, how can I ever understand submission and service?  If I am always competing for my place in the world, how can I ever understand love?

Where do you fit in this line of thinking?  How much of your life is about you and your advancement?  What does this show about any of our ability to truly know love and truly understand submission when we live in a culture and condition such as we do?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 John 4:7-10