Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 176

June 28;   I John 4:4;   234/260(I);   ‘Greater Is He In You’

1 John 4:4 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.

The truth of this verse is so powerful and yet a great many Christians never live by the reality of who they are in Christ.  You cannot be the victorious Christian you were created to be if you do not know what the Word of God teaches.  The Lord calls us ‘little children,’ because obviously to Him we are.  Even though we are the Lord’s precious little children, we can and should live like champions in our dealings in life.  ‘World’ in this verse is the world system that is alienated from God and opposed to Him.  What does this verse teach us?  Remember Adam was created in the image of God, with authority on the earth.  Adam was to rule the earth and work together with the Lord.  When Adam sinned, the earth was cursed by His sin and satan, a fallen angel who rebelled against God, was given the authority Adam had.  The earth was cursed by Adam’s sin and it is evident by the chaos we see every day in this world.  The Lord Jesus Christ, when He rose from the dead, took back the authority Adam relinquished to the devil.  The Lord Jesus then gave that authority back to the Church, Born Again believers.  Jesus defeated the devil and we have authority over him.  We do not have to allow satan to make our lives miserable.  We stop him by knowing our authority and protecting ourselves with the Word of God.  The Word keeps you from being deceived by the devil.  You do not have to listen to his lying thoughts, rebuke them.  The devil knows he has been defeated by Jesus and that you have authority over him.  Your life will change when you know this and live your life accordingly.