OVERCOMING THE SPIRIT OF THE WORLD

1 John 4:4 (NASB 2020)

1 John 4:4 NASB 2020

4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

INTRODUCTION

a) The Pressure of Living in the World

On June 22, 2023, the news reported the catastrophic implosion of the tourist submersible “Titan”. The craft was on an expedition of the wreckage of the infamous Titanic when tragedy occurred, claiming the lives of all five people aboard.

An implosion happens when the force exerted on the outside is greater than that on the inside. In effect, the Titan was like an empty aluminum can being stepped on. The force of the water at the depth they had descended crushed it.

Chances are that some of you are like that tiny craft: under tremendous pressure. You came here today hoping to get out from under some of it, but you have to leave here and go back into the world and be under pressure. Under pressure at home, at work, and in all kinds aof circumstances. Some of you have headaches because the pressure is too great. Some are stressed because the pressure is too great. Some are sick because the pressure is too great.

Here’s the thing—we cannot tell the ocean to stop pressurizing us. That’s the nature of going deep in this world. The deeper you go, the more pressure you are going to get. The world can’t help but pressure you. But greater is the pressure inside of you than the pressure outside of you. If you go deep on the inside, then when you’re pressured on the outside, you won’t cave in.

Tony Evans Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More Than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (World, Living In)

b) CONTEXT OF THE TEXT

Faithlife Study Bible (Introduction to 1 John)

“First John takes a strong stand against false teachers who denied that Jesus was God’s Son in the flesh.” He identifies these false teachers by the term “antichrist.” The antichrist is a major theme in the writing of 1 John.

The term “antichrist” could mean either “against Christ” or “in place of Christ.” While the actual term “antichrist,” which originates in the New Testament, appears infrequently in Scripture, the concept of the antichrist appears numerous times in the New Testament. Because the broader concept appears more often than the specific term, some think a better way to talk about it is to use the term “eschatological antagonist,” which is a technical way of saying an evil person in the context of the end of the world.

John, one of the writers of the New Testament, warns that having the wrong idea about Jesus can lead to doing wrong things like not following God’s rules, being unfair, and not caring about important things.

Given the seriousness of the present hour, I feel compelled to do the same for those listening to my voice today. Everywhere you turn, somebody is teaching something aimed at deconstructing faith in Jesus Christ. The problem is that there are people falling for it and away from the church. Former believers are going back to the world because of the false teaching that deceives them to give in to the spirit of the world.

The good news of the gospel is that John was confident that even though his readers were being pressured by these eschatological antagonist, they were overcomers because they had someone greater on the inside.

CENTRAL IDEA:

Believers can overcome the spirit of the world because of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

There are misleading spirits among us (v. 1)

It is extremely important that we hear John when he says “do not believe every spirit.” This injunction comes after John know we want to see the best in everyone and to believe that people are at the core good. But there is a the biblical view that says that humanity is depraved at the core and would just a soon to wrong before right. Humanity has an inclination to hear a misleading spirit over a honest one.

Look at Eve in the garden giving her ear to a deceiving spirit. I think we can make a case here where it come to our children: we do all we can to stir them in the right way and then they get to pubety and prefer the opinions of their peers over the ones who loved, nurtured, and feed them. Or the young girl who allowed some boy to believe him over her parents. My point is that there are misleading spirits among us.