John the apostle has been sharing with us about the spirit of antichrist that is in the world. There are those who are directly opposed to Jesus Christ being God who has come in the flesh, died for our sins, and was raised on the third day after His death. Now if we believe in Him, we shall be in Heaven with Him some day. Those who believe Jesus to be anything other than this have “the spirit of anti-Christ”. Today John addresses his readers who may have cause to wonder if this spirit of anti-Christ will overtake them. He wrote in First John chapter four and verse four:
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Notice once again as fatherly John addresses his readers as “little children”. He has concern for their wonder about these of which he has written. Persuasion away from the truth was as prevalent in John's day as it is in ours. There are those who by their arguments and reason turn people from believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior and turn them toward some false doctrine or false teaching. The gospel or good news of Jesus Christ has been fought against since Jesus came on the scene, but John the apostle gives hope to his beloved children who are in the faith.
John tells his little children that we are of God. God has us, and God is in a relationship with us. Paul said it this way in the book of Romans in chapter eight and verses thirty eight and thirty nine:
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing shall separate us from the love of God, and notice, this love “is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” There are no other religions, religious figures, methods ways, or paths mentioned. The love of God is in Christ Jesus. This is the love that will keep all who are presented with arguments against Christ from being persuaded. Christ is in everyone who believes (which means – trusts in, relies upon, clings to) in God's way through Jesus Christ. There is no other way, and when people try to convince us who truly believe in Jesus that any other way is true, God who is inside us has overcome them.
God is greater than any opportunity that avails itself against Jesus Christ in the world. Paul the apostle wrote this in the book of Philippians chapter two and verses nine and ten and in the book of Romans in chapter fourteen verse eleven:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him (Jesus), and given him (Jesus) a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;
For it is written, [As] I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
There will be a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We do have the privilege of deciding for us when this shall be. Will it be now or after our death? The decision is up to us, and those who are wise will submit their lives to Jesus now. These will be overcomers to any who in the spirit of antichrist oppose the true way of God.
Next time we shall look at the reason John says these antichrists believe as they do, so read ahead, and we will join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
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