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. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:4–6)
This passage is a study in truisms, contrasts, and syllogisms.
“Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
We march to a different drummer. The Spirit of God directs us. What we have trumps what the world has, in every way, shape, and form. And therefore, we overcome everything that besets us. Most of us, including this writer, repeatedly bear burdens we were not designed to carry, fighting battles we can never win without God. And we don’t just ask for assistance, to lend a hand, but we ask him to carry all of whatever it is. I used to be young and scrapping, but now every muscle seems to be reluctant to participate in fear of injury. I like the idea of a God who says to me constantly, “I’ve got this!”
“They are in the world,” but “we are from God.” (1 John 4:5-6)
We’re proud of our heritage. We subscrube to ancestry.com to discover our roots. We read our parents’ memoirs to know their stories. We study the onomastics of our surnames. My first name means, “brave ruler” or “strong king.” My last name means “powerful ruler” or “wise counselor.” To be honest, there are few who would ever live up to these names, but it’s interesting that in the providence of God my parents unwittingly combined the two. Honestly, there have been times and roles I’ve played that I’ve demonstrated these traits, and my professions have been largely advisory, so perhaps God guided them. But back to the case at hand. We herald from a Father who is untouchable. Full stop. Therefore, so are we.
“The world listens to them,” but “he who knows God listens to us.” (1 John 4:5-6)
We get our matching orders from God. We have the mind of God. We have his instructions to study and implement. He is the “Wise Builder” and the “Only Wise God.” I don’t want to get too proud over my station in life, but this is awesome, as we used to say. It’s not the plan that’s faulty, but our execution of it. But alas, he bears with us. We are his chosen instruments. We have the winning hand. Now we know, sadly, they don’t listen to us, and run headlong into destruction. But there are those who will. Therefore, let everything we say be God honoring and based on scriptural principles. The question is, do we know them well enough? Are we familiar with his principles?
“They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world.” (1 John 4:5)
This generation lives “out loud.” If you’re not protesting in the streets you’re serial posting on social media. No one seems to grind his axe in silence. The chances of changing someone’s opinion, political or otherwise, are slim to none. What has surprised me is the hyperbole and at times crudeness used when engaging with those with whom we are only casually associated. By and large, the filters have been removed. The Spirit of God should be our filter, forming gracious words in our mouths, and restraining those which aren’t. We should not be surprised when we hear what we hear from the great unwashed. Jesus got a mouthful on many occasions. We must pray that hearts are changed. We choose our words carefully so as to not undermine the gospel. By now, we should not be shocked at what we hear, but we still are. Sadly, “the world listens to them.”
“We are from God; he who knows God listens to us.” (1 John 4:6)
We do have a forum with fellow Christians. Still we must be careful in what we say. We must let “our words be few.” (Ecclesiastes 5:2) It is always better to come from a heavenly angle, with eye on the ball, without a cudgel (stick) in hand. It pains me to witness verbal disagreements between Christians. I guess it’s best to clear the air, but what is said should really need to be said. For example, Paul confronted Peter to “his face” in front of all, it says in Galatians 2:11, “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.” Paul made his point about the apostle’s two-faced behavior which needed to be said for the sake of the gospel, but we rarely are justified in emptying both barrels. Better to cajole and plead than strike out. If the Spirit is present in each party, then let our intermediator do the talking. In my experience, the road will have already been paved to reconciliation.
“By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:6)
“They will know we are Christians by our love,” the old song goes. I would submit a more telltale sign is “by how we speak.” Since social media is a good indicator, and since a lot of dirty laundry gets aired out on it, there exists a group of people who are forever shouting people down, with veins popping and no filter. There’s also a group of people attempting to calmly reason and persuade. But the “spirit of error” does not normally listen to reason. If there is a spiritual component to the argument, the yelling will typically be much louder and caustic. If what is said can be said clearly in peace and sincerity, it’s likely the truth. Something that is diametrically opposed to godliness and righteousness needs to be forcefully delivered, sometimes in rage, because truth carries its own platform, and error is baseless.
To sum up, “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.” (1 John 3:13)
Teddy Roosevelt is known for saying, “speak softly and carry a big stick.” We Christians think we are forced to leave the “big stick” at home, unless we understand who exactly serves as our Spokesman. Leave the talking to Him.
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