Jesus > Devil
1 John 4:1 ¶Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
4 ¶Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Do you remember the first time you saw this: 3 > 2. This is a simple, yet factual mathematical statement. “Three is greater than two.” My daughter, now six, can easily prove this theory to be true by testing it. One day we were doing problems like this one, and to really make the theory stick, I went and got a canister of coins. We then removed the coins from the container and began to test the theory. Sure enough, through testing, we found out just how true this greater than/less than theory is.
In this week’s text, we are told to “test” or “try” the spirits. You see, there are some spirits that attempt to deceive us; therefore, in the first verse we are told not to believe all spirits because some are not from God. Now if the truth be told, many people don’t want to test the spirits. Some might say, “Brother Yon, I’m afraid to try the spirits because one might be from the devil – – – then what?”
Well, I will tell you there is nothing to be afraid of simply because of this truth: “the Greater One lives inside of you.” I know, we’ve quoted this scripture for years and years, but have we really grasped it to its fullest? Do we really believe that the Greater One lives inside of us!!! If not, let me remind you of something simple: 3 > 2 and Jesus > Devil!!
Yes beloved, three is greater than two, Jesus is greater than the devil, and the Greater One lives inside of you. In other words, the power to defeat the devil, if you are a born-again believer, is inside of you. The power to live an abundant life, to overcome adversity, and even to test and cast out evil spirits is within you, for Jesus is greater than any pain or problem, trial or tribulation, lie or liar (that includes the father of lies also – John 8:44) that you may face.
So no matter what you are facing or what you are feeling, have no fear because, as Ephesians 3:20 tells us, God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” Remember that the power is working within you. Remember that you have that power at all times. And remember that Jesus > Devil, which simply means — “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
