1 John 4:4

In these verses the apostle encourages the disciples against the fear and danger of this seducing antichristian spirit, and that by such methods as these: - 1. He assures them of a more divine principle in them: "You are of God, little children, Jo1 4:4. You are God's little children. We are of God, Jo1 4:6. We are born of God, taught of God, anointed of God, and so secured against infectious fatal delusions. God has his chosen, who shall not be mortally seduced." 2. He gives them hope of victory: "And have overcome them, Jo1 4:4. You have hitherto overcome these deceivers and their temptations, and there is good ground of hope that you will do so still, and that upon these two accounts:" - (1.) "There is a strong preserver within you: Because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world, Jo1 4:4. The Spirit of God dwells in you, and that Spirit is more mighty than men of devils." It is a great happiness to be under the influence of the Holy Ghost. (2.) "You are not of the same temper with these deceivers. The Spirit of God hath framed your mind for God and heaven; but they are of the world. The spirit that prevails in them leads them to this world; their heart is addicted thereto; they study the pomp, the pleasure, and interest of the world: and therefore speak they of the world; they profess a worldly messiah and saviour; they project a worldly kingdom and dominion; the possessions and treasures of the world would they engross to themselves, forgetting that the true Redeemer's kingdom is not of this world. This worldly design procures them proselytes: The world heareth them, Jo1 4:5. They are followed by such as themselves: the world will love its own, and its own will love it. But those are in a fair way to conquer pernicious seductions who have conquered the love of this seducing world." Then, 3. He represents to them that though their company might be the smaller, yet it was the better; they had more divine and holy knowledge: "He that knoweth God heareth us. He who knows the purity and holiness of God, the love and grace of God, the truth and faithfulness of God, the ancient word and prophecies of God, the signals and testimonials of God, must know that he is with us; and he who knows this will attend to us, and abide with us." He that is well furnished with natural religion will the more faithfully cleave to Christianity. He that knoweth God (in his natural and moral excellences, revelations, and works) heareth us, Jo1 4:6. As, on the contrary, "He that is not of God heareth not us. He who knows not God regards not us. He that is not born of God (walking according to his natural disposition) walks not with us. The further any are from God (as appears in all ages) the further they are from Christ and his faithful servants; and the more addicted persons are to this world the more remote they are from the spirit of Christianity. Thus you have a distinction between us and others: Hereby know we the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error, Jo1 4:6. This doctrine concerning the Saviour's person leading you from the world to God is a signature of the Spirit of truth, in opposition to the spirit of error. The more pure and holy any doctrine is the more likely is it to be of God."

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Jn_4:4-5

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

The advantages of truth, in opposition to error

I.

Divine truth carries greater evidence along with it.

1. The doctrines which are from God have a more intrinsical goodness in them, and teach such things as are most worthy of God, and more likely to proceed from Him.

2. The external confirmation of Divine doctrines is greater and carries more conviction along with it. By external confirmation I mean chiefly that of miracles.

3. Besides the goodness of the doctrines which are from God, and the external confirmation of them by miracles, the Spirit of God doth likewise illuminate good men, and those who are desirous to know the truth, and hath promised to lead them into it, and to assist them in discerning between truth and falsehood (Joh_7:17).

II. The motives which good men have to persuade them to adhere to truth and holiness are more powerful than the motives to the contrary. The believing that Jesus is the Son of God infers the belief of His doctrine, and consequently of that eminent part of it, the eternal recompense of another world, which, whosoever firmly believes, will be able to resist and overcome all the temptations of this world.

III. Those who sincerely embrace and obey the truth of God have a greater assistance and are acted by a more powerful spirit and principle, than, that which is in the world.

1. There are these two principles in the world, the Spirit of God and the devil, very active and powerful, the one in good, the other in bad men.

2. The Spirit of God which is in good men is greater than he that is in the world: He is more able and ready to assist men to good purposes than the devil is to tempt and help forward that which is evil.

(1) The Spirit of God is more powerful than the devil.

(2) The Spirit of God is as willing to assist men to good purposes as the devil is to the contrary.

(3) The Spirit of God hath a more free and immediate access to the minds of good men, and a more intimate conjunction with, and operation upon them, than the devil.

3. In what ways the Spirit of God doth move and assist good men.

(1) By exercising good motions in us, and enabling us to bring them to effect.

(2) By supporting us under persecution for religion. (Abp. Tillotson.)

The Spirit of Christ in us greater than the spirit of antichrist in the world

1. He that is in the world is great. And his greatness lies in this, that he operates in a two-fold way. He forms and fashions the world spiritually; and he finds for it, or makes for it, appropriate and congenial spiritual food. The world, in a sense, lives, and moves, and has its being, in him. He is in it as the spring of its activities, the dictator of its laws, the guider of its pursuits and pleasures; in a word, the ruler of its darkness. The darkness of its deep alienation from God, he rules. And he rules it very specially for the purpose of getting the world to be contented with an image, instead of the reality, of godliness. He takes advantage of whatever may be the worlds mood at the time, as regards God and His worship, throws himself into it, controlling or inflaming it, as he may see cause, so as to turn it to his own account. And then he contrives to bring under his sway prophets or teachers, not always consciously false, often meaning to be true, able men, holy men, men of God and of prayer, preeminently so it may be. And bringing into contact the world which he has doctored and the doctors whom he has tutored, he adjusts them skilfully to one another. He causes his teachers, perhaps insensibly, to draw much of their inspiration from the particular world which, as to its religious bias, he has influenced with an eye to their teaching. And so they are of the world; therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

II. But greater is He that is in you, little children, for He is the Lord God Almighty. He is strong; and He strengthens you with might by His Spirit in the inner man; Christ dwelleth in your heart by faith; and you being rooted and grounded in love. He is strong; and He makes you strong; strong in holding fast the form of sound words, and contending earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints; strong in cleaving to the truth as it is in Jesus; strong in your real, personal, close, and loving acquaintance with Him, whom to know is life eternal. He who is in you is God; God abiding in you; giving you the Spirit. He is in you; not merely on your side, at your right hand, around you; but within you. He is working in you; so working in you as to secure your safe triumph, in this great fight of truth against error, over the world and him who is in it. (R. S. Candlish, D. D.)

The secret of overcoming Satan

He that is in you, refers to God, and He that is in the world, refers to the devil; and the first thought that strikes us is that there is no attempt in the Bible to deny or dispute the greatness of Satan.

I. First, then, let us consider the greatness of Satan so that we may understand the character of the adversary whom we have to contend with. The Bible represents Satan as the head of a great army of foes. If you examine the Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians, you will find there seem to be seven grades of fallen angels, as there are seven grades of unfallen angels. We read of Principalities, Powers, Dominions, Authorities, Rulers, Thrones, Wicked Spirits, etc., and above them all, as I believe, there is a rank of arch angels, or chief angels. So we are to imagine Satan as the highest over all the ranks of fallen angels. Suppose that, for instance, one of the provinces or colonies of Great Britain should rebel and cut loose from the parent government; it might carry into its rebellion all its officers, from its governor-general down to the mayors of its cities, and even its police magistrates; and apparently when this great rebellion took place among the angels of God they carried over into their revolt the ranks they had before rebellion came among them, so that Satan is a chief demon, an evil spirit, a fallen angel of tremendous power. Then, again, Satan has marvellous wisdom and knowledge. He knows how to reach the human soul; he knows how to deceive you and mislead you. When the Duke of Richmond presented his report about fortifications, Sheridan said, I compliment the noble president on his talents as an engineer, which were strongly evinced in planning and constructing that paper He has made it a contest of posts, and conducted his reasoning not less on principles of trigonometry than of logic. There are certain assumptions thrown up like advanced works to keep the enemy at a distance from the principal object of debate; strong provisos protect and cover the flanks of his assertions, and his very queries are his casemates. And Satan is a civil engineer. He constructs his fortifications to make the evil strong and repel the good. And so, as he is a demon of marvellous power and wisdom, is he also formidable in his familiarity with evil, and it is this that constitutes the great hold of Satan over the human soul. Remember that he has in himself the very secrets of hell.

II. Yet notwithstanding this, we are bidden to remember that He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world. Conceding the greatness of Satan, let us look for a moment at the superior greatness of Jesus Christ. In the first place, Jesus Christ has all power. Satan has great power, but not omnipotence. Christ is not only a God of all power, but He is a God of all wisdom. Satan is very wise, but he is not omniscient, and Christ is. Then Jesus Christ is everywhere present. He is in your heart, and in my heart, and the heart of every disciple, by the Holy Spirit, so that of a true child of God we may still say, He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world, since He is the all-powerful, the all-wise, and the all-present God. And, then, remember that Jesus Christ represents perfect holiness, and holiness, like the light of the sun, positively dispels the darkness, that is to say infinite holiness repels evil and drives evil to the wall; and in the great ages to come, when Christ shall be crowned as King, we shall find darkness absolutely dispersed and light pervading the moral universe.

II. What is the secret of our possession and exercise of this overcoming power? We are told in this epistle that there are three secrets of overcoming power (1Jn_2:14; 1Jn_3:8-9; 1Jn_3:24). The first secret is, the Word of God abides in you. The second is the seed of God abides in you; and the third is God Himself abides in you. Now look successively at these three secrets. The Word of God is represented in the Scriptures as the sword of the Spirit, a two-edged sword. A Damascus scimitar has but one sharp edge and a dull back. Hence you can hew with a scimitar, but you cannot thrust with it successfully. But when you have two edges to a sword, and each side is keen, you can cut both ways with such a blade; and the two keen edges unite in one burning point, and you can thrust with such a sword. And so the Word of God is represented as having two keen edges and one burning piercing point. Again, it is represented as a living sword. The Word of God is quick, i.e., alive and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. Knowing the Word, and having it in your heart, you shall find that Word going forth like a two-edged sword out of your mouth, a living sword, and a powerful sword, that hews men to pieces before God, and lays bare their thoughts and intents. Secondly, the seed of God abides in the child of God. The seed represents the living principle. I suppose you are all familiar with certain great facts of nature. You know how, for instance, in the vegetable world the seed is the most carefully preserved and guarded of all the products of plant life. Here is a little plant growing up and putting out its branches and leaves, and by and by its flowers. The flowers may be very beautiful and very fragrant, and you may value them and consider them the finest products of the plant, but, if I may use such language, the plant does not so regard them. The thing the plant cares most for in the economy of nature is not root nor stem, is not beauty nor blossom, nor even fruit, but seed. Now the teed in the plant and the seed in the animal represents not only the highest products of life, but the means of producing and propagating life, and therefore the seed is the most precious thing in nature. And how significant it is that the principle of life in God which represents the highest perfection of Deity and represents the means by which Gods likeness is reproduced in you and in me is called by the sacred name of seed, and we are told that when the seed of God remains in us we feel that we cannot sin. We have a new affinity. We are like a tree planted by the rivers of water with its little spongelets at the end of the roots drinking up the blessed water of life, and making sap of it. That is what John means when he says the seed of God is in the disciple, and he feels that he cannot sin because the seed of God leads him to love the things of God, and hate the things of the evil one. But we are told once more that God Himself abides in us (Joh_14:23). God would have you to feel this great fact, that if Jesus Christ dwells in you by the Holy Spirit, He makes you strong to overcome Satan, as He Himself was strong to overcome Satan in the desert and in the Garden of Gethsemane, and that is the secret of your triumph over evil. We are told that when Hercules was a little baby in his cradle, there were some serpents that came into the room and wound their way into the cradle and tried to sting him, and folding their coils round him to choke the life out of him. But we are told in the fable that with his little hands he just took hold of the necks of these serpents and strangled them to death. God would have you to feel that a little babe in Christ that is rocked in the cradle of the Church, when he comes into contact of She the great serpent, the devil, if Jesus is in him, can beat back the serpent, the serpent cannot strangle him. But remember this, that you are only strong when you are on the Lords ground, not on the devils ground. Nosy I have read a story about a swan that was walking on the shore of a lake, and a wolf came up and ran after the swan, and would have torn him to pieces. But the swan said to himself, I am not strong on the land, but I am strong on the water. So he plunged into the water, and when the wolf followed him into the water, he with his strong bill just gripped the wolf by the ears, and pulled his head down under the water, and drowned him. There are a great many people who try to fight the devil on the devils ground, and they always get defeated; but if you can meet the devil on the Lords ground you will defeat him. (A. T. Pierson, D. D.)

The Christians conquest over sin

Wherein consists the superiority of the power of good over the power of evil in us?

1. The power of God is much nearer to us, and, by its relation to our true nature, so much more capable of becoming ours than the power of evil or the devil. We are the children of God. Can the renewed child of God say that any evil power lies nearer to his heart and more appropriately belongs to him, than that influence of a Fathers love which he acknowledges to be the holiest and most blessed thing in the universe?

2. The greater power of good over us may be seen by comparing those parts or elements of our nature to which good and evil influences respectively appeal. On the one hand, we have the appeal of God, of good, and of truth, to our reason, judgment, and conscience, to the deepest instincts and most fixed principles of the soul, and to love, in itself the strongest element in our nature. On the other hand, the appeal of evil is only to prejudice, fancy, and appearance, to passion and to selfishness.

3. The objects through which good principle influences us are vastly greater than those with which evil is associated. Even in reference to the present visible world, we may see this contrast. Evil, which is necessarily selfish, limits the objects of our thought and life to our own mean, narrow selves. It knows no large and noble objects or ends. Good embraces all things, all beings, all great and lofty ends. Good objects and aims kindle the heart to an enthusiasm before which difficulties vanish; evil purposes sink the heart into meanness and weakness. But when we turn to the invisible and eternal world, how much more striking is the contrast. God Himself is the centre and fountain of all sublime thoughts, of all mighty emotions, and of all boundless hopes. The summit of greatness is before us in Christian perfection. All this greatness we as Christians can claim as our possession; and can all this dwell in and fill the soul, and yet awaken no sense of greatness and power? But what has evil to compare with this? Where are its sublime heights, grand conceptions, boundless prospects? What immortality invests it with unfading splendour, what solid reason guarantees its infinity of bliss? Can we, then, say that the ignoble and mean has the same power over us as the sublime and glorious? (S. Edger, BA.)

The two spirits

I. There are two mighty spirits at work amongst mankind. There is some correspondence between their operation.

1. Both act uncoercively. There is no invasion of the principles of responsibility in either case.

2. Both act universally. The one is the prince of the power of the air; the other is in all our hearts.

3. Both act perseveringly.

4. Both act productively. Both produce fruits in their subjects (Gal_5:19-23).

5. Both act resistibly. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Ye do always resist the Spirit of God.

II. That whilst these spirits are both universal in their influence, the special sphere of the one is the world, and the other, the Church.

1. The Church cherishes the Spirit, and resists the devil.

2. The world cherishes the devil, and resists the Spirit.

III. That the spirit whose special sphere is the Church is infinitely greater than the spirit whose special sphere is the world. Greater is He that is in you, etc.

1. The one that is in the Church is absolutely independent; the one that works in the world is not so. The Holy Spirit can do whatsoever He please; Satan cannot move without His permission.

2. The one that is in the Church sways His influence by absolute right, the other by usurpation.

3. The one that is in the Church works to save, the other to destroy.

4. The one that is in the Church acts through truth, the other through error. The first stone of Satans empire--the foundation stone--was a lie.

But the Spirit works by truth--regenerates, sanctifies, comforts, by truth. Which is the greater, truth or error? Truth is eternal, error is not; truth is a necessity, error is a contingency; truth is mighty, error is weak. A lie has no power, only as it wears the garb of truth. Conclusion:

1. The human soul is an object of stupendous interest. These two spirits are working for it.

2. The philosophy of human commotions is explained. Two opposite spirits are working in the heart of the world.

3. The ultimate triumph of goodness is certain. Greater. (Homilist.)

They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world--

The worldly speak of the world

The water riseth not (unless forced) above the fountain. Out of the warehouse the shop is furnished. (J. Trapp.)

Speech is a child of thought,

which the mind always travaileth and teemeth with, and which after its birth is wont in features to resemble its parent. (I. Barrow.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn 4:4-6. Ye — Who abide in the truth taught you from the beginning; are of God, and have overcome them — Namely, these seducers, in all their snares and delusions: that is, the doctrine to which you adhere has prevailed against those who deserve the name of antichrist, (as undoubtedly all who oppose the Christian interest in some measure did,) and as you have the true miraculous gifts of the Spirit among you, to which they falsely pretend, it is soon seen that the advantage is clearly on your side. Because greater is he that is in you — Namely, the Spirit of Christ; than he — The spirit of antichrist; that is in the world — The Son of God, who stands at the head of that interest in which you are embarked, and who aids you by the mighty communications of his Spirit, is infinitely too strong for Satan, the great head of the apostacy, and for all his confederates. Thus, the issue of the divine government will be, that truth and virtue shall be finally victorious over error and wickedness, because God, the Patron of truth and virtue, possesseth far greater power and wisdom than the evil spirits who promote error and wickedness. They — Those false teachers; are of the world — Of the number of those that know not God; therefore speak they of the world — From the principle, wisdom, and spirit, that actuate worldly men; and, of consequence, the world heareth them — Namely, with approbation. “Lest the faithful should be discouraged by the success which false teachers oftentimes have in spreading their errors, the apostle observes that their success arises generally from their accommodating their doctrines to the prejudices and evil inclinations of the world. Wherefore, from the prevalence of any doctrine no argument can be drawn in favour of its truth.” We — Apostles; are of God — Immediately taught and sent by him, and have approved ourselves to be so by such irresistible evidence, that I may now venture to say, he who knoweth God — And experiences the governing influence of his fear and love, heareth and regardeth us; but he who is not of God heareth not us — Neither believes nor obeys our word; but, by rejecting our testimony, attended as it is with such evidence, he proves himself destitute of all true religion. Hereby we know — From what is said 1Jn 4:2-6; the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error — “This mark, by which St. John directed his disciples to judge of teachers, is not to be understood of their hearkening to the apostles personally, but of their receiving their doctrine with that submission which was due to persons inspired by the Spirit of God. Wherefore, though the apostles be all dead, yet as they still speak in their divinely-inspired writings, John, in this passage, declares that their writings are the test by which the disciples of Christ are to judge both of teachers and of their doctrine.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn 4:4. Ὑμεῖς, ye) who acknowledge Jesus Christ.—νενικήκατε, ye have overcome) ch. 1Jn 5:4-5.—[αὐτοὺς, them) the false prophets.—V. g.]—ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν, who is in you) God.—ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, who is in the world) the spirit of antichrist, or the evil one.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn_4:4. After the apostle has characterized the twofold πνεῦμα, he directs the attention of his readers to the relationship in which they stand to the false prophets.

ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστε] A contrast to those who are ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου; believers are of God, because the πνεῦμα which animates them is the πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ.

καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς] αὐτούς is not = antichristum et mundum (Erasmus), but τοὺς ψευδοπροφήτας, in whom the antichristian nature dwells.

νενικήκατε is to be retained as perfect, comp. chap. 1Jn_2:13; Calvin inaccurately interprets: in media pugna jam extra periculum sunt, quia futuri sunt superiores. John could say to his readers: νενικήκατε, not only inasmuch as in them was mighty the strength of Him who had said: θαρσεῖτε, ἐγὼ νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον, and inasmuch as they in Him were sure of ultimate success (Neander, Düsterdieck), but also inasmuch as their opponents with their seductive arts must have been put to shame by their faithfulness, and must have been repulsed by them (Ebrard, Braune). The cause of this victory, however, did not and does not lie in the human power of believers, but in the fact ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ;

ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν, i.e. ὁ Θεός (according to Grotius, Erdmann, and others: ὁ Χριστός); as the believer is of God, God remains in him as the soul of his life; ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, i.e. ὁ διάβολος, whose children the antichrists are (Lücke). Instead of the more particular ἐν αὐτοῖς, John uses the more general ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, in order thereby to signify that they, although they were for a while in the Church, belong nevertheless to the κόσμος, which the following words expressively bring out.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn 4:4 . ὑμεῖς emphatic ( cf. 1Jn 2:20 ; 1Jn 2:27 , 1Jn 3:14 ), as contrasted with the deluded world. The faithful are God’s delegates ( ἐκ ), bearing their Master’s commission and continuing His warfare (Joh 20:21 ), and they have shared His victory ( νενικήκατε ). αὐτοὺς , i.e. , the false prophets (1Jn 4:1 ). Eum (Vulg.); “Quem nisi Antichristum?” (Aug.). ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν , i.e. , God ( cf. 1Jn 3:24 ); ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ , i.e. , ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου (Joh 12:31 ; Joh 14:30 ).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He comforteth the elect with a most sure hope of victory: but yet so, that he teacheth them that they fight not with their own virtue, but with the virtue and power of God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Ye--emphatical: YE who confess Jesus: in contrast to "them," the false teachers.

overcome them-- (Jo1 5:4-5); instead of being "overcome and brought into (spiritual) bondage" by them (Pe2 2:19). Joh 10:8, Joh 10:5, "the sheep did not hear them": "a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers."

he that is in you--God, of whom ye are.

he that is in the word--the spirit of Antichrist, the devil, "the prince of this world."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. Ye are of God] Ye are under the influence of the Divine Spirit, and have overcome them-your testimony, proceeding from the Spirit of Christ, has invalidated theirs which has proceeded from the influence of Satan; for greater is the Holy Spirit which is in you, than the spirit which is in the world.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4 Ye are of God He had spoken of one antichrist; he now mentions many. But the many were the false prophets who had come forth before the head appeared. But the Apostle’s object was to animate the faithful, that they might courageously and boldly resist impostors, for alacrity is weakened when the issue of the contest is doubtful. Besides, it might have caused the good to fear, when they saw that hardly the kingdom of Christ had been set up, when enemies stood ready to suppress it. Though then they must contend, yet he says that they had conquered, because they would have a successful issue, as though he had said that they were already, though in the middle of the contest;, beyond any danger, because they would surely be conquerors.

But this truth ought to be farther extended, for whatever contests we may have with the world and the flesh, a certain victory is to follow. Hard and fierce conflicts indeed await us, and some continually succeed others; but as by Christ’s power we fight and are furnished with God’s weapons, we even by fighting and striving become conquerors. As to the main subject of this passage, it is a great consolation, that with whatever wiles Satan may assail us, we shall stand through the power of God.

But we must observe the reason which is immediately added, because greater, or stronger, is he who is in you than he who is in the world. For such is our infirmity, that we succumb before we engage with an enemy, for we are so immersed in ignorance that we are open to all kinds of fallacies, and Satan is wonderfully artful in deceiving. Were we to hold out for one day, yet a doubt may creep into our minds as to what would be the case tomorrow; we should thus be in a state of perpetual anxiety. Therefore the Apostle reminds us that we become strong, not by our own power, but by that of God. He hence concludes, that we can no more be conquered than God himself, who has armed us with his own power to the end of the world. But in this whole spiritual warfare this thought ought to dwell in our hearts, that it would be all over with us immediately were we to fight in our own strength; but that as God repels our enemies while we are reposing, victory is certain.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

4. Ye are of God] As in 1Jn_2:20 the Apostle passes abruptly from the false teachers to his true children with an emphatic pronoun, made still more emphatic here by the asyndeton. Ye, in marked contrast to them, are of God.

and have overcome them] By withstanding the seducers they have proved their superiority. In the masculine ‘them’ (αὐτούς) the Apostle passes from the antichristian spirits to the false prophets who are their mouth-pieces. Comp. ‘And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers’ (Joh_10:5): thus the stranger is defeated.

because greater is He that is in you] Not in their own strength has the victory been won, but in His whose word abideth in them (1Jn_2:14). It is precisely for this reason that they may have confidence against all spiritual enemies: it is not confidence in themselves (1Co_15:57 especially Eph_6:10-17).

he that is in the world] ‘The ruler of this world’ (Joh_12:31), the devil, the father of these lying teachers (1Jn_3:10; Joh_8:44), whose works Christ came to destroy (1Jn_3:8). By saying ‘in the world’ rather than ‘in them’, the Apostle indicates that they belong to ‘the world’. “S. John constantly teaches that the Christian’s work in this state of probation is to conquer ‘the world’. It is, in other words, to fight successfully against that view of life which ignores God, against that complex system of attractive moral evil and specious intellectual falsehood which is organized and marshalled by the great enemy of God, and which permeates and inspires non-Christianized society” (Liddon).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ye are of God, little children,.... This, with what follows, is said for the comfort of the saints, and to deliver them from the fears of being drawn aside by the delusions of the false prophets, and antichrists; since they belonged to God, were his elect, and therefore could not be finally and totally seduced; they were the children of God by adopting grace, and could not become the servants of men; they were born of God, and so were kept by the power of God unto salvation, as all that are begotten unto a lively hope are; they were enlightened by the Spirit of God, and had a discerning of truth from error, and therefore could not be imposed upon:

and have overcome them; the false prophets, being in a good cause, fighting the good fight of faith, and having good weapons, particularly the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and invincible arguments from thence; and also gracious assistance from the Spirit of God, who gives a mouth that none can shut, and wisdom that none can resist; as well as an inward experience of the truth, and power of Gospel doctrines: a testimony within themselves, which will stand the whole shock and opposition of the enemy: the Vulgate Latin version reads, "and have overcome him"; antichrist, whose spirit was then in the world; or the world itself, or Satan, the god of the world; and so the Ethiopic version reads, "and have overcome the evil one", as in Jo1 2:13; the reason of which victory, and which adds to the comfort and support of saints in their present warfare, is,

because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world; by "he that is in the world" is meant either the devil, the prince and god of the world, and who goes up and down in it, dwells in the hearts of the men of it, under whose influence they are, and in whom he works effectually; or antichrist, whose spirit was now in the world, and whose doctrine was propagated by the false teachers, in whom he began to appear; but he that is in the saints, either God who dwells in them, and their in him, Jo1 4:15; is mightier than the man of sin, and his emissaries, to keep and preserve from all corruptions, and every false way; or Christ, who dwells in their hearts by faith, and is stronger than the strong man armed, and able to save and deliver out of his hands; or the Spirit of God; and so the Arabic version reads, "the Spirit that is in you"; who is in the saints, as a spirit of regeneration and sanctification, as a spirit of adoption, and the earnest of their inheritance; he is able to carry on the work of grace in them, and finish it, and will do it; and he, as a spirit of truth, is more powerful than the spirit of error; and when the enemy comes in like a flood, or pours in a flood of errors and heresies, he lifts up a standard against him, causes him to fly, and secures the saints from being carried away with it: compare with this the Septuagint version of Psa 124:1, "if it had not been the Lord who was on our side"; which render it thus, "if the Lord had not been in us".

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

Ver. 4. And have overcome] viz. In your Head, Christ, and by the help of his Holy Spirit, your sweet inhabitant, whereby ye are more than conquerors, because sure to overcome and triumph.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ye are of God - You are of his family; you have embraced his truth, and imbibed his Spirit.

Little children - Notes, 1Jo 2:1.

And have overcome them - Have triumphed over their arts and temptations; their endeavors to draw you into error and sin. The word them in this place seems to refer to the false prophets or teachers who collectively constituted antichrist. The meaning is, that they had frustrated or thwarted all their attempts to turn them away from the truth.

Because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world - God, who dwells in your hearts, and by whose strength and grace alone you have been enabled to achieve this victory, is more mighty than Satan, who rules in the hearts of the people of this world, and whose seductive arts are seen in the efforts of these false teachers. The apostle meant to say that it was by no power of their own that they achieved this victory, but it was to be traced solely to the fact that God dwelt among them, and had preserved them by his grace. What was true then is true now. He who dwells in the hearts of Christians by his Spirit, is infinitely more mighty than Satan, “the ruler of the darkness of this world;” and victory, therefore, over all his arts and temptations may be sure. In his conflicts with sin, temptation, and error, the Christian should never despair, for his God will insure him the victory.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

You....little children, born anew in Christ by baptism, have overcome him, (i.e. every such antichrist) not by your own strength, but by the grace of Christ, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world; i.e. the Spirit of God in you is above all your enemies. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Their being born of God, and their participation of a directive and strengthening influence from him, kept them from being overcome by the plausible notions, the alluring blandishments of the flesh and sense, the terror of persecution used towards them by these antichristian or pseudo-christian tempters; and enabled them to overcome, because the Divine Spirit in them was stronger than the others’ lying, impure spirit.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Second test of antichristic spirits—worldliness. In the contest between the Church and the world, they are on the world’s side.

Have overcome— By placing faith in Christ, the world’s conqueror. Note on 1Jn_5:4.

Them—The antichristic spirits, who are identified with the world. He…

in you—God.

In the world—Satan, as its inspirer and prince.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ye are of God. The uJmeiv is in emphatic opposition to the false teachers. (comp 1Jn_2:20) They are on one side, and the apostle"s readers on the other, and it is from this standpoint that they are to "prove the spirits." St. John knows nothing of any neutral position from which the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error can be criticized "with absolute impartiality." "He that is not with me is against me." This assumed neutral position is already within the domain of error. Ye have overcome them. "Them" means the false teachers; but in what sense have St. John"s "little children" overcome them? He may be speaking by anticipation; confident of the victory, he writes of it as an accomplished fact. (comp Joh_16:33) But it is better to take the statement literally. By refusing to listen to the false teachers (Joh_10:8) the sheep have conquered them: theseducers have "gone out", (1Jn_2:19) unable to hold their own within the fold. Nor is this wonderful: the one side have God with them, the other Satan. O ejn tw kosmw here is equivalent to oJ arcwn tou kosmou toutou. (Luk_12:31) Just as God is in believers and they in God, so the world is in the evil one (1Jn_5:19) and the evil one in it.

HOMILIES BY W. JONES Ver. 4.

The victory of the Christian over antichristian teachers.

are of God, little children, and have overcome them," etc. Very suggestive are the words with which our text begins, "Ye are of God." As having communion with him; as heartily holding and confessing the truth which unites with him (verse 2); as having been born of him, and being his offspring morally and spiritually, they were of God. The text suggests the following observations.

I THAT CHRISTIANS ARE EXPOSED TO THE ASSAULTS OF HERETICAL TEACHERS. It was so in St. John"s time. There were those that denied that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh, maintaining that his human body was apparent, not real. And others held, with Cerinthus, "that the Aeon Christ had entered into the man Jesus at his baptism, and remained with him until the commencement of his sufferings; but denied that Jesus Christ came in the flesh" (Ebrard). Christians are still assailed by the teachers of grave errors, many of which relate to the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

II THAT CHRISTIANS MAY OVERCOME THE ASSAULTS OF HERETICAL TEACHERS. St. John"s readers had done so. "Ye have overcome them." By their fidelity to the truth they had obliged the teachers of error to retreat. (cf 1Jn_2:14, 1Jn_2:19) And their complete and final victory the apostle looks upon as an assured certainty. The false prophets were probably plausible, persuasive, and influential; but they were not irresistible. They had been repulsed; they would be completely vanquished. We are not bound to accept any teaching that is offered to us. If we please, we may refuse to read the questionable hook or to hear the teacher of whom we stand in doubt. Or we may read the book and hear the teacher, and then test their teaching by that of our Lord and his apostles, and accept or reject it according to its agreement or disagreement with the Divine standard. "Despise not prophesyings; prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

III THAT CHRISTIANS MAY OVERCOME THE ASSAULTS OF HERETICAL TEACHERS BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD WITHIN THEM. " Ye have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." He that was in the Christians is God; he that was in the world is Satan, "the prince of this world.

1. God dwells in his people.

(1) By his Word. The author whose works have been sympathetically and diligently studied may be said to be in the student. The student knows the views and opinions, the thoughts and theories, the principles and convictions, of his favourite author, and sympathizes with them. The godly soul knows God in his Word; (Psa_1:2 Psa_119:97) and by means of his Word is filled with his thoughts, feelings, and principles.

(2) By the faith which they exercise in him. Their faith in him is not mere intellectual assent, but spiritual conviction, which makes his existence and presence real unto them.

(3) By their love to him. (cf verses 12, 13, 16; Joh_14:23) There is no real spiritual indwelling apart from love.

(4) By his Spirit. (cf verse 13; Joh_14:16, Joh_14:17)

2. God is greater than Satan. "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

(1) God is independent, but Satan is dependent. Satan cannot do anything except by permission of the Most High. (cf Job_1:12 Job_2:6) But as for God, "he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

(2) God is infinite, but Satan is finite. However great the power of the evil one may be, it is limited. His intelligence is limited, his agencies and instruments are limited, and the duration of his power is limited. (Rev_20:1-3) But God is infinite in intelligence, in wisdom, in power, in duration, in perfection.

(3) God is the God of truth, hut Satan is the father of lies. (Joh_8:44) Truth is a permanent and victorious force; falsehood is transient, feeble, and doomed to extinction. The power of the prince of this world is based upon lies, and, for that reason, its overthrow is certain. But the power of God is the power of truth and holiness, and is therefore destined to continue and grow eternally.

(4) "God is love," but Satan is malignant. However persistent and strong hatred may be, it is not persistent, patient, or powerful as love. In love God dwells in his people for their salvation; but Satan dwells in the world for the destruction of the worldly. And the loving, saving Spirit is immeasurably greater and mightier than the hating, destroying spirit.

3. God"s presence within his people is the secret of their victory over heretical teachers. "Ye have overcome them: because greater is he," etc. This Presence in the soul imparts power for spiritual conflict and conquest. The most effective safeguard against error in religious faith and union is not the subtle and strong intellect, but the devout and godly spirit and the upright life. "The meek will he guide in judgment," etc.; "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him," etc.; (Psa_25:9, Psa_25:14) "If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching," etc.. (Joh_7:17) In the conflicts of the spiritual life the mightiest weapons are not logical, but devotional. In this sphere the greatest victories are often won upon our knees. The consciousness of God"s presence within us is the inspiration for the achievement of the sublimest conquests. W.J.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ye have overcome these seducers, because greater is the Spirit of Christ that is in you than the spirit of antichrist that is in the world.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The distinction between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error:

v. 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.

v. 5. They are of the world; therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

v. 6. We are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error.

The spirit which the apostle has above called the spirit of Anti-Christ is here identified with the spirit of this world, with the spirit that works in the children of disobedience, Eph 2:2. This is shown by the contrast: You are of God, little children, and you have conquered them, because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. The believers belong to God, they are the children of God, having been born again out of the water of Baptism and the Spirit. Therefore they not only have the knowledge necessary to examine and test the spirits, but they also have the ability, the power to withstand their allurements, to conquer them. All anti-Christian temptation is powerless against the strength of God that lives in the believers. For though Satan, the prince of darkness and the father of lies, is in the false teachers, lives in them, actuates them, yet God, who lives in us, who is our Strength and our Refuge, is greater and stronger than the devil with all his evil angels.

The apostle adds another reason for carefully examining the claims and for guarding against the evil influence of the false teachers: They are of the world, therefore they talk as of the world, and the world listens to them. No matter what their pretense and their glamour, the false teachers belong to the world, they have the world’s manner and mind. This is shown also in their talking, in their teaching and preaching, for its substance is not divine and leading to godliness, but it is inspired by the world, by its manner of thinking and acting. False teachers usually have messages that tickle the itching ears of their hearers. The children of the world will gladly hear them, the world receives their doctrines with enthusiasm. It is an almost unfailing criterion: if a certain preacher is widely advertised and acclaimed as a prophet for our times, he has probably managed to accommodate the old Scriptural language to some of his own philosophy in denying the fundamentals of the Bible. Witness the so-called Christianity of the social gospel.

Of himself and of his co-workers John writes, by way of contrast: We are of God; he that knows God hears us, he that is not of God does not hear us; in this you can recognize the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error. The apostles were not only converted Christians, true believers, but they were also messengers, ambassadors of God. Thus all true preachers, whose call is from God, are messengers of God, no matter how lowly they may be in the sight of the world. True Christians show their knowledge of God, their faith in Him, by listening to these messengers, by yielding due obedience to the Gospel-message which they bring. They are thereby distinguished from those that know nothing of regeneration and want to know nothing of the Gospel of salvation. The attitude of men toward the true preachers of the Gospel is a reliable indication of their own spiritual state, whether they are still governed by the spirit of error, of falsehood and deceit, or whether they have opened their hearts to the Spirit of Truth and have come to faith.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Observe here, 1. A character and description given of these Christians to whom our apostle writes. He tells them they were of a nobler descent, of a more excellent pedigree, and higher offspring, than their false teachers; Ye are of God, regenerated by the Spirit of God, quickened by his renovation, led by his manuduction, acted by his influences, animated by his assistances: Little children ye are of God.

Observe, 2. What is affirmed of these Christians, Ye have overcome them; that is, ye have resisted their temptations, withstood their seductions, and all their arts and endeavours to mislead you, when others have been perverted by them.

Learn hence, That by steadfastness in the doctrine of Christ, Christians do overcome impostors and seducers, when unstable souls are overcome by them.

Observe, 3.The reason assigned why, and the means declared by which, they overcome, namely, because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world; that is, Christ, who by his Spirit and doctrine dwells in you, is greater and more powerfully efficacious than the spirit of error, which influences these vile impostors and secucers that are abroad in the world.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. Ye … have overcome them. The saints had overcome these false prophets, because they were of God, and the Spirit in them was mightier than the evil spirit, that of the prince of the world, which was in the false prophets.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

dear children

John was an elderly man and their leader. He used this expression to show his love for them. See how you translated this in 1 John 2:1. AT: "my dear children in Christ" or "you who are as dear to me as my own children" (See: Metaphor)

have overcome them

"have not believed the false teachers"

the one who is in you is

"God, who is in you, is"

the one who is in the world

Two possible meanings are 1) this refers to Satan. AT: "Satan, who is in the world" or "Satan, who works through those who do not obey God" or 2) this refers to worldly teachers. AT: "worldly teachers" (See: Metonymy)

They are from the world

The words "are from" are a metaphor for "receive their power and authority." "The world" is a metonym ultimately for "the one who is in the world," Satan, though it is also a metonym for sinful people who gladly listen to them and so also give them authority. (See: Metonymy)

therefore what they say is from the world

"The world" here is a metonym ultimately for "the one who is in the world," Satan, though it is also a metonym for sinful people who gladly listen to them and so also give them authority. AT: "therefore they teach what they have learned from sinful people" (See: Metonymy)

and the world listens to them

The words "the world" are a metonym for people who do not obey God. AT: "so the people who do not obey God listen to them" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

God

children

world

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

4. ὑμεῖς. Ye, with emphasis and in marked contrast to the false teachers, are of God. The emphasis is intensified by the asyndeton.

νενικήκατε αὐτούς. In the masculine S. John passes from the antichristian spirits to the false prophets who are their mouthpieces. By not listening to these seducers his ‘little children’ have overcome them. ‘A stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers’ (Joh 10:5). Thus the stranger is defeated.

ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν. Qui audit ‘Vicistis’ erigit caput, erigit cervicem, laudari se vult. Noli te extollere. Vide quis in te vicit (S. Augustine). ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts’ (Zec 4:6). It is precisely for this reason that they may have confidence against all spiritual enemies: it is not confidence in themselves (1Co 15:57 and especially Eph 6:10-17). In ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν and ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ we have two personal powers opposed to one another: and therefore ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν must be understood of God or Christ rather than of ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ.

ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. The same as ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου (Joh 12:31), the devil, the father of these lying teachers (1Jn 3:10; Joh 8:44), whose works Christ came to destroy (1Jn 3:8). By saying ‘in the world’ rather than ‘in them’, the Apostle indicates that they belong to ‘the world’. “S. John constantly teaches that the Christian’s work in this state of probation is to conquer ‘the world’. It is, in other words, to fight successfully against that view of life which ignores God, against that complex system of attractive moral evil and specious intellectual falsehood which is organized and marshalled by the great enemy of God, and which permeates and inspires non-Christianized society” (Liddon).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4.] Ye (so we had ὑμεῖς ch. 2:24, 27: his readers clearly and sharply set against the antichristian teachers) are of God, little children (thus he ever speaks to his readers, as being children of God, see ch. 3:1 ff.), and have overcome (there need not be any evading or softening of this perfect: see ch. 2:14. It is faith outrunning sight: the victory is certain in Him who said ἐγὼ νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον, Joh_16 ult. The ground of this assurance follows) them (αὐτούς, the false prophets, thus identified with antichrist. The vulg. has the unjustified reading eum, which is naturally referred to antichrist (, , and the R.-C. expositors generally); to the world, “devincendo concupiscentiam,” by Lyra; to “antichrist and the world,” by Erasmus), because greater is He (that is) in you than he (that is) in the world.

ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν is most naturally understood of God, seeing that ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστέ preceded; for he who is ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ has God dwelling in him. Though, as Düsterd. remarks, it matters not much whether we take it thus, or of the indwelling of God by His Spirit, or of the life of Christ in believers. The former of these is taken by Lücke, al., the latter by Aug., Bede, Grot., Corn.-a-lap., al.

ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ is the devil, the prince of this world. Having said this, he proceeds in the next verse to identify these false prophets with the κόσμος of which he has spoken.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4-6. If they are true to themselves the readers have nothing to fear from the activities of the Antichristian spirits at work in the world. In virtue of the new birth, which as Christians they have experienced, they have gained the victory over the false prophets, and the fruits of the victory are theirs, unless they deliberately forfeit them. The victory was not gained in their own strength. It was God who fought for them and in them. And God is greater than the devil who rules in the world. The false prophets are essentially “of the world.” All that dominates their life and action comes from it. Their teaching is derived from its wisdom, not from the revelation which God has given in His Son. And so their message is welcomed by those who belong to the world. For like associates with like. The writer and his fellow-teachers are conscious that they derive their true life from God. And those who are of God, and therefore live their lives in learning to know Him better, in the gradual assimilation of the revelation of Himself which God is making in His Son, receive the message. It is only rejected by those who are not of God, and so are not learning to know Him. Thus from the character of those who welcome their respective messages we learn to recognize and distinguish the spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.4. ὑμεῖς] The readers, whom he has instructed in the Faith, and whom he naturally addresses as his “little children,” using the privileges of age and position when he wishes to speak emphatically, in words either of warning or of exhortation. Cf 2:1, 12, 28, 3:7, 18, v. 21. The emphatic pronoun separates the readers from the false teachers.

ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστέ] Cf. Joh 8:23, Joh 8:17:14, Joh 8:16; 1Jn 3:19, 1Jn 5:19, 1Jn 2:19. By the phrase εἶναι ἐκ the writer seems to denote more than merely “belonging to.” It suggests primarily spiritual dependence. A man is said to be “of God,” “of the Devil,” who draws all his inspiration, all that dominates and regulates his thought and action, from the sources out of which he is said to be. Εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ denotes especially the state of those who have experienced the spiritual regeneration which is the true note of the Christian, and who are true to their experience. Εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου is the state of those who still, whether nominally Christian or not, draw their guidance from human society, considered as an ordered whole, apart from God.

νενικήκατε] by remaining true to the Christianity which they had been taught ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς, rather than by the expulsion of the false prophets (αὐτούς)from the community.

ὂτι] There was no cause for boasting of their victory. It was God who worked in them, as the Devil worked and ruled in the world. Noli te extollere. Vide quis in te vicit (Aug.).

υμεις] pr. καιIa70 (505): pr οτιI b 472, 161 (312) | εκ] filii sahd.

εστε] nati estis sahw | τεκνια] τεκνα31 cscr al. pauc.: om. boh-sah.

νενικηκατε] ενικησατεIc114 (335) | υμιν] ημινIa 75 (394) | ο2o] om.

Ia 382. δ254 (231) | εν τω κοσμω] εκ του κοσμουIa 397 ffff (96) I b 62-δ161 (767).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Have overcome. See on 2 13.

Greater. Compare 1Jo 3:20.

In you. The Christian society. Compare Joh 6:56; Joh 14:20; Joh 14:4 - 10; Joh 17:23, 26; Gal 2:20 (of the individual).

He that is in the world. In 1Jo 5:19, the world is said to be in the evil one. Compare Eph 2:2.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. ‘Ypets] You as contrasted with the world; you who are in possession of spiritual endowments. Comp. ii. 20 καὶ ὑ ὑμεῖς χρίσμα ἔχετε, il. 24, 27.

ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστέ] Comp. Additional Note on iii. 1.

cos F., have overcome them. The personal reference goes back to Ὁ. I (ψευδοπροφῆται). The intervening verses are structurally parenthetical, though they contain the ruling thought of the section.

The false spirits, whose characteristic has now been defined, must have their organs through whom to speak ; and Christians must wage war against them. In this conflict the virtue of their Master’s Victory (John xvi. 33) is granted to them. They have to claim the fruits of a triumph which has been already gained.

Comp. ii. 13 (νενικήκατε) note.

The thought of a spiritual conflict is developed in Eph. vi. 12 ff.

éri...] The ground and the assurance of the victory of Christians lie in the Power by which they are inspired ‘ (6. iii, 24). The strength of men is proportioned to the vital force of which they are the organs.

Vicistis eum, inquit. Sed unde vicerunt? Numquid liberi virtute arbitrii? Non utique. Taceat Pelagius, dicat ipse Johannes: Quoniam major est qui in vobis est... (Bede). So Augustine; ...qui audit Vicistis erigit caput, erigit cervicem, laudari se vult. Noli te extollere: vide quis in te vicit.

μείζων] greater. See iii. 20.

ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν] gui in vobie est V., he that ἐδ in you, that is in the Christian Society. The Church appears to be set over against the world; so that here the thought is of the body, and

not (as in 111. 24) of the individual. The Divine Person is undefined. We think naturally of God in Christ. Comp. John vi. 56, xiv. 20, xv. 4 ἴω xvii. 23, 26. Elsewhere ‘the word of God? (c. ii. 14), ‘the unction received from Him’ (ii. 27), ‘His seed’ (iii. 9) is said to ‘abide’ in believers, as here He himself is in them. See note on ὃ. 15. St Paul expresses the same thought in relation to the individual: Gal. ii. 20.

ὃ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ] he that is in the world. The many false spirits represent one personal power of falsehood, ‘the prince of the world’ (John xii. 31, xiv. 30), the devil whose ‘children’ the wicked are (iii. 10). The world occupies in regard to him the same twofold position which Christians occupy with regard to God: ‘the world lieth in the wicked one’ (c. v. 19) and he ‘is in the world.’ The natural opposite to ‘in you,’ taken personally, would have been ‘in them’; but St John wishes to shew that these false prophets are representatives of the world. The conflict, as has been said above, is regarded socially.

Comp. Eph. ii. 2.

Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901), The Epistle to the Hebrews (1889) and The Epistles of St John (1883) — public domain (pre-1929). Text recovered from Internet Archive / Google Books OCR scans. Westcott’s Gospel of John commentary is not included (its OCR lost the chapter running-heads required for reliable verse-keying). Some Greek quoted in the Hebrews volume is imperfectly rendered by the OCR.