You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
1 John 4:4 NIV
Everything in this world is portrayed as being greater than it truly is. The world does not stop at making things seem safer or more enticing than they are. The world often dangles its offers before us, just as the devil did with Jesus during the temptation. Satan showed Jesus the riches of the world and promised to give them to Him, but Jesus knew they were not as they seemed.
The Word of God speaks clearly to us through this text. We are of God; we are His children. It is vital to recognise that the One in us is greater than the one in the world. The God who lives in us is mightier than anything the world can offer. The best the world can do is make its offers more presentable and glorified than they actually are. The world packages its lie as truth, temporal things as genuine and lasting, poverty and riches. However, it can never provide what the Creator of the universe can give. More importantly, the world cannot give eternal life. On the contrary, the world system seeks to rob believers of their eternal life.
To overcome the devices of the enemy when he dangles the world’s temptations before us, we must remember that greater is He who is in us. We must never forget the invaluable privilege of belonging and having access to God. We are more than we appear, even to ourselves, because Christ’s life in us is greater than anything outside. This truth is fundamental; we must never forget it. The more we understand this, the better we will live in this world. Consequently, we can hope in this truth to overcome any and every temptation.
The world imagines and offers only what is limited, but God moves beyond time and space. Nothing restricts His horizon, and that is the God who lives in us. When we embrace this understanding, we operate outside the world’s jurisdiction. This greater reality becomes clearer in our lives as we deepen our knowledge of who God is and what He can do, regardless of what the world offers.
