The One In You Is Greater

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world…

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. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

1 John 4:1, 4-6

False prophets and false teachers speak from the viewpoint of the world. It’s easy to gain popularity by ignoring what scripture says and instead teach what the world likes to hear. It’s the quickest way to gain a following on social media. The spirit of falsehood loves a good following.

The good news is that the Holy Spirit in us is greater than the enemy–the one who is in the world. The reason scripture calls Satan the “prince of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) is because he has a tremendous influence on cultural norms and society’s views. He exerts an enormous influence on the world through his control of the demonic, which is also why he’s named the “prince of demons” (Mark 3:22; Matthew 9:34; 12:24; Luke 11:15).

While the enemy does have some power, the only authority he has is the authority people give him by believing his lies (Jesus nicknamed Satan the “father of lies” in John 8:44). Originally, humanity was given authority to rule the world (Genesis 1:28-30). Satan tried to steal that authority through deception, and humanity gave it away through sin. It’s why the devil could show Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and say, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to” (Luke 4:6).

Who gave Satan the authority to influence and shape the kingdoms of the world? God? Nope. We did!

And while humanity handed over our authority to the enemy, Jesus got it back through His death and resurrection. It’s why before Jesus ascended He could say, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”(Matthew 28:18). He became the second Adam (Romans 5:15-17; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, 45-49) correcting the mistake the first Adam made in giving away our authority. Now, if we have a covenant relationship with Jesus, we receive His delegated authority through the Holy Spirit. The One in us is greater than the one in the world!

We’re now on a mission to take back all that was stolen, restore all that was broken, usher in the Kingdom of God, and counter all the lies with the Spirit of Truth!