Beloved, You Are from God & Have Overcome | 1 John 4:4

Okay, beloved, 1st John, chapter 4, and I will begin in verse 4.

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, and have overcome them, because greater is

He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world hears them.

We are from God. The one who knows God hears us. The one who is not from God does not hear us.

From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error, amen.

So one of the big agendas for today's sermon, which you can see from the title, is largely centered around verse 4, beloved, you are from God and have overcome.

And the apostle here is continuing on much of the same theme and expanding upon it.

He's continuing to expand upon it on the same contrast that he's been doing throughout the letter and these preceding verses.

He also summarizes and capstones it in verses 4 through 6, as we will see.

So the apostle John restates important principles that he has been laying out throughout the letter and this is including, he includes references to spirits like I've mentioned before, but in different senses.

And that's going to become relevant as well, especially in verse 6. And so those who belong to God, there are those who belong to God and are from him who confess his son, they confess his doctrine and have the spirit of truth and have overcome those who are not from God.

Like verse 4 says, those who do not belong to him and reject him and are of the

Antichrist and of the world and have the spirit of error, the spirit of error.

So that's a very important contrast here that we're going to continue to explore in these passages.

And a brief recap of last week is that we saw how biblical discernment requires us to think.

You have to think, but not just think. You have to think logically, consistently, soundly, systematically.

The solid food that is for the mature, the word of righteousness. And this all in accordance with the scriptures, the analogies of scripture and of faith.

And to conform ourselves to it, especially by making and deducing proper logical contrasts, distinctions and applications, including the law of the excluded middle, which we saw several instances in scripture that are there.

And to confess here once again means to demonstrate visibly and publicly that you are sent to agree with sincerely without hypocrisy reservation, without hypocrisy or reservation.

Something that is understood, something that is understood in this case being

Christ and his word, his doctrine, his teaching. We saw, too, that repentance itself is a form of discernment, right?

It's a form of discernment because it's a rejection of antichrist lies and in acceptance and assent to gospel truth.

The truth of God saving repentance and while those who are not from God deny him and exchange the truth of God for a lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the creator who is

God bless forever. Amen. That's from Romans 125. Notice again, the either or there, the excluded middle, either you, you, you believe the truth or you exchange the truth for a lie, the lies of antichrist.

So now I want to dig into verse four specifically and you'll see how

John is putting forth an important theme here on conquerors and overcomers.

First John chapter four, verse four, I'll read it again, says, 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.

So there's very similar phrases that the apostle John uses in this verse, you know, he says, you are from God, little children or my little children and have overcome them.

You have conquered them already and that who is, who is the them?

This is all of the antichrist. Everybody who is against Christ, who denies

Christ, who does not believe him and therefore does not come from him from God. And so a big, an important question that I've mentioned before that we want to ask ourselves is what does this passage teach us?

Does it teach us law or gospel? Is this verse here law or gospel?

And it's pretty clear, even with a basic understanding of what those two things mean, that the apostle here showers

God's people, my little children, with gospel indicatives, amen? These are gospel indicatives.

You are from God. That is an indicative. We are from God. We belong to God.

And greater is he that who is in you than he who is in the world.

That is another simple matter of fact. That is gospel truth and promise and indicative.

Now the them, as I mentioned, the them refers to the antichrist that he, the apostle refers to in the in the preceding verses, those who do not come from God.

Now to make sure that we don't have any misunderstandings as well, we have to make sure that we always define our terms carefully.

In this case, an important, very important term that the apostle uses throughout his letters and gospels is the word world.

The word world. What does it mean in this particular passage? So there's a really fascinating hymn that I want to introduce this term with.

It goes like this. The world is very evil. The world is very evil.

The times are waxing late. Be sober and keep vigil. The judge is at the gate.

The judge that comes in mercy, the judge that comes with might to terminate the evil, to diadem the right.

That's an awesome, I think it's a medieval hymn that is just very good stuff.

The whole hymn is very good. But the world here more specifically refers to the world system.

This is often referred to as the world system. Or more clearly, the unbelieving people constituting the world whose values, beliefs and morals are in distinction and rebellion to God's.

They are against God. They are antichrist. So that's what this is primarily referring to.

The word world. It refers to, as I've mentioned before, unregenerate society as a whole, as a totality, which is influenced by none other than the spirit of the antichrist that is already in the world.

Remember how 1 John 4, 3 explains that to us and lies under the power of none other than the evil one, which 1

John 5, 19 also reveals to us. So this is very important to understand.

You'll find very often that there's lots of people who don't know how to define basic terms in the

Bible, such as the word world. They can become very extremely and extraordinarily imbalanced by failing to define what the word world means in its proper context.

I've preached on this before, how the word world can mean sometimes completely opposite things.

You have passages like John 3, 16, where the word world means the believing ones, the believing ones shall not perish, but have eternal life only with the believing ones.

But then you have passages like this one that define the word world as the exact opposite.

Those who do not believe, those who follow the spirit of the antichrist. So that is very important to rightly discern and distinguish in the word of God.

Who now, another important question here, and so we can properly understand this verse is, who is he who is in the world?

Who is, who does the he refer to that is in the world? Is this referring to the antichrist?

Because it is singular, right? It's a he, singular. So does this refer to the antichrist?

And if we think carefully through this and discern what the apostle is telling us, the answer to that would have to be no.

Because recall that the apostles warned about the antichrist who was coming, who was coming, but had not yet arrived during their time, right?

So he is, and they warned about his coming, but he has, he had not yet arrived.

Although his spirit, the spirit of the antichrist was already in the world.

And by this, meaning the zeitgeist, a spirit, an influence, an allegiance even to the antichrist.

It's a mindset that is contrary to God and which operates in the many antichrists that are already here and which

John and the apostles warned about repeatedly. So then what, what, what does this leave us with?

He who is in the world refers to the devil himself, to Satan, to the

God of this age, like 2nd Corinthians 4 .3 says, or to the ruler of this world, like John 12 .31

says, notice there again, the ruler of this world, or to the prince or ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, the antichrist, like Ephesians 2 .2

says, and also the evil one, which we just saw in 1st John 5 .19,

the evil one, the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. In all of these passages, we can see using the analogy of scripture, show us, paint us a fuller picture of who the devil is and what his authority, where his authority lies.

It lies in the world, in the world of unbelievers. So I thought,

I thought that Gordon Clark brought up a good point here in his commentary by, in asking this question, because some, some might say, well, haven't these antichrists overcome too?

Haven't they overcome? Haven't they drawn away many? Are there not many more antichrists, false prophets, and false teachings now than there were back then?

How many more false religions are there now that never existed prior in the, in the apostles times?

I mean, I've recently brought up even one major false antichrist doctrine being that of feminism, creeping that has destroyed the world, the world society, families, even churches, compromised churches, even conservative churches, the spirit of feminism, incredibly destructive, which was not anywhere near as prominent in the, in the, in the

Bible times as it is now, much worse now. And sure, granted there were, there was

Jezebel and the spirit of Jezebel and Lilith and all of these evil spirits that pushed feminist agendas, but now it's just widespread.

It's accepted even amongst conservative Christian churches. This is very dangerous.

So how, how do we make sense of that? Doesn't that mean that antichrist has overcome?

And all the mainline denominations, Presbyterians, Methodists, all of these mainline denominations have become apostate.

They deny the gospel. They allow women in leadership. They ordain women, homosexuals,

LGBT agendas, they, they put, they look just like the democratic party. Many of these mainline denominations.

So what do we conclude from this? That the antichrist and the antichrists, plural and singular, have overcome the world and the church?

Now, to this beloved, we must answer with a huge resounding, no, no, no, may it never be.

And it will never be. This is in fact blasphemy because it is to attribute the work of God to the devil.

Like Mark chapter three, Jesus discussion in Mark chapter three, the gospel of Mark.

Turn with me to John, the gospel of John chapter 16, verse 33, to find out more what

Jesus has to say about this question. The gospel of the gospel of John chapter 16, verse 33,

Christ our Lord and Savior pronounces these words. These things

I have spoken to you so that in me, you may have peace in the world.

Notice that in the world you have tribulation, but take courage.

Who is the one who has overcome the world? What does Jesus say? I have overcome the world.

Amen. Christ has overcome the world. Not the devil. Christ is the one who overcomes the world and has overcome the world already.

That is gospel promise and indicative. Christ our Lord is the overcomer and he makes us more than conquerors because of his love and what he has done for us by his grace and gospel and truth.

This fallen evil world already loves itself and its own evil followers, like John five nine fifteen nineteen says, which will refer to a little later.

So in reality, there is nothing to overcome from the Antichrist side because the the world is

Antichrist. It is already fallen. All Antichrist and unbelievers are from the world.

They therefore they speak as from the world and the world hears them.

The world loves its own. And that's from John first John four verse five. Now have a new a newsflash here.

If it were if this wasn't clear enough, there's another excluded middle here as well. That James four warns us about.

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God.

There you see once again how contrasting and sharply contrasted the definitions of the word world can be in Scripture.

If you are a friend of the world, you are an enemy of God because you are Antichrist. You do not belong to him.

You do not come from God. If you are a friend of the world, those are mutually exclusive.

There is no middle ground there. You are either a friend of the world or a friend of God.

You cannot be both. Now turn with me to second Corinthians chapter four, starting in verse two.

We'll see another important passage here that sheds more light on our enemy and his dominion.

Second Corinthians chapter four, starting in verse two, God's word says, but we that is

Paul and Timothy, the apostles have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation, remember that word visible demonstration of truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing in whose case the

God of this age, the God of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Amen. Here we have another very revealing truth from Christ himself, and this sheds light on the doctrine of reprobation, the doctrine of God's condemnation.

Why? Because it clearly shows us that God did not intend to save everyone. It says very clearly here, our gospel is veiled.

It is concealed and hidden from those who are perishing, those who do not believe so that they may not see the light and thereby be saved because the

God of this age has is over them and has blinded them. That was

God's purpose. That is God's purpose, and that is what the word of God clearly teaches.

In other words, there is no such thing as some cosmic dualistic struggle between God and the devil or Christ and Antichrist as if they were fighting for as many people as they can to win them over to their side.

Okay? This is not what the Bible describes, although you will hear this teaching from many churches, especially those who are

Arminian, churches that are not Calvinistic or who do not hold to the doctrines of grace.

But the Bible is very clear about God's sovereignty and man's utter inability to help himself and save himself.

So God is not losing anyone and especially not to the devil.

God is not losing anyone. God intended to save exactly those and only those whom he chose to save and sent his son to die on their behalf.

And countless scriptures and even from the words and mouth of Christ himself, I am the good shepherd.

I gave my life for the sheep, not for the goats and not for the savage wolves whom

Christ defends the sheep from because they are not going to be saved.

They are not part of his flock. And he tells the Jews, you do not believe because you are not my sheep, because you are not my sheep, because I have not chosen you, not the other way around.

Like people confuse. They say, oh, well, you're not his sheep because you did not choose

God. No, you are not my sheep. You are.

You do not believe because you are not Christ's sheep. You are anti Christ. So I love

Romans 837 here. In all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer.

We are more than conquerors through him who loved us, who loved us first, first and gave himself for us.

Like Ephesians 2 also says. Beautiful gospel promises and indicatives there.

Now let's turn over to John chapter 15, John chapter 15, the gospel of John.

Another very important passage about. The world, the gospel of John chapter 15 and verse 17.

Our Lord says this. I command you that you love one another.

If the world hates you know that it is notice again a clear distinction between the world and those who

God who Christ called. Know that it has hated me before it hated you.

If you were of the world, the world would love its own. There's nothing to conquer there.

The world already loves its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you,

I chose you out of the world. Because of this, the world hates you now.

Remember the word that I said to you, a slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

If you kept my word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake because they do not know.

They do not know the one who sent me. They do not believe. That is the world in its dominion of unbelief and unbelievers.

Now I very much appreciate what the reformer

John Calvin, our good friend, has to say about this passage.

He says regarding the Antichrist being of the world, it is no small consolation that they who dare to assail

God in us have only the world to aid and help them, those who try to attack

God in us. And by the world, the apostle means that portion of which

Satan is the prince or ruler of. Another consolation is also added when he says that the world embraces through the false prophets that which it acknowledges as its own.

We see what great propensity to vanity and falsehood there is in men, unbelieving men, hence false doctrines easily penetrate and spread far and wide.

Far and wide. The apostle intimates that there is no reason why we should on this account be disturbed.

We shouldn't be disturbed for it is nothing new or unusual that the world, which is wholly fallacious and evil, should readily hearken to what is false.

Amen. Right? This is nothing new or surprising. The world is very evil.

The world loves its own. The world loves falsehood and false doctrine and false teaching and Antichrist. That is what the world promotes.

Sin, unbelief, a rejection of God and everything that he teaches and stands for.

This echoes much of what I said last time as well, how people who are in error are often completely unaware of their own biases and imbalances, and they are self -deceived.

They are blinded oftentimes by the God of this age and by their own sin. And this should not come as a surprise.

And God's judgment falls on those people. He gives them over to reprobate minds.

He gives them over to judgment because of their unbelief and rejection of the

Creator, who made them, worshipping the creature rather than the

Creator. So then, okay, so the world is not something that the devil has overcome.

What about the church? Has the Antichrist and the Antichrist overcome the church itself?

The answer here needs to very clearly lie in the other promises that God has made to us, his people, his believers, and to his true church.

To his true church, to which we now turn to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 16.

Let's turn over to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 16, starting in verse 15. The Gospel of Matthew chapter 16, verse 15.

Our Lord said to them, the disciples, but what do you say that I am?

What do you say that, who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, you are the

Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, blessed are you,

Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my

Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock,

I will build my church, my church. And the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Okay, this is an immensely important passage here. And there's a twisted irony here in this passage as well, because the

Roman church state uses this verse to justify the papacy by saying that Peter was the first pope, according to what they say.

Now, here we see something very important. Notice in verse 15, but Christ says, who do you say that I am?

Who do you confess that I am? That the word there is very interesting, it's legate.

It's similar to the word that the apostle used earlier in 1st

John, homologue, homologue. Who do you confess that I am?

And Simon Peter tells him, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. He confesses the true doctrine of Christ.

Christ then tells him, flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, my Father did. My Father is the one who revealed it to you and chose you.

And so here we see again, we need to test the spirits and claims that false religions make about scripture.

Because again, the Roman Catholic church says that Peter was the first pope because of what

Christ told Peter here. But let's see what this is really about. Jesus, first of all, was not referring to Peter as the rock upon which he would build his church.

He was not referring to Peter. Peter, the word Peter in Greek is Petros. It's masculine.

But the word, the rock, this rock is feminine.

It's feminine. They're not referring to the same thing.

This is referring to the confession that Peter made. The confession that Peter made, which the substance of which is

Christ himself. What is Peter's confession about? It is about Christ, the son of the living

God, the Messiah, who has come to save his people. It is referring to his truth and sound doctrine, which sets men free, which

John 8 .32 also says, sets men free from the lies of Antichrist.

After all, beloved, remember that every spirit which confesses, which confesses, homologue,

Jesus Christ, who has come in the flesh and his doctrine is from God.

And every spirit that does not confess Jesus denies him or is not from God.

This is the spirit of the Antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

Right, that's 1st John chapter 2, 4, verses 2 through 3. Very important now that the word church here, we have to remember to define what we're talking about.

The word church here in this passage is Ecclesia, which means the called out ones, the chosen ones by none other than God.

The word church means those whom God has called out for himself to save.

And so notice as well that Jesus later on gave the rest of his apostles the same exact authority as he gave to Peter to bind and loose on earth and in heaven.

In Matthew 18, 18, the same exact authority from Matthew 16, 19,

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Same exact words he pronounces to the rest of the apostles in Matthew 18, 18.

What are these keys of the kingdom to the kingdom, which all of the apostles had?

The keys to the kingdom are the authority to bind and loose by preaching both the law, which condemns those who deny

Christ, and the gospel, which saves those who believe it and therefore confess

Christ. That's what the keys to the kingdom is referring to. It is referring to the doctrine of Christ, the proclamation of law and gospel.

And Christ furthermore gave all 12 disciples the same apostolic authority in Matthew 10.

To cast out demons and to heal the sick and all these things, apostolic commissioning.

And he further commissioned all of the remaining disciples to make more disciples by preaching, teaching and baptizing when he said, and when

Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, all authority, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

Same phrase to bind and loose in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, with the authority that I have given you and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the

Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them, proclaiming to them to keep all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. That's the end of the gospel of Matthew, the great commission.

So the twisted irony in all of this is that Christ promote promises us, promises us that that he himself will prevent his true church, his called out ones, his chosen ones from being overpowered, conquered and overcome by the gates of Hades.

Which is the power of death. Which is which belongs to the devil and the lies of his

Antichrist, which ironically, the Antichrist is the Roman papacy.

It is the Roman papacy whose lies and scripture twisting and abuse bring about death because they preach a false

Christ and a false doctrine, a false gospel. They do not teach the same thing as the

Bible, that we are saved by faith alone, apart from works. And they they they usurp and undermine the authority of Christ as the sole head of his church by placing the pope as a false

Antichrist head of the church. Very important to understand this and to bring it all together in light of the whole council of God.

Now, this what

Christ tells us here in Matthew 16 is an amazing promise that no one and no thing, not death, not the devil, not any other power, nor anything else, not

Antichrist or his Antichrist can ever prevail against us ever cannot overcome us.

That is God's church. God's called out once nor separate us from his greater love because he is greater than the one who is in the world.

He created the one who is in the world. Remember what Luther said that the devil is

God's devil. The devil belongs to God. He is

God's servant and God will destroy him at the appointed time.

God's love is far greater than all our sin and all the lies of Antichrist such that they cannot overcome us ever who belong to him because Christ sheep hear his voice.

They discern the voice of the shepherd from the lies of Antichrist and of false teachers like Rome, who says that no,

Peter was the first pope that you have to submit to the pope. This Antichrist who denies the words of Christ.

Turn with me now to Hebrews chapter two, verse 14, where we will see very clearly the power that the devil has the letter to Hebrews chapter two, verse 14.

God's word says, therefore, since the children, this is referring to believers share in flesh and blood.

He himself that is Christ likewise also partook of the same that through death, he might render powerless him who had the power of death that is the devil.

The devil and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

He had to be made like his brothers in all things so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of his people to satisfy the wrath of God for the sins of his church, the called out ones.

That is awesome gospel promise and indicative what

Christ has done already for us in his perfect life and propitiatory death on the cross.

So we can begin to conclude this by by.

I love how our Baptist confession puts this that even the purest churches under heaven are subject to mixture and error.

Again, an example of this is feminism that has crept into even even true churches who have nevertheless compromised some of their doctrine.

Although that has had every church is subject to mixture and error. Some have degenerated so much that they have ceased to be churches of Christ at all and have instead become become synagogues of Satan.

Synagogue synagogues of Satan. That's a reference to the book of Revelation.

Nevertheless, Christ has always had and always will have to the end of time, a kingdom in this world made up of those who believe in him and profess his name.

His true church will always prevail over and against the lies of Antichrist in spite of persecution, in spite of the lies, in spite of deceptions,

God's church will never be overcome in the end. By those lies, because greater is he who is in us than he that is in the world.

Amen. Now, those churches and people who fall away and become apostate do not belong to Christ.

Christ did not lose them. They never belonged to him in the first place. Remember what

John said earlier in 1st John chapter 2, 19, they went out from us, but they were not really of us, for if they were of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out so that it would be manifested, visible, public that they are all not.

They all are not of us. This is in reference to the

Antichrist, but you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know, you all know and believe the truth.

You know that you are from God already, because you believe in a son whom he has sent to make reconciliation for us.

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them already, already, all of the

Antichrist, because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. And God's people said, amen.

I want to close out with just an awesome section here from one of the hymns that we sing today before the throne of God above.

The second stanza here says, when Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward

I look and see him there who made an end to all my sin, all my sin, amen.

This is a beautiful gospel encapsulation, because it shows us that the devil tries to tempt us through lies and the guilt within, subjective deceptions.

But when I look to the objective Christ, I look outside of myself and to the righteousness that is outside of myself to see him there who made an end to all my sin, because he made a propitiation for all our sin, like Hebrews, the passage in Hebrews that I just read.

Christ is the end of the law and the satisfaction for all our sin to all those who believe whom

God has chosen unto himself. Amen, beloved.

With that, let us go ahead and bow our heads in a sanctifying word of prayer.

Our gracious Lord and Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this precious Lord's Day.

Father, for the ability to gather together as your people, your called out ones, your ecclesia, your church.

Lord, those of us who belong to you and know that we are yours,

Father, because you have declared us to be yours. You have called us out from the world and into your marvelous light and grace, mercy and truth and gospel.

Lord, help us, Father, to not allow the lies of the devil and of Antichrist and of Antichrist to deceive us and to lead us astray into this subjective falsehoods of guilt and of teaching that is contrary to your name and your word.

Lord, help us to stand fast to discern these things and to remember always that you are greater, far greater than any and all who oppose you combined.

We thank you, Father. We ask these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermons of Thorn Crown Covenant Baptist Church, where the

Bible alone and the Bible in its entirety is applied to all of faith and life. We strive to be biblical, reformed, historic, confessional, loving, discerning

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If you're looking for a church in the El Paso, Texas area, or for more information about our church, sermons, and ministries such as Semper Reformanda Radio and Thorn Crown Network Podcast, please contact us at thorncrownministries .com.