1 John 4:4

1 John 4:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Context of 1 John 4:4

2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now it is already in the world. 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. 5They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

1 John 4:4 word by word

ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία, καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.Read the interlinear

• You are from Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• littleτεκνίονteknion · childrenG5040
• have overcomeνικάωnikaō · to conquerG3528
• them; becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• greaterμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• is He who is in you thanἤē · orG2228
• he who is in the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889

Cross-references for 1 John 4:4

• 1 John 4:6We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
• 1 John 3:9No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God.
• 1 John 5:19We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
• 1 John 2:13I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.
• 1 John 5:4For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.
• Romans 8:37But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
• Ephesians 6:10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
• Revelation 12:11And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
• 1 John 4:13By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit.
• 1 John 3:24The one who keeps His commandments remains in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He remains in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
• John 10:28and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
• John 14:17the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.
• John 17:23I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me.
• Romans 8:10If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
• 1 Corinthians 6:13Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, however God will do away with both of them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
• 2 Corinthians 6:16Or what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell among them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Commentaries on 1 John 4:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Ye 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.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Ye are of God - You are of his family; you have embraced his truth, and imbibed his Spirit. Little children - Notes, 1 John 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-6Those who belong to God can tell the difference between spiritual truth and error (4:4). The presence of the Holy Spirit teaches them (3:23–24; see 2:20, 27; John 14:15–26; 16:5–15). Yet John gives clear tests that Christians can use so that there will be no confusion. These tests are a beginning point for identifying true teachers, not a complete list. John designed them to answer the false teachings that were spreading in the churches of the people he…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Ye--emphatical: Ye who confess Jesus: in contrast to "them," the false teachers. overcome them--(1Jo 5:4, 5); instead of being "overcome and brought into (spiritual) bondage" by them (2Pe 2:19). Joh 10:8, 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…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 4:4

• Adoption
• Blessing
• Righteousness
• Temptation
• War

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Benevolence
• Fear
• Love
• Perfect
• Child; Children
• Johannine Theology
• John, the Epistles of

Commentaries on 1 John 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings