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

2This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 6But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yeσύsu · youG4771
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• little childrenτεκνίονteknion · childrenG5040
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• have overcomeνικάωnikaō · to conquerG3528
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• greaterμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• is inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• thanἤē · orG2228
• the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889

Cross-references for 1 John 4:4

• 1 John 4:6But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
• 1 John 3:9Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.
• 1 John 5:19We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
• 1 John 2:13I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I am writing to you who are young in the faith because you have won your battle with the evil one.
• 1 John 5:4For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.
• Romans 8:37No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
• Ephesians 6:10A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
• Revelation 12:11And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
• 1 John 4:13And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.
• 1 John 3:24Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.
• John 10:28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,
• John 14:17He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
• John 17:23I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
• Romans 8:10And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.
• 1 Corinthians 6:13You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.
• 2 Corinthians 6:16And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will 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