Week 4
Day 5: In Jesus I am a Conqueror
Read: 1 John 4:4
SOAP: 1 John 4:4
“You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”1 John 4:4
Devotion:
Through our time together in this study on identity, we have learned that who we are is not about anything we have done, but who God is and what He has done for us. When our identity is wrapped up in our location, vocation, or circumstances, we will be disappointed and discouraged when those things change. When we lean into an identity that is rooted firmly in who God says we are and what Jesus has done for us, what happens around us will not change or challenge our joy and peace.
The apostle John’s letter to the early church was intended to remind believers of Jesus’ true nature: fully God and fully human. False teachers had started to pop up, denying Jesus was the Messiah. First John encouraged us that we have already overcome these false teachers because the Holy Spirit is within us, helping us discern and conquer false teaching.
First John 4:4 reminds us of our identity as children of God. As God’s children, we have been equipped with the Holy Spirit and unified with Christ. In Jesus we are: a new creation, forgiven, righteous, delivered, sealed, redeemed, saved, free, loved, received, adopted, chosen, known, intentionally made, blessed, equipped, and empowered. Our citizenship is in heaven with all of God’s children and our identity offers unity with a community of believers—a gift far greater than the individualism and competition of the world.
You are who God says you are. You are His.
Prayer:
God, there are so many loud voices that try to pull me away from the truth of Your Word and who You say I am. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit who helps me identify and conquer the lies so I can lean fully into my identity as a child of God. Amen.