November 2, 2012
SHE-DEVIL OR SUPERGIRL?
1 John 4
Ronna Cross
Central Truth
If you have a personal relationship with Jesus, He is part of you. You don't need to be afraid of Satan because God is greater. But you do need to be aware of Satan's traps. Be trained so you can crush him with the weapons God has given you.
Key Verse | 1 John 4:2–4
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God . . . . 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. (1 John 4:2-4)
1 John 4
Test the Spirits
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 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. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
God Is Love
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot 1 4:20 Some manuscripts how can he love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Dive Deeper | 1 John 4
I was a she-devil, but Jesus saved my life. God loves me and allows Satan's traps as part of my "Supergirl" training. He is training me to be more like Jesus with every victory over the enemy, like this:
When my daughter, London, was ten, her best friend's soccer team needed one more player. London prayed about it, and the Lord encouraged her to ask me if she could play. It seemed like a great opportunity, but we needed to respond quickly. So I didn't pray about it; I just signed her up. Trap.
The team name: She Devils.
Then the Lord started leading me to Bible verse after Bible verse about who the devil is: enemy (Job 1:9-11), accuser (Revelation 12:9), adversary (1 Peter 5:8), destroyer (Revelation 9:11), evil one (John 17:15), murderer, father of lies (John 8:44), and a thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Training.
I shared the verses with London. We believed God was telling us she should not play. She was heartbroken but trusted God. Through her pain, God reinforced the importance of seeking Him first. We prayed for a solution. We talked to my community group of Christ-followers. We talked to London's Watermark Crossroad45 leaders and prayed together. God's will was clear. We obeyed Him and trusted in His will. Training.
I explained to the coach that our faith kept London from playing for a team called the She Devils; she is a child of God, not a she-devil. He was open to changing the team name, but had already ordered uniforms. God's Spirit had prepared me for this issue (see John 16:7-15). He had provided the resources for me to pay for new team uniforms with a new name. And the She Devils became the Supergirls.
Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
Discussion Questions
1. According to 1 John 4:2-4, which spirit do you have? Is yours from God or not? It really is that simple.
2. Are you being trained? If so, who are you training? Read Matthew 28:18-20.
3. Are you being trapped? How are you battling the evil in your life? Is it working? Learn how to overcome evil by studying the only true Super Hero. Read Matthew 4:1-11.
4. If you choose to believe and follow Jesus, you have the full armor of God to protect you from the devil's schemes. Armor up everyday! What is the only offensive weapon listed among the armor of Ephesians 6:10-18? (See Ephesians 6:17) How can we ensure we are thoroughly equipped for God's work? (See 2 Timothy 3:14-17)
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
October 29-November 2 (2 Peter 3 – 1 John 4)
Read 1 John 1:5-10.
• What is the difference between light and dark?
• Who does verse 5 say is light?
• What does it mean to be living by the truth?
• Where do you find truth?
• Are any of you without sin? What is sin? (Anything word, action or deed that breaks God's law.)
• Where in Scripture does it tell us that every person has sinned? (Romans 3:23)
• What cleanses us from our sins?
• What does it mean to live in the light? How can you practice being completely in the light this week? (i.e.: time in God's Word, sharing struggles with each other, praying for your enemies, asking for forgiveness when needed)
• What does it mean to be living in darkness or spiritual darkness (think about it as the opposite of living in the light)?
Activity: Buy a handful of glow sticks. (Michael's has the bracelets for pretty cheap.) Do this activity at night when you can make your whole house dark. Crack the bracelets or sticks to make them glow. Then take turns hiding them in the house and have the rest of the people search for them. Between hunts, talk about how easy it is to see light in darkness, that darkness can never overtake light. Discuss Jesus' claim to be "the light of the world." What did He mean by that?