Bible League: Living His Word . . . the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.Who is "the one who is in you" in our verse for today? As the context of our verse makes clear, it is the Holy Spirit, also referred to in the Bible as the "Spirit of Christ Jesus" and the "Spirit of God." In virtue of our acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we have received the Holy Spirit and He is now an indwelling presence within us. The Holy Spirit is the "Helper" that Jesus promised to send His disciples after His death and departure to heaven (John 16:7). As a result, Christians have a supernatural source of strength and help that comes from heaven above. Who is "the one who is in the world?" It is Satan, also referred to in the Bible as the "ruler" or "prince" of this world (John 12:31). He is the spirit of the antichrist and every false prophet who spread lies about Jesus Christ and the way of salvation. Indeed, the Apostle John refers to him as the "father of lies" (John 8:44) and he refers to those he inspires as the "devils children" (I John 3:10). Instead of being a helper that lifts people up, he is the "Destroyer" (Revelation 9:11) that brings them down to ultimate devastation and destruction. Although Satan and his demonic henchmen are a powerful supernatural force working in the lives of his children, the Holy Spirit that is in us is greater than him. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, one with God the Father and with Jesus the Son. Satan's angelic power, in contrast, is that of a mere creature. Powerful though it may be, it is no match for the divine power of the Spirit. What is the practical significance of being indwelt by the one who is greater than the one who is in the world? It means many things, but first and foremost it means that we have defeated Satan's false prophets (I John 4:4). It means that we cannot be deceived by them (I John 2:26-27). They come with the lies taught to them by their father, but the greater one within us always helps us to see them for what they are. Today, consider the value of this. When it comes to the most important thing you could ever know, Jesus and the way of salvation, the greater one keeps you from being deceived. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingIsaiah 53, 54, 55 Isaiah 53 -- The Suffering Servant: by his stripes we are healed NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Isaiah 54 -- Future Glory of Zion NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Isaiah 55 -- Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Thessalonians 2 1 Thessalonians 2 -- Paul's Ministry and Longing to See the Thessalonians NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Is there a conflict, then, between God's law and God's promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God's promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.Insight Before faith in Christ delivered us, we were imprisoned by sin, beaten down by past mistakes, and choked by desires that we knew were wrong. God knew we were sin's prisoners, but he provided a way of escape—faith in Jesus Christ Challenge Without Christ, everyone is held in sin's grasp, and only those who place their faith in Christ ever get out of it. Look to Christ—he is reaching out to set you free. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world.If a Christian can by possibility be saved while he conforms to this world, at any rate it must be so as by fire. Such a bare salvation is almost as much to be dreaded as desired. Reader, would you wish to leave this world in the darkness of a desponding death bed, and enter heaven as a shipwrecked mariner climbs the rocks of his native country? then be worldly; be mixed up with Mammonites, and refuse to go without the camp bearing Christ's reproach. But would you have a heaven below as well as a heaven above? Would you comprehend with all saints what are the heights and depths, and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge? Would you receive an abundant entrance into the joy of your Lord? Then come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing. Would you attain the full assurance of faith? you cannot gain it while you commune with sinners. Would you flame with vehement love? Your love will be damped by the drenchings of godless society. You cannot become a great Christian--you may be a babe in grace, but you never can be a perfect man in Christ Jesus while you yield yourself to the worldly maxims and modes of business of men of the world. It is ill for an heir of heaven to be a great friend with the heirs of hell. It has a bad look when a courtier is too intimate with his king's enemies. Even small inconsistencies are dangerous. Little thorns make great blisters, little moths destroy fine garments, and little frivolities and little rogueries will rob religion of a thousand joys. O professor, too little separated from sinners, you know not what you lose by your conformity to the world. It cuts the tendons of your strength, and makes you creep where you ought to run. Then, for your own comfort's sake, and for the sake of your growth in grace, if you be a Christian, be a Christian, and be a marked and distinct one. Daily Light on the Daily Path Matthew 6:11 'Give us this day our daily bread.Psalm 37:25 I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread. Isaiah 33:16 He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure. 1 Kings 17:6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Hebrews 13:5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," Deuteronomy 8:3 "He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. John 6:32-34 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. • "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." • Then they said to Him, "Lord, always give us this bread." New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. 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