<p>4:4 <em>You are of God, little children, and have overcome them. Because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world</em>- By being born of God by the Spirit (Jn. 1:13; 3:5), what was in them (the Spirit) was greater than the supposed 'spirit' in the Jewish world. The believers were &quot;little children&quot; of God, having been born of Him by the Spirit. The Spirit is personified &quot;he&quot; not because the Holy Spirit is a personal being, but because the presence of the Spirit would be as real for the believers as if the Lord were physically present with them as a person.</p><p>John makes such a fuss about believing that the Lord Jesus came in the flesh because he wants his brethren to have the same Spirit that was in Jesus dwelling in <em>their</em> flesh (1 Jn. 4:2,4). He wants them to see that being human, being in the flesh, is no barrier for God to dwell in. As He was in the world, so are we to be in the world (1 Jn. 4:17 Gk.). <em>This</em> is why it's so important to understand that the Lord Jesus was genuinely human.</p>