There are well-meaning Christian publishing companies which produce Sunday School curricula. Sometimes they take a Bible book, or it might be a doctrine, theme or Bible character. With the plan to have everyone study the same thing at the same time, their experts adapt the lessons to various age levels. There might be toddler, preschool, three level of elementary instruction, middle school, high school and adult, maybe sticking college age in there somewhere. For an hour every Sunday everyone begins and ends at the same point in the on-going study. They used to be called “quarterlies,” because they came out every three months.
I was raised in that system. But as a pastor I’ve never implemented it myself. Initially, it was because I didn’t have any money to buy the material. But eventually I came to see that there really wasn’t a need. Similarly, I’ve never had a “Junior Church,” taking kids away from their parents during the church services. It is not that I can’t see some advantages to either of those ideas. But, first, I don’t see them in the Word of God. And especially in regard to Junior Church, the negative effects can outweigh the potential blessings. But I do acknowledge that there are different levels of education and understanding in every congregation. Some of those are physical and mental, but others are spiritual transcending people’s physical age.
I said all that as a way to jump start our lesson for tonight. In these three verses, John refers to four stages of life. But they have nothing to do with physical age or levels of education. He is addressing Christians; some of whom are new believers, while others are more mature. He is writing to them all, all at the same time. He didn’t have a team of experts, adapting this epistle to various age groups or levels of spirituality. He expected the new believers to apply themselves, yearning to learn what their elders were learning. And he expected the parents and mature saints to condescend to the needs of younger believers, when John was referring to the elementary things of the Christian faith.
John will have some pointed things to say to these four groups here and throughout this epistle. But it is almost as if, at this point, he’s just saying: “Hey, I acknowledge each of you and your needs.” In these three verses he refers to some general stuff, but it is good healthy general stuff. The mature saints, whether male or female, need to remember where they once were. And the spiritual babes need to be shown what lays ahead for them.
There are two kinds of “LITTLE CHILDREN” laid out before us here.
“I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake” – verse 12. And verse 13: “I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.” I’ll mention at this point “Father,” which is capitalized, is preceded with a definite article: “THE Father.” John is writing about the one and only Father of us all. He is Father to old men and woman as well as to spiritual adolescents and infants.
The two “little children” are good and accurate translations of separate Greek words. Verse 12 uses a word which speaks of a relationship – a child of the Father. As you know, one of the synonyms for salvation is “the new birth.” (Am I being too elemental?) Christ Jesus told the full grown man, Nicodemus, that he needed to be born again. Nicodemus said, “I don’t understand. Must I reenter my mother’s womb and be born a second time?” To which Jesus replied: “No, no. This time you must be born of the Spirit.” “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” When Nicodemus was born again, that middle-aged man, became a spiritual baby, despite all the religious education he had already received. Every great servant of God, begins his spiritual life as a babe. And as babies we feast on the milk of the Word until we begin to grow and mature. But of course, as babes we quickly know our mother and soon after that, we know our father. It is a great day in the life of any dad, when he hears his child say, “Abba, Father” or perhaps “da da.” And for many kids, it is not long before they begin to “make strange,” to just about everyone else.
One of the first lessons to be learned by the babe in Christ is that he has been forgiven. Here is something elemental, and yet this might surprise some of you… This Greek word is more often translated with some form of “leave” or “to depart” than it is with “forgive.” And that helps the babe in Christ to understand what forgiveness is. Our heavenly Father takes the guilt and defilement of our sin, along with the penalty we deserve and carries it off. He leaves with it. The guilt of the sin no longer applies to the sinful person. He is forgiven. The Lord casts all our sin into the depths of the sea – Micah 7:19. “As far as the east is from the west so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” – Psalm 103:12. Every new born babe in Christ needs to meditate on, and enjoy, the fact of his forgiveness.
But, little child, you need to know that God did this not because you are so cute and cuddly. You are anything but good looking in your Father’s sight. You are filthy, and covered in blood. No, “your sins are forgiven you for HIS NAME’S sake.” Your forgiveness is rooted in the Saviour’s authority and its purpose is His glory. He saved you for HIS sake, not yours, despite all the blessings you receive by it. Psalm 106:8: “He saved them (and us) for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.”
While you are learning these things “little children…” there is more. Verse 13: “I write unto you… because ye have known the Father.” The “little children” in verse 13 are kids who have grown enough to come under instruction. They have moved beyond their mother’s breast to sitting at her feet listening to what she has to teach them
And these little children have been instructed to the point of learning about their heavenly Father. They have learned that not only did He give them life, but He is the head of their household. Father is the One who is in charge. Father makes the rules which apply to His household, and He enforces those rules. He expects his children to desire the milk of the Word and then to dine on the meat when they can stomach it. This is the direction John is taking this epistle, and he wants these little children to follow along.
But it is not just that these little children know more and more about their Father. As they mature, they know their Father more personally and directly. This takes us back to some of the things John has already said: Do you know the Father? This is essential to adolescent growth and knowledge.
The Apostle also addresses the FATHERS in the congregation.
“I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.” “I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.” John is not ignoring you ladies; it is just that this simplifies the language.
By the way, it is interesting that John repeats himself and at the same time doesn’t say a hundred other things. How should we measure Christian maturity? Should we use the ability to smoothly pray in public, using deep thoughts without useless repetition? Is that maturity? Maybe, maturity is the ability to preach a gospel message or to publicly present a theological devotion. Is Christian maturity to be seen in wisely deciding between two equally good choices? Does it come automatically after attending three hundred church services? Does it require a Bible college degree? While there might be some validity in some of these things, John makes no reference to them.
“I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.” We move from children under instruction to instructors of those children when we graduate from knowing the Father to knowing Him that is from the beginning. Someone says, but that is the same person – God. Yes, in essence that is correct. But it might be argued that “he that is from the beginning” refers to the Second Person of the Godhead. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life,” is Christ Jesus. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”
Having said that, here is a question for you who are spiritually mature: Is John talking about knowing the doctrines and the deeper things of Christ… Is he referring to the Hypostatic union of the deity and humanity? Is he pointing to the eternal Sonship of Christ in contrast to some sort of eternal humanity? Is this a knowledge of Christological details and doctrines? Or is John referring to actually being acquainted with the One who is the “Alpha and Omega?” Isn’t the spiritually mature person the one who knows the Lord well enough to pray conversationally the way that Abraham could talk with the Lord. Can’t a ten-year-old, or twelve-year-old child know the Lord like this. Isn’t the mature person the one who knows the Lord well enough to be confident about God’s will? Even children can say, “My Father doesn’t want me to do what you are suggesting.” Again, the true fathers and mothers in the church, know the Lord, as well as knowing about the Lord.
Christian maturity isn’t measured by time, or religious accomplishments, or the ability to debate doctrine. We become mature fathers and mothers the more, and the better, we know our Saviour. And to that the Apostle Paul applied his brain and his heart: “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” And it goes without saying, we become fathers and mothers when we bring others into the family of God.
In addition to these people, the Apostle also addresses the “YOUNG MEN.”
“I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. “I have written unto you, young man, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” Not all Christian fathers have the ability to go toe to toe with Christ’s enemies, but the young men can. When my father-in-law got to be about ten years older than I am now, he couldn’t go out knocking on doors witnessing to people as he once did. But he and a couple other fathers in his church, would gather and pray while the younger men were duking it out with the devil on the streets. John acknowledges that it might be men younger than himself who were in the midst of the battle.
He says, “Ye are strong.” This is not a strength of resolve. It is not a natural, physical strength. It is not the strength of King Saul with his armor and big sword, but rather that of the young man, David. David said to Goliath, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”
When Paul was passing by Ephesus on his way to Jerusalem he called for some of the fathers and young men of the church to have some fellowship with him. He reminded them of the ministry he had with them, when he was one of the young men. He told them what he was expecting would happen when the Jews got a hold of him. He exhorted the leadership to “feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” He warned them and prayed for them. “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up…” It is the building up of God which makes young people into victorious young men.
John is talking about a particular kind of Christian youth – the spiritual kind. Not everyone who has been a believer for twenty years, is a Christian of strength and growing maturity. There are a lot of thirty-year Christian babes. John is not referring to them. And these are those who have “overcome the wicked one.” As children they battled the Devil’s temptations toward lust, or unbelief, or envy, and they defeated him. When the Wicked one came at them with discouragement, they took courage from the Lord and His Word. Again, they are like David – unafraid to face Goliath, because the Lord had earlier given them strength to defeat the bear and the lion.
Once again, John has used a definite article when referring to “THE wicked one.” There is a single, most fierce and gruesome enemy against Christ and His children. Satan is the king of a vast army of demons who do his bidding. It can be said that our battles are with Satan, the wicked one, even if it be one of his underlings. The Greek word for “wicked” is “ponerus” – the pernicious one – the highly injurious, destructive, deadly. The young men, the young women, who are the most serviceable to the Lord, are those who have overcome the pernicious one.
David, one of those young men, said that it was in the “name of the Lord” that he attacked Goliath. While it is perfectly acceptable to say that we go against the Lord’s enemies in the Lord’s authority. The actual sword we must use is Word of the Lord. “I have written unto you, young man, because ye are strong, and the WORD of God ABIDETH in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.”
Conclusion:
And with that I think we can conclude how to move from babe to student, to youthful warrior to mature. It is in the application of the Word of God. We are born again through the Holy Spirit’s use of the Word of God. John 5:24: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” And how do we grow out of our infancy? I Peter 2:2: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” And what makes a youthful soldier and mature saint wise? Verse 14: “Ye are strong, and the WORD of God ABIDETH in you.” Make sure that the Word of God abideth IN you.