“A Word for the Generations of the Church”
(1 John 2:12-14)
Series: A Word for the Church [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
September 12, 2021
The Passage
1 John 2:12-14
12 I am writing to you, little children,
since your sins have been forgiven
on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have conquered the evil one.
14 I have written to you, children,
because you have come to know the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong,
God’s word remains in you,
and you have conquered the evil one.
Introductory Comments:
If you’ve ever been a part of a family, team of any sort, or staff of any sort, you know that sometimes you have to get tough love and tough teaching. You have to have the hard truth shared with you and the leader has to be very clear about what he or she is teaching. However, the effective leaders know that there are times for encouragement as well. You also want to let your people know where they are excelling.
Well, John has been sharing some clear truths that may even seem a little too direct at times with those under his influence. He has talked about walking in darkness, living a lie, and the danger of not following the commands of God. By the way, these were all things that the people needed to hear! Now, however, John shares sort of a “pick-me-up” with his readers. That’s what we’ll see today in 1 John 2:12-14.
Let’s pray together as we begin this passage.
(prayer)
Today, we’re going to walk through the passage a little differently. We’re going to read the entire passage and then make some observations about the passage. Let’s look at it together. Look at 1 John 2:12-14:
12 I am writing to you, little children,
since your sins have been forgiven
on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have conquered the evil one.
14 I have written to you, children,
because you have come to know the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong,
God’s word remains in you,
and you have conquered the evil one.
John’s intention here is to remind his readers who they are in Jesus and to encourage them as they follow Jesus.
As you first read this, it may sound like John is merely speaking to different age groups in the church. However, nearly all experts on this passage agree that John is more than likely speaking to stages of spiritual growth in the church.
Further, because John is referring to stages of spiritual growth, these words would also apply to women and girls, in addition to boys and men.
In fact, it’s probably best to read this passage with the understanding that every one of us can learn something from everything that John mentions here.
By the way, you’ll also see that John repeats things in this passage, almost in a poetic manner. As we said last week, when John repeats something, it’s for emphasis. He really wants us to understand what he’s saying.
So, let’s see three areas of encouragement that John will provide for us.
First, . . .
I. An encouragement for everyone.[on screen]
John says in verse 12, “I am writing to you, little children,” and in verse 14, “I have written to you, children.”
Remember, John often refers to those in his church, and in the other churches to whom he is writing as, “little children.” John can do this because he’s older than all the rest of the believers.
So, John is speaking to all the followers of Jesus at this point. This message, through the work of the Holy Spirit, is for all of us who follow Jesus.
Well, what’s for all of us? What is John saying?
First of all, John says that he is writing to us because our sins have been forgiven.
How have our sins been forgiven? He says in verse 12, “on account of his name.”
Well, on account of whose name have our sins been forgiven? It’s by the name of Jesus that our sins have been forgiven!
John wants to make it abundantly clear that it’s because of Jesus that there is any change in our lives at all. It’s because of Jesus that we are gathered as a church. It’s because of Jesus that we worship through prayer, singing, and studying God’s Word. It’s because of Jesus that we give our time, talents, and treasure. It’s because of Jesus that any of us have been forgiven of our sins. It’s on account of his name.
John just said in the beginning of this same chapter, concerning Jesus (1 John 2:2), “He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” [on screen]
John speaks of children again in verse 14. He says, “I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father.”
Well, how have we come to know the Father? Again, it’s by the work of Jesus! It’s on account of the name of Jesus! We know God the Father by knowing Jesus!
John wrote about this before when he wrote his gospel.
John said in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [on screen]
He said in John 1:12, “ . . . to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God . . .” [on screen]
Jesus Himself said in John 14:9, “The one who has seen me has seen the Father.” [on screen]
So, John is writing to all followers of Jesus, all those who make up the Church, to remind them that they know the Father and their sins have been forgiven. This is something that we all share in common. This should be encouraging news.
Church, this first part is for all of you who know Jesus as Savior. Be encouraged: your sins are forgiven and you know God the Father, the one true God of the universe, because of the work of Jesus.
Next, John has . . .
II. An encouragement for mature believers. [on screen]
After John speaks to the whole group, whom he calls “children,” he speaks to mature believers, whom he calls “fathers.”
Listen to what he says:
In verse 13, John says, “I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning.”
In verse 14, John says, “I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning.”
John is speaking about mature followers of Jesus and he does so by calling them “fathers.” In fact, if you have the New Living Translation Bible, you’ll see that the translators did the work for you here. It doesn’t say “fathers” in that translation, it actually says those who are “mature in the faith.”
As John is speaking about mature believers, he says that they have come to know the one who is from the beginning.
Remember, John started off his letter in chapter 1 with these words, “What was from the beginning . . .” (1 John 1:1). [on screen] Remember, this that John was talking about in chapter one is Jesus!
He says that those who are mature in the faith, those who have followed Jesus for a long time, have really come to know Jesus.
Now, listen to me for a second: as I said earlier, this doesn’t necessarily refer to age. However, it’s hard to be a Christian for a long time unless you’ve lived a long time (you can’t be a Christian before you’re alive). So, as John is speaking to those whom he calls fathers, he is celebrating the fact that they really know Jesus because they have lived a long time as followers of Jesus.
Well, how do we know if we know Jesus? How do we know if we know God? Thankfully, John just answered a few verses earlier (we covered this in last week’s sermon).
John said in chapter 2, verse 3, “This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands.” [on screen] Does anyone remember that from last week?
So, those who have been followers of Jesus for a long time; those who have followed the commands of Jesus for a long time, have grown deeper in their faith and knowledge of Jesus. They have come to know the one who is from the beginning.
It’s important to catch this church; there’s a warning for two groups here:
First, just because you’re old doesn’t mean you’re a mature Christian. You can live a lot of years on this earth and never grow in spiritual maturity. John is not just speaking to old people here, he is speaking to people who have spent many years following Jesus!
Second, a warning and an encouragement to younger Christians (like myself and even younger), we have a lot of growing and maturing to do in the Lord. We need to continue to learn and continue to develop in our faith until the day the Lord takes us home. Some of these white-haired Christians in this room can teach us a lot about what it means to follow Jesus.
John was a fan of those who had followed Jesus for many years and so am I.
We are not a church that is trying to get rid of our senior adults. By the way, are we trying to attract young people? You better believe it! I want babies, children, teenagers, young adults, middle adults, and senior adults all here! I’m trying to attract anyone and everyone who needs to hear the Gospel and follow Jesus Christ. We want all ages, men and women, all ethnicities (red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in His sight). So, we want everyone, and I’m especially thankful to have those here who are not only physically and chronologically mature, but they are spiritually mature.
Now, some of you younger folks might think, well is Pastor Matt saying that he wants to have a church that is all about senior adults. Well, that’s exactly the opposite of what I just said, but think about this also: those senior adults who are spiritually mature will know that church is not all about them anyway, it’s about Jesus and accomplishing the mission of Jesus. That’s the kind of spiritually mature people I want at our church.
So, senior saints who have really been following Jesus for many years: thank you for following Jesus! Thank you for pointing the rest of us to Jesus! Thank you for helping us follow Jesus and stay committed to the mission of Jesus!
Finally, John offers . . .
III. An encouragement for young believers.[on screen]
Of young believers who are still maturing in the faith, John says this:
In verse 13 he says, “I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one.”
In verse 14 he says, “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one.”
Again, there’s a lot of repetition here, but John is trying to make a point. So, what’s the point that John is trying to make?
I believe that John is trying to encourage the younger believers by stating that they have victory over the evil one, Satan. They may not be as mature in their faith as the mature Christians, they may still have a lot to learn about really knowing Jesus like some others do, but they HAVE conquered the evil one by the power of Jesus!
John also says, they are strong and that God’s word remains in them.
There’s something about younger followers of Jesus, they have a zeal and fire in them when it comes to the Word of God. In fact, many of the great revivals of our history were led by young people. There’s a straightforwardness in their spirit that says, “If God’s Word says it, let’s do it! Forget about tradition, obstacles, and what the world thinks; let’s just do it!”
Praise God for the strength of young maturing Christians. We know that a lot of young people have strength, right? When there’s a work project at church or if someone needs help at their house, who do they want to come? Call one of those youth or one of those young adults. There’s strength in youth!
I know with my oldest son there is coming a time where he will surpass me in strength. Currently, he is getting stronger and stronger . . . and I am not.
Church, we need the strength and zeal of the younger believers. We need young Christians who are still growing in the faith. And, we young Christians, need you to support us, pray for us, and be patient with us. We haven’t been following Jesus as long as you have. We still have some maturing to do.
However, praise God that by the work of Jesus, we have conquered the evil one and we are strong in the Lord!
Thank you, young Christians, for your energy and zeal for the Lord. Keep it up! We need you!
Concluding Thoughts:
So, we have those who are mature in the faith and who know Jesus really well AND we have those who are still growing in the faith and have strength and zeal for the Lord.
Some of us might think, wow, it would be great if we could have both maturity and zeal at the same time. Here’s the thing church: we do have both! We are the body of Christ! We are not just individual members, we are a body!
So, let’s not work against one another, let’s work together for the glory of God! We need each other and God can use us for His purposes.
Your role in this church is important. John loves you and so do I, and you better believe that God loves you and has great plans for you.
In fact, part of God’s plan for you is that you know Him and grow in your relationship with Him.
That takes us to our bottom line:
Bottom Line: God means for all His children to know the truth and grow in the truth. [on screen]
(repeat)
All of us should desire and pursue knowing more about Jesus and all of us should be seeking to grow in our relationship with God and our obedience to God.
Be encouraged about what God has done in your life and commit yourself to continuing to mature in your faith.
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Commit to knowing. [on screen]
It’s not only for the mature Christians to know the Father; we must all seek to know the Father.
Make a commitment this week to know God more, know the truth of God more, and know the Word of God more.
2. Commit to growing. [on screen]
It’s not only for young developing Christians to grow. All of us should be growing in our faith.
Are you learning more? Are you memorizing Scripture? Are you praying more and more frequently? Are you committed to a small group where you can grow with your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you completing the weekly challenges each week so you can grow in your walk with the Lord?
3. Commit to showing. [on screen]
John is trying to show the early church how to truly know God, know the ways of Jesus, and know how to live as followers of God.
Are you showing anyone the way of God and the way to God? I’d love to see everyone in our church committed to seeing at least one person come to Jesus! Commit this week to showing others the ways of God.
Closing:
Are you growing in your faith? Are you maturing in your walk with Jesus? No matter where you are, commit to being closer to Jesus.
Perhaps you need to begin your journey with Jesus. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to be changed.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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