1 John 2:12-14
Growing in Grace
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. - 1 John 2:12-14
Introduction
So far, John has given us several signs of conversion meant to expose the false converts, and encourage the true. He has told us that because God is light, we should be walking in light if we truly have fellowship with God; if we self-righteously claim to have no sin we deceive ourselves, and if we confess our sins we have assurance of forgiveness. In addition to this, John has given us the test of obedience; that if our lives are not marked by obedience to the commandments, we are not Christians. He has also given the test of love; that if we are truly saved, there will be a supernatural love in us for other Christians.
At this point, a good many of us may be discouraged, but that is not John’s intention. Remember, in the first chapter he told us why he wrote this epistle, “that your joy may be full” (1 John 1:4). Again, he repeats “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). John is trying to give Christians a message of joyful encouragement. Many of them had their assurance shaken by the false teachings of the Gnostics, and these tests are supposed to set the record straight! Christians are meant to read the words here which essentially say “Christians live in light, confess their sins, model their lives after the commandments, and love their brothers and sisters in the faith,” and then nod their heads in relief thinking, “praise God my life looks like that!” Each test is meant to strengthen your assurance, relieving your conscience of doubt.
Nevertheless, these tests can be tough for us to take. What true believer could hear such things and not wish that they were better off or further along than they currently are? That is why John takes a break here in verses 12-14 to speak about the various phases of development for Christians. The “little children” described in v. 12 describe every Christian; that is the heading for the following three categories of Christians listed in v. 13-14: children, young men, and fathers. John’s point is that there’s always room to grow! Not only that, but signs of immaturity are not signs of false conversion. Just because you aren’t as spiritual as you want to be doesn’t mean you aren’t saved. That’s the point of this text.
I once heard a guest speaker at a Bible college who misinterpreted these verses about as badly as I imagine a person could in order to shame the student body. Essentially, he broke believers into a spiritual caste system: infants who only understand the baby steps of salvation by grace through faith, adolescents who have stopped sinning altogether, and spiritual fathers who should be exercising authority over everyone else. His main application was that all the students were less mature than they thought, and that they should submit their lives to spiritual fathers like him.
That is the opposite of what this text means to communicate. The problems with that interpretation are so numerous I don’t have time to refute them all! Yes, there is an implicit exhortation here for the immature to grow up; but the purpose of this section is to encourage those condemning themselves for not measuring up to the previous two tests as well as they want. Let’s examine these various points of development along with their accompanying fruit. My prayer is that every believer reading this would find freedom from despair, as well as room to grow in their faith as disciples of Christ.
Forgiveness for His Name's Sake
This is the mark of the “little children” described in v. 12. Interestingly, the Greek word for “children” in this verse is “teknion,” which is a term of endearment used by teachers instructing their students. It’s the same word used in the first verse of this chapter when John said, “My little children, these things write I unto you….” In verse 13, we read of “children” again, but the Greek word is “paidion,” which literally means “infant” or “little child.” I believe that there are three points of development in a Christian’s life (infants, young men, and fathers), however I believe the “little children” spoken of here in v. 12 refers to all of us, whereas the “children” spoken of in v. 13 refers only to new believers. I say this, because there is never a point in spiritual growth when “forgiveness for His name’s sake” does not play a central role in our lives. Whether we are newborn Christians, seasoned disciples, or reliable spiritual parents, the central message of forgiveness ought always to leave us in awe of the amazing grace of God.
One of my good friends was helping the old Pentecostal revivalist Steve Hill move things at his Texas home. At that point in Steve’s life, he was stricken with cancer, and close to dying. As my friend was moving some boxes, he saw Steve sitting in a chair, staring at the wall. As my friend stepped closer, he noticed that Steve Hill was actually staring at an old painting of Christ. Tears streamed down the old revivalist’s eyes as he pointed his frail finger at the painting and said, “That’s my Jesus!” This father of the faith had led hundreds of thousands of people to the Lord, knew his doctrine backwards, and had a track record that even a Reformed Baptist like me can admire. Yet, at the end of his life, it was still the simple gospel that melted his heart and filled him with peace.
No one ever graduates from the gospel! Before the creation of the world, God the Father promised an inheritance to His Son, if He would bear the punishment their sins deserved. Hallelujah, the Son willingly accepted the terms of that Covenant of Redemption and came to earth to live a sinless life on our behalf, and die the death we should have. When He rose from the dead, the message was clear that we are to turn from our sins, and find forgiveness in Him by faith in His blood. This message will always lie at the heart of who we are as Christians.
The interesting thing here is that God does not forgive us merely for our sake, He primarily does so for His own glory. That’s what the text means by “for His name’s sake.” All for the sake of His own name, He preserves us (1 Samuel 12:22), leads us in paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:3), defers His wrath (Isaiah 48:9, 11), and regenerates us (Ezekiel 36:22). That means that our justification, sanctification, and glorification have God’s reputation attached to them. God won’t let us fall from grace, otherwise His name would be robbed of glory and profaned among the gentiles. This should encourage you, dear Christian. It’s not about how smart, aged, or experienced you are that makes you acceptable to God. You are accepted by His grace, for His glory. Before fretting over maturity, meditate on the reality that you are loved for the sake of Christ now, just as you are. He didn’t forgive you because you impressed Him, He forgave you for the glorification of His own name, and you cannot be more loved by God than you are now.
Knowing the Father
This is the first phase in Christian development, and it’s not that we learn this information and move on to more important truths; it’s that we experience this reality, and then build the next steps of growth on this firm foundation. Once a person has been forgiven for the sake of Christ, the first step of their growth is the knowledge and experience of God as Father. Romans 8:14-16 says:
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God
The spiritual orphans of this world are under the spirit of bondage. They are trapped in sin and the dominion of Satan; the result of this slavery, is fear. They fear death, sickness, suffering, and behind every event of their lives is something dreadful out to hurt them. And they are right to fear. However, once a person is born again into a new family they are overwhelmed with the reality that they are safe, protected, and provided for in this new reality. They don’t know much about theology, they probably don't care, but they know God as “Abba” and that is enough. This is something I imagine all of us still need to be regularly reminded of, yet it is the first stage of Christian growth.
When I do visitations with our new families at church, I notice a few things about their young children running around or crawling on the floor. First, children are easily entertained; if you put something that makes noise or sparkles in front of a child, they will find a way to get enjoyment from it. Newborn Christians can easily have their eyes taken from the main thing. Like Peter, a new believer can easily take their eyes off of Jesus and fixate on the storms around them. Second, children are incredibly trusting. With a few exceptions, a child can go to a complete stranger and play a game of peek-a-boo, or make funny faces as a game. Young believers need to be told not to trust strangers too. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, hyper-Charismatic cults, and many others all prey upon young Christians who don’t know how to differentiate between sheep and wolves. Third, children have no sense of the dangers around them. It really is incredible how parents have to spend the majority of their time just trying to keep their kids from killing themselves! If a young Christian is not part of a local church, rooted and grounded in sound teaching and practice, they are bound to endure spiritual error, trauma, or abuse.
If I may make one last point, children contain more of an innocent and pure joy for life than any other demographic I know of. Take some kids on a nature walk, and see how a child can become amazed or stand in awe at the beauty and complexity of God’s creation. I child can learn about sin and redemption, and come to faith much easier than the hardened atheist of many years. The kingdom belongs to those who become like children in this sense. May we all find the joy, wonder, and faith of a child again and content ourselves in the safety of knowing God as Father.
Overcoming the Wicked One
As has been established in the previous chapters, the Christian life is a constant irreconcilable war. The war will be spiritually waged against sin, Satan, and the temptations of the world until we enter into glory. The second phase of development for a believer is engagement and victory in the spiritual war. Just as children aren’t placed on the frontlines for battle, only more mature believers actually begin to experience this reality. All believers are bound for battle (assuming they don’t die soon after conversion), but a period of time tends to pass before they enlist. Paul describes the nature of our warfare this way:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
Notice the nature of spiritual warfare. We don’t fight people, we fight spiritual forces; and in this text, the spiritual forces are not described as demonic entities to be dealt with as they are in exorcist movies. Rather, they are strongholds: things that contain imaginations, ideas, and arguments that contradict the knowledge of God and keep us from obeying Christ. This is why Paul also calls us to be “not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). Essentially, the spiritual war is over what we think about and believe.
How does a growing Christian overcome the wicked one in this area? According to 1 John 2:13, they must be strong; and strength comes from the Word of God abiding in them. When Adam and Eve fell to temptation in the Garden, it was due to a lack of knowledge and trust in what God had said. But when Christ overcame temptation in the wilderness, it was with knowledge and trust in the Word. In Matthew 4:4, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” When maturing Christians are confronted by the cults with lies about Jesus, they are not shaken because they know the Bible. They know what they believe, why they believe it, and how to articulate it. When maturing Christians are pulled away with a temptation to sin, they quote Scripture and by faith in it’s gospel truth, they overcome the world.
Dear Christian, you need to start studying theology and Biblical doctrine if you have any hope of maturing. Study is not merely meant to be the work of pretentious professors in ivory towers, it is to be the life giving power of every believer. That is why I write out my sermons and give them to you in books, so you can go deeper! That is why I will ask you what you’re currently reading in the Bible, how your prayer life is, or call you when I notice you’ve skipped church for several weeks; you need to grow if you are to spiritually survive, and you won’t survive if you neglect these common means of grace. I recommend having a sacred 30 minutes to one hour every day where you read the Bible and pray. For some of you, this will be early in the morning before you go to work. For others, this will be on your lunch break, or late at night before bed. But sanctify (set apart unto God) a place and time where you will let God’s Word abide in you.
Knowing Him Who is From the Beginning
This is the last stage of development. Those who bear this fruit are described as fathers. I think it’s important to recognize that physical age or years in the faith do not guarantee this kind of fruit. A person may very well be young in years, but rich in this God-given wisdom. In fact, I’m often astounded at how some who have had their names on church roles for decades and decades still don’t read their Bibles or have rudimentary knowledge of the gospel. The writer of Hebrews laments in this same way:
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
The writer of Hebrews says here that he was shocked by lack of maturity in the church. He expected to speak and interact with them as if they were teachers, because enough time had lapsed for them to have been there at that point. However, he wasn’t able to give them meat, because they couldn’t spiritually take it. They were still infants. They still needed milk.
Those who are able to bear and grow on a diet of “strong meat” like this, come to a deep experiential knowledge of Christ in all things. This can be convicting for us, but again, John is not condemning immature believers for not reaching this state of maturity. He is encouraging us to understand that even though we may not be at this stage of development we’re still Christians with a bright future ahead, even in this life. Even these mature “fathers” of the faith still have temptations unique to them. They still need the gospel of forgiveness, the wonder of a child, and the study of Scripture.
However, what does John mean by knowledge of “Him who is from the beginning?” To put it simply, mature believers have an all encompassing knowledge of Christ. In the midst of the storm, their eyes remain fixed upon Him with their faith unmoved. When governmental and cultural storms rage, they rest in the truth that thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers must bow to Christ. When the Church is in disorder and compromise, they rest in the knowledge that Christ is the head and will preserve a people for His name. In the face of death, they know that because Christ is the firstborn from the dead, they have hope that outlasts the grave. Christ has preeminence in their lives. This only comes by the endurance of many battles won and lost. This only comes with much knowledge of the Word, and time with God the Father in the secret place of prayer.
Conclusion
There is a Scriptural parallel I noticed here that I’d like to ask you to take with a grain of salt. I haven’t yet read any other commentaries that noted this point, but I’d still like to share it. In the parable of the sower in Mark chapter 4, Jesus tells of four different soils that receive the seed of the gospel. First, the seed fell to the wayside; birds quickly snatched up the seed. Second, the seed quickly took and produced a plant. However, because the plant had no roots, it quickly withered and died. Third, the seed fell among thorns; it produced a plant but bore no fruit, because the thorns choked out the growth. Only the fourth soil produced a sustainable harvest. However, the fourth soil produced three different kinds of results; some 30, 60, and 100 fold (Mark 4:8, 20). I see a parallel between this parable and John’s encouragement. Among the true Christians, there are children (30 fold return), young men (60 fold return), and fathers (100 fold return).
Every believer should rejoice that of the four types of people who had a chance to hear the gospel, it actually produced a harvest in their lives. Believers shouldn’t condemn themselves by comparing themselves to those who are more mature than them; nor should they despair for not being as mature as they wanted to be at the stage they’re at in life. The great heroes of the faith like Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, or W.A. Criswell may have had a 100 fold return in their lives. But, dear Christian, don’t agonize or torment yourself for not being as “great” as them. Look to the cross and content yourself in the love of God. Let the fresh joy of forgiveness wash over you, rest in the protection of your heavenly father, root yourself in the truth of Scripture, and eventually you will see Christ as all in all.
