In the light of all the warnings John gave (1:5–2:11), his readers might think that he was fundamentally dissatisfied with their spiritual conditions. But this was not so. John now assured them that he wrote because of the spiritual assets which they possessed.
These verses are difficult to understand, and they do not have a strong connection with what went before or what comes after. After the stern warning up to this point, these verses seem to be reassuring the readers that they are in fact Christians. They contrast the spiritual status of the believers with the assessment of the self-praising false teachers. Apparently, these teachers claimed that ordinary believers did not really know God because they had not received special knowledge of him through mystical means. If so, the following warning not to love the world (vv. 15–17) might also be prompted by these same false teachers who did love the world.
The main thing we need to do from an interpretation standpoint is trying to figure out what John means when he refers to Christians as being children, fathers, and young men. Who are these individuals or what stage of the spiritual life is this discussing? I don’t think it’s discussing that. The term “little children” and “children” looks at all the readers; it’s used as a general expression throughout the book. Then the next sentences, the terms “fathers” and “young men” evidently describe believers idealistically. That is, they should be like fathers and young men in their lives. They ought to be fathers in the sense that they have known Him who is from the beginning. They ought to be young men in the sense that they’ve overcome. In other words, all believers should be characterized by these three descriptions.
John is just saying this is what we should be as believers. So he is saying as believers here is how we are to live and that is why I call it the bases of John’s appeal. We are children, we are to be young men or young ladies and we are to be fathers or mothers, more mature in our outlook and so on. This is true for all of us.
Verses:
12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you on account of His name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one. (NASB)
Key Takeaways:
- The children, fathers, young men sequence is probably not chronological or sequential of spiritual maturity. It probably refers to the believers as a whole in each case
- Children have experienced forgivenss and have known the Father
- Fathers have truly known and experienced fellowship with God the Father
- Young men have overcome Satan and spiritual attacks because of the Word of God.
- This means knowing, remembering, and obeying God’s Word with proper application can have amazing results in your life. May not be wealth or health or prosperity, but true freedom in Christ
Closer Look:
Verses 12–13a: In describing these assets, John addressed his readers as “little children,” “fathers,” and “young men.” Some have suggested that John here divided his readers by chronological age-groups. Others say he did so by their spiritual maturity. Still others find both of these interpretations inconsistent, since “fathers” is out of expected sequence, being in the middle. If either explanation is adopted, the sequence—which makes “fathers” the middle term—is somewhat strange. Moreover, elsewhere John addressed all his readers as “children” (vv. 1, 28; 3:7, 18; 5:21). It is possible that the best position is to view the terms of address as referring to all the readers in each case.[1] Then each experience ascribed to them is appropriate to the category named.
This interpretation has more support. Often, when a Bible author contrasts ages (young/old), he does so as a figure of speech to denote young, old, and everyone in between. Joel, quoted by Luke in Acts 2:28, speaks of old men dreaming dreams and young men seeing visions—a poetic way of saying that dreams and visions will be experienced by young, old, and everyone in between. If this principle of interpretation is accepted for verses 12–14, then whatever is said of each age category is intended to be true for all believers.
In this case, thought of as “children,” the readers had experienced the forgiveness that their heavenly Father grants to His own. As “fathers,” they had an experience that touches eternity past, since they have known “Him who has been from the beginning.” In view of 2:3–6, this implies they have truly known and experienced fellowship with God. (Here again [cf. v. 3] the word “Him” could refer to either the Father or the Son; the distinction was not important to John. His readers knew both.)[2] As “young men,” the readers had engaged in spiritual warfare and had “overcome the evil one,” that is Satan (cf. “evil one” in v. 14; 3:12; 5:18–19).
Thought of in this way, the sequence “children,” “fathers,” and “young men” is meaningful. The readers knew what it was to have sins forgiven and then have fellowship with the Eternal One. As a result, they were like strong young men who had defeated satanic assaults.
Verses 13b–14: (for clarity, this starts at the phrase, “I am writing to you…) The attainments of the readers were then reiterated, but with some subtle variations. Thought of as “children” again, it can be said that they have known the Father. Unlike newborn infants (teknia [“little born ones”], v. 12), who can scarcely recognize their fathers, these people (paidia, “children”; cf. v. 18)—through fellowship—have come to know their divine Parent. But what can be added to the experience of knowing the Eternal One? In calling them “fathers” again, John simply repeated the attainment mentioned earlier without changing it. Then viewing them once more as “young men,” John implied growth in strength. In verse 13, he had simply spoken of victory over Satan. Now he wrote “you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” Simply meaning, they had grown strong perhaps because of the Word. By repeating the three categories under which he here addressed his audience, John suggested not only that they possessed spiritual attainments worthy of being called children, fathers, and young men, but also that they possessed these attainments in ample measure.
But what does it mean to “overcome [nikaō, GK 3771] the evil one”? A clue is offered at v. 14, where John repeats this slogan but connects it to another slogan— “the word of God lives in you”—and conditions both statements by assuring the “young men” that “you are strong.” The “word of God” could refer to the teachings God shows believers, which are encapsulated in the teachings of Jesus (cf. 1:10). This teaching “abides” (menō) in them, suggesting that it empowers believers, making them “strong” (ischyros) so that they may overcome sin. While this language of spiritual victory has eschatological overtones, John is probably focusing on the “moral effects” of Christian experience.[3] Believers have victory over the devil when they, like Jesus, avoid temptation and obey the Word of God (Jn 4:34; 5:19; 8:28–29; 17:4).
[1] John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 890. This view also comes from C.H. Dodd and I.H. Marshall
[2] John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 890.
[3] Tom Thatcher, “1 John,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition), ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, vol. 13 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), 444–445.