Growth in the Lord comes with Increased Knowledge of Scripture
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
Comment: Verses 12-14 describes what I believe to be three stages in a Christian’s life. John describes these stages as little children, young men and fathers. John describes these three stages in two stages. The first stage is characterized by the words “I am writing”,which is in the present indicative active, and the second with the words “I write”, which is in the aorist indicative active. This simply means that the first one is in the present tense and the second is in the past tense. It’s more like “I am writing” and “I have written”. For the purposes of this message, I will combine these two.
To the little Children, John is writing to them because their sins have been forgiven for Jesus’s sake and he has written to them because they know the Father.
To the young men, John is writing to them because they have overcome the evil one and he has written to them because they are strong and the word of God abides in them and they have overcome the evil one.
To the fathers, John is writing to them and has written to them because they know Him who is from the beginning.
It is clear that the little children are those that have the basic knowledge of God. The young men are those whose knowledge of the word of God has increased and now remains with them. This has made them strong enough to overcome the evil one. So, the difference between the little children and the young men is the knowledge of scripture. The fathers are those that have matured in their knowledge of God. Their knowledge of God through the scriptures has resulted in them having a much more deeper knowledge of God.
Message: What does this mean for us? Well, it clearly indicates that it is only through the word of God that we can and we will grow to know God. God has revealed himself to us through and only through the scriptures and we don’t need an external source to know Him. The less you know about the word of God or revealed scriptures, the less mature you are. The more time you spend reading and studying the word, and asking God to reveal Himself to you, the more mature you will be. If you don’t have time for God’s word, then you will remain a child in the faith and vulnerable to be attacked by the evil one.