Verses 13b-14: I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. 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.
As mentioned in the previous post, verse divisions are not in the original Greek manuscripts. Therefore, verses 12-14 present a bit of confusion of what John’s original intent was in addressing the three groups of recipients to his epistle: children, fathers and young men. These are meant to be inclusive of all his readers, male and female alike, regardless of their ages, but distinguishing their various levels of spiritual maturity. This seems obvious given that children and young men could imply physical ages, yet fathers does not necessarily imply an age, for even a young man could be a father. Additionally, John’s affectionate address of ‘little children’ (v.12) is reminiscent of the same name Our Lord called His disciples in John 13:33 and they were adult men—their ages were not that of children.
“I Have Written”
He addresses each group twice, as discussed in the previous post, the first with the phrase “I am writing” (little children, v.12; fathers, young men, v.13).
The present post will examine John’s intention of his second phrase “I have written” (children, v.13; fathers, young men, v.14). The difference in the tenses of ‘am writing’ and ‘have written’ can be explained in this manner: “I am writing” is from John’s perspective, while “I have written” anticipates his readers’ perspective when they received the letter.1
When John changes to “I have written” in the last part of verse 13, he uses a different Greek word for children than in verse 12, a more informal term for those who are new believers, implying their level of spiritual maturity. He only uses this word twice in this epistle—here and in 2:18. This is also inclusive of both males and females, without contemplating their ages. John commends them for what is the very first step on the path to spiritual maturity: they know the Father intimately. The Father is the person of the Godhead Who devised the plan of salvation, inferring that they ‘keep His commandments’ (2:3). To know the Father one must know Jesus Christ (John 14:7), for He alone is the way to the Father (John 14:6). Our Lord affirmed this:
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)
In verse 14, John repeats the exact same commendation to the fathers as in the previous verse. They continuously know the eternal Son of God in an intimate manner. John is assured that the endurance of this relationship at the present time will continue at the same intensity beyond their reading of this epistle. This is an important point, for these fathers who have advanced in spiritual maturity are an integral part of the Body of Christ. They are the ones who will assist the others in their spiritual advancement by their example and by sharing the doctrinal truths which they have learned of “Him who has been from the beginning.”
It should be remembered that the fathers most probably include those with the special gift of pastor-teacher, which the Apostle Paul mentions were designated to assist all believers in their endeavors to reach spiritual maturity:
And He gave some...as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11–13)
Finally, John mentions again the young men, who “have overcome the evil one.” But now he explains how they have overcome the devil. John points out two factors attributing to this achievement: “because you are strong and the word of God abides in you.” First, they are absolutely strong spiritually. The Greek word for strong implies “the powers both of body and mind, physical and moral.”2 But Dr. Zodhiates asserts that here “‘strong’ means firm in faith.”3 This is corroborated by the second point that the “word of God abides;” that it continues to thrive in them. We should understand that the strength they possess is not their own strength, but God’s Word is “the source of all true knowledge and power.”4 For this is exactly what the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:
You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14–15)
The Word of God is an essential part of the believer’s armor against the “spiritual forces of wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12-17)—the evil one. All the articles of armor are defensive except for only one offensive weapon: it is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
John may well be implying that the young men have this weapon because the fathers have been consistent in the instruction of God’s Word and by their tremendous example.
Our Challenge
Which level of spiritual maturity are we at today—children, fathers, young men?
Since it is a fact that we are in Christ, the Apostle Paul presents us with this two-fold command to test and examine ourselves to determine if we are in the faith— maintaining “a believing attitude toward Christ.”5
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)
[1] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2010). The MacArthur Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, p.1916, note.
[2] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G2478.
[3] Zodhiates, G2478.
[4] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 11.422.
[5] Vincent, Marvin R. (n/d). Word Studies in the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson 3.360.
© 2024 David M. Rossi
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