Confidence and Commands

1 Jn. 2: 12-14

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name's sake. 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. 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.

 

John addresses several groups within the body. Whether a person is a child, a young man or woman, or a father or a mother in the faith, each one has a relationship with the Jesus and with the Father. John is reassuring them that they need not fear persecution will destroy them because their confidence is in the right place.

 

What do these groups of people know? First the children know their sins are forgiven because of Jesus. A fact that every new believers needs to know and be assured is true. The children also know the Father because they are securely in His hands and can never be snatched away. Once sins are forgiven the reconciliation with the Father is a reality.

 

The second group are the fathers who have know Jesus from the beginning either from their physical age or the longevity of their relationship with Him. Why does John repeat this same fact about the fathers? Perhaps it is because knowing Christ from the beginning would be inclusive of all other facts mentioned because their faith was mature.

 

 Finally, the young men are the overcomers who have fought Satan and have come out victors. How do they overcome? They are strong in the word and this word abides in them. This is the key to practical, every-day victory. If a believer is not abiding in the word, he will have to fall back on his flesh. With only the flesh, the young man will surely fail.

 

Also in this passage, John teaches two other commandments that all people need to know. First, if a believer says he is in the light and hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. A believer who loves his brother is abiding in the light. John does not want anyone to deceive themselves. What is this hatred and who is the brother? Hatred is what results when the darkness has blinded the eyes. Perhaps this person had a glimpse of the light, enough that he thought he had arrived. But the works in his life are the evidence of the light in him. Hatred of another person reveals the true heart, a heart still in darkness. Jesus commanded us to love each other as He has loved. In a love like this there is absolutely no darkness, no hatred. He is the Light and once He is in the life His light fills to the full.

 

Secondly, he commands that the love of the believer not include the love of the world. If  one loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. What is this love? How do I know if what I feel is love or survival? This love would include the desires of the flesh [lust, self-gratification, lack of self-control, opportunism, anger, hatred, etc.], the desires of the eyes [coveting, keeping up with others, discontentment, climbing the corporate ladder, materialism, etc.] and the pride in possessions [houses, lands, furniture, clothes, having what is bigger and better, etc.] All of these things are temporal and will not fulfill a person. If anything takes the place and prominence of Christ in the life, then idolatry results. The love of the world is creeping in to take control of the heart. This is the battleground. What is in my heart? Is Jesus where He should be? Is the Spirit revealing more areas that need to be eliminated?

 

Father,

Reveal my sin so that my heart may be wholly yours. Thank You for giving me forgiveness of sin and a relationship with the Father. Keep me abiding so that I may fight off the devil. Make me Your overcomer.

In Jesus name,

Amen