1 John 2:12-14 – 12 I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 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. 14 I write to you, dear 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 lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
John identifies three stages of growth in Christians: Dear children, young men and fathers. Children are those who are new in the Lord. They are exuberant and excited over the many revelations concerning their spirituality. What they are taught and the shelter they run to, is the knowledge that they are saved through the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).
Second these children grow into young adults. The enemy has come against them individually and attacks Christianity in general. These young adults have overcome the evil one. The enemy came to rob, kill and destroy (John 10:10), but they remain faithful to their God (Matthew 24:13). What is the knowledge that they have matured with? It is the knowledge that they were taught as spiritual children, that they are saved only by Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). They have clung to what they know. We must remember that the name of Jesus is glorified by the person of Jesus Christ and by His work. During His life He was lifted up and identified as the Messiah (John 1:29). The Messiah lived a perfectly sinless life (1 Peter 2:22), keeping Himself separated from the ways of the world and so He was the only one suited to be the sacrifice for sin. Jesus lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father (Philippians 2:8), and because He was being faithful to who He, in very nature, is. He is the Son of God, sin was not in Him. Depending on the Father and the Holy Spirit, He battled to maintain His position. He was sinless and unlike the first Adam, He would live His life maintaining His purity. The name of Jesus is associated with the person of Jesus and also what He did. Jesus said of mankind that they could be identified by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20). That is, who a person is, what is in His heart, is identified by what He does. The name of Jesus also reveals the nature of Jesus. So we are saved by the person Jesus Christ and by His works. The two are inseparable. The saint, as a child, is taught these basics of the faith. These teachings are clung to and are strengthened as the child reads the Word and, as Jesus was, is led by the Spirit of God. Knowing that the Christian is saved and kept only by Jesus and not by self, the young Christian adult has overcome the evil one.
As young Christian adults grow they become spiritually strong. They have learned to reject that attacks against their faith. They become more convinced that they only way of life that means anything of eternal value is to follow Jesus. They grow as they consume and are nourished by the Word of God. As earthly food brings life to earthly bodies so the Word of God nourishes the spirit of Believers. The young adult grows in the Word and becomes strong. The enemy attacks all the sons and daughters of God. But they cling to the person and work of Jesus. They grow in the knowledge of their faith as the Word of God is revealed to them by the Holy Spirit. They become saints who fight the fight of faith and vanquish the enemy from their lives. They also come to the aid of their fellow combatants. They understand that an army wins the war not by fighting as individuals with no unified plan, but a victorious army is filled with individuals who fight with the same plan. The plan of the believer is to follow their Lord Jesus and they learn the wisdom and ways that comes from the Word of God and guidance by the Spirit. Herein their knowledge grows and solidifies and they overcome the evil one.
The father in the spirit is one who has been the baby, has been the young adult, and has matured into one who has known, and continues to know, in ever increasing measure. Strength to overcome sin and apostasy is developed by God as one clings to what one knows. We know that we are saved only by the name of Jesus and that we kept only by the name of Jesus. The Holy Spirit of God calls us and keeps us. The mature in Christ have come to know Him and His love in ever increasing measure. There comes a point in a believer’s life where doubt of God becomes a fading memory. The mature Christian is confident, is assured, of the goodness and love of God. When they see a tragic thing happen they no longer are tempted to wonder if God is good and if He loves. The mature know that beyond all doubt. The mature realize that we cannot understand all that God is doing. His ways are beyond the ways of men. When trials come, when wickedness is something that seems too hard to endure, they do not doubt the nature, goodness, or love of God. That knowledge has become sacrosanct. That knowledge has become sacrosanct and is unassailable. How did the “father” in the faith get there? By depending on and walking in the guidance of the Spirit of God and the Word of God.
Knowing God, knowing that He and only He saves us, transforms our faith in God from something elusive and mysterious, to something concrete and unmovable. We remain in Him because we know Him. We know Him because He called us to Him and changed us by His Word and Spirit. Knowing that we are those who fight the fight of faith together, let us love and protect each other. After all, we know God…praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.