Let us turn to God's Word in
that short portion we were reading here in the first epistle general
of John in the second chapter and I want to direct you for
a while this evening to the words that we have at verse 12 through
14 1 John chapter 2 reading from verse 12 through 14. I write unto you,
little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His
name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because
you have known Him that is from the beginning. I write unto you,
young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write unto
you, little children, because you have known the Father. I
have written unto you, fathers, because you have known Him that
is from the beginning. I have written unto you young
men because ye are strong and the word of God abideth in you
and ye have overcome the wicked one. Here in verse 12 then he addresses
himself to little children I write unto you little children and
the word that we have that's rendered little children is really
generic it's a form of general address he's not really addressing
himself to any specific and particular group this is the address that
John usually uses when he speaks to believers and we see it in
the chapter in the opening words my little children these things
write I unto you that ye sin not." Again at verse 18, little
children it is the last time and as you have heard that Antichrist
shall come even now are there many Antichrists whereby we know
that it is the last time and so in the following chapters
also he does repeatedly use this expression when he addresses
himself to these Christian believers and interestingly the particular
word the noun that is rendered by these two words little children
is derived from a verb that means to beget or to bring forth he's
very much mindful then that he is writing to those who are born
again he's writing to those who are true believers, born again
by the Spirit of God. And then after that more general
address in verse 12, in verses 13 and 14, he does go on to address
people at a particular stage in their spiritual growth. We
have here in these two verses then stages of spiritual growth. Some are fathers, some are young
men, and some are little children. I write unto you fathers, he
says, because you have known him that is from the beginning.
I write unto you young men, because you have overcome the wicked
one. I write unto you little children, because you have known
the father." These three particular groups and There is, of course,
such a truth as growth in grace. Peter, at the end of his second
epistle, exhorts to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. And so I want us to think of
these various stages of spiritual growth as he addresses these
various groupings in verse 13 and then again in verse 14. It's
interesting how in the beginning he is writing,
as it were, in the present tense, verse 13, I write unto you three
times, he says that, but then in verse 14 he uses what is really
the Avis tense, which indicates an action that is completed.
We might render it Well, it is rendered here, I have written. And then again, I have written. It's a completed action. And
we might ask the question, what is it that John has written?
And what is it that John is still writing to these various groups
of believers? Well, it is clearly the Old and
the New Commandments, because that's what we see in the context
in the previous part of the chapter, verse 7. Brethren, I write no
new commandment unto you, but an old commandment, which ye
had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word
which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment
I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you, and
so on. He's writing then a commandment,
the old commandment, and also the new commandment. And then, later in the epistle,
it says in chapter 3 and verse 11, this is a message that she
heard from the beginning, that she should love one another. And then again in chapter 4 and
verse 21, this is the commandment that we have from him, that he
who loveth God loveth his brother also. So, it is evident that
the Old Commandments and the New Commandments, each of them,
speak of the necessity of love. Love for God and love for the
brethren. We can say there's a certain
sense in which the Old Commandment can be equated with the law that
we have in the Old Testament. Remember when the Lord Jesus
is challenged by one of the Pharisees in the end of Matthew 22, a Pharisee
who it says was a lawyer, he was an expert in the Lord of
Gods. And he asked Christ, which is
the greatest commandment? And the Lord answers, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul
and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest
commandment. The second is like unto it, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. And on these two commandments
Christ says, and all the the law and the prophets. The law
then is that that commands love. But the law is the law. It's
not grace. And we fall so far short of those
commandments of God. And we live to learn what the
real purpose of the law is, that what things whoever the law saith,
etc, they were under the law, that every mouth may be stopped
and all the world become guilty before God. Oh, the law is good,
but the law is good if a man uses it lawfully. It's not made
for the righteous man, says the apostle writing there in 1st
Timothy 1. It's for the lawless, that it's
obedient. for the ungodly and for sinners although the law
can be summed up as love thy neighbor as thyself that is the
second commandment the first commandment love the Lord thy
God and everything hangs on those two commandments to love but
then in the gospel we have the new commandment
The Lord Himself says that, doesn't He, in the 13th chapter of John,
the New Commandments. I give unto you that ye love
one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have
love one to another. Here then, as the apostle is
addressing himself to Christian believers, it's a general epistle,
it's not written to a particular church or a certain individual,
it's general, it's written to all believers, even there in
the early church. And here, as he addresses these
people and speaks of the importance of love, so he divides them into
these three distinct groups. And I want us to look at these
groups for a while tonight. Fathers, we might say these are
those who are spiritually mature. Young men, these are those who
are spiritually healthy and strong. And little children, those who
are still spiritually weak. Well, let's look at these three
groups and see just what he says to them. Beginning with the little
children that are spoken of at the end of verse 13. I write unto you, little children,
because ye have known the Father. That's what he says is distinctive
about these little children. They have known the Father. Now, what we have here rendered
little children I remind you, is really a different word to
that that we have in verse 12. As I said in verse 12, little
children is derived from the verb which means to beget, to
bring forth, to be born, to be born again. But the word that
we have here is actually the diminutive of the word for a
child. It's not the word for child,
it's that word in the diminutive form. Little child, little children. It's interesting because sometimes,
it's not the case here, but sometimes we have the diminutive with the
adjective for little before it. And we should render it there
for little, little children. But here it's just the diminutive. He's speaking to those who are
young in the faith. Beginners in a sense. Little
children. And remember, when he writes
to the Corinthians, a church that was very gifted in so many
ways, and yet a church that was full of all sorts of problems.
And there was much evidence of a great deal of immaturity amongst
those Corinthians. When he writes there in 1 Corinthians
3, Paul says, And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto
spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes. In Christ
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat, for hitherto you
were not able to bear it. Neither yet now are ye able,
for ye are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you
envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal and walk as
men?" They're not the spiritual people that they should be. They're
carnal, they're natural. And there's this problem amongst
them. There are parties in the church at Corinth. Some claim
allegiance to one, some allegiance to another. There are various
factions in that church. and so Paul is rebuking them
he's not saying that they're not Christian believers but they
are but babes they're still little children and again it's not just
in the Corinthian epistle but the language that we have also
in Hebrews chapter 5 and there at the end of the chapter verse
12 Paul says when for the time you ought to be teachers, ye
have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles
of the articles of God. And I have become such as have
need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth
milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a
babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,
even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil. It indicates then that where
there is growth in grace, there's going to be exercise. And that
was something that was certainly lacking amongst those in the
Church at Corinth. There wasn't that spiritual exercise. But he's not dismissing any of
this and saying that they're not the people of God. They are. And we know from what the Apostle
says on other occasions remember the words of Romans 14 him that
is weak in the faith he says receive ye but not to doubtful
disputations take account of the spiritual condition of those
that you are speaking to don't involve them in controversies
that will only bring confusion into their minds and so forth
all there is a need is there not then that we're to remember
those who are are still weak in the faith and to deal with
them kindly and tenderly and encouragingly. We know how the
disciples themselves come to the Lord and ask that He would
increase their faith. That's the request that they
put to Him. Lord increase our faith. How
we need that the Lord would grant us that growth in faith. Growing
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. And so he writes here to these
children at the end of verse 13, I write unto you little children,
because ye have known the Father. Oh God is their Father. He says
to the Galatians, doesn't he, that they are rather known of
God. And these little children who
know God, they're also known of God. Doesn't the Lord God
take a special care of them? Do we not read of the Lord Jesus
there in Isaiah chapter 40, the good shepherd who carries the
lambs in his bosom? The Lord has a special delight
in them. And we see it very much in the ministry of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He says in the Gospel, Take heed
that she despised not one of these little ones. For I say
unto you that in heaven there are angels who always behold
the face of your father we are to have regard then to
those who are weak in the face we are to love them because this
is the commandment that we love one another if we say we love
God and we are to manifest that love by the love that we have
towards the brethren especially to those who are weak
Again, the language of Romans 15, we then that are strong ought
to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Not pleasing self, but taking
account of others. And of course you know how when
Paul's writing to the Corinthians and he likens the church to a
physical body, and he speaks of the various parts of the body,
the eye, the hand, the foot, how that all these various parts
are necessary. One part is not to be despised. One part to be regarded as greater
than another part. He speaks then to those who are
little children, those who we might say are young in the faith,
immature in the faith. But then he also speaks of another
group whom He addresses as young men. And He speaks of them in
both verse 13 and verse 14. I write unto you, young men,
He says, because you have overcome the wicked one. And then again
at the end of verse 14, I have written unto you, young men,
because you are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you, and
ye have overcome the wicked one. And he amplifies really what
he has said in verse 13 in what we read in verse 14. How do they
overcome the wicked one? Well, they are strong and the
Word of God abides in them. These young men. I like Calvin's
remark. He says of these, they're at
their prime. They're at their prime. They're
at the peak of their spiritual fitness and strength, as it were.
They're able to overcome. They're able to overcome. And as I say, they overcome because
they are strong. But how are they strong? Well,
if they're in a healthy spiritual state, it's not that they're
strong in themselves, they're strong in the Lord, and in the
power of His might. Didn't the Apostle Paul have
to prove that truth? And the acknowledge is the same.
When we read the words of 2 Corinthians 12, you know the whole passage,
the thorn in the flesh and so forth. There is Paul beseeching
the Lord that it might depart. He said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
And Paul says, Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities
that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,
in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then Am I
strong? Here is their strength. It's
not that they have any innate strength. It's not that they're
strong in themselves. It's nothing of their own doing. They're living that life of faith,
that life of complete and utter dependence upon the Lord. And so he says, besides they
are strong, he says, the word of the Lord abideth in you. It's the Word that's abiding
in them. Or it is by faith, of course,
that that Word is received. By faith that Word enters. We are to receive with meekness
that engrafted Word that's able to save the soul. We are to come
humbly to the Word of God and to feed upon that Word of God
that we might be nourished spiritually. and be fit and healthy. We have to live that life of
complete dependence. We have to learn more and more
of the Lord God. We can only learn that by coming
to His Word, by reading His Word, by meditating in His Word, by
praying over His Word, desiring that we might rightly understand
it, that it might be meat and drink to our souls to receive
it. And so, these who in themselves
are but weak, feeble, frail men and women, they are made strong
in the Lord. We have that great promise, don't
we, at the end of the 40th chapter in the book of Isaiah. A wonderful encouragement really
to these who would be strong in the Lord. The Prophet says, Hast thou not
known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord,
the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither
is weary? There is no searching of His understanding. He giveth
power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth
strength. Even the youth shall faint and
be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait
upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up
with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary they shall
walk and not faint and so there are those who overcome or they
overcome the wicked one and this is the victory that overcometh
the world says the Apostle even our faith who is he that overcometh
the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God
That's how we overcome the world, by faith in Him who is the Son
of God. God is our Saviour. Oh, I write
unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked
one. I have written unto you, young men, because you are strong,
and the Word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the
wicked one. and so even in this fallen world
they live that life of faith as he goes on to say love not
the world neither the things that are in the world if any
man love the world the love of the father is not in him for
all that is in the world the lust of the flesh and the lust
of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father but
is of the world and the world passeth away and the lust thereof
but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever And what
is God's will? Well, these people, they are
to obey the old and the new commandment. They are to love. They are to
love God and they are to love one another. And then, he goes on also to
address those whom he designates as fathers. And again, he addresses
them in verse 13 as well as in verse 14. I write unto you fathers
because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have
written unto you fathers because ye have known him that is from
the beginning. They're fathers. Now what does
it mean when he addresses them as fathers? Well, we're not to
think in terms of physical age. Nor are we to think in terms
of the length of a person's profession of the gospel. Gil. Gil's good. Gil says here,
a person may be of long standing in the church and yet a child
in knowledge and experience. So we don't measure this maturity
by length of profession or the age of a person. A young man
can be a father. A young woman can be a mother
in Israel. What are these? Well, the reference
here is to those believers who have been deeply tried. Those
believers who have grown and become spiritually mature. They have known Him that is from
the beginning. It's the same statement really
that we have in both the verses. Interesting, he doesn't amplify
it in verse 14 as he did with regards to the young men. He
simply makes this statement, you have known him, that is from
the beginning. They know the eternal God and
they delight in that God and in all his sovereign counsels. What does God say concerning
himself when the prophet Isaiah is addressing the folly of the
idolatry that was so rampant it seems amongst Judah in his
day. There in Isaiah 46 he speaks
of the folly of idols and he says Verse 9, Remember the former
things of old, for I am God's, and there is none else. I am
God's, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the
beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Well, these who are fathers,
they know this God. the one who is mindful of the
end from the very beginning. They delight in his sovereignty.
Their comfort is in his covenant settlements. We can think of
David, the man after God's own heart. When David comes to the
end of his days, where does he find comfort? It's in the covenant. Although my house, he says, be
not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant.
ordered in all things and sure this is all my salvation and
all my desire all his faith you see so objective it centers in
God and all that God is in his character, in his attributes
but particularly in that in that covenant well these of course
are the are the deep things of God these are those who have
come to maturity These are those who feed on this strong meat. We refer to those words at the
end of Hebrews 5. Strong meat belongeth to them
that are of full age, even those who by reason of youth have their
senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Those who have that spirit of
discernment, they can discern the connection between these
three aspects of what is involved in a real religion, a real relationship
with God, there is doctrine, there is experience, there is
practice, the importance of all these things, understanding the
importance of a doctrinal basis to a faith, and yet the necessity
of more than an intellectual awareness of that, an experience
of that, and that experience evidenced then by the way in
which a man conducts himself and lives his life. These are those then who are
fathers. And what does he go on to say? There in chapter 4,
at verse 9 following, he says, In this was manifested the love
of God toward us. He's speaking above all things
of the importance of love, and here is the love of God. because
that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might
live through Him, here in His love. Not that we love God, but
that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for
our sins. And the fathers, you see, they
will contemplate what is the significance of this statement,
God sending His Son to be the propitiation. Or they're mindful
that God is a a gracious and a loving God but he's also a
God who is righteous and just who will by no means clear the
guilt that you must punish the sin and he punishes the sins
of his people in the person of his only begotten son Beloved
he goes on if God so loved us we ought also to love one another
no man has seen God at any time If we love one another, God dwelleth
in us, and His love is perfected in us. Or that we might be those
then who would heed that old commandment, that new commandment,
that we must love God. And if we say that we love God
whom we have not seen, we must love the Brethren whom we do
see. May the Lord be pleased to to
bless his word to us. Let us, before we pray again,
sing the hymn 804. We're going to omit verses 4,
5, and 6. The tune is Willingdon, 815.
Ye lambs of Christ's fold, ye weaklings in faith, who long
to lay hold on life by his death, who fain would believe him, and
in your best room would gladly receive him, but fear to presume."
804 omitting verses 4, 5 and 6.