Let us turn once more to God's
Word in that first epistle, General of John, and the second chapter
that we read. And I want this morning to draw
your attention to the verses 12, 13, and 14. In 1 John 2,
verses 12, 13, and 14, I write, Unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven
you for His name's sake. I write unto you fathers, because
ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I write unto you
young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto
you little children, because ye have known the Father. I have
written unto you fathers, because ye 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 we have then three
categories of believers. We read of children, young men,
and fathers. It's interesting to observe how
in verses 12 and 13 we have the present tense he says I write
unto you and then again I write unto you but in the 14th verse
we have what is really the Aorist tense it's the completed action
he says I have written unto you I have written unto you what
Is this that John has written and yet he is still writing? Well, we see from the context
that he is speaking here in particular of what he refers to as the Old
and the New Commandments. In 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, because
the darkness is past and the true light now shineth." What
is this that he has written, the Old Commandment? It's that
he is writing the New Commandment. Well, it is that commandment,
surely, to to love, as we see from the end of verse 7. The
old commandment, he says, is the word which ye have heard
from the beginning. That which was from the beginning,
if we go over to what he says in the second epistle there at
verse 5, Now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a
new commandment unto thee, but that which ye had from the beginning,
that we love. one another, that we love one
another. Isn't this really what the commandment
is? Again there in verse 11 of chapter
3 it says this is a message that you heard from the beginning
that we should love one another. And we can observe there in the
margin of verse 11 in chapter 3 message could be read as commandment
this is the commandment that you heard from the beginning
that we should love one another and then the end of chapter 4
he says, and this commandment have we from him that he who
loveth God love his brother also. This is that then that has been
written and is yet being written and it is that commandment to
love and we think of the the old commandment when we think
of the the law of God. Remember how the Lord Jesus Christ
sums up the Ten Commandments in terms of love to God and love
to the brethren. In the Gospel, in the end of
Matthew chapter 22, we see how that one was seeking to catch
the Lord Jesus Christ out with his questions. He was a Pharisee,
he was a man who was reckoned to be an expert in the law of
God. He's spoken of as a lawyer. There in Matthew 22 verse 35,
one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting
him and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the
law? Jesus said unto him, 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 great commandment. And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets. The substance of the old commandment,
the Lord of God, is that God is to be loved and the neighbor
also is to be loved. Now whilst that is true, whilst
the Lord does speak of love, we must remember the real point
and purpose of that Lord of God. It is really that that is meant
to be the ministration of condemnation to sinners. It shows the sinner
that he does not love God as he ought to love God, nor does
he love his brother as he ought to love his brother. Paul says,
writing to Timothy, we know that the Lord is good if a man use
it lawfully. What is a lawful use of the Lord?
It's not made for the righteous man. It's made for the disobedient
and the sinner. It's the condemnation that the
law ministers to those who are in that natural condition of
alienation from God. Again, remember the words of
the Apostle in Romans chapter 3, we know that what thing soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped. and all the world become guilty
before God. Therefore by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law
is the knowledge of sin. That is the old commandment.
Yes, it speaks of love. But men do not love as the law
requires them. But then we have that new commandment
which is surely revealed to us in the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We have the words of the Savior
himself, do we not? When he addresses his disciples
there in John chapter 13 verse 34 he says, A new commandment
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 all they
are to love he says as I have loved you And so this, as we're
told there in verse 8, is true in Him and in you, this new commandment. It's true in Christ. He loved
His own, and having loved them unto the end, we're told. He loves them even to the death
of the cross, or the greatness of that love. And all for that
love of Christ to be shed abroad in the heart, to be true in Him
and in you. This then is what is being spoken
of as that that was written and John is still writing. There's
the law, the old commandment, but there's also the gospel,
there's the new commandment. Here we see something of the
context in which our text this morning is set. Now, look at
what he says here at verse 12, he says, I write unto you little
children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. Now, the expression that we have
here, little children, is really generic. It is referring to all
the categories that follow, the fathers, the young men, and the
little children. What we have in verse 12 as little
Children is not really the identical word to what we have at the end
of verse 13 as little children. This particular word in verse
12 is derived from the verb to beget or to bring forth. And
it reminds us, therefore, you see, of those who have been born,
have been born again. This is, as I said, a word that
John would use repeatedly in addressing believers. And we see it even in this second
chapter. How does the chapter begin? My
little children, my little children, these things write I unto you.
that ye sin not." And then again, you see how he writes at verse
28, "...and no little children abide in him, that when he shall
appear we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him
at his coming." We have it again in chapter 3 at verse 7, "...little
children, let no man deceive you." It's an expression that
you'll find John using time and time again. He's writing to those
who are little children, those who have been begotten, they've
been born again. This is an expression that he
uses in addressing those who are true believers. And those
who are true believers, of course, are such as have had their sins
forgiven. And so here we have, as it were,
the introduction. In verse 12, I write unto you,
little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his
name's sake. And then he goes on, does he
not, to address these various categories of believers. Some
are fathers, and some are young men, and some are little children. And I want, as I said at the
outset, to consider each of these different groups. First of all,
those whom he addresses as fathers. The beginning of verse 13, I
write unto you, Fathers, because you have known Him that is from
the beginning. Again, the beginning of verse
14, I have written unto you, Fathers, because you have known
Him that is from the beginning. Now, what are we to understand
by this reference to fathers? Well, we're not to think in terms
of physical age. We're not to think either in
terms of a long profession of faith. In fact, Dr. Gill makes the observation a
person may be of long standing in the church and yet be a child
in knowledge and experience. We're not to think in those natural
terms then. Somebody who is old and long
in a profession. Rather, are we to understand
the expression, the words, in a spiritual sense. It refers
to one who is a deeply tried child of God, one who is spiritually
mature, one who has such a remarkable knowledge of God himself. That's what he says of these
fathers. Twice, in verse 13, and again
in verse 14, ye have known him that is from the beginning. He is one who has such a remarkable
knowledge of God and of the ways of God, knowing Him that He is
from the beginning. Remember the language of Moses
there in the 90th Psalm, before the mountains were brought forth,
whatever thou hadst formed, the earth or the world, even from
everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. And these fathers, you
see, all they have such a remarkable understanding with regards to
the eternity of God, and not only with regards to God's eternity,
but also concerning those sovereign councils of the Lord God. The
language that we have in the 46th chapter there, in the book
of the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 46 verse 9, remember the form
of things of all for I am God and there is none else I am God
and there is none like me declaring the end from the beginning and
from ancient times of things that are not yet done saying
my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure all these
fathers they understand something you see of the eternal purposes
of God. They recognize that God is God. And God is that One who has appointed
all things. He is that One who is sovereign
in all His works of creation and of providence and of grace. In fact, they understand something
of those eternal covenant settlements of the triune God. Remember the
language of King David when he comes to the end of his days. There in 2 Samuel 23 he says,
Although my house be not so with God. There was so much when he
looked about him with regards to his own family, the behavior
of his children, now the sword had never departed out of his
house just as the prophet had said when he had been so guilty
in the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah he committed adultery,
he was a murderer and though God forgave his sins he took
vengeance on his inventions although my house be not so with God so
much to grieve him yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant
he says ordered in all things and sure. Well, these fathers,
you see, they have some appreciation of these great truths concerning
that eternal covenant, that great purpose of grace that God purposed
in himself, or that inter-trinitarian covenant between the persons
of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Fathers, he says,
Ye have known Him that is from the beginning. Those who are
mature then in their knowledge and in their experience of God,
they have that experimental knowledge of God. The words of the Lord
Jesus in John 17, remember this, is life eternal. He says that
they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ. whom thou hast sent, or to have
that knowledge, that knowledge which is the mark
of those who are mature in the ways of God and in the grace
of God. Now here in chapter 4 we see,
do we not, something of the purpose behind God sending His Son into
this world. He says Here in chapter 4 at
verse 9, "...in this was manifested the love of God toward us, 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." Here is the purpose then, why God sent His Son. a
great eternal purpose of God that was accomplished in the
fullness of the time. In this was manifested the love
of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son
into the world that we might live through Him. And these who
are fathers, you see, they can discern something of these things. They understand something of
these things. Paul again writes of them, does
he not, there in writing to the Hebrews, at the end of that 5th
chapter, he speaks of that strong meat that 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. They understand the
purpose of God, the reason why he sent his only begotten Son
into this world, in order that a great work of redemption and
salvation might be accomplished. And these fathers, they see the
connection between this doctrine and the Christian's experience,
and not only the Christian's experience, but the practical
part of the life of the child of God. And that these great
doctrines, this high doctrine, doesn't give license to sin,
rather is it a motivation to that holiness of life. They don't see that the fact
that God himself is the author and the accomplisher and the
applier of salvation, they do not imagine that that means that
that gives them license just to live as they would and to
say, let us sin that grace may abound. No, that's not their
way. They see that there's a connection
between the doctrine, the experience, and the practice. And so they
seek to love even as God Himself has loved. We love Him because
He first loved us. And here is what God has done.
He has manifested His love. He has manifested that love,
as we read there in verse 9 of chapter 4, in sending His Son
into this world. Here in His love, not that we
love God, but that He loved us. And if God loved us, ought we
not also to be those who would love him and love the brethren
also? He goes on, at the end of that
chapter, if a man say, I love God and hate his brother, he
is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother
whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
And this commandment His commandments have we from Him, that he who
loveth God loveth his brother also. All these fathers, you
see, they understand. They understand the truth of
that great doctrine of God Himself. Ye have known Him, that He is
from the beginning, not just a an intellectual, a notional
knowledge of God, but a living knowledge, an experimental knowledge
that is evident in the way in which they conduct themselves. Here then we have one category
of those that John is seeking to address himself to as he writes
his epistle. All the time in this epistle
John is seeking that the believer, whatever category they might
belong to, is the more and more established in the truth of the
gospel. What does he say in the opening
chapter? Verse 4, These things write we
unto you that your joy may be full. This then is the message
which we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is
light. and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have
fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not
the truth. But if we walk in the light as
He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. This is the
great burden with John. He wants these people to have
that fullness of joy. He wants them to be enjoying
that very real fellowship with God Himself. But besides addressing
Himself to these who are mature, He also addresses Himself to
the young men. There in the middle of verse
13, I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the
wicked one. Again, the end of verse 14, 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. Who are these
young men? Calvin's comment here is to say
that the reference is to those in their prime. That is, so is
it not with regards to the way of nature. young men are in their
prime and so too here in the grace of God he is addressing
those who are at the peak of their strength and of their fitness
and so they are able to overcome they are able to overcome what
does he say in verse 14 ye are strong Now, how are they strong? They're
not strong in themselves. They're not strong in themselves. Paul to the Ephesians says there
in chapter 6 and verse 10, Be strong in the Lord, and in the
power of his might. And these are those who, like
the fathers, they know God. They are not those who look to
themselves, they have no strength in themselves. In fact they are
those who would acknowledge, would confess their own innate
weakness. We can think again of the experience
of the Apostle. The familiar words that we have
there in chapter 12 of 2nd Corinthians. Remember Paul reluctantly hear
writing of himself, doesn't want to really draw attention to himself,
you know, egoist. This man, his determination was
to know nothing amongst the Corinthians save Jesus Christ and him crucified,
but he has to defend his authority as an apostle because there are
those false teachers, those false apostles. And in the previous
chapter, in chapter 11, He's answering those false teachers
and he speaks somewhat there of his own ministry. Then we
come to chapter 12 and he speaks of a man. I knew a man in Christ
above fourteen years ago whether in the body I cannot tell or
whether out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth. Such in one
caught up to the third heaven. He was caught up, he says, into
paradise and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful
or not possible for a man to utter. Of such an one will I
glory, yet of myself I will not glory but in mine infirmities. He's really speaking of himself
and his own experience, his remarkable experience when he was caught
up into paradise, into the very presence of God and he saw these
unspeakable things. But then he speaks of that thorn
in the flesh that the Lord sent, lest I should be exalted above
measure through the abundance of the revelations there was
given to me a thorn in the flesh, he said. Now he pleads with God
concerning it. He wants to be rid of the thorn
in the flesh, but not so. Verse 9, this is where we come
to. He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my
strength is made perfect in weakness. 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 and that's how these young men are you see all they are
at their prime and they're strong but where are they strong not
in themselves they're all weakness in themselves
all their strength is only in the Lord what does it say here
in verse 14 concerning these men and their experience ye are
strong and the Word of God abideth in you." The Word of God abideth
in you. Now, we are to receive the Word
of God. That's what we are told, is it
not, in the opening chapter of James' epistle. With meekness,
with humility, we are to receive the Word of God. that is able
to save the soul, or that God's Word might truly dwell within
us. But what if God's Word really
is in us? If God's Word enters into us,
how does it enter? It's by faith, is it not? It's
by faith that we receive the Word of God. It's not just a
matter of receiving the Word of God into our understanding,
having that mind, that intellectual knowledge
of the Word of God, if we are really receiving the Word of
God, surely we are to receive it into our hearts. We are to
experience the Word of God. And that's how he comes, he comes
by faith. Not just a question of assent
with the mind, so much more than that, it's receiving that Word
so as to be those who are trusting in that Word of God, the thing
that God is saying to us here in Scripture. And if we are receiving
it by faith, what is the consequence? Well, if we receive it by faith,
we're those who are brought to turn away from ourselves. to
look away from ourselves if we are receiving the word of God
we are those who are looking on to Jesus who is the author
and finisher of our faith we are those who are brought to
see that we have no innate strengths and this is these young men you
see they are at their prime They're at their prime, they're strong.
Why? Because they have truly received
the Word of God, and that Word of God is abiding in them. And so we read, they overcome. They overcome the wicked one. And we have that twice. Verse
13, I write unto you young men, because you have overcome the
wicked one, And then again there at the end of verse 14, I return
unto you young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. And what is the victory that
overcomes the world? The victory that overcomes the
world, as we see there in chapter 5, even our faith. Who is he that
overcometh the world? but he that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God. And of course there's a connection
between the world and the wicked one. He says at the end, does
he not, that the whole world lieth in wickedness there in
verse 19 of chapter 5. The world, that's the realm of
Satan. He is the prince of the power of the air. And the world
lies in that wicked one since our first parents' sins. How sin has entered into the
world, how the whole of creation is therefore under that dreadful
curse. But these young men, why they
overcome. They overcome. He goes on to
say, does he not, that they overcome the wicked one, they overcome
the world. 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. 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 whole
world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the
will of God abideth forever. O God, grant that we might be
those who are as these young men who are separated from this
wicked world who turn our backs upon the ways of sin and of satan
he writes in unto fathers, he writes unto these whom he says
are young men but then also he speaks to those whom he calls
little children there at the end of verse 13 I write unto
you little children because ye have known the Father now as
I said at the outset it is a different word really to what we have back
at the beginning of verse 12 remember back in verse 12 that
expression little children I said it's derived from the verb to
be to beget or to bring forth we have the idea of those who
are born And John is particularly writing to those who are born
again. They are born of the Spirit of God. As we read in the third
chapter of John's Gospel, they are those who are regenerating,
and all must be regenerating. Verse 12, as we said, is John
using a generic word. It's what he uses time and again
when he is writing of Christian believers. those who are the
people of God. But here you see, at the end
of verse 13, the word is the diminutive of
the Greek word for a child. It's a completely different word. And it's a diminutive. In other
words, it's referring to little children. Little children. You see, there are these different
stages of development amongst those who are the children of
God, are there not? There are some who are fathers,
they are spiritually mature. We're not to think here in terms
of the male only. We know also, of course, there
are those who are real mothers in Israel. There are those who are spiritually
mature. There are those who are young men or young women and
they're spiritually healthy, they're at their prime. And then
there are others who are as little children and they are spiritually
weak. Now, there are marks of those
who are only children where there are parties and factions in the
church Paul says that that is an evidence of immaturity when
he has to write to the church at Corinth and he has to write
to Corinth, a greatly gifted church in many ways and yet a
church that was bedeviled with all sorts of problems. And how
does Paul address them there in chapter 3 of the first epistle? 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, and not behaving as they should. They're too much
like the natural man in the way in which they're conducting themselves.
There were these different parties in the church at Corinth. Some
were of one party, some were of another. And they made their
boasts of men and not of God. Again, when Paul writes, we've
already referred to Hebrews chapter 4 and what he says there, Hebrews chapter 5 rather, and
what he says there at the end concerning the strung meat for
those of full age. But look at the context. Verse
12 he says, When for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have
need that one teach you a game, which be the first principles
of the oracles of God, and thou become such as have need of milk,
and not of strung meat. For everyone 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 good and evil." Now, these who
are weak, these who are little children and babes, they're still
the Lord's. The Apostle doesn't dismiss and
write them off as not being the true children of God. In fact,
Paul time and again we see in his epistles his concern for
their well-being. In Romans 14 he says him that
is weak in the faith, receive you, but not to doubtful disputations. Receive those who are weak in
the faith, but be aware. Don't offend them. And of course
he is simply there echoing something of the words of the Lord Jesus
Christ himself, is he not? The Lord Jesus Christ is ever
concerned for those who are what he calls bad and not to be despised. Remember And it's recorded in
the Gospels, for example, we have something of it there in
the 18th chapter of Matthew. Verse 10, he says, Take heed
that ye despise not one of these little ones. For I say unto you
that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my
Father which is in heaven. For the Son of Man is come to
save that which was lost. or Taipeide concerning these
little ones. He said previously there in verse
3, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as
little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. With regards to faith we have
to become as a little child. There's no despising of these
little ones The Lord Himself takes account of them, is concerned
for them, and so too the Apostle. Him that is weak in the faith,
He says, receive you. Receive these characters. But we're not to be satisfied
to be always weak in the faith, to be always as it were babes
in the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, we see how the Lord
Jesus on occasions would rebuke his own disciples. He rebukes
Peter, does he not? O thou of little faith, he says.
O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? It's not healthy
to be doubtful, calling into question all the time. In fact,
we see how the Disciples desire that the Lord would grant to
them an increase of faith. Lord, increase our faith with
their prayer. We are to be those who would
desire to grow. We are to grow in grace. And
in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We
have that exhortation at the end of Peter's second epistle,
do we not? To grow in grace. Oh yes, we
have to begin, we are bad, we are little children, we should
desire that we might mature and come to full strength to be those
who are young men and young women in the ways of God, in the ways
of Christ and ultimately to be those who are fathers and mothers
in Israel. There is to be that growth. But
here we think of these who are spoken of as the little children. I write unto you little children,
he says, because ye have known the Father. You have known the
Father. But why have they known the Father?
Well, Galatians 4, 9 we read, rather they are known of God. We love Him because He first
loved us, and in that sense we also know Him because He first
knows us. And how does He know His children?
How does he know his children? Like as a father pitieth his
children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. He knoweth
our crying. He remembers that we are dust. This is the comfort then of these
little ones. How the Lord himself knows them. And because he knows them, they
will come to know him and they will come to understand something
of His ways, how kind, how tender are His ways with them. We see
how the Lord Jesus Christ as that One who is the Great Shepherd
of the sheep has such a peculiar care for the lambs. Oh, He cares for those lambs
in such a remarkable way, does He not? He carries There in Isaiah
40, 11, He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, He shall gather
the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall
gently meet those that are with yarn. The little ones, the Lord has
special care for them, undertake for them constantly what is over
them. And so we see that there are
these various categories amongst the children of God, but they're
all God's children, they're all those who as we see from verse
12 are begotten again, they're born of God, they have their
sins forgiven. And isn't this the great mark
with regards to all the family of God, that they are such as
love one another? Again, the words of the Apostle
Paul, writing at the end of Romans, in Romans chapter 15. What does
he say? Moreover, brethren, I declare,
we're reading the wrong portion, it's Romans 15, verse 1, We then that are strong
ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please
ourselves. Let every one of us please his
neighbor for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself,
but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproach thee are
fallen on them. Here is the Lord Jesus Christ
who is the great pattern to all his children. Christ has not
pleased himself. Believers are not to please themselves. We are to seek to be those who
would please one another. and those who are stronger to
bear all the infirmities of the weak. O these apostles, be it
Paul, be it John, how they have this care, you see, of all the
believers, whatever stage of spiritual growth they may be
in, be they little children, be they young men, be they fathers. I write unto you, fathers, he
says, because you have known him that is from the beginning,
I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the
wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have
known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers,
because ye 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."
Be pleased to bless His words to us.