Free Bible Commentary
“First John 2:12-14”
Categories: First John“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”
--- End of Scripture verses---
Even in this peculiar little paragraph, the Apostle John wasn’t writing anything new to his brethren. He had already stressed the importance of hearing and keeping God’s word that dwells within the Christian (1:10; 2:5, 7). He had just previously emphasized the necessity of “knowing” the Father through the keeping of His word. (2:3, 5, 11). He also had addressed God’s blessing of forgiveness through Jesus Christ when His children walk in the light of the word (1:9). In today’s verses John informed His readers that this old (verse 7) new (verse 8) message is vital to the welfare of God’s people, from the young to the old in the faith, and must be fought for and adhered to by Christians of all maturity levels.
John wrote to the “little children” because they had been forgiven of their sins for Christ’s “name’s sake” (verse 12). This undoubtedly is a reminder to the babes in Christ of their recent conversion when they had their sins forgiven and were born again through the waters of baptism “in the name of Jesus” (Acts 2:38). This is most definitely NOT advocation of the position that little children are born with sins, or scriptural authorization for baptizing infants, as some people claim it to be. John “the elder” (2 John 1:1; 3 John 1:1) repeatedly referred to all of his readers as “little children” in this epistle (2:1, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21). This is obviously a figurative term of endearment and not a literal reference to numerical age.
John also wrote to “young men” in the faith who were full of the spiritual vigor and strength to have “overcome the evil one” because of “the word of God” which abided in them (verses 13, 14). These more developed Christians had been tried and tested and had proven themselves formidable soldiers of Christ, and John wrote to encourage them that they were more than equipped to stand up to the current challenge as well. The Apostle Paul reminds us that the offensive weapon we wield in our battle against Satan is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
Finally, John wrote to the “fathers” in the faith and reminded them twice that they knew “Him who was from the beginning.” All true Christians have come to know the Father on some level, but it is the mature, experienced, circumspect disciples whose faith has been ripened over a long span of time and through an extensive run of trials, that come to know Him in the deepest and most profound ways. These are the rocks of the faith that the younger brethren lean on and look up to, and approach for sage advice and spiritual strengthening. The “fathers” know that they can fully trust and depend upon the One “who has been from the beginning” because He never falters or changes, even as their own outward man diminishes with the passage of time (2 Corinthians 4:16).
No matter where you may be in your walk of faith, if you belong to Christ through obedience to the word, you have been forgiven, you have overcome the evil one through Him, and you know the good that the heavenly Father has promised you. Keep learning and growing and resisting the devil and drawing near to the Lord in complete dependence and love (James 4:7-8).
Please read 1 John 2:15-17 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
-Louie Taylor
