Oakbrook Evangelical Free Church

1 John 2:12-17 “12I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. 13I 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. 14I 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.

15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. ” NASB95

 

Colossians 2:6-7 “ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted (new believer) and built up in him (growing believer), strengthened in the faith (worker) as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness (shepherd). NIV

 

The coming of spring results in a transformation of life. Everywhere you turn, you see all of nature begin to come alive again. Flowers start to bloom. The landscape turns green again. Life begins to reappear everywhere. Things begin to grow.

 

Spring reminds us that there is a principle of growth built into our world. Indeed, where there is life, there is growth. Living things grow. If they are not growing, there are only a couple of explanations. It might not be the time for rapid growth. During the winter, growth slows to a standstill. You don’t expect things to grow then. And some things do not grow at an even pace. The Chinese bamboo tree does absolutely nothing – or so it seems – for the first four years. Then suddenly, sometime during the fifth year, it shoots up ninety feet in sixty days. Now, would you say that bamboo tree grew in six weeks, or five years? There are good reasons why we might not observe growth. But when it is time for growth and growth does not occur, then we have to ask ourselves another question. What is blocking the growth? You see, living things naturally grow. If they do not, then something must be keeping them from growing. And so it is with Christians as well.

 

The Bible teaches us that the goal of every Christian believer is to grow. Indeed, we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and into the likeness of Jesus Himself. The Bible teaches very clearly that the goal of Christ’s coming is not merely to bring people to salvation, the goal is to bring them into full Christian maturity. The question we need to ask ourselves is a simple one. Where are you in your quest for maturity in Christ?  (where are you in the process?)

 

In our text today, John points out three categories of believers. We see in these categories three stages of spiritual development in our quest for full spiritual maturity.

 

I.          Stages of Spiritual Growth

There are three stages of growth that John highlights for us in our text. The three stages of Christian growth are children, fathers, and young men.  He mentions each category twice, and so we will take the two references together.

 

In the first series of three (vv. 12-13b) we have the minimal spiritual experience for each stage of spiritual life.

 

In the second series of three (vv.13c-14) the same three stages of life to illustrate their progress.  We have the maximal spiritual experience for each stage.  He is reassuring them that he is aware of their spiritual growth.

 

In each stage John reminded his readers of their spiritual blessings to motivate them to cultivate intimate fellowship with God. “Because his readers are Christians and have in part experienced the power of their faith he moves them to nobler efforts; his object is that their ‘joy may be fulfilled’   

 

We should also point out that these categories have nothing to do with age or gender. It is possible for someone to be sixty years old and still be a spiritual child and it is possible for a female to be a spiritual father in the sense that those terms are used in our text. So let’s look at these three stages of growth more closely.

 

John continues to urge his readers to cultivate intimate fellowship with God who is light.  To do so they also needed to reject worldliness.

Stage I:  Children

12  “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake…13b I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.”  

The minimum….the goal.

Little children spiritually all know that God has forgiven their sins, but they can advance to intimate knowledge of the Father.

 

Being a child is not necessarily a bad thing.

All of us come into the world as babies.

Children can be wonderful.

But they are a lot of trouble too.

 

Someone described a baby as “something with a loud noise at one end and no control at the other.”   Babies demand a lot of attention   They need protection.  They need special consideration and patience.  The growing process is designed to teach children how to be more self-sustaining.

 

Children are characterized by new life. They are born. They are here. They are alive. And this is how John speaks of spiritual children. He says that one of the characteristics are spiritual children is their sins have been forgiven on account of his name. They have been born again. They have experienced the forgiveness of sins. He also says about them that they have known the Father. In other words, spiritual children are alive and they know who their father is. And this is enough at the beginning.

 

As long as your baby is healthy and gives you a big smile of recognition when you pick them up, all is well. That’s because you don’t expect any more from babies.  

 

John 10:27-30 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” NIV

 

John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.NIV

 

On the other hand, if you were to analyze them critically, you would find that they are not very hard working, they tend to lay around a lot, they are totally self-centered, they burp in your face and don’t even apologize, they have no modesty, and they cry a lot. Why, they act just like babies! No kidding! They are babies.

All of us enter into spiritual life as spiritual babies. We are spiritual children. We know the forgiveness of God and we know who is our father. It’s great to have spiritual children around. But we don’t want them to remain children. What is tragic is when someone has known the Lord for ten, fifteen, twenty years and are still children. Our goal for children is to have them grow up.

As children John’s readers had known forgiveness

Forgiven

No matter what sins may have been made in life, God has made the way for forgiveness and restored fellowship through the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. 

 

Forgiven – the painting.  Thomas Blackshear II – works in National Geographic, commissioned by US Postal Service, works exhibited in Smithsonian Institute.

 

Reveals the heart of God toward us.

Surrounded by the world of sin and darkness

It is the world of darkness within us that the light of JC seeks to invade

Jesus loves us like no one else could. 

 

When we look at the cross we never need to question his love for us.  He came for us, he died for us and he lives for us.

 

When we look at the cross we never need to question our worth.  God paid a tremendous price for our redemption. 

Contemporary man

Guilt: With mallet and nail – each of us is responsible

for Christ’s death.

In  despair, ready to fall.

            Expression carries the pain of sin

            His helplessness reflects total dependence on JC for salvation

In grace the ever present Jesus is ready to receive and redeem all who have been broken by sin.  Notice the glow around his head.  This signifies his holiness and divinity.  Notice Jesus is clothed in white robes to indicate his righteousness.  Jesus meets the demands of God’s holiness in two ways.

 

First, in his life he was without sin.  He lived out the law perfectly.  Second, in his death he met the demands of a broken law which he did not do.  We did.

On Mt. Calvary Christ holds us up.  Notice the strength of his hands.  We dare not rely on our own strength.  We are totally dependent on Him.  The place of flowing blood became the place of new life.  It is here that each sinner must come to be forgiven.  And notice his hand over the man’s heart.  “By his wounds you were healed.”  He came to change us from the inside out beginning with our hearts. 

 

B.        Stage 2: Fathers

13a  “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning….14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning.”

 

John is elderly.  What has he discovered that we must not forget

            What is the most important thing for Fathers to remember?

 

He says the exact same thing twice about fathers. It seems as if that is all that needs to be said about those who are fully spiritually mature. And what is it that he says? What is the mark of this spiritual maturity? It is this – they have known him who is from the beginning.

 

As fathers they had experienced fellowship with God through Jesus Christ   When one knows the eternal God the only thing one can do to advance is to continue to know Him better.

 

Jeremiah 9:23-24 “This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. NIV

 

J.I. Packer reading: page 20

Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, NIV

            I count all things lost – of no value & not constantly on his mind

 

Packer: page 21

Observation: One can know a great deal about God w/o much knowledge of God

we can be interested in the Bible…discuss theological subjects…even question something we hear a Bible teacher say…or get upset when Biblical truth is twisted or rejected.  We can even go to Bible studies and serve in various ways.  AND YET, ALL THE TIME HARDLY KNOW GOD.

 

Come back to the question:  Can we say simply and honestly as a matter of fact that we have known God?  And that as a result of knowing God even the unpleasantness we have had or the pleasantness we have not had does not matter to us?

 

Daniel 11:32 “He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. ESV

1.         Those who know God have great energy for God.

The action taken here is a reaction to the anti-God trends around them.

They were compelled from time to time to stand out against the dictates of the world system around them.

 

The primary energy for God was displayed in prayer!

 

2.         Those who know God had great thoughts about God.

Daniel 2:20-23; 3:16-18;

 

3.         Those who know God show great boldness for God.

Daniel and his friends stuck their necks out.  They know what they were doing.  They had counted the cost and took the risk.

Daniel 1; 2; 3; 6;   Once they were convinced that their stand was right as Oswald Chambers said, They “smilingly washed their hands of the consequences’

 

4.         Those who know God find great contentment in Him.

Romans 5:1-2; Daniel 3:16-8; Phil 4:11-13

 

Do we desire to know God?  Then

First, access our knowledge of God…how we pray…what goes on in our hearts.

Second, decide to seek Him. We can seek & find His presence.

One who is spiritually mature has developed a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. A spiritual father is one who walks with Christ. One who is spiritually mature has had his or her life seasoned by maintaining a close and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. Because of their walk with Christ, these are they who reflect His nature and character in their lives. They are wise with His wisdom. They are steadfast and stable in His peace. They are merciful and kind because His love abides in their hearts. They have been through the fire and come out still trusting in God’s goodness and grace. This is the goal for every one of us as believers. Our call is to be made into the image of Jesus Christ by following Him consistently and faithfully.

 

C.        Stage 3: Young Men

13b “I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one… 14b 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”

 

For sure the young know war.

For sure it isn’t about us “Father’s”… we live an example and a legacy

But the significant battles will be won or lost by those of you are the spiritually young.

 

As young men they had known some victory over their spiritual adversary, Satan 

 

Young men are energetic – they are strong. As we move in our development from being children, we grow into young men. John indicates that these young men are strong and in their strength they have overcome the evil one. Young men are characterized by their energy and strength. Young men do the work. Young men fight the battles. Young men make a difference. They are alive.

 

Isaiah 40:28-31 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. NIV

 

John initially said the youths had defeated the evil one, but he said nothing of their condition after gaining the victory. They could be weak and vulnerable. However the second statement about them adds that they are strong and God’s Word continues to abide in them. This is a more robust spiritual condition.

 

What was the key to the growth of these young men? What was the key to their becoming strong? What was the key to their overcoming the evil one? We find in these young men the key to all spiritual growth. The key to spiritual growth is the Word of God. These young men were strong because of the Word of God. John says about them that the word of God lives in you. If we are to grow in spiritual maturity, the Word of God must live in us as well.

 

John strengthened the sense of progress in these verses. He used present tense verbs in the first set of sentences (vv. 12-13b) that emphasize ongoing action. Then he used aorist tense verbs in the second set (vv. 13c-14) that point to the end product, spiritual maturity.  In this section John was acknowledging their spiritual development to encourage them to press on to know the Lord better and to have more intimate fellowship with Him.

 

II.         The Instrument of Spiritual Growth

Various means of growth: prayer, fellowship, suffering,

But the most important is the Word of God.

1 Peter 2:1-3 “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

 

2 Peter 3:17-18 “Therefore…be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” NIV

 

Ephesians 4:11-15 “he who gave some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” NIV

 

Acts 20:32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” NIV

 

Hebrews 5:11-14 “ We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” NIV

 

James 1:22-25 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. NIV

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.NIV

 

Romans 15:4 “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.NIV

 

We must read it.

We must study it.

We must apply it.

We must live it.

 

“In all the main Johannine writings—Gospel (John 16:33), First Epistle (1 John 4:4; 5:4-5) and Revelation (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 5:5; 12:11; 15:2; 21:7) alike—the theme of overcoming is present, and in all it is through Christ, the supreme Overcomer, that His people overcome.”

 

Revelation 12:10-11 “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. NIV