Ages Of Faith

 (1 John 2:12-13)

12 I write to you, little children,
Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
13 I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children,
Because you have known the Father.

These verses introduce a distinct section of John’s Epistle in which he has a word of exhortation for all God’s children. Whatever their years of Christian life or their experience, all are addressed in verse 12 (1 John 2:12) when he said, “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.” 

In verse 12 (1 John 2:12), John is addressing all who have been redeemed to God by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ-those who have been born into the great family of God. They are all God’s beloved children. If you have made Christ your only ground of confidence, and are now able to say, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, / All other ground is sinking sand,” then you are numbered among the children of verse 12 (1 John 2:12). “I write unto you, children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.” He has given us in 1 John 1:7 the basis of that forgiveness: “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” There is no other way that sin can be blotted out. No other way that guilty men can be given a standing in the presence of a holy God. No other way is needed, for on Calvary’s tree our Lord shed His precious atoning blood. Thank God that “Sinners plunged beneath that flood, / Lose all their guilty stains.” These are the children of God.

All men are by nature the children of Adam. They are “alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them” (Ephesians 4:18), and, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Those who have trusted the Lord Jesus and believed the gospel are already born into His family. Peter said, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever…And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you” (1 Peter 1:23; 1 Peter 1:25). But now, although all believers are equal as the redeemed of the Lord, and all who have trusted Christ are in one family as the children of God, yet there are obviously differing degrees of spirituality-degrees of progress in the Christian life. So in verse 13 (1 John 2:13), the apostle divides the children of God into three classes according to the measure of their growth “in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior” (2 Peter 3:18).

“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” (1 John 2:13). John was not referring here to age or sex. He was not writing just to the men in Christ and excluding the women. These three terms, fathers, young men, and children, are used to distinguish believers according to the measure of their growth in grace. Who are fathers? They are those who for years have known the Lord, walked with God, and grown old in the things of Christ. To them John said, “I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.” It is quite possible to have been a Christian for many years, and yet not be a father. There are many who have been saved a great many years but are spiritually dwarfed because they give so little attention to spiritual things. They give so little time to the Word of God, are so seldom exercised in holy things, and know so little of the blessedness of prayer and communion with the Lord, that they do not grow. But when the apostle spoke to the fathers, he was speaking to those who through long years have availed themselves of their Christian privileges, learned to love the Word of God, sought to walk with Christ, labored for the blessing of others, and learned experientially to know the blessed Lord in all His fullness. When John said, “Ye have known him [that is] from the beginning,” he did not mean, “Ye have known concerning him,” or “known about him,” but “ye have known him.” Spiritual fathers have lived in fellowship with Him, walked with Him, and talked with Him. He has become dearer and nearer and more real to them than any earthly friend. He draws very near to His own, and, if I may coin an expression, He presents Himself with them. He shows them His hands and feet, and says, “It is I myself: handle me, and see” (Luke 24:39). He asks us to remember that it was for us He bore the wounds and endured the agony of the cross, in order that we might become His own. So the fathers are those who have learned to know Him throughout the years. They have learned to appreciate His love. The world has lost its power over their souls because Christ has filled the eyes of their hearts.

Next John wrote to the “young men.” These are the strong Christians who, although they may not have walked with God for as many years as the fathers, have yet gone on with Him into spiritual maturity. They have learned the secret of overcoming. In the book of Revelation we read, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11). When John said, “I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one,” we can be sure that it is through their faith in the atoning blood of Christ that they have been able to turn away from the world that crucified Him. They have said farewell to anything that has no place for their Lord.

Finally, there is a third class into which the apostle divides the family of God. These are the little ones, new believers in Christ, and to them he says, “I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.” A little while ago they were walking with the world in darkness, but they heard the gracious invitation of the loving Savior, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Responding to His invitation, they came with all their sins and grief, and found how true a friend Jesus is to those who trust Him. Now, though they do not know much else, they know the Father and have been given the Holy Spirit.

God does not wait until we become mature Christians before the Holy Spirit is given to us. “Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3) We began in the Spirit. We received the Spirit of God as soon as we believed in Jesus, and He teaches us to cry, “Abba Father.” We look up into His blessed face and are able to say, “My Father.” There is a great deal for the “little children” to learn. Many varied experiences are still ahead of them, and there are wonderful truths yet to be opened. But they are just as accepted in the Beloved as the fathers.