1 John 2:12-17 I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
All of us who believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior are children of God—new creatures made for his domain and not for this earth and its desires. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7) When Jesus said that we must be born again that is what He meant. We cannot live this life as the old unregenerate man with his affections for the things of this world and be as God wants us to be. We cannot live a self-interested, self-oriented life and please God. We are made different when we press into God by faith in Jesus Christ and his works. When we press in by faith, our temples, our souls within, us become inhabited by the Holy Spirit. He directs our paths and communes with us in our minds. We always have intimate access to God because the Holy Spirit abides within us. The lines of communication are not by the airways but by the Spirit. Our spirits can communicate with him day and night, with the lines between God and his new creatures always open and never overloaded or cut. Because of his constant presence within us, our thinking evolves to a place diametrically different from the natural world’s ideas about living. As children in the household of God, we know that we have been delivered from our sins and the world’s viewpoint of life. We know the righteousness of God has come to us. John says, I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name, and that you know the Father. As children of God, we understand God’s great love has come to us in the form of Jesus. He came to us in the flesh to do the works of God so that we might know the true Father and his love for us. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 15:14-16) When a person first reads such verses as a new Christian, his or her heart wells up with inexpressible joy with the thought of such a wondrous salvation. We are no longer fearful of dying; instead, we have confidence that we reside in the household of God, a true home, a place where we will experience eternity. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
We greatly rejoice for we know Jesus has broken the bonds of slavery to the fear of our own demise. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15) Yes, we are no longer captive to the authority of the devil; we no longer live in the land of Pharaoh. As we read in the word, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36). John understood that after walking with God and hearing the Holy Spirit’s voice, the fathers in the body of Christ have a better understanding of God than the nascent Christians, the immature. They know God is love and that God has been with them from the first day they surrendered to him. They know the faithfulness of God and understand that his love is everlasting, through good times and times of trial and sorrow. The fathers know him who is from the beginning. They understand that God has created all things, and that they can trust him when they go through the shadow of death. They rest in God’s goodness, not their own goodness; in his righteousness, not their own. The young men, on the other hand, are the warriors on the battlefield to win converts for the Lord, to hold back the sinful forces and to progress into the devil’s territory, taking back the land that the evil one has contaminated. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Young men are strong physically and mentally. They must be alert, actively involved with overcoming the evil one in their own lives and in the world’s environment. Young men start new ministries and programs. They are willing to shout from the housetops that God is the Lord of all and He alone should be served. As soldiers on the field, young men care for others, helping the wounded make it back to home base. The limping, the hurting, the scarred should feel the strong arms of those who have overcome the evil way. The church needs those who know the Father from the beginning, who know the God of faithfulness. However, the church also needs the strong warriors, who are not afraid of the battlefield’s violence, who willingly leave their safe trenches, going over the top, facing the onslaught of the enemy without fear or retreat. Fathers and sons have work to do in the family of God.
All Christians whether old or young, mature or immature, should beware of the contamination of the world. If we place our tent pegs deep into the world and its ways, we will be unproductive, perhaps even lazy, lacking zeal for the Lord. No Christian should ever lack a will to live as a fervent Christian, outwardly and faithfully. If we lack a strong desire to serve the Lord in this sinful world, the love of the world is too much in us. Do not love the world or anything in the world. Loving to eat, drink, and be merry will destroy your vision about heaven and about the good things of the Lord. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. What love does the Father have in him? The love for humanity, to redeem his precious creation made in his image. If we become tied down to the things of the world, the Father’s unfailing love for the unredeemed, the lost, will not be in us. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that Abraham went where God led him, not knowing where he was going without a permanent dwelling, for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:10 NKJV) Without a committed love relationship with God, we will seek our self-interests before God’s will, before what He considers most important. The will of the Father, his redemption plan, will be lost in our self-oriented lives. In this temporary life, our tents should easily be moved to wherever God leads us. Our lives should be dependent upon God’s will and direction for us and not ours. Sometimes, we want to stay at a particular oasis. The water is cool and the shade of the trees is to our liking, but we must be careful with such thinking, for we are settling into a worldly existence. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. As children of God, members of his body at any stage of our spiritual growth, we should always be cognizant of God’s ways, his will, his plan for us. We should keep in mind what the Lord said to Jeremiah, For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) A worldly person seeks fleshly pursuits, but the spirit-led son or daughter of God seeks his ways. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. We must stay in God’s lane. His lane will lead to great eternal results, the fulfillment of all that God has promised. His lane leads to, Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness! (Matthew 25:21)
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