The Christianity Test Part 4 – 1 John 2:12-14

We did not finish studying chapter 2 yesterday, so this is a continuation of my post from yesterday. If you missed yesterday’s post, then check out  “The Christianity Test Part 3“.

Instructions

1. Make sure you have 1^st John printed out from “The Christianity Test Part 1“.
2. You will need 3 different colored highlighters
3. In 1 John 2:12-14, mark with your first colored highlighter any reasons John gives for writing this letter
4. Highlight any verses referring to Genuine Christians.
5. Highlight any verses referring to Counterfeit Christians. The picture to the right is not necessarily this week’s lesson, but gives an example of how to highlight.

Today, we will begin with 1 John 2:12. In verses 12-14, the apostle John will give us several reasons for writing this letter. I have highlighted them on my print outs as well as added them to my “Purpose List”. These purposes are addressed to little children, young men and fathers. These groups are not actual children or fathers, but Christians in various stages of their Christian walk. The little children are referring to new believers or believers who are still immature in their faith. This has nothing to do with age, because a person can be saved for 50 years, but still be a babe in Christ.

What does John say about little children?
John lists two purposes for writing to little children.

1. Their sins are forgiven.
2. They know the Father.

These little children have not had an opportunity or have chosen not to study the Word of God in order to grow spiritually, but they should still understand that their sins are forgiven and they know the Lord.

What does John say about young men?
John gives three purposes for writing to the young men.

1. They have overcome the wicked one
2. They are strong in their faith
3. They have the word of God abiding in them.

Verse 13 is very interesting to me, because it says that these young men have overcome the wicked one or the New American Standard says evil one. I looked up the definition of overcome in my Strong’s Concordance and it says, “conquer, subdue, prevail, get the victory”. This is very interesting to me and I have never noticed this verse before. Don’t you love how you see new things in the Word of God every time you study it? I would like to think that I belong to the “father” group of believers, but I have not received victory over Satan. I feel like he is on my heels every day, but now I know that I can overcome Satan. My prayer life is about to become stronger, because I am not going to be defeated by Satan’s lies and illnesses any longer.

I have not written any posts on Spiritual Warfare, but I plan on doing this in near future. Satan has defeated our expansion of the gospel in America long enough. He needs to be overcome by the young men and women through prayer.

These young men have the word of God abiding in them. Abiding in the word of God separates the men from the boys. You cannot grow in your spiritual life if you do not study the word of God. Reading the Bible through in a year is not enough. I am not saying that reading the Bible through is a bad thing, because it is not. However, unless you have a photographic memory, reading the bible through will not hide God’s word in your heart. You have to understand what the Bible means and memorize it in order to grow spiritually. Sometimes when I read a book of the Bible through, I can’t remember a word that I read. Especially if I am studying a letter in the New Testament. I have to go over it and over it, look up definitions and meditate on it.

What does John say about fathers?
The message for the fathers is the same in both verses 13 and 14

1. “because you have known Him who is from the beginning”.

This is a deep knowledge and relationship with God. The little children have enough knowledge of the father for salvation, but the fathers know who God was from the beginning. They know God intimately because they know who He is from the beginning. You will want to find some friends who are mothers and fathers in Christ. This is a person you can seek wise counsel from. Many Christians, today, look up to the popular Christians who have Charismatic personalities. These people are good with words and can give good advice, but do they give Godly advice. A deep person of the Lord, might have a quiet, reserved personality. They might not be in the spotlight, but they know how to shine forth the light of God when the trials and tribulations come. I encourage you to find these deep fathers and mothers in Christ. Don’t look up to the ear ticklers. Seek out words of wisdom from the Bible and the fathers and mothers in Christ. These people don’t necessarily have to be old, but will probably be older than you.

We are out of time again. We will finish chapter 2 tomorrow.