I John 2:13 (Part 2)

View Video Blog Right Click Link: I John 2:13 (Part 2)

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, children, because you know the Father.

THE STUDY:

This morning we are looking at the middle section of verse 13. Again, John states for the third time “I am writing to you” giving the sense of a pastor speaking to his flock. But now, he being even more specific and addresses the “young men!” John only uses this Greek word for “young men” in verses 13 & 14, not anywhere else.

Then John states, “you have overcome the evil one.” This got my attention! What does John mean by this statement? What about the Children (all people) and the fathers he refers to previously? First, I don’t believe John is saying only “fathers” knew God from the beginning, nor is he saying only “young men” have overcome the evil one. This sentence is tied with the previous verses. What’s important to remember is John contrasting light and darkness and in doing this he reveals what it means to walk in the light. In this passage that means someone who has overcome the evil one. How do we overcome the evil one? JESUS!  John helps the reader to understand as believers’, victory over the evil one is to be achieved by God himself abiding in them (he is greater than the evil one) and his Son, Jesus Christ, protects them, and as a result they are able to overcome the evil one through their faith in God.^[1] This is how we overcome Satan!

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

We walk away with the understanding that we as believers have overcome the evil one. We no longer have to be toyed with by Satan! Through Christ we have this victory and can now live a life that is released from the snares of sin and live free in Jesus.

CONCLUSION:

         

          In a sermon I preached once, I made the mistake of saying, “Bring it on Satan!” what a stupid statement to make! Satan honored that request and showed me some of the evil things he can do to God’s people. Once I realized what I did I asked for God’s forgiveness and gave it over to Jesus. As you may be envisioning in your mind what took place after that, the only thing I can say was “thank you Jesus!” You see, I realized overcoming Satan has already been done by someone! I don’t have to do it again. All I have to do is accept the one who overcame death and sin (all of Satan’s doings) and allow Him to fight the battle. The one who did this is JESUS!

          If you have not accepted Jesus today I encourage you to do so. If you are fighting a battle today, the battle is already won! Let Jesus have it and rejoice in the victory! Praise His Holy Name!

         

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

---

^[1] Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John. The Pillar New Testament commentary (91). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.