I John 2:14 (Part 2)

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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 abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

THE STUDY:

          Just a reminder that John is writing in regards to a group called the Gnostics, whose philosophy is infiltrating the Christian beliefs. John addresses this issue and now is praising the people for their obedience toward God. He covers the entire people of God by calling them “Children” then speaks more specifically to the “fathers” (the elders of the community) and then the “young men.”

          He praises the young men in this passage in three aspects; being strong, abiding in the word, and having overcome the evil one. As you may remember, John addressed the fact that the young men have overcome the evil one. But, in this verse he adds two more things that we are going to look at this morning.

          John states that these young men are strong. Many of us would assume he is talking about their physical abilities. This may be so but most scholars believe he was talking about their spiritual strength and that they have overcome the evil one. I look at it this way, John states that these young men are strong in their faith and this is due to the fact that they abide in the word. The word “abide” means to remain or stay which gives us the impression they have been walking with God for a long time. These young men may be young in age but they were not young in their walk with God. All of this, being strong and abiding in the word, leads to the ability to overcome the evil one.

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with this in mind; it is not a matter of age, position, abilities, gifts, or anything else. Pursue God in everything you do, stay in his word, and you will have VICTORY over the evil one. God’s desire is for us to walk with him and if this is His desire then He will provide a way to accomplish it. Jesus is the way God has provided for us to accomplish victory over the evil one and sin.

CONCLUSION:

          A military strategist said that battles are won before they are fought. That was his way of saying that victory depends on prior preparation. One general called it “Making a good ready.” The same principles apply in spiritual warfare. God in Christ has made all necessary prior preparation in effecting His eternal purpose of redemption to give us victory over sin.

          Sometime ago I was told that at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary a poll was taken among the students to discover the most popular hymns. “Victory in Jesus” was first and “Amazing Grace” was second. This is an interesting combination. Amid our turbulent times Christians long for assurance of victory over evil forces that plague us. We find that assurance in Jesus—His victory and ours through Him. God’s amazing grace made those victories possible and available.

          Church, let us live this day knowing the VICTORY is ours. It is found in Jesus!

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod