I John 2:13 (Part 3)

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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:

          As I have mentioned in the past, when it comes to studying the word of God, there are certain techniques to use. One of those techniques is looking at a passage of scripture in different versions (ESV, NASB, NIV, and such). This passage of scripture is a great example of the reason why we should do this. In the NRSV verse 13c is found at the beginning of verse 14. Some translators put it there due to the symmetry dealing with “Children, Fathers, and young men” found in verses 12-14 whereas others have it at the end of verse 13. Why is this so significant? It’s due to the fact that children is not the same Greek word found in verse 12 as it is in verse 14. The Greek word in verse 14 is a term of endearment to express his tender love to all his readers regardless of age.

          Moving on we see John saying basically the same thing that was mentioned at the beginning of verse 13. But John is hammering home a point to the reader. This understanding of “Knowing the Father” is reflected in three aspects: (1) a person who welcomes Jesus, (2) a message (doctrine) that is accepted and acted on, (3) and a life that is lived for.

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away with this thought in mind, Have you welcomed Jesus into your life? Have you accepted and acted in accordance with the message of Jesus Christ? Finally, are you living for Jesus? These questions need to be answered.

 

CONCLUSION:

          What I find, in many cases, is people love what Jesus can do for them. They accepted “almost” all of Jesus’ teachings and they have given “most” of the keys to their life over to Him. But, the full surrender and the “KNOWING OF THE FATHER” is not there. Jesus Paid it all so in turn for us to receive this free gift of salvation all Jesus is asking is our ALL. John writes this epistle to those who know the father. Do you know Him like they do? Part of “knowing God” is “letting God.”

A young man, who was struggling to let the Lord have His way in his life, knelt to pray. He had been advised to “Let God do the work for him.” But as he was kneeling, he cried, “I want to let God have His way, but I can’t.”

The day before he had cut out of pasteboard the letters “LET GOD” and tacked them on the wall. He rose from his knees and with a feeling of defeat and despair, he left the room and slammed the door with a bang, saying, “I can’t “LET GOD.””

On his return to his room, he was startled to note that the slam of the door had loosened the letter D on the word GOD, causing it to fall to the floor, and changing the motto to “LET GO.”

“I will, I will, Lord Jesus,” he cried and threw himself on his knees at the side of his bed. “I will “Let go,” and “Let God,”” and he did.

         

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

I John 2:13 (Part 2)

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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

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^[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.

I John 2:13 (Part 1)

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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:

           We see John starting this verse with the same phrase found in verse 12, I am writing to you, but this time addressing fathers. He starts with children (vs 12) and now gets more specific. Out of the 414 times the word “father” is used in the N.T. John uses it the most (136). In this instance John is not referring to a family structure but different age groups. Fathers are considered the “older” age group who would have more experience with the knowledge of God.

          John further defines the fathers as someone who knows God. This word “know” (ginōskō) means to not just to know God but to understand His ways, purpose, and love. This can only be discovered in a lengthy relationship with God.

          So there is no confusion, John makes sure He describes who these fathers know: him who is from the beginning. The scripture is very clear to the fact that God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev 21:6).

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We can walk away with the understanding that a lengthy relationship with the God is one that will help us to get to know the Father in heaven! Some of us this morning might be thinking I know OF the Father, but do we really KNOW the Father? Each and every day I learn more and more about God; His love for me, His purpose for my life, His ways, and His power. The older I get the more I realize how much I didn’t know about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

CONCLUSION:

         

          When King’s College, now COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, opened in 1754, the following was part of an advertisement published for the school: “The chief thing that is aimed at in this college is to teach and engage children to know God in Jesus Christ.” In a short 257 years later the mission statement for this University reads as followed:

Columbia University is one of the world's most important centers of research and at the same time a distinctive and distinguished learning environment for undergraduates and graduate students in many scholarly and professional fields. The University recognizes the importance of its location in New York City and seeks to link its research and teaching to the vast resources of a great metropolis. It seeks to attract a diverse and international faculty and student body, to support research and teaching on global issues, and to create academic relationships with many countries and regions. It expects all areas of the university to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to convey the products of its efforts to the world.

Oh, how far we have drifted from wanting to “Know God!” I pray this does not happen to us. May we want to seek Him more and more each and every day.

         

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod