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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 John 2:12 - 2:14
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
An appeal to young and old:
v. 12. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake.
v. 13. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the Wicked One. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
v. 14. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the Wicked One.
The apostle is about to insert an earnest warning against the temptations and perils of the love of the world. It is by way of introduction to this warning that he reminds the Christians of various ages of their station and the duty which they owe themselves: I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake. It is the affectionate tone and address of the spiritual father addressing such as were united with him in the fellowship of Christian love. His appeal rests upon their having been made partakers of God's most wonderful gift, the forgiveness of sins for the sake of Christ's name. It is because Christ obtained a perfect satisfaction for the sins of all mankind, because He took upon Himself both their guilt and their penalty and reconciled God to the whole world, that we are united with the Father in that wonderful mystical union which makes it self-evident for us to walk in the ways of His will.
St. John now distinguishes between the various classes of Christians to whom he is writing: I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known Him who was from the beginning; I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the Wicked One. To the fathers, to the older Christians, John is addressing himself, because they have learned to know and to put their trust in Him who was from the beginning, namely, in the eternal Son of God, because their faith rests in Him as their Lord and Savior. To the younger Christians he says that he is making this appeal to them because they have already renounced and overcome the Evil One, the devil, with all his temptations to evil. Though the battle is still continuing, the believers always have the advantage over the wiles and tricks of Satan, they are able effectually to check all his advances.
This point is so important that the apostle varies his appeal: I have written to you, children, because you have known the Father; I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him that is from the beginning; I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the Evil One. Here also the word children is to indicate the intimate relationship which obtained between the readers of this letter and the writer, but still more between the Christians and their heavenly Father. For he writes that they have known the Father, they have learned to believe that He is their Father for the sake of Christ, they are united with Him by such fellowship of faith. The fathers, the older Christians, should never forget that they have the proper understanding of the person and office of Christ, as of the eternal Son of God who came into this world to become the Savior of all mankind. And the younger men, whose victorious fight against the devil the apostle has just mentioned, are never to lose sight of the fact that their strength is not from themselves, but is imparted to them by the Word of God. It is through the Gospel that the Holy Ghost gives us the power to withstand all the attacks of the devil and to remain victorious unto the end. Thus St. John reminds us of the blessings which we enjoy in our station as Christians, of the glory which is ours in this relationship to God, in order to work and confirm in us the unwavering resolution to be true to Christ and not let anyone take our crown.