1 John 2.12-14-First of Three Interpretative Problems
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday June 22, 2017
First John: 1 John 2:12-14-First of Three Interpretative Problems
Lesson # 61
1 John 2:12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. 13 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. 14 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. (ESV)
There are several exegetical or interpretative issues in 1 John 2:12-14, which have caused problems for interpreters throughout the centuries.
The first we will address is the terms of address in this passage.
In 1 John 2:12-14, John employs four different terms to address the recipients of this epistle, namely, the nouns teknion (τεκνίον), “dear children,” paidion (παιδίον), “children,” patēr (πατήρ), “fathers,” and the noun neaniskos (νεανίσκος), “young men.”
Some expositors interpret these four terms as referring to the three stages of spiritual growth or development or three age groups.
Therefore, the nouns teknion (τεκνίον), “dear children” and paidion (παιδίον), “children” would refer to believers who are spiritually immature.
The noun patēr (πατήρ), “fathers” would refer to the spiritually mature believers and the noun neaniskos (νεανίσκος), “young men” would refer to believers who are between the two stages such as spiritually young adults or spiritual teenagers.
The problem with this interpretation is that the noun teknion (τεκνίον), “dear children” appeared in 1 John 2:1 as a term of address for all the recipients of this epistle and thus everyone in the Christian community regardless of what stage of spiritual growth they were experiencing.
In fact, not only is the term used this way in 1 John 2:1 but it is also used this way in 1 John 2:18, 28 as well as 1 John 3:7 and 18 and in addition 1 John 4:4 and 5:21.
The noun paidion is synonymous with teknion since they both describe the recipients of this letter as John’s spiritual children.
So both terms are referring to everyone in the Christian community regardless of age or stage of spiritual development.
It is the view of this author that the nouns patēr (πατήρ), “fathers” neaniskos (νεανίσκος), “young men” are referring to two age groups among the men in the Christian community.
The latter refers to men who were forty years of age or older whereas the latter refers to the men who were younger than forty years of age.
This interpretation is supported by the fact that in 1 Timothy 5:1 the apostle Paul uses this designation.
1 Timothy 5:1 Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers. (NASB95)
In this verse, he employs the noun patēr (πατήρ) to describe those men who he describes as presbuteros (πρεσβύτερος), “an older man” and “younger men” is the adjective neos (νέος).
Now, the question arises as to what age is a man considered to be “older?”
The answer to this question can be inferred from our study of 1 Timothy 4:12.
1 Timothy 4:12 Absolutely no one must look down upon your youth but rather continue making it your habit of causing yourself to be an example with respect to believers by means of speech, by means of conduct, by means of divine-love, by means of faithfulness, by means of purity. (My translation)
In 1 Timothy 4:12, the noun neotes, “youth” refers to Timothy’s youthful age who at the time Paul wrote 1 Timothy would have been in his late twenties to mid thirties.
Supporting this idea is that the cognate noun of neotes, neos was used of fully grown men of military age.
Polybius uses neos to describe Flaminius as young because he was thirty.
Also, Irenaeus uses the word to describe Jesus as being a young man when He suffered on the cross.
Therefore, the idea of neos supports the conclusion that Timothy was in his late twenties to mid-thirties.
Thus, we can infer from this that a man was called presbuteros once he reached his forties or was forty-six years of age or older.
Consequently, in 1 Timothy 5:1, the noun presbuteros refers to those men in the Christian community who were either forty years of age and older or forty-six years of age and older.
Thus, neos refers to a male who has not yet reached forty years of age.
Now, the noun neaniskos which appears in 1 John 2:13-14 is related to the noun neos, which appears in 1 Timothy 5:1.
They are cognates.
Therefore, in 1 John 2:13-14, the former like the latter is a reference to males in the Christian community who had not yet reached the age of forty.
On the other hand, the noun patēr which appears in both 1 Timothy 5:1 and 1 John 2:13-14 is a reference to men in the Christian community who were forty years of age or older.
In 1 John 2:12, John addresses the entire congregation with the term teknion, “dear children,” and affirms that their sins were presently existing in the state of being forgiven for their benefit based upon the merits of the name of Jesus Christ.
This indicates that they were experiencing the forgiveness of sins which he taught them to continue to do in 1 John 1:9.
He uses this term again in 1 John 2:13 to address the entire congregation and this time he asserts that they were presently existing in the state of knowing the Father experientially.
Each time that John uses the term neaniskos for the younger men in the Christian community in 1 John 2:13-14, he affirms that they were presently existing in the state of experiencing victory of Satan and the kingdom of darkness.
Each time that John employs the noun patēr for the older men in the Christian community in 1 John 2:13-14, he affirms that they were presently existing in the state of knowing Him who is from eternity past experientially.
This is a reference of course to Jesus Christ since John describes Him as such in 1 John 1:1.
Now, notice that he affirms that the entire congregation knows the Father experientially and were experiencing forgiveness of their sins.
The fact that they were experiencing the forgiveness of their sins implies that they were experiencing fellowship with God since sin prevents this from happening according to 1 John 1:9.
Also, notice John affirms that the younger men were experiencing victory over Satan twice but not once does he affirm this for the older men.
Similarly, notice he affirms twice that the older men knew Christ experientially, but never does he affirm this for the younger men.
In fact, the apostle affirms that the younger men were strong and that the Word of God was abiding in them but never does he affirm this for the older men.
This would appear to be a problem.
However, it is not.
First, the fact that John affirms that the entire congregation knew the Father experientially implies that they all knew Christ experientially since the believer knows the Father experientially through knowing the Son experientially since the latter came to reveal the former.
Therefore, it doesn’t matter if John affirms that the older men knew Christ experientially but does not do the same for the younger men or that he affirms the younger men were experiencing victory over Satan but does do the same for the older men since if you have one, you have the other.
In other words, if you know Jesus Christ experientially, then you will experience victory over Satan since His death and resurrection and teaching provides this victory for the believer.
Secondly, by knowing the Son experientially and thus the Father, the believer is experiencing victory over Satan.
This can’t happen unless the believer is strong spiritually and this occurs when the believer obeys the Word of God which is alive and powerful (cf. Heb. 4:12).
The purpose of such repetition in 1 John 2:12-14 is to emphasize the content of the hoti clauses in these verses, which affirm the faithfulness of the recipients of this epistle to John’s apostolic teaching and that they had rejected the false doctrine taught by the proto-Gnostic teachers in the Roman province of Asia.
In 1 John 2:12-14 the apostle John does employ the figure of anaphora meaning he is repeating the same word at the beginning of successive sentences.
Each affirmation in these verses begins with the verb graphō.
The purpose of this figure is to provide added weight and emphasis to each of these statements or affirmations by calling special attention to them.
Therefore, this figure in 1 John 2:12-14 is designed to emphasize each of these six affirmations which commend the recipients of this epistle for their faithfulness to John’s apostolic teaching and for rejecting the false doctrine taught by the proto-Gnostic teachers.