Know Who You Are & Whose You Are

1 John 2:12–14 NKJV

I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who 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 wicked one.

Prayer

This week, we come to a parenthesis of thought for the Apostle John.

It’s a parenthesis because John has broken up his flow of thought.

John is encouraging these believers because he does not want them to be discouraged in their walk.

He also wants to build them up because the remainder of 1 John does not get any easier.

Especially in light of what John is about to warn his readers, it makes sense to pause and remind them of who they are.

Which is why he begins by reminding them who they are.

Example of Measuring Myself

When I was growing up, in my home on the doorway just inside the house, we had a place for us to measure our height.

I remember how every couple of months taking a pencil with such excitement to stand up tall and get measured.

Every time I would get measured I would try and stand up on my tiptoes and see how tall I was and would get so excited as I saw growth.

There came a point though that I would not grow like I did previously.

When I was younger, I could see the growth more quickly but as I got older the growth spurts were less often.

In a similar way, we as Christians are supposed to measure our own spiritual growth.

But in this analogy, rather than the frame of the doorway being the standard, Christ is the standard.

He is the ONE we are measuring ourselves against.

For the Apostle John, he is calling us to measure our growth, but at the same time is calling us onward to growth.

He begins by reminding the believers of who they are.

1 John 2:12 NKJV

I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

Know Who You Are

1 John 2:12 NKJV

I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

Notice the word in verse 12, “little children”

This same word is used 7 times in 1 John, and it always refers to believers.

1 John 2:1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”

1 John 3:18 “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

When John uses this word, it is a word of affection and tenderness.

It is a word that is referring to all believers in Christ in general.

To: the Christians

John is using this parenthesis to bolster them.

He is using it to remind them of their status and position.

He is seeking to strengthen them!

And what is the most strengthening words he could utter to these little children.

1 John 2:12 NET 2nd ed.

I am writing to you, little children, that your sins have been forgiven because of his name.

John is writing them to remind them that their sins are forgiven.

But look at the end of verse 12 and see the reasoning why they are forgiven.

“Because of His Name”

John grounds the reasoning for these believers forgiveness in the fact that God in Christ Jesus has done this for His name sake.

They are forgiven, and its NOT because they are good enough.

They are forgiven, and its NOT because they prayed the right prayer.

They are forgiven ON ACCOUNT of His Name.

Example of a Tab in a Store

When I was growing up, we had a store in the town of Friendsville.

Literally ONE store, and we knew the people who owned it.

I remember watching my family use this tab and I was in awe of it.

You just walked into the store took whatever you wanted and then rather than paying in that moment, you said, “Put it on my tab”

And friends, this is what John is saying of believers.

Except for the fact that all of our sins was placed on Jesus’ tab.

All of our debts were placed upon his score sheet.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

It is for our sake, or on our behalf that God the Father made Jesus to be sin.

It is because of Christ’s Name that we are forgiven.

And brothers and sisters, that is true of us here today.

Identity in the 21st Century

Now we have some barriers to this great and profound truth, and I want to address just one of them today.

If we were to be transported back in time 200 years, life would look very different.

Not simply because of technology.

But also how a person understood themselves.

200 years ago, people did not have to come up with a way to identify themselves.

This was something that was given to them.

It was given to them by their families.

This is how we get last names like, Baker, Smith and the like.

The children followed in the footsteps of their parents.

But in our day and age, expressive individualism reigns supreme.

Everyone is seeking to understand themselves in light of their own experiences and desires and preferences.

With this concept of expressive individualism on the rise, it makes what John is writing here all the more pertinent for us to understand.

See, we have an enemy of the soul, the world, the flesh, and the devil who would be more than happy if you or I would find our identity in any other thing.

We can find our identity in our job, our spouse, or our sports team.

“Our need for worth is so powerful that whatever we base our identity and value on we essentially ‘deify.’”

What Keller is saying here is essentially what John Calvin said of our hearts, mainly that they are idol factories.

Continually setting up idols and as often as we tear one down, our hearts, this world, or the devil helps place one up again.

“Our hearts deify them as the center of our lives, because, we think, they can give us significance and security, safety and fulfillment, if we attain them.”

The question then is: how do we guard ourselves from this kind of idolatry?

How do we guard ourselves from placing ultimate identity in anything?

Well, John’s answer, and Paul’s answer are essentially the exact same thing.

Colossians 3:3–4 ESV

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

What Paul is saying in Colossians is essentially the same thing that John is enforcing in these believers.

Christ has died on your behalf.

And He did so for His own Name sake.

I want to highlight three elements of this reality which fundamentally effect Christian identity.

The first reality has to do with the past.

We, as God’s children, have a shared memory.

“For you have died [shared memory], and your life is hidden with Christ in God [present hope]. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory [glorious destiny].”

Shared Memory - Died with Christ

1 John 2:12 NET 2nd ed.

I am writing to you, little children, that your sins have been forgiven because of his name.

We have been buried with Christ in His death.

The death He died to sin, he died on our behalf.

This is exactly what John is expressing in the life of the believer.

But what John is reminding these believers is that their shared memory as a family is “Christ has died”

The second reality has to do with the present.

We, as God’s children, have a present hope.

“For you have died [shared memory], and your life is hidden with Christ in God [present hope]. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory [glorious destiny].”

Present Hope - Life is Hidden with Christ

1 John 2:12 NET 2nd ed.

I am writing to you, little children, that your sins have been forgiven because of his name.

For John to write that our sins have been forgive is to say that our present world is different.

We don’t live in the same way that we once did.

Christ has died and Christ has risen.

We cannot live as we once did, but our present hope with which we live is unshakable.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The past reality of Christ’s death brings to bear a present hope in our life being hidden with Christ.

Romans 6:4 ESV

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

So we as believers live not sullying in our sin, but actually living our life by faith in the Son.

There is a present reality to our forgiveness.

The third reality has to do with the future.

We, as God’s children, have a glorious destiny

“For you have died [shared memory], and your life is hidden with Christ in God [present hope]. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory [glorious destiny].”

Glorious Destiny - Reign with Him in Glory

1 John 2:12 NET 2nd ed.

I am writing to you, little children, that your sins have been forgiven because of his name.

This means for our identity as children of God is found in the resurrection.

Our identity is bound up with Christ in His resurrection.

Romans 6:8–9 ESV

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

Let me give you an example of what this may look like with an idol.

False identities want us to believe that we have an experience and we should treasure that experience above everything else.

They tell us that we should cling to that experience and allow that experience to define us.

Take for instance if someone builds their life and identity upon their spouse.

They will be emotionally dependent, jealous, and controlling.

I want you to see that identity for the Christian is utterly different than the rest of this world.

If you build your life and identity upon money and possessions, you’ll be eaten alive by worry or jealousy about money.

You’ll be willing to be unethical to maintain your lifestyle.

These other identities are always seeking our attention.

But for the Christian, our identity is bound up with Christ’s death.

It is bound up with the obedience of faith.

And finally it is bound up with the hope to resurrection.

Christian, do you know who you are?

Is your identity shaped by this world, or is shaped by the kingdom of heaven?

Now John makes a shift from verse 12 to 13, from addressing Christians in general to different kinds of Christians.

1 John 2:12–13 ESV

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. 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.

John is going to present us with three different categories for Christian maturity.

He is not referring to an age group, rather he is referring to different believers with differing maturity levels.

Christian Maturity (Charts Included)

Now a couple of weeks ago, I made a comment that Christian maturity is not a destination.

Christian maturity is not about arriving to a place of a certain amount of knowledge or acclaim.

Because the world works on this type of system, rather I said that Christian maturity is about following a person.

Christian maturity is about following a person whose name is Jesus.

Ephesians 4:13 ESV

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

I think John more importantly is standing behind this sentiment and encouraging us to grow up into Christ.

John is giving us a spectrum to evaluate our being conformed to the image of Christ.

In no way is this to bring discouragement, rather it is to encourage and bolster your faith.

Know Whose You Are

John’s concern for these believers is that they would know their identity and know the ONE who has always known them.

He pushing them to KNOW God.

This whole parenthesis makes sense if you consider for a moment the next section that John is about to address.

1 John 2:15–17 ESV

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

He is encouraging them to KNOW the ONE who has already purchased their very life.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (ESV)

You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.

He is pressing them to know that they are NOT their own.

They don’t operate according to their own standard.

They are “called to belong to Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:6)

John begins with the highest of levels.

1 John 2:13 (ESV)

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

To: the Fathers

Now again to be clear, John is not writing to simply older men.

This is not exclusive to simple the men, he could have just as simply said for the older women as well.

He is writing to those who have been matured in their faith.

These levels I borrowed from Steven Lawson, because I found them to be so helpful.

Level 3 - Intimacy

This chart is helpful as we consider what the levels for which John is referring to.

Notice what John describes of these “fathers”

1 John 2:13 (ESV)

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

He is saying that they have known in an intimate way the One who is from the beginning.

Again, the knowing for John is not simply intellectual ascent, its a deep experiential knowledge.

And John reminds these older ones in the faith, you have known him who is from the beginning.

Now the him here could refer to Jesus, or it could refer to God the Father.

Both would technically be correct.

John’s estimation of them, they know who is from the beginning.

The point is clear though, the one whom they have come to know in the face of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit sent from the Father.

They have come to KNOW Him.

What are some characteristics of “fathers”?

Marked by strength, courage, time-tested faith.

These are the Christians who when crisis hits, they have seen a crisis before.

They have contended continually for the faith.

Those who have in a time-tested way endured hardship and persevered.

I think it is interesting that John gives us a word picture of a father and it can be helpful to tease that out a little bit.

What does a father do?

Well a father does more than simply care for himself.

A father runs a household.

He is the one who is concerned with clothing and feeding his children.

Tending to his wife’s needs.

He is always thinking about others.

He is others focused.

He is concerned for the needs of those who are weak.

And when he sees weakness around him, he comes in with love and gentleness to correct the issue we see.

I think it is also interesting to consider what a father consumes?

His diet isn’t simply to eat little chicken tenders and fries.

He will eat solid food, and he will make sure others eat around him as well.

Hebrews 5:14 ESV

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

This is what the person who is mature in their faith does.

They have their sense trained by distinguishing between good and evil.

John circles back around for the fathers and reminds them for emphasis in verse 14.

1 John 2:14 (ESV)

I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

He repeats himself to this group of people to place an exclamation mark on what he has just said.

1 John 2:13 (NKJV)

I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one.

To: the Young Men

The word “young men” is interesting because it represents someone in adulthood but would be what we would describe as in the “prime of their life”

They would be people who have walked with God for a shorter time than the fathers but they are indeed walking.

Again, we must not think about them simply with age.

He actually has nothing to do with age, it has everything to do with spiritual maturity.

How long they have been walking with God.

1 John 2:13 (ESV)

I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

Level 2 - Infantry

Level two is one step down the ladder of maturity.

The word used for overcome actually comes from the same word where we get the company Nike.

Nike the company is derived from the same word we see here for “overcome”

The word most literally means to conquer and vanquish.

These are the believers who are at a place of doing spiritual warfare.

They are the ones who are in the game.

Now John does the same thing we just saw he did with the fathers, he reminds them of what is true.

1 John 2:14 (NKJV)

I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one.

He clarifies what he just wrote and expounds on it.

They overcome because they are strong, and they are strong because the Word of God abides in them.

These young men and women are characterized by a tenacity and seeking to grow in God’s Word.

They desire to know God more fully and make Him known.

They are not passively sitting on the bench, but they are intaking and consuming the Word of God.

Parenting for War

I want to say a word of how this passage helps reshape our understanding of parenting.

We ought not to parent our children from a place of fear.

What I mean by that is to say that we should want more for our children than to be simply happy and healthy.

We should not simply parent from a place of

We are meant to raise our children with this kind of mindset.

1 John 2:13 (ESV)

I write to you, children, because you know the Father.

To: the Children

This word for “child” refers to a babe or a small child.

We see the same word used throughout the gospels to describe babies.

It is the same word that described Jesus throughout the birth narratives, to help give you an idea of the smallness of the child.

Level 1 - Infancy

This final level is true of anyone, no matter how long they have been in the faith.

Johns estimation of them though is breathtaking.

They know the Father.

Hebrews 5:12–13 ESV

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

A child’s diet consists of milk, which the writer of Hebrews says is unskilled in the word of God.

Because like a child, he must be fed by someone else.