A Word for Everyone

Text: 1 John 2:12–17 ESV

As a kid, we watched the movie Twister. I don‘t know if people know what that movie is anymore, but it's about tornadoes. Bottom line, it scared me. Whether it was that movie or other factors, I was really scared of tornadoes. 

Now, we lived in Colorado Springs — not really tornado alley. I didn't really think about that much as a kid. I was just scared. Every night when the wind was really strong, I would lay in my bed really scared. I remember I'd go to my dad sometimes, and he’d say, “Don't worry, it's fine.” He would tell me things like there's not really anything to be scared of. There is not a tornado near, and we don’t live in a tornado zone. I would then go lay back down, and I tell myself those same truths over and over. Eventually, I would fall asleep, and I'd wake up and the tornado wouldn't have come and it didn't destroy my house.

I mention this because all of us need to be reminded of the security and safety that is really there. But we also need to know warning signs and where to run in a moment of danger. If you've ever flown out of Denver International Airport, you would see that the walls by the bathrooms say “tornado shelter.” If there is a tornado, you need to know where to go. Danger comes, be prepared and know where to go. 

I start there today because John in this section begins by writing some reminders of safety, security. These reminders settle anxious hearts and souls. We're not in tornado alley. We as believers are freed from sin's destruction. But then he changes tones, and he moves from talking about security, to talking about danger. He warns of danger to avoid, and he wants them to know where to flee amid this danger. 

Today’s passage begins as a bit of a doozy. I’ll admit up front that it is hard to structure, but I hope this structure serves us and captures the main thrust of the text. But I want to say that because you should only take this structure and key words if it helps you see what the text is saying. I want you to leave seeing the Bible clearly, not impressed with a pithy breakdown of the text. My prayer, though, is that this breakdown serves us to see what is there. I broke it down in two main sections, each with subsections:

• Safety to enjoy (12–14)

  • Safety because you have overcome (12–13a)

  • Safety because God abides in you (13b–14)

• Danger to avoid (15–17)

  • Danger because the world is not of God (15–16)

  • Danger because the world is passing away (17)

John's burden is to remind us of safety and to be aware of the danger and flee from it. 

Let's start in verse 12. We are in the first section where John talks about safety to enjoy, and specifically safety because you have overcome. Overcome what? Well, let’s see:

“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 who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:12–13 ESV)

Before we get to why I used the word “overcome”, John addresses three distinct crowds — little children, fathers, and young men. Some of you may have come in here knowing there's a handful of different opinions about who these groups represent. I want you to know it really matters that we press in and ask those kinds of questions. When we come to the Bible, we're trying to ask not what we think it says, not what does this text mean to you, not what we want it to say, not what this guy says. But what does this text say? That really matters. 

I also don't want to get bogged down there. We can sometimes get so bogged down in the details that we miss the main point of the text. In this case, the main point still shines through amid all the various opinions. Instead of getting caught up there then, I’m going to just present you with where I’ve landed. But if you've got questions, come ask me, I’m happy to share more. 

Let me see if I can make this more concrete. That is, let me see if I can make the idea that we don’t have to have all the answers about these groups of people to understand what he means. One of the reasons for that is I don’t think John meant to draw a hard and fast line saying this only applies to young men and this only to father. When it comes to these three groups of people, I think John has specific people in mind. But, I don’t believe he means to limit what he says to these groups to just that segment. 

Let’s take young men for example. In this text, he says the young men have overcome the evil one. But notice that later in his letter, John uses the word overcome and applies it to little children: 

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4 ESV)

or this 

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4–5 ESV)

My point here is though John has specific people in mind, I don’t think John would chastise us for applying what was true of young men to us — men and women, young and old — in this room. I think he would give a yes and amen to us applying these truths to our lives. 

That being said, here is what I think he has in mind with these categories. Start with little children. This is not the first time John has used the term little children. He has often referred to the entire audience in this letter as little children. I take this phrase here to mean the same thing. It refers to everyone he's writing to in his letter. He's beginning by saying, my little children, everyone here, I want you to know these things. 

Then he moves to address young men and fathers. I think he's breaking down the entire group, the large group of little children, into two groups: the younger group, young men or people, and older group, the fathers. Very much like Bible times, their vernacular was to use men and male terms as a kind of phrase for both men and women. It’s like the term brothers. It means both brothers and sisters. You even see translations that say, “I'm writing to young people.” 

I think John, in this section is trying to say, “Hey, everyone, I want you to remember this, and those who are young, I want you especially to hear this, and those who are old, I want to especially remind you of this.

Okay, but what does John have to say to these groups of people? Well, I summarized the first section as “you have overcome.” Look back at verse 12: 

“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.” (1 John 2:12 ESV)

Now, I worded this as you have overcome. I get that from later in the verse. But we all know none of this has not been accomplished by us, ourselves. What has the father overcome? He's overcome their sin. That's been forgiven. It's been canceled. John wants to remind his readers that this overcoming reality is true in them. Think of it like when you came to Christ, your sins were forgiven in that moment. That’s what I mean by you. But I think this will become even more apparent.

“I am writing to you, fathers, because you know who I am from the beginning.” (1 John 2:13 ESV)

We have touched on this idea of “he who is from the beginning” earlier in this sermon series, so we won’t spend much time here. It’s a reminder to the older generation and to us, that the one who came in the flesh, the one that John knew, and touched and was around since the beginning, he is the one who does this. 

Remember, we met these Gnostics who are going around trying to sell some newfangled ideas. John wants to pull them back, reminding them that they don't need to get caught up there. You don't need to get worried that you don't have this knowledge, or if you haven't done this thing. No, your sins have been forgiven. 

Finally, he says:

“I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:13 ESV)

This is the clearest verse for why I chose the word “overcome”. Like I said, this is a hard section to summarize. So I chose the word overcome because here we see that the evil one is overcome and in verse 12 sin is overcome, and in the middle we see the person who did it. 

The young people need to know again that the evil one lies dead at their feet. The reality is that through Christ the sting of the devil is over. I don’t want you to get distracted with “you” have overcome. This is true in the sense that they came to God. But God did the work. It reminds me of Paul’s words in 1 Cor 15:55–57: 

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55–57 ESV)

Victory belongs to us. We have overcome the evil one. But don’t let this get to your head that you did anything of your own accord. Paul reminds us clearly, that yes the victory is for us personally, but the one who secured the victory is the Lord Jesus Christ. All of this reminds John’s readers that they have a security they can lean on. 

Just picture my dad saying, “Son, it's okay. There's no tornado warnings out right now.” Nothing to fear. It's okay, my little children, your sins are forgiven by the one from the beginning, Jesus. You have overcome the evil one because of him who is from the beginning. 

Let me see if I can help paint what is going on another way. There is a crew here that loves to jump in cold water. I’ve gone only twice, and it really wasn’t some of the extreme cold that they have done since then. Now, I don’t want you to think they just jump in and jump out. No, they stay in the water for minutes. We are talking about break-the-ice-and-jump-in-the-water temperatures. 

One of the keys to doing this cold water exposure is that you have to fight your body's fight or flight response. You have to remind your body not to freak out. You literally calm your nerves down by reminding them everything is okay. And when you do, you can stay in the water and not freak out. 

John is, in some ways, writing to his readers to remind them of truths for when their souls get anxious. When they get antsy and they want to run away from God and to other things. He wants to give them reminders they can lean on. Reminder to calm their anxious souls. 

Now, you might be getting in your head that, Oh, wow, this is a big God. He’s overcome sin. He's overcome the evil one through these young men. You might begin to think he’s big and distant. But in the second point, we see that there is safety because God abides in you. He has come near. He is not distant. Begin with the second half of verse 13:

“I write to you, children, because you know the Father.” (1 John 2:13 ESV)

He wants to remind them all that they indeed know this God, the Father. Then he goes back to fathers and he says again:

“I write to you, fathers, because you know who you are from the beginning.” (1 John 2:14 ESV)

Notice what it says in these two verses though. You know this God. He’s not distant and unknowable. He‘s near and knowledgeable. Then we see this really clearly in how he address the young people: 

“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.” (1 John 2:14 ESV)

He starts with acknowledging what we all know about youth: they are strong. I mean, when you think about those companies that you hire to move your house or haul your junk away, are you thinking of an old man or woman who is hunched over and can barely walk? No. You think of young men and women who are strong and can put their body through a heavy pace and be alright. 

When it comes to John’s context, he wants to clarify why he says they are strong. It's not your muscles for him. It's not your vigor as a youth that you can run forever and ever. It's that the word of God abides in you, and you've overcome the evil one. These young ones are strong because deep in them God abides because his word abides in them.

Once again, don’t get in your mind, here's Satan and he’s defeated by their own strength. As if they're in the boxing ring. And they're like, alright, I'm ready. I'm strong. And 1,2,3 and he's down. It was on their own and they just overcame the evil one.

That's not the picture. Rather, here's the picture. It’s a picture of a young man who's an orphan. One day, you get to call and you've been adopted. This is the moment he’s been waiting for. He gets to go home. He gets to know his mom and dad. He was so excited, so secure, so happy to be home. But imagine a year later and some kids at school come along and they say, “Oh, that's not your dad. You're adopted.” 

He comes home. All his security is gone. All his excitement is absent. And the father comes back and finds out what happened. He says, “Son, you know me, I'm your father, I'm your dad.” Then he says, “you know, that I signed those papers. When we take our family picture you are with us.” He's reminding the son of realities that are true for him now. But none of this is because of what the son did. He didn't earn it. He was adopted.

Here’s the father reminding him of what's true. And the same way, John is saying, “You my little children, you know me. Don't let the Gnostics tell you other false things that distract you. You are my son. You have overcome the evil one. You know me. I abide in you.” 

Here's what I want you to hear. These are John’s words in another place where he summarizes this heart to find security in these truths. It’s John 5:13:

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13 ESV)

I want you to know that if you are trusting in God, there are a lot of things in life that feel uncertain. You have no idea what your job is going to do tomorrow. You don't know what's going to happen when you get in the car and drive home. You have no idea where the stock market is heading, where your best friend’s relationship is going.

Sometimes when life gets a little crazy, and especially when people challenge you leading you to doubt if you have eternal life, it can shake you. You can start feeling shaky, not only in this area, but in every area. John is writing and saying, don't let these things shake you. Don't let anything shake you. Remember, if you trust in Jesus, if you trust in him, you have eternal life in Jesus. John 11:26 puts it this way: 

“and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:26 ESV)

That's my question. Do you believe that? Do you believe in Jesus and for some of you this morning, things have rattled you for a little bit. You need to hear God say to you, “I have adopted you in my family. And I'm never letting you go. Sealed. You are with me forever. You shall not die. You shall not be apart from me. 

Some of you may never have trusted Jesus. And this morning, I want to call you and say come to him. If you do, these realities of overcoming and God drawing near can be true of you. Those are realities and truths we need. Because where's John's going to go next? We live in the danger zone. So let’s go there quickly. Here’s where we are in our outline: 

• Safety to enjoy (12–14)

  • Safety because you have overcome (12–13a)

  • Safety because God abides in you (13b–14)

• Danger to avoid (15–17)

  • Danger because the world is not of God (15–16)

  • Danger because the world is passing away (17)

Turn with me then to verse 15–16 to see how the world is not of God: 

“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.” (1 John 2:15–16 ESV)

Notice how John paints these pictures of the world over here and the Father over here. There's a divide, a chasm. John is really sounding a warning. After reminding them of their security and their safety, now, like a good father, he is going to give them warning. His warning: don’t associate with the world. 

Now you might be thinking, John, quick question. What's the world? Because if the world and the things in the world are not of God and we're supposed to run from it, where are we supposed to run to because we live on planet Earth. Tesla has not made Mars livable yet. 

I don't think that's what he means. You've got to be careful when the Bible uses the word world and ask, what does that mean? He spells it out for us in verse 16.

“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life.” (1 John 2:16 ESV)

Notice, he wasn't like “the trees, the ground, the atmosphere.” He doesn't mean like the world that you see in front of you. That's not his point. His point is that after the fall of Adam and Eve, sin and corruption tainted things. What was introduced was evil and wicked things and desires. In fact, what God meant for good, mankind took, and he twisted it. He made it into an idol. He made it something that it was never intended to be. 

John then uses words like the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. Think of things like how God had called Adam and Eve to multiply and fill the earth. Sex was meant for marriage. But the fall comes and we have things like pornography. 

Or you see for example, we were given food to eat. And after the fall, people began to idolize food, sometimes killing to get food. People find safety in food. I mean, you can just keep going. The whole point is in the world there's wicked and evil and corruption and twisted things.

You've got God on one side, and the wicked, corrupt, evil things of this world on the other side. The reason one has to flee the things of this world then is first because the father is not of this world. 

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24 ESV) 

You can't serve two masters. You're going to love God and therefore hate wicked and evil things. I remember when Landin was about 2.5 and speaking a lot more. Somehow he memorized the beginning of this verse: you can’t serve two masters. He didn't know what it meant. I don't even know if he knows what it means today. But as a kid, he'd walk around, and he would tell me and Jacque at random times, “Hey Mom and dad, you can’t serve two masters.” Every time, it was a good reminder.

If you know me, it won’t take you long to know that I can get into fiddly hobbies that cost money. You know, you get on YouTube, and you watch all these people. They're deep into these things, and I just get sucked in. I'm going to go and sell the family farm to go buy whatever it is that I'm into at that moment. 

For me, this verse is one I preach to myself regularly. You cannot love the world — meaning you cannot go and put all your hope, all your trust, in *fill in the blank*. This new car, new job, new toy, new game. Whatever it is. Doesn't matter. 

We weren't meant to fall in love with those things. We were meant to fall in love with God. Now, you might be thinking along the lines of this quote: 

“But someone will ask, “Should I not desire dinner? Should I not desire a job? Should I not desire a spouse? Should I not desire the child in my womb? Should I not desire a healthy body or a good night’s rest or the morning sun or a great book or an evening with friends?”

And the answer is no — unless it is a desire for God! Do you desire dinner because you desire God? Do you want a job because in it you will discover God and love God? Do you long for a spouse because you are hungry for God and hope to see him and love him in your partner? Do you desire a child and a healthy body and a good night’s rest and the morning sun and a great book and an evening with friends for God’s sake? Do you have an eye for God in everything you desire? (See Colossians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 10:31.) Saint Augustine captured the heart of our text when he prayed to the Father and said, “He loves thee too little who loves anything together with thee which he loves not for thy sake.”

John is helping us avoid this danger. We can lose sight of how easy it is to turn the gifts of God in this world into idols. Here is how John ends his letter: 

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21 ESV)

Guard your heart from falling in love with the world and doing so in exchange for God’s love. Here is how Piper puts it in the opening of a book on fasting: 

The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18–20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable (Hunger For God, 18).

It's really dangerous. We can take pleasures of earth that God meant for good — that we would see and delight in him, and we can forget the second part. Instead of worshiping God because of the gifts. We worship the gifts themselves.

Then John gives us another warning to help us flee these things in the world: Danger because the world is passing away. Look at verse 17:

“And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:17 ESV)

The world has an expiration date. The things here will fade away. Here are the words of Jesus summarizing a similar truth: 

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19–21 ESV)

All the things that are all shiny. These objects we lust after, eventually they're going to be meaningless. We see versions of this even now. I remember my dad got the first iPhone for work. Eventually, he didn’t need it and he gave it to both me and my sister. We would constantly fight about who could use it. But if you were to give me a first gen. the iPhone right now would be meaningless. 

The Bible is warning us, don't put your treasure there. Don't put your hope there. It doesn't belong there. Instead, we are called to enjoy the gifts of God not for the gifts themselves but to help to glorify God. Here is Paul’s words: 

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)

John is writing to his children. He wants him to know that they have security and safety they can enjoy. He also wants to warn them of dangers that they need to avoid. All of it is that they might make it to the end and they might finish the race.

God is kind to give us those reminders. He knows our hearts. We're prone to wander and to leave the Lord whom we love. And we need reminders to call us back. 

“Your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.” (1 John 2:12 ESV)

“You know who is from the beginning.” (1 John 2:13 ESV)

“you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:13 ESV)

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)