Because

Because

1 John 2:12-14

I’ve never been much of a letter-writer. Marsha might tell you otherwise, because we carried on an extensive correspondence between the time she went home to prepare for our wedding an the time I graduated – about six months. We didn’t have e-mail or cell phones back in those “dark ages.” Long distance telephone calls were expensive. It was cheaper to write letters and pay for postage. The problem was that it took a week to hear back, so it took a lot of patience.   

My mother used to include a bundle of stamped, self-addressed postcards in my suitcase when I went to summer camp, with instructions for me to just drop one in the mail every day. I usually got home with the bundle intact. My dad recently noted that one brother is the only one who writes home regularly. Most of us just respond to e-mails, or make an occasional phone call. But, if you saw my handwriting - which is atrocious - you’d rather get a typed letter, an email, or a phone call. If I wrote, you’d have to hire a code-breaker to decipher my handwriting.   

That’s actually not a good thing. I’ve spent several months preparing the two collections of poems for my family. During that time, it was precious to read their actual handwriting - to read their letters and journals. My great-grandmother spent a great deal of time recording her family memories, and others in the family, my dad’s father and my mom’s mother, have handwritten their letters, memories, and poems. The handwriting tells me a lot about them – not just the things they wrote, but the handwriting itself. It was unhurried, casual, and in a way reflected the rest at the end of the day. It’s sad to me that penmanship is no longer taught, and that neat handwriting seems to be obsolete.  

It makes the manuscripts of the Scriptures all the more precious. You realize that they had to sit down at the end of the day and record their memories and concerns. You realize that they often had to prepare their “paper” and their quills, and maybe even mix the ink. The gospels and the letters were carefully and deliberately thought out and created. The expense of vellum or parchment and the expense of ink meant that nothing could be wasted, not even margins. We find manuscripts written edge-to-edge and words without spacing between. And we find manuscripts reused - the old ink washed off and a new letter written over it. These letters we so casually hold in our hands today are the painstaking work of anxious men – anxious because they felt the urgency of their message – and they are precious beyond price. That means there are few wasted words.   

So, when John says, “I am writing because ...,” it’s a message we need to take seriously. He does that six times in our text this morning. We need to examine each one.  

First of all, John frequently addressed the readers as his “children.” Most translations have added “little” (KJV) or “dear” (NIV) to clarify John’s meaning or intent. I want to note that there are two words translated “children” here. In verse 12, the Greek is tekniva (teknia). It is the word Jesus used in John 13:33 addressing his disciples, and it is generally used in the New Testament in relation to a disciple, as John does here. They are his spiritual children and precious to him. It is an endearment, and John calls them “my children.” The second word is paidiva (piedea), which is a technical word for an infant child, a small child. It is the source for our word describing a teacher of children - pedagog, and our word describing an offender of children - pedophile. It describes a child who is innocent and vulnerable. It’s important for us to know the difference as we proceed.   

Before we do that, I want you to see the symmetry in this poetic section. Each group is addressed twice: children, fathers, youth, and children, fathers, and youth. The fathers are addressed twice in the same way. The children and youth have two different instructions. Each of the triplets is different in another way, and I need to reflect that for you. In the first triplet, John uses the present tense: I write to you. In the second triplet, John uses what in Greek is known as the aorist tense, something with a beginning and a continuation. The best way to translate this is I am writing to you. It is not easy to render in English, but I will try.  

I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. These are the disciples, the teknia, whom John is encouraging in their faith. But this verse assumes the previous. John wrote to them, Tekniva mou (My children), I write to you so that you will not sin ... we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One [who is] the atoning sacrifice ... The reason that you ought not sin is that your sins have been forgiven.   

And there are two things to note here. First, the word “forgiven.” The Greek word means to cancel or pardon. Think of a debt that has been canceled. You no longer owe it. Think of being convicted of a crime. You are released and the record expunged. You are no longer guilty. The root word has other meanings, too. It could mean “let go,” is in “forget about it, let go of it.” God has let go of any charge against you. You are released from the burden of guilt. God’s fogiveness is not like ours. In God’s economy, forgiveness is forgetfulness. God tells Isaiah (43:25), “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” That means, first of all, that we no longer live under a cloud; we no longer live in the past; we are no longer haunted by guilt. God has erased and forgotten our sin. The record is clean. And John’s instruction is, “Don’t go back, and don’t look back.”   

Second, in the NIV, the phrase “on account of”. The Greek word actually means “through.” Your sins have been forgiven through the name of Jesus. Your sins have been forgiven because of what Jesus did on the cross. Your sins have been taken away by the name of Jesus. It is through Jesus - and only through Jesus - that we have forgiveness and cleansing. 

I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. These are the elders, the leaders, the men of faith who are examples for the younger believers. And some of John’s “children” are now fathers in the faith. Here is a timely reminder. You know. It is on the basis of that knowledge that you are an example in the faith. I noticed something else that repeats in the next three statement: you know. You know this to be true. In an age where we are surrounded by doubt and question, there are things that we know to be true. And when trials come, it is the certainty of that knowledge that holds us firm. Priscilla Owens wrote,    

“We have an anchor that keep the soul   
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,    
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,   
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.”   

Set your anchor deep in the truth that you know. Fathers, you know him who was from the beginning. Young men, you know you have overcome the evil one. Children, you know the Father. Don’t let that knowledge, that certainty be shaken by doubt and opposition.  

I write to you, young men ... and young women. Chronologically, this word refers to youth, teenagers, perhaps. Positionally, the word means servant, one of lower standing. For John’s purpose, he’s probably talking here to recent believers, those growing in the faith. They may be those who found out, as many of us do, that the Christian faith isn’t what we were promised. I remember in my teen years visiting the altar and having some well-meaning elder pat me on the back and tell me that now everything would be okay. You’ve given your life to Christ; it’s all going to be wonderful. But you wake up the next morning and life isn’t wonderful. There are new temptations, maybe depression, and you wonder what actually happened at that altar. Something did happen. When you gave your life to Christ, the devil was defeated. But that’s just one battle. You won it. You have overcome. But that’s not the end. But you did win and that victory will give you assurance that you can win again, and again. You have overcome the evil one. Paul encouraged the Roman church, in all these things we are more than conquerors (supervictorious) through him who loved us (Rom 8:37).

I am writing to you, little children ... These are the “infants,” (paidia) the newest believers, or perhaps to those who have a concept of God, but do not know Christ yet. It is John’s hope that they will grow into a mature faith. You know the Father. Here’s the point: you know the Father. He has not led you astray. He is the source of truth. If you know the Father, you can go on from there. Start where you are.

I am writing to you, fathers ... This is almost a repeat, except for the tense used. The first time, I write to you ... This time, I am writing to you ... In other words, I will keep on writing to you. I will keep on reminding you. One of the failures we have noted throughout the Old Testament was the failure of the leaders to pass on their knowledge, to train up the next generation. It is a failure in the church to day – and in the Christian family. Perhaps it is true that the leadership, the elders of the church need to be continually, or repeatedly, reminded of their responsibility to train the next generation. I heard a man, I think it was Nick Freitas, telling fathers that their “provision” for their family did not end with providing food, clothing, and shelter for their family. They were also to provide leadership and example to their children. They are to provide safety and protection for their wives. They are to provide discipline and proper spiritual nurture to their children. Provision does not end with the bills being paid. Provision is also emotional, spiritual, and physical. We live in a world of weak leadership and soft men. But children need hard men, strong men, men of courage and conviction who will set a godly example. It is no less true in the church, and John’s repetition of this address means that the job is not just one and done. It goes on. We need to be reminded of our role as godly leaders and spiritual examples.

I am writing to you, young men ... Because of three things, and one is, again, a repetition, a reminder. First, I am writing to you, young men, because you are strong. That’s an interesting word, strong. The Greek word also means “mighty, powerful,” and in certain contexts, “violent.” We are all familiar with peer pressure. Teens, particularly, who are trying to find their place in the world, seem especially susceptible to peer pressure. They go along to get along, and it’s the loud ones, the strong ones, who lead. John is reminding the youth of the church that they are powerful, that they can be a mighty force for good in the world. You need to find your voice and your courage. In the strength of your youth, make a difference for Christ. In Christ, you are mighty. 

I am writing to you, young men because ... the word of God lives in you. That’s the source of your strength. You are not sent to be nice, to be a doormat, to be the world’s patsy. You are sent in the power of the word of God, and with the might of God’s word. Live in the word of God and let the word of God live in you. Be faithful disciples, and disciplined in the Scripture. 

I am writing to you, young men ... because you have overcome the evil one. As John said before, you are victorious. The repetition here, like that to the elders, differs only in the tense used. First, I write to you ... Now, I am writing to you ... Because you need to be reminded, and maybe reminded often, that you have already won the first battle. You have already turned to follow Christ the King. You/ve turned your back on Satan. In the terms of Exodus, you’ve left Egypt. Don’t be tempted to turn back. Don’t ever let temporary pleasure or temporary convenience turn you away from the goal and the glory that awaits. 

Now, we have spent a lot of time on these several verses. But these verses together tell us one main thing. They tell us who John’s intended audience is. And don’t be diverted by the way translators have rendered this. There are essentially three groups of people in any church, and John’s letter is addressed to all of us, to all three, male and female. And this applies not just to these several verses, but to the whole of the letter. John is addressing the leadership of the church, the elders who are to be actually leading, teaching, and setting the example for the rest to follow. John is addressing new believers, who need to begin somewhere, and who are sincere disciples. John is addressing those of us in between, the growing believer who has gone beyond the elementary matters of faith and should be maturing in the faith. This is for the church. Wherever you may be on your journey with Christ, this letter is addressed to you.   

Let’s be careful to listen to what John is trying to tell us.