1 John 2:12-14: Belonging to God s Family 1 By Rev. Brian T. Cochran

Transcription

1 1 John 2:12-14: Belonging to God s Family 1 By Rev. Brian T. Cochran Introduction Today we continue with our series through 1 John. Up until this point in John s letter he has been writing against false teachers that had arisen within the churches of Ephesus. These false teachers had left the churches and were seeking to lead the people of God astray by their false teaching. As I explained in previous sermons, this false teaching was most likely an early form of gnosticism. Gnosticism is a word that comes from a Greek word, gnosis, and simply means knowledge. Gnosticism boasts in secret knowledge and holds to a spirit-matter dualism. Spirit is good and matter is evil. Thus, in the gnostic worldview, the incarnation of Jesus Christ ends up being an impossibility and often gnosticism leads to an immoral lifestyle. We see that these were the sort of things that John was confronting in this letter. He says that whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ who came in the flesh is of the antichrist (1Jn. 2:22) and he writes that whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil (1Jn. 3:8). And in order to refute their teaching and to give assurance to the faithful in these churches he lays out three tests. The first was the test of obedience which we heard in 2:3-6, where John said that we know that we have come to know Jesus our Savior if we keep his commandments. Then he gets more specific with the test of love in 2:7-11 where he speaks of the love command. He says that whoever is of the light will love their brother. At the end of Chapter 2, he goes on to speak of the third test, the test of faith. In between all of this he has this sort of pause. And most likely the reason he pauses here is to reassure his readers in the most simple and straight forward way of their status as God s children. You see up until this point he has said some things that may have led his readers to conclude that they weren t part of God s people. And so John is setting aside the polemics for a few sentences in order to be pastoral to his children in the faith. They may have been discouraged by John s somewhat negative statements earlier which were aimed at the false teachers and not the faithful who had remained in the church. If because of the weakness of anyone s faith they had taken his words the wrong way and been accidentally shot in the line of fire, he wants to patch up their wounds and encourage them with words of assurance. He also wants to strengthen their resistance to the false teachers by appealing to the their joyful experience of being a child of God. And so notice with me then: Theme: The Encouragement of Belonging to God s Family 1. The Members of God s Family 2. The Benefits of God s Family 1. The Members of God s Family At first glance it appears that John addresses 3 groups of people in our passage: children, Fathers and young men. There are several possibilities of who these groups of people are. John could be speaking literally of children, Fathers and young men. In other words John is addressing the various age groups of his congregation. But this is unlikely because John typically addresses his 1 This sermon may be copied and distributed as long as the content is not changed, due credit is given to the author, and no money is made in the distribution. Copyright 2010, Brian Cochran and Redeemer Reformation Church (URCNA), Regina, SK. More sermon manuscripts and sermon audio can be found at

2 2 congregation as a whole as children without reference to their age: 1John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. 1John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour. 1John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him 1John 3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you. 1John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. So most likely John is speaking metaphorically of the spiritual family of God, which by the way includes both men and women. But there are still several views that one may take. Some take John to be speaking to all Christians in three different ways. But this seems unlikely because of the specific benefits that he mentions for each group that seem to correspond to the spiritual development that Christians go through. We see this in Paul s writings when he refers to some in his churches as infants in Christ (1Cor. 3:1) and others as mature in Christ (Col. 1:28). Thus, others see three groups of Christians distinct from one another in terms of maturity in the faith. And so, you have children, who represent new converts and are fairly immature in their faith, you have Fathers in the faith who represent those Christians who have reached a high level of maturity in their relationship with God, and then you have those who are somewhere in between, the young men, who are engaged in the day to day spiritual battles against the temptations of the devil. Still others see just two groups. In other words, when John speaks of children he is speaking of all the Christians in his churches as he does elsewhere in his letter. Then he divides everyone into two sub-categories: Fathers and young men, or mature and immature. This last option seems the most likely. It makes sense of the order that he list them in, children, fathers and young men and it corresponds to how he commonly uses the word children throughout his letter to refer to the whole church. Either way, at the end of the day it at least seems apparent that he is speaking metaphorically of the family of God and speaking of their spiritual development. So in the midst of his letter John pauses to encourage the people of God by appealing to them in terms of their status as God s children. And it is important for us as well to be reminded of the benefits of belonging to God s family. Perhaps you are weary with fighting against sin and satan. Perhaps you have been seduced lately by the temptations of the world. Perhaps you have been struggling with doubt. Perhaps you are ready to throw in the towel. Beloved the antidote to any of this is to remember who you are in Christ. And so notice with me then the comforting benefits of belonging to God s Family. 2. The Benefits of God s Family John first addresses everyone as children. Just to be called a child of God is a blessing in and of itself. You see we all were formerly children of wrath as Paul tells us (Eph. 2:3). You and I deserved God s wrath and hell. But in love God sent his only Son to redeem those who were his enemies so that they too might be called children of God. John will go on to rejoice in this truth: 1John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. Think about how amazing God s love and grace is. If you were a King and your enemy came to you and surrendered and repented of his ways, what would you do to them? Perhaps you would say too little too late. Or perhaps you would forgive them but make them a slave. What then does God do with us? He makes us his children and co-heirs with Christ.

3 3 And as God s children we have at least two benefits that John mentions: 1) The joy of being forgiven, 2) And an intimate relationship with God the Father. Do you remember that first time that you were confronted with the reality of your sin and misery? Do you remember the burden of feeling guilty? Have you ever felt like you were a dirty and immoral person? We all do a pretty good job at looking good on the outside, but on the inside, we realize that there are some sick and sinful thoughts that go through our heads. Maybe you have felt the accusations of the devil this week or the accusations of your own conscience, or you have been caught in sin by others. The feeling of guilt is a terrible thing. Sometimes it can do strange things to us. It can make us feel sick to our stomach. David describes his experience with guilt in Psalm 32: Psa. 32:3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Have you ever felt this way because of your sin? What then is the cure for such gut wrenching guilt? Psa. 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. How sweet it is to hear those precious words of forgiveness from God Himself! If you are feeling guilty for your sin right now, or you know the past experience of guilt, then I am here to remind you of that glorious declaration that in the name of Jesus, your sins are forgiven. One of my favorite parts of Reformed worship is the declaration of pardon. It isn t a time where I personally absolve you of your sins. It is a time where I declare to you on the authority of God s Word that you are forgiven. This isn t something that I have done for you. This is something that our God has done for you in Christ. Notice that we have been forgiven for his name s sake. You see your forgiveness is on the basis of Jesus Christ and what he has done for you. Many people today are striving to get right with God. They fear him because they know that they are sinners. But what they don t realize and what we must share with them is that Jesus Paid it All. John told us earlier that if anyone sins, we have an advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins. He lived a perfect life and fulfilled all righteousness and then died on the cross to turn away God s wrath from you. And now he is like your lawyer in heaven who pleads your case before the Father. And the Father must forgive you of all of your sins because he no longer sees you but he sees Christ the innocent one. Therefore, when you feel the guilt of sin weighing you down, take your guilt to the cross. Jesus died for all of your sins, past present and future. Think about that. Is there a sin that you committed 5 or 10 years ago that still haunts you? Is there a sin that you committed today that is disturbing you and you feel like you are unworthy to even be here right now? Is there a sin that you are scared that you will commit in the future that will be so terrible that God will abandon you? Beloved, in Jesus Christ all of your sins are forgiven, past, present and future!!! Dwell on that daily, pray it into your hearts and minds, preach it to yourself and to others. Do not walk in fear. Because of Jesus you are a dear child of God. And this is the second benefit that all God s children experience: 13 I write to you, children, because you know the Father. By faith in Jesus Christ, you have been adopted by God. He is now your heavenly Father and nothing will ever change that. And so you need not fear the past,

4 4 present or future. Rom. 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! We have gone from children of wrath to children of God and have come to know God as our Father. Now when John says, 13 I write to you, children, because you know the Father, he isn t speaking of mere intellectual knowledge. He is speaking of an intimate relationship of love and trust. As children of God we have come to experience the love of God which has been demonstrated in Christ and applied to us in the forgiveness of all our sins and in response we have come to know and love the Father. And you see this is the type of knowledge that the gnostic false teachers would not have experienced. For them knowledge was purely intellectual and had nothing to do with loving God. This is once again why John is pausing here and appealing to their Christian experience. He wants to assure them of their relationship with God and remind them of the joys of belonging to God s family. In comparison to the relationship they had experienced with God as their Father, the temptations of the false teachers and the world would have seemed like nothing. This is why John says these things first and then goes on to say, 1John 2:15 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. We ll look at that statement in more detail next week. But for now, realize that in order to fight against worldliness you must start with the Gospel of free forgiveness in Jesus Christ. It is from this foundation of forgiveness that you can then fight against the world with a free conscience and with thankfulness. Notice then that John addresses God s children as Fathers: 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. These are the mature believers in John s churches. They had experienced a relationship with Jesus Christ for many years and had proved his faithfulness time and time again. When John speaks of him who is from the beginning he is most likely referring to Jesus Christ whom the false teachers were rejecting. Remember they didn t hold that he was God in the flesh. And so, John opened this letter with reference to the eternal deity of Jesus Christ: 1John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life 2 the life was made manifest to us. John pauses to remind the mature believers of their intimate knowledge and love for Jesus Christ. He has been with them through all of the trials and hardships. He promised to be with us until the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). And it would be ridiculous for them to be led astray by the false teachers. Church history tells the story of the martyrdom of Polycarp who was the Bishop of Smyrna from In fact Polycarp knew the Apostle John and was one of his disciples. Most likely Polycarp would have read these words of John to the fathers of his churches. And Polycarp took these words to heart and when he was lead to be burned at the steak and asked to renounce Jesus Christ, do you know what he said? For eighty and six years have I been his servant, and he has done me no wrong, and how can I blaspheme my King who saved me? Polycarp could never abandon his Savior! He had come to know and love him who was from the beginning.

5 5 May this then be true of all of us. May we love Christ with a love that does not waver even as he has loved us and purchased us with his own precious blood. Christ will be with you unto the very end and even though you will suffer in this life for his name sake, you will be glorified forever with him in heaven. The present sufferings that we face in this life will not even be worth comparing with the glory that awaits us, that far outweighs them all (Rom. 8:18). Finally, John addresses the young men, or the less mature in the faith. To them he says 13 I am writing to you, young men because you have overcome the evil one...14 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. It seems as if John gives this group the most emphasis. They are on the frontlines of spiritual battle and need some good news about the war. And so notice that twice he tells them that they have overcome the evil one. Satan is one of the three great enemies of the Christian. John will mention the other two in vv (the world and the flesh). Satan is ultimately behind the lure of the false teachers and the lure of world. Indeed he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. And yet we need not fear him ultimately because John says, that even as young Christians we are strong and have overcome the evil one. There is something definitive that took place when you became a child of God. You have been forgiven definitively and you have been definitively freed from the power of sin and the evil one. You may not experience this reality all at once, but in order to experience it more and more you need to start with the assumption that you truly are dead to sin and alive to God (Rom. 6). You already have overcome the evil one, the flesh and the world. John will go on to say, 1John 5:4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith. In other words, the outcome of the war has already been decided! Therefore, when you battle against the sin and the devil remember that you are strong in Christ. God has given you everything you need in Him. He hasn t left you to fight this fight in your own strength. He has given you the Word of God and the Spirit of Christ to wage war against the enemy. Notice how John makes the connection here between being strong, having the Word of God in your heart and overcoming the evil one. John mentions the Word of God here for a reason. Remember how Jesus fought against the temptations of the devil. He quoted the Scriptures. So too if you want to be strong against the assaults of the evil one you must hide God s word in your heart. Let me illustrate for you how this works: When you are struggling with sexual immorality fight against it with: 1Cor. 6:20 You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. When you are struggling with depression and doubt, fight against it with Psalm 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation. When you are struggling with confidence, fight against it with Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. When you are struggling with assurance because of your sin, fight against it with: 1 John 2:1 if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

6 6 I could give you tons of more examples. The Word of God is the best soil for your soul in these trials and temptations. I remember when I went to Colorado once and I was up in the Rocky mountains and I went into a visitor s center at the top of the mountain. They had various displays on the climate and the wildlife and I ll never forget seeing this one little flower that had huge roots. And the reason that it needed these great long roots was in order to find water during the dry seasons and in order to sustain the force of the wind. And I thought that is the perfect image of a strong Christian. It is the image of the young men John is describing here. We are strong not in and of ourselves. Rather we are strong as we sink our roots deep into God s Word. Conclusion And so beloved, remember who you are in Christ. Remember that if you have trusted in Christ you are a child of God. Your sins are forgiven forever. God is your Father forever. Jesus Christ will be with you forever. You are strong, the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Therefore continue to fight the good fight of faith. All these things God promises to you in his Word and he confirms his promises to you in your baptism and in the Lord s Supper. Let us pray.

7 7 Bibliography 2 Beeke, Joel. The Epistles of John. Webster, NY: Evangelical Press, Boice, James Montgomery. The Epistles of John: And Expositional Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, Carson, D. A. and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd Ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, Kostenberger, Andreas J. A Theology of John s Gospel and Letters. Biblical Theology of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, Kruse, Colin G. The Letters of John. Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, Marshall, I. Howard. The Epistles of John. The New Testament Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, Riddlebarger, Kim. Sermons on the Epistles of John. Available at (accessed 3/9/10) Smalley, Stephen S. 1, 2, 3 John. Word Biblical Commentary. Waco, TX: Word, Stott, John R.W. The Letters of John. Tyndale New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, Yarbrough, Robert W. 1-3 John. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, This bibliography represents the regular works consulted throughout this series though not always quoted in every sermon. Stott s commentary I highly recommend as the best balance between technical and pastoral commentary.