Little Children, Young Men, & Fathers

When a person learns math, we all start out counting: one, two, three, four, and so on. Not long after that, we begin adding two numbers together: one plus one, two plus two. As time progresses, we move on to subtraction, multiplication, and division. We start using larger numbers; instead of two plus two, it’s four hundred eighty-seven plus three hundred sixteen. For various reasons, some individuals will stop at basic math, while others progress to algebra, trigonometry, or even calculus. Math is learned in levels. Even a child genius who learns algebra at the age of four still goes through the stages of learning to count, add, subtract, and divide.

Just as we wouldn’t expect a child who just learned to count to ten to be able to solve for X in the problem 3A-(4X+129)=17, we shouldn’t expect someone who has been a Christian for a month to understand all the complexities of living the Christian life. Just as there are levels of understanding in math, there are levels of Christian maturity.

The Apostle John refers to these levels of Christian maturity as “little children,” “young men,” and “fathers.”

John speaks to the little children first. 1 John 2:12, “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.”

He also mentions the little children at the end of verse 13, “…I write unto you little children, because ye have known the Father.”

Just as physical infants don’t know much more than who their parents are, these spiritual babes in Christ have salvation and know who their Father is.

One must know Christ for them to know the Father. John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

The babes in Christ know Christ and Father, and have had their sins forgiven. This is a rudimentary description of salvation.

Notice also that their sins are forgiven “for his name’s sake.” Even though the blessings given to the saved are numerous, they cannot be counted; we are not saved for our sake but for His.

Once a person is saved by the blood of Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells in their heart. The Holy Spirit will instill a desire to please God and avoid sin. When a Christian sins, the Holy Spirit brings a sense of guilt, and eventually, the Christian will confess and repent. There will be a change in a person’s heart upon salvation. The Holy Spirit of God has moved in; how could there not be a change? Just as physical growth starts at conception, the beginning of life, so does spiritual growth start at salvation, the beginning of spiritual life. Many people claiming salvation have shown no evidence of a changed life or even a desire to cast away old sins and live life “for his sake.” If you fall into this category, you should seriously evaluate your salvation. Spiritual babes will grow and have a desire to grow, just like physical babes. Every kid on a tricycle wants a two-wheeler with training wheels, and not long after that, they want the training wheels off. It is all part of the growth process.

We can observe the spiritual progression as we examine what John says about the young men. John mentions the young men in the middle of 1 John 2:13 and the end of verse 14. “…I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one….I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.”

The young men have advanced from little children by overcoming the wicked one, being strong, and having the word of God abiding in their hearts. The word of God abiding in our hearts is essential to fighting off Satan and resisting the temptation to sin. Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

When the devil tempted Christ, he fought off the temptations every time by using scripture (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13); why should we be any different? It is difficult to tell a lie when you are thinking of several verses that point to the evils of lying. If we have verses that speak against pride in our hearts, it is much easier to resist the temptation of pride.

To advance beyond being a babe in Christ, the study of the Word of God is essential. 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

The final group is the most spiritually mature; John refers to them as “fathers.” He mentions them twice in the passage, and each time, he says the exact same thing, “ye have known him that is from the beginning.” This statement refers to knowing the deeper aspects of God. Those in this group have gone beyond overcoming the wicked one and now share a communion with God, fulfilling His will for their lives. Being forgiven for His sake is not just something they understand; they are living it.

Lastly, God gives all three groups a command and a reminder. The command is to “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

The command is obvious: love God, not the world. The reminder? Whether you are a babe in Christ or one of the most mature Christians on the planet, you can still sin and harm your relationship with Christ.

Christian, are you still a child spiritually, or have you moved on to a higher level of spiritual maturity?