Each week throughout 2021, I will share a Bible study blog post taking us through the letter of 1 John. Only five chapters long, this brief book is worthy of our consideration. Whether you drop in for one post or many, I pray that you enjoy them. Access all posts here.
Introduction to this Section
Nehemiah's Attitude
Nehemiah was a man on a mission. He lived during a time in the Old Testament era when God's people weren't doing well. God had to discipline His people, so He allowed them to be carried off into Babylonian captivity. Years later, working for a foreign power far from home, Nehemiah heard news about Jerusalem, God's holy city. The news broke his heart, so he prayed, and God sent Nehemiah, with permission, provision, and protection to repair Jerusalem's walls.
When Nehemiah arrived, the situation was worse than he'd imagined. After taking time to assess things, he rallied the people and began the work. Soon, tangible progress was made. But the strides they took brought out their enemies, who tried everything they could to stop Nehemiah's work. They negotiated. They threatened. They attacked. They spread rumors. But Nehemiah never stopped.
One day an Israelite named Shemaiah invited Nehemiah to a secret meeting in the temple. He told Nehemiah that Nehemiah's enemies were out to kill him, but that Shemaiah could save Nehemiah's life. But Shemaiah had been paid off by Nehemiah's enemies! They wanted him, Nehemiah, to act like a coward, to run to Shemaiah for shelter, and make a fool of himself. They wanted to watch the great leader of the Israelite people run and hide in the temple. They were ready to taunt him for his cowardice.
Notice how Nehemiah responded to the invitation. He said:
"Should such a man as I run away?" (Nehemiah 6:11).
Should such a man as I run away? It's as if Nehemiah said, "Do you know who you're talking to? I am a child of God. I have known the great God of heaven, and He has heard my prayer. He has brought me this far. Victory after victory has been ours because of Him. And I belong to Him! I cannot run away scared, for I am His and He is mine."
In Nehemiah, we observe a man who is bold because he knew who he was, who God had made him become. And Christians need this Nehemiah-like knowledge. John knew it, so he took a moment to write to the children, the young men, and the fathers of the church. He wanted them to remember they'd been forgiven by the Father, were in a longstanding relationship with the Son, and had been victorious by the Spirit. He wanted to remind them of who they were. He wanted a bold people who behaved in the light of who God had made them become. He wanted them to say, "We are His and He is ours. Should people like us run away?"
And if we embrace the truth John puts down in this small section, we too will have the boldness of Nehemiah. You see, the internalization of truth, the experience of it, leads to transformation. Like a steroid strengthening a muscle, so the truths in this passage can strengthen your soul.
So let's read the passage together:
12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name's sake. 13 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. 14 I write to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. 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.
Some Particulars of the Passage
This passage is beautiful but is also an abrupt departure from everything which had come before. John had been in full apostolic warning mode. The sirens of truth were blaring from his pen. In 2:3, he even began introducing tests to see if someone is in the faith. Do we obey the Lord? Do we love other Christians? Do we believe in the biblical Jesus? As only an apostle could, John laid the measuring tape of truth up against the lives of his audience.
But, just as the heat of his writing was at a full flame, John took a moment to speak to the church. His digression was for them, a loving interlude designed to remind and protect. And this portion pure poetry. Repetition, meter, and lyric are all involved. John knew a good song could get into our heads and hearts, so with skill, he sang over God's people. It's a hush-little-baby-don't-you-cry-John' s-gonna-sing-you-a-lullaby moment.
Before diving into his song, though, we must ask a question of it: To whom did John write? This question stems from the way he addressed children, fathers, and then young men, repeating the order to close the poem. Are these three groups? Two? One?
I am going to take the passage as if John is addressing the whole church with each title, one group. Why would we take this approach? First, John refers to the whole church, often, as little children. So he seems to think everyone could be labeled such. Second, the attributes of each group are shared by all Christians of every age. Every Christian has the forgiveness the little children have, they know Jesus like the fathers, and can overcome like the young men. Third, breaking up the passage by age or gender doesn't seem to carry John's unifying heart and mood. I think, as he's done all letter, he is addressing the whole church with each title. I think it best for young and old, male and female, new and experienced in Christ, to approach the passage with thanksgiving for everything that John says is theirs in Christ.
For our purposes, we will take the passage in three sections, following John's order. Today, we'll look at the children. Next week, we'll look at the fathers. And finally, we'll look at the young men. Again, we have access to everything each group possessed. This is who we are in Christ, and if we can see it more clearly, we'll be bold and well preserved from sin and error.
Little Children: Forgiven by the Father (12, 13)
2:12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name's sake.
2:13 I write to you, children, because you know the Father.
Little Children
Believers in Christ are children of God. We have all been made so in two ways. First, the Bible teaches we are His children by adoption.
"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!'" (Romans 8:15).
In the Roman world that John lived in, one could adopt an adult servant into their family. They would legally receive a new father, and their old family name was removed. They would become the official child and rightful heir of the master. Their old debts and life were utterly wiped out. The slave was now a new person, completely transferred into the family.
For the believer, the name of the Father is now ours. We belong to Him. He is our family. He has brought us in, taking us out of the family of Adam and into Christ's. Old debts have been paid once and for all by the blood of Jesus Christ. We are children of God, so Satan has no claim on us.
Second, believers are made into God's children through birth. Jesus said:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3).
You've got to be born again! And this new birth occurs at the moment of salvation. Peter said, "[God] caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). We are a new creation in Christ (Galatians 6:15). We've been born into His family.
Birth highlights your relationship with God: you were born into His family. Adoption highlights your position in God: you were adopted and given a heritage in Him. So, every believer, in every way, is one of God's little children.
Your Sins Are Forgiven
And John wants us, as God's little children, to remember our sins are forgiven for His name's sake. To say it another way, because of Jesus' nature and character, which is the meaning of His name, we have been forgiven of all our sins.
It is plain from the first few pages of Scripture that sin is a massive and immoveable hindrance to knowing God. It is seen, biblically, as the big problem in humanity. And we could not solve this problem, so God, because of His character and nature, provided for the forgiveness of sins. God wants to be known as the One who made forgiveness possible.
Consider the most quoted verse in the Bible by the Bible (meaning God quotes it more than any other verse):
"The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." (Exodus 34:6–7).
God wants to be known for the way He, though He cannot overlook guilt, mercifully and graciously forgives sin. He wants to be known as forgiver.
And you won't celebrate forgiveness until you realize how badly sin broke your relationship with God. You cannot appreciate forgiveness until you see sin as something which needs eradication or removal, a cancer to our species.
And the Bible paints a robust picture of how God forgives our sin. He removes sin (Psalm 103:12, Zechariah 3:9). He casts sin into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). He sweeps our sin away like a cloud blows away or mist evaporates (Isaiah 44:22). He casts our sin behind His back (Isaiah 38:14). He sets it aside and puts it away (Colossians 2:14, Hebrews 9:26). He covers it (Psalm 32:1, Romans 4:7) and puts it out of His sight (Psalm 51:9, Jeremiah 18:23). He washes us, cleanses us, and gives us new, clean hearts (Acts 22:16, Ezekiel 36:33, 1 John 1:7). He purges the scarlet of sin and makes us like pure white wool or snow (Isaiah 1:18).
Don't be mistaken. Jesus died for our sins. He did not die as a mere example of sacrifice. Jesus' death was not accidental. No, Jesus died as a substitute for you and me.
Joseph, when he learned of Mary's pregnancy, heard the angel say,
"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
He did this by dying for us and instead of us:
"He gave Himself as a ransom for all...." (1 Timothy 2:6).
And:
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit..." (1 Peter 3:18).
Jesus submitted Himself to the horror of beatings at the hands of the Romans guards who mocked Him with a crown of thorns and a purple cloak. He surrendered to scourging at the hands of Pilate, and as lash after lash pummeled His flesh, He thought of us. He endured so we might have life. And He took up His cross and allowed them to crucify Him on it. He said, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do." In agony, He became sin for us while on His cross (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Know the Father
Look now at John's second description of the little children of the church, he describes them as those who know the Father (14). And what we must know is that our relationship with the Father cost Christ His life. It didn't cost us anything -- mere faith to receive God's grace -- but it cost Jesus everything.
Did you know that Jesus, God the Son, will be human forever? He became flesh, meaning humanity is no temporary costume He put on (John 1:14). Though in a glorified body today, He "will come [again] in the same way," in that glorified, human body (Acts 1:11). When He returns, "He will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body" (Philippians 3:21). And, right now, while in the glory of heaven, He mediates for us as a man: "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).
I remind you of all this to help you know the price Jesus paid so we could know the Father. I pray we'll allow this truth further access to our minds, hearts, and souls. A better grasp on our forgiveness, and how we came to receive it, will change us.
Should Such a Man As I?
Nehemiah knew who he was. As a result, he didn't run into the temple when the threats of his enemies came. And how will knowing we're forgiven shape us?
First, knowing we're forgiven should drive us into our relationship with God. Have you ever received a costly gift? You know you should appreciate and use it. I am one of those guys who gets into all his Christmas presents the second he opens them. Our family always takes turns opening our gifts. As each round passes by, I have more and more clothes on, gadgets opened, and stocking stuffer candy in my mouth. I like getting right into using the gifts I'm given. And the gift of forgiveness was a costly one we should embrace by pursuing God.
Second, knowing we're forgiven should drive out guilt and shame. Jesus can cast away sin committed by you, but also sin committed against you. What you've done, and what's been done to you, is removed by the blood of Christ. By His stripes, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5)!
Third, knowing we're forgiven should produce compassion and forgiveness for others. Once you know how deep of a problem sin was, and how Christ dealt with it on your behalf, your pride is crushed. You know it was all Jesus and not you! This gives you hope for everyone and gets you off your high horse.
So, if you're in Christ, who are you? You are forgiven! Act like it.
But John went on. His second group was the fathers, and we will cover them next week.
