Victorious!
1 John • Sermon • Submitted
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· 25 viewsThe third message in a mini-series on 1 John 2:12-14. A portion of John's letter, which describes the blessings of being in Christ and the spiritual state of believers, who are truly children of God. This is a message of encouragement to those who are a part of the family of God but should not be taken out of context. The very next thing John addresses is that we must not love the world or the things of the world.
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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.
We are back in the same section of the Apostle John’s letter, which we have been discussing for the past few weeks.
John states that he has written to four different groups for three different reasons. These reasons are not significant to us, in that they are why he was writing to the recipients of his letter, they are significant because they are reasons for those who are in fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ to be reassured of their salvation and of their right relationship with Him and the body of believers.
That your (infant’s) sins are forgiven, for His name’s Sake
WE are spared from God’s Wrath
WE are granted Access to God
We are forgiven is for Christ’s name sake!
That you have known (comprehended) Him ( Incomprehensible)
Jesus Christ/Him who is from the beginning (known by the fathers)
The Father (known by the children)
That you (Young Men) are strong and you have overcome the evil one
Victorious over Satan and sin
The Word of God abides in you (the means God uses to bring us to victory)
This last assurance, which John shares toward those whom he calls “Young Men” in verses 13 & 14 is the focus of our time together this morning. I hope that you have been encouraged by the observations that we have made from this text so far. The past few weeks have been incredibly uplifting for me as I have been claiming the assurances that John has put forth here in this letter.
So let’s take a closer and deeper look into why he has written this letter, in relation to those he calls “young men”
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.
Highlight the sections we are focusing on today!
Young Men
Young Men
This title or identification would have been used towards older teenage that are young adult males, who are unmarried. I am increasingly convinced that John was speaking metaphorically when he chose to separate out and address each of these various age groups.
He does so to point to or highlight certain things that are generally true of us spiritually speaking as we progress through our spiritual lives, year after year.
John here in verse 13&14 of chapter 2 is writing to the young men because of their spiritual victory, because of their accomplishments in the battle against Satan/Evil One.
Overcome/Victorious over Satan
Overcome/Victorious over Satan
The claim of being victorious over Satan is a big deal. We aren’t talking about winning a game against the worst team in the league. We aren’t talking about conquering beating up a kindergartener, when you are a teenager. The enemy that John is referring to here is Satan. The Father of lies! He is a formidable opponent, who is the master deceiver.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
So these young men John is referencing here in verse 13 & 14 are in the prime of their lives. They are strong, energetic, and full of vigor and stamina.
It was a blessing and a curse. I was strong and energetic, but I had a hard time focusing on my academics. Lots of things distracted me from what I should have been focused on.
I see young men now, who are strong in their spiritual health, as well as their physical health and it grieves me, that I didn’t have the same level of spiritual commitment when I was their age.
John’s intention in this letter is to encourage believers, that they are able to walk in fellowship, and here in this section, he is listing for them causes for celebration, causes for reassurance, causes for confidence, reasons to rejoice and to be encouraged.
Strong
Strong
I was thinking back to this time in my own life, physically speaking. A time when I could eat twice the amount of food that I can eat now, and it seemed as though, all the calories went to work at creating more muscle in my body.
Young men can exercise and do physical labor and every bit of energy that they expend isn’t used to burn fat, it goes to work turning calories into muscle. These young men are strong, and lean. Their body mass index is very good.
This can be a wonderful time in a persons life. To be strong and energetic. To have the strength and endurance to accomplish incredible amounts of work
Maybe you are here this morning and you haven’t gotten to that age yet, and you wonder if it will ever happen. You may be young and your spiritual strength is still on the rise. You haven’t reached your peak fight ready fitness yet.
Maybe you are here and you are that person, and you are living your spiritual life with a high level of energy and enthusiasm that you are able to approach life with confidence, battling against the enemy with valor and vigor.
Maybe you are here today and you can recall a time in your life when that was you, but things have begun to slow down. Your spiritual metabolism has slowed, your bodies recovery time has slowed, and your general pace of life has slowed down.
I think it should be an encouragement no matter where you find yourself. It can and should be an encouragement in to know that we can be at a place in our lives, that we are able to overcome Satan and to be victorious over his evil schemes.
In , John helps us to understand where this strength comes from.
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.
Victorious over Satan
Victorious over Satan
The Word of God Abides in You
The Word of God Abides in You
This is a very important clarification that John is making here. They are strong. . . yes indeed, but what is making them strong?
It is the Word of God! Huh, doesn’t this seem to come up a lot?
Last week, as we were contemplating the beautiful and fascinating truth that God has revealed Himself to us, and that being primarily through His Word! Now we see, the young men are strong & the WORD OF GOD ABIDES in them.
Thus they have Overcome the Evil One.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
Victorious!
Victorious!
by the work of God, through His Word, which is at work in us.
Teeter-Totter conceptualization. We are upheld, and able to overcome, simply by the work of God
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
In the book of 1 Peter, which I read from earlier, warning us about Satan, also gives some instruction for the Young people,
5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:5-11
Romans
We see in Scripture many difficult battles that were fought, both in the Old and New Testaments. We read of the difficult times and persecution that many of the characters listed in the pages of Scripture went through. In , we are told of the beatings and persecution that the Apostle Paul suffered. Yet, as he recovered from being stoned and left for dead, he went on to encourage other believers in their walk.
22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Acts 14:
This is the work that God does in our lives and in the lives of our fellow believers. We are tested, we are tempted by the Evil One, but these tests and temptations are meant to strengthen us. When an athlete is training, particularly strength training, they are actually pushing their muscles to the limit, and even beyond their limits to the point of the muscle fibers tearing. Then when they heal, the muscle mass increases and they become stronger.
My point is this. There are times in our lives when we face spiritual battles, and this is why it is so important and critical that we are exercising our spiritual muscles, spending time in God’s Word, humbling ourselves, recognizing from where our strength comes from, preparing for the attacks by the Evil One.
John in his letter, has written to encourage us, that the “Young Men” have seen victory. They are experienced warriors, who have gone to battle, but they have come out victorious, able to recognize the work of God, in giving them the victory.
I encourage you to take some time and reflect on your life, consider the phases of life that John has been speaking about in these few verses and identify the similarities in your spiritual life.
Do you recognize God’s forgiveness that was granted to you as result of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection? Do you see how gracious and loving our God is, that He revealed Himself to us, and that He not only revealed Himself to us through His Word, The Bible, but that He sent His son to earth, to live and walk and breath, so that we might know Him.
And finally, are you able to identify areas of victory over Satan? Most importantly is that as we identify with Christ, in His death we are also able to identify with Christ in His resurrection and we now have Victory in Jesus!
If we have been freed from the power of sin, and have overcome the evil one, we can live our lives without fear and dread of what Satan might do. We can look back and see the work of God in and through our lives and say that we are victorious overcomers.
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,
25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Jude 24
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.