1 John 2:13
I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
John speaks to three stages of Christian growth, with mature believers knowing Christ who is from the beginning, younger believers overcoming the evil one, and new believers knowing the Father, so that personal knowledge of God and victory over evil mark every believer. Little children are those young in experience rather than in years, counted as God's own family and property, forgiven for His name's sake, obedient to His commandments, and knowing the Father, yet even they may have a rich experience in knowing God's will and overcoming wrong, with Jesus pitying, pleading for, and forgiving them when they are sorry for mistakes. Fathers are the older, long-tried believers and standard-bearers who remember the early days of the message, have experience in prophecy and present truth, know Satan's deceptions, stand firm in the old paths as witnesses, teachers and counselors, and must train those who came later to take their place. Young men overcome the folly and wickedness around them and resist the tempter by putting on the whole armor and keeping their eyes on Jesus, and they are strong because God's word lives in them through constant Bible study rather than cheap surface religion, giving firm Christian character that fits them for sacred trust and service. That call reaches young women as well as young men and fathers and children together, believer and unbeliever alike, urging all to make Christ a daily personal Saviour with persevering effort, to turn strength away from love of the world and its lust and pride toward doing God's will, and to grow into full spiritual maturity as a temple for the Lord.
Those John Addresses
John addresses three stages of spiritual growth, with fathers having known Christ who is from the beginning, young men having overcome the wicked one, and little children having known the Father, so that personal knowledge of God and victory over evil stand as the marks of believers. Little children means young in experience rather than young in years, and as such they are counted with the family of God in heaven as God's property. They are those who obey God's commandments, whose sins are forgiven for His name's sake, and who have known the Father, while fathers are those who have known Him who is from the beginning and young men are those who are strong with the word of God abiding in them and have overcome the wicked one.
Fathers are the older believers, the old disciples and standard-bearers who have long experience with God and know Him who is from the beginning. They remember the message's early days and the days of old, having experience in the special events of prophecy and in the opening and reception of present truth, and being thoroughly acquainted with the wiles of Satan so that nothing moves them from the old paths to the right hand or to the left. They remain witnesses and teachers, light-bearers and faithful witnesses whose trumpet gives a certain sound, still holding the banners aloft and still winning victories while relied upon as counselors. The young who rose later without that prophetic experience form with them links one after another in a chain of connection, and must be educated by the old standard-bearers to come to the front and become counselors in the work, with too great pains not to be taken to fit men for the holy trust while the standard-bearers still live.
Even little children may have a rich child's experience in knowing the Father and in the knowledge of God's will and ways, including a child's experience in overcoming the wicked one just as older persons have theirs, though they cannot have the experience that older persons have. Being overcome and doing wrong at times need not discourage them, because Jesus pities and loves them even when mistakes are made. He does not leave them to perish but pleads with His Father in their behalf, and forgives when they are sorry for their wrongs and ask Him. As God's little children who know the Father, believers are to be led and guided by the Lord at every step and to remain steadfast in faith in God rather than follow human judgment.
Knowing God Overcoming Evil
To have known Him who is from the beginning and to have known the Father is personal knowledge of God. For young men to have overcome the wicked one is the grand work of overcoming the folly and wickedness prevailing around them and resisting the tempter when he seeks to lead them astray. God watches over them and gives them strength as they strive for heaven.
Young men are strong and have victory because the word of God abides in them. That strength comes through constant study of the Bible instead of spending time reading magazines and novels. It gives manliness and firmness in Christian character rather than a cheap surface religion, and it fits them to proclaim great truth, to be trusted with sacred responsibilities, and to be a blessing and help to others in spiritual things. Churches must therefore remain strong in God's work to overcome Satan.
Overcoming requires putting on the whole armor, every piece, and standing ready. It is done with eyes fixed on Jesus the Author and Finisher of faith, while striving for heaven and for a life that measures with the life of God. It also requires refusing to be turned from the truth by supposition or sophistry. Satan must not be allowed to tamper with the mind, because breaking away afterward is hard, and sins are to be confessed before God while taking hold of His power so that sophistry has no power.
The words to fathers, young men, and little children make plain that no one shall pattern after the angels who warred with God for supremacy. Lucifer is the example, who because of the great glory given him wanted the place of Christ. So no one should set himself up to devise and plan for every other human being or assert authority to control other human minds. Position does not qualify a man who is himself wide of the mark of being a pattern of piety.
Living Out the Verse
The call to young men belongs to young women as well, for being young does not lift responsibility from them. Their strength is to be turned away from the world and set toward Christ and heaven in doing God's will. Fixing the affections on Christ and heaven gives hope of enduring life, while love for worldly things cuts the soul off from the Father. Fathers, young men, and little children alike, whether believing or unbelieving, are invited to make Christ a daily, personal Saviour by lifelong, persevering effort measured by the worth of eternal life. They are charged to take heed and not love the world, not the lust of the flesh nor the lust of the eyes nor the pride of life, since these are not of the Father but of the world, and the world passes away while the one who does the will of God abides forever. God has given His children strength and power to overcome, and when that strength is placed on the right side God and Christ and the heavenly angels stand with the believer. That God-given strength brings experience and enables even youth to enter mission fields, to plead with unconverted companions, to pray with them, and to win them to Christ.
That strength must not be allowed to grow weak through easily besetting sins, but is to be used to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ into the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus. Pressing onward and upward for perfection of Christian character by daily dying to self and sin, defects become fewer and fewer until believers grow spiritually vigorous in God and become a beautiful temple for the Lord through the refining, purifying, ennobling grace of Christ. This calls for a deep experience that brings the light of God's Word into the heart and searches the heart as with a lighted candle, producing manliness and firmness of Christian character rather than a cheap surface religion, so that young and old who have the Word in the heart can bless and help others in spiritual things, with every human agent doing his best. The verse holds Christ's instruction to be studied with self-criticism instead of exalting self and disparaging others, calling every soul to confess and forsake his own sins and to set his own heart in order without a moment to lose, because souls are in peril in the great day of atonement and only by diligent repentance can they be cleansed from sin and made ready for the Lord's appearing. The chapter to which the verse belongs is to be read and lived in order to walk in the knowledge of the truth and to share the divine nature, demanding singleness of purpose because the time to work is short, refusing to crowd the mind with a variety of things, constantly improving the mind to grasp the plain Thus saith the Lord, gaining now a genuine experience of great value, and walking humbly with God in faithfulness in that which is least. The promise of overcoming the wicked one met the disciples in the trial ahead in Gethsemane, where watching with Jesus would have kept them secure in God's strength, defended by angels, and able to hold their faith as they watched Him die, while sleeping left Peter to his own weakness and robbed the disciples of that preparation.