Sermon Outline

Peter J. Leithart, October 09, 2006

With lots of help from Gary Burge's NIV Application Commentary....

INTRODUCTION
The world around us seems to solid and permanent. We can hardly imagine what life would be like without well-stocked grocery shelves, autumn elections, air travel, electricity, running water, and all the amenities of modern civilization. John reminds us that worlds come and go; what remains is "the one who does the will of God" (1 John 2:17).

THE TEXT
"I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. . . ." (1 John 2:12-29).

CHILDREN, FATHERS, YOUNG MEN
Verses 12-14 are puzzling. The connection of these verses with the surrounding context is unclear. It's also not clear what groups John has in mind. Is he talking about literal age, or maturity in faith, or is he using various terms to describe all believers (cf. 2:1)? And why does John repeat himself?

The best option (at least on Monday morning) seems to be this. John's "children" are all the believers in the churches he’s writing to, those with whom he has a "paternal" relation as a father in the faith (cf. 2:1, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21). As children, they have been forgiven and brought to an intimate knowledge of the Father (2:12, 13). "Fathers" is never used of all Christians in the NT. It is sometimes used of ancestors (Romans 11:28; 2 Peter 3:4), and at least once in Paul's letters of mature believers, teachers, or leaders of the church (1 Corinthians 4:15). This seems the best sense here, and John says that the fathers have also come to know the Father who is from the beginning (1 John 2:13, 14). John addresses younger believers as "young men," and reminds them that they have overcome the devil through the word of God and the power of Jesus (2:13, 14).

Whatever the particulars, several things come out of these verses. First, the church is a family. Second, like a family, the church is made of people of diverse levels of maturity, each of which has its particular strengths and gifts. Finally, a healthy church requires the contributions of all. A church of young men would be vigorous, but potentially unwise; fathers in the faith benefit from the zeal of the young.

THE WORLD
Opposed to the family of the church is "the world." Both in his letter and his gospel, John talks a lot about "the world" (John 15-16; 1 John 2:15-17; 3:1, 13, 17; 4:1, 3-5, 9, 14, 17; 5:1, 4-5; 19). In some places, this word refers to humanity or creation that is the object of God's love (John 3:16), but in other places it refers specifically to humanity in its hostility to God (John 12:31; 14:30) and specifically to Judaism in its rejection of Jesus (cf. John 15:18-16:4). Here, John has the latter senses in mind: "The world" is not the creation itself, which God pronounced good, but a world-system organized in opposition to God and perhaps specifically Judaism in its opposition to Jesus (this is the specific world that is "passing away," v. 17). Applying this today, our surrounding culture is "the world," a cultural, social, and political system organized in hostility, or perhaps indifference, to God.

John commands us not to love this world-system, and starkly states that if we love this world the love of God is not in us (v. 15; cf. James 1:27; 4:4). Probably drawing on the temptation of Eve in Genesis 3, John details the lure of the world under three headings. First, the world revolves around the "desire of the flesh," which might include sexual and sensual desire, but also might include the desires that lead to the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). Second, the world operates by spectacle and show, arousing the desire of the eyes. Eyes are also organs of judgment and scrutiny, and thus the "lust of the eyes" might also refer to insatiable curiosity (as Augustine said). Finally, the world operates according to the "pride of life." Life here, as in 3:17, probably refers to wealth, and includes the status that often accompanies wealth. Loving the world means idolizing Mammon, and striving for celebrity and fame.

CONCLUSION
Against all this, John, echoing Jesus, urges us to love those things which are from the Father – Jesus, His people, His kingdom, His righteousness. Everything is ours (1 Corinthians 3); the creation is laid up for the righteous in Christ. Paradoxically, we can only gain the world if we renounce it.