Strength for Sanctification’s Journey

1 John 2:12-14 

12 I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake.
13 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.
I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father.
14 I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one.

Here are some overall reasons John wrote to the church for encouragement and correction. These apply to those who are the church in Christ through all ages, however, and not just at this time in history.  He addresses the elders in Christ as fathers, the middle group as young men, and the babes in Christ as little children.  The ones least mature in Christ, the little children, are referred to with this endearing term to show God’s love and John’s by reminding them that they are no longer under the condemnation of sin’s penalty, but are forgiven in Christ.  They know the Father through His Son!  This assurance of salvation by grace is foundational.  The ones in between in the long race of growing in sanctification, the young men, these are reminded of their victory in Christ over sin, death, and hell.  Their trust in following Him and leaning on His word by faith brings this victory as they overcome and are transformed by the renewing of their minds.  Their strength comes from the word living in their hearts and minds, which is also the source of overcoming the adversary.  Those who have known Christ the longest, the fathers, are reminded of who they put faith in at the beginning, just as the little children.  They are told this twice to ensure that they consider the grace and eternal standing they each have by the work of their Father through His Son on the cross that brought them to where they stand and who they have always known from the beginning (both from regeneration and from before the foundation of the world as it is written).  These reminders should stir them up in love.  We who are reborn in Christ all fit in one of these stages of sanctification, and can meditate on the journey by the encouragement here to know what and Who we believe in by faith, where and how we stand in grace, and therefore never give up as we run this race for God’s glory by the grace of Christ in us, the hope of glory.