Articles
“I am Writing to You”
I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
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.
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.
The poem in 1 Jn 2.12-14 is bewildering. It breaks from John’s earlier patterns in the letter, so it is completely unexpected. It is as if John has spontaneously broken out in verse. The content of the poem itself is also perplexing. He repeats addresses to “children,” “fathers,” and “young men.” Who does he mean by that? Why does he address them in that order, which may seem to us out of order? Why does he repeat so much of what he says? Our aim in this article is to shed some light on this section of the text.
John addresses three groups: children, fathers, and young men. This is undoubtedly metaphorical. It is possible that by “little children” John means recent converts, but it is more likely that he is referring to Christians in general. He has already referred to his general audience as “little children” in 2.1, and he will continue to do so throughout the epistle (2.28; 3.18; 4.4; 5.21). Jesus refers to His disciples as children in John 13.33 and 21.5. “Fathers” and “young men” are harder to pin down. Perhaps he is referring broadly to older Christians and younger Christians (cf. 1 Tim 5.1); perhaps he is referring more narrowly to elders and deacons (both terms commonly refer to status in the ancient world; for example, a “young man” is a servant, which is the meaning of “deacon”). Either way, John refers to those who are leaders and pillars and those who have not yet attained that status.
Up to this point in 1 John, the apostle’s message has followed some definite patterns. The poem breaks from several of them, but it picks up one important pattern: “We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1.4); “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (2.1); “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning” (2.7). John brings the refrain of “writing” to a crescendo in 1 Jn 2.12-14. Three times he repeats, “I am writing,” and three more times, “I write” or “I have written” (the verb tense can be translated a few different ways in English). The theme of the poem is what John has written and is writing.
Everything in the poem is something that John has either already written in the letter or will write in the following chapters. “Your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake” was the message of 1.8-2.2. “You know Him who is from the beginning” was the message of 1.1-4. “The word of God abides in you” contains echoes of 2.3-6. “You have overcome the evil one” forecasts what John will write later in the letter, but we can also understand how everything in the first part of the letter amounts to overcoming the devil.
The basic message of the poem is that John’s Christian readers, old and young alike, already understand the gospel. John has always presented the same gospel to them, and he will continue to present the same gospel to them (this is, I think, the reason why John changes tenses from “I am writing” to “I have written”). They are not learning anything novel but are becoming rooted in the gospel and growing in it. They are already enjoying the benefits of it (e.g., “your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake”). If they endure in the gospel, their victory in Christ is so certain that John can speak as if it has already happened (“you have overcome the evil one”).
Up to this point in the letter, John has also largely avoided addressing his readers with direct imperatives, rather phrasing them indirectly: “If we walk in the light…”, “If we confess our sins…”, “If anyone does sin…”, “Whoever keeps His word…”, “Whoever loves his brother…”, etc. That changes after the poem. The first words following it are a direct imperative: “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” He will continue to do this throughout the letter (see 2.24, 28).
John’s poem is a summary of the gospel that he has taught and an exhortation to continue and to abide in that gospel. May we submit ourselves to the Lord’s teachings given through His beloved apostle.
