I John 2.12-17: The Battle Fought 'Round the World

 

I John 2.12-17:

“The Battle Fought ‘Round the World”

                  Every day we’re in a battle.  No matter who you are, no matter where you stand with God, you are fighting a battle.  Inside all of us is a sense of something bigger, something shall we say, divine?   And this longing for the divine, even if we deny it, puts us in a battle.  Some have given into that calling, some fight it still, but John writes in his first epistle that we are in a fight.  He addresses those that are fight on the right side, that have given into that longing for something bigger, and he encourages them to keep fighting.   He writes:

                  “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.  I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one.  I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father.  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.  I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. “(I John 2.12-17)

                  To start we have to almost work backwards through the passage.  What is the battle?  Who are the players in the battle?  The battle is between worldliness and godliness.  One cannot be both, worldly and godly.  Just as darkness has no fellowship with light, the love of the world cannot be consume the same heart that has a love for God.  Now, to preface the world we are talking of here is the fallen, sinful, perverted ways of the world.  Not the people that make up the world, but the sinful nature of the world.  It is important to make this distinction.  We are to love everyone, yet not love disgusting sin. 

                  There are three categories in which sin usually falls; lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life (v.16).  We see all the way back in the Garden of Eden these sins being prevalent.  Within the story of the tempting of Even and the first sin, we see these three characteristics of sin.  Eve saw (lust of eyes) that the fruit was good for eating (lust of flesh) and that it would make her like God (pride of life).  These three areas of sin needed to be guarded against, and are the battle in which we fight.  John goes on to encourage and remind believers , no matter what their spiritual standing, they are in a battle and to fight well.

                  Three categories of Christians are given in this passage; children, young men, and fathers.  Some will say this is in reference to the age of the believers, but it is not.  John here is referring to a type of age, but not age as we think of it, rather spiritual age.  Children refer to the spiritual babies, or newly saved.  These are the babes or little children in Christ.  The next are the fathers, they are the other end of the spectrum. These are defined by the spiritually mature, those that have a deep and intimate understanding of spiritual things.  The last group John discusses is the young men, who are strong.  These are those that are on their journey that are more mature in Christ than the babes, but aren’t as mature as the fathers.  These guys are still going thru the fire, if you will. 

                  There is a battle we fight every day.  How do we fight it?  Well no matter where we’re at on our journey (child, father, or young man) we draw encouragement from each other, and from the Word of God.  Paul wrote in Ephesians about our battle and that we need to put on the whole armor of God.  This being said we also have to keep our way pure by the very Word of God (Psalm 119.9).  We do this all by the grace of God, and hopefully at the end of our life, we have fought the good fight!