The Growth Test - Evidence of Life: 1st John Lesson 8

 I heard from more than one of you after the message last week that it was convicting, for some confusing, and even the cause of doubts. That’s good. At least I have some confirmation that you are paying attention. Let’s understand what is going on in 1 John. We are looking at a series of tests. John wants us to know that we know that we have eternal life. His purpose is clearly stated in 5:13. “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

 Because John is so black and white, and so dogmatic, he has a tendency to leave you wondering. This is not a bad thing. If there are justified and legitimate reasons for doubt, we need to know that. If we have been deceived, it is better to find that out now than when we stand before Jesus and hear His dreadful words, “Depart from Me, I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness.” John wants us to avoid that dreadful outcome. I want that dreadful outcome for no one who ever sits under my teaching and pastoral care. That outcome is avoidable.

 And let’s be honest about our scores on the tests we have seen thus far. We have seen the fellowship test. Read 1:5-6. How many of us walk in the Light perfectly? How many of us enjoy unhindered fellowship with Jesus all the time? I would have been shocked if anyone raised their hand. Does the fact that we don’t always enjoy perfect, unhindered fellowship with Jesus mean that we are lost?

 What about the sin test? Do we always, immediately and adequately deal with sin as we should by confession and repentance? Probably not. Does this mean we are lost? Same with the obedience test. Do we always keep all of His commandments perfectly? Does our failure mean we are without Christ and salvation? And finally, what about last week’s love test? Do we love one another as Christ has loved us with consistency and fervency? We know we should. We want to. But sometimes the acts of love are just not there like we want them to be.

 After subjecting us to this many tests that John knows we cannot pass with a perfect score, he knows it is about time for some relief. He offers some assurance and some encouragement to those whom he knows to be the children of God, just not perfect children.

Notice that in our passage the tone changes. The sentence structure changes. In the Greek, the tense and voice and mood of the verbs change. We don’t find any “If we say” statements. We only find indicative mood verbs. This is the mood of reality or certainty. Most of these verbs are perfect tense verbs, indicating completed action with finished results in the present time. When John says, “little children…your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake…” he speaks of the certainty and reality that this is true. He uses a verb tense that describes completed action with finished results in the present time. He is giving assurance. He is providing for the restoration of confidence in our salvation.

 Another thing to notice about these verses is the use of repetition. John says the same thing twice about fathers, and basically the same thing twice about young men, with some added insight the second time. He says two different things about children but they have a very similar basis. So why the repetition? John does this for the same reason any of us use repetition. It is for emphasis. John wants to drive this point deep into the hearts of those whom he loves. John’s purpose for repetition is to emphatically reinforce the fact that these to whom he writes are securely saved, as long as the evidence is present in their lives.

 Having said that, there is a sense in which these verses serve as the basis for another test. We could call it the growth test. As we read these verses we find John addressing three groups. He speaks to children – little children the first time, children the second. He speaks to young men, and he speaks to fathers. These are not to be taken as children, young men, or fathers in a literal sense. John is speaking about different stages of spiritual development. This is obvious from what he says about each one.

A person can be a spiritual child at any physical age. It takes a while for the growth to happen that produces the spiritual maturity of a spiritual father, but even this isn’t relative to one’s age. There are some young people who are very much more mature in the faith in their twenties than some Christians in their 60’s. We will understand the reasons for this.

 Inferred, or implied in these designations is an important spiritual truth. If there is the reality of spiritual life, there will be a corresponding reality of spiritual growth. As it is true in all of life, that which is alive will grow. If you are alive spiritually, you will be growing spiritually. If there is no spiritual growth there is no spiritual life. John did not speak to these children with the expectation that they would not become young men and then fathers. In the same way we fully expect children to grow into young adults and young adults to mature into responsible adulthood, we expect those who are born of God to make progress toward spiritual maturity.

 The Scriptures speak of this maturity in a number of ways. In our recent study of Philippians we found in the phenomenal second chapter, verse 12 a call to, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” The verb “work out” means to continually work to bring something to fulfillment or completion. It doesn’t mean we earn our salvation with good works, but it refers to our responsibility to actively cooperate and participate in the work of sanctification. Verse 13 goes on to tell us how this process of sanctification works. Paul wrote, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Just like the spiritual life is the work of God that brings us to salvation, the sanctifying work of the Spirit of God is what brings us to spiritual maturity.

 Look at Philippians chapter 3, verse 12-14 of Philippians. The perfection Paul speaks of in verse 12 is the goal of Christlikeness. This was Paul’s constant pursuit. Paul said of himself, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:29 makes it clear that God’s purpose in salvation is to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that we would be the firstborn among many brethren.”

 In 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul writes, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” This describes the progressive aspect of the work of sanctification. The more we know of Christ the more His life is reflected in the way we live. This process will be complete when we are standing in the glorious presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 There are a lot of factors involved in spiritual growth. Our time limitations this morning allow me to only mention briefly a couple of these factors. The first is spiritual nourishment. Just like a baby will not grow as it should without proper nourishment, neither will the spiritual infant. Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:2-3, “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the goodness of the Lord.” The word of God provides the necessary spiritual nutrients that cause spiritual growth.

 I have said for years that the church of America has a maturity problem. The church is three miles wide and a quarter of an inch deep. This is because those teaching responsible for teaching the word of God are not doing it. They want decisions, baptisms and increased numbers so they preach shallow messages that are not feeding the flock the meat of God’s word. The church is here to equip the saints so the saints can go out and do the work of evangelism. When the church becomes the place where evangelism takes place, Christians are never fed properly, and they don’t grow spiritually.

 It would be fair to say that the biggest problem with the worldly Corinthian church was spiritual immaturity. Paul said of them in 1 Cor. 3:1-3, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly.” Their immaturity was evidenced by the jealousy, strife, and factions in the church.

 As valuable as the word of God is as nourishment, another thing that God brings to play in our spiritual growth is trials. Nourishment and exercise are the two most important factors in physical growth. Nourishment and exercise are also the two most important factors in our spiritual growth. Nourishment comes from the Word of God. The exercise of our faith comes as we encounter various trials. James tells us that these trials are to be encountered with joy “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-3)

 I don’t necessarily wish for trials in people’s lives. My wishing for them doesn’t make them happen. They happen because God ordains them for all of us. And when He ordains them I get excited for those upon whom they fall. I get excited because I know what the result will be, if they are truly the children of God. Those who encounter various trials are about to experience the far greater blessing of spiritual growth. The trials are part of the God orchestrated work of transformation from glory to glory into the image of Christ. I know this has been true in my life and I have seen it in so many of you. That is one advantage to sticking around in the same place for over 30 years now. I’ve been privileged to see a lot of spiritual growth in many of you.

 John describes the culmination of this growth process for us in the third chapter of 1 John, verses 2. “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is.” This is our hope. And John goes on to say in verse 3, “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” We will see dimly no more. We will see Him as He is and we will be like Him. I don’t know about you but I’m ready to see Him and be fully transformed into His likeness. I’m tired of the struggles with my flesh and sin. I long for righteousness and glory and the presence of my Lord.

 What retards spiritual growth? There are a lot of places to find the answer to that question, but there may be no better place than the passage we have been through since starting our study of this letter. If we are not in fellowship as we should be, with God the Father and His Son, and with one another, we will not be growing as we should. If we are not dealing with sin through confession and repentance, we will not be growing as we should. If we are not obeying the commandments of our Lord, we will not be growing as we should. If we are not loving one another as Christ has loved us, we will not be growing as we should.

 What are the evidences of immaturity? James tells us that we will be easily tossed to and fro, back and forth, by every wind of doctrine. We will be unstable. Read First Corinthians. We will be selfish, fleshly, worldly minded, carnal, divisive, grouping into factions, soft on sin in the fellowship, abusing spiritual gifts. Time won’t permit much discussion on this, but spiritual immaturity is as obvious as physical immaturity. If there is no fruit in the life, there is either no life, or retarded spiritual development.

 That may be way too much introduction but I think we can get through what John is telling us in these three verses. Let’s begin with John’s message to children. He writes in verse 12, “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.” These are words of positive affirmation. These spiritually immature followers of Christ may not be doing very well on the tests of fellowship, sin, obedience and love for one another, but this does not mean they are not in the family of God. They are little children whose sins have been forgiven for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ. John’s words and tone are both assuring and comforting.

 John uses two different words for children in verses 12 and 13. The word in verse 12 is “Teknion.” It is translated literally here but it is always used figuratively as a term of affection by a teacher to his disciples. John would have heard Jesus use this word in this sense during the time after Jesus washed his feet. John will use it again many times in this letter, in verse 12, 28, 3:7, 18, 4:4, 5:21. Because this is what this word means, it is likely that this first use is an overarching term under which all of these to whom he has written would fall. All the followers of Christ, whether babies, young men, or fathers would have been John’s disciples in some respect.

 The second time we see the word “children” it is the Greek word “paidion.” This is the word used of a child recently born, a newborn infant. Paul used this term when he called the Corinthians to “be not children in understanding.” In 1 Cor. 14:20 Paul was calling those children to be not weak, ignorant, and childish. John uses this term here and in verse 18 as an endearing appellation for the new converts to Christ. These are the new babies in Christ, those who are new converts.

 Even a new convert, a baby Christian can know these things of which John writes. They can know their sins are forgiven for the sake of the name of Christ. They can know the Father. In fact, if they are true Christians, they will know their sins are forgiven and that God is their heavenly Father.

 How does even a new believer know these things? These are the essential truths of the gospel. The fundamental message of the gospel is that your sins can be forgiven. As Jesus preached the gospel in the Sermon on the Mount He explained that those who are “poor in spirit” are blessed because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. We must know that this condition of spiritual poverty results from understanding that we have nothing, no good works, no amount of human effort that can make us right with God. This is the weight of our sin piling up and bringing us to a realization of our spiritual bankruptcy.

 As a result of this burden of sin we mourn over our helpless and hopeless condition separated from God because of our sin. But Jesus promised that these would be comforted. 

 Those who are gentle are those who humble themselves as the tax collector did who went to pray at the Temple. We humble ourselves before God and acknowledge our unworthiness. Then, we hunger and thirst for the righteousness that will make us acceptable before God. Those are promised satisfaction. These become merciful because they have received mercy from God. This is the miracle of the forgiveness of sins for the sake of His name. And Jesus proclaimed in that Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” God is the Father of those whose sins have been forgiven for the sake of His name.

 John affirms that these dear disciples already know their sins are forgiven and God is their Father. Their position in Christ is a settled issue. Their spiritual maturity is still an ongoing process. This serves as both a comfort and a challenge. It is good to become a new born baby in Christ. It is not good to stay in this vulnerable condition.

 New born babies don’t know much, but the first thing they figure out is who their parents are. That is why their first words are “momma” or “dada.” The most important thing for a small child is this relationship to its parents. John says of these new born Christians, “you know the Father.” That may be all they know at first. This newfound relationship with God is fascinating. It is a blessing. It is life-transforming. It is assuring, comforting. It is life’s greatest blessing to know our Father who is in heaven. A new Christian’s focus should be on this new relationship.

 Next, John addresses the fathers but I want to save them for last. Let’s look at what John says to the young men. In verse 13 John writes, “I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.” He writes also in verse 14, “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

 What was the evidence that these young men had progressed beyond the level of maturity of children? It was the fact that they had overcome the evil one. This is stated twice, for emphasis. How had these young men overcome the evil one? It is because they were strong. How had they become strong? Their strength came from the word of God abiding in them.

 The Word of God was at home in their hearts. That is what “abide” means. The word of God was at home, abiding in their hearts. Their hearts had been good soil hearts when the word of God was sown. The word was producing a hundredfold fruit. They were putting on the whole armor of God, including the belt of truth and taking up the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. The evil one, who is Satan, was powerless and ineffective in his attacks on them because they had the word of God as their defense. This means they were well-versed in doctrines of the faith. One of the characteristics of children is that they are ignorant. At this level of maturity these young men knew the word of God.

 What does it mean that the young men had overcome the evil one? We know the evil one is Satan. What is Satan’s favorite tactic? He loves to question God’s word. Remember his approach in the Garden? He said, “Has God really said…” He loves to twist, pervert, and distort the word of God. He is a liar, a deceiver, and an accuser. What is the best weapon to use to overcome his diabolical methods? The best weapon is the word of God. This is exactly what Jesus used in the wilderness. Jesus overcame the evil one and put him in his place with the Scriptures.

 When we first become Christians we are children and our primary fascination is with the new relationship we have with God as our Father. Children are all about relationships. I watched my grandchildren just yesterday, when hurt, or scared, ran to their mom or dad. Spiritual children rely on and rejoice in the relationship to God the Father. But it should not stop there. We should all be growing because we are more and more versed in the Bible. This One with whom we have this wonderful relationship has made Himself known in His word and the better we know His word the better we understand Him. The more we know of Him and His word, the more spiritually mature we become.

 This brings us to the level of maturity of a father. “I am writing to you fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning.” (v. 13) “I have written to you fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning.” Again, this is repeated for emphasis. What does this mean? Those who are spiritually mature, like a spiritual father, are those who truly know and understand the nature and character of God. They have plumbed the depths of truth concerning who God is. They have come to understand the eternal Godhead as much as He can be understood, and they worship Him.

 We get to this point by growing spiritually beyond just fascination with the relationship. We grow in our understanding of doctrinal truth and we become strong as the word of God abides in us. Then, we come to understand who God is and how He is working and we learn to trust Him and we love Him and our singular focus in life is to live to honor Him.

 As we close I want you to think about this. There are some children who are born with issues and maturity never happens. These special blessings have to be cared for like babies for as long as they live. The physical body will grow, but the intellectual and mental capacity remains as an infant.

 These kinds of situations are the result of birth defects. Birth defects are an inevitable part of life in a fallen world. But I want you to understand something. There are no such things as spiritual birth defects. The work of salvation is the work of almighty God bringing new life, new birth, spiritual life to fallen people. Salvation is a powerful work. It is a transformational work. It is a work that will be evident in the lives of those for whom it is a real work.

 Spiritual birth produces spiritual life and spiritual life should be growing and producing spiritual fruit. Your duty is to examine your own life and see if there is life, growth, and fruit.

 It’s ok to be a child in the family of God. It isn’t ok to remain a child for the duration of your time on this earth. It’s ok to be a young man, or woman in the faith. Stand in that strength, resist the evil one, and continue to grow into a mature Christian.

 Let’s keep growing together.

 Let’s pray.