Incompatible Identity And Actions Series

You can listen to this sermon at https://www.npbc.org.au/podcasts/media

1 John 2:12-17

“Incompatible Identity and Actions”

A few years ago I brought a USB router off ebay – it was really cheap. I made sure it was being sold by a seller based in Australia. It turns out that sellers can pretend they are based in Australia even when they are not.

When the router came the plug was the style they use in America.

American plugs don’t fit into Australian electrical sockets.

That is why the router was so cheap – it was incompatible.

Incompatible means that two things are so different they cannot go together.

Sometimes you can come up with ways to make them go together. In my case I brought an adapter and it all worked fine.

But there are other times where, no matter what you do, you cannot get the two incompatible things to go together.

In our text today, which is 1 John 2:12-17, John talks about actions which are incompatible with our spiritual identity.

12 I am writing to you, dear children,

because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name.

13 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.

14 I write to you, dear 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 lives in you,

and you have overcome the evil one.

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world

—the lust of the flesh

—the lust of the eyes

—and the pride of life

comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

In verses 12-14 John talks about our spiritual identity.

In verses 15-17 John talks about actions which are incompatible with our spiritual identity.

John has written in the past about these issues. John writes again to remind them of the significance of this teaching.

As we read through these verses two questions immediately stand out.

Firstly … who are the “children”, and the “fathers”, and the “young men”?

Secondly … what about the “mothers” and the “young women”?

These two questions are linked.

Let’s start with the children.

When John talks about children John is not specifically thinking about Benji, or Chloe, or Xander, or Mia, or Luke, or Jude, or Melody … or any of the many other names of the many children we have at our church.

Don’t get me wrong … all our little people are important and loved.

But, when John talks about children in his letter, John doesn’t have in mind a specific age group. He does the same thing in other parts of the letter.

28 And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.

1 John 2:28

18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

1 John 3:18

“Children” isn’t a specific age group. “Children” is the name John gives for a group of people who know their sins have been forgiven. And, who know the Father. They will be confident and unashamed when Jesus returns. They love with actions.

They can be male or female. Young and old. “Children” is a collective word.

“Fathers” is also a collective word.

This time it is a collective that describes a spiritual stage of life.

The ones who are in the spiritual stage of being “fathers” where they have a more mature faith that enables and equips them to speak spiritual direction and wisdom into the lives of others.

Which means the term “fathers” include males and females, as well as those who are married and those who are single.

It also means the term “fathers” may not necessarily refer to people who are older.

There are some men here who first became fathers when they were 20, others were closer to 40. In the same sense there are those who are in the spiritual stage of being fathers, who are quite young. Yet they can give wise spiritual direction and training. Equally true is the fact that there are some older people to whom very few would turn to as “father” – they just don’t have the maturity.

What about the “Young men”?

We now are seeing the pattern so we know “Young men” is also a collective.

A collective which refers to the spiritual stage of life when you have come to know Jesus and you are growing and developing as a Christian. It is often a time of enthusiasm and feeling that the Lord is really giving you strength and development.