Weapons of Warfare1 John 2:12–14

Opening Statement: Game of the Generals

Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:12–14

Opening Prayer:

Our passage today serves as our weapons against our enemies. In 1 John 2:12–14, John uses different terms of endearment such as chil-dren, fathers, and young men. According to Burge, “It was common-place among early Christians to address their followers with family terms.”1

Considering the context from 1:6 to 2:25 we can see that John is preparing the believers against the attack of sin, the world, and the an-tichrist.

To give us the whole picture here is a chart

1 John 1:6 – 2:11

Dealing with Sin

1 John 2:12–14

Summary of our weapons against SIN, WORLD, AND the ANTICHRIST

1 John 2:15–17

Dealing with the World

1 John 2:18–25

Dealing with the antichrist

Beloved, we need to acknowledge the reality of spiritual warfare. Yes, there is an ongoing spiritual battle and we cannot turn a blind eye on that reality. John himself said, John himself said,“Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from 1 Gary M. Burge, Letters of John, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 112, Ac-cessed September 13, 2016, Logos.Weapons of Warfare Page 1 of 14

the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8 ESV).

The word “destroy” is a strong word, which means “destruction of something” or “to put an end to the existence of (something) by damag-ing or attacking it”. In war, it is to conquer the opponent or to destroy them.

The same is true in the spiritual realm. Even the apostle Paul ac-knowledged we are at war. “12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cos-mic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV).

The same is true for John. He knows that all of us believers, spiri-tually speaking, we are at war. First, we are at war against sin. The cru-cial and opportune time is when Satan, our enemy, the devil, will trick us in believing that God could no longer forgive our sins. Have you been in that state before my friend? Are you currently struggling, deep inside you you feel someone’s whispering “You are forever doomed”? Are you ashamed of your sins and are starting to believe that you will forever be in a state of damnation?

Beloved, remember in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrigh-teousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV).

When that time comes and while living in this world, when we fall or when we commit sin, remember this:

I. First Weapon: Forgiveness of sin (v. 12).Key: “Forgiven for His name’s sake”

“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.”

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John is addressing all the believers here, and remember, the words “little children”, “Fathers”, and “Young men” are terms of endear-ment. To put simply, he is talking to all the believers here of all ages, whether mature or not, those who professed their faith on the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ, part of the body of Christ.

And here, John said, “because your sins are forgiven”. The word, “because”. Take note that the word “because” or the Greek word, “hoti” was mentioned six (6) times in our passage.

Based on the Greek-English lexicon, we can take the two (2) out of four (4) nuances for the Greek word, “Hoti”; one is “marker of narrative or discourse content”2 or “marker of causality”3

If we will interpret this as a MARKER OF NARRATIVE, the word “because” will point to an assurance to all the believers of their position in Christ. This will serve as an assurance that when they face their opposition (sin, world, the antichrist), they are the ones who have been forgiven, they are ones who have an intimate fellowship with God, and they are the ones who are abiding in the Word of God. Thus, an assurance to overcome the evil one.4

If we will interpret this is as a MARKER OF CAUSALITY (cause and effect), this could mean that the believers have the spiri-tual ability to overcome the evil one (effect) since their sins are for-

2 William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2000), 732, Accessed September 14, 2016, Logos.3 Ibid.4 “A second option is to understand hoti in a declarative sense. John has written these things to assure them of their place in the kingdom. These words are meant to assure them, in the face of a persuasive opposition, that they are the ones who have been forgiven, know the Christ, and have overcome the evil one. The fact that graphō is always followed by a di-rect object supports the declarative translation. But it is at this point that a helpful word can be given, using this particular issue as example, to guide those who wish to avoid those “exegetical fallacies.” The difference of these translations in the mind of the first-century reader might not have even been noticed. So fine a distinction would scarcely have been consid-ered. Care should be taken and caution applied so that we do not see in a text what is really not there.”

Daniel L. Akin, 1, 2, 3 John, vol. 38, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2001), 103–04, Accessed September 14, 2016.Weapons of Warfare Page 3 of 14

given (cause). They know the Father or they have an intimate fellow-ship with God, and abiding in the Word of God.5

Either of the two interpretation we will have no problem, but I favour the first one, marker of narrative because of the object of the sentence, (little children, father, and young men). There is an object so this is more of a declarative sentence, or stating a fact to the object of the sentence and in this case, the believers, and John was stating the fact of their position in Christ as believers. He is giving the be-lievers assurance of their salvation.

One commentary says, “John now pauses to reassure his readers that he is not questioning their salvation. . . .The role of these verses in the flow of thought is that they provide assurance for readers who might be questioning themselves after what John has said (Akin, 101; Burge, 110; Schnackenburg, 124). John therefore acts to clarify their salvation and growth in the Lord and thereby assure them of their salvation and standing before God.”6

And we will learn from this passage the weapons for warfare in the context of Johannine epistle.

First, “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are for-given for his name’s sake.”

Notice, the verb is in perfect passive. What is its significance? “His use of the perfect passive ἀφέωνται (“aphiēmi”) communicates their experience of forgiveness in the past which is still in effect in the present. . . . By implication, he is saying he knows they are those who have confessed their sins and experienced their forgive-ness and cleansing.”7

5 “The causal understanding of the term implies that the readers of the epistle have the spiritual ability to respond to the challenge to live in the light and not fall prey to the charms of the world.”

Ibid.6 Gary W. Derickson, First, Second, and Third John, ed. H. Wayne House, W. Hall Harris III, and Andrew W. Pitts, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham: Lexham, 2012), 1 Jn 2:12–14, Accessed September 14, 2016, Logos.7 Ibid.Weapons of Warfare Page 4 of 14

As a believer, we are in state of forgiveness but this does not mean that we will no longer ask for forgiveness. Remember our con-dition, we still commit sin thus God gave a promise that “if we con-fess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all of our unrighteousness.” On the other hand, this is not a li-cense to sin. Just because there will always be forgiveness of sin, it doesn’t mean that we should continue sinning. No, take note that the barrier that holds us to have an intimate fellowship with God is sin. And there are consequences when we commit sin; God cannot be mocked, we will receive discipline from God if we continue to sin.

The author of Hebrews said, “5 And have you forgotten the exhorta-tion that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:5–6 ESV).

Illustration: Let us look at the story of David (Read from the bible)2 Samuel 11–12

“The sin of adultery“2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

Trying to cover his sin6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going.

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8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

The sin of murder14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hard-est fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died.”

Regardless of what David had done, look at what God said in 2 Samuel 12, this is after Nathan confronted David of his sin, “13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Neverthe-less, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house.”

There is forgiveness to our sins and we will always be forgiven by God so let us always come clean before God, And the reason why God

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forgives? “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are for-given for his name’s sake.”

The sense of this phrase, “for His name’s sake” means, we are for-given not because of our own righteousness or we deserve to be for-given but rather because of the finished work of Christ. This is all about Christ. It is about what He has done and not about what we do.

This is also true even in the OT, Yahweh declared, “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not re-member your sins” (Isaiah 43:25 ESV).

This truth, knowing that we have been forgiven all because of Je-sus Christ, will serve as a weapon against the lie of Satan that when we commit sin, God could no longer forgive us. Remember that He for-gives for His name’s sake, God forgives because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.

Gospel: (Optional: And so for those of you who are here and are still unsure of your salvation, unsure if indeed you are free from your sins, do not listen to Satan’s lies that you are forever doomed. You can win this battle, today, right now, at this very moment, with this weapon. I ask you to pray with your heart, talk to Jesus, let Him know you are a sinner, and you are sorry for all the wrong things you have done. That you believe He died for you to save you from your sins, and ask Him to come into your life and let Him lead you and guide you from this day on and for the rest of your life.)

The second enemy is the world. In 1 John 2:15 it says, “Do not love the world” and we will discuss more about it next week. And the weapon against the world’s system is Intimacy with God.

II. Second Weapon: Intimacy with God (vv. 13a, 13c, 14a).

Key: “You KNOW him from the beginning”

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“I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. . . . I write to you, children, because you know the Father . . . . I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.”

This is interesting, notice the verb shifts from passive to active but still in perfect tense. Forgiveness comes from the Lord that is why it is in passive, but KNOWING HIM, this is our responsibility as a be-liever.

Our mission statement is: “To Know Christ and Make Him Known”

The word, “know” comes from the Greek word, “ginosko”, and it indicates “acknowledging the validity of a claim or the authority of a person.”8 It means when you acknowledge the authority of some-one, you act based on his/her authority. It is like “To know a subject is to have the skill to use it.”9 Thus many scholars say that it talks about experience. When you say you know God, it means you experi-ence him. You act based on His authority. And when we say experi-ence it means Intimacy. (other words/synonyms: closeness, affinity, affection)

So instead of loving the world’s system or being intimate with the ways of the world, we should be intimate with God.

Application: Four Marks of Intimacy with God10

Let me share with you an excerpt from the book, “Cultivating Your Inner Life” by Edmund Chan, the Four Marks of Intimacy with God.

Edmund Chan, opened up the chapter by quoting St. Augustine, “To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; To seek Him,

8 Jeremiah K. Garrett, “Knowledge,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham: Lexham, 2014), Accessed September 15, 2016, Logos.9 Ibid.10 Edmund Chan, Cultivating Your Inner Life (Covenant Evangelical Free Church, 2011), 57–71.Weapons of Warfare Page 8 of 14

the greatest adventure; To find Him, the greatest human achieve-ment.”

And then followed by the pious Scottish intellectual, Thomas Chalmers, “When I walk by the wayside, He is along with me. When I enter into company amid all my forgetfulness of Him, He never forgets me. In the silent watches of the night, when my eye-lids are closed and my spirit has sunk into unconsciousness, the ob-servant eye of Him who never slumbers is upon me.”

I like what Thomas Chalmers has said because his intimacy with God is rooted in God himself!

Chan said, “Intimacy with God begins with God. And rooted in Him!

Now, let us look at the defining marks of Intimacy with God.

1. Intimacy as our One Defining PURPOSE IN LIFE.

David, in one of songs said, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to in-quire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4 ESV).

Remember in God’s creative order, we were created to enjoy inti-macy with God. Thus, David declared his ONE THING, His main purpose is to seek God.

How about you? what is your ONE DEFINING PURPOSE IN LIFE? Are you seeking Him so that you will be more Intimate with Him? Or are you seeking what this world offers?

My prayer is that GCF Nuvali’s main purpose is to seek God. Every-thing revolves around God. Remember, everything that we do, it all starts with our love for God.

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2. Intimacy as our One Defining PURSUIT IN LIFE.

David is pursuing God. “That will I seek after” We are called to pur-sue the right things in life. And we need to first and foremost pursue the One who loves us the most, the One who gave himself for us. If we cannot pursue the one who gave his life in order for us to live with and for Him, then who and what else can you truly pursue in life?

3. Intimacy as our One Defining PREOCCUPATION IN LIFE.

David said, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek af-ter: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4 ESV).

Look at that line, “all the days of my life” it is a picture of preoc-cupation of life. For David, the one thing that he always think is to be with the Lord all the days of his life. Not just “some days” or just “Sundays”.

That is intimacy!

How about you? How is your walk with the Lord? What preoccupies your life? Do you long to always be in the presence of God? How is your quiet time?

Just think of this for a moment, If we cannot stay in God’s pres-ence here on earth for about 20 minutes, or one hour then why do you want to go to heaven to spend eternity with God?

and the fourth one,4. Intimacy as our One Defining PASSION IN LIFE.

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David said, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek af-ter: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4 ESV).

Church, look at how passionate David is to God. Not simply pas-sionate for His Kingdom work but passionate for the King himself, he wants to GAZE upon the beauty of the Lord. This is not simply just to see or to have a glance but he wants to gaze, to just behold the beauty of the Lord.

Remember, there is a saying, that sometimes we are too busy with the kingdom but no time for the King. Our passion, our love should be directed towards God because if we love Him then we will do what He wants us to do.

Challenge: Who are you seeking these days? What are you spending much of your time and attention on? Remember that one of our weapons is Intimacy with God. This is the weapon against the system of this world. In order for us not to love world, we are called to focus on God. To be intimate with HIM!!!

The last weapon to overcome the evil one in our passage today is Abiding in the Word of God,

III.Third Weapon: Abiding in the Word of God results to over-coming the evil one (vv13b, 14b).

Key: “The word of God abides in you”

“I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. . . .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.”

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Twice, John mentioned the word “Overcome”, in the original lan-guage, it does not only mean to be victorious but “to vanquish some-one”11 And the sense of the word, “vanquish” is to “defeat thor-oughly” (Optional: In basketball and in tagalog, hindi lang basta nat-alo, tambak na tambak pa!)

Church, this is in perfect tense, meaning this is state of being, the truth is, we have overcome Satan because of Jesus Christ and we will always be on that state of defeating him thoroughly because of Jesus.

Beloved, think about that for a moment and say it with your heart. “Jesus Christ will always overcome Satan.” This is our position for those in Christ. We are victorious and the enemy is defeated thor-oughly because of the finished work of Christ.

NIVAC said, “Again and again the Christian life is being cele-brated as an accomplished fact. When did this victory take place? Satan was found in defeat when at the Incarnation his kingdom came under siege (cf. Col. 2:15). As 1 John 5:18–20 says, even though the world is under the control of Satan, those who have been born again, who “know God,” whose sins have been forgiven, are protected by Jesus Christ, who is Satan’s victor through his cross and resurrection.”12

Now, John stated a fact when he said, “because you are strong”, the word “strong” is an adjective, describing the believers (“young men”). Being strong has one purpose and that is to overcome the evil one. The question is how can we become strong spiritually speaking? the answer is, we become strong through the Word of God.

The third weapon is Abiding in the Word of God. The verb “abides” is in present tense, active, so it is our responsibility to abide in the Word of God so that the Word will remain in us and it will make us strong spiritually speaking.

11 Arndt, Danker, and Bauer, 673.12 Burge, 114.Weapons of Warfare Page 12 of 14

So, how can we abide in the Word of God? The Word is our weapon against Satan. Remember,three times Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, and three times our Lord Jesus Christ used the Word of God against Satan.

To let the word of God remain or live within us, may I suggest these things from the book, “Living by the Book” by Howard Hen-dricks. One of my favourite books when it comes to hermeneutics.

To abide in the Word means we need to study and obey the Word.

Here are some practical things that we can do with regards to the Word of God13:

1. We need openness to study the Word of God.

The late Howard Hendricks said, “Scripture does not yield its fruit to the lazy. Like any other discipline of life, Bible study pays off in proportion to how much of an effort you make. The greater the investment, the greater the reward.”14

It takes discipline to study the Word of God.

Second,

2. We need openness to God.

The ultimate aim of Bible study is to know God. Again, here is one soul-searching question for all of us, “Do you want to know Him intimately?

Lastly,

3. We need openness to change.13 Howard G. Hendricks and William D. Hendricks, Living by the Book (Chicago: Moody, 1991, 2007), 33–34.14 Ibid., 33.Weapons of Warfare Page 13 of 14

“The Bible was written not [just] to be studied but to change our lives. Life-change is the product we are after. Yet there is nothing the human heart resists more than change. Spiritual growth, however, is a commitment to change.”15

Here’s another soul-searching question: “Are you willing to allow God to invade your character and conduct with His truth?”16

Conclusion: Beloved, John prepared his readers not for a stroll on the beach, not a leisurely walk in the park, nor to look forward to a relaxing vacation. But for battle, a warfare!

Our passage today equips us, His church, with the weapons we should use to defend ourselves against our enemies.

First weapon: Forgiveness of sin.Second weapon: Intimacy with God. Let us cultivate our inner life and be more intimate with God.Third weapon: Abiding in the Word of God.

Closing Prayer:Giving:Welcoming of first timersBenediction

15 Hendricks, 34.16 Ibid.Weapons of Warfare Page 14 of 14