1. II. Light and Darkness (1:5-2:24)
    1. C. Test of Love (2:7-2:17)
      1. ii. Merits of stages of Christian growth (2:12-2:14)
Thematic Relation: Unclear. This is a difficult section to relate to anything.

Some Key Words

Forgiven (aphiemi[863]):
to send away, dismiss; to liberate from the power of sin
Know (ginosko[1097]):
to know by experience (vs. by intuition); to know absolutely, be certain of;
Overcome(nikao[3528]):
to subdue, conquer, prevail, gain victory.
 

Paraphrase

12 Children are forgiven, 13-14 fathers know Christ, young men overcome.

Key Verse

2:13 - Simply because it sums up all three ages.

Thematic Relevance:

 Love grows over time. Here, John seems to be listing the ages of growth in God's love.

Doctrinal Relevance:

 Sins are forgiven for Jesus' sake, not for anything we've done.

Moral Relevance:

 We must move beyond simple acceptance of our salvation, beyond simple overcoming, to a deep, intimate, personal knowledge of Christ

Questions Raised:

 How does this fit the book? Even with the tenuous connections noted, it still seems a bit out of place in the letter.

Some Parallel Verses

2:12
Ac 13:38 - forgiveness of sins is through Jesus. 1Co 6:11 - washed, sanctified and justified by Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. [NB - an interesting thought...are both involved in all, or are some the work of Christ, and others the work of the Holy Spirit?]
2:13
Jn 16:33 - Christ overcomes the world. Rev 2:7 - Those who overcome through Christ are given to eat from the tree of life. Mt 5:37 - part of what must be overcome is the need for oaths. Jn 14:7 - to know Christ is to know the Father.
2:14
Eph 6:10 - Strength is in the Lord. Jn 5:38 - the abiding of the Word is seen by belief in Christ.
 

New Thoughts

The progression is interesting: from knowing (being certain of) the Father, and of our forgiven state, to getting victory over our sinful state, to knowing (absolutely, by experience) the Son. Yet Jesus tells us we can't know the Father without knowing Him. How do these two things fit? Is it a matter of degree? An example: I know a particular person exists - having met him. I know very little about them, perhaps some thing they have done, but I know them as being. This would be the child-stage: We know the Father as being (we accept that God exists, and is this particular god), and we know he's effected our forgiveness; we've experienced that. But we don't know a lot about Him, what He likes, what He's like. This doesn't come until we've come to know Jesus at that level - deep, personal knowledge of Him, as a husband and wife know - or should know - each other. The victorious life that we hear so much about, is simply the enthusiastic age of young adulthood, when we are strong to overcome all obstacles, and nothing is insurmountable. But God longs for us to go farther - to go beyond accepting His gifts of power, and to accept the gift of Himself - of the possibility of intimacy with our God. Get to know Him.