Christ Helps Us Group Work: Are Christians Democrat, Republican, or Independent etc.? How do we talk to those who have strong political views? Support your work with scripture. 1 John 2:13 I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father. Fathers are described as those who have known the One who is from the beginning, mature believers who have known the sweet companionship of the Son of God and are satisfied with Him. Young men in the spiritual family are characterized by vigor and by combat. This is the period of conflict and of wrestling with the foe. Young men … overcome the wicked one because they have learned the secret of victory, namely, “Not I, but Christ living in me.” The little children are the babes in the faith. They do not know very much, perhaps, but they do know the Father. 1 John 2:14 I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one. When John repeats his address to the fathers, it is the same as at the first. This is because they have achieved maturity in spiritual experience. Again the young men are addressed as those who are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. They have overcome the wicked one because the word of God abides in them. The Lord Jesus was able to defeat Satan in the wilderness by quoting the Scriptures. This emphasizes the importance of constantly feeding on the Bible and having it ready to repel the attacks of Satan. 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. All that the world has to offer may be described as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The lust of the flesh refers to such sensual bodily appetites as proceed from within our evil nature. The lust of the eyes applies to such evil desires as may arise from what we see. The pride of life is an unholy ambition for self-display and self-glory. These three elements of worldliness are illustrated in the sin of Eve. The tree was good for food; that is the lust of the flesh. The tree was pleasant to the eyes; that is the lust of the eyes. It was a tree to be desired to make one wise; this describes the pride of life. As the devil is opposed to Christ, and the flesh is hostile to the Spirit, so the world is antagonistic to the Father. Appetite, avarice, and ambition are not of the Father, but of the world. That is, they do not proceed from the Father, but find their source in the world. Worldliness is the love for passing things. The human heart can never find satisfaction with things. 1 John 2:17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. When a bank is breaking, smart people do not deposit in it. When the foundation is tottering, intelligent builders do not proceed. Concentrating on this world is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. So wise people do not live for a world that is passing away. If we know this why do we continue to live for this world? But he who does the will of God abides forever. It is the will of God that delivers us from the temptation of passing things. Moody, the great evangelist, and is inscribed on his tombstone: “He who does the will of God abides forever.” What are your thoughts about this statement? 1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. Another test of those who are in the Christian fellowship is the test of doctrine. The subject is introduced by a warning addressed to those who are babes in Christ against false teachers. Those who are young in the faith are especially susceptible to the lies of the Antichrist. *** MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) . Nashville: Thomas Nelson.***