The Stages of the Christian Life
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Intro
Have you ever had a multigenerational family portrait taken?
Sometimes people have them taken at weddings.
I find it interesting to look at those type of family portraits.
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You get to see all the generations of a family and imagine somewhat what they currently do.
Grandparents
You typically will see the patriarch of the family, Grandma and Grandpa in the center.
They have lived long and done the hard work of raising the family. They have walked and lived and now are able to enjoy the relationships with their children and grandchildren.
Getting together with them,
spending time with them,
dispensing advice to them.
They know what it is to live life and they have walked the walk.
Adult Children
Then you have their kids. Younger. In their prime. They are working at raising their own families. They are the ones who are out
earning a living,
teaching their kids,
busy with the necessities of their life.
They have the energy and the strength that their parents used to have and are now using that energy and strength to raise up the next generation.
Grandkids
Then you have the grandkids. They are young and don’t yet do a lot of work, but they are enjoying the fruits of the labor that their grandparents have put in and that their parents are putting in.
They get to enjoy the love of their parents while they can be nurtured and grown in the safety of their family.
Each of these generations has different roles at the stage of life they find themselves.
Transition
In the church, we see similar role distinctions in the stages of life we find ourselves as Christians.
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This morning, we are continuing our study of 1st John, and we are going to take a look at these different stages and what John has to say to each of them.
Turn with me to 1 John 2:12-14 (p. 862)
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As we read this, you may notice that what we read is offset like poetry in your Bible.
And you will also notice that John seems to repeat himself.
What he is doing is writing in a poetic form using a type of what is known as parallelism that is often found in Hebrew poetry, such as the psalms. In that form, you will repeat what you just said in a different way or perhaps give a little further information.
That is what John does in these verses.
Now John has just finished talking about being honest with ourselves and with God about sin and some tests to see if we are in the faith.
Now he turns to the church and offers them some encouragement at the stage of their Christian walk they happen to be on.
So read with me as we begin.
1 John 2:12-14
12 I write to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
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 evil one.
I write to you, dear children,
because you have known the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you have known 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.
Ok, we see John address what appears to be 3 types of individuals in this section, children, young men and fathers.
He is not actually talking to specifically children, young men, and fathers, but this is more addressed to people, both men and women that happen to be at different stages of their Christian walk. In the patriarchal society that they were in, it was not uncommon just to address things only to the men, but was also for women.
In the church that John is writing to, much like any church that you will find today, you are going to have people that are at different places along their journey.
This is who John is addressing.
Ok, so lets take a look at some of the specifics and see what we might be able to take from this for where we are in our stage of the Christian life.
First, we see John addresses children. Who are the children?
Children are Newer Believers in Christ
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He addresses these newer believers in Christ to encourage them.
John has just finished talking about sin and how we shouldn’t be sinning. He was actually addressing a problem with some false teachers who were claiming that they didn’t sin and were encouraging the church not to worry about what they did because it wasn’t sin.
John said wait a minute. Sin is not something to be disregarded. And we have some tests that we can apply to see if we are truly in the faith.
But John also recognizes that we all do sin.
We need to take it seriously and be honest about it, but it does not need to keep us chained to the past.
And he seeks to remind these new believers and encourage them with the fact that
Your Sins are Forgiven
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1 John 2:12
12 I write to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
We all need to remember that Christ came so we would have forgiveness, but in these newer believers especially, they could get discouraged if they were still struggling with sin.
John wants to encourage them that when we have truly received Christ as Savior, Your sins have been forgiven.
If you are a newer Christian, you are going to need to be reminded sometimes that
you didn’t do anything to earn your salvation and
you aren’t going to sin your way out of salvation.
Because it is entirely a free gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Now we need to remember that one of the tests of our faith is in our actions, and not sinning is an action. But John wants to encourage the new believers that sanctification, becoming more Christlike, is a process as the Lord continues to work in our lives.
God did not finish with us at salvation. He continues to keep us.
Philippians 1:6
“he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
But to these newer believers, he not only reminds them that their sins are forgiven,
but also that
You know the Father
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1 John 2: 13c
13c I write to you, dear children,
because you have known the Father.
You have entered into a love relationship with the Father just like someone who has been a Christian for many years longer than you.
God doesn’t love them more or less.
He loves you and you have all the privileges that come with being in a relationship with the Father
You can expect God to guide you and lead you
You can pray and expect God to answer.
In fact, I believe for new believers, that God shows special attention to them like we would a newborn baby, and in fact, answers prayers that to a more mature believer would seem somewhat superficial, but are an encouragement for them in their relationship with the Father. (my opinion)
If you are a newer Christian be encouraged that even though you may still struggle with some sins, your sins are forgiven and you are in relationship with the Father.
John also addresses young men.
Who are the young men?
Young men are Mature believers in Christ
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These mature believers that John addresses he reminds them of some of the things that have gone on in or are true of their lives.
He tells them to be encouraged because
You have overcome the evil one
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1 John 2:13b
I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one…
They have been tested and tempted and have overcome.
We should be encouraged when we overcome Satan’s attempts to lead us into sin.
It is evidence of the Lord’s work in our lives, that we are no longer slaves to sin.
But John tells them not only to be encouraged because they have overcome the evil one, but be encouraged by how you overcome the evil one.
Be encouraged because
You are Strong
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1 John 2:14b
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
But they are not strong in themselves. There strength does not come from going to the club and working out. There strength comes from the Lord, as they have persevered and faced trials and tests.
Paul , when he writes to the Corinthians, recognized that his own strength was nothing and that Christ’s power was the only thing that made him strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
When we have tests and trials, it forces us to rely on God’s grace and not on ourselves.
As we mature, we learn that we are not strong at all, and in fact we find strength when we know we are weak.
Mature believers are strong in the Lord and in his mighty power
as Paul instructs us in Ephesians 6:10
John also recognizes that thi strength while it comes from the Lord, it comes as
You Abide in the Word
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1 John 2:14b
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.
It is through
abiding in the word,
reading it,
studying it,
living it,
that the Holy Spirit strengthens newer believers into mature believers.
This process begins with pure spiritual milk, which are
the gospel and the basics of the faith.
As a new believer as we begin to read and digest what the gospel is and begin to take in some of the basics, we begin to grow up in our salvation.
This is just what Peter says in
1 Peter 2:2-3
2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The author of Hebrews, when chastising those who should have been mature, said
Hebrews 5:12-14
You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Mature believers are abiding in the word and living righteous lives.
They are the ones who are
taking on the roles of leading and serving in the various ministries and able to be used in training up the new believers in the faith
so that they will one day be mature believers.
So mature believers have been tested and faced temptation and yet consistently are overcoming the evil one, they get their strength from the Lord by relying on his grace, and they are abiding in the word of God, feasting on it, moving from milk to the meat of Scripture.
As they continue on doing that, those mature believers will continue to the next stage of development, which John calls fathers.
Who are the fathers?
Fathers are Elder believers in Christ
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Those of you who are elders
have been walking with Christ for a while and
your life has shown that you know Him.
They are older in years and probably don’t have the physical strength that they did when they were younger and serving the ministry more fully.
Sometimes these elder believers can be discouraged that they aren’t doing as much as they used to in the ministry.
So John writes to them as well to encourage them.
He says these elder Christians should be encouraged because
You Abide in Jesus
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John says the exact same thing twice to these elder Christians.
He says “you have known him who is from the beginning.” (1 John 2:13a, 14a)
They were abiding in their relationship with Christ, with him who is from the beginning.
Their life has shown it through their faithful ministry throughout the years.
They have born fruit.
John 15:5
If a man remains (abides) in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
These mature Christians have born fruit through their Christian life.
What kind of fruit have they born?
Well, one suggested by the term fathers would be that they have led others to the Lord. They have spiritual offspring, they are fathers if you will.
Paul is such an elder Believer. Listen to what he writes to the Corinthians in
1 Corinthians 4:14-15
14 I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. 15 Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
Paul led many of these Corinthians to the Lord and they are the fruit of his ministry there.
In times when it seemed nothing good could come out of a situation, these elder Believers have experienced Him who “works all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
They have seen the good that the Lord can do.
They have faithfully set and example over the years for their spiritual offspring and bask in the relationship with Christ.
These elder believers may not carry the load of ministry that those mature, younger believers do, they are a source of wisdom and council that can be counted on as the ministry that has been often built upon their backs continues on.
All here should strive to this stage of Christianity when we are truly living in and enjoying that abiding relationship with Christ.
No matter what stage of the Christian life you find yourself at today, be encouraged.
If you are a newer Christian, Be encouraged, that your sins have been forgiven, and you are in a love relationship with the Father that you don’t deserve, but has been given to you through faith.
If you are a mature Christian, be encouraged to where the Lord has brought you in overcoming the evil one many times and strengthening you in the Lord through your abiding in the word.
If you are an elder Christian, don’t be discouraged that you aren’t doing as much as you used to, but be encouraged to be able to see the church continue on in the hands of the spiritual offspring you have helped develop and be encouraged by the abiding relationship with Christ you have and the blessing that it is.
Whatever stage of life you find yourself at,
Whatever generation of believer you are, be encouraged, by the Lord and continue to ask for the strength to grow up in your salvation.
We need to be people of humility and seeking God’s strength at every stage of our Christian life.
We are going to close in a song, called Give us clean hands.
It is a prayer to stay focused on the Lord, so we will continually seek his face.
Let’s pray and then sing this song as the Lord continues to work in each of our lives.
Pray
We bow our hearts, we bend our knees
O Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
O Lord we cast down our idols
Give us clean hands give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us clean hands, give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
O God let us be a generation that seeks
That seeks Your face, O God of Jacob
O God let us be a generation that seeks
That seeks Your face, O God of Jacob
