In this series, given in the early days of Waverley Christian Fellowship, Kevin Conner teaches through the New Testament letter of 1 John.
Be sure to get a copy of Kevin’s book on this topic. Visit www.kevinconner.org/1John for details.
Kevin Conner Teaches
Jewels from 1 John (Part 4)
In this podcast series, given in the early days of Waverly Christian Fellowship, Kevin Conner teaches through the New Testament Letter of One John. Be sure to get a copy of Kevin's new book on this topic, visit kevinconner.org/onejohn for details. And I'd like us to read together as a church party. The passage that we're going to be considering tonight. First John chapter two, and we're going to be looking together at verses 12 through to 14. First John chapter two, and verses 12 through to 14. Now altogether, I write unto you little children because your sins are forgiven you for the same sake. I write unto you fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you young men because you have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you little children because you have known the father. I have written unto you fathers because you have known that he's from the beginning. I have written unto you young men because you're strong and the word about a body thing you and you have overcome the wicked one. All right, let's just bear in a way. The prayer father, we thank you for this beautiful privilege and that we have a drawing aside from the pressures of life and the pressures of our society and the pressure of the world that we have to live in. Where we can draw aside into the house of God and receive strength nourishment of spiritual food for the inner man. Thank you for this privilege of getting together with your people. Thank you for one another Lord and thank you Lord that we're in the family of God and we just pray Lord that as we share together and I will that you will feed each of us with food sufficient Lord your word is our food Lord. This is we know the physical man and the natural man day by day. We realize Lord how we have to nourish the spiritual and not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together and the much the more as we see the day approaching this Lord. We pray thee throughout this steady tonight. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ everybody said amen tonight we want to be talking about spiritual age groups spiritual age groups and as you'll see in the passage that we just read together we have three groupings that we're going to be looking at let's put it up on the board here and then I want to use the overhead for my spiritual age groups. Now let's just take a moment to sort of bring up to that where we've been and see the progression of John's epistle here, just put that there's the progression that very hard to pick up in John's epistle of course but just the breakdown of the sections here the first section we have up here where we doubt what is like and in whom there's no darkness at all and then the that was the key word in the second section I'll just arrange the order here and the other key word was the life the life was manifested in a life and the next key words we had was fellowship and light if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another we have fellowship with God the Father, fellowship with the son Jesus Christ and we have a fellowship one with another with the believers and the blood cleanses us from all sin as we walk in the light and we saw that they couldn't have maintained that fellowship was walking in the light and the cleansing of the blood is this ringing a bit or is it just me okay then we saw that the only thing that would break fellowship either with God or Jesus Christ or with the believers is sin and we spent a night healing with that area we picked up later on with some other aspects of truth and then our last two sessions spent two weeks on this was that light and love are synonymous either faith he is in the light and does not love his brother is in darkness so light of a synonymous God is life God is love and we saw that darkness and hate synonymous if a person works or walks in darkness or in hatred if he hates his breath he's in darkness so hatred and darkness that's synonymous and that hatred what does it do to the eyes it blinds the eyes that that person cannot see where he's going he stumbles and you talk to people and say well you can't see it why can't you see it well is there hatred in your heart and all the things that come at hatred resentment and bitterness hatred is equivalent to murder and so it's very important to maintain the light and love of God and keep in the cleansing blood regardless and we went through the various levels of all testament love and that new testament love now you're seeing where we're going tonight we move John seems to go from life like fellowship light and love and darkness and hatred now he moves the next section here in the spiritual age group and we have three groupings I write on to you little children I write on to you youngin and I write on to you fathers now I'm no Greek expert so I'm not going to confuse you but I do want you to take them some of the Greek words that I'm going to sort of put on one side four Greek words here over under little children and one I'm putting under young men and where we're putting under fathers spiritual age groups all right let me just give you a brief definition of these words without sort of belaboring the Greek here that I'll weave in some scriptures in due time the first Greek word we have there is brafos and it means and I'd like you to take the meaning down particularly those who are doing this for credit it means infant or babe or a newborn child brafos Greek word it means an infant a babe a newborn child let's turn over to one scripture on this first Peter chapter two and verse who first Peter to and verse two reverse one and two just to lead into it here where for laying aside all malice and all guile and hypotheses and envies and all evil speaking as newborn babe brafos newborn babe desire the sincere milk of the word that she may grow thereby like so brafos is the word that's translated there and that's infant babe or newborn child all right the next and under the little children we have that Nipios something like that anyway all the Greeks person pronounce it pronounce it right I have Australian Greek others have Grecian Greek and others have Malaysian Greek and others have Chinese Greek and Mike has what do you have Mike you're teaching Greek don't you you have Russian Greek Russian true okay and Nipios something like that and this also I'd like you to take down the meaning of this because we want to sort of you know weave these meanings together in a moment here it means an infant little child infant little child backing up the word the Greek word actually a minor not a my bird a minor M.I.M.O. a minor is not permitted you know not able to speak not able to speak untaught unskilled a childish immature we have none of them here so that's perfectly all right and I'll run through that again so Nipios means an infant a little child a minor not able to speak untaught skilled childish immature Christian let's just take one scripture on that because there's a couple of others I want to weave in I'll throw that again for those who are slow riders Nipios means an infant a little child a minor not able to speak yet and not able to speak untaught unskilled childish immature Christian Hebrews chapter 5 verse 13 is an example this Greek word Hebrews 5 and verse 13 translated babe here Hebrews 5 13 we'll read verse 12 and to lead into 13 of course but then for the time you ought to be teachers you have need that one to you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God and it becomes such as have need of milk and not of strong meat for everyone that uses milk is unskilled for or have no experience the margin says in the word of righteousness he is a Nipios he's a babe childish immature minor infant little child Hebrews 5 13 all right the next week word we have here is payday or a payday or something like that anyway and this simply means a young child a young child so the third Greek word he has a little children group payday and it means a young child an infant a little one and this is the word that John uses in the passage we were he says I write unto you little children so if you want to put down a reference for this word just an example let's use the number of times I'll say that again payday and a young child infant a one and first John chapter 2 and verse 13 and verse 18 13 and 18 first John 2 verse 13 and 18 I write unto you little children payday and verse 18 little children it is the last time am I going too fast everybody like you could be going too slow all right so payday is a little child an infant a little one and an example of the use of that Greek word is first John 2 verse 13 and 18 all right the last Greek word of this grouping of little children is techno a techno or techno and it means offspring offspring children or child it's just sort of a general term here offspring children child and it refers to the growth stage so techno simply means offspring children child and it refers to the growing stage an example of this is John chapter 1 verse 12 I'll say that again techno means offspring children child it refers to the growing stage John chapter 1 and verse 12 John chapter 1 verse 12 is an example of this word King James translation translated sons it should be I'll just say what it should be here but as many as we see in John's just will chapter 1 verse 12 but as we see him to them gave he power to become the sons or the offspring children of God it's not the word for mature sons children of God even to them believe on his name all right now so another grouping here the grouping of little children the little spiritual age group the first group would be looking at some characteristics little children we have breakfast nipios perión and techno and the basic name of all of them is an infinite baby born child a little child a minor a young child or just in the growth stage all right now let's go to the next one young men the word here used for young men is that me and this goes Dr. John how am I doing the Greek do you know all this week am I getting better as I improve thank you is that how are you there thank you all right me and it's gonna and the meaning of this word is interesting it means a young man youth a young man youth teenager got any spiritual teenagers or juvenile we'll look at that a bit more later on so I'll say that again me and this goes means a young man youth a teenager a juvenile you've heard of juvenile delinquent well we'll leave the delinquent off because our problem today is more with delinquent parents which is a message in itself maybe if we can't hate it on the delinquent parents we might have delinquent children so I might be working on mum and dad now that word is found in first John chapter the passage we read tonight I write unto you young men first John to verse 13 and 14 I write unto you young men I have written unto you young men I've written unto you young men are you teenagers you juvenile I'm writing to you so that's first John chapter 2 verse 13 and 14 that's the Greek word translated young men I've written unto you little children I've written unto you young men teenagers young men youth and it includes the the sisters too it's not just young men and leave the girls out the young girls too so all the girls said all the girls said all right now the the third we have here is clear we are not rather John how would you say that thank you and this this means I'd like you to take down because the meaning of these words are very very beautiful it means a mature son a mature son and of course it includes a daughter too a mature son full-grown having both character and privilege that again Puyos is a mature son he's not a little brapper now a little techno Nipios he's not a spiritual teenage spiritual juvenile we love him all he's a mature son so this is a mature son full-grown he's rich maturity that's what he's full-grown having the character and privilege so he asked is a mature son full-grown having both character and privilege I'd like to look at two scriptures on this but then to Matthew that's all right you're getting too hot anyway did you turn that off oh okay everybody finish with that that's all right I am too but Matthew chapter three let's turn to two scriptures on this and Matthew chapter three and this word is you of Jesus I want you to notice the significance of it now Matthew chapter three and we're going to take from verse 13 then come with Jesus from Galilee to Jordan and to John to be baptized of him but John's about him saying I have needed ties of thee and come as thou to me and Jesus answering said unto him suffered to be so now for that's it become of us to feel all righteousness then he suffered him and Jesus when he was baptized went up straight by out of the war and lower the heavens were open unto him and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and riding on him and lower voice from heaven saying this is my mature son my full grain got on having both character and privilege this is my query and that was the manifestation of the son of God everybody hearing it a law of voice from heaven saying this is my beloved son is my mature son my full grown son having both character and privilege and Jesus was led into the wilderness and returned in the power of the spirit now I want you to go up to another scripture because you know I'm always praying that God will birth into our hearts if it's not already there birth into our hearts a vision of what God has God in mind for the church and when there is such an attack on the church and attack on the people of God getting together and coming together the body of so forth it's because people do not have that ultimate vision of what God has in mind for the same and I don't want them out on it if I'm in that generation and I think I might be I don't want to miss out on what I believe I see in the words everybody say amen all right let's go over to Romans chapter eight for another illustration and then I'd like to put on the chalkboard characteristics of each of these age groups. Romans chapter eight and I'm going to be verse 14 14 and 19 and verse 29 so believers I want to link up together with this Greek word here the mature sons full grown having character and privilege okay Romans 8 verse 14 for as many as are led by the spirit of God you know we blame a lot of fun eating down the Lord don't we or the Lord tell me to do this or the Lord tell me or the Lord said God and when the Lord speaks contrary to the word it's not the Lord so anybody it says to me well the Lord tell me this and it's contrary to the word it's not the Lord because the Lord will always agree with what he's written in the words he'll never lead it compared to the word and then so as many as are led by the spirit of God they are the mature sons of God they are full grown they have character and privilege they've reached maturity verse 19 for the earnest expectation of the creature waiters for the manifestation the unveiling of the mature sons not the glorified not the neo-anxious man is good but they we are the world is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God verse 29 for whom he did for now he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son to be conformed to come to maturity now let's just I'm going to give him that but let's look at this one when Jesus was the first created son of God John chapter 3 verse 38 if you want to put that now Luke the feedback 38 sorry Luke chapter three verse 38 John I mean Adam was the created son of God that son of God found and lost his inheritance and everything that was involved now the world waited two three four thousand years four days for the manifestation of the son of God and these words that I've given you'll find and we haven't got time to go into it we're always trying to condense things here we have a lasting gospel when Jesus was a born he was born as a bank forever little babe a little infant the infant child Jesus then he grew up as a teenager a boy of twelve about his father's business but teenagers don't know you've been there with nobody's been to what you have Jesus was a teen agent he was a juvenile not a villain and so in this little period of time 50 years from the babe teenager what's going on in that he's silent years he's met her he's not wasting time he's been self in the words what do you think Jesus did for 30 silent years he buried himself from the words for that time and then when he came to the water baptism of service the father said this is my career this is my mature son and we have three and a half years of a son of God ministry now Paul says the world is waiting for the manifestation of the son day five day six day seven here we are in 1981 oh I know what that'll be there enough anyway and later the world waited today for the manifestation of this son waited six thousand years and how many of God's people are still fiddling around on the Pentecostal bottle and the pasta what he called it he had done me sucking away on the charismatic model we better get off that okay you see you see the vision but God's been waiting for now our time's almost gone there the time fly like it goes here I want to for our last ten minutes give you four characteristics of each of these age groups and that way I don't know but I want to qualify something here let me just read off my note make sure I don't find anybody we're talking about the family of God we're not talking about natural age group we're talking about spiritual age grouping you know many times Christians who have been Christians for twenty and thirty years are still little breath officers still babies still carrying on like infant sensitive I'll give you some of those characteristics and yet I've seen other younger Christians and some even teenagers except the Lord Jesus and talk about maturity and I look at some Christians have been in the way in the way thirty years still in the way and I looked at some teenagers naturally and yet spiritual maturity and the spiritual attitude that they have on the things of God and on life wow so we're not talking about natural we're talking about spiritual and we need a army of God so all of us classify somewhere between here and there how many would like what you are like but don't you go looking at anybody now all right let's put up all characteristics of each little children and none of none of this is to condemn any place we have little children in the Lord we have young men in the Lord we have fathers in the Lord I believe and so this is courageous the whole purpose of this mercy is to encourage a distant world and come to maturity because they're waiting for something God's waiting for something right and don't get caught in little side this year and should it have missed the mainstream of God's purposes all right young men and then I write on to you fathers all right so you can just put down A B B C B on each of these and we'll just approve some of these points briefly okay characteristics of little children and I'll be behaving myself tonight am I cuz she's been yelling at me all right number one I'll just say A B C and D characteristics of little children A little children and all those people have to give their they need the muk of the word they need the muk of the word first Peter chapter two verse two you can put with I've already given it to you and need the muk of it agnubon bane desire the sincere milk of the word Hebrew is five and verse 12 I wanted to give you a meeting but I had to give you milk now milk is a foundation nor food foundational foundational principles first principles are milk but they're necessary you can't the moment a baby is born the moment Mark was born we didn't put him on state I mean when Mark was born he was a beautiful little baby about how was he ma'am not as long as he is now you better be terrible if Mark never grew up and he was just a big long six foot and four inches baby there how me and my little baby you elongated baby fuck this bottle see I can pick on him because he doesn't get offended if I picked on you you get offended and go somewhere else I have to pick on him he used to cost me offerings once but not too much now all right one other little thought on that point there on under a baby the little child needs milk needs the milk of the word no you've given them the 70 week property and the book of revelation I mean I'm sorry to say this we win in Kiwi land one time there and some new converts I've been in such and such a place and in the first few weeks they've been given 144,000 a man child the book of revelation Daniel's 70 weeks and I'm sorry to say this they went into the wild stuff didn't they beautiful people never been never been that kid that's right to this day just sad when ready to handle book of revelations the last book of the Bible there's 65 others you need before and I love it but there's a time but if the people know what about the man child they do and the book of revelation the 70 week process and a hundred hundred things but they don't know how to live with their wife or their husband and what about our practical lifestyle this is where it's at okay and so it's made me very cautious on opening up on some of these things as we have we have to have them to share knowledge and knowledge without wisdom is dangerous first crimpians number B sorry first crimpians chapter three let's go to B first crimpians chapter three the second answer of little children and this is in no way of condemnation please because praise God for all the babies we all start off a baby even I was a baby once I'm only a baby growing up now another evidence of childhood and little children is carnality carnality and look at the evidences of carnality first crimpians three and verse one to three and I burn and could not speak unto you as unto spiritual but as unto carnal even as unto babes in Christ well at least they're babes at least they're in Christ praise God for that they're in Christ but they're babes I have fed you with milk and not with meat for hitherto you were not a bear at neither yet now are you able and what a charismatic Corinthian condition we have today if we were to create the conditions in each chapter of the charismatic Corinthian church that's where our charismatic rebel is today confusion over gifts of the spirit confusion over orders of water baptism confusion over personality and preachers and ministers confusion over the Lord's table confusion over the offlings confusion over tongues interpretation you go through every problem that's in that chapter and that book the charismatic Corinthian Pentecostal condition of that Pentecostal charismatic faith and it's great to have a baby creation but I hate to have babies for 20 years this is my 20 year old baby never grown up still on the Pentecostal pacifier still dirties the diapers and what do you call them here nappies nappy changing wedding the band spiritual bed wedding that's kid tippy reading you're looking at me funny for me a yet carnal for where is there is a money in being I don't like you give me that for I know what the put you in the know well there is a money ending and strife and battle throwing and poking one another with the nappy pins and division systems among you are you not kind of walk as men for a while once it I'm a Paul and I'm of a pulse are you not kind of who's Paul who's a policy who's Richard who's Kevin who are we worshiping personalities or is it Jesus we're just ministers to give the word verse 21 therefore let no man glory in men for all things of yours whether Paul or Richard or Paul or self Kevin or see this or a world or light come up the next one or death or things personal things to come all of your all yours and you're a Christ and Christ is God evidences of childishness first Corinthians 13 on this line and I'm sorry I really meant to finish this tonight first Corinthians 13 verse 11 that's very interesting this is right between first Corinthians 12 is on the gifts of the spirit first Corinthians 14 on the three vocal gifts the other one's gifts of tongues interpretation prophecy sandwiched right between first Corinthians 13 on love we were talking about last week and so in verse 11 he says when I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child I thought or reasoned as a child but when I became a man I put away childish things now he's not talking about the gifts of the spirit being childish he's talking about people who have spiritual gifts being childish okay and so you know we have this when I was a child I spoke as a child I'll berate the gifts like a child I think as a child I understood as a child you know childishness because we're little babes in Christ still in the growing states still on the milk growing up praise God but don't stop there forever you know it must it must disappoint the heart of God at times when he looks over about our stripes of heaven see there's my children some of them have been saved 20 30 40 years and they're still thinking as a child understands how reasoning is a child never becoming a man and putting away childish concepts of the things of God never growing up I want to grow up don't you all right let's take the other two on this and they will have to quit for the night by the way that was I'm sorry that was the third that was see yes the let me run through the A was meeting the milk of the word foundation food B was evidence of abnormality C was childish understanding mentality speaking and nothing wrong with those when we're little children but if we're forever that way and never grow up and the Lord the Lord's waiting for the manifestation of his sons not little children and then let's go back to first John chapter two on point D here and then we'll quit first John chapter two the fourth thing we know about children and there's there's many others but I've just picked out for for sake of time so we don't laugh into eternity here is a limited salvation knowledge a limited salvation knowledge there's nothing wrong with us don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with this but it's the child stage what is John so on the limited child salvation knowledge I write on to you little children in verses 13 and 40 verse 12 and 13 so I write on to you little children because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake oh so I write at the foundation forgiveness of sins initial salvation experience I'll post God my sins are forgiven I'm on the way to heaven the devil's been after me all the week bless his whole name help me to hang on to the end I'm in 40 years later please go to help me to hold on to the end I was started 30 years ago and I know the sins forgiven I'm on the way to heaven the devil's been after me for 30 years bless his whole name help me to hold on to the end we've heard testimony is like that haven't we dear and this is not even holistically speaking we've heard it I got all sisters she has always played oh God get the cobwebs out of my life and week after week she'd pray this prayer and finally one brought it up fed up whether he said oh God tell us find out where do those things pop into my head from I just have flashbacks now man all right in verse 13 I have written I write unto you little children because you have known the father all but you see when he talks about the the knowledge of the fathers and the young men have written to you fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning or you're getting into the eternal purposes of God and plays God for sins forgiven we don't despise it so I want to encourage all our little children let's grow up in God I think we'll have to clear our times up be sure to visit kevinconner.org for more information about Kevin his books and his ministry you. (gentle music) (guitar music)