Mensa Otabil - Knowing the Father
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We’re in First John, chapter 2, verse 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.
The Apostle John writes to the church as a whole, but within the church, there are different kinds of people with different levels of relationship with God, and each one is being addressed. Each group and each desire is being addressed by the Apostle, and so he describes the Christians as fathers, young men, and children. Now, these could be people who are fathers, young men, and children biologically, or people who are so in terms of their relationship with God. You can look at it in different ways, but he writes to these groups, and he speaks specifically to them.
John says to the fathers, «I write to you because you have known Him who is from the beginning.» That phrase, «He who is from the beginning,» refers to Jesus Christ. Remember, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh. So, Christ is the one who is from the beginning. What John is saying is that the Christian life is not a short-term relationship; you just don’t know God for one day and forget about Him the next. You come to Christ one day and backslide the other day, but you should know Him for a very long time. It’s a relationship we must have, and each of us must decide that our Christian life is not just a short-term engagement; it’s a lifetime engagement. He says you’ve known Him from the beginning, and we must all desire that we will have this long relationship with God that is fruitful and enduring. It has its trials and temptations, but through it all, we remain faithful to the Lord.
Then he says he also writes to us because we have overcome the evil one, and he says the young men might have overcome the evil one. What does that mean? As we grow in our Christian walk, one of the things we have to learn is to walk in victory over the evil one-that is, Satan, demons, powers-whatever it is. We cannot live our Christian lives running away from spiritual wickedness or being afraid and seeking refuge against them. We have the power in us, by the grace of God, to walk upon serpents and scorpions, and victory over spiritual wickedness is our birthright.
I just want to encourage you: God has given you victory over all kinds of spiritual powers. Don’t be afraid of them; don’t run away from them; don’t spend all your life praying against them, because when you know you have overcome them, you don’t pay too much attention to them. You have the victory in Christ Jesus, and that is part of our maturity as Christians-to walk with the consciousness of our victory over every demonic entity that comes against us.Then he says, «I write to you, children, again because you’ve known the Father.»
Knowing the Father is knowing who He is. The more you know the Father, the more you become like Him. A child becomes like his or her father, and Christians must become like their spiritual Father, God Almighty. So, the more we know Him, the more we become like Him. We take on His characteristics, and we live our lives as He lives them. If He’s merciful, we’re merciful; if He’s kind, we are kind; if He’s good, we’re good.
So, this is what he’s talking аbout: «You’ve known the Father; you’ve built your life around becoming like the Father.» So, wherever your Christian life is, you have to know the Lord for a very long time. You have to walk in victory and overcome all spiritual powers, trials, temptations, demons, and principalities, and you have to become like your Father, your Father God. That’s the charge we receive from Scripture.
Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, I want to know You more and more. Thank You for making me victorious in life. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen. Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.