1 John 2:12-14 Overcoming the evil one

1 John 2:12-14 It is intriguing that in dealing with the evil one, John mentions three categories of people, but only the young men are mentioned as having overcome the evil one. Children's sins are forgiven for the sake of Jesus' name. Perhaps this is because they are not yet strong enough to overcome the evil one, but they do know the Father. This suggests that they are protected to some extent even though they have not yet the spiritual wherewithal to overcome the evil one. (See Matthew 18:10)

          In writing to fathers, John focuses solely on them knowing the Father. Perhaps this is because they are fathers and therefore understand the Father's care for His children better than children or young men who are not fathers. A father carries the responsibility for his children in many different respects. He is responsible to provide for them, to protect them, to teach them, to nurture them. Part of the teaching and nurturing children is to gradually allow them to take on the many roles of adulthood, when they are ready, and coach them during this process. And so fathers understand that the Father protects us from the evil one, but is gradually bringing us to a place of maturity, in which we can resist and overcome the evil one in increasing power.

          It is to the young men that John speaks specifically about overcoming the evil one. John has two sentences that are very similar but progressive, in that in verse 14 he mentions specifically that the young men are strong, and the word of God abides in them, in the context of having overcome the evil one. The devil works in many ways, too numerous to recount here. The general categories are deceit, temptation, and outright assault. No matter how mature and experienced we may become, we are always potentially susceptible to some new attack by him. But as we gain experience, we can become savvy to the things he has done in the past and learn how to rely on The Lord to overcome gambits of the type we have already experienced. But lacking these experiences, young men need to rely on The Lord much more seriously. Although they are strong, they need to rely on the word of God abiding in them. Perhaps Jesus was not really all that young when He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, but it is instructive that even though He was God incarnate, He quoted scripture three times to combat the temptations and distortions of the devil. (Matthew 4:4,7,10)