Children - Young Men - Fathers
You have heard something like, Young couples are busily engaged in raising children. Actually, we raise adults. Our goal is not to have children forever but to produce responsible adults. The effort of parental discipline, hopefully, will someday translate into self discipline so the person can do the things they want to do or the things they know they should do.
Adolescence is a term that was coined about 5 centuries ago. It experienced a surge in later times because of the emergence of Child Labor Laws. In our own day, perhaps media and marketing to a particular group has made adolescence a major category. In any case, there is unmistakably a period of time between childhood and responsible adulthood.
John, the apostle, using this imagery from the natural makes an important statement about the spiritual journey each one of us is on. He talks about “little children, young men, and fathers” (I John 2:12-14).
The characteristic of little children, spiritually, is their “...sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.” (I John 2:12) This is “...because ye have known the Father.” (v. 13) Jesus said this IS eternal life, to know God. (John 17:3)
The characteristic of Fathers is that “...ye have known him that is from the beginning.” (I John 17:14)
If these two types of Christians sound the same it is because they are, except...there is a different quality to the knowing of God in the life of a father (as used here by John). It comes from a consistent walk with God.
The Father's Life Translation says, “I write to you fathers because you know Him profoundly who is from the beginning...” The Amplified Version says, “I write to you, fathers, because you have come to know (recognize, be conscious of and understand) Him Who [has existed] from the beginning.”
Please remember I am using these terms the way John did. I am talking about our spiritual journey; walking with God during our lifetime.
A newborn knows God. His soul may be completely undeveloped at this stage but he is born (of God) and he does know God in his spirit. The father also knows God, but his experiential knowledge of God is deep. He touches the edges of the Eternal, since that is the kind of Life he has been drawing upon for a long time. He is like his predecessor Enoch, to a degree. Enoch walked with God (Gen 5:24) and one day they got too close to the thin veil of another dimension. He sort of “phased out” and was never seen by anyone again. He knew Him Who is Eternal. That's not the way the story ends for everyone, but we can wade into the shallows of a sea that is timeless, as we walk with the Holy Spirit. That's the way it could be, but it does not happen just because we have been a child for 50 years.
How can I walk with God like that? It is more simple to understand than you may think.
The key to a child becoming a father is to go through adolescence. You must go through puberty.
Someone says, “Oh, no! I'm 80 years old. I'm not going there again!”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is our problem. We have never gone through the young man stage of our spiritual development. There is an entire stage of our development that we have ignored or have been cheated out of.
Imagine a four year old saying, “Yea, verily, I shan't return hither to the abode of my familiars until quite a lengthy delay hath expired, for I must labor diligently at yon house of fabrication so that I may glean somewhat of financial benefit for the prospering and sustenance of my near kinsmen. Fare ye well.”
What? That kid is not well. Something is desperately wrong with a small child trying to speak like an adult. Something is very wrong if a child feels he must take on the responsibility of a grown-up. That never happens in real life today, does it?
I suppose the long, awkward pause should be inserted here.
John, the apostle, saw the natural stages of a person as representing a similar truth in spiritual things. We have to go through the growth process; the different stages. However, we have persons who have been truly born of God; little children. After a time they decide they will be a father. They will use grown-up language and try to be responsible for adult things.
I will cut right to the bottom line. Did you go through puberty, spiritually speaking? Did you ever pass through the “young man” stage of the Christian life? I am not trying to insult anyone. I am trying to help you. Maybe you have been a pastor for 50 years, yet something is not right. Think back. Did you ever go through adolescence or have you been a child trying to act like a father? Maybe you feel you are too old to start over.
Better to start over than to tip over (before discovering God's plan for your life.)
Did you have an older sibling? Or maybe you were the older sibling. A child may watch an older sibling begin to change; not just in physical size but in attitude. Yesterday the older child was content to play with toys with his younger brother. Today he has an unusual interest in a young woman. Yesterday he was consumed with childish things. Today, his interest is in more grown up things. But he not an adult; neither is he a child. He is in that awkward yet necessary stage of transitioning to a mature person.
What is this spiritual adolescence like? John sees three things.
I John 2:13 I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one.
14 I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you,
Then he repeats the first one:
and ye have overcome the wicked one.
I call these young men, “devil killers”. John even brings this out twice. This is the main characteristic. They stop running from the devil, turn around and start chasing him. Demons scream like little girls trying to get out of the way. Why? These young men have been baptized in energy. Also, they have a new understanding of the Scriptures from which their authority comes.
Spiritual young men (that includes women) may have an impulsiveness to them. I can speak from experience as one who would spend hours each day screaming at principalities. Today, I might urge a little caution, but young men do not care. They will walk up to evil spirits and authorities and slap them if they can. I highly do not recommend that. But again, young men don't care. Even if there is some danger they are not afraid. They are eager to take some foolish risks.
It was John himself along with his brother, James, that observed some Samaritans slighting Jesus.
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? (Lu 9:54)
Jesus had to rebuke them. Sometimes “young men” are zealous to a fault.
Someone once told me that their favorite book of the bible was Leviticus. That was a “young man”.
Everyone has noticed (or remembers) that sometimes teenagers do foolish things. Just because they are on their way to adulthood does not mean that very immature things might accompany their decisions. Paul had to deal with the church in Corinth about this very thing. They had been baptized in giftings but they still had numerous problems. They were getting drunk at the Lord's Supper. They would all speak in tongues at the top of their voices, at the same time, to show which one was more “spiritual” than the others. They had immorality in their midst and were proud of it. Prophecy was flowing in their meetings but it was mixed in with craziness at times. It was enough to make an observer discount Christianity altogether. It was enough to make some people cringe whenever another prophecy would come forth. It was enough to make many people throw away the entire idea of spiritual adolescence.
What? Say that last part again.
The immaturity of the “young man” stage was enough to make many people say, “Not for me.” And that is where we are today.
Paul never told the Corinthians to throw these things away. Instead, he tells them to do things properly and in order. He gives a template for using spiritual gifts in the church. He tells them how to properly have a limited number of messages in tongues and to not forbid it. He tells the Thessalonians to not despise prophesying. Paul is trying to guide the Church into proper use of gifts and lead them to maturity. Instead, what do we do today?
We use puberty blockers.
After the ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them, the apostles had a new understanding of everything. They preached the Gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus. They saw Jews and then Gentiles be touched by the power of God. This became their new normal and they wanted everyone to become normal. As they continued to impact people, this was their understood pattern. Get people saved then start them on a lifelong walk with the ever-present Holy Spirit. This was their new world view.
Spiritual Puberty Blocker #1: Passed Away
Some pastors say that some things in the Bible have passed away. A variation of that one is that the parts of the Bible we don't like are not inspired. Others are, like tithing. I think there is a little room for differences of interpretation, but to declare that you know that God is confused in a few places is an attempt to block the progression in the Christian life that God has ordained in His Word. I wonder if “born again” passed away. Why not?
Spiritual Puberty Blocker #2: Christianity
This one may sound strange but let me give you a possible definition of Christianity. A
moralistic philosophy seasoned with a sprinkling of Bible jargon in order to give man's ideas some authority.
If that definition is accurate, then Christianity becomes the enemy of the Scriptures. It's painful but you eventually have to line up with the Word or be an enemy of it.
Spiritual Puberty Blocker #3: Fear of Man
Do we hold man's opinion as supreme? Do we jettison all that God has said in order to comply with popular opinion?
Spiritual Puberty Blocker #4: No Participation in the Body of Christ
I kind of hesitate on this one. It would not be exaggeration to say that the Church does not exist in a practical sense upon the earth today. At least not in the United States, In theory, yes. In the heavenly places, yes. Christian ministry meetings, yes. How many of us have been discipled by walking with an older Christian and getting hands-on ministry experience? I know I have not, except to be apprenticed a little by some experienced missionaries.
I am not being overly dramatic. We need to humble ourselves to confess God's Word is true even if we don't understand parts of it. The problem really is the parts that we can understand.
If we refuse to follow the Scriptures we have to do all sorts of spiritual gyrations and word contortions. The most serious of us will try to go from newborn straight to geezer, skipping our spiritual adolescence.
If a healthy child doesn't do anything fatally foolish and makes it to 12 years or so, he will automatically begin the process that will lead him to be an adult, given enough time and care, Why? Because the process has been established. It is automatic if everything is normal. The child goes through the normal process of becoming a young man and finally an adult. That is God's plan for the human race and it's God's plan for you, too.
Apr 20,2023