The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

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John writes in his first letter: “I am writing to you, little children, since your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one” (1 John 2:12-14).

John addresses three groups of people in these verses: children, fathers, and young men. Augustine believed, as do other commentators, that the three groups represent three stages of spiritual pilgrimage. The children are newborn babes in Christ. The young men are more developed Christians engaging successfully in spiritual warfare. And the fathers are the most mature believers, deep in spiritual knowledge and experience. 

While this is a possible reading, it seems better to view “children” as all of John’s readers, and “young men” and “fathers” as those who may be distinguished by age within the church.

Based on the author’s consistent use of “children” to mean all his readers (1 John 2:1, 12, 14, 18, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21), we may conclude that John’s application of “children” in these verses encompasses men and women of all ages and is not a reference to youngsters or the spiritually immature. This reflects John’s affection for his readers, along with his own more senior standing in relation to them.

Next, “fathers” should be seen as older people, not exclusively men, and not necessarily those who are spiritually advanced. The fact that some readers are addressed as “fathers” and “young men” reflects a first-century way of speaking, but it does not exclude females in the audience. 

There is only one other place in the New Testament where believers are called fathers. In 1 Timothy 5:1, Paul tells the young pastor, Timothy, how to relate to older men in the church at Ephesus: “Don’t rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father …” The designation “father” clearly means an older man, but there is no indication he is more spiritually mature than his pastor.

Finally, “young men” should be understood as younger people, not just men, and not necessarily the spiritually immature. The word for “young men” (Gr. neaniskos) is found only in 1 John 2:13-14 in all of John’s writings. It does occur nine times in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts, where it consistently refers to younger people. And if we return to Paul’s first letter to Timothy, the apostle urges the young pastor to treat “younger men as brothers” (1 Tim. 5:1). In context, “younger men” are those closer to Timothy’s age.

Now that we understand the audience to whom John is writing, we may rightly ask why he twice commends his younger readers for having “conquered the evil one.” Clearly, Satan, not evil in general, is in John’s mind. He seems to be addressing the men and women on the front lines of Christ’s kingdom – younger and perhaps middle-aged people raising families, engaging the marketplace, and assuming leadership positions in the church as it advances into enemy territory. Their victory over the evil one is rooted in their faith in Christ and the power of God’s Word. 

Why are they strong? Because the Word of God lives (Gr. menei, literally “remains”) in them. Unlike the antichrists who oppose the Son of God, the “young men” are from God, and the one who is in them (God) is greater than the one who is in the world (Satan; see 1 John 4:4). Further, they have been born of God, which ensures their ultimate victory over the world (1 John 5:4). 

Finally, God protects the young men so the evil one cannot touch them (1 John 5:18). Believers’ victory over the evil one is assured because the Father abides in them, Christ protects them, and the Holy Spirit empowers them. The young men’s faith in the triune God brings victory that overcomes the world – and overcomes the one who presently holds the world in sway (1 John 5:19). 

Before moving on, we should note how John twice uses the phrase “have conquered the evil one.” The phrase translated “have conquered” draws from the Greek nikao, which means “to carry off the victory,” “overcome,” or “prevail.” As A. T. Robertson notes, “The Greek tense shows a permanent victory after conflict.”²³ Faith in Jesus and his finished work on the cross secures our victory over sin and death because Christ has decisively routed and irreversibly defeated the evil one. 

Next: Of the evil one (1 John 3:11-12)