John, the Elder, who was also a caring pastor writes to his congregation in his three epistles. (No, epistles are not the wives of the apostles. They are special letters written by church leaders.) First John is a fantastic letter. He uses a logical introduction to reassure that his readers are not believing “in vain.” Peter repeated this message in 2 Peter 1:16.
For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
Peter declared that he had seen these things personally. Eye-witness testimony is close to unimpeachable, particularly when it is not a single, quickly unfolding event. Peter reported that he had seen all of them. Not much chance for mistakes there.
John reinforces that in his introduction. (1:1)
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
John just closed out any objection of error or misinterpretation. Notice that he was not the only “witness.” “We have seen, ...looked at, and ...touched.” That is what we examined and now declare. He is referring to all of the apostles. Our message is unassailable. What a confidence to take into the “culture wars.”
And later, in our target passage, John reinforces his motive for writing.
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
(Explanation: David Jeremiah pointed this out on his radio program.) John was writing to “little children, young men, and fathers.” He mixes the order in his explanation, but the key idea is the progression of maturity. Children have their sins forgiven. Great start, poor finishing point. Young men are strong and have even overcome the evil one by the power of the Word. But don’t stop there, with seeing God work.
The fathers know God. This is not knowing “about God,” but personally knowing him. This is the ultimate level of maturity. This is expanded by Jeremiah in his book. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
First he instructs us not to boast in wisdom, power, or riches. They all fade with time and circumstances. But what does not change is “knowing God.” Since He is unchanging, we do not need to worry about believing the wrong thing.
Science has a terrible problem. What is “true” or at least accepted today, can change tomorrow. Take a quick tour through the history of science, or chemistry in particular, and you will be struck with how often the “understanding” or explanation of a concept is altered. The atom, for instance, has not changed from a “small, indivisible thing” to a “raisin pudding of atomic stuff with protons scattered in it like ‘raisins in a pudding.’” Later, it was understood to be a hard center (nucleus) with electrons oribting like a solar system. A later interpretation pictures the electrons as a cloud around the nucleus. And the understanding keeps changing. The atom has not changed, but our understanding of it has.
But, if we “know” God, we can be confident in our understanding, assuming that we are not misinterpreting it. What God was back then, is the same that He is now, and will be what He is like forever. What a relief. God does not change. What confidence we have in sharing Him with others.
God exudes lovingkindness, righteousness, and justice. Lovingkindness is alternately translated as “faithful love and mercy.” Loving kindness is a characteristic of a mother tenderly dealing with her baby. She not only “cares” for the baby, but she does it lovingly. Tender kindness is another way of communicating the concept. Combine mercy with righteousness and justice. What more could we want? I want to know that God. And, since He is infinite, I will never plumb the depths of knowledge about Him.
Keep digging. And keep reading.
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