How to Know that You Know God: The Test of Spiritual Growth - 1 John 2:12-14

1:03Welcome back to John chapter 2. In John chapter 1, John lays out this fellowship of light, describes much about this fellowship of light, and who's in it, and who's not, who's a participant in it, who the children of light are, who the children of darkness are. And coming out of that is a natural question. Is do I belong in that fellowship of light? Where am I? Where are you? In chapter two, John lays out several tests. Tests to be able to test yourself to see if you are indeed in this fellowship of light.

1:51How do you know if you're in the fellowship? Do you know God? How do you know that you know God? Well, in chapter two, John is working through several tests of that. In verses three through six, he outlines the test of obedience. The one who knows God obeys Jesus' commandments. Pretty simple. Such a one seeks to live like Jesus did. In verses seven through 11, John gives us the test of love. The one who knows God loves people like Jesus did.

2:44Well, today, we will look at the test of spiritual growth, which indicates the presence of the abiding word. Is truth in you? Are you? In truth? Is truth in you? Are you in God's Word? Is God's Word in you? If so, there will be spiritual progress. That's what the Word of God does. So, today I want to look at this test of spiritual growth. Those who are in the light will progress spiritually. You know what a mile marker is?

3:27Mile marker. Used to be called milestones. Well, we've come a long way since milestones. We have signs now, right? At least on the road around here, we have signs. Usually they're green, at least on the major highways. And what is a mile marker? It marks out the miles of your journey, right? Mile markers. We can think of them as we can think of these spiritual growth in the same way, that it's a journey. And there are mile markers along the way that tell you if you're progressing.

4:13You can think about a mile marker. You've seen these green signs everywhere. Mile zero. There's a starting point somewhere, right? And then as you travel down the road, you'll come to mile zero. Mile one, mile two, mile three. Somewhere down the road, you'll get to mile 419.99. Positive proof that an engineer was involved in this project. But they just keep going, right? And we can think of life in Christ as a spiritual journey. You begin, and it just keeps on going on into eternity. But along the way, there are marks of spiritual maturity.

5:13And John gives us several of those marks of the Christian faith, marks of spiritual progression in the Christian faith. I want to look at these this morning. I want you to see not only the markers of Christian maturity, but I want you to see the cause for Christian maturity so that you can tell whether or not you are progressing spiritually. So that's where we're going this morning. First, we're going to look at the markers, the mile markers of Christian maturity.

6:00Look back at verse 12. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for his name's sake. There's the beginning point. There's the mile zero. The beginning point is knowing that your sins are forgiven, or having come to know that your sins are forgiven. Notice he addresses little children here. Who's he addressing? Well, this is the term that John uses to describe his audience here. Look at verse 1 of chapter 2. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Look at verse 28. Now, little children, abide in him. You can go on down and look at 3:18, my little children. Look at 4:4, little children, 521, little children. Throughout the book, he uses this address to speak to all of those in his entire audience, regardless of where they are in the spiritual maturity process.

7:17He addresses them as little children, needing to be taught relationship, specifically a relationship that John has to them. Little children, I am writing you because I am not a child. Because your sins have been forgiven. Your sins. Now, think about everything that John has just said. He's talked about the liars in chapter one, he's talked about the self-deceivers. He's talked about those who slander God. He's talked about in chapter two, this test of obedience. He's talked about loving one another and hating one another. And he's talking about all of these as evidences for the genuine child of the light. And there are probably several in here that are probably saying, where do I really am? Why is John writing this? Is he writing this to us because he thinks we're not in the light? Well, John's saying, no, I'm writing this to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven. I'm not writing this to you because you're outside the faith. I'm writing this to you because you're inside the faith. And he's going to go on and address the different categories of people in the church.

8:30But sins have been forgiven. This is the beginning point of the Christian journey. The knowledge of forgiveness of sins applies to all ages. That's why he says little children, and he speaks to all of them. It's for all ages. No matter where you are in the Christian journey, you need to know that God forgives you, and he keeps forgiving you. Need to know how to obey him when you do sin and what to deal with and how to make things right before God and before people.

9:12Regardless of how long you've been in the faith, the cross is the very center and the very foundation of our faith, and we never outgrow it. In fact, we will, as the ages progress, as time progress, we just grow more and more deeply and profoundly impacted by the love that God has for us on the cross. We never outgrow the cross. It stays the very center and foundation of our Christian life. But even so, that's where it begins. A fresh knowledge of the forgiveness of sins marks the beginning point of the spiritual maturing process.

9:59That is the beginning point. You do live outside of God. And without Him, you are going your own way. That is sin. And when you come to Christ, when you come and a new Lord comes into your being, there's a change. And it begins with that idea: like, I have not lived as God has intended. I have sinned against him. I need to be right with him. That's the beginning. But I want you to see something. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven, have been sent away from you, have been divorced from you, have been forgiven. That's why I'm writing to you, and the tense is profound.

11:01It is, I am writing these things because your sins have been forgiven. An action that has taken place in the past that has continual effects. Your sins have been forgiven and they remain forgiven. That's why I'm writing to you. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for his namesake. Look at that, for his namesake. What is the reason that sins are forgiven? Let me tell you something. The reason that sins are forgiven don't find or doesn't find its place in the one confessing their sins. That's not why sins are forgiven.

11:58Oh, yes, it's volume. The confession. But regardless of how sincere, regardless of how profoundly sorrowful a person is for their sins, and regardless of how majestic their profession or their confession is, forgiveness of sins is not found in the confessor. Where is it found? It's found in him. For his name's sake, for his name's sake. It's found in the character of God. That's where forgiveness of sins is found. Look at what he says in 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God has revealed himself as the one who forgives sins.

13:07And if we confess our sins, he is faithful. That's why they're forgiven, is because he is faithful to do exactly what he said he would do. And he does what he says he is going to do because that's who he is. He forgives. He forgives. That's who he is. And look at what it says in. Verse 1 of chapter 2, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he himself is the propitiation for our sins. We have an advocate. We have somebody who is before the throne of God on our behalf. Our advocate advocating for us.

13:56And he is also the propitiation. He is also the sin offering. He is the one advocating. There's righteousness and effectiveness in his advocating ministry. There's effectiveness in his sin offering. And because of that, sins are forgiven. He is faithful. He is righteous. So when you confess your sins, you can know. You can be sure that he forgives them. If he didn't forgive them, it would be unrighteousness in him. And there is no unrighteousness in him. That's what John's saying: in him is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him at all.

14:46You can be sure your sins are forgiven. Do you know that this morning? Listen, I don't care how old you are. You need your sins forgiven, and you know it. Has this truth settled in your heart? Do you know that you know that your sins are forgiven? How do you know your sins are forgiven? Because it isn't in forgiveness of sins, it doesn't originate from you, it originates from him and his character. And if you confess your sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive.

15:27Otherwise, you charge him to be a liar. Has this truth settled in your heart? That's the beginning of the spiritual life in Christ, knowing that your sins are forgiven. And that truth is going to come back in every stage as well. And you'll never outgrow it, but that's where it starts. Well, John gives us the beginning point, and then he gives us the ending point. I'm going to put them up there in a more of a chronological fashion as a spiritual maturity, but I want to deal with them as they come in the text. There's something wonderful about the way the Holy Spirit inspires, and he gives us the ending point next. So we know the beginning and the end, and then he's going to fill in the middle.

16:30What's the ending point? Look back at 13. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who has been from the beginning. That's the ending point: knowing God. I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know. Y'all have come to know him. You've come to know the one from the beginning. The fathers of the faith are those who have progressed into this deep communion with God. Their initial experiences of sins forgiven and joy, those initial experiences are behind them, as with the many victories of their spiritual youth behind them. They have walked many a year with the Lord.

17:33They have moved on from the trophies of the long, hard battles and the joys of the sins forgiven, and they have come into this deep-seated understanding of God, what he is like, and their rest in him. They have known their creator, God. They have known the purposes their creator, God, has created them for. They understand. Understand him, a unity, communion. They have known him who was from the beginning. They have known the unchangeable, eternal God. Psalm 90, verse 2, we said this, we read this earlier: before the mountains were born, or you gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

18:30Remember Jesus in his prayer, John 17, verse 3: This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. This is why all authority has been given to Jesus, as he said, that he may give eternal life to whomever he chooses. And what is eternal life? Jesus says, that they may know you. That's eternal life. Duration of days is not what eternity is about. It's about a relationship that's going to take forever to get to know fully. We will know. We will continue to know him. But it comes out of knowing him. Eternity is a byproduct. Duration of days is a byproduct of the relationship. Relationship.

19:34You need forever to know God. You need forever because God is. And if you're going to know Him, and since He's eternal, you're going to have to be eternal just to know Him. It's a byproduct of the relationship. The exciting aspect of this truth is that John is speaking to fathers who are still alive at this moment. We often think of this kind of level of intimacy with God can only happen in eternity. But John is writing here to these seasoned, faithful saints of the Lord who have come into a deep communion with their Creator in this life.

20:36That's the mile markers from knowing your sins are forgiven, or from sins forgiven to knowing the one who is from the beginning. Now, John gives us two more middle points, and he works from the backwards, he works from the end. So we'll look at these two mile markers. The middle. Look back at verse 13. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. So he goes from sins forgiven to knowing the creator to the young men, and he starts addressing them. And these depict all of those who are engaged in the daily battles of Christian living.

21:29See, the Christian life isn't just about having your sins forgiven. It's just not about just going through and hoping at the end that, okay, you've got a clean slate to go before eternity. No, no, there's a purpose for the forgiving of sins, and that purpose is to equip you for spiritual warfare. It's to engage in spiritual conflict. He forgives sin so that you will learn how to overcome sin. That's why he doesn't just take us out of life. Sometimes we ask, I wish God would just, okay, he saved me. Boom. Why doesn't he just take us out? This would be a lot easier. Because he wants you engaged in the spiritual battle between light and darkness. He wants you to be able to tell the difference between good and evil, prefer the good and overcome evil. That's why he doesn't just remove you from this world and remove you. From all temptations. No, he forgives you, and then he equips you to overcome the enemy.

22:40He's going to come back to these young men in a minute, and so will we. But then he goes on to speak about, so he's talked about those sins forgiven, those who know the Father, to those who have overcome the evil one, and now he addresses the children. I have written to you, verse 13, children, I've written to you, children, because you know the Father. You know the Father. Now, this is not the same word as little children, as he addresses everybody.

23:13No, this is a different word than the one in verse 12. This word is not just about the privileged relationship, but it emphasizes the need for instruction, as a child would be under the authority and instruction of a parent. Children in the faith, they genuinely know their heavenly father. They have come under him. They have knowledge that their sins are forgiven. They have knowledge that their heavenly father loves them. But the interesting thing is, it's the very same verb that's used to describe the father's intimacy. Intimacy and knowledge of God. It's the same verb. So both the fathers and the children know God, have come to know God.

24:15The difference is in the depth of their knowledge, not the trueness of it. Both of them truly know God. So everyone of the household of faith knows God. These children, what do they know? Well, the emphasis seems to be on the word father there. You know the father. You know your heavenly father. You know that your sins are forgiven. You know that he has placed you on this earth because he loves you and he desires a relationship with you. That was one of the big moments in my childhood as when I really came to understand that God really did love me, that God created me, that God put me in my place where I was to live. And he did so because he wanted a relationship with me. He didn't just put me on this earth so I could waste what he had given me.

25:16And I began to realize that he loved me. He was mindful of me. And he put me where and when he put me for the purpose of knowing him. And those are some of my earliest memories of my Christian journey, a Christian life. Children, no matter how long you've been with Christ, you know your Heavenly Father. That's why John's writing. He says, Look, Father, wherever you are in this spiritual journey, I am writing to you because you do know him.

26:07So there's the mile markers of the Christian journey. And I'll put them in a little bit of a sequence so that you can see them as you would if you're on a journey. Sins forgiven. That's where it begins. Knowing your heavenly Father, knowing you've come under the good graces and favor of your heavenly Father, and He's got a life for you. Third, overcoming the evil one. And fourth, knowing the One who is from the beginning. Those are the mile markers of Christian maturity.

26:45Now I want you to see the cause of Christian maturity. Those are the mile markers. Now I want you to see the cause, the cause. Back at verse 13. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. 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. Now, if you're paying attention, you know there's been a change in the verb tenses. He was saying, I am writing, I am writing. Now he is saying, I have written, I have written, I have written. What's going on there? Well, plain and simple, I am writing. The reason I'm writing this letter right now is not because you're outside the faith, but because you are in the faith. And I have written what I just had written about the liars, about the slanderers, about the test of obedience, about the test of love. I've written, I have written all that because you do know him.

27:59Fathers, children. I'm writing these things because you do know him. The children have the knowledge of forgiveness of sins, their newfound relationship with God. They cry out to him, Abba, Father. But the Holy Spirit doesn't cease forming Christ in a person at the time of conversion. The forgiveness of sins is followed up by an endowment of strength. To overcome. And that is necessary for you to know your Creator. You must go through the spiritual conflict. Forgiveness of sins is followed up with an endowment of strength to overcome sin's present power.

28:54Sins forgiven removes the present guilt of sin, but you need an endowment of strength to overcome sin's present power in your life. And he also does this for his name's sake. You know, God doesn't just run an ambulance service going out here on life's highway where people get sin like a truck runs over somebody. God isn't just running an ambulance service to go around and pick somebody up and put them back together and set them right back out there in that same road so another truck can just run them over again. As if somehow God can only helplessly stand by and watch his people get run over time and time and time again, and that he's powerless over his adversary to do anything about it. Contrary.

29:52God picks up people off life's highway. He administers to them. He delivers them. He administers to them. He takes care of them. And then he sets them back on life's highway and empowers them to overcome the evil one. He empowers them. God isn't overpowered by Satan. No, he forgives and then he endures them with, he endows them with strength to be overcomers. And I want you to see the emphasis in this verse. It's upon the young men, it's upon the spiritual growth. Look at this. He turns his attention, verse 14, again, to the young men. And he describes them by three statements. I want to look at each one of these, but if you just count out the words, he spends a lot more time dealing with these young men.

30:56Three statements, three statements that describe these men. Number one, their strength. Look at verse 14. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong. There's number one. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong. These individuals understood who the Christ of Scripture really is. They understand the revelation about the one who is from the beginning, and they are actively trying to obey Jesus. Are actively obeying his commandments. They are actively trying to live out the Christian life, to live the way he lived.

31:43Verse 3 of chapter 2, by this we know we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. Verse 6, the one who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same manner as he walked. These young men, this spiritual class of individuals, have accepted who Christ is and have oriented their life to follow him, to be like him, to obey him. And they're meeting with some measure of success. They're strong. They're strong.

32:25Then, that's the first statement he makes about them. Then he makes another statement about them that tells us the reason for their spiritual strength. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and there's the word, and the word of God abides in you. Second statement, and the word of God abides in you. The reason for their spiritual strength and their spiritual progress is because God's word is abiding in them. It is remaining in them.

33:00The truth is in them. Look at, and this is a big emphasis, right? Look back at verse 6 of chapter 1. If we say that we have no fellow, if we have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. Practicing the truth, very important. Verse 8: If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. The truth is not in us. Look at verse 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. You understand that? You see what he, the pattern here? Truth, the word, abides. That's who is in this fellowship of light.

33:40God is light. In him, there is no darkness at all. And so, the one who is in him, and he is in them, is going to start seeing his word, right? You're going to see the word. Look at chapter 2 and verse 4. The one who says, I have come to know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. The one keeping his commandments, that's the one with the truth. Verse 5, but whoever keeps his word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. Look at verse 7. Just, Beloved, I am not writing you a new commandment, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard. It goes on. The indwelling word, the abiding word. You remember in. Mark chapter 4. You remember that whole chapter?

34:36Jesus tells the parable of the soils, right? There's those different kinds of soils. There's the soils of the hard, or the soils on the wayside, you remember? And the birds, they come, they take away. Before the seed could get down into the soil, word is gone. Then there's this other soil that looks good on the surface, but right underneath it, there's this hard pan layer. And so they sprout quickly, but their roots can't go deep. So in any kind of persecution or anything that caused any kind of difficulty because of the word, they quickly die away. Then there's another kind of soil. Looks good on the surface, but there's a whole bunch of thorny rootstock underneath it. And so they receive the word, but very quickly they start getting carried away by other things, and they give their strength to producing thorns.

35:30And then there's the good soil. There's the good soil that receives the word and they give themselves, they give their energy to following the word, to accepting the word, and the word does its work. In fact, a very unique parable that I'll remind you of in chapter 4 and verse 26, a parable that doesn't show up anywhere else. Parable is growing seed. And Jesus tells them this parable. He says, and he was saying, the kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil.

36:00And he goes to bed at night and he gets up by day and the seed sprouts and it grows. How? He himself doesn't know. I mean, do you know how seed actually grows? I mean, you know the conditions. The soil produces crops by itself. First, the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head, the mature grain. The seed knows what it's doing in the soil. It takes the soil's strength and it produces a mature grain. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts the sickle because the harvest has come.

36:44The bottom line is: the word of God knows what it's doing. And that's the reason growth happens. It's because the word knows what it's doing. You accept the word, you let it go to work. It has maturity in mind. But there's a third statement that John makes about these young men, and he says it again: I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you. And number three, you have overcome the evil one. And he uses that perfect tense again. You're doing pretty well. You're gaining the victory. You have overcome past events, future effects. You have overcome the evil one.

37:47And the masculine there that describes this word evil points to an individual, the masculine, the evil one, not just you have overcome evil, you have overcome the evil one. Remarkable statement. And we'll pick this up again in the weeks ahead as we start looking at the Antichrist and the Antichrists and these young men, this spiritual class who knows the difference between truth and evil, between good and evil, but it's a present victory. For those in whom the word of God richly dwells, their spiritual conflict has turned into spiritual conquest.

38:46These are actively living the Christian life. These are taking territory. Read to you a portion of Psalm 190. As you know, I believe Daniel wrote this. But listen to what he said. Psalm 119, verse 9. How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to your word. With all my heart I have sought you. All my heart. You hear the soil giving its strength to the seed? To what the seed wants to do? With all my heart I have sought you. Do not let me wander from your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord. Teach me your statutes. With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and regard your ways. I shall delight in your statutes. I shall not forget your word.

40:04Remarkable. That's the power of the word. That's what it does. It is the cause for maturity, for Christian maturity. The word knows what it's doing. The question I have is: does the word of God have a greater word? Growing place in your life. Does it? You know, one of the reasons why you need to be involved in the media of God's Word is because it knows what it's doing. That's the media you need to be primarily engaged in, right? The media of God's Word. There's a lot of media out there. Wow. This generation has all kinds of, there's a lot of media out there, but there's one media that promises spiritual development. That's why you need to be engaged in Bible study on a personal level. That's exactly why you need to be involved in a church that esteems God's word. Because as we come together, we talk about the things of the word. We talk about it when we come and when we go.

41:31You need to be part of that fellowship. You need to be part of those circle of friends that speaks on these truths and reminds about the truth, who binds them on the doorframes of their house. You need the word of God resonating throughout your being because that's what causes spiritual growth. It's not going to come from another media. And you can fill in the blank. No. And for some of you, listen, we've got a seminary right here, made it very convenient for you to go deeper, really deep.

42:19Well, the milestones of Christian maturity, sins forgiving, knowing your heavenly Father, overcoming the evil one, and knowing the one from the beginning. And the cause of all this is the abiding word. Are you seeing evidences of spiritual progress in your life? You know how you get there? Is you let it do its work. That's how you progress. It's not saying, well, I'm going to progress to the next level. No, just let the word in. Let the word resonate. Let the word do its thing. It will produce the next layer of spiritual maturity. That's what it does.

43:08I say this often about people I've noticed, and I've seen this in my old life, in my life, as I'm getting older. You know, the children, they have lots of fight, little wisdom. They need instruction. When you get older, You've acquired a lot of wisdom, but you don't have that much fight left. Oh, that glorious age of youth. And I'll let you put yourself, whatever that category is. That's where you have a little bit of wisdom and a little bit of fight left. Don't waste those years.

43:53The secret to taking territory is the abiding word. Do you remember Caleb? You remember Caleb, right? That great man, and that was of a different spirit than all of those cowards of his generation. They saw all that God had done bringing children of Israel out of Egypt. They saw all that he did, and then they got to the land that was promised them, and they went out. They got scared. There were two individuals, Joshua and Caleb, that said, We can go take this land. Let me, and after the conquest, after being in there in Joshua 14, listen to what Joshua says. I mean, not Joshua, this is what Caleb says. Joshua's writing, I was 40 years old. It's more like, I was 40 years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my mouth. Heart. Nevertheless, my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear, but I followed the Lord my God fully. So Moses swore on that day, saying, Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully. Now behold, this is after they've come back into the land, after they've been successful. Now the Lord has let me live, just as he spoke these 45 years from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses when Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am 85 years old.

45:47I am still as strong today as I was in the day of Moses sent me. As my strength was then, so my strength is now for war and for going out and coming in. Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke. See, a mighty spirit. Give me what the Lord has promised. Give me the result for what salvation from Egypt was all about. Give me this hill country. What a man. What a spirit. Incredible.

46:28And yet. One cannot help but mourn the loss of the 45 years of that spirit not being in the land. Wow. 45 years. Listen, there is a blessedness of coming to Christ early in life and giving your strength and walking through the land and taking the territory. That is why your sins are forgiven. And if you will let the word of God abide in you, you will take spiritual territory because the word doesn't know how to do anything else.

47:16It is making you into the image of Creator God. It knows what it's doing. Oh, the blessedness of coming to Christ early. Oh, how I would love for these young people in here. And I'll let you put yourself in that category. Give your strength to the Lord. Don't make this church wait for 45 years to see such indomitable spirits that say, Give me the land. Give me what God has intended to give me. Let me walk in the land that God has given to me.

47:56But I'll say this. Inevitably, there are. Many of us who have squandered. Come to him now. Come to him now. It's not too late. It's not too late to give the fullness of your strength to him and what he can do in a few moments of full devotion. Because it is something that's beyond anything you can conceive of. But come to him. Come to him. Let that word of God believe it. Choose to believe it. Settle your heart on it and just go with it.

48:43Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for the power of the abiding word, the truth that is in us. When we receive it, when we believe it, it becomes part of us, it shapes us, it molds us, it matures us, Father, may it have its way in our lives. In Jesus' name, amen.