Welcome to the Hope Bible School verse-by-verse Bible study of 1 John. This is Jeff M Newman. Get a new lesson every other week on Mondays at 12:00 PM Eastern.
In Lesson 36, we are going to study the first part of 1 John 2:13.
Let’s read our verse.
1 John 2:13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning...
Let’s great started by defining the words in this verse.
I am writing to you (1125. graphó) means to express in written characters.
Fathers (3962. patér) means an ancestor, elder, or senior.
Because (3754. hoti) means that or since.
You know (1097. ginóskó) means to know through personal experience.
Him Who (3588. ho, hé, to) means God or specifically Jesus.
is from the beginning (746. arché) means the origin or the initial starting point.
In this part of 1 John 2:13 John is addressing fathers.
Fathers are older, mature believers or spiritual leaders. These are people who have spent a significant amount of time getting to know Jesus, who is from the beginning, through personal experience, not just by having theological knowledge about Him.
This personal experience comes by keeping His commandments and abiding in Him.
John is encouraging mature believers to continue to seek to know Jesus. He is also encouraging the younger believers by showing them what it looks like to be an older, mature believer.
Make it your goal to be a mature spiritual believer who has spent their life obeying Jesus’ commandments and abiding in Him.
Let’s read some verses that speak about the importance of knowing Jesus and how to know Jesus.
In 1 John 2:3-6, we read that we can come to know Jesus by keeping His commandments. The more we keep His commandments, the deeper our relationship with Him grows, and the more we will be transformed.
1 John 2:3-6 (NIV) We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
In John 17:3, we read a prayer that Jesus offers to God the Father. This shows us that Jesus desires His followers to have a deep, personal, and intimate knowledge of God for eternity.
John 17:3 Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
In Philippians 3:7-11, we read that Paul the Apostle counted everything he had achieved or possessed in his life as rubbish compared to knowing Jesus.
In your own life, make knowing Christ more important than acquiring material possessions or achievements.
Philippians 3:7-11 But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.10 I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
In 1 John 1:1, we read about what it takes to really know Jesus.
This verse says that Jesus from the beginning. This means that He is eternal. (Lesson 1). From the beginning is the same phrase we read in 1 John 2:13.
John teaches that if you want to know Jesus, you need to:
Spend time hearing Jesus by reading the Bible, spend time seeing Jesus by observing His work in yourself and others, spend time gazing upon Jesus by deeply meditating on Him, and spend time touching Jesus by worshipping Him and taking communion.
When you do this things you will mature spiritually and you will know Him who is from the beginning.
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
In conclusion, John shows us what it takes to become a mature believer. To become a mature believer, you need to know Jesus through personal experience.
This comes by obeying His commandments, counting everything as rubbish compared to knowing Jesus, listening to Jesus, seeing Him, gazing upon Him, and touching Him by faith.
Make it your life’s goal to know Jesus deeply and to be a mature, spiritual believer.
Let’s read our verse one more time.
1 John 2:13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning...
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Thank you, and God bless you,
Jeff M Newman
(Photo by Jonatan Pie on Unsplash. Thórsmörk, Iceland. Berean Standard Bible.)
Lesson 36 - 1 John 2:13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning...