Identifies spiritual maturity within God's family by categorizing believers into fathers, young men, and little children, with a focus on the characteristics of "young men" as described in 1 John 2:13-14. These young men are characterized by their strength, the indwelling Word of God, and their victory over the wicked one. The core lesson emphasizes that true spiritual strength and the ability to overcome evil stem from allowing the Word of God to abide richly within one's heart, not just in the mind. The application encourages believers to actively engage with and internalize God's Word as the source of their power and obedience, enabling them to live for God's glory and achieve victory over Satan.
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Beloved radio friends, in the precious name of our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, we heartily reach you again, welcoming you to the study of God's precious Word and the great subject which we are now considering, the family of God the Father and His children. We do rejoice in the knowledge that God has a family, a family of children who have been born again, born of God, not of the will of men, nor of blood, nor of the will of the flesh. And every one of them are characterized by possessing the forgiveness of sins.
Every child in the family of God has that neutral characteristic which we have seen from our study in the first epistle of John chapter two. They have the forgiveness of sins. We have also noted the grades of development in the family of God. The only divisions that you can find in the Word of God, whereby God himself grades the family and separates them, is in relation to their spiritual growth. There are those, as we have noted in First John chapter two and verse thirteen, who are called fathers having spiritually matured. Another group, who are young men, who are thus growing well, and then a last and third, little children who were the young in the family.
This is the only division you may find in the Word of God in relation to the Father's family. Tis most unfortunate and sad that we have so many divisions that seem to be manifested around us and amongst us who profess to be the children of God upon the earth today. But the family is one. And sad though the fact is that the unity of that family is sadly represented, someday when the Lord Jesus returns, he will gather them together in one, and they will be manifested with a unity that never will end. Thank God for that coming day when the Savior returns.
Now we will look at the second division of the family, and that is the young men. May I begin reading in verse fourteen at the center of the verse, I have written unto you young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. For if any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father. but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
Now in these words, beginning at the center of verse fourteen and going through verse seventeen, we find the classification of the young men. Again let us repeat with earnestness, the fathers were those who had spiritually matured. They had commenced with Christ, They were going on with Christ. They had matured with Christ, and they were continuing faithfully to know him better. And by knowing him better, they also grew in the knowledge of the Father. Now we look at the classification of the young men. What special characteristics are described in regard to the spiritual growth indicated by the young men?
May I point out in verse fourteen, there are three particular things that we may mention. First of all, we have the statement, they possess strength. Young men, ye are strong. Then second, may I point out, the source of their strength. The Word of God abideth in you. And then third, may I point out, the result of their strength. Ye have overcome the wicked one. Now here are three special characteristics relating to the young men, the particular growth in the family of God, as such.
They have the possession of strength. They know the true source of that strength. They also have proved the result of it. The special lesson for you and for me certainly is here for us to learn. If we would be strong, if you may remember the words as I quote them, I quote the words of Paul, in Ephesians chapter six and verse ten, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. One may well recognize the need of knowing the source of true spiritual strength. Now in our scripture in the fourteen verse of this chapter in the epistle of John, These who were spoken of as being strong Christians.
The source of that strength, says the Apostle, was the Word of God. The Word of God abiding in you. The Word of God abides in you. You know God had a complaint to make many years ago. You may find the complaint written in the book of Hebrews chapter eight and verses ten and eleven. God told Israel that they had the word of God, but they only had it upon tables of stone. They did not have the word of God within their hearts. Have you never read the words of the psalmist in Psalm one hundred and nineteen in verse eleven?
Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee. Beloved, may I state very carefully, faithfully, clearly, spiritual strength to overcome the wicked one, for victory over him. Without the Word of God being within our hearts, we shall never overcome. The Word of God has got to be written in our hearts. Where is the Word of God today? Oh, do we have it in our hands? We carry it to church with us. We carry the Bible to Sunday school. We have a Bible in the home.
But is that Bible being placed within our hearts? Thy word have I hid in mine hearts, said the psalmist, that I might not sin against thee. May I point out three things in that verse. What is the best book in the world? The best book in the very universe of God. The best book in the world is the Bible. The word of God from cover to cover. the divine library of sixty-six books. What is the best place, or where is the best place to place, to put that word in my heart? Now, beloved, listen, you may have a lot of the word of God in your head, and I may, but God wants that truth of his word to go a foot deeper within thine heart.
Keep thine heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. And the true source of spiritual strength is when the Word of God abides within our hearts. Beloved, we may raise the question, am I a young man? Am I spiritually strong? Am I showing that the Word of God is in my heart? For what it demands is obedience to the Word of God. And when the Word of God is within our heart, it will produce the mind of Christ within us and the desires of the believer's heart will be for the glory of God. For may I state God can only guide and govern our lives and prepare us to overcome Satan by the word of God abiding within our heart.
Oh, did you not ever read? I'm sure you have read it or heard it preached. Then when Satan came and tempted the Lord Jesus in those temptations, consummating the forty days of testing, The Lord Jesus had the word of God in his heart. And when Satan came on those three occasions that are recorded in Matthew four or Luke four, too, the Lord Jesus said, It is written, it is written, it is written. That word was not only within the mind of the blessed Savior stored, but that word in its obedience was written in his heart. And he could speak faithfully. It is written, it is written, it is written.
And may I say again, the practical admonition that you and I need to take from this lesson as to whether we are young men is this. Am I digging into the Word of God? Do I meditate upon the Word of God? Do I use my spare moments to thus increase my knowledge of the Word of God? Do I need the Word of God more within my heart than I do at the particular time have it? My beloved, may I say very frankly, if there's one thing the devil is seeking to do, is to take the word of God from us. He is taking it out of many institutions where it ought to be in. He is taking it away from our children.
He is taking it away from our youth today. But may I state, my fellow believer in Christ, you and I should give attention to let the word of God abide in our hearts. Well, did the Apostle Paul write to the Colossians that the word of God should abide within you richly? Now let's raise the question. What is the source of my spiritual strength? What is the source that will enable me to overcome the wicked one? Are you, my fellow Christian, not overcoming the devil? Let me tell you why. One reason can well be you are not paying attention. and digging into the word of God with meditation and study.
Study to show thyself approved unto God. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, was Paul's admonition to his son in the faith, Timothy. And we must remember that wise men in the book of Proverbs, as declared, buy the truth and sell it not. For I want to encourage my fellow believers Get into the Word of God. Get it into your heart. Get it into your soul. It's through that book. You and I find spiritual strength to overcome the wicked one. And thus, the devil who would bid for that truth, we must never sell that truth to him. And realize, God wants us to possess strength.
Let me just repeat before closing then, the three special characteristics of the young men. You are strong. The Apostle commends them for spiritual strength. Second, they knew the source of that strength. It was the Word of God that was dwelling within their hearts. They approved the result of that strength. You have overcome the wicked one. All may the Spirit of God write these truths upon our consciences within our hearts today. As believers, Let us remember our strength must be in the Lord, and the power of his might. The source we find it is putting the word of God within our own hearts.
The result will be inevitable. We shall be victorious over the wicked one's fate, and God grant that we should be such. Blessed Father, we pray, for the children in the family, that we may be young men, and that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. and have these characteristics that describe the young men of God. We ask it in Jesus' name for his glory on end.