Passed From Death to Life
The Bible says in 1 John 2:13, “I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.” Who is he talking about? He is talking about our God in the Person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a great spiritual secret revealed in this. He is saying that the most mature group in the church has discovered the secret. What is it they know? They know who Christ is, and they cannot and will not be moved from it.
Every attack of the Christian faith is an attack on the Person of Jesus Christ. Our faith in our Christ. Is He God, or is He a created being, as the cults declare? Is He all-sufficient for salvation as the Bible clearly teaches, or must one add Mary, or higher priest as the Catholics say? What holds a local church in place? What keeps each Christian where he ought to be? Where is our fixed point of reference?
These people in the first century were dealing with false teachings. Could Christ have a body and that body not be evil? Did He really resurrect bodily? Did He become Christ and take on the Spirit of the Saviour only at His baptism? Was He God in the flesh, born in Bethlehem, born of a virgin? What is true concerning Christ?
John declares that there are fathers in the church who have known Him from the beginning. They understand fully that what God says about the Lord Jesus Christ is true, and they will never be moved from it. They have grown in the Lord this way. Only one thing is most meaningful to them: the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not a god among gods; He is God. He is the only true and living God.
The Bible says in 2 John 7-10, “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist…Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward…Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son…If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed.”
It is not an unloving thing to refuse to be involved in so-called Christian work with people who do not believe that Christ is God. Can you imagine how confused a generation of people will become by the time all these interfaith groups begin to work freely together? Take your stand! Do it compassionately, but do not back down. To take this strong stand, you must get into the Word of God and get the Word of God in you. You must understand fully who Christ is.
There are many people who are identified with churches who would not declare that Jesus Christ is really God. If He is not God, He is the greatest imposter who ever lived. If He is not God, He cannot be our Saviour!
Many have known the Lord as His little children for so long, but still cannot take a Bible and show people who Jesus Christ truly is. God says that there are fathers who have known him from the beginning, and they understand fully that Christ is God.
Hebrews 5:11-14 says, “Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing…For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat…For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe…But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
God says that some people have been Christians long enough to eat meat, but are still feeding on milk like babies.
I read of a pastor who knocked on a door, and a well-groomed lady answered. He explained who he was and where he was from, and that he would like to speak to her about the Lord. He had the opportunity to lead her to Christ.
She said, “Will you come in and pray with my son?” When the lady invited the pastor in, she said, “Before you go into the room, I want to tell you something. My son is 12 years old, but he is only the size of a baby. His head looks like the head of a 12-year-old, but his little body was that of a very small child. Would you pray for him?”
As he stood beside that bed looking into the face of that child, he said he could not help but think of what that mother had gone through for 12 years. Here was child who was supposed to look like a child that had been born 12 years before, but instead he was like a baby.
God looks down from heaven and sees Christians who are 55, 60, or 70 years old, who are supposed to be spiritual fathers or mothers, but are still little children. They have taken the road of least resistance. They have failed to submit themselves to the Word of God.
Some Christians may have been saved for many years, but spiritually, they look very strange to the Lord. They should have been teaching and maturing, submitting to Christ but have stopped growing in the Lord.
I don’t know where you are but you can surrender your life to the Lord and begin to grow as a Christian. You can feed on the Word of God and become a strong Christian. You will begin to win victories over the wicked one that you never have before. You will begin to develop spiritual muscles that you have never had before. You will be able to counsel younger Christians and bring them along in God’s work like you have never done before.
There ought always to be babes in the Lord because of people being born into God’s family. We need the young men and fathers to help the babies come along. The babies cannot take care of themselves; they need mature Christians to help them.
Are you content to say, “I am one of God’s little children,” and stop there? Some of you have not had much time to grow because you have not known the Lord that long, but you are growing. God will bless you for it! Some of you came to know Christ years ago. Do not remain as a babe and meet God ashamed because you never grew to become the Christian He wanted you to be.
“Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” 2 Timothy 2:1.