The Pulpit Commentary — 1 John — Section 71

an,l dc>ath-t.he lo,e this which passeth knorl'ledge. Those who hM·e nttnined to this <'XJ'<'l'll'nce may well he 11ppmled to agninst thinking of substituting for it n morn w,,r!,ilr cxperwnce. (3) Younge1· section. "I write unto yon, young men because yo 110,e o,l'rcome the e,il one." There are t.hose who have not been a long tim; Christii\11•. These. the young men, are addressed as having victory, the prize of strength. 'l'hey have not had time for experience, hut a.re in the midst of the c-0nflicts which give riso to experience. 'l'heir alversary is here ea.lied tho evil one, i.e. ono who, as tho great impe~isonation. and champ!on o~ evil, hea.r!ily wishes their destr_uction, nnd socks, by all st1rnngs mih n and solic1tat10ns from without, to compass then· destruction. Espe- cially are tht·y exposed to his assanlts as having, in their youth, strong passions nnJ illusionary vie"·s of life, without the counterpoise of experience, But Christ has always his r<'preseniatives among the young men. They have not been deterred by their powerful adversary from taking up their position on his side and showincr an a,·ti,·e interest in hill cause. 'l'hese youthful victors may well be apptaled to ag~inst thinking of throwing a,rny victory for the sake of a few worldly pleasures. 2. Second frme. (1) Generally. "l have written unto you, little children, because ye know the Father." Tlicre is not the same Greek word here for "little children" that there is in the twelfth .erse. It is a word which points to his hearers not so much as objects of his affect.ion, as placeil under his authority and care. '!'here is not sufficient reason for destroying the symmetry of the passage, and supposing the refdrence to be to those who are literally litlle children. These are an interesting class, for whom Christ cared separately when he said, "Feed my lambs;" but they are to be regarded here as falling under the class of the young men. For even the little children may win victories over the evil one, by taking up their position on the side of Christ, and standing by his side in all that he requires of resistance to evil, and, beyond that, though their equipment is but small, ot aggression on evil Christians, both old and young, a.re addressed according to what essentially belongs to them. Being forgiven, they also know the Father, i.e. they have been adopted into his family, have his authority and loving care exercised over them, and are endeavouring to fulfil their duties to him as their Father, That is the basis on which their life goes forward, and they may well be appealed to against taking a worldly basis for their life. (2) Older section. "I have written unto you, fathers, because YP know him which is from the beginning." In writing to the fathers there is no chan~e in his langu.'lge. We need no new object of knowledge; for the knowledge of Chiist comprehendl! all that we can know. What we need is to ha,e our knowledge of him deepened, extended, cleared, ordered into a more complete· whole; a.nd this admits of endless progress. When we have known Christ for years, do we feel that we have exhausted the meaning of his words and his love? The fathers, then, may well be appealed to a second time, not to go aside, like the first human pair, to a forbidden knowledge. (3) Younger section. "I have written unto you, young men, because ye a.re strong, and the Word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the evil one." In writing to the young men, to the fact of victory he adds the conditions of victory. The immediate condition of victory is strength. The condition of strength is the indwelling of the Word of God. When Christ was in his youthful conflict he opposed a decisive word from the Old Testament to the devil's lie. Three times he conquered by the use of the same means. Young men are to have their inexp.,rience and rawness made up to them by their grasp of what God has llpuken. 'l'he Word as a whole, and in its parts, must be in them-in their memory, in their understanding, in their heart-ready for UBe. And when the.needed word is brought up clearly before them, they are rendered invulnerable. Young men who have felt this to be the secret of their strength may well be appealed to not to allow the strength they have acquired to be sapped by worldly compliance. • 11 How wARNED. 1. Worldliness forbidden. "Love not the world, neither the thing, that arc in tbe world." We must connect with the world here the idea of that which is abnormal, or separated from God. But we are not to think of the morally C-Orrupt world, the 11·orld that lieth in the evil one. We are to think of the world of crea,id good as apart from God; for it is represented as .passing away. What, then, is to be our feeling, the feeling of all Christians-for there is now no distinction of old and yuw,g--0r rather, what is not to be our feeling with regard to the wor1d? 1'he feelmg which is most peremptorily vetoed is that of love. Some would say, "Love not OH, 1£. 1-29.] '!'HE FIRST EPISTLE GENEilAL OF JOHN. 67