In 1 John 2:12-14 progressive sanctification is divided into three stages: children, young men, and fathers. Twice, the verses mention young men overcoming the evil one. They do so by being spiritually strong, being in God’s Word, being self-controlled, and resisting the harlot in Proverbs 7.

Table of contentsYoung Men Overcome the Evil One By Being Spiritually StrongYoung Men Overcome the Evil One By Being in God’s WordYoung Men Overcome the Evil One By Being Self-ControlledYoung Men Are Fighting the Toughest BattleYoung Men Overcome the Evil One By Resisting the HarlotA Father's ResponsibilityYoung Men Wrongly Think Noone Sees God Sees the Good, TooFootnotes

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Twice, 1 John 2:12-14 mentions young men overcoming the evil one. They must be spiritually strong and resist the harlot in Proverbs 7.

Let me tell you about the different units in the Army. I will briefly break them down, starting at the brigade level:

A brigade has 2-3 battalions and about 5,000 soldiers.

A battalion has 4-6 companies and about 1,000 soldiers.

A company has 3-4 platoons and about 200 soldiers.

A platoon has 2-3 squads and about 36 soldiers.

A squad has about 10 soldiers.

Squads make up the platoons, companies, battalions, and brigades They are the building blocks of the Army, and they are filled with young men. We don’t send children, women, or old men to battle. We send young men. They are in the trenches and on the front lines. When a general decides to storm a beach, take a hill, or drop men behind enemy lines, he sends young men. They exert the greatest effort and make the greatest sacrifices. The greatest strength is required of them.

First John 2:12-14 divides our progressive sanctification into three stages: children, fathers, and young men. It says to young men twice, "Young men have OVERCOME THE EVIL ONE." Young men are fighting the enemy. They are in the trenches and on the front line. They must exert the greatest effort and make the greatest sacrifices. The greatest strength is required of them.

Maybe this is why they are listed last in the verses. Children are addressed first, then fathers, and THEN young men, versus children, young men, and fathers as expected. Maybe John addresses them last because the most is expected of them, and he wants to give them the most attention:

1 John 2:13b I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

1 John 2:14b I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Young men know more than the gospel basics of children, but they don’t yet have the deep knowledge and understanding fathers have.76

Three things are said to young men, but only one thing is said to them twice, once in verse 13 and again in verse 14: they “have overcome the evil one.” It seems that if you are wondering when you move from being a child to being a young man, it is when you have victory over temptation. And this could be why some people spiritually remain children: they don’t overcome sin.

Now, there must be some balance because none of us stop sinning completely. I think the balance is young men have victory over life-dominating sin. They still sin, but not habitually, or it does not dominate them.

Let’s talk about each thing said to young men so we can equip them to overcome the evil one.

Young Men Overcome the Evil One By Being Spiritually Strong

Because we are talking about young men, we immediately think of physical strength, and that’s probably part of it. Hopefully, you young men are using your strength and energy in positive, productive ways, not wasting your time on frivolous activities. But spiritual strength is even more in view.

And there is a relationship between a young man’s spiritual strength and – as it says – “the Word of God abiding in [him].” God’s Word is the source of a young man’s spiritual strength. Young men can’t be spiritually strong if the Word of God does not abide in them. Notice the statement about young men overcoming evil; one follows the statement about the Word of God abiding in them. In other words, the Word of God allows them to overcome the evil one.

Young Men Overcome the Evil One By Being in God’s Word

Psalm 119:9 How can a YOUNG MAN keep his way pure? By guarding it ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from YOUR COMMANDMENTS! 11 I have stored up YOUR WORD in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

We’re talking about young men. It doesn’t say, “How can a child, father, old woman, or young woman keep their way pure.” It’s not that these people don’t need God’s Word, but when we’re talking about being “keeping [our] way pure,” or say we’re talking about purity, God speaks right to young men. We see the importance of God’s Word for young men to be spiritually strong and pure.

There are many reasons young men should abide in God’s Word, as 1 John 2:14 says:

So they move from being children to young men and then from young men to fathers. So they are spiritually strong, have victory over temptation and sin, and overcome the evil one.

One more reason is whatever God wants young men to do later in life, God’s Word equips them to do that. Young men wonder: "What should I do with my life? How should I serve the church? Should I go to college? What profession should I pursue? Who should I marry? How will I take care of a family? When will I become a father?" And there are plenty of other questions young men might ask. Regardless of what young men do, the one thing they need, for whatever path their life takes, is God’s Word abiding in them.

I became a Christian and married somewhat later in life. I have some regrets from my years of singleness, but I’m thankful for the years spent in God’s Word with little distraction. They still benefit me today. I would encourage all the young men to use this time. You have to be in God’s Word before your life gets busier and more complicated.

Young Men Overcome the Evil One By Being Self-Controlled

In Titus 2, Paul talks about four groups: older men, older women, young women, and young men. He tells each of them what they should be and do:

Titus 2:2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

This is a pretty good list. Older men are to be these six different things. Now Paul talks about older women:

Titus 2:3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,

Older women are to be three things – reverent, not slanderers, not addicted to wine – and they are to do one thing: teach. Now Paul talks about young women:

Titus 2:4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Young women have the longest list. Young women are to do two things – love their husbands and children – and be four things: self-controlled, pure, homemakers, and submissive to their husbands.

Now, because older men are supposed to be six things, older women are supposed to be three things and do one thing, and young women are supposed to do two things and be three things, I would expect young men to have a handful of things to be and do. Don’t we have a long list for young men? Aren’t there lots of things we want from them?

Titus 2:6 Likewise, urge the younger men to BE SELF-CONTROLLED.

This is it! Only one thing for young men. It is fitting to say this to young men because it relates to what is said in 1 John 2. Young men face immense temptation, and if they are going to overcome the evil one, they must be self-controlled.

Young Men Are Fighting the Toughest Battle

I understand the world works against everyone in different ways. The world works against children by tempting them to waste their time and disobey their parents, and nowadays, they face even worse temptations, such as trying to become a different gender.

The world works against young women by discouraging femininity and encouraging feminism or by encouraging them to find their value, not in their relationship with the Lord, but in their relationship with a young man. As a father of five girls, my biggest fear for them, second only to them rejecting Christ, is they would have a relationship with an ungodly young man. I can’t think of much that would damage a young woman more than being with an ungodly young man.

The world works against older women by encouraging them to find their value outside the primary roles God has given them, which I read just a moment ago:

Titus 2:4 Train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

You could get into a ton of trouble today – and I don’t mean in the world, I mean even in the church – for saying what this verse says, such as women should work at home and submit to their husbands. But that’s what it says, so I mean this as gently as possible: if you have a problem with women working at home and submitting to their husbands, you don’t have a problem with me, you have a problem with God because he wrote it.

The world works against older men, particularly fathers and husbands, by tempting us to be one extreme or the other: passive or domineering, spiritually lazy or harsh. Just as much as women’s roles are under attack, so are men’s roles. There is no shortage of people who want to criticize male leadership, which makes it tempting for men to be passive.

So, to be clear, I believe the world is working against children, young women, older women, and older men, and these are just a few ways.