Healthy Spirituality Studies in 1 John: Growing Toward Maturity Sunday, May 18, 2008

A Word About My Mom  Obituary Piece  A good model of today’s topic

1 John 2: I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.

1 John 2: I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Principle Healthy Spirituality recognizes that spiritual formation takes time and involves a growth process through different stages of development

Children, Young Men, Fathers  What are the characteristics of each?  What is the surprise?

Children  “because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake”  “because you know the Father”

Young Men  “because you have overcome the evil one”  “because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one”

Fathers  “because you know Him who has been from the beginning” Note: This is the only one that is directly repeated

The Surprise: Children & Fathers  Children: sins forgiven; know the Father  Fathers: know the One from the beginning

Young Men  “... are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one”  This is the main time of growth and formation  For most of us it lasts for years

Simplistic

Complicated

Simple

Picture of Maturity Joseph’s children’s names (Genesis 41) Manasseh: "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household" Ephraim: "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction"

What is Maturity? But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5:14

Words in Hebrews 5:14  mature—(Greek: teleios—perfect, goal, complete), of full age, grown to what something is supposed to be  practice—habit, constant use

Becoming Teachable  discern—(Greek: diakrisis—through critical thinking), refers to ability to make wise choices Dia Krisis through crisis (English)  Wisdom comes partly through thinking and partly through life

Good and Evil  In the end, maturity is all about discerning between kalos and kakos (good and evil)  But there is a surprise in the passage: the word agathos (referring to moral goodness) is not used  Kalos strongly includes the idea of beauty  Perhaps it is chosen because it sounds better, but there may be wisdom here, too

Good and Beautiful Maturity may mean that we have gone through enough of life’s real situations, trying to figure out what God would have us do in each one, that we finally know how to bring about a beautiful result, not just a good one

How Do We Become Mature?  Children: Choose Life!  Young Men: Fight on!  Fathers: Apply wisdom

Children: Deuteronomy 30: "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; 16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.

Young Men: Proverbs 31:1-9 1 The words of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him: 2 What, O my son? And what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows? 3 Do not give your strength to women, Or your ways to that which destroys kings.

Young Men: Proverbs 31:1-9 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink, 5 For they will drink and forget what is decreed, And pervert the rights of all the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter.

Young Men: Proverbs 31:1-9 7 Let him drink and forget his poverty And remember his trouble no more. 8 Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all the unfortunate. 9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.

Fathers: 2 Timothy 2:2 2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.