Some Preliminary Thoughts on 1 John 2:12-14
Introduction
In this post, I look at the implications of the words “children,” “fathers,” and “young men” used in 1 John 2:12-14.
12 I am writing to you, little children (teknia), since your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers (pateres), because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men (neaniskoi), because you have conquered the evil one.
14 I have written to you, children (paidia), because you have come to know the Father.
I have written to you, fathers (pateres), because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men (neaniskoi), because you are strong, God’s word remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one.
Were women excluded from any of these groups?
Children 1: All Believers
The author of First John, thought to be John the Elder, used the words tekna and teknia (“children”) twelve times in his letter.[1] He used these words, not to refer to his biological children or to youngsters, but for children of God or Christian disciples.
John may have used teknia (“children”) in this broad sense in verse 12, applying it to all believers (including women), before he then addressed subgroups of these teknia according to their level of experience and maturity in the faith.
Children 2: New Believers
Paidia, which also means “children,” was not the word John typically used when he addressed all believers more generally. Paidia occurs only twice in 1 John (1 John 2:14, 18).[2]
The paidia in 1 John 2:14 are people who were new in the faith and who lacked the experience evident in the “fathers” and “young men.” Unlike the words pateres (“fathers”) and neaniskoi (“young men”) which were usually used for men, the Greek word paidia does not indicate in any way the gender of the child, or in this case, the gender of the newer Christians.
Fathers: Mature Believers
The Greek word pateres (“fathers”), which is used in verses 13 and 14, commonly refers to male parents. However, it was not unusual for it to be used more broadly in biblical and secular ancient Greek texts for parents or ancestors of both sexes.[3]
The “fathers” in verses 13-14 were among the first to be Jesus-followers. Accordingly, Eugene Peterson translates pateres as “veterans” in this passage. These people were spiritually mature, and “fathers” may have conveyed the concept of maturity and seniority to a first-century audience more so than “mothers.”[4] The more obviously gender-inclusive Greek word for “parents,” goneis, doesn’t have the same nuance of seniority as pateres.
Young Men: Strong Believers
In Greek texts other than First John, the word neaniskoi typically refers to young men in the prime of life. I propose, however, that it is used with a broader sense in 1 John 2:13-14.[5] The neaniskoi in 1 John 2:13-14 are described as people who had achieved some degree of spiritual maturity and were active, strong, and thriving in the faith.
F.F. Bruce notes that the neaniskoi receive the most attention in this passage, and adds,
They are the believers who have reached a stage of their spiritual development where they are expected to bear the burden and the heat of the day; they are the church’s first line of defence against attack …”[6]
There’s no reason to think that women are less effective in spiritual warfare than their brothers. However, referring to these younger believers as “young men” would have more readily conveyed the senses of vitality and strength to a first-century audience.[7]
In the first century, women (mothers) had fewer opportunities than men (fathers) to advance in society, and young women were not typically associated with active strength. So John used the words for “fathers” and “young men.”
Three Levels of Experience and Maturity
The paidia, pateres, and neaniskoi in 1 John 2:12-14 represent groups of believers with three different levels of experience and maturity in the Christian faith; they were at “three different stages of spiritual pilgrimage.”[8]
John’s intention was not to imply the gender or sex of the people in these groups any more than it was to imply the actual ages of the people he addresses. He wrote to all the members of the church, not just to the men.[9] The poetic style[10] of 1 John 2:12-14 also suggests we not take paidia, pateres, and neaniskoi too literally in terms of gender or actual calendar age.
A few English translations render these verses to make it clearer that women are included. The CEB, for example, translates 1 John 2:13 as,
Parents, I’m writing to you because you have known the one who has existed from the beginning. Young people, I’m writing to you because you have conquered the evil one (cf. CEV).
I’ll continue to think more about these verses.
Footnotes
[1] John uses the Greek word tekna 5 times and the diminutive, more affectionate form teknia 7 times. See, for example, 1 John 2:1, 28; 3:1–2, 7, 10, 18, 4:4, 5:2 and 21.
[2] It is not clear if the teknia in verse 12 and the paidia in verse 14 are the same group of new believers. It’s not clear how broadly or how narrowly John uses teknia in verse 12.
Note that different texts include “I have written to you paidia …” at either the end of verse 13 or the beginning of verse 14. There is an anomaly with the numbering of this sentence.
[3] Most Greek lexicons acknowledge that pateres can mean “parents.” Thayer cites 1 John 2:13f and, without specifying gender, says pateres is the equivalent of “one advanced in years, a senior.” (1.c on page 495)
[4] “Father” was used as a distinguished title of respect in the Jewish community. I have a short discussion on the term “father” and other Jewish titles in Matthew 23:8, here.
[5] I propose neaniskoi has a gender-inclusive sense in Acts 2:17 where the word also occurs. I’ve written about neaniskoi in Acts 2:17 in a footnote, here.
[6] F.F. Bruce, The Epistles of John (Pickering & Inglis, 1970), 59.
[7] Somewhat along the same lines, see my discussion on the Greek word for “man” (anēr) used with the sense of “mature adult” in Ephesians 4:13, here.
[8] John Stott attributes the idea of “pilgrimage” in these verses to Augustine. Stott, The Epistles of John (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries; InterVarsity, 1983), 96.
[9] “What is clear in any instance is that John wanted to speak representationally to the entire church. As members of the new covenant, their sins are forgiven, they know the truth, and they have overcome the world.” Glenn W. Barker, 1, 2, 3 John (The Expositors Bible Commentary, Vol. 12; Zondervan, 1981), 319.
[10] 1 John 2:12-14 sits awkwardly within the letter. This short passage is stylistically quirky and rhythmic, breaking the letter’s flow.
These thoughts were first posted on February 2024 on my Patreon page, and I’ve expanded them here.
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