¹³ I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning . . .
¹⁴I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning.

John the apostle turns to the older, seasoned Christians, the “fathers,” and writes the same thing he told them before, without any change: “You know Him.” This contrasts with the new believer’s knowledge of God, in that a life long-lived with knowing God has deepened the relationship and intimacy with God. Christians have used many different terms to describe coming to faith in Christ: converted, saved, having a personal relationship with God, etc. One that used to be popular among young Christians stands out, and puts it in even more personal terms: “coming to know Christ.”

Remember how John opened this letter, sharing what he knows of Jesus:

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. (1 John 1:1–4)

We could encapsulate John’s thinking this way: “I know him, and I want you to know him also!” John writes as an older man, probably in his eighties or nineties, and yet the knowledge of Christ was as real to him as in the days when he walked with the Lord on this planet. He wants to expand the fellowship of those who know God intimately. This knowledge spans all age groups and spiritual categories. It is the possession of both new believers and old. Those young in the faith are just beginning the journey of knowing God and continually discovering God. Those older in the faith (the “fathers”) have attained a greater knowledge of Christ by walking through life with Him. By faith, they have spent years bringing the Lord into every aspect of their lives, like John’s experience some fifty or so years earlier. While his original experience was with Jesus in the flesh, his intimate knowledge of Christ now (at the time of this writing) is on a higher spiritual level, having grown considerably. And He is just as excited about his fellowship with Christ as at the beginning.

So, older Christians among us, imitate John’s example: share the fellowship of knowing God that you have gained over a lifetime of living for Him.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for Your fellowship with me all these years.