John can use teknia as all inclusive in some passages (see above) while in a different context use it as distinct from other groups. Here, he uses it alongside neaniskoi (young men) and pateres (fathers) and this could be an indicator of a different usage from places where it includes all believers.
As for the use of the two Greek words for children, teknia and paidia, it seems like John is using them interchangeably to refer to all his readers. He uses teknia in 2:1, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; and 5:21 in a manner that parallels his use of paidia in 2:18. If this be the case, and it is reasonable that it is, we can also say that it is the same group of people he has in mind when he uses the two words in this passage (2:12 and 2:14) though now using it specifically for those who have come to faith recently so that he can draw attention also to those who have been growing spiritually for sometime, that is the neanisikoi and the pateres. John is probably using the two (teknia and paidia) for purpose of minimizing monotony, just as he may be doing in changing the tense from present to aorist (see discussion below). The dictionary115 meaning for the two words are “little child” for paidion (being diminutive of, and related to pais which covers ages of 7–14 years) and “little child” for teknion (being a diminitive of and related to teknon, which sees it from the standpoint of origin or birth). The contextual meaning seems to support this interchangeability in meaning. If there is any slight difference to be drawn between the two, it may simply be that teknion does not only communicate the “littleness” but also denotes affection. Moulton and Milligan note that teknon, of which teknion is a diminutive, may also be used “as a form of kindly address, even in the case of grown-up persons.”116 Jesus used teknia for his disciples in John 13:33 and it is the same word (tekna) that is used when reference is made to believers as belonging to the family of God (5:2).
The repetition of the thoughts here in two pairs of three is striking. For the “fathers,” for example, he repeats in 2:14 exactly what he said to them in 2:13: “you have known the one from (the) beginning” (egnōkate ton ap’ archēs) and for the young men he says exactly the same thing in 2:13 and 2:14: “you have overcome the evil one” (nenikēkate ton ponēron). It is not strange for John, as a Jew, to be repeating these thoughts for the purpose of emphasis. This was a feature of a Jewish style of communication of matters that need to be stressed. Describing this passage as the “most rhetorically structured” Jobes sees the passage as patterned after Hebrew parallelism.117 Lieu also sees the purpose of the variation as “to drive the point home.”118
It would be unnecessary to argue that John sees the spiritual experience of each group as exclusively theirs. However, we do see some progression here, especially if we take the three categories of “children,” “young men,” and “fathers” as implying different stages in spiritual growth. For the children (teknia/paidia) there are both the experiences of forgiveness of sin (“your sins have been forgiven on account of his name,” apheōntai humin hai hamartiai dia to onoma autou, 2:12b) and knowledge of the Father (“you have known the Father,” egnōkate ton patera, 2:14a). The spiritual journey of the believer starts with forgiveness of sin. John had told his readers in 1:8 that a denial of having sin is a deception of self. A believer is one who has come to that point where he or she has said, “I am a sinner” and in faith “confessed sin” (1:9) and then received the blessings of Jesus being his or her hilasmos (propitiation, 2:2) or the means by which God now turns his face toward him or her as a Father. It brings a new experience of not just knowing that God exists out there somewhere but a relationship John describes as “knowledge of.” It is deeper than knowledge about. It includes a personal experience of how this person is like.119 This knowledge comes on account of Jesus’ name. It is when we go before God and use the name of Jesus as the basis for God’s acceptance of us that we get to know God in this way. This is because by ourselves alone we cannot stand before God who is light (1:5), but on account of Jesus who is righteous (2:1) we can begin this experiential knowledge with God. By implication, taking the meaning of hoti in these three verses as causal120 (the reason why he writes), those he refers to as children are standing on a first step from which they can move on into the depths of the things he is writing. Their status121 is one of a “forgiven people” and “living in experience with God as Father.”
The second level is that of the young men (neaniskoi) though John mentions them last in both listings. Three things are said about them. They are overcomers (“you have overcome the evil one,” nenikēkate ton ponēron, 2:13, 14), they are strong (“you are strong,” ischuroi este, 2:14) and they are obedient (“the word of God remains in you,” ho logos tou theou en humin menei, 2:14). John uses a perfect tense, nenikēkate, for their victory. The perfect is to be understood as intensive. They have attained the status of being victors. He uses a present tense, este, for their being strong. This is also their status, taking the present tense here as perfective. Its focus is the reality of past action. The more battles they have won, the more spiritual strength they have acquired. John can evaluate them and say “you are strong” and on that basis, I know I am not wasting time as I exhort you on the issues I am writing to you about. The present tense menei translated as “remains” can be taken as a durative present. As their general habit, they allow the word of God to control their lives. This has helped them to achieve what they are now (conquerors and strong) and forms a good basis for what John is writing to them about. The phrase “the word of God” (ho logos122 tou theou) is making reference to the will of God as expressed in the Scriptures as his readers knew it. God has revealed it for the believer to be led by it. Jesus’ victory over the evil one as recorded in Matt 4:1–11 and Luke 4:1–13 is a clear demonstration on the centrality of God’s word in being conquerors. This is a clear reminder of the relationship between the place we give to the word of God and the victory we are able to attain. Paul in Eph 6:17 refers to the word of God (rhema theou) as the sword of the Spirit (machaira tou pneumatos). God has given or spoken the word (taking theou as genitive of source) and the Spirit uses the word (taking pneumatos as subjective genitive) to enable us to win the battle.
“Fathers” is the third level and John describes them twice but in the exact same way. They have known the one from the beginning (“you have known the one from the beginning,” egnōkate ton ap’ archēs, 2:13, 14). They have the experience of walking with him. Whether the one from the beginning is God the Father or God the Son makes no difference.123 Knowledge of one is knowledge of the other (John 14:7–11).
Taking the three verses together we note that John writes to the “children” because:
1. Their sins have been forgiven on account of his name (2:12b)
2. They have known the Father (2:14a)
He writes to the “Fathers” because:
1. They have known the one from the beginning (2:13a)
2. The same is repeated exactly in 2:14b
He writes to the “young men” because:
1. They have overcome the evil one (2:13b)
2. They are strong (2:14c)
3. The word of God remains in them (2:14c)
4. Exact repetition of no. 1 above, in 2:14c
Whether one views these classifications as referring to the same group of people from different perspectives or to three different groups, each of them has come to the level of believing in Jesus. By virtue of that experience, they are able to appreciate the command of love John writes to them in this section.
The fourth issue of using the present tense (graphō) in the first set (2:12–13) but the aorist tense (egrapsa) in the second set (2:14) also calls for comment. The literal translation of graphō is “I write” or “I am writing” and that of egrapsa is “I wrote.” While the present tense, graphō, is clear John means this epistle (1 John), the aorist tense, egrapsa, can imply that John had written another epistle earlier, to these same readers.124 This, however, is not necessary because it is not uncommon for a writer to write either within the perspective of where he/she sits as the writing is taking place or the perspective of the reader when he/she is reading the already written letter. This means that a writer can use “I write” and “I wrote” while referring to the same letter, depending on the glasses he/she has on at a given time. In the Greek language studies, this use of the aorist