I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
John strengthened the sense of progress in these verses. He used present tense verbs in the first set of sentences (1 John 2:12-13 b) that emphasize ongoing action. Then he used aorist tense verbs in the second set (1 John 2:13-14) that point to the end product, spiritual maturity.