I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father.
This section has caused some distress to interpreters. To give all the explanations of scholars would require more space than we are willing to allow. In my view, however, Guy N. Woods has the most reasonable exposition of these passages. Please read his detailed explanation (Woods 232-235). One’s exegesis of any passage often depends on his approach, a situation that is true here. After some study of various approaches, it seems logical to conclude that John is addressing three classes of people: (1) New Christians, under the heading, "children," (2) Older, mature Christians of long standing, as "fathers," and (3) Young, yet mature, Christians, as "young men." John pauses in his discussion of purity and impurity, love and hate, darkness and light, to encourage his readers concerning his view of their position before God. While he is writing to oppose the doctrines of the Cerinthian Gnostics and warn his brethren, he does not want his Christian readers to think that he holds them in contempt. Rather he honors them with the following statements using children, fathers, and young men to include all of them. We will try to answer the questions that have arisen in trying to understand these passages as we examine each passage.