“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.”

In this verse and the previous verse there is a a progression. This verse is also an reiteration of the previous verse. It is repeated to bring home the truth of the grace of God in the life of older Christians and younger Christians too. We are to stand strong in knowing the Lord and in living for Him. We overcome the attacks of the evil one and the weaknesses of our own flesh. It is too easy to give in to ourselves and think we are just satisfying a justifiable body need, but in reality we are feeding our fleshly desires and they go against the spiritual desires of the Holy Spirit within. It is too easy to grieve Him away and become worldly minded.

We gain our strength in the Word of God and not in other people, or our own feeble resolve. If we know the Lord and love Him, we will not want to grieve Him and cause Him pain. We turn from sin and live God-orientated lives that bring glory to Him and not just for our own comfort. Our comfort comes from the work of the Holy Spirit within us and if He is silent, it causes us grief too. But if the Word of God remains in us, we will have the resilience to overcome the evil one.

We are strong when we are focused on the Word of God, not just to read and study, but to put it into practice and live worthy lives to God. This is our public life and our inner private life too. We walk daily before the face of God and should not be ashamed. If the Word remains in us we are invincible and will overcome the power of the evil one. Let us also watch our own evil desires, that we are not led away into sin by them, but are victorious over the indwelling power of self.