REASSURANCE :: WHO YOU KNOW
It's not how good you are… it's who you know. We are cleansed from sin not because of how good we are but only because of who Jesus Christ is and what he has done. "Dear Children," John says, "I write to you because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name." John wants to remind us of the reassurance we have in forgiveness through Jesus Christ. When you remember that, you find astonishing relief. John says that we are purified from all sin through the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7). We are washed. We are scrubbed. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). It is all because of him, on account of his name.
"Mature believers," John says, "I write to you because you have known him who is from the beginning. John wants to remind you of the reassurance you have in knowing Jesus Christ, the eternal God." You can find complete assurance in Jesus Christ today because he was around before the world began. Yoda might say it like this: “Before creation, he is.” John taught us that Jesus Christ was in the beginning, that he was with God and that he was God and that all things were made through him (John 1:1). Older believers, you have grown enough in your faith and knowledge of God to realize that no matter what happens in this world and in our bodies that waste away over time, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. You have complete reassurance because you know the one who created this world and is in control.
Younger believers, John wants to remind you of the victory you have won by coming into a relationship with Jesus Christ. You have just come through an intense battle for your soul. The evil one, Satan, and all of his forces in this world, were against you coming to Jesus. The fight is intense and it is real. But through the power of Jesus Christ, the grip of evil is overcome. You do not need to fear things in this world. Trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, danger, sword, death, life, angels, demons, present, future, powers, height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord. In all these things you are more than conquerors. I write to you, young believers, because you have overcome the evil one.