1 John 2:12 12I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
This verse shifts in style to a poetic list of addresses to various groups within the Johannine community, marked in most modern translations with indentation. The list indicates that not everyone walks in darkness, but some have found the light. Verse 12 shifts back to the positive in John’s dualistic comparison between two different ways of living. Verses 12-14 follow a similar pattern. First, the verb “write” is used six times. The first three are in the present tense (graphō), and the last three are in the aorist tense (egrapsa), which often designates a past completed action. The reason for the shift to the aorist in verse 14 has been much debated. John may be simply poetic and stylistic, grabbing the attention of the reader with the shift in tense. An aorist verb can have a timeless sense to it and can be used for emphasis. Second, different generational groups are addressed in the vocative case: children, fathers, and young men (all terms should be interpreted as inclusive of females). Third, the reason for John’s writing is given. Each of these reasons describe the type of life all believers should seek to have.
The first group are little children (teknia), a word that shows close relationship and mentorship. It does not necessarily mean age. Children were important to Jesus (Matthew 19:14) and modeled openness and simple faith. Coming to Jesus like a child leads to the forgiveness of sin. The verb forgiven (apheōntai) is in the perfect tense, indicating that the readers were forgiven in the past and remain in that status before God. They had taken the call to confess seriously and were living in humility before God. The reason for their forgiveness is because of his name, most likely referring to Jesus, the Savior through whom humanity finds forgiveness (1:7). The name of Jesus represents his person and all he did to redeem humanity from bondage to sin. Because there is no higher name than Jesus, those who confess and believe can be assured of forgiveness.
Everyone has walked the way of darkness. Some, however, have responded to the “exit” light, confessed their sins, and received forgiveness and cleansing, starting them on the new path of love. At first, this path may be difficult because the enticement of the darkness remains strong. To gain increasing victory over and distance from the darkness and all it represents, we need to live out our forgiveness (the perfect tense noted above). We move further from the old life by keeping our eyes on the Author of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). When the darkness tries to pull us back, we can remember our confessions and the forgiveness we received in Jesus’ name. We can call out his name, and he will come and help us so that we do not stumble and fall anymore.