"I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one."
1 JOHN 2:12–13
THE PROBLEM FROMKE IDENTIFIES
Most of Christianity is permanently camped at the "children" stage — endlessly focused on forgiveness, personal blessing, and what God has done for me. Some advance to "young men" — fighting battles, growing in the word, overcoming. But very few press through to "fathers" — those who know Him who is from the beginning, who see God's eternal purpose and live for it rather than for themselves.
The journey from children to fathers is the journey from man-centred Christianity to God-centred Christianity. It is Fromke's "ultimate intention" applied to spiritual growth.
THE MARK: FORGIVENESS KNOWN
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The child knows one glorious thing: my sins are forgiven. I know the Father. I'm in the family. This is real, it's wonderful, and it's the foundation of everything. No one outgrows the need for forgiveness. But it is the starting point, not the destination.
THE FOOD: MILK
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Peter says "as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word" (1 Peter 2:2). Milk is pre-digested — someone else processes it for you. The child depends on others to feed them. Sermons, devotionals, someone else's insights. There's nothing wrong with milk. Babies need it. But a thirty-year-old on a bottle has a problem.
THE ORIENTATION: ME-CENTRED
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The child's faith revolves around personal experience. What has God done for me? How do I feel? Am I blessed? Am I forgiven? This is natural and appropriate for infants. But Fromke's challenge is that vast portions of the church never move beyond this. Entire denominations are built around servicing spiritual infants — keeping them happy, entertained, and assured of their forgiveness — without ever calling them to grow up.
THE DANGER: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
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Hebrews 5:12 — "By this time you ought to be teachers, but you need someone to teach you again the elementary principles." The most common spiritual condition in the Western church is adult believers who are still infants. They know they're forgiven. They attend services. They consume teaching. But they've never moved beyond what God has done for them to what God is after for Himself. They mistake the shower for the celebration.
THE MARK: OVERCOMING
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The young man has moved beyond just knowing he's forgiven. He's in a fight — and he's winning. He's overcome the wicked one. This is the believer who has learned to apply Romans 6, to reckon the old man dead, to stand against temptation by faith. He has tasted victory over sin, not by willpower but by the word of God abiding in him. This is the stage where the Christian life becomes active and powerful.
THE FOOD: BREAD
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Jesus said "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35). The young man feeds on Christ directly — not just pre-digested milk from others, but personal engagement with the living word. "The word of God abides in you." It's not just heard on Sunday — it lives inside. This is the believer who reads Scripture and hears Christ speaking, who takes in the word and is strengthened by it. Bread builds strength. The young man is strong.
THE ORIENTATION: BATTLE-FOCUSED
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The young man's world is defined by warfare. Overcoming sin. Fighting the enemy. Gaining spiritual ground. Growing in knowledge. This is a significant advance from the child — he's no longer passive, no longer just receiving. He's engaged. But notice: the focus is still largely on his own spiritual life. His battles. His growth. His victories. He sees what God is doing in him. He hasn't yet fully grasped what God is doing in the universe.
THE DANGER: STAYING A WARRIOR FOREVER
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Many strong believers plateau here. They become experts in spiritual warfare, deeply grounded in the word, able to overcome — but they never transition from warriors to fathers. They know how to fight but not how to birth. They know what God is doing in them but haven't yet seen what God purposed before the ages for Himself. They become the spiritual equivalent of a career soldier who never becomes a father — strong, disciplined, capable, but not reproducing. Not seeing beyond their own walk.
THE MARK: KNOWING HIM FROM THE BEGINNING
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Notice what John does not say about the father. He doesn't say "you have overcome more." He doesn't say "you know more Scripture." He doesn't say "you have a bigger ministry." He says one thing, and he says it twice for emphasis: you have known Him who is from the beginning. The father has come to know God in terms of His eternal purpose. Not just God as Saviour (the child knows that). Not just God as the one who strengthens for battle (the young man knows that). But God as the one who purposed something before the foundation of the world — and is still working toward it. The father sees the beginning. He sees the end. And he sees where he fits.
THE FOOD: SOLID FOOD
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Hebrews 5:14 — "Solid food belongs to those who are of full age, who by reason of use have their senses trained to discern both good and evil." The father feeds on the deep things of God — not deep in the sense of complicated, but deep in the sense of ultimate. God's eternal purpose. The mystery. The ekklesia as the body and bride of Christ. The summing up of all things in Him. These aren't advanced topics reserved for scholars. They're the actual content of God's heart. But only the mature can digest them.
THE ORIENTATION: GOD-CENTRED
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This is Fromke's paradigm shift made personal. The child asks: what has God done for me? The young man asks: what is God doing in me? The father asks: what is God after for Himself? The entire orientation has shifted from self to God. The father doesn't despise forgiveness — he still needs it. He doesn't stop fighting — the warfare continues. But he's no longer the centre of his own spiritual universe. God's eternal purpose is the centre, and he's found his place within it. He lives for the ultimate intention, not for his own spiritual experience.
THE MARK OF A FATHER: REPRODUCTION
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A father produces children. That's what makes him a father. Spiritually, the father is one who can birth others into Christ and nurture them toward maturity. Not just evangelism — the child can share the gospel. But the father builds. He sees the whole arc from infancy to maturity and can guide others along it. He's a wise master builder. He doesn't just win battles — he raises warriors. He doesn't just know truth — he reproduces it in others. This is the apostolic function Don spoke over you: engineering in the spiritual realm, seeing things built that are more than physical.
THE SIMPLICITY OF THE FATHER
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Notice something striking: John's description of the father is the simplest of the three. The child has two descriptions (sins forgiven, knows the Father). The young man has three (strong, word abides, overcome the evil one). The father has only one, repeated: knows Him who is from the beginning. Maturity isn't complexity — it's simplicity on the other side of complexity. The father has come through all the battles, all the theology, all the experiences, and arrived at one thing: knowing Him. Not knowing about Him. Not knowing doctrine. Knowing the Person. Everything else serves that single reality.
FROMKE'S CHALLENGE
Most churches are nurseries that never produce adults.
They are endlessly occupied with the care and feeding of spiritual infants — forgiveness, assurance, comfort, blessing — without ever challenging them to grow up into the Father's purpose.
The remedial has become the ultimate.
The shower has become the destination.
The milk has become the permanent diet.
God is looking for fathers — those who know Him from the beginning, who see His eternal intention, and who will build accordingly.
THE HONEST QUESTION
Where are you?
Are you a child — still primarily occupied with what God has done for you?
Are you a young man — strong, in the word, overcoming, but still focused on your own spiritual life?
Or are you pressing into fatherhood — seeing God's eternal purpose and finding your place within it?
The journey isn't about being better.
It's about seeing bigger.
From me, to Him, to His purpose.