1 John 2:12-14 slightly breaks the argument. It is prompted by John's desire to remove any impression which the earnestness of his previous words may have created, that he had misgivings as to the spiritual condition of his readers. He speaks approvingly of their knowledge both of Christ (him which is from the beginning) and of the Father, and of their victories over temptation. He writes not because they are faulty, but to save them from being injured. The phrase little children (John 13:33) is a term of endearment applied here to Christians in general (Matthew 18:6 *), whilst fathers and young men will represent two stages, the sage and mature, the active and strenuous.
1 John 2:13. I have written, by a grammatical usage peculiar to Gr., probably means no more than I write in 1 John 2:12.