A STUDY OF 1 JOHN (16)

 

The Christian’s Relationship to the World

1 John 2:15-17

Victor M. Eskew

 

            Some of the Gnostics involved themselves in sensual pleasures.  Their reasoning was simple enough.  Man is composed of both flesh and spirit.  The flesh is evil.  The spirit is good.  However, when men die, the spirit and body separate from one another.  The flesh, all that is evil, will be cast aside.  Only the spirit, all of that is good, will return to God.  From this they reasoned, that regardless of what a person does in the body makes absolutely no difference.  A person could be involved in a host of sinful activities.  These would simply be cast aside at death.  With this view, they indulged in all kinds of sinful practices.

            In 1 John 2:15-17, John discusses the Christian’s relationship to the world and all that it in it.  He sets forth powerful reasons as to why a Christian should not involve himself with this world.  John begins this section with A COMMAND (1 John 2:15a).  He writes:  “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world”  “The world” in this text refers to all that is corrupt, vile, evil, sinful, and deadly to the spiritual man.  John’s command is plain:  “Love not the world!”  The Greek word for love is “agapao.”  Thayer gives this definition of the word:  “to be fond of, to love dearly, to be well pleased, to be contented.”  A Christian is not supposed to be fond of the iniquity of this world.  He is not to cultivate a love for the evils of the world.  He should not be pleased with the world at all.  He should in no wise be content with the filth of the world. 

            In the second half of 1 John 2:15, John reveals the “why” behind his prohibition.  “For if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  Here we learn about THE CLASH between the world and the heavenly Father.  The God of holiness and the ungodliness of this world are at odds with each other.  Because of this clash, it is impossible for a child of God to love both of them at the same time.  Either a man loves God, or he loves the world.  John tells us is plainly, “if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  Individuals who hold on to the world will say they love God.   Some of them will go through the formalities of Bible study, prayer, worship, and good works believing they love God.  These individuals are deceived.  A man cannot love the world and the things in it and love God at the same time.  The love of the Father IS NOT in those who love the world.

            The reason that one cannot love God and the world at the same time is because the world is made up of things that oppose God.  In 1 John 2:17, John notes THE COMPOSITION OF THE WORLD.  “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  The world caters to lust, the flesh, and pride.  The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and pride of life are the three avenues Satan uses in order to tempt man, and, ultimately, led him into sin.  These three avenues were used on Eve in the Garden.  The fruit of the forbidden tree was “good for food,” the lust of the flesh.  It was “pleasant to the eyes,” the lust of the eyes.  And, it was “a tree to be desired to make one wise,” the pride of life.  These three things lured Eve into the clutches of the evil one.  “She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat…” (Gen. 3:6).  These same three paths of temptation were used against Jesus when He was in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11).  Instead of yielding, however, Jesus overcome the tempter by using the Word of God.  The lust of the flesh, “command that these stones be made bread” was overcome with the words:  “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).  The pride of life involved Jesus’ ability to cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple without harm because God would protect Him using his holy angels.  Jesus met this temptation with this Scripture:  “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matt. 4:7).  And he conquered the pride of life, that is, having all the kingdoms of the world given to Him, by reminding Satan:  “…it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Matt. 4:10).  Yes, what the world longs to give us and what God yearns to provide for our lives are worlds apart.  If we partake of the world, we are partaking of things that are “not of the Father,” but are “of the world.”

            In 1 John 2:17, John provides another reason why Christians should not to love the world.  In this verse, he presents THE CONTRAST between the end of the two loves.  “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof:  but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”  John declares that the time will come when the world and its lusts will pass away.  The word “pass away” can be defined as “depart” and “disappear.”  Peter teaches us that this will happen when the day of the Lord comes.  “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10).  But, this is not the end for those who remain obedient to God.  “He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”  The faithful child of God does not need to be concerned about this world.  It is not his love.  If it passes away, he knows he has an inheritance awaiting him.  Peter describes it as an inheritance that is “incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away” in 1 Peter 1:4. 

            John confronts the Gnostic thought that a Christian can engage in the works of the flesh since the flesh was going to pass away.  He reveals that those who live that kind of a life do not love God.  They are concerned with activities that are contrary to God.  Those who participate therein will not live forever.  The only other alternative for them is to be a participant in the second death (See Rev. 20:14-15).