Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

1 John 2:15–17

This is the first direct imperative (command) that John has written to his little children, and we’re almost a third of the way through the letter!

The Meaning of World

Do not love the world or the things in the world.

1 John 2:15a

John, in his letters in particular, almost exclusively
uses the world in this specific, negative way:

The organized system of evil with its principles and practices, all under the authority of Satan; everything that opposes Christ and his work on the earth.

The old school word for it that you don’t hear much anymore is worldliness.

It’s clear from John’s description here that it’s more than the things you might have heard referred to as worldly in the past, things that were more cultural than biblical.

That illustrates one of a couple dangers we face when we look at verses like this:

On the one hand, we need to be careful we don’t interpret
John’s prohibition more strictly than God intended; (monastary)

on the other hand we should not give it such a
latitude that would dilute its force.

David Allen

You might be thinking “Hey, I’m good. I don’t love the world.” Good! Let’s look at John’s breakdown of what love of the world realy looks like, see if you still feel that way.

The Meaning of Lust

Greek epithumia, epi = over, thumos = heat, heat upon heat, being hot for something.

It’s literally an over-desire.

It’s a desire that has taken on too much weight; a craving
that has taken on such weight in your life that it controls you.

Hedonism: The Lust of the Flesh

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world.

1 John 2:16

God designed the human body, and he designed it with cravings, with desires, with drives. Most likely one of the first things you did this morning after you got up was get a drink—probably coffee.

Let’s talk about lust from the English words’ connotations. Sex is a good creation of God, and ought to be greatly enjoyed—in the way God designed it to be enjoyed. Because if you understand the whole Bible (specifically Eph 6), it’s clear that the kind of radical intimacy that sex brings, the self-giving of each to the other, completely seen, completely known, and completely loved—is actually meant to point us toward the even greater reality of the total oneness of Christ and his Bride will have one day.

But when you say, “I want to have it, I’ve got to have it, I will have it, regardless of whether or not I do it according to God’s designs,” that is worldly.

Isn’t that what the world around us does?

When you treat a good thing like an ultimate thing, it actually becomes a bad thing. That’s the lust of the flesh, an overdesire of the flesh, showing that, no matter what you say, in that moment you’re loving the world more than you’re loving the Father.

The Bible’s use of “lust” is much broader than our English connotations. It’s really the abuse of something that is natural and perfectly right and legitimate in and of itself.

Everything that I just said about sex can just as easily be applied to eating.

All of these cravings/drives are meant to point us back to him.

Materialism: The Lust of the Eyes

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world.

1 John 2:16

When you see something good in the world that becomes so important to you you feel like you can’t be happy without that thing.

The kind of person who lives according to false values, looks, showing off.

Example: Money

Eyes window to the mind.

Egocentrism: The Pride of Life

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world.

1 John 2:16

Definition of egocentrism (narcissim): excessive interest in oneself and concern for one’s own welfare or advantage at the expense of or in disregard of others.

Like most of these types of lists in the Bible, it’s in ascending order from bad, to worse, to worst.

It is a terrible thing that the worst of all the vices can smuggle itself into the very center of our religious life. But you can see why. The other, and less bad, vices come from the devil working on us through our animal (sinful) nature. But this does not come through our animal nature at all. It comes direct from hell. It is purely spiritual: consequently, it is far more subtle and deadly.

For the same reason, pride can often be used to beat down the simpler vices. Teachers, in fact, often appeal to a boy’s pride, or, as they call it, his self-respect, to make him behave decently. Many a man has overcome cowardice, or lust, or ill-temper, by learning to think that they are beneath his dignity—that is, by pride.

The devil laughs. He is perfectly content to see you becoming chaste and brave and self-controlled provided, all the time, he is setting up in you the dictatorship of pride—just as he would be quite content to see your ingrown toenails cured if he was allowed, in return, to give you cancer. For pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

If you realized that you’ve been loving the world, and you’re thinking, “If these people knew what I have done/am doing, they wouldn’t want anything to do with me.” Listen, you’re actually closer to the Kingdom of God than proud people.

Incompatible & Temporary

And the world with its lust is passing away, but
the one who does the will of God remains forever.

1 John 2:15, 17

The Love of the Father

Viewed as people, the world must be loved. Viewed as an evil system, organized under the dominion of Satan and not of God, it is not to be loved.

John Stott
  1. Do you love the world?
  2. Do you love the world?

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1 John 2:15, 17

Worldliness is looking for love in all the wrong places.

You will never overcome your love of the world by focusing on not loving the world (pink elephants). You overcome your love of the world by focusing on the love of the Father for you, and your love for him.

You don’t beat yourself up about your lack of love for God and try to work it up… you embrace the love of the Father, spend time with him, and let it fill you.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth
Will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace