Do Not Love the World – 1 John 2:15-17 ESV
15 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.
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.
17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Dear Fellowship of the Burning Heart:
The Apostle John is one of my favorite biblical authors. He uses words with more than one meaning to broaden the scope of his message. For instance, in John 3 Jesus is telling Nicodemus that he “must be born again” but “again” can also mean “from above.” Of course, both meanings are accurate and equally apply. In John 1:5, John is telling us about the light shining in the darkness, “but the darkness has not understood it.” The word “understood” can also mean “overcome.” Here as well, both meanings fit. The light is neither understood nor overcome.
Now the word “world” is often used by John as well. And it can have a range of meanings too. It could refer to the world as we think of the earth or creation. It could refer to world of people inhabiting the earth, as it does in John 3:16. Or it could refer to the world system, a system diametrically opposed to God, his plan, and his Son. Here in this little epistle, in this context it is obviously referring to the latter: the world system.
This world system is given a name in Scripture. It is called Babylon, the harlot. Throughout the Bible Babylon stands for a culture set against God and his plan. It begins in Genesis 11 with the people of the earth gathering together in the plain of Shinar to build a civilization and culture “in their image.” Their communication system was not marred with a language barrier: “the whole world had one language and a common speech.” They had developed the technology to construct something functional, durable and lasting. In fact, we see this technology transported to various parts of the planet and duplicated in the form of ziggurats or pyramids. Their purpose was squarely opposed to God’s purposes, for they were building “for ourselves” a city and a “tower that reaches to the heavens” to “make a name for ourselves” and “not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” However, God had commanded that they “fill” the earth and “subdue” it.
So, from that point, we see that Babylon is often used as the symbol of rebellious men and women who seek to create a system that does not include God or his plans. Whether it is the Babylon of Daniel’s day, or some other world empire like it (i.e., Rome), the name Babylon sums up the philosophy and methods of godless men and their godless society.
We are told to love the world of people, but here we are told NOT to love the world system that is opposed to God. And we are to refuse to become attached to the “things that are in the world.” It’s not that the things of the world are necessarily bad. Possessions are not the problem; possessiveness is. When we, like Adam and Eve, want what is forbidden, what is destructive, what is addictive, what is bad for us, we discover that the consequences are as disastrous and far-reaching as their sin. The lure of lust is powerful and controlling. We begin to allow the desire for things to consume us, thus worshipping what has been created rather than the Creator, who alone deserves and is worthy of our worship. This is THE LIE that the Apostle Paul talks about in Romans 1. Replacing the truth of God with THE LIE that we can do our OWN thing, find our OWN way, decide for our OWN selves what is important, what to value, what to worship, and live our OWN lives without any outside help or interference, is the our problem. Remember 1 John 1 and the propensity we have to deceive ourselves.
There are three areas of problem for us in the world:
1. The desires of the flesh – our flesh yearns, our flesh groans, our flesh screams for satisfaction and fulfillment. Anyone who has sought to exercise self-control understands the struggle with the flesh. How many times have we failed to control it. How many times have we fallen to its stranglehold and, sadly, discovered just how far toward destruction it can take us. The Apostle Paul describes the power of “I” in graphic detail:
“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15 ESV). “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:18-19 ESV).
2. The desires of the eyes – What catches “our eye” must effectively capture our attention. Advertising has long sought to appeal to the eye. They spend billions of dollars each year just to get us to look. The eye gate is a very powerful entry point into the thoughts and desires of the heart. How many times have we caught ourselves desiring something to eat because we see it, not because we are hungry. How many times have we made a purchase of something we saw, whether we needed it or not, whether we planned to or not. To control our thoughts we must learn to guard our sight and control what we give attention to. A part of the problem of focusing on sight is that it tends to be captivated by the outward, visible pomp and circumstance of life. We judge by outward appearance, but “the Lord judges the heart.” Living by sight neglects a more important truth. The real world is invisible, spiritual, and beyond sight. It must be perceived through faith. “We walk by faith, not by sight.”
3. The pride of life – What defines my identify, to what do I turn to feel important or show importance, what do I use to “lord it over” others? My educational accomplishments or degrees, my annual income, my status in the community, my reputation among others, my impressive possessions, my groomed appearance, ad infinitum, ad nauseum? According to James, “all such boasting is evil” (James 4:16). Jeremiah the prophet tells us that, if we feel we need to boast, the only boast that matters is this: we know the Lord.
The desires, choices, decisions, and pursuits of life have eternal consequences. The problem with focusing on the world and its values is simply that these are temporal. The world is going to end. The world system is going to crumble and be replaced with the eternal kingdom of our God and of his Christ. “And he shall reign forever and ever.” Placed against the eternal values of the Bible and the glorious hope of the future, the fading and temporal glory of the world system holds less and less appeal. Now is the time to make the decisions of a lifetime. We must reject the world system to follow Christ, or we must reject Christ and his eternal kingdom to embrace the world. There is no middle ground and the choices determine an eternity of bliss or doom.
REVDANS 