I John 2:15-17 (NLT)
Do not love this world nor the things it
offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father
in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving
for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are
not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away,
along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God
will live forever.
The emphasis of this passage
is that the world (kosmos in the Greek) and God are opposite. We are told not to love the world nor the
things it offers you. The things it
offers you include a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything
you see, and the pride that accompanies your achievements and possessions. Yet it is this same Greek word that is used
in John 3:16 that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son,
Jesus Christ. So why are we not to love
the world while it’s clear that God loves the world?
Kosmos has several
translations from Greek to English. One is “inhabitants of the earth, the human
family”. This is the focus of the world
in John 3:16. Another is “the ungodly
multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to
the cause of Christ”. This is the focus
of the world in I John 2:15 and other passages like Romans 12:2. The worldview of man and the worldview of God
are different. God created the universe
including mankind to live in harmony with Him and with one another. Original sin by Adam and Eve, caused by the
same lustful and prideful temptations described in I John 2:15, separated man
from God. God still loves all people in
His creation, despite their sins, while He hates what their sins have produced
in the world. Lust and pride have
resulted in horrific wickedness in the history of mankind. Lust and pride have produced an evil world
system of rebellion against God, selfishness, lying, stealing, hate, sexual
immorality, covetousness, and all the other evils that Jesus lists in Mark
7:21-22 and Paul lists in Galatians 5:19-21.
The three temptations—craving
for physical pleasure (lust of the flesh), craving for everything you see (lust
of the eyes), and the pride that accompanies your achievements and possessions
(boastful pride of life)—that attack us every day were the same three
temptations that the devil used to tempt Jesus (Matthew 4:1-10). Turning stones into bread (Matthew 4:3)
represented lust of the flesh. Telling
Jesus to jump off the temple (Matthew 4:5-7) represented boastful pride. Offering all the kingdoms of the world to
Jesus (Matthew 4:8-10) represented the lust of the eyes. Jesus resisted and refused all three, all by
quoting Scripture, setting the example for how we should resist the temptations
of the world. If you profess to be a Christian, you act like one by resisting
the temptations of the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the boastful
pride of life. These evil ways are not
to characterize your life. However, so
many times we fail to resist them.
God is not the source of evil. He is the source of love. Evil someday will be eliminated forever. The world’s way and all its cravings will be
done away with. And those who please God
will be saved. The good news of the
gospel, the really great news of the gospel is that all you need to do to
please God is to accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as your Savior and do all you
can to follow Him as Lord of your life.
You will stumble at times, but God will forgive you as many times as you
ask for His forgiveness.
In the context of this passage,
what must you do or stop doing in order to please God? What world cravings do you know you have that
are wrong and must be stopped? What
Scriptures can you use to help you resist succumbing to these cravings? The availability of Google and Bing search
engines will help you find the appropriate Scriptures to arm you to defend
yourself against habitual cravings you know that you have. Also being accountable to another Christian
is a valid way to help you resist certain temptations in your life. Do you have a Christian family member or
friend you can trust to help you change and please God because of your new
resistance to your former cravings/lusts?
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