{"id":3177,"date":"2025-10-31T00:05:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T00:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stevehusting.com\/alivetogod\/?p=3177"},"modified":"2025-10-28T15:35:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:35:57","slug":"meditations-on-1-john-215-17-with-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevehusting.com\/alivetogod\/meditations-on-1-john-215-17-with-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Meditations on 1 John 2:15-17, with Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chapter 2 <\/strong>(NIV–the verses in this chapter were taken from this version. Each chapter will be from a different version to avoid copyright issues.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Not Love the World<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

v. 15,<\/strong> Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(FSB) \u201c2:15-17 In these verses, John exhorts believers to oppose the values of the evil one. He also remind his audience that those who love and obey God have the gift of eternal life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Bible Knowl Comm NT) The world \u201cas an entity hostile to God… is always a seductive influence which Chrisian should continually resist. … The world competes for the love of Christians and one cannot both love it and the Father at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Cultural) \u201cGod summoned Israel to love him and be consecrated as holy to him, rather than following the pagan values of the nations around them (Lev 20:23-26; Dt 18:9). Likewise, Jesus\u2019 followers must avoid any values in their cultures that conflict with his interests.\u201d (Life) \u201c2:15-16<\/strong> Worldliness is also internal because it begins in the heart and is characterized by three attitudes. … When the serpent tempted eve (Genesis 3:6), he tempted her in these areas. Also, when the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, these were his three areas of attack (see Matthew 4:1-11). … Do your actions reflect the world\u2019s values or God\u2019s values?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

(ESV) \u201cLove of the Father probably carries a double meaning, referring both to the love god has for his people and the love they have for him. The former generates the latter (4:7, 9-10).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Wiersbe) \u201c2:12-17 \u2018The world,\u2019 in the Bible, is Satan\u2019s system for opposing the work of Christ on earth. … The world is not a natural habitat for a believer. The believer\u2019s citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), and all his effective resources for living on earth come from his Father in heaven.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Recovery) \u201cSatan, In order to usurp the God-created man, formed an anti-God world system on this earth by systematizing men with religion, culture, education, industry, commerce, entertainment, etc., through men\u2019s fallen nature…\u201d \u201cThe world is against the Father, the devil is against the Son (3:8), and the flesh is against the Spirit (Gal. 5:17).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(NKJV Margin) \u201cDo not love the world\u201d see Rom. 12:2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(FSB) \u201cThe values of human societies should not define believers. … The believer\u2019s passion should not be for what culture offers but for what God desires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

v. 16,<\/strong> For everything in the world\u2014the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life\u2014comes not from the Father but from the world.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Bible Knowl Comm NT) The world \u201cis a system of values and goals from which God is excluded.\u201d Cravings, desires, lusts \u201cconnotes desires that are sinful.\u201d Lust of the flesh \u201crefers particularly to illicit bodily appetites.\u201d The lust of his eyes \u201cpoints to man\u2019s acquisitive nature.\u201d Pride of life \u201c(lit., \u2018the pretension of human life\u2019), which signifies a proud and ostentatious way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Moody) \u201c2:16-17.<\/strong> Since no form of worldliness is…from the Father,<\/strong> it is contrary to His will, and He does not sanction it. Examples of worldliness are…\u201d Lust of the flesh \u201cevil desires within oneself.\u201d Of the eyes \u201cgreed aroused by what is seen.\u201d Pride of life \u201carrogance in one\u2019s possessions, accomplishments, or social position. … Since the believer doing the will of God lives forever,<\/strong> only what is eternal is divinely approved as a legitimate object for his or her affection.\u201d (Chapter take-away: <\/strong>Moody\u2019s observations should help us to avoid placing our affections or priorities on temporary, non-eternal things. Should I ask what my priority should be when facing the next task? It\u2019s another way of paying attention to the leading of the Spirit\u2014and not the flesh or the world.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Prophecy) \u201cThis prophecy foresees the coming destruction of the earth (cf. 2 Peter 3:7-13; Rev. 20:7-10).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(ESV) \u201cJohn does not demonize the whole created order (cf. Gen. 1:31). Rather he gives examples… of what the believer should guard against. Human desires are part of God\u2019s creation and therefore not inherently evil, but they become twisted when not directed by and toward God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(NKJV Margin) \u201clust of the eyes\u201d see Eccl. 5:10, 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(FSB) Pride of life: \u201cWealth used for the purposes of personal gain demonstrates a selfish view of self-worth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

v. 17,<\/strong> The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Bible Knowl Comm NT) \u201cThe word \u2018lives\u2019 renders …meno.<\/em> It suggests…the \u2018abiding life\u2019 of fellowship with God. … life lived in God\u2019s fellowship … is a life with no real ending. A person whose character and personality are shaped by obedience to God will not be affected by the passing away of the world and its vain desires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Life) \u201cKnowing that this evil world and our desire for its pleasures will end can give us courage to control our greedy, self-indulgent behavior and to continue doing god\u2019s will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(ESV) \u201cIts appearance of permanence is deceptive. History is not an endless cycle but is speeding toward a conclusion will by God (cf. v. 8).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Recovery) \u201cDoes the will of God habitually and continually, not just occasionally.\u201d It\u2019s the normal thrust of his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(NKJV Margin) \u201cpassing away\u201d see 1 Cor. 7:31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FSB) \u201cPassing away\u201d = John might be saying that the world may cease to exist. Or the world as we know it \u201cwill be renewed.\u201d Or \u201cthat God\u2019s reign is again beginning via Christ, and evil is being vanquished.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIRST JOHN 2 MEDITATION vv. 15-17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am to be a channel of God\u2019s life, of the divine nature, the image of God, of His likeness in this world. God does not love the things of the world, the things that attract or exacerbate the flesh principle in me. So if I choose the things of the world, then those actions are not the life of God working through me. They are the outworkings of the flesh, not the Spirit. People will not see the Lord in me, but just fallen me, reacting to and fitting into the world the same way everyone else does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is insightful to those who want to remain in fellowship with God. This is not just a principle for monks and nuns, as we see from the opening six verses of this epistle. God is desiring fellowship with humble believers, and wants that fellowship to not only remain unbroken, but to grow. He wants to reveal more and more of Himself to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By pointing out the examples of the lust of the flesh, of the eyes, and our arrogance, we understand how our own mind and faculties can deceive us, who desire to live the life of God. God is not the author of things that draw our attention away from trusting Him and finding in Him the essence of life. We want the life God authors, a life of continuing communion with the Father and the Son. This is the subject of John\u2019s epistle; we can know the joy of this fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we love the world, we who are children in the faith know how to obtain forgiveness and repent; we who are young men who have overcome the wicked one can use that same wisdom to overcome the world. As spiritual fathers, we see these traits of the flesh in the lives of the children and young men, and our experience of fellowship with God will illuminate them regarding the ways of faith, grace, love, obedience, and the Spirit, and help them to the right path, whether to stay on it or return to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world\u2019s things and values are passing away. Permanency is an illusion Satan fabricates with the worldly systems he controls. Everlasting life accompanies fellowship with the Father and the Son. These thoughts should help us identify and break free of the things of the world that do or can enslave us. The values presented here will clarify whether we really want the life God offers or not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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