1 John 2: 15-17 (NKJV)
“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 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. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
As you read this, it may seem like an idea diametrically opposed to what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world,” he said.
What is the difference? Did God change his mind?
Jesus’ use of the word “world” reflects humanity… God loves everyone—every man, woman, and child. That is why, two weeks ago, when I talked about John writing about Jesus atoning (paying the price for) our sins and the sins of the whole world, I emphasized that God loves people!
The challenge he presents to us is that he does not want us to love this “world system” (spiritual system that is opposed to God), which is based on selfishness and narcissism—the very opposite of what is godly, not Love and the reflection of Jesus.
John will later clarify this need to hate the world system in 1 John 5:19 of this sermon…
“We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.”
Consider it this way: every Christian is meant to be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, while every person who is not a Christian is controlled by the evil one. This perspective may help you understand why I don’t get upset when ungodly people act ungodly but feel frustrated when godly people do.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (NKJV)
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
You are either a child of God or a child of wrath…we have been saved out of this world system that is why we must not allow this world system stuff control us
He explains to us what makes up this world system….
The lust of the flesh – anything that appeals to man’s fallen nature, nature we have because of Adam, as opposed to being born again into a new nature of Christ. both natures are in you, you can’t cast out the flesh it is still there but you must overcome by surrendering to Christ….it is no longer I that live but Christ lives in me. Our human desires are fundamentally food, fulfillment of goals, sex and so on but when they control us rather than God controlling us. Jesus temptation with bread after not eating for 40 days
The lust of the eyes—wanting what we see rather than seeing the way God sees. “Feast your eyes on this.”In Joshua 7, Achan brought defeat to the whole nation of Israel because of the lust of his eyes. David, spying on Bathsheba once again, reminds us that we are to see the way God sees, not through the fulfillment of our own wants. Visualization, as used in business planning, can become problematic when it is not God-led. Jesus was tempted to shortcut his purpose and gain the whole.
The pride of life – is trusting in our abilities, skills, talents, and gifts that God has given us instead of trusting in God. It involves placing our confidence in ourselves rather than in God. With pride and arrogance, we may choose to trust ourselves and listen to our own desires above God’s promises for us. Satan knew that Jesus’ life was in the Father’s hands, but he tempted Him to prove it by throwing Himself down so that the angels would catch Him.
These things are not God controlling us but rather the world system or the devil trying to impose his control over us. God’s design fills us with overwhelming peace, love, and joy, even amid the storms of life, because we have confidence that He is with us, for us, and guiding us toward the success He has planned. The world’s system can only take us as far as we can go, while the devil aims to enslave and destroy us, along with the amazing future God has in store.
We always need to realize that there have always been and always will be Anti-Christ in the world.
1 John 2:18,19
Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. 19 These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.
Anti-Christ actually means two things here
- Against Christ – since Satan fell he has been against Christ rather than worshiping Him and first he tries to get people to be in defiance of God’s ways and he has done a pretty good job of doing that from the beginning with his lie has God truly said, because people do not know God’s word. They know everyone else’s Word but not God’s
- Instead of Christ – any time we choose our own way or the way of some other God, money, sports, politics, food, drugs, psychology (when it makes excuses for problems rather than correcting them), power, prestige, success (our way). Anything we choose to follow above the call of Christ.
John states that these individuals have been part of the church and have proclaimed their anti-Christ doctrines. Whenever someone places their doctrine above scripture, they are anti-Christ. This often occurs when individuals become one-verse theologians, focusing their ministry on a single verse or a few verses of scripture rather than the entire counsel of God. We will always have disagreements on the interpretation of scripture, and that is acceptable as long as we agree on the basics.
1 John 2:20-25
But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. 21 So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. 22 And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. 23 Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 25 And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and He reveals to us ,what is the truth. Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one of God, God in the flesh as he said he is. Those who deny that truth are against Christ. But if you live as you believe this truth and you stay in fellowship you have eternal life
1 John 2:26,27
I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
John is saying if you are remaining in Christ, in fellowship then the Holy Spirit will constantly remind you of the truth of who Jesus is, you will live this truth in everything you do!
1 John 2:28,29
And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. 29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.
Remaining in fellowship with Christ means you are allowing the Holy Spirit to keep you from all lies and false doctrine. You are pressing in to understand who Jesus is and what God’s word. You will not shrink back in shame because you are walking with Christ, overcoming every day. Growing every day to be like Jesus.
Our battle against the world system is real
– there are real people out there that hate God and try to twist his word and want to twist you
– There is a real devil out there who lies and is the Father of lies
We win
– The Bible tells us we will ultimately win
– The Bible tells us we are overcomers
– Jesus showed us that he won and so will we
We are called to win this battle
– we must first recognize we are in a battle and the world and the devil don’t play fair
– we must remain in fellowship with each other and the Lord
– As we live a life surrendered to the Lord his life, love, peace, and power flow through us every moment of every day
Next week we will focus on that love