Commentary - 1 John 2:15-17

Bird's-eye view

In this potent little paragraph, the apostle John lays down a fundamental antithesis, a foundational choice that every man must make. It is the great continental divide of the spiritual life: you can either love the world, or you can love the Father. You cannot do both. John is not simply giving us a helpful tip for tidier living; he is drawing a line in the sand. This is a command, an urgent prohibition against a misplaced affection that is spiritually fatal. He defines this "world" not as the created order which God Himself declared good, but as a system of rebellion, a mindset organized against the Father. He then provides a comprehensive, threefold anatomy of this world system: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. This is the unholy trinity of worldliness, and it traces its lineage straight back to the original temptation in the Garden. The passage concludes with a stark reminder of the ultimate stakes. The world and its desires are temporary, fading, and destined for the ash heap of history. But the one who rejects this fleeting world to do the will of God is investing in permanence. He will abide forever.

This is not a call to monastic withdrawal, but to a radical reorientation of our loves. It is a diagnostic test for the soul. Where are your affections? What do you crave? What do you boast in? The answer to these questions reveals whether the love of the Father is truly in you, or if you are still entangled in a love affair with a world that is passing away.

Outline

Context In 1 John

This passage is situated in a section of 1 John where the apostle is providing a series of tests for genuine faith and fellowship with God. He has just spoken about knowing God through obedience to His commandments (2:3-6) and loving one's brother as a sign of walking in the light (2:7-11). He addresses different age groups within the church, reminding them of their spiritual strength and their victory over the evil one (2:12-14). The command not to love the world flows directly from this. Because you are strong, because you have overcome, because the word of God abides in you, therefore, do not love the world. It is a call to live out the reality of their new identity in Christ. This prohibition then sets the stage for the warnings that follow about the antichrists who have "gone out from us," because their departure is proof that they were, in fact, lovers of the world and not of the Father (2:18-19). The love of the world is the root system from which all heresy and apostasy grows.

Key Issues

The World God Loves and the World We Must Not

One of the first things a careful reader of the Bible will notice is that we seem to have a contradiction. In John 3:16, the most famous verse in the Bible, we are told that "God so loved the world." But here in 1 John 2:15, we are told in no uncertain terms, "Do not love the world." So which is it? The key, as always, is to define our terms as the Bible defines them. The word for "world" in both places is kosmos.

When John says that God loved the world, he is speaking of humanity in its fallen, rebellious state. He is talking about the world of lost men, the mass of sinners whom God, out of His inexplicable grace, determined to save by sending His Son. It is the world as the object of His redemptive love. But when John commands us not to love the world, he is speaking of the world as an organized system of rebellion against God. This is the world as a mindset, a value system, a culture that is characterized by sin and is under the sway of the evil one (1 John 5:19). It is the fallen human order with its priorities, its philosophies, its boasts, and its cravings, all of which are arrayed against the Father. God loves the people of the world enough to die for them; we are not to love the system of the world that crucified His Son.

Verse by Verse Commentary

15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

John begins with a direct, unambiguous command. The verb "love" here is agapate, indicating a love of will and devotion, not just a passing fancy. This is not a suggestion. It is a prohibition against setting our heart's deepest affection and allegiance upon the world system. He includes both the world as a whole and "the things in the world," the particular manifestations of its rebellious spirit. Then he immediately explains why this command is so absolute. The two loves are mutually exclusive. It is a zero-sum game. You cannot have both. If a man's heart is full of love for the world, it is definitive proof that the love of the Father is not in him. One love expels the other. A heart cannot have two masters, a principle Jesus taught plainly. This verse functions as a spiritual diagnostic tool. If you want to know the state of your soul, examine your loves. What you love determines who you serve.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

John now gives us the content of this "world" we are not to love. He provides a comprehensive, three-part definition of worldliness. This is not an exhaustive list of every possible sin, but rather three broad categories that encompass the whole enterprise of fallen humanity's rebellion. First is the lust of the flesh. This refers to the cravings of our fallen human nature, the desires that arise from our bodies and minds that are contrary to the will of God, gluttony, sexual immorality, drunkenness, and so on. Second is the lust of the eyes. This is the desire to have what we see, the covetousness that is stimulated through our sight. It is a grasping for beauty, wealth, and possessions apart from God. Third is the boastful pride of life. This is the arrogant ambition and self-exaltation based on one's status, possessions, or accomplishments. It is the swagger of the self-made man who has forgotten his Maker. And where does this three-headed monster come from? John is explicit: it is "not from the Father, but is from the world." This is the operating system of the fallen world, not the character of God. This is a direct echo of the temptation in the Garden. Eve saw that the fruit was "good for food" (lust of the flesh), that it was a "delight to the eyes" (lust of the eyes), and that it was desirable "to make one wise" (the boastful pride of life). Worldliness is as old as the fall.

17 And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.

Having defined the world and commanded us not to love it, John now gives us the ultimate motivation for obedience: eschatology. He contrasts two destinies. The world, along with the lusts that define it, has an expiration date. It is "passing away." It is a sinking ship. To love the world is to tie your heart to a dying thing. It is to invest your life in a currency that is about to be declared worthless. The entire system, with all its glitter, its power, and its pleasures, is transient. It is smoke. But there is another option. "The one who does the will of God abides forever." Obedience to God is an investment in eternity. To do the will of God is to align yourself with the unshakable kingdom, with the permanent reality. The choice John sets before us is not simply between two different lifestyles. It is a choice between two eternities: one of utter loss and one of everlasting stability. Loving the world is a fool's bargain. Loving the Father by doing His will is the only wise investment a man can make.

Application

The application of this passage must be handled with care. The temptation for many earnest Christians is to interpret "do not love the world" as a command to create a list of forbidden activities, don't go to movies, don't listen to certain music, don't wear certain clothes. While wisdom and discernment in these areas are necessary, this approach misses the point entirely. It is a pharisaical attempt to deal with a heart problem by creating external rules. It is trying to cure cancer with a band-aid.

John is not talking about a list; he is talking about love. The issue is not primarily what you are doing, but what you are loving while you are doing it. The true battle against worldliness is fought at the level of our affections. The only way to drive out the love of the world is to cultivate a greater love for the Father. As Thomas Chalmers said, it is by "the expulsive power of a new affection." When you are captivated by the glory of God, the cheap glitter of the world begins to fade. When you have tasted the goodness of the Lord, the junk food of the world loses its appeal. When you are secure in your identity as a beloved child of the Father, the need for the world's approval, the "boastful pride of life," evaporates.

Therefore, the way to obey this command is to immerse ourselves in the gospel. We must meditate on the love of the Father, who did not spare His own Son for us. We must fix our eyes on Christ, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame. He rejected the world's offer of glory in the wilderness so that He might win for us an eternal glory. When we see the surpassing worth of Christ, we will gladly count all the world has to offer as rubbish in comparison. The fight against worldliness is not won by retreating from the world, but by running to the Father.