27. 1 Jn2_15 Do not Love the World_The Lust of the Flesh

1Jn 2:15-17 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 of life—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.

By way of reminder the purpose of this letter that John has written was one of assurance. 1Jn 5:13  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. There are many with a sincere desire to go to heaven and there are many who are sincerely wrong in their assumptions of how they get to heaven. We must test our premise of how this life of faith is to be lived against the word of God. The last Sunday were together we began looking at 1 John 2:15-17. There was a very enlightening survey done by the Barna Group back in 2016 about the current moral compass governing our culture and that has also worked its way into the church. The new moral compass is self-fulfillment. We often hear from many the Bible is not relevant for today. But I would say that it has never been more relevant. Remember the context in which this letter was written. The apostle John wrote this epistle to the churches probably in the 90’s AD when the philosophy of Gnosticism began taking hold and infiltrating the church. What is Gnosticism? Gnostics means “knowing ones” and they believed that they had the supremacy of intellect and the superiority of mental enlightenment to faith and conduct. It was a hodge-podge of mysticism and philosophy with a little Christian teaching thrown in.

Gnostics believed in the inherent evil of matter and everything material. If all matter is evil and Jesus Christ had a human body, then Christ could not be God or not have a real human body. One form of Gnosticism was Docetism which said that Jesus was divine but did not have a real body: it was a body of ghostlike qualities. 1Jn 4:2-3 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, (3) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

Because all flesh is sinful, Gnostics took two approaches to this problem. Some said the 1) soul was free of sin but the body evil; therefore, feed the flesh with all licentious deeds. These became known as antinomians (those who are against law). 1Jn 5:2-3 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. (3) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.2) The other extreme was asceticism which denied the body any and everything. These believed they could reach some state of human perfection: 1Jn 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

It appears that John is addressing the view of fulfilling the flesh which fits with this current world view of self-fulfillment. Everything is allowed because my desires are fulfilled, life is all about me, my hopes, my dreams, whatever it is that makes me happy. But in these verses, we see the contrast between the love of the world and loving God. John is addressing that there is no reconciling love of the world and love of the Father. As our affections grow for one our love diminishes for the other. The command also stands as a warning. But you may ask why is this so? If I am a new creature in Christ how is it possible for me to love the world? In the beginning when God created man and woman on the 6th day their nature was perfectly pure and unstained by the corruption of sin. God gave Adam the command in Gen 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, (17) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

We know in Genesis 3 that Adam and Eve did in fact eat the fruit and broke the command that God had given. As a result, their nature was now corrupted. And they died, not physically at first but spiritually. And it did not take long before their corruption was seen in the corruption of their children because Cain killed Able.

Rom 8:5-8 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  (6)  For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  (7)  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.  (8)  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You see, there is no reconciling the world with God. And by way of reminder the world in this context is that evil system of philosophies, ideas, and morals that are set in opposition to Go and His truth as revealed in the Bible. But when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we are freed from the enslavement to sin but can still fall under its influence. We are new creatures in Christ, yes, but still deal daily with remaining sin.

Eph 4:17-24  Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.  (18)  They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.  (19)  They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.  (20)  But that is not the way you learned Christ!—  (21)  assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,  (22)  to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,  (23)  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,  (24)  and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Rom 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

This is how it is possible for you to be a new creature in Christ and love the world. Loving the world is not an all or nothing proposition. But to the extent that you do love the world, you will not love the Father.

1 Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world

All that is categorized in the world that is set in opposition to God 1) the desires of the flesh 2) the desires of the eyes, and 3) the pride of life.

1) The Desire of the Flesh – the cause

In other translations the word used is lust instead of desire. The Greek word use here is epithumia. We are familiar with the prefix epi-. It means upon or above. The word epicenter is that place above the center of an earthquake. So, in this way we see that these desires or lusts appeal to us as something to be fulfilled. We could define it this way: seeking gratification or pleasure outside the bounds of Gods provision and commands. It can be internal or external. When we think of desire or lust of the flesh, we tend to limit it to the sphere of sensuality. Make no mistake, it does but it also takes on a broader scope. Gal 5:19-21  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  (20)  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,  (21)  envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

We all possess a fallen nature, but are you yielding to it? Between Sundays what is the focus of our lives? It is in the fulfillment of the desires of our flesh or is it in seeking and loving the Lord with all our heart, mind, body, and soul. Are we denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily. We must always keep in mind that these desires are not from God but are from the world that is in rebellion against Him. Is that the place we want to be?

The previous verses in Galatians say this: Gal 5:16-18  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  (17)  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  (18)  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

As we walk by the Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. How do we walk by the Spirit? By living in obedience to His word. Paul writes in Ephesians Eph 4:30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. But it is walking in humility confessing our native weakness and own inability. James says Jas 4:8  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

It is clear that immorality and sensuality are sinful desires. But often times we feel justified in our anger, justified when we are jealous we want the satisfaction of putting people in their place or venting our anger. Justified in our envy of what others have. Psa 73:3 For I was envious of the arrogant, As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Remember the next time that these are not from the Father but are from the world. When we have worldly desires, it isn’t about God it is about us. We are seeking to exalt ourselves, our wants and needs need to be met now in God’s provision or at all. Worldly desires left unchecked are a furnace of unquenchable fire.

2) The desire of the eyes

We need to see the eyes as the gateway of which we satisfy our desires. We see that which our flesh desires and we pursue after it. No one is immune. Fornication and adultery are born out of the lust of the flesh. You see someone whom you are attracted to and without care or concern for the glory of God and obedience to His word you set out in pursuit Maybe you are not the one in pursuit but you allow yourself to be caught. Though there may be that voice in your head that says no this is not in accordance with the Lord you ignore it. You know that I love watching animal documentaries. There are videos of animals who just deem to give up the fight before it is even started and they mauled and eaten.

With the advent of cell phones pornography is easily accessible. Regular websites will have advertisements of scantily clad people that do nothing but entice. So, the spiral of feeding the desire of the eyes begins with curiosity until it becomes a craving that will not long satisfied before it begins for still more. The images get more and more explicit and it sucks the life out of your soul. The Christian will grieve and guilt and yet the desire of the flesh and the eyes. It is on our televisions, its on bill boards, it is every where. But the desire of the eyes is not only about sexual immorality. The desire of the eyes can be set on anything that appeals to the desire of the flesh. Do we envy our neighbor’s house, his possessions? Does ‘keeping up with the Jones’ drive the want for material things beyond the means of God’s provision? One of my personal favorites is watching sports. It always astounds me that in the fall there is a mass exodus from church attendance to go watch the SEC football team of choice. Why because of the desires of the flesh being met through the desire of the eyes. People pant like dogs after the football team of choice and lose all senses when the team wins or loses, their identity being so wound up in a game.

It can be food or drink. Do we obsess over what we eat and drink? You see how broadly the desires of the flesh and desire of the eyes can be taken.

3) The pride of life -

The first two are inward. The pride of life is external. In other translations it is translated as the boastful pride of life. It is the idea of wanting to be exalted in the eyes of others in accomplishments, in titles, in society, and even in the church. It has nothing to do with God and everything to do with self. The motivation ultimately is pride.

The pride of life is robbing God of His glory. How can we as people rob God of His glory? Glory, as an attribute of God, cannot be taken from Him. But glory that should be ascribed to God by man can. How does this work. When we exalt ourselves in the pride of life we are saying that we are the reason. It is our strength, our intellect, our powerful personality, our verbal skills, our power of persuasion that makes things and people move. The truth is whatever gifts and abilities we have are God given, God supplied. We are only the means that God uses to bring about His good purpose. He alone is the cause so that any glory that is given should be directed to the God of heaven who rules and reigns over all His creation and has given gifts to man. So then why are we pastors? Why do we seek to be elders? Why do we seek knowledge? Why do we pursue master’s degrees and doctorates? Is it because we want people to ooh and ah over our degrees or our knowledge? Do we have some desire to sit in front of an auditorium of people and be the focus of attention?

Jer 9:23-24  Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,  (24)  but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

Is it pride or a desire to serve Christ and His people?

In the Expositor’s Bible Commentary vol 6 the author writes that the boastful pride of life "will be reflected in whatever status symbol is important to me or seems to define my identity. When I define myself to others in terms of my honorary [or earned] degrees, the reputation of the church I serve, my annual income, the size of my library, my expensive car or house, and if in doing this I misrepresent the truth and in my boasting show myself to be only a pompous fool who has deceived no one, then I have succumbed to what John calls the pride of life.

Two people can have the same kind of car and for one it contributes to the boastful pride of life and for the other it may be just a car. It all comes down to what motivates you. Now it may not be apparent to anyone what your motives are but the Lord knows.

Pro 21:2 Every man's way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts.

How do we apply this? What can we do to not cultivate a love for the world.

1. Cultivate and attitude of thanksgiving and contentment with what the Lord has provided for you in your spouse, your home, your job, with every blessing that has been given to you. An attitude of thanksgiving and contentment really comes from a humble heart. It is why we see in James and 1 Peter to humble yourself. A humble heart says “I deserve nothing and yet God has given me this.”

2. Gal. 5:16 Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. How do we walk by the Spirit? We walk in obedience to the word of God.

3. Make a covenant with your eyes that you will not let them linger on people or images that will inflame lust or desire in your heart.

4. Make it your purpose to glorify God in all that you say do and think. That is a big order to fill but begin somewhere. You can begin with glorifying God in your devotions by having them every day.

Understand that the world is not your friend. It is out to destroy your testimony and make a shipwreck of your faith. Heed the warning of John’s command. May God, through the working of His Spirit in us, keep our eyes fixed and focused on the things above rather than the things of world. Amen