The Love of the Father and the Love of the World (Part 2)

1 John 2:15-17 The Love of the Father and the Love of the World (Part 2) Introduction: Two weeks ago we looked at 1 John 2:12-17 and we looked at it in a general sense trying to discern John’s argument. I would like to visit it one more time before we move on in our studies of John. A number of weeks ago we discussed how it is very possible for us as humans to be deceived about our own spiritual state and the spiritual state of others, the Bible and specifically John gives us tests that we might apply to our lives so that we can know our true spiritual state, whether we be alive in Christ, and possessors of eternal life or if we are still dead in sins and trespasses and doomed to pass away with the world. John has applied the moral test, the social test and next he will apply the doctrinal test. But in our passage here we have another test; It is the identity test. How do you live your life? How do you make decisions? What governs your path? What are you living for? All of these point to the truth of who you are either a child of light or a child of darkness, either a child of God or a child of the devil. Lets take the test. 1. Identity with the world. a. “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 desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” i. The Desires of the Flesh - Passions. 1. This is a reference to the sinful desires within our own being. 2. Natural desires that are contrary to God’s will. 3. A desire from within that takes no account of the true value of things. ii. The Desires of the Eyes - Possessions. 1. “Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man.” - Proverbs 27:20 2. This speaks of the sinful desire to try to satisfy ourselves with possessions. 3. This is the sin of covetousness. iii. The Pride in Possessions - Position. 1. The Holman Christian Standard Bible puts it this way: “the pride in one’s lifestyle”. 2. This has to do with pride and boasting about having and doing things this worldly system deems important; taking pride in your lifestyle and accomplishments. 3. This pride that results from and in the worldly possession is an affront to God, for it leads to self glorification and a failure to realize man’s utter dependance on God for existence. This is where people make god’s of their livelihood, social status, or other accomplishments. iv. A Note on the World 1. It needs to be said that the condemnation of everything in the world is not a declaration that the world created by God is evil. John fully embraced the doctrine of the goodness of creation as taught in Genesis 1-2. John’s proclamation is that humanity in it’s sinfulness has followed evil rather than good and has worshiped the creation rather than the Creator. The problem isn’t material things. The problem is that people have made these things into idols. Each vice that John list are avenues by which humanity is especially prone to pervert the goodness of God’s creation. v. How do we know if we are of the World? 1. In chapter 4 John identifies the world in this way. a. “They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.” 1 John 4: b. So if these things of the world have a weight or bearing upon the decisions we make and the lifestyle we live we can know we are of the world. If this is the normal pattern of our life or a defining characteristic we can be assured we are not of the Father but are of the world. i. How do you make life decisions? What drives and motivates you? What place/weight do passions, possessions, and position have in your decision making? c. If we find that these things have an unhealthy hold on our lives, if we are distraught, depressed, bitter when we don’t get, or lose, our passions, possessions, and position we can be assured that we are of the world. 2. Identity with the Father a. “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” i. For John, loving the Father and doing the will of God are synonymous. 1. Jesus said if we loved him we would keep his commandments. In chapter 3:23 John says, “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” ii. What does it mean to believe in the name of his son Jesus Christ? 1. Simply put it means to trust in Jesus death on the cross as God’s propitiation for our sins resulting in eternal life for those who have been cleansed and justified. 2. It also carries with it an understanding of Christ now being our Lord or master. We have been purchased with the precious blood of Christ which means that we are no longer our own but now belong to God. a. 1 Peter 1:16-19 “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. b. 1 Corinthians 6:19 “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” i. The first question of the Heidelberg Catechism asks, What is our only comfort in life and death? It answers, “That we are not our own but belong both body and soul both in life and death to god and to our savior Jesus Christ.” 1. John Calvin said, “If we, then, are not our own but the Lord’s, it is clear what error we must flee, and whither we must direct all the acts of life. a. We are not our own; let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds. b. We are not our own: let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us. c. We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us forget ourselves and all that is ours. d. Conversely, we are God’s: let us therefore live for him and die for him. e. We are God’s: let his wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. f. We are God’s: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal. i. Oh, how much has that man profited who, having been taught that he is not his own, has taken away dominion and rule from his own reason that he may yield it to God! For, as consulting our self interest is the pestilence that most effectively leads to our destruction, so the sole haven of salvation is to be wise in nothing through ourselves but to follow the leading of the Lord alone.” 2. Thomas Brooke, a Puritan, wrote this prayer: Lord here am I; do with me what thou pleasest, write upon me as thou pleasest: I give myself to be at thy dispose...The ambitious man gives himself to his honors, but I give up myself to thee;...man gives himself up..to his idols, but I give myself to thee..lord! Lay what burden thou will upon me, only let thy everlasting arms be under me.. I am lain down in thy will... c. “The Christian is one who understands this basic truth: That God sent his Son to save us by grace and adopt us into his family, so now because of that grace, in joy and gratitude, we want to resemble our Father, we want the family resemblance, we want to look like our Savior, we want to please our Father. d. The Principle: We are not to live to please ourselves, we are not to live as though we belong to ourselves. i. That means that first of all that we are not to determine for ourselves what is right and wrong, we give up the right to determine that, and rely fully on God’s word. ii. We give up the operating principle we use everyday in life, and we stop putting ourselves first and we always put first what pleases God and what loves our neighbor. iii. It also means that we are to have no part of our lives that is immune from this self giving, were supposed to give ourselves wholly to him, body and soul. iv. Lastly it means we trust God through thick and thin, both in life and in death.” - Tim Keller 1. This is what it means to Love the Father and to do the will of the Father. iii. These are the only two options that scripture gives, either we belong to God or we belong to the world; that’s it. 1. If we belong to the world, we listen to the world, and we make our decisions, and characterize our lives by passions, possessions and position - love of the world really equals love of self. Its all about you. Your desires, your good, and your glory. 2. If we belong to God, our lives will be about God’s glory, God’s kingdom, God’s mission, God’s people, our lives will be about the things God deems important. Conclusion: 1. How can I be assured that I belong to the Father? a. It really comes down to this question: What are you living for? i. Yourself? Your dreams and passions? Do you live for possessions? Do you live for position or a certain lifestyle? You can be certain that you are of the world, and will pass away with it. ii. Have you been crucified with Christ? Even though you struggle can you say that it is no longer you who live but that it is Christ who lives in you? Do you have his characteristics of loving the Father, doing his will, continuing his mission; living for God and his glory? Then you can be assured that you are of the Father and will abide forever. iii. Are those really the only two options? 1. Well it seems to me that there is a third option, because John is speaking to a group who he believes are true Christians and his command to them is to stop loving the world. 2. So it seems that it is possible for you to be a christian while still maintaining these worldly characteristics, but in scripture this is always cast in a negative light, and the scripture gives no words of comfort for these individuals but only words of warning and words to repent. Which is really just a subcategory of living for the world and for yourself. 3. Again, in closing, here is a good summary description of the Christian: “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” - 1 Corinthians 5:14-15