1 John 2:12-17

Observations:

v. 12, 13, John writes to the “little children” (likely an affectionate term for his entire audience) to confirm the forgiveness of their sins and that they know the Father

v. 13, 14, John writes to the fathers confirming they know God “who has been from the beginning

v. 13, 14, John writes to the young men to confirm that they have overcome the evil one, that they are strong and God’s word abides in them

v. 15, John then transitions to a warning against becoming beguiled by the world; “do not love the world”

Loving the world disconnects one from the love of the Father

Μὴ ἀγαπᾶτε τὸν κόσμον, John is prohibiting a continuous action

v. 16, The components of the world are comprised in three descriptions:

Lust of the flesh

Lust of the eyes

Pride of life

These are not from God, meaning we were not designed to engage self-gratification of the flesh, eyes, and heart.

v. 17, John echoes v. 8 through noting that the world and its lusts passing away with the darkness. No one but the one who does the will of God will live forever.

Note Mt. 7:21

Intro:

Recap on last week, Read 1 John 2:12-17

Head- What does it mean?

(10-15 min.)

v. 12-14

v. 12, 13, John writes to the “little children” (likely an affectionate term for his entire audience) to confirm the forgiveness of their sins and that they know the Father

John uses teknia, “little born ones” in v. 12 and paidia, “children” in v. 13

v. 13, 14, John writes to the fathers confirming they know God “who has been from the beginning

v. 13, 14, John writes to the young men to confirm that they have overcome the evil one, that they are strong and God’s word abides in them

There has been division in how to understand this section, but it seems best to understand John as saying,

[that his] readers have the forgiveness of sins, the knowledge of God, the word of God abiding in them, and victory over the evil one.

‘All Christians are (by grace, not nature) children in innocence and dependence on the heavenly Father, young men in strength, and fathers in experience’ (C. H. Dodd, The Johannine Epistles [Hodder, 1946], pp. 38–39).

In describing these assets, the author addressed his readers as dear children … fathers, and young men. Some have suggested that John here divided his readers by chronological age-groups. Others say he did so by their spiritual maturity. If either explanation is adopted, the sequence—which makes “fathers” the middle term—is somewhat strange. Moreover, elsewhere John addressed all his readers as “children” (vv. 1, 28; 3:7, 18; 5:21). It seems best (with C.H. Dodd and I.H. Marshall) to view the terms of address as referring to all the readers in each case. Then each experience ascribed to them is appropriate to the category named.

Thus, thought of as “children,” the readers had experienced the forgiveness that their heavenly Father grants to His own. As “fathers,” they had an experience that touches eternity past, since they have known Him who is from the beginning. In the light of 2:3–6, this implies they have truly experienced fellowship with God. (Here again [cf. v. 3] the word “Him” could refer to either the Father or the Son; the distinction was not important to John. His readers knew both.) As “young men,” the readers had engaged in spiritual warfare and had overcome the evil one, Satan (cf. “evil one” in v. 14; 3:12; 5:18–19).

Thought of in this way, the sequence “children,” “fathers,” and “young men” is meaningful. The readers knew what it was to have sins forgiven and then have fellowship with the Eternal One. As a result they were like vigorous young men who had defeated satanic assaults.

v. 15-16

v. 15, John then transitions to a warning against becoming beguiled by the world; “do not love the world”

Loving the world disconnects one from the love of the Father

Μὴ ἀγαπᾶτε τὸν κόσμον, John is prohibiting a continuous action

v. 16, The components of the world are comprised in three descriptions:

Lust of the flesh

The first is “the cravings of sinful man,” literally “the desire of the flesh,” i.e. the desire that comes from the flesh. In itself “desire” is a morally neutral word. It takes on a good or bad connotation from the context, and here it plainly has the latter force. The same is to some extent true of “flesh,” which can mean no more than the substance of which man is made and hence refer to various aspects of human, bodily life. But the fleshly body can be the source of sensual desires and lusts, whether for food and drink or for sexual gratification. It is, therefore, possible to take the phrase here to be a reference to the desire for sensual pleasure, especially sexual desire.

Lust of the eyes

The second feature of the world is the lust of the eyes. The eyes are often the source of desire, and the thought here is of the greed which is aroused by what one sees. One may think particularly of the desire to watch things which give sinful pleasure, as in the case of pornography, or of the tendency to be captivated by outward, visible splendor and show, but more probably the basic thought is of greed and desire for things aroused by seeing them.

Pride of life (βίος)

The third feature is pride in possessions. The word for “possessions” is literally “life,” a word that can be used of the things that support life (cf. Mk. 12:44). The word “pride” refers to boasting and arrogance, but it conveys a strong hint of the ultimate emptiness of boasting; it means the braggadocio which exaggerates what it possesses in order to impress other people.

“Worldliness” means “disobedience to God’s rule of life,” and its presence is to be discerned by asking, “What is God’s will?” and not by making a human list of taboos.

v. 17

v. 17, John echoes v. 8 through noting that the world and its lusts passing away with the darkness. No one but the one who does the will of God will live forever.

Note Mt. 7:21

Obedience is an important part of eternal life

The word “lives” the “abiding life” of fellowship with God.

But here is obviously the additional thought that the life lived in God’s fellowship, rejecting the sinful things of this passing world, is a life that has 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.

As C.T. Studd puts it, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Heart- Do I buy it?

(20-30 min)

Is there anything in this passage that is challenging you?

In what ways are you living for the lust of the flesh, eyes, and the pride of life?

How are you guarding yourselves from the lust of the flesh, eyes, and the pride of life?

What is the will of God?

Fundamentally, Love the Lord your God and love your fellow man

Hands- So What? How then should I live?

(10-15 min)

Walk with God: What does doing the will of God look like personally in your walk with God?

Keep Christ first: What does doing the will of God look like personally when we keep Christ first?

Keep sin out of your life: What does doing the will of God look like personally when you are keeping sin out of your life?

Personally, guarding my time spent on shopping websites. It came to my attention sometime ago that I covet. I want. I am not satisfied. Greed has somewhat lost its sting in our culture; it’s exalted and really meme’d out as this acceptable sin. For me, I need to continue praying for and cultivating a deeper contentedness for God and His good gifts.