What matters most to us in life? What do we really value and love the most? Jesus told a story about a rich man who planned to be even more successful (Luke 12:18-20). Now John is known as the disciple of love, and he focused much of his writings on the love of God and Jesus’s teachings about real love. In 1 John 2, he says that one of the distinctive signs of a real Christian is that they are not living for this world, nor loving the things of this world more than anything else. A real Christian loves God.
1 John 2:15-17 says: ‘Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.’ (See also The Message translation).
As ever, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. This passage is clearly not against us loving people in the world, but it’s a direct warning against us loving the world more than God. It all starts with the state of our hearts and being real about what we love most. This is so important, as these verses teach how it affects everything in our lives, both in this world and for eternity. We see some simple lessons we can apply to our lives from these verses.
1. A real Christian has love for the Father in them (1 John 2:15; Joshua 24:15; Matthew 22:37-38; 2 Timothy 4:10; John 14:15-16)
2. A real Christian does not love what the world offers (1 John 2:16; Luke 8:4)
2.a. The lusts of the flesh (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:16-17; Mark 1:35)
2.b. The lusts of the eyes (Matthew 5:27-28; Matthew 6:20-24; 1 Timothy 6:12)
2.c. The pride of life (Matthew 23:5-7; 3 John 9; Matthew 20:26-28; Matthew 6:1)
3. A real Christian is focussed on doing the will of God (1 John 2:17; Matthew 26:39; John 6:40; John 14:2-3; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; 1 John 5:2)
Apply
1. A real Christian has love for the Father in them (1 John 2:15). The Apostle John, writing to the church, sets out a warning about loving the world and goes so far as to say that if anyone loves the world, then love for the Father is not in them. Put simply, you cannot love God and love the world. Just as Joshua explained to the Israelites who had entered the promised land, there is a choice we each have to make about who or what we will love and live for (Joshua 24:15). And here, John gives the believers a clear distinction between God and “the world”. You cannot love both (Matthew 22:37-38). A real Christian is wholeheartedly in love with God, and gives the best of every part of their lives for Him. Of course you can enjoy things in this world. But at the end of the day, do you live for sport, for pleasure, for advancement: what are you living for? Love for God is everything, and it directly impacts how we live. Love for anything and everything else is a lesser love which will never satisfy. Love for the Father will be shown in our enduring faithfulness to God and to His people (2 Timothy 4:10). Jesus prayed for His disciples to be in the world but not of the world (John 14:15-16). Are you distinctive as in the world but not of the world? Are you recognisable as a real Christian because of your love for God instead of the world, or are you quick to trade time with God for what the world is offering you? We are recognisable as a real Christian when, whilst we live in the world, we really have love for the Father in our hearts which is seen in how we live.
2. A real Christian does not love what the world offers (1 John 2:16). John details three areas which can overtake our love for God. Jesus also warned us of these in the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4), teaching that even people who hear or know God’s word can be ‘choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature’.
2.a. The lusts of the flesh: This is all about satisfying our physical wants such as food, drink, and sexual desires (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:16-17). What things does your flesh want you to do that you know are contrary to God’s spirit? Do you desire to eat or drink too much, to take drugs, or watch pornography or violent films? Maybe it’s the desire to stay in bed rather than to do as Jesus modelled and get up early to pray (Mark 1:35). We must change living by ‘I want, I feel...’ to living according to the power of God’s Holy Spirit who helps us resist doing just what our flesh wants us to.
2.b. The lusts of the eyes: In the Bible, the lust of the eyes is the sinful desire to possess things that are visually appealing. It's a temptation that can lead people to stray from God's Word in pursuit of material possessions and wrong relationships. Just as King David saw Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop and then took action to sleep with this married woman, so too our desire, our will, thoughts. time and plans can all chase after what our eyes have even just briefly glimpsed, and can lead to terrible, heartbreaking consequences. Jesus also taught His disciples this (Matthew 5:27-28). It comes back to the state of our hearts. What are you looking at? Why are you looking at it? Scrolling on social media and websites, especially late at night, can be very dangerous, for what you see can impact the desires of your heart. Jesus also taught that you must choose in your heart between loving God or loving money (Matthew 6:20-24). There is no ban on possessions or making money, but we can’t love these things more than God (1 Timothy 6:12). The lust of the eyes can pull strongly on our heart if we have not decided that our treasure is first and foremost our relationship with God, and can lead to much suffering for ourselves and those around us too. So we must be careful to fix our eyes on what comes from God and not of the world.
2.c. The pride of life: This is where we focus on our social status and achievements, positions, titles, and qualifications. John saw Jesus directly challenge the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, on their prideful, hypocritical behaviour that went against everything they were teaching from the word of God (Matthew 23:5-7). The Bible says the Pharisees loved these things, and John wrote to his friend Gaius of his own experience of such people (3 John 9). Do you love to be first? To be recognised with titles, rewards and praise? Does it matter what position you hold or what people think of you? Even when serving the Lord, is it truly out of love for Him, or to be seen and approved by others? For all those of us who are parents, or even grandparents, how much pride do we take in our children and grandchildren? It’s good to want them to do well but are we actually proud of their achievements as some reflected glory on us? The ‘pride of life’ is something that we all must be alert to. For Jesus taught His disciples that they weren’t to live this way (Matthew 20:26-28; Matthew 6:1). Everything the religious people did was a show. A real Christian loves their real relationship with God far more than the fleeting praise the world offers.
3. A real Christian is focussed on doing the will of God (1 John 2:17). This will affect us in this life and for all eternity. We show our love for the Father by doing the will of God. To do the Father’s will is a choice, and it can cost us, but we have the promise of eternity with God as we do His will here on earth. The choice Jesus made in the Garden of Gethsemane to do God’s will has assured our eternity (Matthew 26:39). One day this world and everything in it will end, and then there will be a new heaven and a new earth, where we will live forever with Jesus (John 6:40; John 14:2-3). The apostle Paul wrote ‘...the time is short...For this world in its present form is passing away’ (1 Corinthians 7:29-31). So we must make use of the time we have here ‘by loving God and carrying out his commands’ (1 John 5:2). Doing the will of God means sacrificially giving the time, money, and all that we are to build the kingdom of God and meet others’ needs. Doing the Father’s will shows us to be real Christians. We all have big choices to make. A real Christian has love for the Father in them. A real Christian does not love what the world offers, and a real Christian is focussed on doing the will of God. Today decide that you will love God and not the world.
