Our Savior Lutheran Church

Open It

1. What makes TV commercials and advertisements so appealing?

2. What sort of promises do TV commercials and advertisements make?

3. Which of these three most clearly motivates the people you know and live near: (1) the drive to meet their physical needs, (2) the drive to get things, or (3) the drive to succeed?

Explore It

4. What restrictions should we place on our affections? (2:15)

The topic now changes and so does the mood. The theme is not assurance, but warning. The tense is not the perfect, but the present imperative – the mood of command. In the midst of assurance, the believers needed to be aware of the reality of temptation. So John commanded them, “Do not love the world or anything in the world (1 John 2:15a). That is the central thought of this aside about the world. The rest of the paragraph gives support to this command by explaining two reasons why it should be headed.

It is important to have a good grasp on how John used the word world in his writings. He used the term more than all the New Testament writers together. Of the 185 times it appears in the New Testament, 105 occur in the writings of John (78 times in his Gospel, 24 times in his letters, 3 times in Revelation). John did to use “world” in only one way with only one clear definition. He appears to use it with a variety of meanings. Determining which meaning is used at any given time is an important matter for correct interpretation.

The Greek Word: kosmos

How John Uses the Word:

· In reference to the universe at large (e.g., John 1:10; 8:12; 9:5).

· In reference to the earth, the world in which we live (e.g., John 16:33; 1 John 4:17).

· In reference to a large group or majority of people, somewhat as a hyperbole (e.g., John 12:19).

· In reference to the whole race of sinful people who are in opposition to God (e.g., John 3:16; 1 John 2:2; 4:9).

· In reference to the whole moral order of society organized under the powers of evil and in rebellion against God (John 14:30; 1 John 2:15-17; 5:19). There are no believers who are a part of the “world” in this sense. They have been rescued from the world (John 15:19). This is how John normally used kosmos.

5. What should believers not love? Why? (2:15)

On the heels of the second test of life, the test of love, John commanded his readers not to love the world. The imperative “love” is from the same verb (agape) as in verses 9-11. How doe we reconcile this prohibition with both the second test and Jesus’ command to love our brothers, our neighbors, and even our enemies? The key is to understand what John referred to when he used the word “world” six different times in this paragraph. The “world” is the whole moral order of society organized under the powers of evil against God. We are to love the people in the world as God does (John 3:16), but we are commanded not to love the world’s system or its ways. This becomes clear in verse 16 when the “world” is described.

6. What is the result of loving the world? (2:15)

That person who loves the world will not have the love of the Father in him.

7. Why did John tell us not to love the world? (2:15-17)

In verses 15a – 17 John gave two reasons why his command should be heeded. The first reason is that love for the world and love for God are mutually exclusive. A person cannot do both. As John stated it, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (v.15b). You cannot be involved in the ways of the world, which are in constant rebellion against god, and still love God.

8. What are the things of the world? (2:16)

John uses three concise statements in verse 16 to explain the major characteristics of “everything in the world.” First, “the cravings of sinful man” describes the wrongful desires of our sinful nature. John described how the world’s temptations begin from within us. Second, “ the lust of his eyes” describes the wrongful desires that are inspired through our vision. The world tempts us by its physical attraction. Its ways appear good, but its beauty has no substance. Third, “the boasting of what he has and does” describes arrogance due to material possessions. Literally, this phrase is “the boasting of life,” where life (bios) means life in its human or material form. In context, it refers to material possessions. The world’s system encourages us to outshine others in wealth and possessions.

9. How did John categorize the things in the world? (2:16)

10. From where do the things in the world come? (2:16)

11. From where do the things in the world not come? (2:16)

12. What passes away? (2:17)

Believers should not love the world because the world is temporal and believers are eternal. John explained that the “world and its desires pass away” (v.17a). “Pass away” is the same verb in the same tense (present) as was used in verse 8 to describe the present downfall of the darkness. Here the “darkness” is described as the “world,” and again John described it as in the process passing away. The assumption is when the world passes, those who are a part of it will pass too.

13. Who lives forever? (2:17)

However, the opposite is also true. Whoever “does the will of God,” or loves God, “lives forever” (v.17b). “Lives” translates a word that also means “remains/abides.” This serves as a motivation to overcome the temptations of the world and not to love it. There can be no permanent satisfaction form anything in the world; it is all temporal. The only thing of permanent value is that associated with God and His will. As Williams translates, “He who perseveres in doing God’s will lives on forever (Charles B. Williams, the New Testament in the Language of the People).

Get It

14. How do we love the world and the things in it?

15. What things in the world are you tempted to love?

16. What would you categorize as “the cravings of sinful man”?

17. What would you categorize as “the lust of the eyes”?

18. What would you categorize as “the boasting of what he has or does”?

19. Why are the things and values of the world so enticing to us?

20. What worldly things or values do we substitute for God?

21. What does it mean to do the will of God?

22. How can we guard against adopting the values of the world?

23. From what worldly thing or value do you need to turn in order to pursue your relationship with God?

Apply It

24. What specific steps will you take in order to find satisfaction in your relationship with God rather than in the things of the world?

25. How will you do the will of God today?