Vince Deagler

we have been studying 1 john for several weeks now in our sunday morning services.  we have come to one of the more significant texts in that letter where john commands these believers “do not love the world”.  jesus often focused on the relationship of the believer to the world in which they lived, as did paul, as did peter, as did james.  in fact i can’t think of an author in the new testament that did not touch on this subject.  yet despite this frequency of instruction, i’m not sure we have clearly understood exactly what god is calling us to.  sure it is easy to see the command “do not love the world”.  but what does “world” mean?  and what about “love”?  and how do we apply this?  because i am speaking from this text, i have been doing quite a bit of thinking in this area.  let me share some of my thoughts.

first it seems to me what john is talking about when he refers to “the world” is the broken environment outside the garden that no longer functions under gods control or design.  satan is the god of this world.  the world reflects his influence and functions accordingly.  it is an operational system that seems to find its initiating motivation in self.  and because self is broken, the system reflects that brokenness.  according to 1 john 2:16 this system does not originate with god (he calls us to deny self, take up our cross, follow him), it originates within the anti god system john refers to as “the world”.  his description of all that is in the world is enlightening.  he starts by pointing to our flesh, what paul calls a body of death.  ever since the fall the desires/appetites of the flesh have been the driving force in the story of mankind.  paul in ephesians 2:3 paints this same picture of man when he writes “all of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.  like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”  over in ephesians 4:22 he teaches this old self (life) is corrupt (think disintegration, erosion, collapse, falling apart).  the reason for this collapse is our desires (that flow from our flesh) deceive us.  hence we are to put off the old self and put on the new self modeled after jesus himself. 

getting back to john, he adds to his description of all that is in the world…by pointing to the appetites of the eye.  jesus taught us in matthew 5:22 that the eye is the lamp of the body.  what i think john is saying as he tries to describe the way the world works is we live in a corrupted body of flesh that is very much in sync with the anti god, self directed approach to life introduced in the garden when adam and eve rebelled against god.  their eyes were opened, they understood good and evil, and they became their own god.  with those open eyes their flesh is constantly being bombarded with all kinds of stimulation that appeals to their base desires.  the eye sees it, the body craves it.  the end result, as john describes “the world” is an arrogant, look at me, boastful life that is focused on what i have and what i have done.  but what else would you expect?  once god is rejected, once self is enthroned, once an anti god environment is factored in, what else is left.  if you do not have god or eternity to live for, the only thing left is here, now, and self.  john is simply stating the obvious.

i think john is saying, the world is a broken, anti god, self centered approach to life.  as such we are told “do not love the world”.  i have heard and read many ideas explaining what john meant by the word “love”.  i do not assume to be able to fully comprehend his thoughts.  but i do think there are certain obvious conclusions that can be drawn from this command.  first, to love would include giving yourself to the object of love.  isn’t that what god did, he so loved the world he gave himself to the world.  remember, jesus is immanuel, god with us.  so part of what john is saying is do not give yourself to this anti god system.  another aspect of love would be, when you give yourself to the loved object, you become the servant of the loved object.  again, this is exactly what god did for us.  he became our servant, sacrificing himself to meet our need for forgiveness and reconciliation.  so what john is saying is do not give yourself to this anti god system so that you become enslaved to this anti god, self centered approach to life. 

as christians we have much more to live for.  we are to bring glory to god.  we are to love him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.  we are to love our neighbor as ourself.  we are to live with an eternal perspective.  isn’t that what john means when he says the world and its desires are passing away, but the one doing the will of god lives forever.  i would suggest every human will live forever because we are created in gods image and as such are eternal creatures.  so john must be focused on something more when he says the ones doing the will of god live forever.  i think he is focused on our eternal address and quality of life.  those doing gods will, live forever with him in a perfect place as opposed to being separated from him.  those doing the will of god (glorifying god, loving god and neighbor, laying up treasure in heaven) experience a greater quality of life in heaven than those who were unwilling to obey johns command ”do not love the world”.  i know this is an uncomfortable subject, but if we are told to lay up treasure in heaven, does it not imply some will and some won’t?  and doesn’t that effect our experience in eternity?  what about scriptures on the judgment seat of christ where we will be rewarded for what we have done in our bodies whether it be good or evil.  what about paul’s warning to the corinthians (1 corinthians 3:11-15) where he says we can suffer loss and be saved as one escaping through the flames having lost everything but our life.  what does john mean in 2 john 8 if the possibility of losing reward and suffering eternal consequence is not possible?

seems to me, this scripture is huge, having eternal ramifications.  we can live for this world and lose everything.  or we can reject this world, choosing instead to love god and neighbor, glorify him not self, and lay up treasure in heaven instead of focusing on here and now.  in which case as jesus himself said, if you save your life for your self…you will lose it.  but if you lose your life for my sake and the gospel…you will find it.  i don’t know about you, but that choice seems pretty clear to me.  in christ i have found something worth living for that the world cannot compete with.  i’d love to hear what you think.  blessings.  vince