Well, good evening. You can turn with me in your Bibles to 1 John chapter 2 as we continue our exposition in 1 John. 1 John chapter 2, we're going to look at verses 15 through 17 this evening. But I will read verse 3 to set the context of chapter 2. 1 John 2, begin reading at verse 3. Now by this we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He who says, I know him, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. And by this we know that we are in him. He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked.
Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment, which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in darkness until now.
But he who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven, for His name's sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I have written to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.
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 lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it.
But he who does the will of God abides forever. Amen. Well, let us go to our God in prayer. Lord God Almighty, we thank you for your great mercy towards your people.
We thank You for the realities that are true of us now for those that are in Christ Jesus. We thank You, O God, for the blessed reality, the spiritual state of the forgiveness of sins even now. How we know the Father, how we can approach You, O Father, through the Son, because our sins are forgiven. Father God, how great it is to know that we have known Him who is from the beginning.
We have known the Lord Christ. We have known the Gospel. And Father God, that we have overcome the wicked one, that we are strong. Though we are weak, we are strong in our Lord Christ, because though we are weak, He is strong.
And Father God, as we live in this age, the tension between this age and the age to come, O God, when we see the temptations of the world, the temptations of sin, O God, help us to not love these things. Help us to flee from these things, for these things are not from You, O God, they are from the world. Father God, help us to realize that the world is passing, but the things that are heavenly, the things that are true of you, remain forever. Namely, eternal life found in our Lord.
Father God, may this give us great hope to know that the sins that we struggle with are forgiven in our Lord, but also the reality that these sins are passing away. That there is that time, O God, when you will bring an end to this world. You will judge it according to your holy law, O God, and you will bring its end and judge it through our Lord Christ. And Father God, we thank You that there one day will be no more sin, no more sorrow, O God.
We look forward to this day. We look forward to this time when we will not be able to sin in heaven. We thank You for this reality. We thank You for this truth.
We thank You for this hope that is in Your people, and this future for Your people that is true in the Lord Christ. O God, may this give us comfort. May this give us hope. As we live in that tension, O God, help us by your Spirit to do what is required that you require of your people.
Help us to love you, O God, knowing that you love us first, and you've sent your Son to save your people. Father God, we pray that we would love eternal things, but O God, we thank you for the ways in which you work in us now. Help us by your Spirit to do that which is pleasing to you. Help us by your Spirit to know the truth.
And for those that do not know the truth this evening, help them to come to knowledge of Christ. Help them to see the truth, that to see the things of this world are passing, are fleeting, and they will end. That they might look to eternal things found in Christ, things that last forever. Father God, we thank you for this as hope and eternal life is found in Christ.
We pray that saints would be edified, sinners would be saved, and we pray that you'd be glorified in all things in the name of Christ. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as I've said at the outset of every sermon with respect to 1 John, the theme of 1 John is found in 1 John 5, verse 13, where he writes that his disciples wouldn't know that they have eternal life. And then John goes on to highlight ways to assure them that they have eternal life. One, they live in the light. Two, they live as children.
In a lot of ways, 1 John is structured like a sermon, so we're still in that first point of his sermon, to live in the light. And one of the ways we live in the light is to live in love, to love the things of God and not the things of the world. Just a recap of where we've been. We've answered the question, what is love, in verses 3-11.
We see the commandments. He who says he knows them but does not keep his commandments is a liar. But also the reality, whoever keeps his word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. Then he talks about how this is not a new commandment, one that is found in the Old Testament as well.
They must love God and love their neighbor as their self. But in some sense it's new because it's patterned after our Lord Christ, the one who truly lived the law in perfection, the one who truly did what was required, who truly loved the Father, loved God, and loved his neighbor. And then John goes on to highlight those who love their brother and those who hate their brother in verses 9 through 11. And then last week we saw the blessed truth of the fact that those who are in Christ, those who know Christ, can be assured of the present reality that their sins are forgiven, that they know the Father, that they've known Him who is from the beginning, and that they have overcome the devil.
The reality is we still live in the tension between this age and the age to come. There is still sin. There are still those things that allure us, namely the things of the world. So tonight we see in 1 John 2.15 John's exhortation on what not to love.
He's told us what we should love, but now he highlights here what we are not supposed to love. You see, the reality is The false teachers loved the things of this world. They loved the things found in the world. They loved those things in the world partly because they had the truth, their doctrine, their thought, their theory was that spirit is good, matter is bad, therefore it doesn't matter how I live.
At least that's in some form of the false teaching that was there. So it's okay to indulge. It's okay to engage in the things of the world. And John is saying that is not so for the children of God.
So perhaps an important question we need to ask ourselves as we go. Do you love the world or the things in the world? Or perhaps to narrow it, to highlight the focus of what John's saying, do you love sin? That's going to be a very telling question, a telling answer for some of us here tonight.
Do we love the world? Do we love the things in the world? Because John commands his hearers to not love the world. And that gives some general reasons why we should not love it.
Three Headings Introduced
So we will look at this theme of not loving the world under three headings this evening. First of all, we will look at the command to not love the world in verse 15. Secondly, the character of the world in verse 16. And then lastly, the end of the world in verse 17.
So the command, the character, and the end.
The Command: Do Not Love the World
Notice in verse 15, the command. Notice what he says. Do not love the world or the things in the world. Notice the emphasis.
Do not love these types of things. We've already seen what to love in verse 7 of chapter 2. But John will come back to this theme of love in 1 John. In 1 John 3.10, he goes on to highlight the imperative of love.
And then in verse 16, we see the outworking of love. By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us, and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
By this we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him. And then in chapter four, he goes on to highlight Christ's love, God's love for his people. Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent forth his son. But here we see what not to love.
And notice it's this idea of the world.
What 'World' Means in This Text
Now, what do we mean by the world and the things of this world? Some people take this and refer to this as a way to flee from the world, to go out into the boonies, set up a colony, set up a village somewhere, and be separate from the world with the hopes that they would stay away from it. Some even still today, they separate by living as monks. They go away from the world, stay away from it.
Because what is referred to with respect to the world here is this idea of sin. focusing on the unregenerate, with those who are hostile toward God. As one writer says, he says, world here refers to everything that is hostile to God, wholly at odds with anything divine. The world stands in opposition to God, and hence is incapable of knowing God, and excluded from Christ's intercession. It refutes the Comforter, that is, the Holy Spirit.
Neither Christ himself nor his own belong in any way to the world. Because world here, in this sense, as is being referred to in 1 John 2.15, refers to sin. You see, world can refer to several different things in scripture. We have to ask ourselves, what does the writer mean by world?
And in this instance, it's referring to sin. It's an ethical distinction, not a cosmological. What I mean by that is, it's not so much the birds, the air, the trees, all those types of things. While world can mean that, it's referring to sin. those things that are utterly opposed to God.
The carnal mind is enmity against God. So when he says, do not love the things of the world or the world or the things in the world, he's saying, do not love sin. And the context is going to bear this out for us when he describes what that is in verse 16. And this is not unlike what we see in other books of the Bible.
James chapter 1. Verse 27. When James talks about what is true religion or pure religion, he says, We're not supposed to go out into the countryside and separate. But we're not supposed to live in a sinful manner.
That's the point. That's the thrust. Keep oneself unstained by the world. Sadly, people professing Christians profess to be believers, but indulge in the things of the world, indulge in the things of sin, because the world, as it's tied to with respect to this idea of sin, engages in wickedness and sees it as a glorious and good thing to engage in.
They don't see it as wrong. If it makes you happy, it really can't be that bad, can it? Not so what John says, and especially verse 17 with respect to this world. You see, professing Christians say that it's okay to live in any way they want because God's going to love them for who they are.
That is, God is going to be tolerant with those things. That's become the definition of love, hasn't it? People tolerate me for the various lifestyles I live in. You hear this in some homosexual arguments with those who profess to be Christians and want to live in that lifestyle?
They say, well, it's the way God made me and God loves me. What does the Bible say about loving? It's law-keeping. Love to God and love to your neighbor. 1 Corinthians 13.
What is love? Patience, kindness, but does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. So this language of the world is referring to ethics. Perhaps it could be similar to what Paul says with the old man.
Putting off the old man and putting on the new man. So when he says, do not love the world, it's referring to this idea of sin.
True Believers vs. False Professors
Now there is a blessed difference between true believers and professing believers when it comes to this idea of sin. You see, the true believer, we're still going to struggle with sin. We're still sometimes going to see the allure of the world and see its bells and whistles and go, maybe But we struggle with it, but we resist it because of God's mercy. A true believer struggles with it.
Though they are drawn by it sometimes, we hate it. A lot of ways we hate it, but we love it. That's the difference. But a false believer will be one who says, ah, whatever.
It's okay. I can live any way I sort of want to live. Antinomians, those who deny the proper place of the law, not for salvation but as a pattern of living, are going to be present with us from now until the end of the age. It's just that reality.
What shall we say then? Shall we keep on saying that grace may abound? May it never be. And then he goes on to say some reasons why we are not supposed to love the world.
In verse 15, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Again, false teachers claim to have the love of the Father. False teachers claim to be part and one with the Father. But that's not so if you love the world, if you indulge in sin.
This is exactly what he's saying here. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Now, what is meant by love of the Father? Theologians or commentators take it in two ways.
It can either refer to God's love for us, or it can refer to our love to God. Do you see the difference? God is the one who loves us, or it's referring to our love to God. I don't think we need to separate.
I think it's referring to both. Because John uses both instances in 1 John with respect to loving God, that is God's love for us and our love for God. We see God's love for us in 1 John chapter 4, that blessed truth. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Verse 8, he who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this, the love of God was manifested toward us, that God sent His only begotten Son in the world, that we might live through Him. And this is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. So it is highlighting God's love for His people, and even highlights further that intimacy with the language of Father.
The love of the Father towards His children, which are those who know the Lord, who believed on the Christ. And if we are loved by the Father, if we are considered children of God, should we not seek to live in a way that pleases our Father? pleases our great God, the one who has given us great gifts, do things that are pleasing to him because of his great mercy towards us. And thus, so it is God's love for us, and which is the motivation for our love towards God. And that's what's said in 1 John 2, 3-11, highlighting commandments.
By this I know him. Verse 4, he who says I know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. Whatever keeps his word, truly the love of God, that is in this instance the love for God, is perfected in him. So we do what God loves because God first loved us.
And even notice here the intimate connection between truth and practice. Right? As our pastors have said many times in the pulpit, orthodoxy, right doctrine, precedes orthopraxy. And the same thing is true with these false teachers.
What's some of the major issues with these false men? Certainly, it's not highlighting the reality of sin. Certainly, it's not seeing any place for the law of God, but more importantly, a Christological problem. because they deny that Christ came in the flesh. We see this in 2.22.
"...who is a liar, but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ. He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either. He who acknowledges the Son has the Father also." But we see this also in 1 John 4. at verse 2.
By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. You see, it's a Christological problem.
It's a Christological issue. We have to have a right understanding of who God is, who Christ is, that we might seek to live in a way that pleases Him, that we might have a right practice. So God loves us. In turn, we should love our God.
But you see, the application for this section is very simple. Again, like in 1 John, simple to say, hard to do. Brethren, do not love the world. That's the thrust, that's the point.
Do not love sin. Again, this isn't to remove ourselves from the world. Again, there's so many reactions to sin, different types of reactions that sometimes just aren't good. You know, sometimes it's the reality that we see sin, we flee from it.
You know, there was one man, Jerome, who wrote the Latin translation of the New Testament. I think I've heard it said about him that he wanted to get away from dancing girls. So he went out into the wilderness to get away from the dancing girls. Guess what he thought of the whole time in the wilderness?
Dancing girls. You see in the text, it says, do not love the world. It doesn't say do not or flee from the world, right? Do not love it.
That's the point, that's what he's saying. Because we live in this world, we must not love the things of the world, not love sin. There are many good things too, even with respect to good things that we see. In this world, when I use it in the cosmological sense, in that sense of the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, the mountains, those wonderful things, those blessed things that God gives to us, temporal blessings that can be used for good.
We can enjoy food, brothers and sisters, because it tastes good, and God is gracious to give that to us, but we should not eat it in excess. You know, as Gordon Clark says, things become sinful either by reason of excessive desire for them or by total disregard for God. You see, that's the point, that's the thrust, is that we can live in the world, but we are not of the world. We must live in this world with the reality, knowing that we know the true and the living God, that we are living in that tension between the two ages, brethren.
I told you, it's everywhere. It's everywhere in Scripture. and even here as well. So as Christians, we must, as Ryle says, watch and pray and fight on, that we might not be drawn in by those temptations, not be drawn in by sin, but that we would not be stained by the world or by sin. So the command John gives his hearers is to not love the world.
The Character of the World
So then notice, secondly, the character. He goes on to further explain why we should not love the world. Notice verse 16. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world.
Notice this threefold thing to describe what is in the world.
Lust of the Flesh
Notice first the lust of the flesh. Now this language of lust here, it can be used positively in scripture for desiring good things, but the dominant use in scripture is to desire forbidden things, to crave forbidden things. And it's not just sexual things, brothers and sisters, it's all-encompassing, to desire those things that are sinful. That is clear in the way he's using it in verse 16, the lust of the flesh.
Again, flesh isn't just referring to things that are sexual. It's referring to things that are sinful. It's a general term to describe those things. Paul highlights this in Romans 8, verse 5.
He talks about, even he goes on in chapter 8, to show us those carnal things. He says in verse 5, "...for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. So it's highlighting those sinful desires.
Again, helping us to further explain what He means by world in the text. Sinful desires. And what's interesting too, in verses 14 through 16, we actually see a proof text of the unholy trinity, don't we? Verse 14, the wicked one, in that blessed truth that we have overcome the wicked one.
Verse 15, do not love the things of this world. And then in verse 16, the lust of the flesh. All three of them are present right here, those things that are going against God, against the true and living God, those things that are utterly opposed to the God who is light, according to 1 John chapter 5. But the devil, the world, and the flesh And even John connects the devil and the world in 1 John 5, 19.
We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. So we see here the connection between all three, but here, lust of the flesh.
Lust of the Eyes
Then notice how else he characterizes the world. Lust of the eyes. Again, not just sexual things. What about coveting?
Can we not sin with our eyes by coveting? You see, again, flesh is highlighting the general concept of sinful things. Eyes are referring to a way to describe the way in which those sinful things enter our mind. As one writer says, it's the agent of perversion.
You see, the eyes are the window for those desires to enter in. the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes. And especially we live in a social media age where everything is just visual. We can see everything going on everywhere from everyone that lives now anyway. I wish it wasn't so, I just don't want to see some things, you know.
But we see that. It refers to the lust of the eyes. Not just sexual things, but coveting. Perhaps we see other things that other people have that we want.
Perhaps we lie. Perhaps we see other people lying and want to engage in lying. Perhaps we steal. We see other people stealing and think, ah, it's okay to do that.
Perhaps we see other things. And thus, this is where those things enter in. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes. Again, we see what it is.
The world is characterized by the desire for sinful things, and we see the desire through which those things come. The eyes.
Pride of Life
And then notice, thirdly, he says, the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The words for pride and life here aren't the typical words for pride and life in the New Testament. Pride and life here probably refers to those passing things, namely pride in one's possessions. Life here probably refers to worldly possessions, namely the resources needed to maintain life, namely as the means of subsistence.
We should not take pride or arrogance in those things as if those things have some sort of value or eternal value. You see this probably helps this further highlights or shows us that it's okay to be in the world, but not of it. That is, we should pursue a legitimate means of subsistence, but not take pride or arrogance in it, for it is fleeting and it is passing. We should work hard.
I'm not saying we shouldn't here, so don't go home and say, hey, I don't have to work hard. No, you should still work hard. We shouldn't take pride or arrogance in those things. I think James helps us here in James chapter four, Verse 16, remember James is talking all about this idea of worldliness.
But he says in verse 16, this is also in chapter, I can't remember exactly, but I think it's 13 through 17, this is also the other place where life is used in the New Testament, this idea of worldly possessions. Notice verse 13. Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit, whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life?
It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that. But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. But notice it's even in the context of worldly possessions. We buy and sell. We have these things.
Look at us. We're traveling in Paris here. We're in Singapore the next day. That's kind of what's going on.
They're at a fancy party, and they're blabbering on about these types of things, these worldly things that have no lasting value. That's what he's saying. This highlights sin, highlights the world, highlights these things that characterize the world.
Two Sources: World and Father
But notice what he says concerning these things, the contrast in verse 16. It is not from the Father, but is from the world. He's highlighting two sources, things through which these things come. Notice one comes from the world, that is, these lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, pride of life.
They are not from the Father. Brethren, where do love for the world and love for God come from? When we think of love for the world, it springs from a sinful heart. That's the source.
That's the truth. That is, we're born in sin and desire sinful things. We desire those things. We are born in them.
We see the allure. If we're not believers, we see the allure of those things. Even sometimes, as believers, we are tempted by those things. But notice it says, from the Father.
That is, those things that are from God, those things that are eternal, spring from a God-given new heart. That's what he's highlighting. He's highlighting the sources for these contrasting realities. Things that are from the world and things that are from God.
From the world springs from a sin-stained heart. Things that are from God comes from a new God-given heart. In a lot of ways, the false teachers here were teaching this what's called material dualism, spirit, and matter. But what John is highlighting, and the New Testament is highlighting, is that ethical dualism.
That is, it's not spirit is good, matter is bad, but it's more the reality that things that are wicked and sinful are bad, and things that are from God are good. That's the contrast. That's the difference. And that's the tension that you and I live in until Christ comes back.
That spiritual reality we saw last week in 12-14. We have these truths. We have these realities. We are forgiven.
We have what was read at the outset of worship. The blessings in the heavenly places. We have those things now, but we still live in that tension between these two ages. And that's the best way to characterize that, this age and the age to come, is ethics, ethical dualism, ethical distinctions, sin.
And the blessed reality, as we'll see, is those things are passing away. So if we know this ethical reality, this ethical distinction, this sin, those things that are against God, notice John says in 3.13 of 1 John, do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We should not be surprised when people say hateful things towards believers. We should not be surprised when people do evil things towards believers because they hate those things.
They hate God. They hate the things that are from the Father. But the reality is, even for believers, we have those temptations. We have those things that come our way.
We have those sins that come upon us. But thankfully, we have Christ the High Priest who prays for us. 1 John 2, 1 and 2, My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate. With the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he himself is the propitiation for our sins, not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
But even John 17 with the high priestly prayer, he doesn't pray for the world, but he prays for his disciples, the ones whom the Father has given to him. And brethren, we need to be of good cheer, because Jesus says that in John 16. Be of good cheer, brethren, for I have overcome the world. So we have temptations, we have those things that we face, even as believers, but Christ has overcome those things.
So we've seen the command not to love the world, we've seen why we shouldn't, the character of the world.
The End of the World
Let's look lastly then at the end of the world, verse 17. Notice what he says, and the world is passing away and the lusts of it. Same language that is used in verse 8 of 2, referring to darkness. The darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
But here again, isn't this wonderful news for the people of God? The world, the temptations, the lusts, the sins, those things that we hate but we love are going to be gone. We are forgiven before the God Almighty, before God of heaven and earth now, but those things one day will be gone and extinguished and expunged from this world because of Christ Almighty. That's what we look forward to, brother, and there'll be a time when we will not be able to sin.
Because we'll have that glorified body, we'll have that body that's conformed to Christ our Lord, that thing we look forward to, that thing that we participate in part now in those foretastes. You see, the world and its busts are passing away and can never satisfy. They can never give you those things that last for eternity. You will always be hungry, always be craving and looking for something.
The only way it's satisfied is in the God of heaven and earth. James says this in James chapter 4 verse 14. We just read that. We just read how he highlights, how he shows us that these things are but a vapor.
Verse 14, whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow, for what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. You see, most of us are going to pass into obscurity when it comes to the history of the world. And no one is going to give, no one's going to care about us.
If I'm being, I'm sorry, we live in an age where everyone needs to be told that they're special. That's just the truth. that we are going to pass away, and no one's probably going to care. That's just the truth. It's passing away.
But there are eternal things to look forward to. There are eternal things that you can have if you do not know the Lord. If you believe on Him, you can be saved and have this as well. Again, this is good news for believers, but it's a warning for unbelievers.
To look to God, look to Him and live. All the new iPhones, all the new TVs, all the new houses and cars, those things will not satisfy for eternity. Not saying it's necessarily wrong to buy a new car or those types of things, but in such a way where we disregard God as if those things fill our void. That's what he's highlighting.
And the blessed truth is Christ is bringing an end to these things. Just as he said in verse 8 with respect to the darkness, it is passing away. Christ is bringing an end to these things. He will sit at God's right hand until he makes his enemies a footstool.
As one writer says, Present troubles do not compare to the victorious conviction that Christ has overcome the world. Do you see that? The conviction, the truth, the reality, the hope for God's people. Christ says in John 16.33 that He has overcome the world.
He also says in 1 John 4.4, You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world, therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us.
He who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." It's Christ Almighty who has overcome those things. So we can say that we have overcome the world just as we have overcome the wicked one.
Overcome the World in Christ
Notice again the logic, brethren. It's not resist the devil in order to overcome him. It's resist the devil because you have overcome him. The same is true here.
Do not love the world because you have overcome the world. That's what he's highlighting for his people. And notice what he says, the contrast. These things pass away, but he who does the will of God abides forever.
You see, will of God here most certainly refers to God's commandments. Those things that God requires of his people. Those ten things. And as we saw, it highlights, it fits with the context.
In 2, 5, when it talks about these commandments, whoever keeps his word, Truly, the love of God is perfected in him. That is that test of knowing God. If there is some evidence that we seek to do that which God loves and requires, we can be assured that we are God's children. You see, it's that helpful syllogism, that helpful way of logic.
The scripture says that those who are children of God will bear fruit in resembling Christ. I can say with some, though imperfect, that I bear some fruit. Therefore, I am a child of God. The same thing is true with the commandments.
I can do it with respect to the commandments. Those who are of God will seek to do the will of God. I can say that in some sense, though not perfectly, I seek to do the will of God. Thus, I am a child of God and can be assured that I am a child of God.
Again, brethren, it's not for salvation to be right with God. It's because we have been saved and a helpful assurance for God's people.
Doing God's Will Abides Forever
Notice too, though he who does the will of God abides forever. Brethren, doing the will of God is heavenly conduct. This age and the age to come. And this is perhaps similar to what Paul says in Colossians chapter 3.
Remember he highlights, if you've been raised with Christ, then seek the things that are above. where Christ is at the right hand of God. And then he goes on to say, putting off the old man and putting on the new man. These things are the things that remain forever. Should we not dwell on those things?
This is the implication of the commandment. Do not love the world and its passing things, but love the Father and those things that are eternal. That's what he's saying to his people. As one writer says, here is the culmination of the writer's appeal.
Love of the world comes from the world, and the world is transient. But love of the Father comes from the Father, and as the Father is eternal, so is the life which he gives to the believer. It belongs to another dimension altogether, one which is permanent. And this is true for believers because Christ is eternal, because Christ abides forever, because Christ is the one from everlasting to everlasting.
Thus, as believers, we can meditate further on that spiritual state, forgiveness of sins, knowing the Father, knowing Him who's from the beginning, and overcoming the wicked one, and even further overcoming the world. Thus, we know that we remain forever. Though we pass from this life to the next, we will abide forever with God in eternal life, in that heavenly state, in that age to come that shall not end. These eternal things are unending and are presently true for us.
And remember, he writes these things to assure his hearers that they know God, that they have these things, that they have heavenly things. The one who does God's will as a sign of knowing will abide forever because Christ abides forever. Do not indulge in sin, brethren, but seek to do those things that are loving to God as a pattern of living for what God has done for us. Do not love the world, do not love the things that are in the world, for those things are passing and are fleeting.
And that's as we lead into the conclusion, again, do not love sin, because you are in the Lord, because of this blessed truth, blessed hope, that you are a child of God, with the blessed heavenly truths, the heavenly blessings in the heavenly places. All those things John has highlighted in 12 through 14, and many other things scripture speaks of concerning our current state. Do these things. Seek to not love the world, because your sins are forgiven.
Now, if you do not know the Lord, turn from the world, a.k.a. turn from your sin, to look to the Lord and believe, and you shall find everlasting life. You shall find everlasting hope. The reason is, as John says, these things are fleeting. These things are passing, and you will die, and all these things will die and be extinguished.
Eternity remains for unbelievers as well if they do not believe on the Lord Christ, but in a terrifying way. Eternal death. That is, you will face the punishment for loving the things of the world. You will face the punishment for loving sin.
You will face the punishment for not looking to the Lord and believing. And you shall face that and bear the brunt of that for eternity. Believe on Christ, who bore the brunt of that for his people, bore the sins upon himself, that his people may have everlasting life. Have assurance.
Have hope. Believe, and you shall be saved. Brethren, do not love the world, for the world passes away. Love the things that are of God, that are eternal, and do not faint, that are incorruptible, unchangeable, that shall last forever.
Amen. Well, let us go to our God in prayer.
Closing Prayer
The Lord God Almighty. We thank You, O God, that You have saved Your people. We thank You that Christ has overcome the world. We thank You that Christ is the One who is all-powerful.
Christ is the One who could do what we could not do. Christ is not allured by the things of this world, that He did not sin. He is like us in every way, yet without sin. Father God, we pray that we would not love the world.
Help us to turn from it, help us to flee from it, help us to flee from sin. We thank you for the ways in which you've shown these things to us, that we thank you for the ways in which you assure your people that they are children of God. Oh God, we confess that we have sinned against you. We confess that we transgressed your law.
We can confess that sometimes we do love the world, oh God, but help us to hate those things. Help us to die more and more unto sin and grow more and more unto the image of Christ. We thank you for the forgiveness of sins that is found in the Lord Christ, that we can confess these things and you forgive us in Christ our Lord. O God, may we seek to do that which is pleasing to you.
We thank you for the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places, the eternal realities that last for eternity, O God, that we get to experience in part now. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your spirit. We thank you for justification, being right before God.
We thank you for sanctification. We thank you for your law, O God. We thank you for the fact that you help us put off the old man and put on the new. We thank you for these truths, O God.
Help us to do that which is pleasing. We thank you that you are with us. We thank you that we can call upon the Father. We thank you for all these things, O God.
We pray for those that do not know the Lord Christ. Help them to turn from these fleeting things and look to eternal things. To believe on the Lord Christ and be saved and have eternal life. Father God, we pray that you be with us now.
Help us by your spirit to do that which is pleasing to you. We thank you for Christ our Lord, Christ our King, the one who overcame the world. We pray that you be glorified now in the name of Christ. Amen.
Well, we will close by singing hymn 87. We'll sing stanza four only, so you can turn with me in your hymnals to hymn 87. We'll sing stanza four. If you are able, we'll stand and sing together.
Hymn 87, stanza four.