Right Affection – 1 John (Winter SWO)
1 John 2:15–17
“[15] 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. [16] For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. [17] And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
What’s The Point?
In the previous article we talking about right thinking, but it isn’t much use to think rightly if it doesn’t change our affections. 1 John is clear, what we think and believe is important, but John is also clear that if our knowledge does not lead to a heart change then it is not worth much.
When John says, “Do not love the world,” he is speaking to Christians. In this letter he has already written that his readers “know God” (2:3). He has confessed who Christ is and what we must believe about him (1:1-3). And when we come to this passage, John has just finished reassuring believers that they know God, are forgiven, and have overcome the evil one (2:12-14).
No amount of knowledge or action can take the place of truly loving Jesus. To be clear, we are not saying that knowledge and action do not matter—they are very important. But knowledge and action without a change of heart is of no value; without your affection being set on Christ those things are just head knowledge and religious effort. Think about how Jesus talked to the religious leaders of his day who had knowledge about God and acted religiously. What does Jesus say about them? “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8).
When we think about the word love, we must realize the world’s definition of love and God’s definition of love are in opposition to one another. The love of the world consumes; it seeks what it wants; it insists on its own way. Love according to God is giving, sacrificial, patient, and kind (1 Corinthians 13).
But wait… Why does v. 15 tell us not to love the world? Aren’t we supposed to love our neighbors (Matthew 22:39)? Didn’t Jesus love the world (John 3:16)? So, what is John saying here?
Lucky for us, John defines it for us. We are not to love “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life” (2:16). What are these things? Lusts of the flesh, sinful cravings or desires, that is what John is warning us about. There are explicit lists of sins in Scripture; the most common lists are found in Exodus 20 (The Ten Commandments), Mark 7:21-23 (sins that defile a person), and Galatians 4:19-21 (the works of the flesh). These lists are not exhaustive, but they are a good starting point. We could simplify it even further and say that anything we put above our desire for God is something we love in the flesh.
If we are being honest, most of us do not need a list of sins to know what we are doing wrong. We know our sin because it always seems to be so close to us. We can see a clear picture of these sinful desires throughout the Bible to: Adam and Eve desired the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6), David desired Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:2), Judas desired money (Matthew 26:15).
If we are not intentionally setting our affections on Christ, if we do not intentionally love Jesus and the things he has for us, then we will love the things of the world. And that is a scary thing to say because John said if we love the world we are not of the Father (2:15). He didn’t say this to make us doubt our salvation; he said it to encourage us to love the Father.
When Jesus saves someone he changes their relationship to sin. Sin is still present in their lives, but it not longer has power over them. So, John is not telling us that anytime we sin we need to doubt our salvation. No. John is telling us that we have been given a new heart with new affections. We do not have to submit to our flesh anymore, and when we do fall into sin or give into temptation, our guilt and hatred of sin is showing us that we do not love sin.
Do not love the world. Do not love your sin. Jesus has come in the flesh and offered us a new and better life. Stop walking in sin and run to Jesus. Stop giving into temptation; flee temptation, and be satisfied with the good things that Christ has for you.
Scripture Memorization
1 John 2:15–17
[15] 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.
Prayer
“Lord, help me to love you more and love you rightly. Take the knowledge I have and pull it down, deep into my heart. I want the things I know about you to cause me to love you more. Let my heart dwell close to you that I may know you and love you. And let my actions and worship be an overflow of the love that I have for you. Change my heart to make it more like yours, Lord.”
Reflection
- Read over the lists of sins given to us in Scripture. Which of these are struggles for you? How can you direct your affection away from those things and toward Jesus?
- Make sure when you are thinking about love, you are thinking of a biblical definition and not a modern, cultural idea of love.
- We will only love Jesus if we are intentional about loving Jesus. How do you need to be more intentional with you time, thoughts, and actions to love Jesus better?
Discussion Questions
- How do you love the world for what you offer the world, but not love the world for what it offers you?
- What can we do in our day-to-day lives to increase our affections toward Christ?
If you have any questions, please reach out: harry@swoutfitters.com. All of the Scripture referenced in this study is from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.