Jun. 08, 2025

“WALKING IN THE LIGHT”

“WATCH OUT FOR THE WORLD”

1 JOHN 2:12-17

1 John 2:12 “I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.”

The term “fathers” is probably used in the same sense as in 1 Timothy 5:1.

1 Timothy 5:1 “Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers.”

The word translated “children” in vs.13 is not teknion, as in vs.12, but rather the word paidion, which usually refers to a preteen who is still under the tutelage of teachers.

1 Corinthians 10:12 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

The truth is, we all need these warnings about the world. Before launching into his warnings (1 John 2:15-17), John reminds his readers:

*They Have Spiritual Blessings Because They Have A Permanent Relationship With Christ.

1 John 2:12 “I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.”

We’re forgiven ones:

1 John 2:13-14 “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 write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father. 14I 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.”

John 20:31 “but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

John clearly wants to underscore the importance of knowing Christ, “who is from the beginning.” This description of Christ, emphasizing His eternal deity, recalls the opening words of the book of 1 John:

1 John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life.”

Our relationship with Christ results in the indwelling of the Spirit and the empowering of His Word. As Jesus taught:

John 14:16-17, 20 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever 17the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 20At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”

And to the “children,” John offers a reminder to them that they “know the Father” vs.13. To know Jesus, who is “from the beginning,” is to know the Father.

John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

John writes later in 1 John:

1 John 2:23 “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”

2 John 1:9 “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.”

Why Should Christians Not Love “The World?”

1.  Because Of What The World Is.

1 John 2:15 “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.”

John begins his warning with a straightforward, simple command: “Do not love the world or the things in the world…” vs.15. But wait! Doesn’t John say God loves the world?

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Why does John seem to tell believers not to love what God clearly loves?

1 John 2:2 “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

Also, the word “love” here is used with the meaning “to have high esteem for or satisfaction with” or “to take pleasure in” something. What are the things in which a lover of this world takes pleasure? Why should the Christian not Love the World? 

2.   Because Of What The World Does To Us.

1 John 2:15-16 “…If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For 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.”

Let’s take a closer look at these things of the world:

• “The lust of the flesh” vs.16- the term “lust” refers to a craving or a passionate desire. 

The word “flesh” or the Greek word “sarx” means physical things, particularly the material nature of the body.

2 Corinthians 4:11 “For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

If a Christian yields to the “flesh” he gets involved in the works of the flesh:

Galatians 5:19-21

• “The lust of the eyes” vs.16. This includes sinful cravings triggered by what we see, leading to covetousness and envy.

Our prayer ought to be:

Psalm 119:37 “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.”

• “The pride of life” vs.16. The boastful pride of life comes from our lips. The arrogant words, the prideful claims, the exaggerated tales to make us look greater than we are, usually at the cost of tearing other people down.

Why should the Christian not Love the World?

3.   Because Of Where The World Is Going.

1 John 2:17 “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”