1 John 2:15–17 Do Not Love the World

1 John 2:15–17 Do Not Love the World

Introduction

The world we live in today offers many opportunities for us to focus our affections on the wrong things. The idols we form, whether mental or physical, often direct our attention away from Christ and pull our hearts toward what is temporary rather than what is eternal. These idols, and the desires that form them, are powerful because they feel normal in a world that has drifted far from the original goodness of God’s creation. They appeal to our senses, shape our ambitions, and convince us that fulfillment can be found in what we see and what we possess.

John reminds his readers that anything we love in this fallen world will eventually come to an end. It may look solid, feel urgent, or carry weight now, but it cannot endure. By contrast, the eternal realities promised by God remain unseen for the moment, yet they are more certain than anything we can touch. John’s purpose in this passage is to help believers see the difference between what fades and what lasts, between what promises life and what actually gives life.

Text: 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.

Outline

1. 15-16 – Do Not Love the World

2. 17a – The Things of the World Are Passing Away

3. 17b – The Throne of Christ Reigns Forever

Do Not Love the World (1 John 2:15-16)

John begins with a direct command that appears simple, but once examined, reveals a deep challenge for believers. When he says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world,” he is not condemning the material world itself, nor is he commanding Christians to withdraw from society. He is addressing the invisible system of values, desires, and priorities that humanity has built apart from God. This “world” is the realm of rebellion, the environment where sin shapes meaning, identity, and ambition. It is the world’s way of defining life without reference to the Creator.

If we allow ourselves to reflect on what we have been taught about the Christian faith, we quickly encounter what seems to be a contradiction. John tells us here not to love the world, yet Jesus Himself declared that “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” The tension forces us to ask what each author means when they describe “the world.” One use describes humanity in its lost condition, broken and in need of redemption. The other describes the system of desires and values hostile to God.

John 3:16-21

[16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son... [17] God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved... [19] But people loved the darkness rather than the light... [21] But whoever does what is true comes to the light...

God’s love for the world is His love for people trapped in sin, living under the weight of darkness. He sent His Son to draw them out, not to leave them within the very system from which He came to rescue them. Christ was not crucified so that we could freely indulge in the desires that nailed Him to the cross. His death was not permission to embrace worldly cravings, but the cost of freeing us from them.

John identifies three categories that summarize what “the world” offers: the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. Each category exposes a different part of the human heart.

The desires of the flesh describe inward impulses rooted in our fallen nature. These may include cravings for pleasure, comfort, or self-centered security—desires that function without regard for holiness or the Lordship of Christ. The desires of the eyes grow out of what we see. Our eyes are windows that awaken longings and comparisons. We see what others have and imagine that possessing the same thing will finally satisfy our restlessness. The pride of life, or possessions, speaks to our attempt to build an identity based on what we have achieved, accumulated, or controlled. It is the human effort to craft meaning apart from God.

These impulses function without the lens of Christ as Lord. They work in opposition to the Kingdom of God. They shape the heart toward self-rule rather than submission to God. Understanding this helps us distinguish between the love of the Father—which aims to save, redeem, and free—and a love not of the Father, which aims to indulge, consume, and remain in darkness.

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

[1] Come now, I will test you with pleasure... [10] Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them... [11] Then I considered all that my hands had done... and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind...

Ecclesiastes provides a powerful illustration of what it looks like to chase the desires of the flesh and the eyes without restraint. The Preacher explores everything the world can offer—pleasure, wealth, productivity, fame—and withholds nothing from himself. Yet the conclusion is jarring: none of it gave meaning. None of it satisfied the deepest parts of the soul. Everything he touched, built, and enjoyed eventually proved empty. It was all “vanity,” a mist that looked solid but could not be held.

Ecclesiastes 4:4-8

[4] All toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor... [8] There is no end to all his toil... and his eyes are never satisfied with riches...

Here we see the desires of the eyes take shape. Envy becomes the engine that drives human effort. People labor not because their work honors God, but because they want what others have. The pursuit becomes endless, because the eye is never satisfied. John warns believers not to place their love where emptiness is guaranteed.

The Things of the World Are Passing Away (1 John 2:17a)

John now shifts from describing the character of worldly desires to describing their fate: “The world is passing away along with its desires.” Everything the world longs for—its pleasures, achievements, identities, rivalries, and ambitions—is already fading. This passing is not theoretical; it is visible across history and evident in the human experience.

Death is the one equalizer that touches every human being. No matter how much someone obtains, none of it can be carried beyond the grave. Nations rise and fall, but none endure forever. One nation may flourish through hard work and blessing, while another grows jealous and attempts to seize its resources or advantages. Wars have been fought over land, wealth, natural resources, and influence that no nation could keep permanently. The desires that drive nations to conflict are the same desires that drive individuals to envy.

At the personal level, one individual may succeed in business while another secretly plots to take their wealth through corruption or manipulation. Leaders rise to influence, but jealousy drives others to dismantle their reputation. The cycle repeats in every generation. The world’s desires are loud, demanding, and always competing for dominance. Yet none of these desires last longer than a human lifespan. Because of that, they cannot meet the eternal needs of the human heart.

Matthew 6:19-24

[19] Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth... [21] Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also... [24] You cannot serve God and money.

Jesus warns that earthly treasures are vulnerable. They can be destroyed, stolen, or simply outlived. They cannot protect the soul or anchor the heart. Whatever we treasure shapes who we become. Those who love the world eventually look like the world. Those who treasure Christ eventually look like Christ.

Psalm 49:10-13

[10] Even the wise die, the fool and the stupid alike perish... [11] Their graves are their homes forever... [12] Man in his pomp will not remain...

Psalm 49 reminds us that human greatness cannot endure. Even the cities and accomplishments people name after themselves fade into obscurity. The first example of this appears in Genesis.

Genesis 4:17

[17] Cain built a city and named it after his son, Enoch.

This first city, built in rebellion and independence from God, no longer exists. Whatever its size, however impressive its structures, its foundations have vanished. It is an early picture of the world’s temporary nature. Humanity can build cities, wealth, culture, and identity, but none of it survives the judgment of death.

The world’s riches—money, fame, power, influence, pleasure, or adoration—cannot outlast the moment our heart stops beating. Our knowledge fades, our desires disappear, and our influence is handed to someone else who will spend it differently than we would. Even if everything the world offers could grant a deep sense of fulfillment, none of it can ransom the soul. None of it can remove guilt. None of it can secure eternal life.

This is why John warns believers so strongly. The world offers what looks like gold, but it functions like fool’s gold. It shines, it glitters, it promises fulfillment, but the moment we grasp it, we realize it was an illusion.

The Throne of Christ Reigns Forever (1 John 2:17b)

After describing the emptiness and temporary nature of the world, John shifts to the hope believers have in Christ: “Whoever does the will of God abides forever.” This is not an empty promise. It is the central thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation. Eternal life with God is the goal toward which all of redemptive history moves.

The tree of life in the Garden of Eden showed that God intended humanity to know Him and live with Him forever.

Genesis 2:9

[9] The tree of life was in the midst of the garden...

When humanity fell, God drove them from the garden, not only as judgment but also as mercy. Living forever in a state of rebellion would be unbearable. The exile from Eden was both discipline and protection.

Genesis 3:22-23

[22] Lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and live forever— [23] Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden...

From that point forward, humanity began to create cities, cultures, and civilizations separate from God’s presence. Cain built the first one. Later, the people at Babel attempted to build a city and tower that would secure their own greatness.

Genesis 11:1-4

[4] Come, let us build ourselves a city and make a name for ourselves...

In contrast to this human ambition, God called Abraham and gave him a promise rooted not in human achievement but in divine faithfulness.

Genesis 12:1-3

[2] I will make your name great... [3] In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

The comparison between Babel and Abraham is intentional. Humanity tried to make its own name great. God promised to make Abraham’s name great through His own power. One city was built by human pride, the other by God’s covenant.

Even when Israel rejected God as King, He continued His promise. He had always intended to give His people a King whose throne would last forever.

1 Samuel 8:7

[7] They have rejected me from being king over them.

1 Samuel 10:19

[19] Today you have rejected your God... and have said, ‘Set a king over us.’

The opening line of Matthew’s Gospel shows how these promises were fulfilled.

Matthew 1:1

[1] Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Jesus is the eternal King. He will return to judge the nations and establish the kingdom promised from before the foundation of the world.

Matthew 25:31-34

[31] When the Son of Man comes in his glory... [34] Come, you who are blessed... inherit the kingdom prepared for you...

Revelation gives us the final picture of this kingdom.

Revelation 7:9-12

[9] A great multitude... clothed in white robes... [10] Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne... [12] Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever...

This is the world that lasts. This is the throne that endures. This is why believers are not to love the world or the things in the world. The present world cannot remain in its fallen condition. God will cleanse it. He will establish the eternal kingdom He promised. And because Christ bore the wrath of God for sinners, the souls of those who believe will live forever in His presence. The temporary world calls for our love now, but the eternal kingdom calls for our obedience and our hope.

Conclusion

The things of the world are not eternal and cannot bring salvation. The love of the Father is directed toward those made in His image, whom He calls out of darkness into light. And the Person of Christ sits upon the throne of the kingdom that lasts forever. This is why John warns believers not to love the world. Its desires fade. Its treasures collapse. Its promises deceive. But Christ remains, and those who do the will of God abide with Him forever.

Scripture References

John 3:16-21
God loved humanity in darkness and sent Christ to save, not to affirm the world’s sinful system.

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Even the fullest pursuit of pleasure, wealth, and achievement ends in emptiness.

Ecclesiastes 4:4-8
Human labor is often driven by envy and still cannot satisfy the heart.

Matthew 6:19-24
Earthly treasure fades, but heavenly treasure endures. We cannot serve two masters.

Psalm 49:10-13
Wealth and human praise cannot stop death or secure eternity.

Genesis 4:17
Cain built the first city apart from God, illustrating human attempts to create meaning without Him.

Genesis 2:9
The tree of life reveals God’s original design for humanity to live with Him forever.

Genesis 3:22-23
God removed humanity from Eden to prevent eternal life in a fallen condition.

Genesis 11:1-4
Humanity sought to make its own name great at Babel, building apart from God’s rule.

Genesis 12:1-3
God promised to make Abraham’s name great, contrasting human ambition with divine blessing.

1 Samuel 8:7
Israel’s demand for a king reflected their rejection of God’s kingship.

1 Samuel 10:19
Israel again rejected God by asking for a human king instead of trusting Him.

Matthew 1:1
Jesus is revealed as the promised descendant of Abraham and David, the true King.

Matthew 25:31-34
Christ will return in glory, judge the nations, and welcome His people into the eternal kingdom.

Revelation 7:9-12
A great multitude worships Christ at His throne, celebrating God’s salvation forever.