This Week's Study

2:15 John commands the people of God not to love the world or the things in the world. The world here is presented as negative, speaking of the system of evil that is in contrast to the ways of God. The things in the world are the various manifestations of this system. John says that whoever loves the world lacks the love of the Father within. Some translations say “love for the Father,” while others say “love of the Father.” Both can work, and the nuance may be intentional.

The first (love for the Father) shows the exclusivity of love and confronts those who claim to love God. Love for the world and this kind of love cannot coexist. The believer’s drive is different from the nonbeliever’s.

The second (love of the Father) communicates two things. First, it is a realization of his love for us. Unless you understand God’s love for you, you will inevitably love the world. This lack of understanding leads us to look to the world for what God has already provided and nourished us with. The greater revelation we have of God’s love for us, the less love we will have for the world.

Lastly, the love of the Father should ultimately become our own—we should love what he loves. The more we come to experience and understand the love of God, the greater our love will mirror his.

2:16–17 John explains what he means when he says the word “world.” This is the same John who wrote, “God… loved the world.” The world here, however, is referring to the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. A few things can be gathered from his explanation.

First, desire alone is not sufficient to justify its pursuit. God uses desire—but it is purified desire. There are desires we experience that don’t come from God. Therefore, we cannot always rely on our emotions and desires to guide the direction of our lives.

Secondly, evil desires can come from two sources. One is internal—the fallen nature common to all creation. God does not remove this from believers (or John would not feel the need to warn them). God allows believers to wrestle with this as they are being purified—indicating that the wrestling is purposeful. If God chooses not to take it away, it must have some benefit to us.

The other driving force of desire is external—it is triggered by what we see. David asks God to turn his eyes from what is worthless. Our desires should not just be for things that are seen but also for the unseen.

The pride of life is the final descriptor of what is in the world. This is any form of pride one gains from life. All of these exist outside of God and therefore do not come from him.

John’s motivation for believers not to engage in these three stems from the brevity that each one holds. Anything gained from these will pass away, but doing the will of God is what will last forever.

2:18–25 John reiterates the importance of engaging in things that carry longevity by pointing to the brevity of the time we have left on earth. We are living in the last hour. This last hour is not so much defined by a particular amount of time, but rather is characterized here by the presence of certain individuals—antichrists.

He begins to share how one can recognize them. The first mark is their disconnection from the people of God. Just because they were once connected to God’s people does not mean they were truly part of them. They did not remain faithful and continue within the community of believers. Just because someone is currently with you does not mean they are truly of you. Look for permanence, not merely presence.

Believers have the capacity to identify antichrists because they have been anointed by the Holy One and have knowledge from him. Antichrists, unlike genuine believers, are liars. The lie is to deny that Jesus is the Christ—the one who denies the Father also denies the Son. The divinity of Jesus is being challenged. Anything that robs God of his place in our lives has an antichrist spirit.

Believers are encouraged to allow what they have heard to abide in them. It is not enough to hear the truth; one must live in and abide in the truth. Abiding in truth leads one to abide in the Son and in the Father. This truth leads to the promise of eternal life.

2:26–27 Gnostics aimed to separate the church by making some appear more elite than others. But John reassures believers that each of them has the Spirit abiding in them. This does not mean Christians do not need other believers to help them and teach them, but it does mean they should never feel less than or more than their fellow brothers and sisters. Truth is taught through the anointing, and one must abide in the truth.

2:28–29 John’s aim is to cultivate confidence in believers through relationship. Abiding not only means knowing the truth but also practicing righteousness. The practice of truth shows that we have been born of God.

3:1–3 God’s love manifests in relationship. He chooses to associate himself with us—so much so that he calls us his children. Those who experience persecution from the world must understand that this is natural, for the world did not come from God and does not know him. John points to the sanctification process we are going through. Although we are called children of God—a title—we are still becoming what we shall be—a process. Through Christ’s presence we become like him. This is true both in finality and in our everyday lives. The more of God’s presence we behold, the more we become like him. This purification process is not God’s alone; we are involved. We purify ourselves as he is pure.

3:4–6 Believers were likely deceived by the Gnostic view of the natural—believing that because the body was naturally evil, sin was inconsequential. But Jesus came to take away sins. John describes the practice of sinning here as lawlessness. This goes beyond the breaking of a command—it is an attitude of rebellion towards the standards of God.

Those who abide in him do not make a practice of sinning. True believers progressively become more like Jesus. They may stumble, but they will continue to grow. This is a cause-and-effect clause: if you are a believer, you will grow. Those who continue sinning have not seen him or known him. This seeing isn’t just physical—or else only those who physically saw him could be pleasing to him. It is seeing him as he truly is and coming to know him intimately. Our perception of Jesus must be right.

3:7 John now offers the contrast to what he has just said: those who practice righteousness are righteous. Again, this is a cause-and-effect description. You don’t become righteous by practicing righteousness; you practice righteousness because you are righteous. Our righteousness comes from faith in the work of Jesus, which leads us to receive a new heart with new desires. This new heart will show evidence of its existence through maturity and growth.

3:8–10 John doubles down on his statement. Not only is the practice of sinning lawlessness, it points to whom you came from—the devil. The devil has sinned from the beginning, and Jesus’ purpose was to destroy the works of the devil. Those who are born of God cannot keep on sinning because God’s seed abides in him. This does not remove responsibility or effort from us; we are still to purify ourselves. But we are to grow with the power God has given us to change. John culminates his evidence-based approach: those who are children of the devil do not practice righteousness or love their brother.