(1 John 2:12 NKJV) I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake.
(1 John 2:13 NKJV) 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.
(1 John 2:14 NKJV) 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.
I write to you, little children…
To begin with, “little children” refers to all believers. Literally, this word means, “born ones.” It comes from the word, teknion, tek-nee'-on, meaning an infant, little born one.
John then gives the reason he is writing these little born ones: “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake.”
John is telling us that we become the “little born ones” of God when our sins have been forgiven. Sins are forgiven when one trusts in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
When John writes that “our sins have been forgiven us for His Name’s sake” he is saying that all that is true of God in His glory, majesty, and might is behind the reason He saved us. In essence, God saves man because it brings Himself glory.
Now that John has explained why he has written to children—all believers in Jesus, he writes to fathers.
Fathers
(1 John 2:13 NKJV) I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
The “fathers” John refers to are mature believers who have an intimate personal knowledge of God. They have “known Him who is from the beginning.”
Young Men
“Young men” is neaniskos, neh-an-is'-kos; a youth (under forty):--young man.
I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. (vs. 13b) 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. (vs. 14b)
The “young men” are the conquerors: they have overcome Satan, the wicked one, who is the prince of this world system. Young men according to John are victors and conquerors. They have been victorious over Satan who is the wicked prince of this world system.
Little Children
Another group of Christians that John writes is “little children.” But these are not the “little children” addressed in 1 John 2:12; two different Greek words are used.
In verse 12 teknion, tek-nee'-on, is used, meaning an infant, little born one. This is the word that refers to Christians no matter how old you are.
The word “children” in verse 13 is the Greek Word paidion, pahee-dee'-on; It is referring to a childling (of either sex), a half-grown boy or girl; an immature Christian:--(little, young) child, damsel.
This word carries the idea of “immature ones,” or little children still under the authority of teachers and tutors. These are young Christians who have not yet grown up in Christ.
This word describes many of those in our churches today. They received Christ as their Savior but they are still immature.
Why is John laying out these stages of Christian growth and maturity?
In our text John reminds us that we are in God’s family; some of us are children, others are young men and still others are fathers.
I believe that John is letting us know that
…it doesn’t matter if you have an intimate relationship with the Father
…it doesn’t matter that you are strong and know the Word and have overcome the evil one
…it doesn’t matter that you have years of experience serving the Lord as a “father”
You and I are still susceptible to being tempted by and succumbing to the allures of the world and its lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.
Just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean you are exempt from being tempted by worldly attractions.
You might be a young man in the Lord and strong; the Word of God might dwell in you and you may be victorious over the devil but you could still give in to your fleshly desires—just ask King David.
You may be a “father” in the faith, having grown to know the Lord over the years of your Christian experience but you can still have a moment of weakness where your flesh gets the best of you.
This is why in 1 John 2:15-17 John gives Christians of all stages of maturity the following warning:
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.
1 John 2:16 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.
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.
Let’s look at each of these verses in more detail.
John begins his warning to his readers with a command: “Do not love the world, neither the things in the world.”
In order to understand what he is saying, we need to define some words.
The word “love” is our word agapao. We know this as the word which describes God’s love for a lost race of sinners, and which is self-sacrificial in its essence. It is the “love” that (according to John 3:16) God had for the world that moved Him to give His one and only Son Jesus so that whosoever believed in Him would not perish but have eternal life.
Agapao is the love that God is by nature (according 1 John 4:8) and the love, which is produced in the heart of the yielded believer by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
The “world” John forbids Christians to love is the Greek word kosmos.
The world John refers to in our text is described by one scholar as “the sum-total of human life in the ordered world, considered apart from, alienated from, and hostile to God, and of the earthly things which seduce from God.”
Kosmos is more than the millions of people on the planet earth. It is actually an ordered system. The world is an ordered system of which Satan is the head.
(2 Cor 4:3 NASB) And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
(2 Cor 4:4 NASB) in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Scholar Kenneth Wuest tells us in his commentary that “Satan is the god of this world system, his fallen angels and demons are his emissaries, and the unsaved of the human race are his subjects, together with those purposes, pursuits, pleasures, practices, and places where God is not wanted.”
He says, “Much in this world-system is religious, cultured, refined, and intellectual but it is anti-God and anti-Christ.”
Kosmos also refers to the invisible spiritual system of evil. First John 2:15 tells us that we're not to love that evil system or the features of that system. The world's system is opposed to God.
The English language often uses the word world in the sense of a system. When we speak of the world of sports, the world of politics, or the world of medicine, we refer to systems of ideas, activities and purposes that relate to a specific area of society. Hence, "the world" can also refer to Satan's ideas, activities, and purposes as they are manifested on earth. The satanic world system is opposed to God and His ways.
We witnessed an example of this opposition when Mel Gibson announced that he was making a movie on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Before the movie even came to theatres, there were outcries against it. People were claiming that the movie would never sell. Many claimed it was too violent; it was anti-Semitic.
This was the world system rebelling against something that God could and would used to bring many to faith in Christ.
In the movie, The Last Temptation of Christ, Jesus is found saying the following:
"I'm a liar. A hypocrite. I'm afraid of everything. I don't ever tell the truth--I don't have the courage! When I see a woman, I blush, and look away. I want to, but I don't dare!--for God....I don't steal, I don't fight, don't kill--not because I don't want to, but because I'm afraid. I want to rebel against you, against everything, against God! But, I'm afraid! You want to know who my mother and father are? Want to know who my God is? Fear. You look inside me and that's all you find....Lucifer is inside of me..."
Yet, Hollywood gave it rave reviews. One film critic wrote:
It is very rare that a film comes along and transcends the way we look at someone or something. A film that actually has the power to change the way someone thinks. Martin Scorsese's epic masterpiece The Last Temptation of Christ does just that. Watching it, you can feel that you are in the presence of true genius and are viewing one of the most remarkable films of our time.
The world system is anti-Christian; it is against Christ and His followers.
I remember when my son Mike was attending middle school parents were invited to a “tea ceremony” they were having history class. The students were encouraged to participate by bringing oriental food and wearing kimonos, which were the authentic dress of the Japanese.
Originally developed by priests in Buddist temples, the tea ceremony has become an important part of Japanese culture thus when I arrived at the class I found it set up for a Buddist worship service.
In a growing number of California public schools, 7th graders, who are not permitted to wear a cross or speak the name of Jesus, are required to attend an intensive, three-week course on Islam; a course in which students are mandated to learn the tenets of Islam, study the important figures of the faith, wear a robe, (and) adopt a Muslim name.
The handouts used in this course were reported to include a history of Islam and the life of its founder, Muhammad. The course requires students to memorize 25 Islamic terms and six Islamic phrases. Students are also asked to learn 20 Islamic Proverbs, the Five Pillars of the Islamic Faith, and to be familiar with 10 key Islamic prophets and disciples.
All this is happening while a teacher’s-aide in Pennsylvania was suspended for one year without pay for wearing a cross.
Again, let me give you Wuest’s definition of kosmos or the world:
“Satan is the god of this world system, his fallen angels and demons are his emissaries, and the unsaved of the human race are his subjects, together with those purposes, pursuits, pleasures, practices, and places where God is not wanted.”
Pastor John MacArthur says, “Just a cursory look at society will reveal that it is hostile to godliness and dominated by carnal ambition, pride, greed, self- pleasure, and evil desires. Its opinions are wrong, its aims are selfish, its pleasures are sinful, its influence is demoralizing, its politics are corrupt, its honors are empty, its smiles are fake, and its love is fickle. It's a system of rebellion against God that's run by Satan.”
This is the world (system) that John is commanding Christians not to love. He is not forbidding us to love the lost people of the world for God loves the world’s lost people.
Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.
We know that John isn’t writing about the world system because in verse 18 he gets specific:
John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Christians are commanded not to love the world, the kosmos.
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.
Not only are we not to love the world system; we are not to love the world system’s things.
I am reminded of the book, Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. On March 4th in 1675 John Bunyan went to prison for the third time, convicted of preaching Christ without a license. In over 12 years of confinement Bunyan wrote numerous books and pamphlets, including Part I of A Pilgrim's Progress. It sold 100,000 copies in his lifetime, and is still reported to be the most sold book in the world, next to the Bible.
Bunyan pictures the Christian life as a long, arduous journey through a world of difficulties to the Celestial City beyond the River. The central character is Christian, who represents every believer. Every character and incident in the allegory points to something beyond itself. All the difficulties that Christian meets correspond to real difficulties in the Christian life.
In his pilgrimage Christian meets almost daily trials of his faith. Soon after entering the right road, he climbs the Hill of Difficulty, which is so steep as he approaches the top that he can progress only by falling onto his hands and knees.
Then on the other side he descends into the Valley of Humiliation, where Apollyon, enemy of his soul, engages him in mortal combat. Christian emerges victorious, but immediately his way narrows to an obscure path with a deep ditch on one side and a bog on the other, leading through the dismal Valley of the Shadow of Death.
By perseverance he at last overcomes this peril, and as he begins to travel an easier path, he finds a good friend, Faithful. Together they enter Vanity, a town dominated by the frivolity of Vanity Fair.
In the town of Vanity, Bunyan tells us, a fair was going on, every day of the year, and at this fair, all kinds of merchandise was sold, and all kinds of 'attractions' were to be seen.
The town of Vanity, with its fair, is one of Bunyan's versions of the World, and the things of the world; and as he reminds us - in his own words - "...the way to the Celestial City lies just through this town where this lusty fair is kept; and he that would go to the city, and yet not go through this town 'must need go out of the world.' (1Cor. 5:10) In other words, there is no way a Christian can avoid going through the world because we are in the world. The only way to avoid going through the world would be to get off the planet.
The Apostle Paul writes:
1 Cor 5:9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--
1 Cor 5:10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world
1 Cor 5:11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
Bunyan goes on in his book to say that it was Beelzebub, the chief lord of this fair that invited even Jesus to buy of it’s vanities. The story goes on to say that “Beelzebub (a.k.a., the devil) would have made Him lord of the fair, would He have but done him reverence, as He went through the town."
Bunyan writes, “Yea, because he was such a person of honour, Beelzebub had him from Street to Street, and showed him all the Kingdoms of the World in a little time, that he might, (if possible) allure that Blessed One to cheapen and buy some of his Vanities; but He (Jesus) had no mind to the Merchandize, and therefore left the Town, without laying out so much as one Farthing upon these Vanities.”
When the two pilgrims Christian and Faithful arrived in Vanity Fair it caused quite a stir. Let me share with you an excerpt from the book. I must remind you that it was written in the 17th century.
Now these Pilgrims, as I said, must need to go through this Fair. Well, so they did; but behold, even as they entered into the Fair, all the people in the Fair were moved, and the Town itself as it were in a hubbub about them; and that for several reasons:
First, The Pilgrims were clothed with such kind of Raiment as was diverse from the Raiment of any that traded in that Fair. The people therefore of the Fair made a great gazing upon them: some said they were Fools, some they were Bedlams, and some they were Outlandish men.
Pilgrim and his friend Faithful were dressed differently. They didn’t wear the same kinds of clothes and fashions as those who resided in the town of Vanity.
How do you dress? Do you “dress for success?” If “yes” then how do you define “success”?
Is success for you “catching the eyes of the brothas?” Sistas, did you know that if you dress in a way that causes your brother to lust you have committed sin?
1 Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
1 Th 4:4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
1 Th 4:5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
1 Th 4:6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.
The word “defraud” in verse six means, “to overreach,” “to get an advantage,” “to make a gain.” In this context it is to cause or stir up desires in your brother or sister that he or she cannot righteously fulfill.
Let me say that there is nothing wrong with being fashionable unless the fashion is immodest. There are certain parts of your body that should only be seen by your husband or wife.
If you are 36-24-36 that isn’t any of my business—that is for your husband’s pleasure.
If you have six-pack abs let your wife take pleasure in that.
Most of today’s fashions are designed to focus on an individual’s sex appeal, not on their character. God doesn’t want us to be focused on the temporal, but on the eternal. If you live long enough you won’t have an hourglass shape—you will more than likely end up looking like a pear unless you spend thousands of dollars on cosmetic surgery.
Americans Getting Plastic Surgery In Record Numbers
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent, 2-24-1
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The 1990s may go down as the nip-and-tuck decade, if statistics from the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) are any indication.
A host of plastic surgeries and other cosmetic procedures grew in popularity over the past decade, with liposuction coming in No. 1 in 2000, according to a new report from the AACS.
More than 670,000 liposuction procedures were performed in the US last year--a nearly 10-fold jump from 1990, when less than 72,000 were performed, according to the report.
Nipping at the heels of liposuction was eyelid surgery, with more than 465,000 procedures performed in 2000. Next came breast augmentation at more than 288,000 procedures, up from about 42,000 in 1990. Facelifts followed at 244,000-plus, up from 37,000 ten years earlier.
In addition, so-called ``lunch-time'' procedures have given the cosmetic surgery industry a shot in the arm. Wrinkle-fighters such as chemical peels and Botox injections can be done quickly, and the two showed the greatest growth among cosmetic procedures between 1999 and 2000. More than 2.5 million chemical peels and Botox injections were performed in 2000.
For men, the AACS notes, the most popular cosmetic procedures in 2000 were hair transplants, liposuction and eyelid surgery.
If you want to work on yourself, God says don’t put as much attention to the outside as you should the inside.
1 Pet 3:3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward; arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel;
1 Pet 3:4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
Bunyan also writes in Pilgrim’s Progress:
Secondly, And as they wondered at their Apparel, so they did likewise at their Speech; for few could understand what they said: they naturally spoke the language of Canaan, but they that kept the Fair were the men of this World; so that, from one end of the Fair to the other, they seemed Barbarians each to the other.
Christian and Faithful didn’t speak the same language. Their words were more than likely pure words; holy words. The Bible says,
Col 4:6 - Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
Eph 4:29 - Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Thirdly, But that which did not a little amuse the Merchandisers was, that these Pilgrims set very light by all their Wares, they cared not so much as to look upon them; and if they called upon them to buy, they would put their fingers in their ears, and cry, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding Vanity, and look upwards,” signifying that their trade and traffic was in Heaven.
Bunyan tells us, was the way that they "set very light" by all the things that were sold at the Fair. In other words, they did not take to buying into the things of the world; the things at Vanity Fair.
Bunyan says, “…they cared not so much to look upon them…”
Oh how Christians of our time need to take heed. The devil seeks to take captive the believer and he tempts us through the eye gate.
* He tempts our appetites by blitzing us with commercials showing burgers, fries and Coke.”
* He entices us to add to our wardrobe his fashions by showing us what attention we would receive if we wore clothes designed by Armani or purchased from Old Navy.
* Satan convinces some that they would become better basketball players if they wore the same shoes as Allen Iverson or Kevin Garnett.
* Some of you bought your cars because you saw a commercial that promised you a certain level of admiration and respect and even approval if you pulled up for work in their vehicle or if you parked their car in front of your house.
In the book Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan goes on to write, “…if they called upon (Christian and Faithful) to buy, they would put their fingers in their ears, and cry, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding Vanity, and look upwards…” They were quoting Psalm 119:37 that says, “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.”
Some of us need to put our fingers in our ears and keep our money in our pocket. Some of the music we listen to is “worthless.” Some of the videos and DVDs we watch are “worthless.”
When Christian and Faithful were bombarded with appeals to buy the merchandise of the fair, they were asked, “What will you buy?”
"We buy the truth," they said; "We buy the truth."
Needless to say, Vanity Fair had no time for such men, just as the world has no time for believers, when they are faithful in the things of the Lord.
They were placed in an iron cage for all the inhabitants to look at, and then Faithful was put on trial and sentenced to death.
John tells us to “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.”
If you are a Christian, you are in the world. You will continue to be in the world until Jesus comes to take you out of the world.
When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He acknowledged before the Father that we were in the world but he also prayed that we would not be “of the world.”
(John 17:14 NIV) I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
(John 17:15 NIV) My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
(John 17:16 NIV) They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
In John Bunyan’s allegory, Christian and Faithful were attacked, mocked, ridiculed and thrown into jail because they were not of the world.
When they walked into town, the people immediately knew they weren’t citizens of Vanity.
They did not talk like citizens of the town of Vanity.
They did not dress like citizens of Vanity.
They did not patronize the businesses like citizens of Vanity.
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 ends verse 15 with these sobering words, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
The expression “if any man love the world” is a hypothetical statement. It is also in the present tense in the Greek which means that this person is loving the world continuously as a habit of life.
John wants his readers to know that if any man loves the world as a habit of life, the love of the Father is not in him—in other words, this person has no love for the Father dwelling in him.
What does this mean? It means that he is not a Christian.
A Christian, according to the Bible, has the love of God dwelling in him.
Romans 5:5 tells us that “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Romans 8:9 lets us know that “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”
From both of these verses we can conclude that if a person has no love for the Father, he doesn’t have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who places the love of God in our hearts. And, if he doesn’t have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, he is not a child of God.
Again John “cuts to the chase” concerning who is a Christian and who is not. Through all of chapter one of 1st John and chapter two up to where we currently are, John wants us to know:
Just as it is impossible for light and darkness to coexist
Just as it is impossible to fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness
Just as it is impossible for one to “know God," and not keep His commandments
Just as it is impossible for one to abide in Him and not to walk just as He walked
Just as it is impossible for a person to love God and hate his brother at the same time
Just as it is impossible for one to walk in the light, and hate his brother
It is impossible for you and I to love the world and at the same time be a Christian.
Some of us haven’t heard theology like this.
All you have heard is that “God loves you.”
All you have heard is that “Jesus died for your sins.”
All you have been taught is that “God is good—all the time.”
Do you love the world? Are you fond of its things? Are the world’s likes and dislikes your likes and dislikes. Are the world’s philosophy, attitudes, ideas and viewpoints ordering your steps?
Remember Pastor John MacArthur definition of the world: “…it is hostile to godliness and dominated by carnal ambition, pride, greed, self- pleasure, and evil desires. Its opinions are wrong, its aims are selfish, its pleasures are sinful, its influence is demoralizing, its politics are corrupt, its honors are empty, its smiles are fake, and its love is fickle. It's a system of rebellion against God that's run by Satan.”
This is the world (system) that John is commanding Christians not to love. Next time we will continue to look at what it means when the Bible says, “Love not the world…”
