The Test of Spiritual Maturity
Scripture Reference: 1 John 2:12 – 17
Introduction
A group of first-graders had just completed a tour of a hospital, and the nurse who had directed them was asking for questions. Immediately a hand went up.
“How come the people who work here are always washing their hands?” a little fellow asked.
After the laughter had subsided, the nurse gave a wise answer:
“They are ‘always washing their hands’ for two reasons. First, they love health; and second, they hate germs.”
In more than one area of life, love and hate go hand in hand. A husband who loves his wife is certainly going to exercise a hatred for what would harm her. “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil” (Ps. 97:10). “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cleave to what is good” (Rom. 12:9, NASB).
John’s epistle has reminded us to exercise love (1 John 2:7–11)—the right kind of love. Now it warns us that there is a wrong kind of love, a love that God hates. This is love for what the Bible calls “the world.”
There are four reasons why Christians should not love “the world.”
I. Because of What The World Is
The New Testament word world has at least three different meanings. It sometimes means the physical world, the earth: “God that made the world [our planet] and all things therein” (Acts 17:24).
It also means the human world, mankind: “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16). Sometimes these two ideas appear together: “He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world [earth] was made by Him, and the world [mankind] knew Him not” (John 1:10).
But the warning, “Love not the world!” is not about the world of nature or the world of men. Christians ought to appreciate the beauty and usefulness of the earth God has made, since He “giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17). And they certainly ought to love people—not only their friends, but even their enemies.
This “world” named here as our enemy is an invisible spiritual system opposed to God and Christ.
We use the word world in the sense of system in our daily conversation. The TV announcer says, “We bring you the news from the world of sports.” “The world of sports” is not a separate planet or continent.
It is an organized system, made up of a set of ideas, people, activities, purposes, etc. And “the world of finance” and “the world of politics” are likewise systems of their own. Behind what we see, in sports or finance, is an invisible system that we cannot see; and it is the system that “keeps things going.”
“The world,” in the Bible, is Satan’s system for opposing the work of Christ on earth. It is the very opposite of what is godly (1 John 2:16) and holy and spiritual. “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19, NASB).
Jesus called Satan “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). The devil has an organization of evil spirits (Eph. 6:11–12) working with him and influencing the affairs of “this world.”
Just as the Holy Spirit uses people to accomplish God’s will on earth, so Satan uses people to fulfill his evil purposes. Unsaved people, whether they realize it or not, are energized by “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:1–2).
Unsaved people belong to “this world.” Jesus calls them “the children of this world” (Luke 16:8). When Jesus was here on earth, the people of “this world” did not understand Him, nor do they now understand those of us who trust Him (1 John 3:1).
A Christian is a member of the human world, and he lives in the physical world, but he does not belong to the spiritual world that is Satan’s system for opposing God.
“If ye were of the world [Satan’s system], the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18).
“The world,” then, is not a natural habitat for a believer. The believer’s citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20, NASB), and all his effective resources for living on earth come from his Father in heaven.
The believer is somewhat like a scuba diver. The water is not man’s natural habitat, for he is not equipped for life in (or under) it. When a scuba diver goes under, he has to take special equipment with him so that he can breathe.
Were it not for the Holy Spirit’s living within us, and the spiritual resources we have in prayer, Christian fellowship, and the Word, we could never “make it” here on earth.
We complain about the pollution of earth’s atmosphere—the atmosphere of “the world” is also so polluted spiritually that Christians cannot breathe normally!
But there is a second reason why Christians must not love the world.
II. Because of What A Christian Is (vv. 12 – 14)
This raises a practical and important question about the nature of a Christian and how he keeps from getting worldly.
The answer is found in the unusual form of address used in 1 John 2:12–14. Note the titles used as John addresses his Christian readers: “little children... fathers... young men... little children.”
What is he referring to?
To begin with, “little children” (1 John 2:12) refers to all believers. Literally, this word means “born ones.” All Christians have been born into God’s family through faith in Jesus Christ, and their sins have been forgiven.
The very fact that one is in God’s family, sharing His nature, ought to discourage him from becoming friendly with the world. To be friendly with the world is treachery! “Friendship with the world is enmity with God... whosoever therefore will be [wants to be] a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (cf. James 4:4).
But something else is true: we begin as little children—born ones—but we must not stay that way! Only as a Christian grows spiritually does he overcome the world.
John mentions three kinds of Christians in a local church family: fathers, young men, and little children (1 John 2:12–14). The “fathers,” of course, are mature believers who have an intimate personal knowledge of God. Because they know God, they know the dangers of the world.
No Christian who has experienced the joys and wonders of fellowship with God, and of service for God, will want to live on the substitute pleasures this world offers.
The “young men” are the conquerors: they have overcome the wicked one, Satan, who is the prince of this world system. How did they overcome him? Through the Word of God!
“I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you” (1 John 2:14). The “young men,” then, are not yet fully mature; but they are maturing, for they use the Word of God effectively. The Word is the only weapon that will defeat Satan (Eph. 6:17).
But there is a third—and more serious—reason why Christians must not love the world.
III. Because of What The World Does To Us (vv. 15 – 16)
“If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).
Worldliness is not so much a matter of activity as of attitude. It is possible for a Christian to stay away from questionable amusements and doubtful places and still love the world, for worldliness is a matter of the heart. To the extent that if a Christian loves the world system and the things in it, he does not love the Father.
Worldliness not only affects your response to the love of God; it also affects your response to the will of God. “The world passeth away... but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever” (1 John 2:17).
Doing the will of God is a joy for those living in the love of God. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” But when a believer loses his enjoyment of the Father’s love, he finds it hard to obey the Father’s will.
When you put these two factors together, you have a practical definition of worldliness: anything in a Christian’s life that causes him to lose his enjoyment of the Father’s love or his desire to do the Father’s will is worldly and must be avoided.
Responding to the Father’s love (your personal devotional life), and doing the Father’s will (your daily conduct)—these are two tests of worldliness.
Many things in this world are definitely wrong and God’s Word identifies them as sins. It is wrong to steal and to lie (Eph. 4:25, 28). Sexual sins are wrong (Eph. 5:1–3). About these and many other actions, Christians can have little or no debate. But there are areas of Christian conduct that are not so clear and about which even the best Christians disagree.
In such cases, each believer must apply the test to his own life and be thoroughly honest in his self-examination, remembering that even a good thing may rob a believer of his enjoyment of God’s love and his desire to do God’s will.
A senior student in a Christian college was known for his excellent grades and his effective Christian service. He was out preaching each weekend and God was using him to win the souls and challenge Christians.
Then something happened: his testimony was no longer effective, his grades began to drop, and even his personality seemed to change. The president called him in.
“There’s been a change in your life and your work,” the president said, “and I wish you’d tell me what’s wrong.”
The student was evasive for a time, but then he told the story. He was engaged to a lovely Christian girl and was planning to get married after graduation. He had been called to a fine church and was anxious to move his new bride into the parsonage and get started in the pastorate.
“I’ve been so excited about it that I’ve even come to the place where I don’t want the Lord to come back!” he confessed. “And then the power dropped out of my life.”
His plans—good and beautiful as they were—came between him and the Father. He lost his enjoyment of the Father’s love. He was worldly!
John points out that the world system uses three devices to trap Christians: the lust (desire) of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).
These same devices trapped Eve back in the Garden: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food [the lust of the flesh], and that it was pleasant to the eyes [the lust of the eyes], and a tree to be desired to make one wise [the pride of life], she took of the fruit” (Gen. 3:6). But our hope is in the fact that Jesus in the wilderness conquered these same devices.
A. The Lust of the Flesh
The lust of the flesh includes anything that appeals to man’s fallen nature. “The flesh” does not mean “the body.” Rather, it refers to the basic nature of unregenerate man that makes him blind to spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:14).
Flesh is the nature we receive in our physical birth; spirit is the nature we receive in the second birth (John 3:5–6). When we trust Christ, we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
A Christian has both the old nature (flesh) and the new nature (Spirit) in his life. And what a battle these two natures can wage! (Gal. 5:17–23)
God has given man certain desires, and these desires are good. Hunger, thirst, weariness, and sex are not at all evil in themselves. There is nothing wrong about eating, drinking, sleeping, or begetting children.
But when the flesh nature controls them, they become sinful “lusts.” Hunger is not evil, but gluttony is sinful. Thirst is not evil, but drunkenness is a sin. Sleep is a gift of God, but laziness is shameful. Sex is God’s precious gift when used rightly; but when used wrongly, it becomes immorality.
Now you can see how the world operates. It appeals to the normal appetites and tempts us to satisfy them in forbidden ways.
It is important that a believer remember what God says about his old nature, the flesh. Everything God says about the flesh is negative. In the flesh there is no good thing (Rom. 7:18).
The flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). A Christian is to put no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3). He is to make no provision for the flesh (Rom. 13:14). A person who lives for the flesh is living a negative life.
B. The Lust of the Eyes
The second device that the world uses to trap the Christian is called “the lust of the eyes.” We sometimes forget that the eyes can have an appetite! (Have you ever said, “Feast your eyes on this”?)
The lust of the flesh appeals to the lower appetites of the old nature, tempting us to indulge them in sinful ways. The lust of the eyes, however, operates in a more refined way. In view here are pleasures that gratify the sight and the mind—sophisticated and intellectual pleasures.
Back in the days of the Apostle John, the Greeks and Romans lived for entertainments and activities that excited the eyes. Times have not changed very much! In view of television, perhaps every Christian’s prayer ought to be, “Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity” (Ps. 119:37, NASB).
Achan (Josh. 7), a soldier, brought defeat to Joshua’s army because of the lust of his eyes. God had warned Israel not to take any spoils from the condemned city of Jericho, but Achan did not obey. He explained: “When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and 200 shekels of silver, then I coveted them, and took them” (Josh. 7:21). The lust of the eyes led him into sin, and his sin led the army into defeat.
The eyes (like the other senses) are a gateway into the mind. The lust of the eyes, therefore, can include intellectual pursuits that are contrary to God’s Word. There is pressure to make Christians think the way the world thinks.
God warns us against “the counsel of the ungodly.” This does not mean that Christians ignore education and secular learning; it does mean they are careful not to let intellectualism crowd God into the background.
C. The Pride of Life
The third device is the “boastful pride of life” (NASB). God’s glory is rich and full; man’s glory is vain and empty. In fact, the Greek word for “pride” was used to describe a braggart who was trying to impress people with his importance. People have always tried to outdo others in their spending and their getting. The boastful pride of life motivates much of what such people do.
Why is it that so many folks buy houses, cars, appliances, or wardrobes that they really cannot afford? Why do they succumb to the “travel now, pay later” advertising and get themselves into hopeless debt taking vacations far beyond their means?
Largely because they want to impress themselves and other people—because of their “pride of life.” They may want folks to notice how affluent or successful they are.
Most of us do not go that far, but it is amazing what stupid things people do just to make an impression. They even sacrifice honesty and integrity in return for notoriety and a feeling of importance.
Yes, the world appeals to a Christian through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And once the world takes over in one of these areas, a Christian will soon realize it.
He will lose his enjoyment of the Father’s love and his desire to do the Father’s will. The Bible will become boring and prayer a difficult chore. Even Christian fellowship may seem empty and disappointing. It is not that there is something wrong with others, however—what’s wrong is the Christian’s worldly heart.
It is important to note that no Christian becomes worldly all of a sudden. Worldliness creeps up on a believer; it is a gradual process. First is the friendship of the world (James 4:4).
Next, the Christian becomes “spotted by the world” (James 1:27). The world leaves its dirty marks on one or two areas of his life. This means that gradually the believer accepts and adopts the ways of the world.
When this happens, the world ceases to hate the Christian and starts to love him! So John warns us, “Love not the world!”—but too often our friendship with the world leads to love. As a result, the believer becomes conformed to the world (Rom. 12:2) and you can hardly tell the two apart.
Sad to say, being conformed to the world can lead a Christian into being “condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:32). If a believer confesses and judges this sin, God will forgive him; but if he does not confess, God must lovingly chasten him.
When a Christian is “condemned with the world,” he does not lose his sonship. Rather, he loses his testimony and his spiritual usefulness. And in extreme cases, Christians have even lost their lives! (Read 1 Cor. 11:29–30)
But the fourth and final reason why Christians must not love the world is…
IV. Because of Where The World Is Going (v. 17)
“The world is passing away!” (cf. 1 John 2:17)
That statement would be challenged by many men today who are confident that the world—the system in which we live—is as permanent as anything can be. But the world is not permanent. The only sure thing about this world system is that it is not going to be here forever. One day the system will be gone, and the pleasant attractions within it will be gone: all are passing away. What is going to last?
Only what is part of the will of God!
John is contrasting two ways of life: a life lived for eternity and a life lived for time. A worldly person lives for the pleasures of the flesh, but a dedicated Christian lives for the joys of the Spirit.
A worldly believer lives for what he can see, the lust of the eyes; but a spiritual believer lives for the unseen realities of God (2 Cor. 4:8–18).
A worldly minded person lives for the pride of life, the vainglory that appeals to men; but a Christian who does the will of God lives for God’s approval. And he “abideth forever.”
This present world system is not a lasting one. “The fashion of this world passeth away” (1 Cor. 7:31). Everything around us is changing, but the things that are eternal never change.
A Christian who loves the world will never have peace or security because he has linked his life with that which is in a state of flux. “He is no fool,” wrote missionary martyr Jim Elliot, “who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
God reveals His will to us through His Word. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105). A worldly believer has no appetite for the Bible. When he reads it, he gets little or nothing from it. But a spiritual believer, who spends time daily reading the Bible and meditating on it, finds God’s will there and applies it to his everyday life.
We may also learn God’s will through circumstances.
Finally, God leads us into His will through prayer and the working of His Spirit in our hearts.
[Conclusion]
The downward steps and their consequences are illustrated in the life of Lot (Gen. 13:5–13; 14:8–14; 19). First Lot looked toward Sodom. Then he pitched his tent toward Sodom in the well-watered plains of Jordan. Then he moved into Sodom.
And when Sodom was captured by the enemy, Lot was captured too. He was a believer (2 Peter 2:6–8), but he had to suffer with the unbelieving sinners of that wicked city.
And when God destroyed Sodom, everything Lot lived for went up in smoke! Lot was saved so as by fire.
The choice is yours…the world of Wicked One or the will of the Severing One.
