Hymns 600
Scripture Reading:
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.
Rom. 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.
THE WORLD—THE EVIL SATANIC SYSTEM
First John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world, neither the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” The Greek word for “world,” kosmos, has more than one meaning…In John 1:29; 3:16; and Romans 5:12 it denotes the fallen human race corrupted and usurped by Satan as components for his evil world system…Here in 1 John 2:15, as in John 15:19; 17:14; and James 4:4, it denotes an order, a set form, an orderly arrangement, hence, an ordered system (set up by Satan, the adversary of God), not the earth. God created man to live on the earth for the fulfillment of His purpose. But His enemy Satan, in order to usurp the God-created man, has formed an anti-God world system on this earth by systematizing men with religion, culture, education, industry, commerce, and entertainment through men’s fallen nature in their lusts, pleasures, pursuits, and even in their indulgence in living necessities, such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Everything, everyone, and every matter have been systematized by the evil one, the adversary of God, and made a part of his world system. The whole of such a Satanic system lies in the evil one (1 John 5:19). Not loving such a world is the ground for overcoming the evil one. Loving it just a little gives the evil one the ground to defeat us and occupy us.
Satan not only employs the necessities of life to preoccupy man; he also organizes them into numerous individual systems in order to intensify his grip upon man…Therefore, the world denotes the enemy’s scheme, system, and organization to usurp the place of God in man and eventually to gain full possession of man.
NOT LOVING ALL THAT IS IN THE WORLD—THE LUST OF THE FLESH,
THE LUST OF THE EYES, AND THE VAINGLORY OF LIFE
First John 2:16 says, “All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” The world in verse 15 denotes an evil, Satanic, anti-God system that is constituted of the things created by God. Satan has used these things to form his system. However, these things are not the contents of the satanic world system. This system comprises the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the vainglory of the present life. Love of the world is comprehensive, but love of the things that are in the world is a more practical term.
The lust of the flesh, the passionate desire of the body, is mainly related to the body. Because the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil entered into the human race, our body became fallen and corrupted. Adam and Eve, our first parents, partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As a result, an evil element came into the human race, and now this element is in our physical body. From experience we know that an evil, satanic element dwells in man’s nature.
The lust of the eyes is the passionate desire of the soul through the eyes. When the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil came into the human body, the body became flesh. Because the body encompasses the soul, the soul fell under the influence of the fallen body. As a result, our soul also has been corrupted. Therefore, the soul, our psychological being, has become lustful due to the influence of the fallen body.
The vainglory of life is the empty pride, boast, confidence, assurance, and display of material things of the present life. The Greek word rendered “life” in 2:16 is bios, a word that refers to the physical life and also to the present life…Whatever takes place in human society is the present life. With the present, earthly life there is vainglory. This vainglory includes empty pride, boast, confidence, assurance, and display of material things.
PRACTICING THE WILL OF GOD
First John 2:17 says, “The world is passing away, and its lust, but he who practices the will of God abides forever.” As the world is against God the Father, so the things in the world, which are its lust, are against the will of God. On the positive side, we have the Father and His will. On the negative side, we have the world and all the things in the world. The world is against the Father, and the things in the world are against the will of the Father.
According to verse 17, the world is passing away and its lust, but he who practices the will of God abides forever. To practice the will of God is to do the will of God habitually and continually, not merely occasionally. The world, its lust, and those who love the world are passing away. But God, His will, and those who do His will abide forever.
NOT CONFORMED TO THIS AGE—THE PRESENT PART OF THE WORLD
In Romans 12:2 Paul charges the believers not to be “conformed to this age.” The age is the present, practical world life. The combination of all people, activities, and things outside of God is called the world. The age designates that part of the world which we contact at the present. The world is the entire organization used by Satan to usurp man, whereas an age is a fraction of this organization, a part of this world system.
The Greek word for “age” in Romans 12:2 can be translated “modern.” To be conformed to this age means to adopt the modern fashions outwardly. The believers should not be modern according to the present age.
We have seen that everything, everyone, and every matter have been systematized by Satan and made a part of his world system. In such a situation, where shall we go? The answer is that we need to go to the Triune God for His dispensing. Only the Triune God has not been systematized by Satan. Along with going to the Triune God, we also need to go to the Word of God. Therefore, because everything, everyone, and every matter have been systematized by Satan, we need to flee to the Triune God and His Word. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1851-1855)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 170; CWWN, vol. 18, “Loving God”; Love Not the World, chs. 1, 7
