The Deterioration of the world (1 John 2:17)

And the world passes away, and its lust: but he that does the will of God abides for ever.

The demolishing of worldly lust (v. 17a)

Now the last reason given by John as to explain why Christians should stop loving the world is because the deterioration of the world. The world that God created perfectly has become under the power of sinful behaviors. Sins have controlled the world and none can stop it. On the other hand God has decided to destroy the world according to His timing. The sinful deeds of the world have reached their fullness and God has planned what is best for the world. This will be the final end for the world and its system.

The apostle John gives a different aspect of the demolishing of worldly lust. This is seen in the verb ‘paragetai’ (Present Middle Indicative). Its present tense denotes the ongoing process of passing away. It is the Descriptive Present in its syntactical usage. Whereas its middle voice denotes that the act of passing away will occur by itself. The final goal or destination of the world is the passing away by itself. This is to say that whatever things the world is doing and thinking best for her will be for her destruction. George rightly commented when he said, “Verse 17 gives the second reason for John’s command not to love the world. It talks about the transitory nature of the material things (cf. 1 Cor. 7:31), and verb is in the present tense, points to the ongoing process of disintegration.” Calvin said it in another way, “I take lust here metonymically, as signifying what is desired or coveted, or what captivates the desires of men. The meaning is, that what is most precious in the world and deemed especially desirable, is nothing but a shadowy phantom.”

The contrast of loving the world and doing the will of God (v. 17b)

At the last phrase of this periscope, John gives the contrast of loving the world and doing the will of God. This contrast is introduced by the use of conjunction ‘but.’ However the two verbs in verse 17 also show its contrast. The verb used here is ‘menei’. It is in the Present Active Indicative third Singular. This verb is being contrasted to the verb ‘paragetai.’ The two verbs are in the present tense which convey the meaning of ongoing process but they differ in the voice. The verb ‘menei’ is in the active voice which denotes the active action of the subject namely the one who is doing the will of God. The participle ‘poion’ also is written in the present active which also conveys the idea of being actively doing the will of God. This is not referring to one who does the will of God according to what he thinks or likes but rather a constant desire and actively doing the will of God in his life. There is an ongoing actively doing the will of God, no matter the circumstances are, he will continue in the area of doing what God has commanded in His word. “All the vanity of this evil world with its devices is passing away. It has already begun to purify. It is a corpse not yet buried. But the person who really does the will of God has the breath of eternal life.” Calvin gave a remark on this passage, “Were any one to object and say, that no one doeth what God commands, the obvious answer is, that what is spoken of here is not the perfect keeping of the law, but the obedience of faith, which, however imperfect it may be, is yet approved by God.”

CONCLUSION

The command to separate from the world is truly a command for holiness. It is a very test of every true believer in his relationship with God. God commands his followers to be holy as He is Holy. Such command is not an option but an imperative command and a must. The apostle John realized the nature of God’s command to holiness. Thus John reminds the Christians of the threefold of temptations in which Adam and Eve succumbed and fell into sins. If Adam and Eve could fail to obey God while they were still sinless, Satan knows that all Adam’s generation can succumb to his temptations.

Christians must love God and hates the world and its lust because the world is in the process of passing away. Whatever the world has; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life will lead its destruction. Only those who love God and His commandment will remain forever. It is the desire of God that every true believer will love Him and His Word.