For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The apostle John described the worldly things into three facets. They were the old patterns used by Satan to succumb our first parents to his will (cf. Genesis 3:1-8). As a result, Adam and Eve had fallen into sin that caused all human kind also sinned because they were the representative of human being and through them the human kind regenerated. Because our first parents have fallen into sin through these three ways, Satan understood the weaknesses of human being. If Adam and Eve could fail to follow the commandments of the Lord when they were at time still sinless, it is surely much easier for Satan to defeat the rest of the human being. He used these threefold method of temptation to prompt the people to do the sinful things which are the worldly lust.
The lust of the flesh (v. 16a)
It is important to note that 1 John 2:15 is one sentence, and verse 16 is another sentence as well in the Greek Bible. However though verse 16 is a dependent sentence, the thought conveys in this verse is an explanation of verse 15. George commented, “In verse 16, the opening ‘hoti’ introduces a parenthetical verification to explain more fully why love for the world is incompatible with love for God. It is because everything in the world is not from God but from the world itself.” Whatever in the world it is for the gratification of the world lust. The apostle John said that ‘all that is in the world’ is on contrary to the will of God. In order to give the full meaning of the phrase ‘in the world’ ‘to en to kosmo’ John explains it in three aspects.
First aspect of the gratifications of the world lust is the phrase ‘the lust of the flesh.’ The genitive use of ‘the lust of the flesh’ can be understood in two ways: first as the ablative of source which means, the desire or lust that comes from the flesh, second as the subjective genitive which denotes the lust or desire that produced by flesh. The second is the most appropriate meaning according to the context. As George further explains, "The desire or craving that has its origin in the flesh. epitumia may in itself be either good or bad. It is used three times in the New Testament with a good meaning (Luke 22:15; Phil 1:23; 1 Thess 2:17), but predominantly it carries the sense of evil desire. It is to be clarified, however, that the desires God has placed in the human body in themselves are not sinful but become sinful when used for illegitimate purposes."
As the apostle explained the meaning of ‘all’ here, he understood that this word referred to the lust that comes from the flesh. It is important to note that John does not use the word soma to refer to body but rather he uses the more specific word ‘sarx’ to refer to the flesh. This implies that this desire that comes from the flesh, in which many people have fallen to, is something that gives satisfaction to the flesh, or something that can make someone temporary feel good.
The apostle Paul has used this term to explain the desire of those who do not possess the Spirit of God. He used the term “the works of the flesh” to sum up the various kind of things that flesh can produce from within. It was the desire of the flesh within that produces the works of the flesh. Thus Paul gave a list of works of the flesh such as, “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings” (Gal. 5:19-21). In the modern day, there are a lot of things that can be said as to confirm the desire of the flesh. But those who love God, they must separate from them as Paul said, “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Ro. 13:14), “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Ro. 8:13).
The true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ must not yield their body unto uncleanness (Ro. 6:19), nor walk after the flesh but after the Spirit (Ro. 8:1, 4). The command to love not the world is not only for the readers of the epistle of John but also applied to the believers in this generation. Whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells in him and the same Spirit will lead him to walk according to the will of God. As Paul said to the church of Galatians, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal. 5:16-17).
The lust of the eyes (v. 16b)
The second aspect of the gratification of the worldly lust is the phrase ‘the desire of the eye.’ The use of genitive in this phrase also employs the subjective genitive which conveys the idea of eyes that produce the lust. This refers to seeing the unlawful things that finally stimulates the lust of the flesh. George explains it this way, “This denotes to the cravings and lust stimulated by what is seen. The expression points to man’s covetous and acquisitive nature or to the desire of seeing unlawful things.
Truly the eye is the center and direction of outward human body. The Bible said, “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Mt. 6:22-23). Too often people commit sins because what they have seen and then imagine and explore them in their minds and hearts. The greatest temptation man ever encounters is what he has seen and desired to grasp and obtain it whether through legal and illegal, or legitimate and illegitimate, or right and wrong. The impact of the eye on a person is tremendously great. It is for this fact that the Old Testament Law described it as most influence in the life of many people. Thus, the command was “if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out” (Mrk 9:47). Though a person might not commit sins physically, and yet the same person can commit a greater sin in his heart because what he has seen though the eye.
The pride of life (v. 16c)
The third aspect as the gratification of the worldly lust is the phrase ‘the pride of life.’ The word ‘tou biou’ does not refer to life in the same meaning with ‘zoe’ but rather it refers to ‘living’ or ‘livelihood.’ In other word, “the word ‘alazoneia’ here refers to boasting and arrogance (cf. James 4:16). biou means life, and here emphasizes the temporal and material aspects of human existence” It is so common for the world to boast of their living, what they have, and how respectful they are in society. People are tempted to do their uttermost in order to reach to that kind of status. Pride is the most subtle enemy of human being.
This was true to the fact that our first parents had fallen into this type of sin. The desire to be equal with God was the most longed in their hearts as Satan persuaded them to rebel against God through their disobedient to the word of God. Fatal punishment was just near the corner. Adam and Eve fell into a greatest sin that immersed all his generation into a sinful nature (Gen. 3:1-7). The danger of pride is so severe and yet pride is one of the most common practices seen in daily life. It’s for that reason, John commanded the believers to stop loving the world and its lust because it is the way to destruction.
Believers are commanded to separate themselves from these practices because it is on contrary to what God wants. God desires that every believer should live a holy life for it is the will of God for eternal life. None is indispensable. Everyone is an object of these temptations. Christian should guard their steps. Because of the danger of this sin, Paul exhorted the Philippians, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory: but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Phil 2:3). This was said to the believers at Philippi because everyone is the object of this temptation regardless they are Christians or non-Christians. As Calvin said, “In the last place follows pride or haughtiness; with which I connected ambition, boasting, contempt of others, blind love of self, headstrong self-confidence.”
The last part of verse 16 explains that the three aspect of the gratification of the worldly lust expounded above was not derived from God “is not of the Father, but is of the world” because God only desires holiness and perfection. God is not like man who seeks gratification from the worldly lust. God’s perfect desire is to see His beloved people walking according to the light and not according to the darkness. Thus John rightly said that God was not the sources of these worldly lusts but it is from the world. John used the conjunction ‘alla’ to show the contrast of the source of the lust of the world.
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