I John 2 – Part 10

“And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” I John 2:17

We began this section of I John (2:15-17) talking about investing our lives in something that is safe and secure. John has instructed us not to invest our lives in the world because it is not possible to love God the Father and the world at the same time (2:15) since the world promotes standards and values that are hostile toward God (2:16). John then gives a final reason not to invest our lives in the world: “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (I John 2:17). John reminds us that “the world is passing away,” and therefore, it is a totally unworthy object of our sinful lusts and longings. Often when a Christian indulges in some worldly lust, he or she discovers that its gratification is short-lived and must be renewed again and again in more intensive forms to get the same amount of pleasure as before. The “addicted” believer is reminded of the highly transient nature of the world and all its lusts. 

“Worldliness makes the ‘now’ more important than eternity. But you are passing through, and the world is passing by. It’s transient.” 1

The world often bases one’s identity on the type of vocation or skills they possess. But did you ever stop to think that your skills will pass away with the world? If you are an architect, a biologist, an electrician, a farmer, a musician, a physician, a scientist, a secretary, a teacher, etc. – however skilled you may be at any of these activities – none of these designations will survive the present. The Bible tells us, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” (2 Pet. 3:10).

How can a believer in Jesus establish an identity that outlasts this present world system? John tells us: but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (2:17b). The believer who is doing God’s will possesses a lifestyle that is in stark contrast with the world and all its lusts. His or her obedient lifestyle will not be interrupted by the passing away of this world. He or she experiences uninterrupted fellowship (“abides”)with God. 2

Hodges writes, “It [‘abides’] suggests, as almost always in this epistle, the ‘abiding life’ of fellowship with God. But here is obviously the additional thought that the life lived in God’s fellowship, rejecting the sinful things of this passing world, is a life that has no real ending. A person whose character and personality are shaped by obedience to God will not be affected by the passing away of the world and its vain desires. It is a Johannine way of saying, ‘Only one life, ‘twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.’” 3

“The one who does the will of God is inseparable from the Christ likeness which such a person has achieved. Likeness to Christ can give boldness at the Judgment Seat of Christ” 4 (cf. I John 2:28; 4:17; cf. 1 Cor 3:11-15; 2 Cor 5:10) where the eternal worth of his or her earthly Christian life will be assessed.

You may ask, “What is God’s will?” We know from the book of I John that God’s will is keeping His commandments (2:3-6; 3:24). Here are some examples of commands God wants us to keep: love one another (John 13:34-35; I John 3:23b; 4:21), go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone (Mark 16:15), make disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:19-20), abstain from sexual immorality (I Thess. 4:3) and fleshly lusts (I Pet. 2:11), obey governing authorities (Rom. 13:1-7), warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all (I Thess. 5:14), rejoice always (I Thess. 5:16), pray without ceasing (I Thess. 5:17), in everything give thanks (I Thess. 5:18), forgive others as God in Christ has forgiven you (Ephes. 4:32), do not be drunk with wine, be filled with the Spirit (Ephes. 5:18), honor your parents (Ephes. 6:2-3), put on the whole armor of God (Ephes. 6:11) to name a few.

But the believer who lives out of fellowship with God does not “abide” forever in that his or her worldly lifestyle will be radically interrupted when he or she goes to heaven. Their worldly lifestyle will not abide forever. It stops at heaven’s gates. They are likely to experience “shame” instead of boldness before Christ at the Judgment Seat (2:28; cf. 4:17-19) because they did not live the way Christ lived (2:6).

Not everyone agrees with this understanding. There are some who believe I John 2:17 is saying that you cannot go to heaven if you give your life to the world. 5 Those who take this view fail to understand that the book of I John was written to encourage Christians (2:12-14; 5:13) to develop greater intimacy with God (1:3-4). The greater our intimacy with Him, the greater our fellowship with Him and the better we will know God experientially and experience His life abundantly both now and in eternity. In the context of I John 2:17, John is not talking about going to heaven. He is talking to believers (2:12-14) about how to maintain their fellowship with God in a world that is hostile towards Him (cf. I John 2:15-17). 

Believers who fail to do God’s will and do not possess an abiding life will still be in heaven. They will be with Christ not because they lived the way Jesus lived or did not love the world, but because they did the Father’s will as it relates to entering His heaven. What is the Father’s will when it comes to getting to heaven? Jesus said, “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40). The only thing we can do to enter the kingdom of heaven according to the will of the Father, is to believe in Jesus Christ alone for His gift of everlasting life.

Getting to heaven is not a matter of what or who you love or don’t love because Jesus never said, “Everyone who does not love the world may have everlasting life.”Nor did He say,“Everyone who loves the Father may have everlasting life.”Going to heaven isa matter of whom you are believing or trusting to get you there (John 6:40). It doesn’t matter if you have loved the world or not, because you are still a sinner who needs a Savior to take away your sins. Your lifestyle cannot get you to heaven because it is all stained with sin (Isaiah 64:6). Only Jesus Christ can take away our sins because He was the only perfect sacrifice. Christ was without any sin (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15) since He was fully God (John 1:1) and fully Man (John 1:14). When He died on the cross for all our sins, He satisfied God’s holy demand to punish sin forever as demonstrated when He raised Jesus from the dead (John 19:30; I Cor. 15:1-6; I John 2:1-2).

When it comes to getting to heaven, it is not the will of God that you abide in Christ or do not love the world. It is the will of God that you believe in Christ alone Who died for your sins and rose from the dead so He may give you His gift of eternal life (John 6:40). If you have never understood and believed this before, and now you do, you can tell God this through prayer.

Prayer: Dear God, for much of my life I thought going to heaven was based on how I lived my life on earth. Thank You for revealing to me that going to heaven is not based on how I live, but on how Jesus lived, died, and rose again. God, I come to You now as a sinner who cannot save himself. I believe You died in my place on the cross for all my sins and rose from the dead. I am now believing in You alone, Jesus (not my good life, my love, or my prayers), to give me everlasting life and a future home in Your heaven. Thank You for the eternal life I now have and for the future home I will have in heaven. Please help me to know and do Your will now so my lifestyle will continue after I leave this world which is passing away. In mighty name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

The moment you believed in Jesus for His gift of eternal life, you became God’s child forever (John 1:12). God is now your Father (Matt. 6:9) and you now have many brothers and sisters in Christ all around the world. God wants you to know Him more intimately now as you learn how to spend time with Him studying His Word (John 8:30-31) and talking to Him through prayer (John 15:7). He wants you to love Him and other Christians who last forever, not this world which is passing away (I John 2:15-16) so you can have a godly lifestyle that is permanent and greatly rewarded (I John 2:17, 28; 4:17-19). Knowing and doing God’s will is the safest and securest way to invest your life during your time on earth.

I wonder how much you and I will miss the world and its vain desires when we go to heaven to be with Jesus? Will our love for the world be greater than our love for the Lord? Like Lot’s wife (Gen. 19:16), will it be difficult to leave the things of this world behind us? The Lord Jesus told us to “remember Lot’s wife” in Luke 17:32a. Then He said, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:33b). Lot’s wife sought to save her worldly lifestyle. She loved her earthly things so much that she could not leave them all behind. They were more valuable to her than her own life. The bottom line was she did not take God seriously! She was bent on doing her own thing rather than what the Lord wanted her to do.

The same thing can happen to us as Christians. The Lord saves us, and we begin walking with Him. But as we encounter difficulties, we begin to wonder if our old life would be better. Eventually we can turn to a pillar of salt spiritually. When you have a chance, lick some salt today and ask yourself, “What are some things in my life that God has asked me to leave behind? Things that keep me from following Christ?” Purpose in your heart not to be like Mrs. Lot. Seek the Lord Jesus first (Matt. 6:33) and rely on Him to live a life of love toward Him, not toward this world (I John 2:15-17).

ENDNOTES:

1. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 2939.

2. The Greek word for “abides” (menō)is one of John’s favorite terms for fellowship with God (I John 2:6, 10, 14, 17, 19, 24 [3], 27 [2], 28; 3:6, 9, 14, 15, 17 24 [2]; 4:12, 13, 15, 16 [3]; cf. John 8:31; 15:4-7, 9-10) and it means “to remain, stay, dwell, continue.” See Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pp. 630-631 and Joseph Dillow, Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings: Fourth Revised Edition (Grace Theology Press, 2018 Kindle Edition), pp. 616-619.

3. Zane C. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (David C. Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 3710.

4. Zane C. Hodges; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach; The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 592.

5. When referring to I John 2:17, the authors of the discipleship course entitled Rooted go so far to say that “if we give our lives to the world, we will pass away and be separated from God for all eternity” (pg. 98). See Kenton Beshore, Muriithi Wanjau, Peter Kasirivu, Samuel Metelus, Camille and Esther Ntoto, Daniel Nunez, Adrian De Visser, Rooted: Connect with God, the Church, Your Purpose (China: Rooted Network, 2020).

How can we overcome self-centeredness? Part 1

“Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ ” John 12:21

The Lord Jesus told us to “remember Lot’s wife” in Luke 17:32. You remember the story. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, lived in the city of Sodom with his wife, two daughters and their husbands. The people of Sodom were so wicked in the eyes of God that He planned to destroy the city. But Abraham interceded for Lot until God sent two angels to lead him out of there (Genesis 18:16-19:11). As Lot and his family were led out of Sodom, the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels had warned them not to look back but to press on to the town of Zoar where they would find refuge. But when Lot’s wife thought about all the pleasurable things she had left behind in Sodom, she turned to look back and she became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:12-26).

Jesus then said, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” (Luke 17:33). Lot’s wife sought to save her worldly lifestyle. She loved her earthly things so much that she could not leave them all behind. They were more valuable to her than her own life. The bottom line was she did not take God seriously! She was bent on doing her own thing rather than what the Lord wanted her to do.

The same thing can happen to us. The Lord saves us and we begin walking with Him. But as we encounter difficulties, we begin to wonder if our old life would be better. Eventually we can turn to a pillar of salt spiritually. How can we escape this worldly kind of lifestyle? How can we overcome the natural tendency to put self ahead of our Savior? Over the next few days we will discover the answers in John 12:20-33.

In our study of the gospel of John we saw a significant proof that Jesus is the Son of God when He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44). As Jesus entered Jerusalem He was presented as the Son of David Who received joyful praises from the multitudes testifying that He was the King of Israel (John 12:12-15). As the Son of David, Jesus is related only to the nation of Israel, but now we see in John 12:20-33 that Jesus is portrayed as the Son of Man Whose coming Kingdom will consist of “all peoples, nations, and languages” (Daniel 7:14). 3 Christ’s love is not exclusive, it is inclusive (cf. John 3:16; 4:4-42) as we shall now see.

The first way we can overcome self-centeredness is by SEEKING JESUS (John 12:20-23). Christ’s popularity was increasing quickly as people heard that He had raised Lazarus from the dead (John 12:9-11). On the Monday before the Passover feast, Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem on a donkey (John 12:12-19). People perceived Him to be the Messiah-God and thought He was bringing in a material triumph whereby He subjected the nations to His rule as their King. But Jesus did not come to provide an outward triumph, He came to provide an inward or spiritual triumph through the cross.

“Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.” (John 12:20). These “certain Greeks” were not Greek-speaking (Hellenistic) Jews, but authentic Greeks or Gentiles. They were God-fearing Gentiles who worshiped with Jews in the synagogues much like Cornelius (Acts 10:1-2) who attended the Jewish feasts. They believed in the God of Israel but had not become full proselytes, that is, they were not circumcised or purified. They may have come from Galilee or the Decapolis (ten Gentile cities east of Galilee and the Jordan). The word “now” contrasts the religious leaders of Israel who were opposed to Jesus (John 12:11, 19) with these Gentiles who wanted to see Christ.

The Pharisees had said, “the world has gone after Him” (John 12:19), and now we see Gentiles doing that very thing. “Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ ” (John 12:21). Why did these Greeks seek out Philip? Perhaps it was because “Philip” (Philippō) is a Greek name meaning “horse-loving” 1 and he was from Bethsaida of Galilee (John 1:43-44), so they may have seen him before. Greeks had probably already “seen” Jesus pass by in the procession, but now they wished to speak with the Lord up close. It is significant that Gentiles were attending a Jewish feast seeking Christ. This symbolizes Gentiles seeking salvation from the Savior of the world (cf. John 4:4-42). 2

Being religious like these Gentile worshippers does not satisfy our inner longings or meet our deepest needs. This is why they sought Jesus. They needed more than a prophet or religious ceremony to find complete forgiveness and eternal life. They needed a Savior Who came to earth to show them what God is like since He Himself is God (John 1:1, 18; 8:58; 20:28). Their spirits needed to connect with the true God of the Bible Who is Spirit (John 4:23-24).

Some of you reading this article may identify with these Gentile worshippers. You may have religion, but your spirit longs for a relationship with the true God and eternal life, Jesus Christ (cf. I John 5:20). Jesus invites you to come to Him just as you are – as a sinner in need of forgiveness and eternal life. Because Jesus paid the penalty for all your sins when He died on the cross and rose from the dead (John 19:30; I Corinthians 15:3-6), He can now freely offer you everlasting life and complete forgiveness if you would believe or trust in Him alone (John 3:16; Acts 10:43). The moment you do, He comes into your life through His Spirit to enable you to experience His abundant life as you learn to abide in Him and His Word (John 15:1-8; Romans 8:1-13; Galatians 2:20).

John informs us that “Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.” (John 12:22). Philip, who was a Jew, appears to have some hesitation about bringing these Gentiles to Jesus. Perhaps he has some racial prejudice. He may have thought, “While it is true that Jesus had said something about “other sheep outside the fold (John 10:16), He has not explained that yet. Maybe Andrew knows what to do.” So, Philip seeks counsel from “Andrew” (Andrea) whose name is also Greek. Andrew was a man of wisdom for a crisis (cf. John 6:8-9), but he too had no solution so together they bring the problem, not the Greeks, to Jesus.

One of my favorite foods in the Philippines was 7/11 convenience stores’ soft ice cream. During some of my mission trips there, I intentionally set aside time and money in advance to make a run to 7/11 to buy some of their delicious ice cream. Why? Because I enjoyed the taste and texture of this ice cream. For the Greeks to seek Jesus at the Passover Feast, they had to set aside time and money to travel to Jerusalem to see the Savior. As children of God who have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:2-14), how much more motivation do we have to prepare to seek Jesus!?

If we are going to overcome self-centeredness in our lives, we must make it our priority to seek Jesus; to know Him more intimately. Do we “wish to see Jesus” in every area of our lives? Or are there some dark places in our lives that we have shut Jesus out? We are too ashamed to invite Jesus into those areas. Please understand that Jesus already knows about those dark places of sin and shame in us. But He will not force His way into them. He is waiting for us to open the door to that part of our lives not so He can condemn us or shame us, but to shine the healing light of His love and grace on them. Christ is not uptight about our sin and shame. He died for them and He wants to set us free from them. He wants to walk through our sin and shame to bring us healing and hope once again. Will we let Him?

Only Jesus has the power to overcome our sinful desires. We must rely on His strength, not ours, to overcome them. But as Christians, our default setting is our sinful flesh (I John 1:8, 10). When we wake up in the morning, our natural bent is to pursue our selfish desires. Hence, we have a choice to make every day – to walk in the flesh or to walk in the Spirit (cf. Romans 8:1-13). Therefore, we must be intentional about walking in the Spirit and setting our minds on the things of the Spirit. We can do this by spending time with Jesus in prayer, asking that God’s will be done instead of our own will (Matthew 26:36-44). Also consistently studying and applying God’s Word (John 15:1-7; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17; James 1:21-25) and hanging out with other believers to connect with Jesus in them (Hebrews 10:24-25) will retrain our minds to yield to the Holy Spirit instead of our selfish desires.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, all my life I have battled selfishness. Even after becoming a Christian, I still wrestled with my sinful flesh. The world in which we live selfishly indoctrinates people to put their own agenda above all others. Only You, Lord Jesus, can reverse this pattern in our lives and world. It begins with us making it a priority to seek You first above all else. Thank You for the beautiful picture of Gentile worshippers coming to Jerusalem to seek You. You are not only the Savior of the nation of Israel, You are also the Savior of the world which includes all countries, cultures, and colors! For me to become more humble and selfless like You, Jesus, I need to spend time with You, Your Word, and Your followers. I need to invite You into every area of my life, including the dark places where sin and shame have reigned in my life. I want to see You living in my thought life, my motives, my actions and attitudes, and in my words so I can be a life-giving vessel of Yours to a lost world. Thank You for showing me the importance of connecting with You. Please use me to introduce others to You so they also can experience Your transforming love and grace from the inside out. In Your name I pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. Strong’s Concordance, http://biblehub.com/greek/5376.htm.

2. Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971), pg. 592.

3. Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, Swengel, Pa.: I. C. Herendeen, 1945; 3 vols. in 1 reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1973, 2:262.