This post is Day 8 in a series of studies about “1 John”. I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

Feel free to comment below with your own thoughts about each verse and how you will be acting on each thought. Also, if you haven’t yet signed up to receive the notifications of new studies, you can do that today (the form is at the bottom of the page).


1 John – Day 8

1 John 2:15-17

If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

The Thought

In these verses we read more on the theme of LOVE, with a few explanations of what loving the world really means.

The “world” here is not the physical planet earth, which is an amazing creation and which we are called to take care of. “The world” in this sense is the people, the way they live, and the fact that many of them are under the devil’s influence.

Remember that Jesus said “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). That was BEFORE He went to the cross! But He was confident that He would succeed in His mission.

Later in the book that we are studying, we read that it is our faith that has overcome the world (1 John 5:4)! What a responsibility! As we become more like Jesus in our thinking, we will recognise those caught in the world’s system. We can pray them into the kingdom, we can pray that their eyes are opened to see the truth. We can pray for healing of their mindset.

Paul was an expert on mindsets. His own wrong mindset had caused the death of many Christians. Once he met Jesus face to face, he did a complete about-turn. But it obviously wasn’t easy and he had to discipline his thinking. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 he wrote “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” He thought he knew God and was murdering those who didn’t live his way!

Action

Pray today for the Lord to reveal any wrong attitudes you might have.

Ask Him for more of His love for others, not to judge them, but to love them into the kingdom.

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