All that is in the World

by Pat Farish

John writes “Do not love the world, or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions - is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

As we seek to resist “worldliness”, we are helped by these words of John; he says that “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions” are all that is in the world. When the devil tempted Eve in the Garden, he used these in this way, Genesis 3:6: the desires of the flesh (“good for food”), desires of the eyes (“a delight to the eyes”), and pride in possessions (“to be desired to make one wise”).

When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Luke 4:1-13, he employed similar tactics: the desires of the flesh (“he was hungry”); the desires of the eyes (“showed him …”); and pride in possessions (“If you are the Son of God …”).

In these two notable instances, the devil took his best shots at Eve, and the Lord. He succeeded with Eve; he was rebuffed by Jesus. He had brought to bear on them, according to the apostle John, “all that is in the world”. When you or I are tempted, it is going to be in at least one of these areas, flesh, eyes, pride.

Some believe that “desires of the flesh … eyes … and pride in possessions” are not “all that is in the world”. J. W. Roberts, in his commentary The Letters Of John (R. B. Sweet Co.), writes “The three things he enumerates as the things of the world which we are not to love are probably intended to be illustrations and not a complete description … these three avenues no more exhaust the sources of temptation than are they a complete description of all sin” (page 57). These three avenues do not “exhaust the sources of temptation?” It would have been helpful if the writer had seen fit to name for us just one more such source. This, however, is the usual state of the discussion: cannot be just three; but does not name a fourth …

More ominous, however, is the rejection of the language of John. John wrote of the three areas of temptation that they are all that is in the world. Human wisdom may scoff at the notion, but it was the Holy Spirit who gave John the word “all.” The dictionary defines “all” as “the whole of.” These areas of temptations are “the whole of ” the world, the devil’s domain.

The devil tempts us to sin (Matthew 4:1-3). We are to resist him (James 4:7) with the confidence that we will not be tempted unbearably (1 Corinthians 10:13). A significant part of our resistance is awareness of the enemy’s tactics. If “forewarned is forearmed” by girding ourselves against these avenues of sinful desire - “all that is in the world” - we are equipped to resist. God did not need to name each sin. He classifies them and expects us to prepare.

We should not love the world, because “the world is passing away along with its desires.” This looks at temporary things, at things that will not last; but the wisdom that is from above calls for us to know that “whoever does the will of God abides forever.”