Safeguard for Believers: John has spoken thus far with direct, no-nonsense language about who is a true believer and who isn’t. He states it as a matter of fact. He who claims fellowship with God and yet walks in the darkness is a liar (1:6). He who claims to know God yet disobeys His commandments is also a liar (2:4). But at this juncture, John pauses to affirm the true believers in his audience. He has not spoken these words to condemn them but to help them. He sees them as brethren with whom he shares Christian fellowship (1:7). John is writing (and has written) to guard them from false ideas and false practices. Scripture speaks in such glaring terms (as Jesus often did!) to keep us from danger.[1] These are warnings of our beloved Lord who seeks our good.

Do Not Love the World: John once again puts pen to paper to warn us. He urges us: “Do not love the world.” There is no pearl of great price for us in this world. All that it offers is vanity and chasing after wind (Eccl. 1:14), and it will all burn one day (2 Pet. 3:10-12). Moreover, the love of the world and the love of the Father are mutually exclusive. We cannot love both. Our love is a finite resource. If we spend it on this world, we have nothing left for our God and His people. John wises us up, that we would save ourselves for eternal things. We are to stop giving ourselves unreservedly to this world, to what’s passing away: what our body wants (“lust of the flesh”), what our eyes covet (“lust of the eyes”), and what our ego wants to brag about (“boastful pride of life”). We are the children of God. We seek the will of our heavenly Father, that we love Him supremely (Matt. 22:37) and His people fervently (1 Pet. 1:22).

[1] Cf. Matt. 5:13; 6:24; 7:13, 21; 10:28; 16:24-27; Mark 9:43; Luke 13:3; 1 Cor. 10:6, 11; Heb. 4:1-11; 6:4-9.