ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 John 2.15

Book: 1 John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

13. I write unto you, fathers, because ye know him who is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the evil one. I have written unto you, little children, because ye know the Father. 14. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye know him who is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the evil one.

15. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

  1. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 John 2:13-17, ASV)
WEB

13. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father. 14. I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

15. Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him.

  1. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. 17. The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever. (1 John 2:13-17, WEB)
KJV

13. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. 14. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

15. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

  1. 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. 17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 John 2:13-17, KJV)
YLT

13. I write to you, fathers, because ye have known him who [is] from the beginning; I write to you, young men, because ye have overcome the evil. I write to you, little youths, because ye have known the Father: 14. I did write to you, fathers, because ye have known him who [is] from the beginning; I did write to you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God in you doth remain, and ye have overcome the evil.

15. Love not ye the world, nor the things in the world; if any one doth love the world, the love of the Father is not in him,

  1. because all that [is] in the world, the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the ostentation of the life, is not of the Father, but of the world, 17. and the world doth pass away, and the desire of it, and he who is doing the will of God, he doth remain, to the age. (1 John 2:13-17, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: The letter is formally anonymous. Early and unanimous tradition assigns it to John the apostle (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.16.5 and 3.16.8, c. AD 180), and its vocabulary and style are closely shared with the Fourth Gospel.
  • Audience: Churches in Roman Asia, addressed after a secession: "they went out from us, but they were not really of us" (1 John 2:19). The departing teachers denied that Jesus is the Christ (2:22) and that He has come in the flesh (4:2).
  • Location: Traditionally Ephesus, the center of the Johannine circle in Asia Minor.
  • Time period: c. AD 85-95, late in the apostolic period. The stated purpose is assurance: "these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).

Theological reading

"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

Which "world." Kosmos in the Johannine literature carries at least three senses: the created order, the totality of people (John 3:16, God so loved the world), and the organized human order in its alienation from God, which is the sense here. The tension is only apparent: God loves the world of verse 3:16 and forbids loving the world of 1 John 2:15, because the word is doing different work. See G2889 - kosmos.

The definition follows in the next verse. Verse 16 specifies: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. The world John forbids loving is characterized by three appetites, not by matter, bodies, or culture as such. This is what separates the command from the world-denying asceticism of the Gnostic systems the letter is arguing against.

"The love of the Father." The genitive is probably objective, love for the Father, and John presents the two loves as mutually exclusive rather than merely competing. The same either-or appears in Matthew 6:24, no one can serve two masters, and James 4:4, friendship with the world is hostility toward God.

Why it is here. The verse sits between assurances of forgiveness (verses 12-14) and the warning about antichrists (verse 18). John's pastoral pattern is consistent: assurance first, then the warning that assurance is not a licence.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Lexicon:

Passages:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.