The Pulpit Commentary — 1 John — Section 29

gi.-cu to yer. 14. It is difficult tn determine These rival centres chtsh with one nnothcr, whnt is meaut by the chnuge from 1"E1<eia and also with the one trno Centre. All this to ora,Bia. T,1<0/a o~curs once with µ.ou St. John forbids. With .-ci lv T,p 1e&aµq,, of. (,-er. 1), nnd six times without µ.ov in the ,-{ 0• iv .-cp li.v8pdior'I' (John ii. 25). Nole Bpistle, 11.nd once in the Gospel (xiii. 33), the the ,,_.,,6, (not µ,f.-.), no,· yet : "Lovo not tho probable source of this form of 11.ddress. world; no, nor nny of its wCLys." As so na,6/a occurs in ver. 18 (see note) and John ofteu, St. John goes on to enforce his words i:xi. 5, nnd nowlierc else in the New Testa- by n negative statement of simile.r but not ment as e. form of ndclrcss. Probably both identical import. Love c,f the world 11bso- words are 11.pplied to tl,e whole of St. John's lutely excludes the love of the J<'nthor. "Yo readers. Some would limit 11:a,6/a to actue.l cannot serve God nnd rue.mmon." Some im- children; but in that case we should expect portant authorities bnve .,-oi, ®•ou for .,-o;; a different order-children, young men, na.-p&s; the balance is decidedly for the fe.thers ; or fathers, young men, cliildren. latter. These" children" know the Father to whom Ver. 16.-He still fu1·ther emphasizes the they hn ve been reconciled by forgiveness of command by explaining the negative state- sins; they ha.-e become his adopt,ed sons ment just made. Everything that is in the through the Nnrue of his own Son (ver. 12). world has as its source, not the Father, but Yer. 14.-Tlie address to the fathers re- the world. This shows clee.rly the.t .,-d ,,, .,-,;; mains unchanged ; their claim to Gospel and 1<oaµ.q, cannot mean material objects capable to Epistle is tile same. The address to the of being desireJ; these he.ve their origin in young men is enlarged; their claim to the God who orented them (John i. 3). To Gospel is that they are strong to fight, have assert otherwise is rank Gnosticism or Ma- God's revelation of himself as a permanent nicheism. But God did not create the evil possession in their hearts, nnd have won vic- dispositions and aims of men ; these he.ve tories over Sntan. The context and John v. their source in the sinful wills of his crea- 38 and x. 35 utterly forbid ns from nnder- tures, and ultimately in "tbe ruler of this standing o A01'or Tov e,ov of the "living world" (John viii. 44). The three genitives Personal Lord " ( cf. John xvii. 6, 14, 17 ; which follow are subjective, not objective. Re..-. i. 9; vi. 9; xx. 4). The lust of the fiesh is not merely the lust Vers. 15-17.-Secondly, walking in the after the flesh, but all lust that has its seat in light excludes all love of the world. This is the flesh (Ge.I. v. 16 ; Eph. ii. 3). The lust another form of darkness. of the eyes is that lust that has its origin in Yer. 15.-Love not the world. Obviously, sight (.A.-ugenlust)-curiosity, covetousness, both "love" and "the world" are used in etc. ( cf. " the lusts of their hearts," "the a different sense in John iii. 16, where it is lusts of your body," Rom. i. 24; vi. 12). In said that "God loved the world." The one the world of St.John's de.y the impure and love is selfi.sh, the other unselfish. In the one brutal spectacles of the theatre and the arena case " the world" means the sinful elements would supply abundant illustrations of these of human life, in the other the human race. i1r18vµ.la1. The vain-glory of life, or aJTogancy It is most important to distinguish the dif- of living, is ostentation exhibited iu the ferent meanings of 1<oaµor in the New Testa- manner of living; the empty pride and pre- ment. Connected with ,ct,/L.,,, and comere, it tentiousness of fashion e.nd disp!&y. It in- means (1) ornament (1 Pet. iii 3); (2) the cludes the desire to gain credit which does not ordered universe, m-undUB (Rom. L 20); (3) belong to us, and outshine our neighbours. the earth (John i. 9); (4) the inlie.bitants of In Greek philosophy {:Jfor is higher than (wfi: the earth (John iii. 1G) ; ( 5) all that -is alien- {:Jfor is the life peculiar to me.n ; (w11 is the ated fram God, as here and frequently in St. vital principle which be shares with brutes John's writings. The thing& of the world and vegetables. In the New Testament (wfi are not those thing8 in the world which may is higher than flfor: {:Jior iR the life peculinr become objects of sinful affection, such as to man; (wfi is the vital principle which he wealth or honour, still leBB sucli as scenery shares with God. Contrast {3lor here; eh. iii. or physical objects. St. John is not con- 17; Luke viii. 14, 43; xv. 12, 30, etc., with demning a love of tliose material advantages (,.,fi in eh. i. 1, 2; iii. 14; v. 11, 12, 16; John which are God's gifts, nor of nature, which i. 4; iii. 36; v. 24, 26, etc. B(or occms only is God's work. He is forbidding those ten times in the New Testament (in 1 Pet, things the love of which rivals and excludes iv. 3 it is a false reading), (wfi more the.n a the loV<: of God-all those immoral tenden- hundred and twenty times. Each of the cies e.nd pursuits which give the world its three forms of evil here cited by St. John as evil character. The world (,c&,rµ.os) is order; types of ,..,. iv Tft 1e&aµrp a.re dangerous e.t the things in the world a.re the elements of different period11 of a man's life; ea.eh e.lso disorder-those things which arise from eaeh bas been a special dauger e.t different periods man making himself the centre of the world, of the wo,-ld's history. or of 110me little world of Lis ewn creation. Ver. 17,-Boeing, then, that the love of the cu. u. 1-20.J THE FIIlS'l' EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN.