All That Is In The World-Part 2

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world (1 John 2:16)

We looked at the desires of the flesh last time, now we will look at the desires of the eyes from 1 John 2:16, which is one of the three things John wrote that was in the world. Remember, when we say the world, we are referring to the system and values that are against God.

Desire of the eyes can also be understood as lust. The New International Version (NIV) translates 1 John 2:16 by saying the desires of the eyes as the lust of the eyes. Normally, when we hear the word lust, we think sexual immorality which is true in most cases. What did Jesus about lust?, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28).

Lust can also mean a strong desire for what we see, which can lead to coveting. Matthew Henry wrote, "The eyes are delighted with treasures; riches and rich possessions are craved by an extravagant eye; this is the lust of covetousness." Our world is filled with many beautiful things. Imagine driving down the road and you see a beautiful new sports car which you desire to have because the one you drive is old and the paint is coming off.

When we see things with our eyes that grab our attention, it can lead to covetousness and discontent. It was the lust of the eyes that brought about the fall. In Genesis 2, God told Adam, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17). We see later that Eve, Adam's wife was deceived by the serpent and took the fruit from the same tree God told Adam to stay away from. The Bible tells us:

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate (Genesis 3:6).

Eve saw how the fruit was a delight to the eyes. She believed the lie of the serpent and her eyes helped her in the deception.

The world does has some good things for us to see. We can see God's creation and worship Him as Creator. Yet the world has things that will cause us to stumble. What we see, will cause either to run to God or run from Him. What we see will cause either worship or idolatry. Just like the desires of the flesh, the desire of eyes need to be put to death (Colossians 3:5). We also need to "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).