Origins

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. I John 2:15 NASB

The world – Every idea has a history. Ideas about biblical truths are not self-generated from the text. Biblical truths are products of interpretation, and interpretation is a function of the culture, the time the text was written and the language of the interpreters. When we examine the history of some critical Christian ideas, we find roots in places far removed from the Bible. Such is the case with the early Christian development of asceticism, that is, the denial of all forms of bodily indulgence through severe self-discipline. The rabbis taught that it was a sin not to enjoy those things God allowed. They believed that the creation itself was good and it was Man’s task to choose good rather than evil. But Christian ascetics were influenced by a different stream of thought. They derived their views from gnostic origins and gnosticism taught that the world itself was evil, the domain of demonic powers. Man’s embodiment in the world meant that his existence in this world was corrupt from birth. His only hope was to remove himself from every temptation of the world and be swept into the exclusively spiritual realm by God. In other words, for the Christian ascetic with a gnostic worldview, this world was a prison of constant desires aimed at preventing him from recognizing the true God. Hans Jonas calls this “a morality of withdrawal.”[1] It is exemplified in the development of monasteries and convents, in vows of “marriage” to Christ and in separation from the world. You might recognize parallels in the religious world today when communities attempt to remove themselves from contact with the world in order to maintain spiritual purity. Wasn’t it Yeshua who prayed, “I do not ask You to take them out of the world” (John 17:15)? Then why does John sound like a gnostic in this letter?

Gnosticism had a powerful influence on the development of Christian doctrine, particularly in Man’s relationship to the world. The classical Greek idea that Man could achieve enlightenment and destiny through moral self-perfection was turned upside-down by the Gnostics. Greek virtues such as knowledge, self-control and personal mastery, once lauded, were now signs of the tainted soul. The fact that they are expressions of human achievement was an indicator that these virtues were really demonic entrapments. The only true virtues were to be found in denial and self-abnegation. When a man tried to improve himself through personal discipline, he was actually aligning himself with the demonic powers of this world. For Gnostics, to find the true God, a man had to deny himself all worldly pleasures and admit that in himself he has nothing of value. Only God could save such a wretch.

If you hear echoes of the doctrines of original sin and total depravity, you aren’t far afield. If you recognize later Christian teaching about the perils of this life, you might be able to connect the dots. The Hebraic view is decidedly different. The world, even if damaged, is God’s good creation. Man has not fallen into a state of hopeless corruption. He still has a choice to make, and many subsequent choices. Discipline and faithfulness are necessary human qualities. And, as the rabbis noted, Man is supposed to enjoy the good things in this life because such enjoyment is an expression of honor and love for God, the Creator.[2]

John sounds like a gnostic (and so do some of Yeshua’s words) only if one sets aside the Hebraic concept of creation. But imagine that you’re a Gentile in the first century. If you read John’s words under the influence of gnosticism, you would certainly conclude that John was pushing believers away from involvement in the world. You would dismiss Jeremiah’s instructions (chapter 29) as too Jewish to be realistic. After all, in the collapse of Greek idealism, the world looked very dark indeed. Anything Jewish smacked of antiquated hopes and tribal exclusiveness. The first century Mediterranean world was reeling under intellectual bankruptcy and gnostic pessimism filled the gaps. What mattered was getting to “heaven.” The world must be left behind.

Sound familiar?

For followers of Yeshua, John’s letter cannot be divorced from Genesis. John is not espousing ideas birthed at the cross. He is offering warnings, not walls. When John tells his reader not to love the world, he is not placing an abyss between the world and God. He is reminding followers that the Greek choice of agape had a Hebraic root. “Love in the OT is a spontaneous feeling which impels to self-giving, to grasping that which causes it, or to pleasurable activity. It involves the inner person. Since it has a sexual basis, it is directed supremely to persons; love for things or acts has a metaphorical aspect.”[3] Clearly John cannot require negation of the fundamental relationships between God and man, and between men themselves if he holds a Hebraic view. Therefore, John’s warning to not love the world is the equivalent of our common saying, “Use things, not people. Love people, not things.” But unless you knew the origin of John’s idea, you might just think he was telling you to escape as quickly as you can. A little history lesson goes a long way.

Topical Index: world, agape, gnosticism, 1 John 2:15, John 17:15

[1] Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion, p. 276.

[2] “For the rabbis love is the basic principle of the threefold relationship of God, the I, and the Thou. It must determine all dealings within this relationship, or the relationship is broken. As God acts with love, so must we, and by the same token, as we act with love, so will God. A basis is perceived here for assurance of the divine mercy, though not at the expense of the divine righteousness.” Stauffer, TDNT, Vol. 1, pp. 35-55.

[3] E. Stauffer, agape in Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (5). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, I, 35–55.