I John 2:17 says,
"And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."Matthew Henry in his commentaries says of this passage:
"The things of the world quickly fade and die away; desire itself will ere long fail and cease, but holy affection is not like the lust that passes away. The love of God shall never fail. Many vain efforts have been made to evade the force of this passage by limitations, distinctions, or exceptions. Many have tried to show how far we may be carnally-minded, and love the world; but the plain meaning of these verses cannot easily be mistaken. Unless this victory over the world is begun in the heart, a man has no root in himself, but will fall away, or at most remain an unfruitful professor. Yet these vanities are so alluring to the corruption in our hearts, that without constant watching and prayer, we cannot escape the world, or obtain victory over the god and prince of it."The passage is not saying that doing God's will makes salvation, (eternal life), possible. The key word here is "abideth". I don't want to get too technical here, but this word comes from the greek, "meÑnw", which carries the meaning, "not to depart, to continue to be present, to be held, kept, continually". So this verse is more about the fellowship of the believer with the Lord. He that does God's will has fellowship with Him continually, on into eternity. In contrast, the world and the desires, (lusts), that are part of it will not last, but will "pass away", or be destroyed.
So the application of this passage is to flee the lusts that are part of the world, and remain fixed on doing what you know to do for God, and you will thereby enjoy continual fellowship with Him.
Mark Tabor
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment