“For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world.”

For

The word “for” means because.  There is a principle of equilibrium that says nothing rises from above its source.  Satan binds the things of the world around his system.  The whole thing is incompatible with love for God (2:15). 

all that is in the world

We can condense the world system to a three-fold appeal:

Lust of the flesh

Lust of the eyes

Pride of life

These are the three infernal foes of the Christian life.  The lust of the flesh is the craving to do something contrary to God’s will.  The lust of the eyes is the desire to possess something apart from God’s will.  The pride of life is the desire to be something contrary to God’s will.  This is an attack on the body, soul, and spirit of the believer. 

PRINCIPLE: 

Three infernal foes attack the believer to deflect him from fellowship with God. 

APPLICATION: 

All that is in the world is finite.  When we make things our idols, we confine our values to the temporal and that which passes away.  When we focus on the finite, we develop a new worship system, worship of the finite and things that pass away. 

Jas 4:4, “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”