1 John 2:17

1 John 2:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
• New International Version (NIV)The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Context of 1 John 2:17

15Don’t love the world and what it offers. Those who love the world don’t have the Father’s love in them. 16Not everything that the world offers—physical gratification, greed, and extravagant lifestyles—comes from the Father. It comes from the world, and the world and its evil desires are passing away. But the person who does what God wants lives forever. 18Children, it’s the end of time. You’ve heard that an antichrist is coming. Certainly, many antichrists are already here. That’s how we know it’s the end of time. 19They left us. However, they were never really part of us. If they had been, they would have stayed with us. But by leaving they made it clear that none of them were part of us.

1 John 2:17 word by word

καὶ ὁ κόσμος παράγεται καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the worldὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• passeth awayπαράγωparagō · to passG3855
• the lustἐπιθυμίαepithumia · desireG1939
• thereofαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• butδέde · thenG1161
• he that doethποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• the willθέλημαthelēma · will/desireG2307
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• abidethμένωmenō · to stayG3306
• forεἰςeis · towardG1519
• everαἰώνaiōn · an age: eternityG165

Cross-references for 1 John 2:17

• Psalms 39:6Each person who walks around is like a shadow. They are busy for no reason. They accumulate riches without knowing who will get them.”
• Psalms 73:18You put them in slippery places and make them fall into ruin.
• Psalms 90:9Indeed, all our days slip away because of your fury. We live out our years like one ⌞long⌟ sigh.
• Psalms 102:26They will come to an end, but you will still go on. They will all wear out like clothing. You will change them like clothes, and they will be thrown away.
• Isaiah 40:6A voice called, “Call out!” I asked, “What should I call out?” “Call out: All people are like grass, and all their beauty is like a flower in the field.
• Matthew 24:35The earth and the heavens will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
• 1 Corinthians 7:31Those who use the things in this world should do so but not depend on them. It is clear that this world in its present form is passing away.
• James 1:10Rich believers should be proud because being rich should make them humble. Rich people will wither like flowers.
• James 4:14You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears.
• 1 Peter 1:24“All people are like grass, and all their beauty is like a flower of the field. The grass dries up and the flower drops off,
• Psalms 143:10Teach me to do your will, because you are my God. May your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
• Matthew 7:21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who does what my Father in heaven wants.
• Matthew 21:31“Which of the two sons did what the father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Tax collectors and prostitutes are going into God’s kingdom ahead of you.
• Mark 3:35Whoever does what God wants is my brother and sister and mother.”
• John 7:17Those who want to follow the will of God will know if what I teach is from God or if I teach my own thoughts.
• Romans 12:2Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.

Commentaries on 1 John 2:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17The world passeth away - All these things are continually fading and perishing; and the very state in which they are possessed is changing perpetually, and the earth and its works will be shortly burnt up. And the lust thereof - The men of this world, their vain pursuits, and delusive pleasures, are passing away in their successive generations, and their very memory perishes; but he that doeth the will of God - that seeks the pleasure, profit, and honor…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17And the world passeth away - Everything properly constituting this world where religion is excluded. The reference here does not seem to be so much to the material world, as to the scenes of show and vanity which make up the world. These things are passing away like the shifting scenes of the stage. See the notes at 1 Corinthians 7:31. And the lust thereof - All that is here so much the object of desire. These things are like a pageant, which only amuses…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-17Verses 15-17 The things of the world may be desired and possessed for the uses and purposes which God intended, and they are to be used by his grace, and to his glory; but believers must not seek or value them for those purposes to which sin abuses them. The world draws the heart from God; and the more the love of the world prevails, the more the love of God decays. The things of the world are classed according to the three ruling inclinations of depraved…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-17The world is a morally evil system that is under the influence of Satan and is opposed to God and to Christ’s kingdom on this earth (2:16; 3:1; 4:4; 5:19; John 12:31; 15:18; Ephesians 6:11–12; James 4:4). The world appeals to people’s fleshly desires and turns them away from God. People who belong to the world in this way need God to rescue them from it.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. the world--with all who are of the world worldly. passeth away--Greek, "is passing away" even now. the lust thereof--in its threefold manifestation (1Jo 2:16). he that doeth the will of God--not his own fleshly will, or the will of the world, but that of God (1Jo 2:3, 6), especially in respect to love. abideth for ever--"even as God also abideth for ever" (with whom the godly is one; compare Psa 55:19, "God, even He that abideth of old): a true…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 2:17

• Covetousness
• Immortality
• Lust
• Obedience
• Righteous
• Worldliness
• Young Men

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• will of God
• Acknowledge
• Advocate
• Lie
• Stumble
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Holy Spirit
• Johannine Theology

Commentaries on 1 John 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings