1 John 2:15 (KJV)

What does 1 John 2:15 mean?

1 John 2:15 warns against giving one’s love to “the world” and what belongs to it. The verse presents that attachment as opposed to “the love of the Father,” rather than as something that can comfortably share the same place.

The writer addresses people he has just called children, fathers, and young men. After speaking of their strength and their knowledge of God in verses 12–14, he turns to what may draw their loyalty away.

The Greek behind 1 John 2:15

• “world” — κόσμος (kosmos): This word can mean the world or the people in it. Here, the following verse connects it with desires and pride, helping show what kind of attachment the writer has in mind.
• “love” — ἀγάπη (agapē): This word means love or affection. In the phrase “the love of the Father,” it names the love that the writer says is absent when someone loves the world.

Why 1 John 2:15 matters

• The surrounding passage gives “the things that are in the world” a specific shape. Verse 16 names “the lust of the flesh,” “the lust of the eyes,” and “the pride of life”: bodily cravings, desires stirred by what people see, and pride in what one has or does.
• The contrast is about what lasts. Verse 17 says that “the world passeth away,” along with its desires, while the person who does God’s will “abideth for ever.”