1 John 2:15-17 Now Available feat. Jenny & Tyler

1 John

Apr 5

1 John 2:15-17 is now available on all streaming platforms!

THE VERSE

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. [17] And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

We’ve tried to create a song from these verses for a while now, but for whatever reason, it never came together! A few months ago, Tyler Somers of Jenny & Tyler approached us with a melody for these verses that we felt like did justice to its content. He, in turn, built out the arrangement that you can hear today, and we love how it came out.

Tyler shared some thoughts about why these verses were so significant to him as he pointed out the connection of this verse to both the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as well as the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness:

Did you notice the three things in the world in John 2:15-17? If not, here they are:
[1] desire of the flesh
[2] desires of the eyes
[3] pride of life
After some time, I was shown the connection between 1 John 2:15-17, Genesis 3:6 (from the Hebrew scriptures) and Luke 4:1-13 (from the New Testament).
Here’s Genesis:
Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Do you see the three here too? To me, the connection seems clear, with ‘food’ relating to ‘flesh’ (a sick sort of indulging), ‘eyes’ literally equaling ‘eyes’ (greed), and ‘wise’ relating to ‘pride’ (arrogance).
Here’s an even more in-depth look at the three, from Luke:
Luke 4:1-13 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Do you see them here as well?
Again, to me, the connection seems clear, with ‘bread’ (from Luke 4:3-4) relating to ‘flesh’, ‘showed’ (from Luke 4:5) relating to ‘eyes’, and ‘test’ (from Luke 4:12) relating to ‘pride’.
There’s nothing new under the sun. I think it’s safe to say that everything in the world that enslaves and hurts and kills us can fit into one or more of these three categories.
Is there a solution?
I believe the solution is offered in the second half of 1 John 2:17, where the text reads “but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Thanks again to Jenny & Tyler for being a part of this offering! We hope these verses work their way into our hearts and lives. Particularly in the season of Lent, as we consider Jesus fasting in the desert for 40 days and being tempted, these verses can help fuel and direct some of our prayers.

The Artist

Jenny & Tyler are a husband-wife folk-pop band originally from Newark, Delaware, and currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. The group consists of singer-songwriters Jenny Somers and Tyler Somers. Their style is a fusion of folk, pop, funk, rock, soul, and bluegrass that has been called "soul-grass".