I John 2:16a

"For all that is in the world, the lust (or the desire) of the flesh,..."


That can be any of our appetites. And any one of them can get the best of us. In Eve's case, she saw that it was good for food. We are going to see that it was the same case with the Lord Jesus. But it can be any kind of a fleshly desire that overwhelms us and we have to be aware of those, because they will trip us every time.


I John 2:16b

"...and the lust of the eyes,..."


In other words, that which looks so alluring, remember the old cliché is "all that glitters is not gold". So you have to be aware of that. Then John goes on to say that the other great area of temptation is:


I John 2:16c

"...and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."


Now you see, pride is one of the biggest things that befalls the human race. Pride is probably the one thing that keeps more people from salvation than anything else. People are too proud to admit that they need anything that God has to give them. I can make it on my own. To submit to a Sovereign God and to admit that He is what I need. No thanks, is what most of the world says.


So look at them again. It's the lust of the flesh. The lust of the eye and the pride of life. I said the Lord Jesus faced those same set of three circumstances. Go back to Matthew chapter 4. These are normally referred to as "the temptations, " and let's just drop down to verse 1.