(this phrase occurs only here in the NT but cf. 1 Jn. 2:16–17) are “the desires that characterize the world,” with “the world” considered as the realm of disobedience to God and of sin (cf. κόσμος in Gal. 6:14). Paul returns to this concern in v. 14 when he speaks of “every lawless deed” (πᾶσα ἀνομία), which provides further insight into what he means here. It is likely that this couplet with singular ἀσέβεια followed by the plural ἐπιθύμιαι expresses the fact that grace teaches us to deny