The Present Evil Age is Paul’s name for the world-order from which Christ gave Himself to deliver us.
Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.
The age is present. It is evil. It is not the last age.
The cross is the rescue from it, not a tool for making it comfortable.
Galatians opens with the gospel in one stroke. Sins are the problem. Christ’s self-giving is the price. Deliverance from this present evil age is the aim. The will of the Father is the source. Glory forever is the end.
An age in Scripture is more than a date on a calendar. It is a whole order of life: its powers, its wisdom, its boast, its course. This age has a god who blinds. It has a wisdom that does not know God. It has a form that must not press the church into its mold.
- Jesus spoke of the children of this age and of the age to come.
- Paul said the wisdom of this age is doomed to pass away. He told the Romans not to be conformed to this world—this age—but to be transformed.
- Hebrews says those who have been enlightened have tasted the powers of the age to come.
The present evil age still runs. Saints live in its streets. They do not take their citizenship from its prince. Christ gave Himself to get them out from under its claim, even while they wait for the appearing that ends it.
- Present marks the clock. Evil marks the character. Age marks the whole system.
- Deliverance is by the giving of the Son, according to the Father’s will.
- The age is not the earth God made. It is the rebel order using the earth.
- You can live in the age without belonging to it.
- Another age has already broken in: the powers of the age to come have been tasted.
- Conformity to this age is the danger. Transformation is the command.
- The wisdom, rulers, and god of this age are passing.
- Present – Now, not forever.
- Evil – Set against the will of God and the good of man.
- Age – An order with powers, wisdom, and a course.
- Deliverance – Christ’s gift of Himself for our sins.
- Not Conformed – The mind renewed instead of pressed into the mold.
- Doomed Wisdom – The rulers of this age did not understand the Lord of glory.
- Age to Come – Already tasted; not yet in fullness.
- Galatians 1:3-5 – “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
- Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:20 – “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”
- 1 Corinthians 2:6-8 – “Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God… None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 – “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers…”
- Ephesians 2:1-2 – “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world…”
- Ephesians 5:16 – “…making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
- Titus 2:11-13 – “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope…”
- Luke 16:8 – “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.”
- Luke 20:34-35 – “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.”
- Matthew 12:32 – “…it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
- Matthew 13:39-40 – “The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels… so will it be at the end of the age.”
- Hebrews 6:5 – “…and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come.”
- 1 John 2:17 – “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
- Galatians 6:14 – “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
- Colossians 1:13 – “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”
- Romans 8:18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
- Mark 10:30 – “…who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time… and in the age to come eternal life.”
He gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age.
That was the Father’s will. To Him be the glory forever.
Do not be conformed to this age. Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
The wisdom and the rulers of this age are doomed to pass away. They crucified the Lord of glory and did not know Him.
Live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for the blessed hope.
The world has been crucified to you, and you to the world.
This age is present and evil. It is not home. The age to come has already touched you. Hold fast until the harvest.
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