The World is the biblical term for the organized system of human life in rebellion against God, together with its values, desires, and structures.
It does not primarily mean the physical earth or the people God loves and seeks to save, but the fallen order that is hostile to God and under the influence of the evil one.
Scripture calls believers not to love the world or the things in the world, yet also declares that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.
The world in its present form is passing away; the one who does the will of God abides forever.
In Scripture the word “world” (kosmos in Greek) carries several related senses. It can mean the created universe, the mass of humanity, or the fallen system that stands opposed to God. The last of these is the focus of many New Testament warnings. This world has its own ruler, the devil; its own wisdom that is foolishness with God; its own desires — the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life; and its own friendship that is enmity with God. Jesus told His disciples that the world would hate them because it first hated Him. At the same time, God loves the world of lost people and sent His Son to save it. Believers live in the world but are not of the world. They are sent into it as witnesses while refusing to be conformed to its pattern. The world in its present form is temporary; it is passing away along with its desires. The kingdom of God and those who do His will endure forever.
- The world as a system is hostile to God and lies under the power of the evil one.
- Friendship with the world is enmity with God; one cannot love both God and the world.
- The desires of the world — flesh, eyes, and pride of life — are not from the Father and are passing away.
- God loves the world of people and gave His Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish.
- Believers are chosen out of the world, hated by the world, and sent into the world as Jesus was sent.
- The world in its present form is temporary; conformity to it is foolish and short-sighted.
- Victory over the world comes by faith in Jesus Christ, the One who has overcome the world.
- Fallen System – The organized pattern of life, values, and structures that operate in independence from and opposition to God.
- Under Evil Influence – The whole world lies in the power of the evil one; Satan is called the ruler of this world.
- Hostile to God and His People – The world hates Christ and those who belong to Him.
- Object of God’s Love – God so loved the world that He gave His only Son for its salvation.
- Passing Away – The world and its desires are temporary; only the one who does the will of God abides forever.
- Sphere of Mission – Believers remain in the world as salt, light, and witnesses, though they are not of it.
- Overcome by Christ – Jesus has overcome the world, and faith in Him is the victory that overcomes the world.
- 1 John 2:15-17 – “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. 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. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
- John 3:16-17 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
- John 15:18-19 – “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
- John 17:14-18 – “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world… As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
- James 4:4 – “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
- 1 John 5:19 – “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
- 1 John 5:4-5 – “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
- John 16:33 – “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
- Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”
- 1 Corinthians 1:20-21 – “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?… For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 – “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ…”
- 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 2:8 – “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
- 1 Peter 2:11 – “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”
- Revelation 11:15 – “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
The world is both the object of God’s saving love and the system that stands against Him. God so loved the world that He gave His Son; yet friendship with the world is enmity with God. Believers are chosen out of the world, hated by the world, and sent back into the world as witnesses. The call is clear: do not love the world or the things in the world. The desires it offers are not from the Father and are already passing away. The one who does the will of God abides forever. Jesus has overcome the world, and faith in Him is the victory that overcomes it. Live as a sojourner. Refuse conformity. Shine as light. The kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.
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