The opening verses of the Bible tell us, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The next few chapters describe, in detail, all that entails and conclude that it was all “very good.” Although the “all” of Genesis 1 includes the Universe as well as earth, we have a term for all that was created on earth: “The world.” What’s interesting is that scripture uses the term “world” in two senses. In one sense, the world is simply a location. We live in this world, not on another planet or in the heavenly realms. But scripture also uses the term “world” to describe a mindset opposed to God. To be of the World is to be against God.
In John chapter 17, beginning in verse 11, we find Jesus using these two ideas for the term world as He prayed to His Father before He went to the cross. Jesus prayed, “And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. Jesus states that He will no longer be “in” the world like they are. This is a term of location. After the ascension, Jesus will be at the right hand of God the Father while the disciples remain on earth, in the world.
In verse 14, Jesus then prays, “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.” Here, Jesus uses the other sense of the term world. Even while Jesus is located in the world, He is not of the world. He is for God, not against Him. He has His thinking aligned with God’s will and Word. In John 17:15, Jesus then shows us how these two definitions are tied together: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” Jesus is not asking for the location of the disciples to change, but that they would be protected from the worldly thinking of the evil one who sets himself against God and all that God ordains as good.
Finally, in verses 16-19, Jesus makes it clear that we are to be in the world but not of it as He prays, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” The wicked and the righteous live together in the world. It is the location where we are expected to do the work of the Kingdom. We are not to be like the world. Our attitude toward God must be different. Our attitude toward the world’s thinking must be different. But we must still live in the world!
As the Bride of Christ, we are preparing for the coming of the Groom, Jesus Christ. When He comes, we will be in the New world and of the New world, for all things will be perfect in Him. Until then, the Bride must be busy with her work. We must be in the Word and praying daily. We must be studying the gospel and working to understand how to live and think differently. We must be sharing the gospel, calling for repentance, and offering forgiveness through Jesus. Our neighbors need to hear the gospel, our community needs to hear the gospel, and you and I need to hear the gospel. Of course, that is exactly what Jesus is praying for when He prays for us – that we would know the truth of the gospel. Make the most of the time in this world by living in it but not being of it.