Life is really not so much complicated as it is complex. Our enemies are multiple; our battlefields are diverse; our weaknesses are multiple. One of our enemies is called by Scripture “the world”. It is part of a triumvirate that operates in opposition to God and all that is healthy for the soul of man.
Often the Bible describes the world by the word, “Age” (Greek “Aion“)
1. The cares and riches of the age choke out the Word. (Matt. 13:22)
2. The children of this age are contrasted to the children of light. (Luke 16:8)
3. The believers are not to let the age pour them into its mold (Rom. 12:2)
4. The wisdom of this age and its rulers are ignorant of God (I Cor. 1:20- 2:8)
5. Satan is the “god” of this age. (2 Cor 4:4)
6. Christ died to deliver us from this present evil “age.” (Gal. 1:4)
7. Before conversion we walked according to the “age” of this world. (Eph, 2:2)
8. We wrestle against the rulers of the darkness of this age. (Eph. 6:12)
9. Demas loved this present age. (2 Tim. 4: 10)
Description of the World from I John 2:15-17
John warns not to keep loving the world (Kosmos). The key issue is that our attitudes flow from either God or the Satan-dominated-world. He gives three illustrations of the kinds of attitudes that come from the world.
1. The lust of the flesh — the desires generated by the appetites, needs and passions of the body fueled by the sin nature and used by Satan. It includes the desires for food, physical recreation, sleep, and sex. When the desire to satisfy these desires becomes a god or they interfere in the slightest degree with our love for and glorification of Christ, they become the flesh. (Num. 11: 4,34; Pr 6:25; Matt. 5:28; Rom. 13:14; 1 Cor. 10:6; Gal. 5:17,24; Eph 2:3; Tit 2:12; 3:3; 1 Pet. 1: 14 2:11; 4:2,3; 2 Pet. 2:10,18; Jude 1: 16-18)
2. The lust of the eyes — the desires that come from that which we see and covet. It includes the tendency to have our lives ruled by the desire to possess beautiful things (Gen. 3:6; 6:2; Josh. 7:21; Job 31: 1; Ps 119:36,37; Ec 5: 10,11; Matt. 4:8; Luke 4:5)
3. The pride of life — the desires that come from appeals to our vanity, ego, desire for status, acceptance pride of possessions, and ambition to excel( Ec. 1:3-7; Ps 73:6; Dan. 4:30; Re 18:11-17)
The “World” is the Satan-controlled and flesh-filled culture that pressures the believer to accept its values, goals, lifestyles, worldview and desires.
The Deceptiveness of the World
1. “Seek success” (Contrast Mat. 6:33)
2. “Get wealth” (Contrast Mat. 6:19-20)
3. “You deserve to indulge” (Contrast Matt. 16:24)
4. “You have to look out yourself first” (Contrast Phil. 2:3,4)
5. “I can’t be happy unless I’m married, single, divorced, etc. (Contrast Phil. 4:11)
6. “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die”; (Contrast Luke 12:20; 2 Cor. 5:15)
7. “A man has to live” (Contrast Matt. 4:4)
8. “If it feels good do it (Contrast Luke 22:42)
9. “Every thing is relative” (Contrast John 17:17)
10. “Keeping up with the Joneses” (Contrast I Tim. 6:8)
11. “Meeting my needs is my highest priority and adequate justification” (Contrast Matt. 6:3 3; Luke 22:42; 2 Cor 5:15)
The World and Our Identity
1 “You are what you own” – Materialism (Contrast Luke 12:15)
2. “You are what you do (or produce)” Activism (Contrast Eph. 1:6; Ps. 44:6,7; Deut. 8:17-18; 1 Cor. 4:2; John 15:5)
3. “You are sufficient in yourself’ – Individualism (Ps 106:4-5; John 17:11; 1 Cor. 3:6.7)
4. “You are who others recognize you to be” – Conformism (Matt. 6:1, 10:28; 1 Sam. 16:7; Rom 12:2)
5. “You are whatever you choose to believe” – Relativism (Contrast 2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Thess. 2:13)
6. “You are adequate without God – Secularism (Deut. 6:4-9; 1 Cor 10:31; Col. 1: 18)
The Devil and The World
His Power
1. The ruler of the world (John 12:31; 16: 11; Matt. 4:8,9)
2. The god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 5:19)
His Purpose
1. To make the values of the Godless world seem attractive. (I John 2:16)
2. To focus the minds of people on the present age. (I John 2:17)
3. To create a system that rivals and counterfeits God’s kingdom but leaves God out. (James 1:27; 2 Cor 11: 14)
The Believer and The World
A. The Believer is IN the World (John 17:15) (3 attitudes)
1. Isolation – withdraw from the world.
2. Assimilation – become just like the world.
3. Infiltration – influence the world.
B. The Believer is not OF the World (John 17:14; 1 Pet. 2:11)
(4 Negative Commands:)
1. Stop loving the World. (I John 2:15)
2. Do not let the world pour you into its mold. (Rom. 12:2 Phillips)
3. Keep yourself unspotted by the world. (James 1:27)
4. Do not become friends with the world.(James 4:4)
C. The Believer is to USE the World Without Abusing It (I Cor. 7:31)
D. The Believer is to Have Victory OVER the World (I John 5:4,5; Rom. 12:2)
1. Birth from God
2. Faith (Contrasted to feelings, sight, experience) It enables us to comprehend the nature, occasion, final result, and our relationship to the conflict. Faith weighs the present against the future, the visible against the invisible, the temporal against the eternal.
3. Confession of Jesus
4. Renewal of mind – (Rom 12:2 Brainwashed with the Word of God)
E. The Believer is to Exert an Influence UPON the World (Matt. 5:13,14)
F. The Believer is Sent INTO the World (John 17:18; 2 Cor. 5:20)
