For those who confess that they are strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Love Not the World System – part I –

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2¹⁵

Every professing Christian needs to consider these words carefully. If a person is in love with the world and the things that pertain to it, there is no room for the love of God to abide within them. We can’t partly serve Jesus and still embrace all that the world entices us with. If Jesus is the Lord Jesus Christ, then He must be Lord of all. No earthly master would tolerate half-hearted obedience from his servant, so we mustn’t expect less from the Lord of lords.

1 John 5¹⁹ says, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” That is, the whole world lies under the power of Satan. This was confirmed by Satan’s own words to Jesus when he took Jesus up on a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, saying, “All these I will give to you.” Jesus didn’t dispute Satan’s ability to do this because He knew that Satan does indeed presently have power over the kingdoms of this world. This of course is a limited authority allowed by God, but it nevertheless tells us that all we experience in this present world is directly influenced to some extent by Satan.  For this reason every Christian must be extremely careful when dealing with what the Bible refers to as the world.

          The original Greek word translated as world in the Bible is kosmos. Kosmos is used three different ways in the New Testament.  It can refer to every one in the world, as in John 3¹⁶: “For God so loved the world…” It can also be used to mean the earth itself, as in 2 Peter 3⁶: “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” But neither of these two uses of the word kosmos gives the sense of what it means in 1 John 2¹⁵. “Love not the world” refers to the world system. This world system is the network of Satan’s influence—he guides it and empowers it; he manipulates it in order to keep people from the knowledge of truth.  If any one loves this system by choosing to direct their life according it, then the love of the Father is not in them.

          We often think of avoiding the world as avoiding places where things take place of which a Christian should not partake, such as a bar or a location of questionable entertainment. In one sense, not loving the world is avoiding these things. But it also goes deeper than that. The “world” isn’t so much of a place as it is a corrupting influence. A person could run to the farthest ends of the earth and live alone in a cave, attempting to escape the world.  But to his dismay, he would find he carried the world with him. Its strong grip is wrapped tightly around the heart of man and can’t be broken until Satan’s hold is released. The man who is free in Christ can live in the world yet not be influenced by it.

          But where does this influence come from? It takes many forms—politics, economics, art, media, literature, and even secular professions.  All these things contribute to the world system.  These are all areas that a Christian will come into contact with in some form or another. The question is not how to avoid the system, but how to not become entangled in its web.  The answer is in Christ. 1 Corinthians 1³⁰ states, “But of Him [God], are ye in Christ, who of God is made unto us…redemption.” When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, He redeemed them.  In the same way, God redeems from the world those who are in Christ.  Christ Himself, indwelling the believer through the Holy Spirit is the barrier between the world.  Nothing more is needed.

          In what areas of your life are you touching upon the world system? Don’t lightly shrug off its influence, for Satan is behind its power.  Is it influencing you?  Jesus said a Christian is “not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”  Are you trusting in Jesus to be your redemption? If so, just as He was sent into the world system, you too can be sent into it to proclaim the message of the Gospel that will deliver people out of it (John 17¹⁸).

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