I have been so confused in the past concerning how Christians are to view the world. This is partly because spiritual discernment requires a complex way of thinking, so that at times we are to be critical and at times we are to be accepting of things in the world. In fact, the same issue can have two different possible viewpoints for the Christian, which is why we can disagree on certain things. But there is another reason for my confusion. The word “world? in Scripture can refer to several things. If we take it as meaning only one thing, we can easily get mixed signals, creating a climate that is ripe for confusion. I want to delineate three meanings of the “world? and how each has certain i First, there is the physical world as a piece of real estate. It is our globe, the planet on which we live. The world is a beautiful place and nothing in it is necessarily evil or bad. The world is stricken by the curse of fallenness, through no fault of its own. It is simply because Satan took possession of a creature of the creation that creation is stuck with a consequence of the curse. The world was created by God and is a good place. God himself labeled it “good.? Even today, the world is God’s. We can sing, “This is my Father’s world,?because it is. We can marvel at different aspects of it, as we do in singing, “How Great Thou Art.? Creation still remains as a key billboard sign pointing to the existence of God. Creation itself yells out that there must be a Creator, so that Paul says by virtue of us living in the world, we are without excuse for knowing a Creator exists. It is in this sense that God through the Psalmist proclaims, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.? God still has the title for our planet, for he created it and still is the sustainer of it.
There is a “however? extension to this truth. God did create it, but the world is doomed. There is a future already determined for the world and it is not too promising. God did destroy the world by water once and was quite sad that he had to do so. And he won’t do that again. But he will destroy it finally and for all with fire. In 2 Peter we are told that “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.? Because of the fall, we are on a winding down path in the world. We know full well that this physical world is not going to last forever. It is because of this that the rich man is called a fool. For what does it profit someone to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul?
What are the implications of this truth? I believe there are three. First, we are to be good stewards of God’s creation. We are to concern ourselves with what we do with God’s creation. I believe the Christian should be concerned about pollution and global warming. We want to take care of what God has given us, not just so that our kids have a clean place to live, but because as a fingerprint of God we want to keep as clear a portrait of God in the world as we can. So Christians should speak out about environmental issues. Second, again there is a “however.? However, our ultimate hope does not lie in maintaining the world. We know its destiny. That does not make us unconcerned, it just makes us balanced. After all, Jesus said his kingdom was not of this world. And finally, we should enjoy the earth. We should seek to know about and see firsthand as much of it as we like, knowing that as we learn about creation we learn and affirm more and more about the Creator.
A second understanding about the “world? is that it can often refer to simply the social realm of humanity. Many times “world? refers to all of humankind only. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. It is not because he loved the earth, but because he loved the human beings who occupy it. It is also the world that God wants to be saved. He wants all people to repent and come to the knowledge of the truth. This is about people. It is in this way that God will judge the world–it’s about the people. He calls his people to be the light of the world–we are to shine God’s love on people. Romans 3 says the whole world is accountable to God, referring to all people. It is to this world that Paul is referring when he teaches that God was trying to reconcile the world to himself. All people are the target of God’s saving actions and He desires the whole world of people to be His. Jesus came to provide atonement for the sins of the whole world of humankind. The implications of this meaning of the world are obvious. We are to love people. Our prayer should be that we learn to adopt a view of the world of people that matches God’s view. We are to act toward them as God would act because our motive is to reach them with the truth that God desperately wants them to know and respond to. While we can despise some of the attitudes and actions people exhibit, we are to love the people in the world. That is how God looks at them, even when they are lost. So it is a real truth that the church exists for these very people, for without them there is no reason for the church to continue.
A final view of the world is rather difficult. It is the spiritual condition of the rebellious parts of the world. In other words, it is the part of the world that is fallen with no redemptive value at all. The citizens of this world are sinful, unrepentant people who carry out the desires of the Evil One. This entire population is referred to in Scripture simply as “the world.? It includes their attitude, their intentions, and their way of living. That is why we are to be in the world (physical world), but not of the world (the fallen nature of the evil residents in the world). In Isaiah God guarantees that he will punish the world for its evil. He tells that disciples that they do not belong to the world in John 15, referring to the world of evil. It is in this sense that the adverb/adjective “worldly? takes on its negative connotation. It is why being a friend of the “world? makes us an enemy of God. If you choose to be like the evil dominated fallen world, then God has no choice but to consider you his enemy. John uses the term this way a lot in his letter of 1 John. He says at the end that we know “that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.? In essence, John says that the righteous comprise a rather small minority of people in the physical world, because most of the world (of people) belong to the evil one. It is for this reason that we are not to love the world or anything in the world, for the love of the Father cannot be in someone who loves the world. It is not about people or the physical planet that John or God is concerned, it is in the spiritual disposition of most of the people populating the physical world. How do we know this? Because John clarifies himself in the next verse: For everything in the world (which is)-- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does, comes not from the Father but from the world. This is, in essence, the definition of this third meaning of the world. The common characteristics of the majority of people in the world make up the evil world. And he clarifies its destination–the world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. What are the implications of this meaning? We need to be very careful as we live in the physical world among the people of the world. The influence of evil is so dominant and dominating, that it is hard to withstand it. Be very careful! While we love the people and want to reach them, we do not want to adopt their lifestyle. To do that would be to acquire their fate. So we sing, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through.? While I am a member of the world of humanity, I don’t belong in the physical world simply because it is largely under the influence of the evil one, causing the world to be slanted toward evil at an alarming degree. But we do have a home being prepared and whatever it takes to limit the stain of worldliness in us, it’s worth it. So be perceptive when you read about the “world? in Scripture. Make sure you understand what is meant and interpret it accordingly. SF
There is a “however? extension to this truth. God did create it, but the world is doomed. There is a future already determined for the world and it is not too promising. God did destroy the world by water once and was quite sad that he had to do so. And he won’t do that again. But he will destroy it finally and for all with fire. In 2 Peter we are told that “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.? Because of the fall, we are on a winding down path in the world. We know full well that this physical world is not going to last forever. It is because of this that the rich man is called a fool. For what does it profit someone to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul?
What are the implications of this truth? I believe there are three. First, we are to be good stewards of God’s creation. We are to concern ourselves with what we do with God’s creation. I believe the Christian should be concerned about pollution and global warming. We want to take care of what God has given us, not just so that our kids have a clean place to live, but because as a fingerprint of God we want to keep as clear a portrait of God in the world as we can. So Christians should speak out about environmental issues. Second, again there is a “however.? However, our ultimate hope does not lie in maintaining the world. We know its destiny. That does not make us unconcerned, it just makes us balanced. After all, Jesus said his kingdom was not of this world. And finally, we should enjoy the earth. We should seek to know about and see firsthand as much of it as we like, knowing that as we learn about creation we learn and affirm more and more about the Creator.
A second understanding about the “world? is that it can often refer to simply the social realm of humanity. Many times “world? refers to all of humankind only. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. It is not because he loved the earth, but because he loved the human beings who occupy it. It is also the world that God wants to be saved. He wants all people to repent and come to the knowledge of the truth. This is about people. It is in this way that God will judge the world–it’s about the people. He calls his people to be the light of the world–we are to shine God’s love on people. Romans 3 says the whole world is accountable to God, referring to all people. It is to this world that Paul is referring when he teaches that God was trying to reconcile the world to himself. All people are the target of God’s saving actions and He desires the whole world of people to be His. Jesus came to provide atonement for the sins of the whole world of humankind. The implications of this meaning of the world are obvious. We are to love people. Our prayer should be that we learn to adopt a view of the world of people that matches God’s view. We are to act toward them as God would act because our motive is to reach them with the truth that God desperately wants them to know and respond to. While we can despise some of the attitudes and actions people exhibit, we are to love the people in the world. That is how God looks at them, even when they are lost. So it is a real truth that the church exists for these very people, for without them there is no reason for the church to continue.
A final view of the world is rather difficult. It is the spiritual condition of the rebellious parts of the world. In other words, it is the part of the world that is fallen with no redemptive value at all. The citizens of this world are sinful, unrepentant people who carry out the desires of the Evil One. This entire population is referred to in Scripture simply as “the world.? It includes their attitude, their intentions, and their way of living. That is why we are to be in the world (physical world), but not of the world (the fallen nature of the evil residents in the world). In Isaiah God guarantees that he will punish the world for its evil. He tells that disciples that they do not belong to the world in John 15, referring to the world of evil. It is in this sense that the adverb/adjective “worldly? takes on its negative connotation. It is why being a friend of the “world? makes us an enemy of God. If you choose to be like the evil dominated fallen world, then God has no choice but to consider you his enemy. John uses the term this way a lot in his letter of 1 John. He says at the end that we know “that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.? In essence, John says that the righteous comprise a rather small minority of people in the physical world, because most of the world (of people) belong to the evil one. It is for this reason that we are not to love the world or anything in the world, for the love of the Father cannot be in someone who loves the world. It is not about people or the physical planet that John or God is concerned, it is in the spiritual disposition of most of the people populating the physical world. How do we know this? Because John clarifies himself in the next verse: For everything in the world (which is)-- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does, comes not from the Father but from the world. This is, in essence, the definition of this third meaning of the world. The common characteristics of the majority of people in the world make up the evil world. And he clarifies its destination–the world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. What are the implications of this meaning? We need to be very careful as we live in the physical world among the people of the world. The influence of evil is so dominant and dominating, that it is hard to withstand it. Be very careful! While we love the people and want to reach them, we do not want to adopt their lifestyle. To do that would be to acquire their fate. So we sing, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through.? While I am a member of the world of humanity, I don’t belong in the physical world simply because it is largely under the influence of the evil one, causing the world to be slanted toward evil at an alarming degree. But we do have a home being prepared and whatever it takes to limit the stain of worldliness in us, it’s worth it. So be perceptive when you read about the “world? in Scripture. Make sure you understand what is meant and interpret it accordingly. SF
TThoughts on Ecology