Believers in the world, but not of the world?"– 16th November 2016

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15).

When we read of the "world" in the New Testament, we are reading the Greek word cosmos. Cosmos most often refers to the inhabited earth and the people who live on the earth, which functions apart from God. Because the bible refers to Satan who is called the prince(ruler) of this "world" as we can read from John 12:31, “ Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out”. We can learn again from 1 John 5:19, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”

This teaches us that the Bible refers to a world system that is currently ruled by Satan –the evil one. The bible also teaches us that as believing Christians through faith in Jesus Christ are “not of the world” any more than He is of the world. Jesus says that believers are no longer of the world because those who received salvation through Faith and steadfastly protect same are no longer ruled by sin, nor are we bound by the principles of the world. In addition, we are being changed into the image of Christ, causing our interest in the things of the world to become less and less as we mature in Christ.

We can understand that believers in Jesus Christ are simply in the world—physically present today—but not of it, not part of its values system dominated by the evil one. We can learn when Jesus said in John 17:14-15, “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one”. Through their faith those who follow Jesus’ teachings, will move away and not conform to the ways of Satan. But they will be hated by the majority who follow the evil one and therefore we can learn from above where Jesus is praying for the protection for believers from the Father.

As believers, we should be set apart from the world. This is the meaning of being holy and living a holy, righteous life—to be set apart…be deferent from the sinful ways of the world. As Christians we are not to engage in the multitudes of sinful activities the world promotes, nor are we to retain the insipid, corrupt mind that the world creates. Rather, we are to mindfully conform ourselves, and our minds, to that of Jesus Christ as we can learn from Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”. As Christians this should be our daily activity and commitment.

We must also understand that being in the world, but not of it, is necessary if we are to be a light to those who are in spiritual darkness. We have a God given mandate for us as Christians, “to be a Light” in this dark world beginning from those we have contact with on a day to day basis. We are to live in such a way that those outside the faith see our good deeds and our manner and know that there is something “different” about us. We can learn from an important teaching by Jesus that we can learn from John 14:7, “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” As Christians who make every effort to live, think and act like those who do not know Christ do Him a great disservice. Even the heathen knows that “by their fruits you shall know them,” and

as Christians, we should exhibit the fruit of the Spirit within us. We can learn about the Fruit of the spirit from Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”.

We can also know that “being in the world” as Christians does not mean that we are deprived of what is good. We can enjoy the good things of the world, such as the beautiful creation God has given us from the day we were born, for our family, home and self. When we carefully consider Gods provision for us during our lifetime, we understand that He has given us so much that it is incalculable. Scripture warns us that we are not to immerse ourselves in what the world values, nor are we to chase after worldly pleasures. But as Christians we need to know that “pleasure” is no longer our calling in life, as it once was, but rather the ultimate objective of working towards having an eternity with God for ever. We need to read, learn and meditate on His teachings from the bible so that we can develop a close relationship with Him. “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God” (John 8:47).

This phrase is derived in part from John 17, that believers need to be "in the world but not of it" is often used, but perhaps certain of its nuances bear further scrutiny.

First, it could be taken for granted that believers are in the world; we reside on Earth, after all. However, being in the world implies more than simply inhabiting it. We need to actually be involved in our societies. Jesus told His disciples to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). They were not to set themselves up apart from the world and expect others to come to them to hear truth. They were told to "go." Similarly, in John 17:15 Jesus prayed regarding His disciples, "I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one." His disciples needed to stay in the world, not be removed to heaven. Acts 1:8 and Isaiah 43:10 tell us that we are to be witnesses to the world. Matthew 5:16 tells us that our light is to shine before others to point them to God. Allowing our light to shine requires us to be around people. There are certain Christian sects (such as the Amish) who believe in a "Christ apart from culture" model of evangelism; however, such separation is not the biblical norm.

To be "not of the world" requires us to be free of worldly influence. This does not mean that we do not participate in government or typical social processes. It means that we do not act as the unsaved world does. We are not slaves to our sinful natures but act in accordance with righteousness (Romans 6:6, 11). We are told to put to death things that are of our sinful natures and to flee from immorality (Colossians 3:5-10; 1 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 5:3-11). We "train [ourselves] for godliness" (1 Timothy 4:7); we are "imitators of God" (Ephesians 5:1); we have nothing to do with "unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them" (Ephesians 5:11). We submit to authorities and prepare ourselves for good works (Titus 3:1). In essence, we act according to the new nature we have been given rather than the sinful nature of the world (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21; Titus 3:3-8). "We are ambassadors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20), spreading His fragrance (2 Corinthians 2:15-16) through the world.

First Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." We live in a world of darkness, but we are not part of that darkness. We are not of the world because we are in Christ; we have the light. And while we are still in the world, we are called to be set apart, to shine the light that others might know Him and be saved (Matthew 5:13-16).