We are in the family of the Majesty on High! That is the fundamental truth that sets us apart as Christians. There is no God higher than ours; no King with more dominion, glory, and power –
Isaiah 44:8 (ESV) – Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed, there is no other Rock; I know not one.’”
We are set apart and blessed as royalty,
1 Peter 2:9–10 (ESV) – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
What does this mean for us in the world which God sees as an enemy? First we have to understand the difference in perspectives between the collective world in opposition to God spoken of in James 4:4 and 1 John 2:15-17 and the world that Jesus addresses in John 3:16:
James 4:4 (NKJV) – Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity (hated by) with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
1 John 2:15–17 (NKJV) – Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
John 3:16 (NKJV) – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The Scripture outright states that to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God. There are references about the world in the Bible that seem to completely contradict the love that God says He has for it. Now I don’t pretend to be a scholar; my goal in life is to be useful not clever. I know that the words of Scripture sometimes have various meanings, renderings, or interpretations that are usually based on the original languages they were written in. In this case its clear to me that the renderings of the two worlds spoken of in the referenced passages are the same world in which we live now yet distinctively separate from one another in the Light of God’s perspective.
“World” in the NT is usually the Greek word kosmos. It is related to a verb which means “to set in order,” or “to adorn, decorate.” Greek lexicographers give five meanings for “world” (kosmos) in NT usage:
- The universe created by God with design and order (e.g., Mt 13:35; Jn 17:24; Acts 17:24).
- The planet earth (e.g., Jn 11:9). This includes the idea of earth as the dwelling place of human beings and of earth as contrasted with heaven.
- The total of mankind (Mt 5:14; Jn 3:16; 1 Cor 4:13).
- The total of human existence in this present life, with all of its experience, possessions, and emotions (Mt 16:26; 1 Cor 7:33).
- The world order which is alienated from God, in rebellion against him, and condemned by nature and by godless deeds (Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 2163). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.).
We find, in contrast, a dualism in the concept of the world as being naturally human in cognition, relationship, emotion, and feeling — and the concept of the world being a wickedly ordered and well-organized system of living within these natural human traits; that are directly opposed to God’s holy standards. God created mankind with human traits before those traits were manipulated and corrupted by sin. Sin skews in the opposite what God intended to be a natural combination of acceptable traits that pointed to Him in love and loyalty rather than the self-focused ambition and collective opposition to the Light of the world.
How can God love something or someone in direct opposition to Him? The very essence of John 3:16 connotes a very real, lost, and dark reality in the world that is only reversible through the work of God’s salvation plan in Christ Jesus. It alludes to the human condition as (1) perishable and (2) on the opposite side of being in unity with His pleasure. Therefore, there is a love that God has for the world in conjunction with His hatred for what it stands for. The love God has for the world preexisted anyone’s love for Him!
1 John 4:10 + 4:19 (NKJV) – In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins… We love Him because He first loved us.
There is an underlying theme in God’s work here on earth that can appear as a conundrum that does not seem ascertainable to our understanding because His thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways (Isaiah 55:8). Why keep taking fruit from a rotten tree? Why save wretches when you could have created acceptable and well-pleasing humans from the start? Why not uproot the entire crop and replant it new? I find the answer comes easy for me: God who is the creator of all life sees life as precious and valuable even when that life occupies vessels who don’t honor Him. He has reconciled us through Christ!
Reconciliation: Restoration of friendly relationships and of peace where before there had been hostility and alienation.
2 Corinthians 5:17–19 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
The different passages that reflect different views of the world from God’s perspective are addressing the same world but not the same love for it. When we look at John 3:16 we are seeing God’s sacrificial love. When we look at 1 John 2:15-17 or James 4:4 we are seeing humanities selfish love. This is very important for understanding the conundrum of how God can so love the world but also have extreme hatred for it! When we are born again we are no longer of the world much like precious stones and metals are no longer of the earth when they are taken from the dirt and refined and made into something different and more endearing. What has become new in us is that God’s selfless and sacrificial love has now been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5) We are new, and no longer apart of this world (with all its lusts, desires and selfish acts). We remain in the world so that we can testify that there is continued hope for those who are perishing – though limited by a time and a season only known to the Father…
2 Peter 3:8–9 – But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack (delayed) concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
