In, But Not Of; Not Out of, But Into
January 27, 2022 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
Christians continue to debate what is our relationship with the “world.” Perhaps you have heard the statement that “Christians are in the world but not of the world.” As Scriptural as that phrase is, there still are multiple ways to interpret and apply that statement. The words come from Jesus’ High Priestly prayer in John 17. As with many debates today, it boils down to how we define the terms. Let me touch on some of these matters as a teaser for the sermon on Sunday.
We must start with a definition of “world.” This is tricky, because John uses the Greek word, kosmos, in several different contexts with different meanings. Let me highlight three meanings; I believe John makes use of all three meanings in the High Priestly prayer.
World #1 = the total mass of humanity made in the image of God. This is the clearest meaning in John 3:16 and 8:12. “For God so loved the world…” “I am the light of the world…” This undergirds the sanctity of all human life, regardless of ethnicity, language, nationality, socio-economic status, etc.
World #2 = the physical realm in which we live. Jesus speaks about doing activity while in the world. For example, in healing the blind man, he says, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (9:5; note that these first two meanings are used in this one verse). The world is a place.
World #3 = the system of rebellion against God and his ways. Jesus says in 15:18, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” This system works against God and all those who seek to be faithful to God.
In should be noted that there is overlap between these “worlds.” There are people, included in that first world, loved by God, who actively embrace and endorse that third world, rebelling against God. Of course, all living humans are currently in the physical world.
Now it comes to defining the prepositions used by Jesus in John 17. There are four different prepositional phrases that speak about Christians’ relationship with the world.
- “They are in the world” (17:11). Jesus speaks this in contrast with his departure and return to the Father. This speaks about World #2, the physical realm. Jesus lived here on earth and then returned to his heavenly glory. We too live here, temporarily, and then we will enjoy our eternal home with Christ. The fact that we are in the world like Christ was in the world emphasizes that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20) and that we are “sojourners and exiles” (1 Pet. 2:11).
- “They are not of the world” (17:14, 16). Jesus speaks this twice and both times makes the comparison with himself, “just as I am not of the world.” This leaves World #3 as the only option for understanding this description. But the preposition “of” is extremely vague. I contend that it communicates influence and identity. Christians are not to be influenced by nor identity with the system of rebellion against God and his ways. This requires being able to identify the system of rebellion. In a nutshell, it is any system of thinking or effort which extols human’s ability above God’s provision.
- “Do not take them out of the world” (17:15). In the Greek, this is the same preposition as the second phrase above. But, just like the English “of,” the Greek preposition has a broad range of meaning. I believe the ESV is correct to translate this as “out of.” So, this is World #2. Jesus desire for Christians to be “broken out of” the world, as if escape is God’s chief good for his followers. Just as Jesus has divine purpose for being in the world, so also his followers have a divine purpose for being in the world. We should not desire escape (this does not contradict the Christian virtue of longing for Christ’s return; we are able to endure hardship while we wait for his return because we believe God has purposes for our time here; cf. Phil. 1:21-25; Eph. 2:10).
- “I have sent them into the world” (17:18). Once again, Jesus makes the comparison with himself. The Father sent him into the world. This certainly implies World #2, the physical realm, and Jesus’ incarnation. Some Christians use this to speak about incarnational ministry. But lines can and have been crossed when phrase #2 is forgotten, Christians are not of the world. I believe Jesus is speaking more about World #1. This is the Great Commission. Jesus sends his followers into all the peoples of the world to preach the Good News. This phrase speaks about our purpose while we are waiting for the return of Christ.
