It’s time, once again, to bring this matter of the world back into our consideration with this third and final installment of What is the World?
In part 1, we looked to the words of Jesus where He presents the world as a field where seeds are planted and crops grow up. Among the good crops there are also ‘weeds’ or ‘tares’ which also come up and are eventually gathered up and burned away before the good crops are harvested and stored in the barn.
May we have ears to hear.
In part 2, we took into consideration several scriptures which celebrate the Lords good creation and declare the immovable status of the world. In this post we also pondered over the many definitions which are related to this word ‘Kosmos’, and hopefully took into consideration the fact that it means different things when used in different passages.
In this post, I would like to address a couple of different worlds.
The first involves the world of creation, or ‘the created order’ and is related to the the problem of confusing the creation with the Creator and directing worship and praise to God’s ’stuff’ rather than to God Himself.
Consider Paul’s words to the Romans:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen”.
Pretty straight forward, wouldn’t you say?
As good as creation is, as good as the world is, it is not worthy of our worship.
‘Love not the world…’
Beyond golden calves, wooden men, and stone gods, there are the other kinds of idols which are fashioned out of God’s good creation:
Money.
Food.
Sex.
Sports.
Entertainment.
Religion.
…and the list goes on and on.
No, we are not to worship the created order, but we may look upon it and say,
“His invisible attributes, …his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made”.
Creation itself is a testimony of the One True God.
Idolatry can take many different forms, especially when we take into consideration that God created ALL THINGS; things visible and things invisible.
What are the fruits of ill directed praise and worship (and I mean those last three words in the most classical sense)?
“For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them”.
Whatever else anyone could say about all of that, I think that it is safe to say that wrong worship results in wrong living.
This stood true for Paul and his world nearly 2000 years ago, and it stands true for us today.
The second world that I would like to talk about is the system.
What is the system? Well, according to the Strong’s concordance, it is one definition of the world.
To be a little more to the point, ‘the world’ can certainly mean government and order.
In fact, that is the very first definition given in the Strong’s for World in the Greek:
Kosmos
1) an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government
Yes, I am aware that ‘God is a god of order…’.
However, God is a God of HIS order, and in fact, this is what the phrase ‘Kingdom of God’ implies: The government of God.
If you take a moment to consider who it was that crucified the Lord of Glory, you would realize that it was big government (Roman Empire) and big religion (Judaism).
Granted, not everyone involved in those two systems (the two hand in hand, acting as one) had evil intentions, but the fact of the matter is that often times, when man begins to perpetuate something in his own strength, and this by even the most subtle persuasion of the evil one, this ’something’ can kind of take on a life of it’s own and it will seek to crush anything or anyone which would stand opposed to it.
There is so very much that could be said about all of this, but for now I will give you a brief scripture reference which should cue you in to where this is all, ultimately, leading:
Rev. 11:15
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Ultimately, God reclaims what was always His to begin with and shares His reign with His Messiah!
Hallelujah!!!
In closing this series, I would like to simply emphasize three main points:
1) Creation (or matter), itself, is not evil, and to believe that it is, is to drift off into the error of gnosticism.
2) God loved the world enough to send His only Son for us to believe in so that we might be an ‘everliving’ people. If we are to love our neighbors as our selves, and even love our enemies, then they are not the subject at hand when we are warned to ‘not to love’.
3) There is a recreation which has been initiated in the person and work of Jesus the Messiah which is to be furthered along in those and through those who, by the power of the Spirit, name Jesus as Lord. We are to be a Kingdom people who are governed solely by the Spirit of God and who anticipate a change in both resurrection and a reordering of the world in which we find ourselves.
May His will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven.
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