The Love Of The World
I want to talk about loving the world, what it is and how it impacts the lives of us as believers. What does loving the world mean? Do you love the world? If so, why do you love the world? We all must ask ourselves these questions, because we are commanded not to love the world or the things of the world.
So what does it mean by “the world”? The word world in the Greek is (kosmos). The main meaning of kosmos is “order or arrangement.” “Lawful order, government, ” “mode, fashion.” It is also associated with “adornment” When used in scripture, the idea of order is always present in the meaning “universe or world,” which is the sense the Greek noun most often carries. In biblical thought, of course, the order is the result of God’s activity. God created the universe as an orderly, harmonious system. The word kosmos may refer to the universe or the whole of creation. Acts 17:24; Philippians 2:15
From the word kosmos we get the idea of an orderly system of how this world or universe works.
What does it mean to love the world?
To love the world means, to give place for the lust of the flesh. The lust of the flesh is the desires of the physical body. They are not necessarily evil, but because they are of this world, they are temporary and shall pass away along with this world. We become worldly, when our love for God is replaced by an affection for the things of this world and the desires of the flesh. It is also satisfying the desires of the flesh without any thought of God. One could satisfy his natural desires with too much of a good thing and thus have inordinate desires, or simply satisfy his fleshly desires in sinful ways. In either of these scenarios his love for the world and how the world can satisfy the desires of his flesh instead of loving God and seeking to do his will are the primary goal. (What does it mean to love the world. David Huffstutler, Oct 3, 2016)
To love the world means, to give place to the lust of the eyes. These are desires for what is seen in this world. The temporal things of this world which will pass away. To see and desire something in a way that opposes God’s will and to put a greater value on it than doing the will of God is the lust of the eyes. One makes lusting over the things of the world more of a priority than doing what he knows is the will of God. (What does it mean to love the world. David Huffstutler, Oct 3, 2016)
To love the world means, to give in to the pride of life. The pride of life is to give way to arrogance of boasting of the plans that one makes without the thought of God and his will. The idea of life (bios) has to do with one’s earthly possessions. It’s an arrogant pride that one places in one’s possessions, or overall situation in this present life. It is a satisfaction in temporary possessions and the benefits they afford, instead of having satisfaction in knowing, loving, and obeying God. (What does it mean to love the world. David Huffstutler, Oct 3, 2016)
The apostle John gave the command to love not the world or the things of the world. 1 John 2:15-17. He also stated that if we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us. Many Christians do not realize that this is not an option, but a command. Yet if you look at the landscape of Christianity, you will see that we are not taking this command seriously. We are picking and choosing what we will and will not obey of the scriptural commands of God. We are not to be like the world, yet there are many churches that center their messages on man instead of on Christ. In order to cause church growth. The whole idea of a Christ centered message would possibly offend someone, so they stay away from preaching a message that calls for people to die to self and take up their cross and follow him. In some churches, even the way that we worship has changed into entertainment, with light shows and hyping people up to get them involved. It becomes more soulish and fleshly, by creating an experience; instead of having people connecting with God and worshiping, solely because of who he is, adoring and loving him.
James the half brother of Jesus stated that friendship with the world is hostility toward God, and that whoever wishes to be a friend of the world, makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4. Paul calls the church out of the world, to be separate from it. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. We as the church, are to live in this world as aliens or foreigners, because we are fellow citizens in the kingdom of God. Ephesians 2:12-22. Paul stated in Romans 12:2 that we are not to be conformed, or fashioned according to the patterns or dictates of this world, but instead, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We are not to fit into this world’s mold. But instead, to be (metamorphoo) a Greek term meaning, to be transformed like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. We are to come out of this world, by not acting like this world does, nor going after the same things that it does. We develop a passion for the things of God and his kingdom. We are to be seeking God on how to live a righteous and holy life, instead of being like the world.
The question now to answer is, do we love the world, and if so why?
