Week 3. Key word: World
John writes about the world 23 times and mentions the word in chapters 2-5. What does he mean by world? How do you reconcile a passage like 1 John 2.15 with John 3.16? By the way, it is the same word that is in John 3.16 and 17.18.
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John writes, "do not love the world, nor the things in the world" (1 John 2.15).
ReplyDeleteJohn 3.16 says "for God so loved the world..." John 17.18 says, "As you sent me [Jesus] into the world, so I have sent them [his disciples] into the world."
What is the "world" that John is talking about? What should our attitude toward it be? That is part of what we are going to think about this Sunday.
John writes, "Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you." It seems like John is saying, expect those rebelling against God(like Cain) to hate you for righteousness' sake.
ReplyDeleteDo they hate from a place of jealousy? I think when people have hated me for righteousness sake, they hated me because I was different than them. This is pure speculation, but I also wonder if there was a place in their soul that envied the peace and integrity that God, in his grace, had given me. Like I say, I could be completely mistaken. I could have come across as arrogant. Maybe they hated me for a just cause. I honestly don't know.
How have you experienced this hate? Where do you think this hate comes from?
I tend to think that, at least in America today, part of the "hate" comes from the fact the Bible says that certain things are wrong (sin). Because of this (and because of the behavior of many foolish people who identify themselves as Christians), the "world" sees us as standing in judgement of them, perhaps that we think we're better than them.
ReplyDeleteI think that many people "now-a-days" feel that it is inappropriate to be intolerant of some behaviors or actions. How many times don't we hear the social preachings of "tolerance"? Live and let live...it's okay.
ReplyDeleteBut as a true Christian, we can not be tolerant of all behaviors and thoughts in the world. There are "rights" and "wrongs" that are spoken of in the Bible that many do not want to hear. It makes them feel bad or guilty and in turn they will view Christians as intolerant (or judgemental as Andy noted).
I think that perhaps it is not hate that people are expressing but simply them trying to discredit anything that might suggest they are wrong and the consequences that go along with that.
I think how America perceive's "tolerance" today is a major stumbling block in reaching non-believers. I've heard the question asked before, "Aren't you supposed to be loving and understanding as a Christian? How can you be so intolerant and condemn the way some people live thier lives?" Showing God's love and his law at the same time, is very difficult in certain situations.
I think bringing up our culture's idea of "tolerance" hits the nail right on the head, Stacey.
ReplyDeleteOur culture has a very specific picture of Jesus (and by extension, God the Father) as this teddy bear-type person of love. And to reaffirm this idea, they point to situations like when Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery. I don't know how many times I've heard "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" quoted by people who don't even believe the Bible!
The problem is the that God (The Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit) isn't just a God of love, he's a God of justice/righteousness. And his love is a just love. Our culture's picture of Jesus doesn't really leave room for the Jesus we see fashioning a whip and turning over tables in the temple or calling the hard-hearted Pharisees a "brood of vipers!"
A God of love is palatable to our culture, but a God of justice/righteousness is not. A God of love, presumably, loves you no matter what you do. A God of justice wants you to stop sinning.
In a sense, a God of love is a lot more convenient. He just sits back, watches you sin, gives you a thumbs up, and says, "I love you anyways!" A God of justice/righteousness is far more threatening to our way of life.
I think it might help us to remember that God's justice is a loving justice. So often in our culture, we see "Christians" call people to leave sin, but we don't see them call anybody TO anything (or anyONE, to put it more accurately.) We need to call our friends from sin and, most importantly, call them TO Jesus.
I think that ch 3 vs 1 helps with the idea of why the world hates us - it does not know God, so it doesn't know us. In many ways it is that they just don't know that God is a God of justice AND love. Since they don't know God for who he truly is, they maybe confused and even angry when we reflect a truer picture of Him.
ReplyDeleteIt's ironic, I think, that by not accepting the justice of God, they are missing out on how great his love really is. It would be "easy" for God to just love is without dealing with the issue of our sin. But, there IS the issue of our sin, and God showed the depth of his love for us not by ignoring our sin, but by sending his own son to to pay a penalty we never could. Vs 16: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. If we ignore the justice of God and ignore our sin, we can't truly understand how truly amazing God's love is.
So. The 'world', for the most part, will hate us (1 John 3.13). The 'world' agrees with the spirit(s) of the antichrist(s) and false prophets (4.1-6). The 'world' is in general rebellion against God (2.16). That is how to think of 'the world' in John's writings - 'the dark chaos that is rebellion against God'.
ReplyDeleteBring that with you to 1 John 4.17. "...in this 'world', we will be like him." That is staggering. Is that true of us?