“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever” (1 John 2:15-1715And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 16And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. 17And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. (John 2:15‑17)).
Two Words for “World”
There are, in the New Testament, two primary words translated “world” — kosmos, the word used here and throughout John’s writings, and aion, found chiefly in Matthew and Paul’s epistles. The root meanings of the two words are entirely different. Kosmos means order, beauty; hence, we have the word “cosmetic” — that which beautifies; aion means age or dispensation — the course of existence. Aion is applied chiefly to mark time and condition, while kosmos gives us the material world primarily. Thus we have, “Be not conformed to this age [aion]” (Rom. 12:22And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)) — to the course of things in which we live. In Ephesians 2:22Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:2) we have the two worlds significantly joined together: “In time past ye walked according to the course [aion] of this world [kosmos].” Satan is alike the prince of this world, kosmos (John 14:30; 16:1130Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. (John 14:30)
11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. (John 16:11)), and the god of this age, aion (2 Cor. 4:4).
The earth as it came forth from the hands of God was indeed a kosmos, a thing of beauty, upon which He could look in blessing and pronounce it “very good.” It was a fitted place for man’s habitation. But the world as it came from God’s hands is one thing; what it has become because of sin is, alas, quite another.
Worldliness — the World
With God Left Out
Worldliness is the world with God left out. It is what is not of the Father that is of the world. Covetousness, or desiring what we do not have, is idolatry (
Col. 3:55Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: (Colossians 3:5)), for God is displaced. And conversely, where He has His place, there can be no covetousness, no lust; we are satisfied with His fullness.
Where the Father is left out, the empty soul craves, and though it had the whole world, it would be empty still, for God alone can fill the heart.
This then is the world — a Godless world. Worldliness may show itself in various ways. There may be the grosser, more sensual lust of the flesh, the more aesthetic lust of the eyes, or the mere boasting in riches and possessions, the “pride of living.” But in whatever way it takes possession of the heart, it is still the same: The Father is absent. It was in this way that Eve was taken by the beguilements of Satan, for her sin consisted in putting these gratifications in the place of God in direct disobedience to Him.
Cain’s apostasy seems more awful when we see him turn his back upon God and quietly settle down to enjoy the city which he had built than when he cried out, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” Lot took his first step in the course which ended so shamefully in the mountain cave, when he lifted up his eyes upon the well-watered plain of Sodom, “like the garden of the Lord,” but with the Lord left out. Let us never, then, think lightly of that which is the root of all sin: departure from God. The Apostle describes the hopeless condition of the Gentile as “without God in the world” (Eph. 2). When with tears he would warn against those whose end was destruction and whose glory was in their shame, he described them as those who “mind earthly things” (Phil. 3).
Worldliness — Its Menace
The very essence of worldliness is the exclusion of God; it does not matter so much from what He is excluded, as the fact of His exclusion. We have thus far been looking at the nature of worldliness. Of its desolating effects, we need not say much. “Whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:44Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)). When the world has a place in the heart, coldness results. The first step to worldly Laodiceanism was Ephesian loss of first love.
When worldliness creeps in, we lose communion with God, and very easily divisions creep in to separate God’s people. Gospel work ceases or becomes a mere drudgery of routine. All spiritual activity ceases; the door is left wide open for some open sin, unless the mercy of God prevents it. It may be business, it may be pleasure, it may be things right and harmless in themselves, but if they displace God, their work is done. What desolation worldliness has wrought, and what bright, active, devoted Christians it has overcome!
We have spoken of the menace of worldliness. We are surrounded by it; it presses upon us from every side. It is active, energetic, under the guiding hand of its master, waiting only for an entrance. It is subtle, alluring. It has its attractions for the young Christian, but it also affects the more mature. Well did our Lord know our danger when He prayed, “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:1515I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. (John 17:15)). The church is threatened with three evils — false doctrine, divisions and worldliness — and we may safely say that worldliness is at the root of most of the power of the other two.
Worldliness — Its Prevention
and Cure
Having seen something of the nature and the effects of worldliness and that it is an evil which threatens us now, we may look simply at what is both a preventive and a cure. It is the Father’s presence. That which marks the world is His absence; when He is present, there is faith and victory over the world.
How suggestive, how alluring, is this word — Father! It reminds us of the Son, through whom we are sons and through whom we have access to the Father. It tells us of relationship, of nearness, of affections. It does not speak of, though it suggests, a place, but it reminds us of a Person. Mere place could not produce holiness, but sin cannot lift its head in the Father’s presence.
How sweet and how simple, then, is the cure for worldliness! Have we allowed it a place in our hearts? Let us turn to the Father. No matter how deep the immersion in the world nor of how long-standing, the Father’s claims are strongest, and His grace, His restoring grace, all-sufficient.
We are living in times of awful worldliness. As in the day of Cain, man is using the inventions and the luxuries of the age to hide God from his sight. In that church which should be a testimony for Him who was not of this world is often the home of worldliness. What shame, reproach and dishonor have been brought upon His holy name!
What is wanted is not sanctimonious asceticism (that is but a sham) nor legalism (which brings bondage), but a bright devotion to One who loves us, who has our hearts, and in whose presence it is our delight to dwell. “That the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:2626And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)).
Adapted from Help and Food