Note: To see all the studies in this series, go to https://surrenderdaily.blogspot.com/
As we have been working through this series of short studies in 1 John, we have been focusing on our Christian fellowship – our koinonia. Our key verse in the study has been 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is
in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his
Son cleanses us from all sin. (ESV)
We have talked a lot about that fellowship
and the light associated with it.
However, there is another fellowship with which we regularly flirt – our
fellowship with the world. As we
discussed in Part 7, when you put your faith in Jesus Christ, it was because He
called you out of the world of darkness into His Kingdom of light. We may still be in this world, but we are no
longer a part of this world.
But this world is trying to draw us back into itself at all times. As those who are abiding in Christ, we no longer conform to the patterns of the world, but rather to the patterns of Jesus. Paul said in Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but
be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern
what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (ESV)
As a result, our expectation
should be that the world looks at us as different – possibly even hating us for
that difference – wanting to draw us back into their way of thinking. Jesus himself said, in John 15:19
If you were of the world, the world
would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose
you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (ESV)
Both of those concepts – not conforming – being different – as well as the idea of being hated – are both concepts that make many of us very uncomfortable. Everyone wants to be liked. Everyone wants to fit in. As a result, sometimes we find ourselves compromising more than we realize. In truth, even the smallest compromise is a step in the wrong direction. At first, we give in on seemingly small things, just enough to fit in so that we don’t look so freakish or out of place. But once we start taking steps in that direction, it gets easier and easier to take additional steps to compromise even larger things. Before we know it, we look more like the world than we do Jesus, and we begin to love the things of the world more than we love Jesus. In other words, we have greater fellowship with the world than we do with Christ. Paul warns us about this in Galatians 4:9
But now that you have come to know God,
or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and
worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once
more? (ESV)
Therefore, in this short study we
are only looking at three verses and each of these verses is going to tell us
something important about our fellowship with the world. 1 John 2:15-17 says
15 Do not love the world or the things in
the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the
eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the
world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God
abides forever. (ESV)
Actually, we will probably only address verse 15 in this article, leaving verses 16-17 for next time. From verse 15, however, we see our first
very important truth about our fellowship with the world.
Fellowship
with the world precludes fellowship with God.
Keep in mind that fellowship here
is meant as we have been studying it – close, personal intimacy based on a
common bond. There is a difference
between our necessary participation with the world and fellowship with it. We must at least participate in the world
because this is where we are. We must not,
however, have fellowship with the world because doing so precludes our
fellowship with God. As we have been studying
in these articles, our koinonia is premised upon our common fellowship
with God – made possible by the blood of Jesus and his gospel. However, when we engage in fellowship with
the world, it breaks and interferes our fellowship with God. In turn, this makes our
fellowship with one another more tenuous.
The point is clear. If we love
the world, the love of the Father is not in us.
But let us be even more clear about what he means here by "the world". It is the world itself we are not to love, and by that John means the world system (not the people in it). We have already talked at length about the importance of our love for people, and John will continue to bring out that importance as we progress through this letter. No, this is beyond the people. This is the very culture and infrastructure of the world system itself.
Until such time that Jesus returns and establishes his kingdom here on earth, His kingdom is a kingdom of the heart. When standing before Pilate, Jesus said himself “my kingdom is not of this world” – it will be one day, but not yet. As believers, we have the kingdom now, in our hearts, even though the kingdom itself is not yet realized. This is the basis of our hope. We experience in part what we will one day have in full. Until that time, Satan is being allowed to have dominion over this world, which is why he is called the Prince of the Power of the Air. Ephesians 2:1-2 says
1 And you were dead
in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of
this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is
now at work in the sons of disobedience. (ESV)
All the systems of the world
belong to Satan right now. That means the culture, the government, the
educational infrastructure, everything. Don’t get me wrong – that doesn’t mean
there are not portions of these systems that have been won back from Satan at
times. In fact, I would argue part of
our responsibility as believers is to redeem these institutions to the greatest
extent possible. However, redeeming them does not mean we love them. We love the people, not the systems. The systems are
still ultimately under Satan’s control until Jesus returns, and if we direct
our love towards those systems, we are straying from our mission to love the peoples of the world and bring them to Christ. More importantly, we put
ourselves at risk. So we try to redeem
them, but we keep them in their place, knowing what they are and to whom they
belong – at least for now.
And not just the world systems. He also identifies the things in the world. What does he mean by that? To be honest and plain, he means everything. When we begin loving things rather than people, we are also straying from our mission and putting ourselves at risk.
Now… let’s take a moment and think about this.
What do you love? Are there things you love? I’m not talking about appreciation. I appreciate the beauty of God's creation and give him the glory for it. I appreciate a beautiful piece of art and can enjoy it. I appreciate good food. Well, maybe in my case I love food a little too much, but that is the point is it not? When we love something more than it was intended, we pervert it and it becomes sin in our lives. God has given us all things to appreciate and be thankful for. But when we love something too much, it becomes sin. How often do we love things to the point of obsession – loving so much that if you lost it, it would just ruin your day. Are there things that you are holding on to so tightly that they might even be considered idols?
What about the institutions of the world? Are there institutions that you love more than you love Jesus? Certainly there are plenty of institutions that are clearly and obviously anti-Christ in nature. But there are others that may not seem to be part of the world but can quickly become part of the world. Think about our country. We live in a Christian country, right? Really? Can we still say that? Would you be willing to turn your back on your country if it meant turning your back on Jesus? Deitrich Boenhoffer loved his country, Germany, with all his heart; but he did not love the institution of Germany more than he loved Jesus and, as such, he gave his life defending Jesus against the lies of his country's leaders. What about your church? Would you turn your back on your church if it became clear that Jesus had left the building. There was a time in church history when the institution of the church itself was part of the world system and it became necessary to break from it so that the church could be reformed. Martin Luther loved the church, but not more than he loved Jesus, so when the church turned its back on Jesus, he stood up to the institution and put his love of Jesus before his love of the church. These are probably two of the most important institutions in our lives. We give them all our (earthly) loyalties, but neither are more important than our love and obedience for Jesus. Like all things, even institutions can become idols in our lives.
What about activities of the world? There are lots of really great activities in which we can partake. Hobbies, social events, entertainment. Some of these can be good and enjoyable or even beneficial to us. However, they are all still part of the world system and if given too much emphasis can interfere with our fellowship with God.
You see, when we begin to love and have fellowship with the world and the things of the world, it becomes difficult to draw the line between our devotion to those things and ideas and our devotion to God. We must be able to live as part of this world, participate in this world, but not become enthralled or in love with this world. Fellowship with the world precludes fellowship with God.
There are two more truths in these verses – things of the world that are not from God and the temporary nature of the world. However, but to keep these studies short, we will have to put them off until next time.
To him who loves us and has freed us
from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and
Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:5-6
No comments:
Post a Comment