Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. - 1 John 2:15
What's so wrong with the world? I mean, the trees, waterfalls, rainbows, beaches and mountains are great, aren't they? God made them- why is He now seeming to condemn them?
A look at the Greek word definition will clarify this verse.
The word for world is kosmos {kos'-mos}. Strong's Concordance (an excellent study help) gives as one of the Bible usage definitions that kosmos means "world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly" and especially look at this: "the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ."
In other words, kosmos means the world system that tries to play its game outside of the knowledge and authority of God.
Understand, we're living on this planet, and we cannot very well go into hiding - we gotta live here. But we don't have to let the world system live in us. It's like the people who are in the tugboat in the Atlantic - they are IN the ocean but not OF the ocean. The tug keeps them protected while they traverse about.
So are we as Christians protected from the pulling of the world system...if we let Christ take over.
Students: ADD THE KOSMOS KEY PHRASE ' WORLD SYSTEM' TO MONDAY'S QUIZ AND YOU WILL GET BONUS POINTS.
