What Is “The World”?
Biblical Christianity, the only Christianity, is in complete incongruity with the “world,” what scripture shows is the world system or the spirit of the age. BDAG, the foremost lexicon of the New Testament, defines the Greek word translated “world,” kosmos, based upon its usage in all ancient Greek literature: “the sum total of everything here and now.” Thayer’s Greek lexicon says,
the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ. . . . worldly affairs; the aggregate of things earthly; 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
The Friberg Greek lexicon reads: “morally, mankind as alienated from God, unredeemed and hostile to him.”
In Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT), the entry for kosmos (κόσμος) is one of the most exhaustive word studies in biblical scholarship. Authored primarily by scholar Hermann Sasse, the dictionary traces the word’s trajectory from secular Greek thought to its heavy, uniquely negative theological usage in the New Testament. The defining characteristic of kosmos in the New Testament is its alienation from God. Sasse emphasizes that the kosmos represents the sum total of human life, culture, and power structures that exist in active rebellion against God. It is the realm dominated by sin, darkness, and “the prince of this world.”
Appropriate Passages of Scripture on the Subject
I draw your attention to these verses or passages in the New Testament.
Gospels
Matthew 13:22, “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”
Mark 4:18-19, “And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”
John 12:25, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
John 17:14-16, “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
Epistles
1 Corinthians 2:12, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God;; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”
2 Timothy 4:10, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.”
James 4:4, “Ye 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.”
2 Peter 1:4, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
2 Peter 2:20, “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.”
1 John
1 John 2:15-19, “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 for ever. . . . They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us,, they would no doubt have continued with us:: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”
1 John 4:4-6, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
1 John 5:4-5, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world:: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Romans 12:1-2
More than these verses or passages talk about the world, which is the world system, but these show the relationship of the world to the gospel. Believers are also warned about the world and its influences, such as in a classic place like Romans 12:1-2:
Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren,, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And 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.”
More Explanation of “the World”
I should note that “this world” in Romans 12:2 translates the word aion and not kosmos. These two Greek words are related. Leading Greek lexicons (like BDAG) define aion in these contexts as “the spirit of the age” or “the ruling cultural and moral forces of the current era.” In a moral context, kosmos denotes humanity organized in rebellion against God. It is a structured arrangement of values, desires, and philosophies that operate independently of the Creator.
When the New Testament writers spoke of “this age” (aion), they were telling believers that even though they live physically in the present era, they belong to the kingdom of the age to come. Therefore, fitting into the mold of the current era’s values (conforming) contradicts their true identity. When scripture warns against being “of the world” or “conformed to this world,” it is a warning against absorbing the collective assumptions, moral standards, and philosophies of the day.
Incongruity of the World from True Salvation
A text like Romans 12:1-2 shows that “brethren,” who present their bodies as living sacrifices, will not conform to this world. It reinforces those “world,” “this world,” or “present world” passages that are more directly related to the doctrine of salvation. Other verses are related, especially ones that, for instance, contrast the children of light with the children of darkness. The emissaries of Satan are “the rulers of the darkness of this world” (Ephesians 6:12). Jesus in John 12:46 said, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.” In 1 Thessalonians 5:5, Paul wrote concerning the saved in Thessalonica:
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
The New Testament or the various authors of the New Testament, or Jesus Himself, do not describe or explain much “the world” or “this present world.” When John commands, “Love not the world, neither the things in the world,” he doesn’t say what “the world” is that we’re not to love, nor “the things in the world.” This lack of explanation implies that true believers will already know the meaning.
The Meaning of “Love not the World”
Being “of the world” means fitting into the world system or the spirit of the age. Philosophies, lifestyles, thinking, decisions, hobbies, fashion, activities, and tastes of the world are not compatible with Jesus Christ and both His present and future kingdoms. When I say present, I mean the representation of King Jesus on the earth through His churches, and when I say future, I speak of His literal, physical reign on the earth, prophesied throughout the Bible.
Because “the world” (kosmos) is not just a collection of neutral rocks, trees, and physical matter, but is instead an ordered moral system, then everything within that system takes on moral significance. This directly shifts how someone should view reality: nothing in human culture is completely neutral. Because the “spirit of the age” animating the world is actively moving either toward God or away from Him, every philosophy, cultural trend, and daily action carries moral weight. Ideas, art, politics, and daily habits are never just “there.” They are part of a structured worldview that either reinforces the system of rebellion or points back to the Creator.
Shaping How True Believers Think About Everything
If the world were just physical geography, morality would only apply to specific “spiritual” actions like lying, stealing, or praying. But if the world is an aion—a prevailing mindset or cultural current—then it shapes how people think about everything, from the economy and family to entertainment and success. Because the moral system of the world is broken, Jesus’s redemption applies to the entire scope of human existence. In Colossians 1:20, Paul notes that Christ came to “reconcile all things to himself, whether on earth or in heaven.”
Since “the world” is a rival moral system with its own spirit, then salvation itself, not contradistinctive from Christian discipleship, is an act of counter-cultural resistance. Every thought, choice, and cultural engagement has moral meaning because it represents a decision to either bow to the prevailing spirit of this age or live by the reality of the age to come.
An Example of Dress
As an example related to dress, the world or this present world strips its clothes off. It supports nakedness, nudity, and immodesty. Therefore, Christians don’t do that, even if it is near water. Those not of this world cover themselves suitably as children of light and not darkness. I speak especially of truly Christian women, because they’re the main culprits of this, and for obvious reasons. We don’t see a man in the Bible, dressed in the attire of a harlot (cf. Proverbs 7:10).
Most, if not many, professing Christian women today go in public with what was the equivalent of their underwear. They wear tights to their gyms or very short shorts that are also often tights. It leaves almost nothing to the male imagination. Now, churches do not preach against this. If they do, they will “lose people.” I put “lose people” in quotes because a church that preaches against this behavior is not “losing them,” because they never had them in the first place. This relates to one of our passages above, 1 John 2:15-19.
Separation from the World and Salvation
1 John 2:15-19
1 John 2:15-19 is a salvation passage. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5), but truly saved people “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). They do not love the world or the things in the world or else the love of the Father is not in them (1 John 2:15). When a church loses one of these people or these families, those families go out from them, because they are not of them (1 John 2:19).
It is not that someone can lose her salvation by wearing underwear in public, displaying body parts that should be kept private. Dressing immodestly fits in with the world system or with the spirit of the age. Demas forsook Paul, having loved this present world (2 Timothy 4:10). It is more important for people and families to fit in with the world than to fit in with Jesus and His present and future kingdoms. The dress issue usually doesn’t stand alone. They still want their ungodly, worldly, lustful music, their alcohol, even if it is just “social drinking,” which again allows them to conform to the world.
2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
In 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, Paul addresses the separation of the believer from the lost. He says in verses 17-18:
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Paul ties separation into salvation and the gospel here. This corresponds to what Jesus said in many places about following Him – to gain eternal life, you must lose this life. Noah and his family separated themselves from the world when they entered the ark, and they were saved by water (1 Peter 3:20). What did water save them from? It saved them from the world. Salvation does separate, and only those who separate, Paul says, will God be a Father to them, and they will be His sons and daughters.
Matthew 13 and Others
In all the parallel passages with the parable of the soils, such as Matthew 13, the seed does not produce fruit in the thorny ground. With the thorny ground, “the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word.” The choice, this world or Jesus, presents itself, and worldly things are idols. Paul says, “Covetousness is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). Salvation is “turning from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). Like with the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-26), that is too hard for those who may want salvation, but not enough to leave the world.
Instead of saying, take the world and give me Jesus, these say, take Jesus and give me the world. Like Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). A company may expect worldliness, and this might threaten employment. It might affect marketing a private business in a smaller community, because the town wants someone who conforms to it. It causes division in families.
Churches that won’t conform to the world, without even trying, will separate themselves. People won’t want to join. Today, they can find a church that professes Jesus, but looks and sounds just like the world. Those are now everywhere. This will create pressure on the congregation and its leadership to change their beliefs and teachings on this, to tone them down. Incrementally, they become more and more like the world.
More to Come (In part 2, I will get more into some practical application, but also expose some of the passages that teach what I’m writing here)