Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:15-17; James 4:4; Eph. 2:1-3, 12b; Gal. 1:4; Rom. 12:1-2
I. The Greek word for world in 1 John 2:15-17 and James 4:4 denotes an order, a set form,an orderly arrangement, hence, an ordered system (set up by Satan, the adversary ofGod), not the earth; the world is an evil system arranged systematically by Satan:
A. God created man to live on the earth for the fulfillment of His purpose, but His enemy, Satan,in order to usurp the God-created man, formed an anti-God world system on this earth bysystematizing men with religion, culture, education, industry, commerce, entertainment,etc., through men's fallen nature, in their lusts, pleasures, and pursuits, and even in theirindulgence in necessities for their living, such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
B. The whole of such a satanic system lies in the evil one (1 John 5:19; cf. Eph. 6:12); not lovingsuch a world is the ground for overcoming the evil one (cf. 1 Pet. 3:3-4; Rev. 2:12-13a, 17);loving it just a little gives the evil one the ground to defeat and occupy us. C. Satan is utilizing the material world, the men of the world, and the things that are in theworld to eventually head everything up in the kingdom of Antichrist; at that hour the worldsystem will have reached its zenith, and at that hour every unit of it will be revealed to beanti-Christian; eventually, the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of ourLord and of His Christ—11:15; 2 Thes. 2:3-12; Dan. 2:44-45. D. All the things on the earth, especially those related to mankind, and all the things in theair have been systematized by Satan into his kingdom of darkness to occupy people andfrustrate them from accomplishing the purpose of God and to distract them from the enjoymentof God; the world is Satan's mask that he uses to deceive us and cheat us. E. The world is against God the Father, and the things in the world are against the will ofGod (1 John 2:15-17); the world is against God, and those who love the world are enemiesof God (James 4:4). F. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15); ultimately, whenwe touch the things of the world, the question we must ask ourselves always is, How isthis thing affecting my relationship with the Father? G. This evil system, the kingdom of darkness, was judged when its ruler, Satan, was cast outby the Lord's being crucified in the flesh—John 12:31-32; 16:11. H. Galatians 6:14 reveals that the world has been crucified to us and we to the world; thishas taken place not directly but through Christ, who was crucified; verse 15 proves thatthe world here is mainly the religious world (cf. 1:3-4).
II. After leaving God's presence (Gen. 4:16), Cain constructed a city for his protection andself-existence; within this city he produced a worldly culture without God (v. 17):
A. In the garden God was everything to man—his protection, maintenance, supply, and amusement;when man lost God, he lost everything.
B. Man's loss of God forced man to invent a worldly human culture, the main elements ofwhich were cities for existence, cattle-raising for making a living, music for amusement, andweapons for defense—vv. 20-22. C. The godless culture invented in Genesis 4 will continue to develop until it climaxes in thegreat Babylon—Rev. 17—18.
III. The book of Exodus reveals that God desires to rescue His chosen people from everyform of usurpation and preoccupation in the world so that they may have nothingbesides God Himself—Gen. 50:26; Eph. 2:1-3, 12b; Gal. 1:4:
A. To be saved is to be brought to a place where there is nothing but God—cf. Mark 9:7-8.
B. In the wilderness, especially at Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God, God was His chosenpeople's center, their purpose, their life, their home, and their everything—Psa. 90:1. C. God's intention in giving His chosen people a revelation of the true nature, meaning, andissue of life in Egypt (the world) is to cause His people to hate and become disgusted withEgypt, to leave Egypt behind, and to be separated to God for His dwelling place—Exo. 5:1;40:34; Rom. 12:1-2:1. The plague of the water becoming blood throughout the whole land of Egypt portraysthat the nature and result of life in the world with its entertainment and amusement isdeath—Exo. 7:14-25. 2. The plague of frogs portrays that life in the world is a life of nuisance and unendingtrouble—8:1-15. 3. The plague of the dust becoming lice throughout all the land of Egypt portrays thatthe source of the supply of our living in the world eventually becomes a great discomfortand a cause of extreme irritation—vv. 16-19. 4. The plague of swarms of flies portrays that the moral atmosphere of the world has beenpolluted, having been filled with all manner of unclean and evil things—vv. 20-32. 5. The plague of a grievous pestilence that came upon all the Egyptian livestock portraysthat the means of transportation and the way of eating in the world are judged by Godand that His righteous judgment deals with the implications of a sinful situation—9:1-7. 6. The plague of the ashes becoming fine dust to cause boils to break forth upon man andbeast portrays that anything remaining of our fallen human life must be dealt with byGod—vv. 8-12. 7. The plague of hail mingled with fire damaging the produce of the earth portrays thatif we are stubborn or rebellious, our relationship with God is destroyed, and He altersthe spiritual function of the rain by sending hail upon our spirit and fire with the hailto cause severe damage—vv. 13-35. 8. The plague of the wind bringing in locusts portrays that Satan eats up the supply ofman's life and of everything related to man as he lives in the world under God's condemnation—10:1-20. 9. The plague of thick darkness over all the land of Egypt portrays that the worldly lifeoutside of God's presence is filled with terrible darkness—vv. 21-29.10. The plague of God's judgment upon all the firstborn in Egypt portrays that everythingthat is related to Adam, the first man as the firstborn, is condemned by God—11:1-10. D. It is only by receiving a revelation of the nature, significance, and result of life in the worldand a revelation of God's attitude toward such a life that we can truly become detachedfrom the world and hate the worldly life—1 John 2:15-17; James 4:4:1. To God, worldliness is worse than sinfulness; sinfulness is against God's righteousness,whereas worldliness is against God's holiness, which is higher than His righteousness. 2. If we have a detailed vision of the world, we shall know God's attitude toward it, andwe shall spontaneously cease to love it. 3. If we would be God's dwelling place on the earth, we must know the world in a thoroughway, and the element of the world must be purged out of our being—Rev. 2:12-13a, 17.