JW, Catholic, Mormons, Baptist and Born Again Christians, what did Jesus mean...?

Question

in John 17:14 (NIV Bible) when he prayed to the Father:

"...i have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world..."

verse 16: "They are not of the world, even as I am not of it."

What is this "world" that Jesus mentioned in his Prayer which Christians are not supposed to be a part of?

EverydayCatholic, you answered "the world" is a society or way of life that is selfish, greedy, and self-centered opposed to the kingdom of God where there is peace, justice and mercy "

Isn't politics/human goverment a selfish, greedy, self-centered society who claims they are for peace and yet go to war against other nations? So, is it safe to say that being no part of this world mean that Christians should not take part in politics, churche should not mingle with the State? and that christians should not be supporting and going to war?

PastorArt, the secular non religious world? Wouldn't this include world governments since, from what I've seen are not following the footsteps of the Christ.

Answer 1

At John 17:14, the "world" refers to society alienated from God and Christ.

Around the globe, Jehovah's Witnesses respect the governments and flags under which they live. However, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the flag salute is an act of worship, and that a "pledge of allegiance" can only made to God. Ceremonies involving national anthems can also approximate "worship" and non-neutrality.


Jehovah's Witnesses understand the bible to teach that Almighty God requires exclusive devotion; that is, he requires that worship and unrestricted allegiance belong to Him alone.

(Exodus 20:5) I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion

(Matthew 4:10) Then Jesus said... ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’


Of course, Jehovah's Witnesses are well-known as law-abiding persons. The Scriptures also teach that obedience is owed to secular governments, which the bible calls "the superior authorities". Of course, such subjection is RELATIVE to the unrestricted allegiance which is owed to God.

(Romans 13:1) Let every soul be in subjection to the superior authorities, for there is no authority except by God; the existing authorities stand placed in their relative positions by God

(Acts 5:29) We must obey God as ruler rather than men

It may be helpful for non-Witnesses to read all of Daniel chapter 3, and note the connections between the ceremony described there and modern pledge of allegiance.
http://watchtower.org/bible/da/chapter_003.htm

Learn more:
http://watchtower.co.uk/e/lmn/index.htm?article=article_10.htm
http://www.jw-media.org/edu_videos/vcfi_e.htm
http://www.jw-media.org/edu_videos/vcut_e.htm
http://www.jw-media.org/vnr/5263723221/22812301.htm

Answer 2

*background* verses 6-19 are Jesus praying for his disciples

the world is basically everything that is not of God. a basic standard of what God AGREES with is the Ten Commandments.

and yes the government often does not follow what God wants or allows. but it is up to us, the constituents and/or Christians, to figure out what politicians & policies coincide with God's will. and from there, our political views should be formed.

and peace (among nations and such) can come about different ways. sometimes war is needed to remove an bad and injustice leader, like with WWII and Hitler, which was part of the reason why the Americans joined in that fight. i believe that George W. Bush had the same general intentions with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. yes thousands upon thousands of people have been killed but the prevailing cause is to try to diminish the amount of terrorists and the affectiveness of terror on the world.

note: i am not exactly pro-Bush but i can see where he is coming from with some of his actions

Answer 3

Misled in what way? if you're talking about our choice in religion then you've got it wrong. Technically protestants are on the same footing as catholics. You separated from the Catholic church or from offshoots of the Catholic church. So if the Catholic church was wrong you were all wrong with them. If they are the true church than you're all apostates and traitors. I believe JW's are a form of protestantism. Mormons are not an offshoot of any existing church. We are the official restoration of the church Christ organized through Peter back in ancient times. This time he restored through Joseph Smith. So I guess the only logical religions for Christians would be the Catholics or the Mormons. Its really the only way to make sure you have a 50% chance of picking the right religion.

Answer 4

During Noah's time, Scripture states that God destroyed "the world". This phrase can be understood by noting exactly what God destroyed at that time by destroying "the world": Wicked Humans, humans that had turned their back on the true God.
Now, Noah and his family weren't perfect, but were not engaging in the rampant wickedness of their time, so they were no part of the world that God was going to destroy.
At that time, there were alot fewer people on earth so it seems that the whole world was wicked except those 8 souls.
Today, the world also seems wicked in God's eyes, but here again it is the people that have turned their back on God, collectively and individually.
As Christians we are no part of the world by abstaining for the rampant wickedness and by not turning our backs on God.
Jesus was in no way "of the world" He was sent from Heaven to earth, so He was certainly not part of the world-His focus was heavenward, as ours should be.

Answer 5

*Is Catholic*

If this is a topic that you are interested in, I would suggest reading St. Augustine's CITY OF GOD, which explains all of this at length.

The Gospel According to John is rather complex in its symbolism and should be taken by itself rather than by referring to the other Gospels. John is filled with contrasts, light and dark, truth and ignorance, God and Satan, Christ and the (false) Jews, etc.

In this section, we have a discussion on the world vs. the kingdom of God/Christ. The world here is not to be understood as creation or even more limited as politics/ secular society. Rather it is taken as the Kingdom of the Anti-Christ, the devil.

It is key to remember for John the world is ruled by the devil. It's kingdom is opposed to God and yet the Son is sent to plunder that kingdom and restore those whom the Father has given to the Kingdom of the Son.

To say that one is "not of the world" is to say that there cannot be dual alliances. Either one stands with Christ or one stands against. Either one is redeemed by Christ or one is chained in the world.

More if you want it.

Answer 6

Being "of the world" means that you are so absorbed in wealth, status, and appearance that you become distracted from what really matters. Think of all the things that draw men away from the Lord . . . If you are too worried about your nose shape, house size, or what car you drive you will not be focusing on doing good and staying close to Christ. What will truly matter when we come before the Savior and God on judgment day?

Answer 7

The Greek word ko'smos can mean humankind as a whole, apart from their moral condition or course of life.

ko'smos is used to signify all non-Christian human society, regardless of race. This is the world that hated Jesus and his followers because they bore witness concerning its unrighteousness and because they maintained separateness from it; such world thereby showed hatred for Jehovah God himself and did not come to know him. (Joh 7:7; 15:17-25; 16:19, 20; 17:14, 25; 1Jo 3:1, 13)

Over this world of unrighteous human society and its kingdoms, God’s Adversary, Satan the Devil, exercises rulership; in fact, he has made himself “the god” of such world. (Mt 4:8, 9; Joh 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; compare 2Co 4:4.)

God did not produce such unrighteous world; it owes its development to his chief Opposer, in whose power “the whole world is lying.” (1Jo 4:4, 5; 5:18, 19)

Not simply humanity, of which Jesus’ disciples were a part, but the whole organized human society that exists outside the true Christian congregation is meant in such texts.

Answer 8

I am Catholic. I disagree with the superficial interpretation that describes the "world" as the "selfish people on earth". It makes more sense to me that he was referring to him as being one with the father in his prayer. The word of the father is eternal, not changing, not part of the ever changing world. In the same way, Jesus in its true nature is eternal and one with his father, therefore not a part of the ever changing world. So, by "the world", he meant the ever changing world.

Answer 9

Being worldly means that you are following the ways of man, not the ways of God. He is praying that they will stay part of God's ways, and not fall into the ways of men.


****EDIT*****

I just read your added comments. We can support the government, and still follow what God taught. To me, I support the war. I think it was needed, and that we can't really know all the info unless we are in the shoes of the person in charge.

Answer 10

In this and many other verses "the world" is a society or way of life that is selfish, greedy, and self-centered opposed to the kingdom of God where there is peace, justice and mercy

Answer 11

I apologize that this is so long, but I wanted to give enough detail so that this would make sense.

Here are a some Scriptures that may lend some insight on the "world" that Jesus was speaking about...

(1 John 5:19) “. . .We know we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the [power of the] wicked one.”

(1 John 2:15-17) “15 Do not be loving either the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him; 16 because everything in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. 17 Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.”

So we can see that the "world" is in Satan's power and that it encompasses much of the physical means of living. That would include governments (politics), the entire empire of false religion and commerce (business).

There is another clue to what this "world" is also when Satan tempted Jesus....

(Matthew 4:8-10) “8 Again the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him: “All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him: “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’””

So from the above Scripture we see that Satan was able to offer these kingdoms of the world because he is the ruler of this system of things, or this "world" which Jesus says he is no part of, and which his true followers are no part of. That "world" is one filled with crime, poverty, wars, disease, death. However, Jesus taught us about God's Kingdom, and gave us foregleams of what it would be like during his earthly life and ministry.

(Matthew 6:10) “10 Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.”

(Matthew 6:33) “. . .“Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these [other] things will be added to YOU.”

(Matthew 24:14) “. . .And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come. . .”

(Mark 4:11-12) “11 And he proceeded to say to them: “To YOU the sacred secret of the kingdom of God has been given, but to those outside all things occur in illustrations, 12 in order that, though looking, they may look and yet not see, and, though hearing, they may hear and yet not get the sense of it, nor ever turn back and forgiveness be given them.””

(John 18:36) “. . .Jesus answered: “My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source.. . .”

(Revelation 11:15) “. . .And the seventh angel blew his trumpet. And loud voices occurred in heaven, saying: “The kingdom of the world did become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will rule as king forever and ever.””

Daniel the prophet spoke of this Kingdom and also what will happen to the kingdoms of the "world" years before Jesus was on earth...

(Daniel 2:44) “. . .“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite;”

(This goes along with Rev. 11:15...speaking of the time when the kingdoms (governments) of this "world " will be crushed and brought to an end, and replaced with the Kingdom of God.

(Daniel 7:27) “. . .“‘And the kingdom and the rulership and the grandeur of the kingdoms under all the heavens were given to the people who are the holy ones of the Supreme One. Their kingdom is an indefinitely lasting kingdom, and all the rulerships will serve and obey even them.’”

One last thought...
(Revelation 12:9) “. . .So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.”

Notice how much of the "world" is Satan misleading?
THE ENTIRE INHABITED EARTH!!!

I think it would be a very good idea to make absolutely sure that you know the truth and what the Bible really teaches about this if you (or anyone) want to have any hope of surviving the tribulation that is coming upon the "world".

(Revelation 11:18) “. . .But the nations became wrathful, and your own wrath came, and the appointed time for the dead to be judged, and to give [their] reward to your slaves the prophets and to the holy ones and to those fearing your name, the small and the great, and to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.””

(Zephaniah 2:3) “3 seek Jehovah, all YOU meek ones of the earth, who have practiced His own judicial decision. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably YOU may be concealed in the day of Jehovah’s anger.”