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THE USE OF THE WORD “WORLD” IN THE BIBLE

Victor M. Eskew

 

            When God revealed His will to us, He used words to communicate His message.  Paul teaches us that these words did not come from man, but from the Holy Spirit.  “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.  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:12-13).

            The words used by the Holy are important.  It is imperative that we come to an understanding of these words as we read and study the Biblical text.  As we research certain words, we learn that they sometimes carry more than one meaning.  Take, for instance, the word “world.”  It contains at least four different meanings.  In this article, we want to examine the use of the word “world” in the Bible.

            First, the word “world” refers to the physical world that God created.  This is how it is used the very first time it is found in the Bible.  Hannah was praying, and says:  The Lord “raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among the princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory:  for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them” (I Sam. 2:8).  Psalm 24:1 contains a very familiar refrain that uses the word “world” in this sense as well.  “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”  Jesus spoke of the physical world in John 18:36 when He spoke to Pilate about His kingdom.  “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world:  if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews:  but now is my kingdom not from hence.”  When Paul described “THE UNKNOWN GOD” to the Greek philosophers of that time, he began, saying:  “God that made the world and all things therein…” (Acts 17:24).

            Second, the term “world” can also be defined as “the inhabitants of the world.”  In Psalm 9:8, David used “world” in this manner.  “And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.”  Notice that this verse contains a couplet.  The second part of the verse repeats the first part of the verse in different words.  “He shall judge” and “he shall minister judgment” correspond.  “In righteousness” and “in uprightness” are parallel.  Then, “the world” and “the people” refer to the same thing.  Most of us are familiar with John 3:16, the Golden Verse of the Bible.  Jesus said:  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  Jesus did not die for this globe, but He did give His life for all human beings on the earth.  In Acts 17:31, Paul proclaims that there is coming a day when God will judge the world, that is, the inhabitants of the world.  “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” 

            Third, the word “world” can carry the meaning of “age.”  In Matthew 12:32, Jesus is discussing the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.  Listen to His words.  “And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him:  but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”  Jesus was living in the Mosaic Age.  In other words, He and his listeners were subject to the Law of Moses.  When these Pharisee attributed Jesus’ power to Beelzebub, they blasphemed the Holy Spirit.  Jesus affirmed to them that there was no forgiveness of this sin in the present world, the Mosaic Age, nor the world or age to come, that is, the Christian dispensation.  Matthew uses the word “world” again in Matthew 28:20, and it can be defined as age.  “…and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.   Amen.”  Mark’s gospel reveals that the Lord’s being with the disciples involved their ability to perform miracles.  “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, confirming the word with signs following.  “Amen” (Mark 16:2).  This period of time, the miraculous age, would eventually come to an end.  When Jesus said, I will be with you till the end of the world, He had reference to the end of the age of miracles. 

            Fourth, the word “world” can refer to “the realm of evil and those who practice wickedness.”  In John 17:16, Jesus said:  “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”  “They” refers to the apostles.  The Lord had chosen them out of the world and sanctified them.  In John 15:3, He told them:  “Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”  The world is sinful and vile.  Jesus’ apostles were holy men of God.  In Romans 12:2, Paul exhorts us with these words:  “And be not conformed to this world…”  God’s people are supposed to be different.  We have been called unto holiness (I Thess. 4:7).  The Lord does not want us to allow the world to mold us in any shape, form, or fashion.  John gives us this instruction in 1 John 2:15-16.  “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, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  James, the brother of Jesus, gives us a stern warning about being a friend of the world in James 4:4.  He writes:  “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship with the world is enmity with God?  whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”  Yes, all of us live in the world, but we are not to be of the world! 

            When a word found in the Bible contains several different meanings, the definition is determined by the context of the word.  Most of the time, the meaning is easily seen.  We hope this article has been informative with regard to the use of the word “world” in the Bible.  Too, we hope this article will cause you to be sharp as you study God’s Word.  It is Paul who instructs all of us to “rightly divide the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15).