You asked

how does this compare with jesus's teaching about living in the world but not of it?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

John 17:15-16

“I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

This passage comes from Jesus's prayer to his Father, shortly before his crucifixion. He is speaking about his disciples (and by extension, future believers), expressing his desire for their protection and unity as they live in a world that often opposes his message.

What does it mean for you to be 'in' the world, yet not 'of' it, in your daily life?

Then — the setting

This passage from John's Gospel, likely written in the late first century CE, reflects Jesus's concerns for his community as they face potential hostility and misunderstanding in the wider Greco-Roman and Jewish societies. The concept of 'the world' (Greek: *kosmos*) in John's Gospel often carries a negative connotation, referring to humanity alienated from God, under the sway of 'the evil one,' and often hostile to divine truth. This isn't the physical creation, which is good, but the fallen human system and values. The audience would have been early Christians navigating their identity and mission in a world that often saw them as peculiar or subversive.

Across the Testaments

In the Old Testament, the concept of Israel being a distinct people 'in' the nations but not fully 'of' them is present, particularly in the call of Abraham (Genesis 12) and the laws given at Sinai, which set Israel apart from surrounding cultures. Prophets like Jeremiah also speak of seeking the welfare of the city where they are exiled (Jeremiah 29:7). The New Testament, particularly in Jesus's teachings, intensifies this distinction, emphasizing an internal transformation that sets believers apart, rather than primarily external markers like ceremonial law. While the Old Testament focused on God's chosen people being distinct, the New Testament extends this to a spiritual identity that transcends ethnic or national boundaries, placing believers as a 'new creation' within all existing human societies.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Romans 12:2
Paul encourages believers not to conform to the pattern of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds.
1 John 2:15-17
John warns against loving the world or the things in the world, defining 'the world' as desires, lust, and pride.
Matthew 5:13-16
Jesus calls his followers to be salt and light in the world, implying engagement rather than withdrawal.

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