thinking bible.

You asked

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

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

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 comes from Jesus's final prayer to God the Father, spoken shortly before his crucifixion. He is praying for his disciples, both those with him then and future believers, as he prepares to leave them to continue his work in the world.

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

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Romans 12:2

    Paul speaks of not conforming to the pattern of this world but being transformed.

  • 1 John 2:15-17

    John warns against loving the world or the things in the world, defining what 'the world's' desires are.

  • Matthew 5:13-16

    Jesus calls his followers 'salt and light,' implying an active, positive influence within the world.

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