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John 17:16
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
This verse comes from Jesus's prayer to his Father, shortly before his crucifixion. He is speaking about his disciples, asking for their protection and sanctification, emphasizing their unique relationship to God and their mission in the world.
What values or priorities in our present culture might challenge our identity or purpose if we uncritically adopt them?
Then — the setting
This passage is part of Jesus's 'High Priestly Prayer' in John's Gospel, likely written in the late 1st century CE. For the early Christian communities, 'the world' (Greek: _kosmos_) often referred not to creation itself, but to the prevailing system of human society and values that operated apart from God, often characterized by pride, self-sufficiency, and hostility towards divine truth. This included the political and religious powers that rejected Jesus, as well as broader cultural norms that prioritized worldly status, wealth, and temporary pleasures over spiritual realities. The audience, a marginalized group living within a dominant Roman and Hellenistic culture, would have understood this call to distinction very personally.
Across the Testaments
In the Old Testament, the concept of a 'world' actively opposed to God is less developed than in the New Testament. Instead, the focus is often on Israel's distinction from surrounding nations through covenant and law (e.g., Deuteronomy's call to avoid pagan practices). The New Testament, particularly in John's writings, sharpens this distinction, presenting 'the world' as a spiritual system of rebellion and darkness that Jesus came to overcome. While the Old Testament often uses 'the world' (e.g., Psalm 24:1) to mean the created order, the New Testament introduces a more theological sense of 'the world' as a corrupt system, though still holding onto the idea of God's love for the created world and humanity within it (John 3:16).
Keep thinking
Read alongside it
Paul urges believers not to conform to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by renewing their minds.
John warns against loving the world or the things in the world, defining 'the world's' desires as fleeting and opposed to God.
James connects friendship with the world to hostility towards God, urging a choice of allegiance.
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