THEME: LOVE NOT THE WORLD
LESSON: ONE
TOPIC: Understanding the Bible Perspective to the subject of the world
TEXT: Psalms 24:1; Hebrews 11:3; 2 Peter 3:5,6; Romans 12:2
INTRODUCTION:
By the leading of the Spirit, Our father in the Lord, Pastor Emeka Egwuchukwu and Pastor Olaide Olaniyan wants us as a Local Assembly to study about “Love Not The World” (1st John 2:15-16). The burden in the heart of our daddy is not limited to us coming into a better understanding of what the world is by the help of the spirit of wisdom and understanding (Ephesians1:17-18). But much more, for us to find help to come into Holy Spirit’s initiations to come into greater consecrations and purifications from the world and the things in the world.
For centuries, many in the body have (according to the access that the Lord Jesus Christ granted them) done their best to be separated from the corruption that is in the world, in line with the light that the Holy Spirit granted them access to. While great successes have been made in times past from generation to generation (according to the strength of the grace and light of God’s word given to the different generation of God’s people) most times, the full strength of the world is still not fully curbed or overcome (1st John 5:4). The “mystery of the world” is elusive to any saint/church generation to the degree to which the gospel is hidden.
According to the scriptures, what is the world?
While our study of the world at this time is definitely not all of what the world is according to the bible, yet it is imperative to give some scriptural definitions as to what the world is.
- The heavens and the earth are defined as the world (2nd Peter 3:5-6; Hebrews 11:3): The heavens and the earth are described as ‘the world’ according to the bible.
- The civilizations/ages/systems of life and existence are defined as the world (Psalms 24:1; Hebrews 11:7; 1st John 5:4): “The world” according to the bible also implies civilizations/systems or cultures of life on the earth over a period of time.
- Allocations/dispensations of the things of God (in heaven or in earth) (1st Timothy 4:8; Hebrews 2:5): Knowledge/understanding/doctrines/meals of God are in this regard categorized as worlds. World of Milk – symbolic of Goshen in Egypt where the children of Israel dwelt (Numbers 11:5); World of the Meat – symbolic of the wilderness where the people of God wandered for 40 years (Exodus 16:35); World of the Strong Meat – symbolic of the promised land (Joshua 5:12).
- World as nature that are in entities, be it angels or men (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4; Ephesians 6:12; Hebrews 2:5; Hebrews 11:7): The truth is that the world(s) is/are first trapped in entities/personalities, before they are spued out to their environments.
It is good to quickly add the following:
The term “the world” as is used in the scriptures does not always implies evil (Hebrews 11:3; Psalms 24:1). There are good worlds, which are bye products of God’s word, first in the soul of God’s creations, then to their environment through them. Then, there are also bad worlds, which are bye products of the perverted and twisted nature of the world levels in fallen and disobedient angels that fell in heaven from the beginning (Hebrews 2:2). It is this bad perverted world we are told not to love, but to overcome (1 John 2:15; 1 John 5:4). These details are being given for to remove ambiguity in the course of our lesson.
By the grace of God on Daddy and Mummy, Pastors Emeka and Lilian Egwuchukwu and Pastor Olaide and Rose Olaniyan, we trust the Lord Jesus Christ for help to be better instructed and guided not to love the world as the scripture says (Amen)!