Rev Donald Beaton
The true Christian is someone who has had a work of grace wrought in his heart by the Holy Spirit. All true religion is supernatural. While believers are called upon to work out their own salvation, they are immediately reminded that it is God who works in them both to will and do of His good pleasure (Phil 2:12,13). The clearly-marked distinction between the “natural” and the “spiritual” man is emphasised by the Apostle Paul: “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14). It was a failure to understand the background behind these two classes that caused all the trouble in the Corinthian church, and the same reason is at work in our day, causing so much trouble in the professing Church.
The things of the Spirit of God can never be received by the “natural man”, however well instructed he may be in religious matters. No training or natural gifts can ever take the place of the work of the Holy Ghost. We need not be surprised when natural men regard the things of the Spirit of God as foolishness. They can do nothing else while in an unregenerate state. They may not be open mockers and scoffers; they may profess to accept the truths of revel-
1Abridged from the October 1935 issue of this Magazine, when Mr Beaton was Editor.
ation; they may diligently attend the means of grace; but if not born again, they cannot know the things of the Spirit of God, for these are spiritually discerned. Paul speaks of the change from a state of nature to a state of grace as being translated “from the power of darkness . . . into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Col 1:13).
This change was wrought by omnipotent power – the exceeding greatness of God’s power. It is so deep and far reaching that all things become new. The things that once held them captive have wholly, or to a great extent, lost their power over them. Their whole outlook is changed and they are engaged in new activities. This was Paul’s experience. When his eyes were opened after his conversion, all things were changed in his view: time, eternity, his blamelessness, his view of the world – including its pleasures, prizes and honours. In his own words, the world was crucified unto him and he unto the world, by the Lord Jesus Christ.
A careful study of the New Testament will bring us face to face with an array of texts pointing out the evil nature of the “world” and warning the Christian against it. Some of these are: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (Jas 1:27); “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (Jas 4:4); “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, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 Jn 2:15-17); “They are of the world; therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them” (1 Jn 4:5).
Paul says that believers in their unregenerate state walked according to the world (Eph 2:2) and that they have been delivered from it by the Lord Jesus Christ (Gal 1:4). This term, the “world”, in the New Testament, cannot refer altogether to material things, for we are to use them but not abuse them; it is only as the heart is inordinately set upon them that they are spoken of as the “world” in the sense of the quoted passages. The “world” may be in the heart while one may have very little money in one’s pocket.
It is evident that the “world”, as quoted, has a moral significance. Generally speaking, it may be taken to mean that whole organised system of things, with its allurements, practices and laws, alien to and opposed to the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ. It has Satan for its god; its life and its sphere of activity are “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of
life”. While it includes what we usually call worldliness, it embraces a great deal more.
(1.) This “world” has a spirit of its own which is antagonistic to the Spirit of God (1 Cor 2:12). (2.) It has a wisdom of its own which is foolishness with God (1 Cor 1:20,21). (3.) It has a sorrow of its own which is opposite in character and effect to godly sorrow (2 Cor 7:10). (4.) Its moral life is governed by the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2). (5.) It lies under the dominion of powers hostile to man (Col 2:8,20; Gal 4:3). (6.) The Christian is redeemed from it and inwardly no longer belongs to it. This is the “world” which believers are called upon not to love.
Its opinions, sentiments and influences are definitely antagonistic to Christ’s Church and people. That its hatred is at times dormant does not suggest that it is now gone. Its hatred today is as great as when the disciples went forth as sheep among wolves, though its activities may be dormant until some circumstance calls it forth and then it puts its poisonous fangs into the cause of Christ and its action is hailed with the mocking laughter of the ungodly throughout the land. Let God’s people be under no delusion; the world is still the enemy of Christ. And let them not be overcome with dismay when it strikes, but let them be of good cheer for He has overcome the world. As an organised system opposed to Christ, it has a mastermind behind its various activities everywhere. It does not aim its blows everywhere at the same time or in the same manner, but the objective is always the destruction of the cause of Christ. Let there be no mistake about it: he who is the friend of the world is the enemy of God (Jas 4:4). If it shows favour to Christ’s cause, its professed friendship is like the kiss of Judas.
The world has its laws and rules and they are contrary to those which Christ has given to His Church. The world says that a multitude is required to promote and carry on a cause; Christ says that, where two or three are, He is in the midst of them. The world says that great numbers are required to carry a conflict to a successful conclusion; the Lord Jesus says, “Without Me ye can do nothing”. Grace and heavenly wisdom are essentials for Christ’s servants, but not for the world. Christ took the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and weak things to confound the things that are mighty, the base things of the world and things which are despised and things which are not, to bring to nought the things that are (1 Cor 1:27-28), so that no man might glory in men. The world would give the glory to man; Christ gave all the glory to God and placed that first in His life and work. But the world never seeks this; neither will any sinful man or woman unless grace is given to them from heaven.
The world had its own wisdom, and God laid that glory in the dust when,
“in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Cor 1:21). He had a purpose in all this: to destroy the wisdom of the wise and to bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. “The foolishness of God is wiser than men” (1 Cor 1:25).
The world exercises its tremendous influence through “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life”. These are very real and very active in their operations and the believer is warned against them. He may not love all that is implied in each of them, but he may be in danger of coming under some of their seducing influences. John classifies these desires according to the inward dispositions to which they appeal. Lust here is to be understood in its wider sense: any desire of a carnal nature. It does not include the lawful desires God has implanted in man, such as hunger and thirst, except as they leave their lawful spheres and seduce to evil.
(1.) The lust of the flesh covers a wide range, including gluttony, drunkenness, uncleanness, dances, the theatre, gambling, if not worse excesses, and all sinful pleasures and questionable amusements. (2.) The lust of the eyes may mean desires begotten by the eyes, but it may also mean the desires that belong to the eyes specially. The eyes may delight in seeing worldly pleasures; even if we do not indulge in the world’s vanities, we may have a secret gratification in seeing them. No doubt Satan makes use of the eyes to awaken many sinful desires in our hearts; hence the Psalmist prayed that his eyes might be kept from seeing vanity. (3.) The pride of life, or its vainglory, covers an extensive field; it includes gifts and qualities which may give one a pre-eminence over one’s fellows and beget a proud, arrogant spirit towards less fortunate brethren. Generally speaking, whatever puffs up a man, makes him disdainful of others – while self is being diligently fed – belongs to the pride of life. This is not the law of Christ’s kingdom; there such dispositions are not simply discouraged, but condemned as diametrically opposed to that law.
Let us keep in mind therefore that any verdict the “world” may pass on the Church of Christ is worthless; it takes to do with things it cannot know about and cannot pass just judgement on. Let believers therefore not be annoyed when they hear its insulting verdicts passed on them or be unduly upset when it passes its judgement on them and their ways – provided always that they are walking in the steps of their Master. Neither let them be overcome when it pours out its hatred on them. The Lord’s words still hold true: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (Jn 15:18,19).
Nothing said here is meant to imply that believers are beyond criticism; all that is asserted is that, in spiritual matters, the “world” is not a competent judge because it cannot know “spiritual” things.