*THIS WORLD
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BY WILLIE WONG
1.) I AM not of this world
Jhn 8:23, “And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
- There is indeed a gulf which they cannot pass, but it is not that between souls in Abraham’s bosom and souls in Hades. It is the gulf between heaven and earth. This He brings out in two pairs of antithetic clauses. (Comp. Note on John 1:3.) These clauses interpret each other, and no deeper meaning is to be given to the first pair than is borne by the second. We may arrange them in a pair of affirmatives and a pair of negatives—
“Ye are from beneath;” “ye are of this world.”
“I am from above” (not from beneath); “I am not of this world.”
We have thus the full Hebrew expression of one thought, and this is the thought which John the Baptist, from another point of view, taught his disciples in John 3:31. They are by origin and nature of the earth. He was by origin and nature from heaven. Of the earth, their feelings and thoughts and life were of the earth, and, by devotion to things of the earth, they are destroying the spirit made in the image of God, which is within them, and the link between them and heaven. He is from heaven in origin, and is divine in nature. He has come to reveal the heavenly and the divine to the earthly and the human. In Him, and in Him only, can their spirits find deliverance from sin, and find the true life; for in Him, and in Him only, the divine and the human meet.”
We have to know what kind of world is this world before we do anything about it. Beware, the Lord says He is not of this world, He does not belong to this world. This world cannot be good, because Jesus is not of this world.
2.) Jesus chose Christians out of the world
Jhn 15:19, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”
If ye were of the world – If you were actuated by the principles of the world. If, like them, you were vain, earthly, sensual, given to pleasure, wealth, ambition, they would not oppose you.
Because ye are not of the world – Because you are influenced by different principles from men of the world. You are actuated by the love of God and holiness; they by the love of sin.
I have chosen you out of the world – I have, by choosing you to be my followers, separated you from their society, and placed you under the government of my holy laws.
Therefore … – A Christian may esteem it as one evidence of his piety that he is hated by wicked men. Often most decided evidence is given that a man is the friend of God by the opposition excited against him by the profane, by Sabbath-breakers, and by the dissolute, 1 John 3:13; John 7:7.”
These are the words that Jesus prayed to the Father:
Jhn 17:13-18, “But now I am coming to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your Word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world.”
The most difficult part for Christians: Christians are chosen out of the world. They are not of this world, but they are in the world.
3.) Jesus came into this world for judgment
Jhn 9:39, “And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
- For judgment I am come into this world.—These words arise immediately out of what has preceded. The beggar has passed from a state of physical blindness, and has received the faculty of sight. He has passed from a state of spiritual blindness, and has received the power to recognise and believe on Jesus Christ as the Son of God. He did not see, but the result of the manifestation of the Messiah is for him that he now does see. Conscious of his own spiritual blindness, he asked, “Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him?” and to him, as to every earnest and humble seeker after truth, because in all his seeming need he really “hath,” there is given that he may “have more abundance.” In marked contrast to this spirit of humility and desire to come to the light, was that of the Pharisees. They claimed to have the “key of knowledge” (Matthew 11:25), and were, as a Pharisee represents him who is “called a Jew,” “confident that they were guides of the blind, lights of them which are in darkness” (Romans 2:17 et seq.; comp. 1Corinthians 1:21; 1Corinthians 3:18). Conscious of their own spiritual light, they felt no need of a truer Light, and therefore could not see it; and from them, as from every careless and self-trusting possessor of truth, because, in all his seeming abundance, he really “hath not,” there is taken away “even that he hath.” (Comp. Note on John 1:16.)
This passing from darkness to light, and from light to darkness, suggests thoughts which our Lord has already uttered in John 3:17-19, and which will meet us again more fully in John 12:37-50. (See Notes on these passages.) Judgment is not the ultimate end of His coming, for He came to save the world; but it is an end, and therefore a result. The special form of the word rendered “judgment” in this place is used nowhere else by St. John, and indicates that what is here thought of is not the act of judging, but the concrete result—the sentence pronounced after judgment. His coming was a bringing light into the darkness of men’s hearts, a testing of the false and the true, and as men accepted or rejected Him they pronounced a judicial sentence upon themselves. That light judged no man, and yet by it every man was judged.
That they which see not might see.—The force of these words lies in the fact that the phrases, “they which see not” and “they which see,” are to be interpreted as from their own point of view—“That they which think they see not might really see; and that they which think they see might really be made blind.”
4.) The one who hates his life in this world
Jhn 12:25, “The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
25. loveth his life … hateth his life … life eternal] ‘Life’ is here used in two senses, and in the Greek two different words are used. In the first two cases ‘life’ means the life of the individual, in the last, life in the abstract. By sacrificing life in the one sense, we may win life in the other. See notes on Matthew 10:39; Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; Luke 17:33. A comparison of the texts will shew that most of them refer to different occasions, so that this solemn warning must have been often on His lips. The present utterance is distinct from all the rest.
shall lose it] Better, loseth it; the Greek may mean destroyeth it.
hateth his life] i.e. is ready to act towards it as if he hated it, if need so require. Neither here nor in Luke 14:26 must ‘hate’ be watered down to mean ‘be not too fond of;’ it means that and a great deal more. The word rendered ‘life’ in ‘loveth his life’ and ‘hateth his life’ might also mean ‘soul,’ and some would translate it so: but would Christ have spoken of hating one’s soul as the way to eternal life?
Jesus makes the contrast so clear. Christians cannot be worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit, to cause divisions. Christians who have worldly goods, cannot close their hearts. Christians must avoid worldly and empty chatter. Christians must oppose arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”. Christians cannot join the worldly and unholy, those who kill their fathers or mothers, the murderers.
5.) Now judgment is upon this world
Jhn 12:31, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
- Now is the judgment of this world.—For the word “judgment” comp. Notes on John 3:17-19; John 16:11. There is here, following on the coming of the Greeks, which He reads as a sign, and upon the voice from heaven, which was a sign for the multitude, the thought of the Messianic kingdom, of which the first members were then present, and which was to comprehend all men. This thought includes—(1) the judgment (condemnatory) of this world; (2) the casting out of the prince of this world; (3) the establishment of His spiritual kingdom (John 12:32).
Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.—The title “prince of this world” was the regular Rabbinic title for Satan, whom they regarded as the ruler of the Gentiles, the Jews not being included in his kingdom. The reign of the true Messiah is over the Gentile and Jewish world alike; Gentiles as well as Jews are at this moment in the temple listening to Him; Jews as well as Gentiles have been subjects of the prince of this world (John 8:44; Romans 2). The world itself, as opposed to Christ, is condemned, for its unbelief crucifies Jesus Christ; but the Resurrection and Ascension are Heaven’s witness that He is the Son of God. The world’s condemnation is followed by the casting out of its ruler.
The whole future is present to the mind of Christ, and in the confidence of victory He uses the emphatic “now” of both the judgment of the world and the dethronement of its prince. It should be noted, however, that the tenses differ. The one is thought of as the immediate result of His death; the other is the gradual victory of truth, and is spoken of in the same future as the drawing all men of the following verse.”
6.) He would depart from this world to the Father
Jhn 13:1, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He would depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
- LOVE MANIFESTED IN HUMILIATION (John 13:1-30).
- The washing of the disciples’ feet (verses
- The spiritual interpretation of this act (John 13:12-28).
- The Betrayal. Hatred passes from the presence of love (John 13:21-30). (1) Now before the feast of the passover.—Comp. John 12:1; John 12:12; John 12:36, and Excursus F: The Day of the Crucifixion of our Lord.
When Jesus knew that his hour was come . . .—He knew during the course of His earthly work that His hour was not yet come, and again and again declared this. (Comp. Note on John 2:4; John 7:6; John 11:9.) Now He knows with equal certainty that the hour is at hand that He should depart unto the Father. Having loved his own which were in the world . . .—By “his own” are here meant those who by believing on Him had received power to become the sons of God; those who by walking according as they had light were becoming sons of light. They are the true members, of the family of God. (Comp. Note on John 1:11-12.) The words as here used refer specially to those who had been called by Him, and had left all and followed Him. He is the head of this family, and He knows that these His “little children” (John 13:33) will be left as orphans (John 14:18). He would depart “out of the world;” they would be left “in the world,” as sheep among wolves, and as sheep without their shepherd. St. John places these facts in touching contrast. His thoughts are for them and not for Himself. For Him there would be the return to the glory of His Father’s throne, but His mind dwells on the bereavement and sorrow of those He leaves behind, and this moves Him to a special manifestation of His love.
He loved them unto the end—It has been usual to explain these words of the continuance of our Lord’s love—“Having loved His own, He continued to love them until the last moment.” This is, of course, true, but is a truth so certain and necessary from every conception of our Lord’s character as St. John has portrayed it, that we may doubt whether he would in this formal way state it. And though the phrase rendered “unto the end” sometimes means “finally”—as, e.g., in the New Testament, Luke 18:5, and 1Thessalonians 2:16 (see Notes)—the sense, “unto the end” is very rare, and the general meaning is, “in the fullest degree,” “up to the limit.” It thus answers exactly to our “extremely.”
What seems not to have been noted is that the whole sentence may be a common Hebrew idiom in Greek dress. It belongs to the simple syntax of a primitive people to express intensity by repetition. The Vale of Sodom was “pits, pits of bitumen “(Genesis 14:10). Esau asked Jacob to feed him with “that red, red, thing” (Genesis 25:30). The intensity of the verbal idea was expressed in like manner by a simple form of the verb which brought the thought before the mind, and then by the special form which denoted the action. This is sometimes preserved in the English, as, e.g., in Genesis 20:17—“That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed” (I will bless thee abundantly, and will multiply thy seed exceedingly). Sometimes it is not. We have, e.g., in Amos 9:8, “I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord,” where the Hebrew is literally, “Destroying I will not destroy . . . (Vulgate, conter ens non conter am). In these passages the English exactly follows the Greek—i.e., the Greek in the passage of Genesis repeats the words as the Hebrew does, and in that of Amos, expresses the intensity by an adverbial phrase (εìs τέλος). Now that phrase is exactly the same as the one used by St. John here, and which is rendered “unto the end.” St. John was a Jew writing in Greek. May we not naturally expect a Hebrew thought in Greek form? He thinks of the intensity of our Lord’s love, and speaks of it in the simple expressiveness of the old Hebrew phrase, “Loving, he loved them with fulness of love.” (Comp. John 12:13.) This is not given as an amended rendering, because authority has been sought for it without success; but it is offered, as an explanation, to the reader’s judgment. The student will find in Schleusner s Lexicon Veteris Testamenti other instances which support this view.”
7.) The ruler of this world has been judged
Jhn 16:11, “and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”
Verse 11. – In respect of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. The conviction of sin will have a peculiarly and specially subjective cause; that of judgment will, like that of righteousness, be preceded by two stupendous objective facts – the exaltation of Christ and the judgment of Satan. The glorification of the Son of man, to the extent of his being declared to be the Son of God with power, will be the grand event which human nature will be powerless to counteract or ultimately to resist. “Know assuredly that this same Jesus whom you have crucified is both Lord and Christ.” The judgment of the prince of this world is also a fact lying outside the politics of the world, which may fume and rage as it will; it is beyond the reach of the philosophy or literature, the courts or armies, the fashions or the force, of this world. The central prince and spirit of the world is judged by the Lord Jesus, and condemned; and the time is coming when the old standard of judgment will be cast out, and the world will be compelled to admit that it has been vanquished (John 12:31). The conviction concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment, by the aid of the Advocate whom Christ will send, will become the great work of the apostles and of the Church, until he comes again in his glory. While commenting upon this sublime assurance the awful process must not be forgotten, nor the fact that the prince of the world dies hard. The atrocious wickedness which burst out after the exaltation of Christ among the people who had rejected their Lord, and the consummation of the mystery of iniquity in the Roman empire, was a part of the providential conviction of the world. Archdeacon Hare, in his ‘ Mission of the Comforter,’ insists that the entire conviction of judgment, righteousness, and sin must be the work of “the Comforter;” that all the objective facts, all the teaching of example, all the thunder of prophecy, nay, all the outward demonstration of sin, righteousness, and judgment, made in and by the incarnation and sacrifice of Christ, must be complemented by the grace of the Holy Spirit on individuals, nations, and humanity at large; and that it is in the capacity of human “Comforter,” or “Advocate,” that this conviction is wrought. John 16:11.”
8.) My Kingdom is not of this world
Jhn 18:36, “Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My Kingdom is not of this realm.”
I have studied and been to the best parts of the world. My findings is the fact there is no good society in this world.
Please read https://williewong.cw.center/the-theory-of-good-society/
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
- My kingdom] There is a strong emphasis on ‘My’ throughout the verse; ‘the kingdom that is Mine, the servants that are Mine;’ i.e. those that are truly such (see on John 14:27). The word for ‘servants’ here is the same as is rendered ‘officers’ in John 18:3; John 18:12; John 18:18; John 18:33, John 7:32; John 7:45-46 (comp. Matthew 5:25), and no doubt contains an allusion to the officials of the Jewish hierarchy. In Luke 1:2, the only other place in the Gospels where the word is used of Christians, it is rendered ‘ministers,’ as also in 1 Corinthians 4:1, the only place where the word occurs in the Epistles. Comp. Acts 13:5.
is not of this world] Has not its origin or root there so as to draw its power from thence. Comp. John 8:23, John 20:19, John 17:14; John 17:16.
if my kingdom] In the original the order is impressively reversed; if of this world were My kingdom. For the construction comp. John 5:46.
fight] Better, be striving (comp. Luke 13:24; 1 Corinthians 9:25). For the construction comp. John 5:46, John 8:19; John 8:42, John 9:41, John 15:19.
but now] The meaning of ‘now’ is clear from the context and also from John 8:40, John 9:41, John 15:22; John 15:24, ‘as it is,’ ‘as the case really stands.’ It does not mean ‘My kingdom is not of this world now, but shall be so hereafter;’ as if Christ were promising a millenium.”
Many do not know that the second coming of Jesus Christ is not one event, but a process of events. It starts with (1.) The Rapture (2.) The Great Tribulation (3.) The Appearing of Jesus Christ (4.) The Millennium (5.) The Armageddon (6.) The White Throne Judgment (7.) The Kingdom of Heaven.
The Kingdom of Heaven as described in Revelation Chapter 21, where Christ and saints will reign forever and ever. The Kingdom of Heaven is the perfect eternal home of true believers.
9.) Do not be conformed to this world
Rom 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
- be not conformed] Same word as 1 Peter 1:14; (E. V. “not fashioning yourselves”) The Gr. noun (schema) on which the verb rendered “conform” is based indicates a form external rather than internal, transient or unreal rather than solid and lasting:—a “figure.” It occurs 1 Corinthians 7:31, (E. V. “the fashion of this world,”) and Php 2:8, (E. V. “in fashion as a man.”) In the last passage the reference is to the Lord’s Manhood not as unreal but as, in a certain sense, external, i.e. as distinguished from the real but invisible Deity which lay, as it were, within the veil or robe of the real and visible Humanity.—Here the verb indicates that a true Christian’s “conformity to this world” could only be (1) conformity to a transient thing, a thing doomed to destruction, and (2) illusory in itself, because alien from the man’s true principles and position.—A similar reference is plainly traceable in 1 Peter 1:14.
this world] Lit. this age. Same word as Matthew 12:32; Luke 16:8; 1 Corinthians 1:20; 1 Corinthians 2:6; 1 Corinthians 2:8; 1 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:21; 1 Timothy 6:17; 2 Timothy 4:10; Titus 2:12. The antithesis is “the world to come,” “the coming age,” “that age:” e.g. Matthew 12:32; Luke 20:35; Ephesians 1:21. The passages quoted (and many might be added) shew that the meaning is rightly conveyed in E. V. “This age” is the present order of things, the period of sin and death, and (by a natural transference) the contents of that period, the principles and practices of evil. The antithesis is the Eternal Future, the resurrection-life, (Luke 20:35-36,) in which sin and death shall have no place for ever. Thus the exhortation here is, to live as those whose lives are governed by the principles and hopes of a holy eternity in prospect.
be transformed] Same word as Matthew 17:2, (“was transfigured;”) 2 Corinthians 3:18, (“are changed”) The root-noun (morphè) is different from the root-noun of “conformed” just above, and forms an antithesis to it. In such antithetical connexions it indicates an essential, permanent, and real form. It is used e.g. Php 2:6; Php 2:8; in which verses the essential reality of the Lord’s Deity and Servitude respectively are emphasized. Here the point of the word is manifest: the Christian, by the Divine “renewal,” is to realize an essential and permanent change; to prove himself, as it were, one of a new species; a “new man,” not the “old man” in a new dress.
For masterly discussions of the differences between Schema and Morphè see Abp Trench’s New Testament Synonyms, under the word μορφὴ, and Bp Lightfoot’s Philippians, detached Note to ch. 2. Abp Trench vividly illustrates the difference thus: “If I were to change a Dutch garden into an Italian, this would be [a change of schema;] but if I were to transform a garden into something wholly different, say a garden into a city, this would be [a change of morphè.][44]”
[44] We translate the Greek nouns, used by the Abp in this sentence. He paraphrases the present passage: “Do not fall in with the fleeting fashions of this world, out undergo a deep abiding change, by the renewing of your mind, such as the Spirit of God alone can work in you (2 Corinthians 3:18).”
Observe that the Gr. word translated “conformed” in Romans 8:29 is based not on schema but on morphè.—This passage is illustrated by that. The predestinating will of God is carried out, as we here see, through the real efforts of the renewed wills of the saints, to which the appeal is here made. See Php 2:12-13; (where render “for His good pleasure’s sake.”)
by the renewing of your mind] As the quasi-instrument of the transformation. The regenerating power of the Holy Spirit had rectified their intelligence, which they were now to use in “purifying themselves as the Lord was pure.” As the Divine change had enabled them to use their intelligence aright, the change is spoken of as if itself the instrument to be used.—The word rendered “renewing” occurs Titus 3:5; and the cognate verb 2 Corinthians 4:16; Colossians 3:10. It may denote, according to context, either the initial “renewing,” when man definitely becomes “the child of God through faith in Christ Jesus,” and “the Spirit of Christ” takes up His dwelling in the soul; or the progressive “renewing” consequent on this, as thought, will, and affections “grow in grace,” and the man is (according to the appeal here) progressively “transformed.” Such is probably the reference in 2 Corinthians 4:16; Colossians 3:10. Here the other reference is more probable, as we have indicated above: the “renewing” here is already a fact, and is used in the process of “transformation.”
your mind] Here probably, in a strict sense, your intelligence, renewed or rectified by Divine grace, so as (in the following words) “to prove what is the will of God.”—Observe that the “mind,” as well as other parts of the being, is assumed to have needed “renewing.” Cp. Ephesians 4:18.
that ye may prove] may assay, or test. Same word as Romans 1:28, (E. V., “like,”) Romans 2:18, Romans 14:22 (“allow;”), 1 Corinthians 3:13 (“try;”), 2 Corinthians 13:5; Ephesians 5:10 (a close parallel;), Php 1:10 (where render, “test things which differ;), &c.” Where the context allows, the word often includes (and sometimes wholly adopts) the idea of preference, of approval; e.g. 1 Corinthians 16:3. Here the meaning is that the Christian’s intelligence has been so “renewed” by grace that he now, by a holy instinct, can discern, in conflicting cases, the will of God from the will of self or of the world. And on this perception he is to act.
acceptable] Same word as in Romans 12:1. His will is “acceptable” to the saints, because the will of their Father. It is also “acceptable “to Himself, both in itself, and because as done by His children it results in acts pleasing to Him.
perfect] In wisdom and love, whatever perplexities becloud it.”
10.) The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God
1Co 3:19, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written: “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE BY THEIR CRAFTINESS”
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; God accounteth that folly which the world calleth wisdom, and indeed it is so (for God cannot err, nor be mistaken in his judgment): the philosophers and wise men of the world propose the happiness of man as their end, which indeed is the true end which all men aim at, and do propound to themselves; true wisdom directeth the best means in order to the best end. Whatsoever directeth not to the best end, or to what is not the best means in order to that end, is not wisdom, but real folly; worldly wisdom neither directeth to the best end, for it looks at no further happiness than that of this life, nor yet to the best means, and therefore is truly, what God accounts it, foolishness.
For it is written: He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and to see the wise and learned men of the world thus err both in their judgment and practice, is no wonder at all; for God is set out of old by Eliphaz, as one that taketh the wise in their own craftiness, Job 5:13.”
Fools do not know they are fools. Ask world leaders, none of them think they are foolish. So the wisdom of the world is foolishness in the sight of God.
11.) The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving
2Co 4:4, “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
I often thought why otherwise intelligent persons would reject the glorious Gospel of Christ; this Scripture gives the answer.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
- in whom the god of this world] i.e. the devil, who is called the prince or ruler of this world in John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11. So also Matthew 4:9; Luke 4:6; Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12. He is so called because for the present he has power in it, Revelation 12:12. The early fathers, in their zeal against the two gods (one good and one evil) of the Manichaeans and some sects of the Gnostics, repudiate this interpretation, and render, in defiance of the plain meaning, ‘God hath blinded the understandings of the unbelievers of this world.’ On this Calvin makes some wise remarks: “We see what the heat of controversy does in such disputes. If all these men had read the words of Paul with a tranquil mind, it would never have come into their mind so to wrest his words into a forced sense. But because their adversaries bore hardly on them, they thought more of vanquishing them than of endeavouring to ascertain the mind of Paul.”
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not] The meaning is either (1) that all were perishing alike (John 3:18), but that some believed and Satan blinded the minds of the rest, or (2) that all were formerly unbelieving, but that some, by rejecting the good tidings of salvation through Christ, passed over into the category of the perishing. In support of (1) we may render ‘in whom’ by ‘among whom.’ The word here translated ‘them which believe not’ is used in 1 Corinthians 6:6; 1 Corinthians 7:12-15; 1 Corinthians 10:27; 1 Corinthians 14:22-24, of those who do not believe in Christ. For the word translated ‘minds,’ see note on ch. 2 Corinthians 2:11. The word translated ‘blinded’ is not the same as that used in ch. 2 Corinthians 3:14.
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ] Rather, lest the enlightenment (Rhemish, illumination) of the Gospel of the glory of Christ. The word translated ‘light’ in the A. V. signifies rather the result of light than light itself. The words translated ‘glorious gospel’ are so translated in virtue of the constant occurrence of Hebraisms of this kind in the N. T. But it seems impossible to doubt that there is here a reference to the ‘glory’ so frequently mentioned in the last chapter, as in the word ‘blinded’ there is an obvious reference to the vail.
who is the image of God] Cf. ch. 2 Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 1:15. The word in the original is exactly equivalent to our word likeness. An image or likeness is a visible representation of an object. So Christ in His humanity (cf. Genesis 1:27; 1 Corinthians 11:7) is a visible representation of the unseen God. Cf. John 1:1-14 (especially the last verse), and Hebrews 1:3. Also John 14:8-9. No revelation of the wisdom and power of God that man has received can compare with that made in the Life, Death and Resurrection of the Incarnate Son. Also as the ‘Mediator of the New Covenant’ (Hebrews 12:24), glory, the glory of the Invisible God, streams from His Face, a glory far brighter than that with which Moses’ face shone after communing with God.”
I hope the god of this world has not blinded your minds so that you would believe and be saved.
12.) God chose the poor of this world
Jas 2:5, “Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: did God not choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
- Hearken, my beloved brethren.—With complete change of manner the Apostle writes now as if he were speaking, in brief quivering sentences, appealing to the hearts which his stronger words may not compel.
Hath not God chosen . . .?—There is, then, an election on the part of God. It were folly to deny it. But this passage, like so many others, gives the reason for that choice. “The poor of this world” are His chosen; not merely for their poverty, although it may have been the air, so to speak, in which the virtues which endeared them to Him have flourished most. And these are rich for present and for future. They know Him “now by faith,” and “after this life have the fruition of His glorious Godhead.” “Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). The way thereto for them is nearer and less cumbered than for the rich, if only they fulfil the Scripture (comp. Matthew 6:3), and be poor “in spirit:” then, indeed, are they “heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him.” The world must always measure by its own standard, and consider poverty a curse, just as it looks on pain and trouble as evil. But the teaching of God, declared most eloquently in the life of His blessed Son, is the direct opposite to this. In a worship which demands of its votaries costly gifts and offerings—and every religion tends downwards to such desires—the rich man has a golden pavement to his future bliss. No wonder, therefore, that again and again the voice of the Spirit of God has pointed out the narrow way, and the eternal excellency of truth, and faith, and love, the riches easiest of acquisition by the poor.”
So I insist the Gospel is preached to the poor absolutely free.
13.) Demas loved this present world
2 Ti 4:10, “for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.”
For Demas hath forsaken me – Demas is honorably mentioned in Colossians 4:14; but nothing more is known of him than what can be gathered from that place and this – that he was at first a friend and fellow-laborer of Paul, but that, under the influence of a desire to live, he afterward forsook him, even in circumstances where he greatly needed the presence of a friend.
Having loved this present world – This does not mean, necessarily, that he was an avaricious man, or that, in itself, he loved the honors or wealth of this world; but it means that he desired to live. He was not willing to stay with Paul, and subject himself to the probabilities of martyrdom; and, in order to secure his life, he departed to a place of safety. The Greek is, ἀγαπὴσας τὸν νὺν αἰῶνα agapēsas ton nun aiōna – having loved the world that now is; that is, this world as it is, with all its cares, and troubles, and comforts; having desired to remain in this world, rather than to go to the other. There is, perhaps, a slight censure here in the language of Paul – “the censure of grief;” but there is no reason why Demas should be held up as an example of a worldly man. That he desired to live longer; that he was unwilling to remain and risk the loss of life, is indeed clear. That Paul was pained by his departure, and that he felt lonely and sad, is quite apparent; but I see no evidence that Demas was influenced by what are commonly called worldly feelings, or that he was led to this course by the desire of wealth, or fame, or pleasure.
And is departed unto Thessalonica – Perhaps his native place. “Calmet.”
Crescens – Nothing more is known of Crescens than is here mentioned. “He is thought by Eusebius and others to have preached in Gaul, and to have founded the church in Vienne, in Dauphiny” – Calmet.
To Galatia – See Intro. to the Epistle to the Galatians, Section 1. It is not known to what part of Galatia he had gone, or why he went there.
Titus into Dalmatia – Dalmatia was a part of Illyricum, on the gulf of Venice, or the Adriatic sea. On the situation of Illyricum, see the notes on Romans 15:19. Paul does not mention the reason why Titus had gone there; but it is not improbable that he had gone to preach the gospel, or to visit the churches which Paul had planted in that region. The apostle does not suggest that he was deserving of blame for having gone, and it can hardly be supposed that “Titus” would have left him at this time without his concurrence. Perhaps, when he permitted him to go, he did not know how soon events would come to a crisis with him; and as a letter would more readily reach Timothy at Ephesus, than Titus in Dalmatia, he requested him to come to him, instead of directing Titus to return.”
14.) The present form of this world is passing away
1Co 7:31, “and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the present form of this world is passing away.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
- Not abusing it.—We can scarcely find a better word in English than “abusing” by which to render the Greek of this passage. But this word implies, in modern language, an abuse arising from misuse, and not, as in the original here, an abuse arising from over-much use. All the things mentioned in this series by the Apostle are right things; and the warning is against being in bondage to those things which are in themselves right and good, and not against any criminal use of them. Though they are not wrong in themselves, we are not to become slaves of them; we are to renounce them, “so as not to follow nor be led by them.”
For the fashion of this world passeth away.—Better, for the outward form of this world is passing away (the word translated “fashion” occurs only here and in Philippians 2:8). The allusion is not a merely general reference to the ephemeral nature of things temporal, but arises from the Apostle’s conviction that the last days were already commencing, when the outward temporal form of things was being superseded (Romans 8:19; Revelation 21:1). The word “for” does not introduce a reason for the immediately preceding injunction, but carries us back to the previous statement in 1Corinthians 7:29 : “the time is short,” the intervening series of illustrative exhortations being parenthetical.”
Your mansion, luxury car, money, jewelry, fashion clothes, furniture, collectables, etc. are passing away. What does it mean the world is passing away?
2Pe 3:11-13, “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and
hastening the coming of the Day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for
new heavens and a new earth, in which
righteousness dwells.” What are elements? Elements are iron, copper, cobalt, nickel, silver, gold, etc. are melted by intense heat.
2Pe 3:7, “But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the Day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people.”
Jde 1:7, “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these angels indulged in sexual perversion and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”
You have learned that the present world will be destroyed by fire. The world is passing away. Therefore it is wise for you to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ. You must not neglect so great a salvation. You can do it now.
WILLLIE WONG THOUGHT
WILLIE WONG
DECEMBER 15, 2025
Copyright © 2018 – 2025 by Willie Wong
All African nations, South America, Asia and the world, where can you find a country which does not have large national debts and deficits? Africa is different because for 500 years, not one country has become self-sufficient and solvent, they glorify with their primitive cultures and brag about their scientists and experts, joy to kill each other. International aid actually fuel their official corruption. Any nation that shares destinies with Africa will be doomed! No resources can fill the Black holes! The international community should leave Africa alone, let them do or die.
China modernization must focus that every village will have:
- Electricity.
- Running water to drink and wash.
- Gas to cook and heat.
- Internet.
- Livelihood.
- New toilet by law
The nymcoompoop of Ukraine is guilty and responsible for 55 K deaths of its soldiers and many more missing in initiating war with Russia. He should be executed. The leaders of EU are dummies for making $billions of loans to Ukraine who can never repay. Ukraine should never be rebuilt to serve as a warning to the world.