Episode 7: World
WORLD
R.C. Sproul once said, “Nothing in the world can be properly understood unless it is understood in terms of God’s design and plan.” His statement fully includes both the physical world humans observe and humans themselves. One major difficulty for understanding the word, “world,” in the Gospel of John lies in the complexity of the term and the various ways it is often used.
The Gospel of John introduces us to this idea early on.
The true light came into the world to shine for all humanity.
The Word was in the world,
the world was made through the Word,
yet the world did not acknowledge the Word.
The Word came to its own people,
yet its own people failed to receive this Word. (1:9-11)
This message has two levels, the view of the Light toward the world and the view of the world toward the Light. These contrary views dominate the entire Gospel. On the first hand, the Light, also called the Word and ultimately known as Jesus of Nazareth came to shine for all humanity. Yet the World–sometimes identified as humanity in general, although some seek to limit this group to the 1st century Judeans–was not totally receptive to this Light. But that is not the final story since there were, and still are, some who receive this Light. But I will discuss receiving the Light in a later devocast.
In the Old Testament
The Gospel of John begins as it does in order to remind us of what happened in Genesis “at the beginning.” The first occurrence of “world” in the OT comes at the end of the creation narrative in Genesis 2:1, although it is not easily recognized. Translations from the Hebrew read, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.” In the Greek translation known by many Jewish communities throughout the ancient Greek speaking world, the translation could read, “Now the heaven and the earth, even all their world, were brought to completion.” Thus the word, “world,” represents all that God created at the beginning.
This word from which we derive our English word, cosmos, is used in many passages found in Old Testament writings including the Deuterocanonical books. On many occasions the idea is translated as “adornment” or that which is possessed by a person. (Isaiah 3:18, Nahum 2:10, Proverbs 29:17, and 1 Macabbees 1:22). Thus the idea being communicated when the Word came to the world, could easily be understood as Jesus coming to be among his personal possessions, the idea picked up in the parallel passage, “The Word came to its own people.”
Elsewhere In John
The two sides of the discussion concerning “the world” typically locate themselves on either the entirety of the universe or on the side of only humans. Understanding the implication of the Old Testament passages leads to a new perspective on the most famous “world” passage in the Gospel of John.
God loved his own in this fashion, he sent his unique Son with
the intent that everyone who is trusting him should not perish
but have the life of the ages. For God did not send his Son to
his own to judge them, but so that his own might be delivered
through the Son. (3:16-17)
In some places Jesus is associated with the world through the use of differing titles: Savior of the World (4:42), the coming Prophet to the World (6:14), Light of the World (8:12 & 9:5), and the coming Messiah to the World (11:27). At other times, a distinction is drawn between “this World” and “not from this World.” The passage from John 1 informs us from the beginning that such divisiveness is to come. Unlike jewelry and gold which may have decorated individuals and temples in the OT, the adornment of the heaven and the earth has the opportunity to reject its owner/creator as well as the relationship implied. Yet, despite this anticipated rejection God sends his Son to his own. as well as sending those who accept the Son to go among the same. (17:18) Those who exist within and enjoy the heavens and the earth have no cause for concern regarding God’s commitment to his own.
The Gospel of John reminds the reader in its last phrase of the superlative nature of this one whom God sent to the world. Describing the limited nature of the materials written within concerning Jesus, the gospel ends with a description of his incomprehensible activity. “Now Jesus did many other signs as well, if they were to be written accordingly, I think that the world itself would not be able to contain the result.” (21:25) The world begins as a result of God’s handiwork. The world remains as a result of God’s handiwork. In this limited capacity, despite our perception of the world’s magnificence, the world remains unable to fully declare the work of the unique Son of God sent to his own, sent to deliver his own, sent to enlighten his own. The activity of Jesus surpasses our limited and finite human ability for comprehension.
Perhaps nowhere else is the grandeur of God’s activity in Jesus portrayed more clearly than in the identification of Jesus when he appears in the crowd, walking among them. “On the next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, God’s lamb who will take away the world’s sins.’” (1:29) John’s words regarding Jesus begin to make more sense. “That is the one I spoke concerning, ‘a man is coming after me who has been before me, because he was greater than I.’” (1:30) This one whose activities exceed human ability to record them exceeds John in a manner we previously failed to perceive fully. As the water baptism performed by John forgave sins in a temporary sense, the Spirit baptism Jesus provides does not merely forgive sin, but removes sin–not from the individual but from God’s own, from that which is referred to as “the world.”
Concluding Thought
Much effort has been made to define the word “world” as used in the Gospel of John at the micro level. By so doing, the efforts fail to capture the reality of this word’s presence in this gospel. World represents all that God has brought about, an idea that should cause us to consider the tremendous greatness of God rather than focus on anything far less significant. As part of this world, we are God’s adornment, God’s treasure, God’s focused activity in Jesus.
TAKE 5 MINUTES MORE
Give a moment of consideration to the fact that you are God’s adornment. The God of the Universe selected and arranged you to demonstrate his own majesty. Then God sent his Son to be surrounded by God’s own possessions even while somehow knowing that these treasures would prefer to abandon the owner and no longer reflect God’s majesty. Consider your value as God’s adornment. Write out a brief description of your worth from God’s perspective as a reminder of what R.C. Sproul said, “Nothing in the world can be properly understood unless it is understood in terms of God’s design and plan.”
Devocast