Now and then I see a sticker with “NOTW” in an unusual lettering style. It stands for “Not Of The World,” taken from the words of Jesus in John 17:14, “I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
Jesus is not of this world. And because we are joined to Him, we share this trait with Him. What does this say about the world and our relationship to it?
The short epistle of Colossians addresses this issue. Paul tried to get this church to see the riches they have in Christ and open their eyes to the wonder of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
But several problems stymied his efforts: the flesh, the world, and the devil.
The world system is run by the elemental spirits that are in league with the prince of the power of the air, Satan. His strategy is to distract us from God and union with Him as much as possible. He does so through this world system.
The world appeals to the flesh in every conceivable way. It keeps our attention on the flesh and its senses as much as possible. Every TV commercial does this. Paul points out several instances of this in Colossians 2. These reasons hindered his work to convince them of their greatest riches, of Christ in them. What are the dangers of the world preventing us from enjoying God’s greatest prize?
Philosophy
“Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8).
The world will feed you from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. You will learn what people have discovered about life, but apart from God. These philosophical systems, ancient and modern, attempt to make sense of the world, the meaning of life, good and evil, and our identity, who we really are.
Since fallen man cannot conceive of finding meaning, purpose, and identity in God because sin separates them from God, they persuade us to find meaning through our reasoning, culture, and other aspects of human achievement. They always miss the glorious truth, that “in him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily, and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:9–10).
We will miss this truth because of the competing philosophies in our time that paint a different picture of the world that resonates with a fallen people. For instance, philosophies of beauty keep us worshiping our bodies. The world points us to itself, arousing our interest in the fabrications of the elemental spirits, getting us lost in the thickets of mind traps, far from finding our way to God. We are kept living in the theater of the mind in ways that can never draw life from God Himself.
When we believe God’s truth about ourselves and act on it, we break free of these restrictive chains and live in liberty. Through faith i God’s word, our minds expand to believe that God will do what we could not conceive of in the past.
Legalism
“If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, ‘Don’t handle, nor taste, nor touch'” (Colossians 2:20–21).
Many of us want our modern equivalents of Emily Post to give us pointers to navigate the complex web of our social life. We want simple rules to follow to make sure we are doing the right thing.
“Eat these foods, not those.”
“A picture is worth a thousand words, so add a picture.”
“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”
“Always count to ten when you’re mad.”
“Only go shopping when when they’re having a sale.”
“Let others go first.”
“If you point at them, there are three fingers pointing back at you.”
These rules are of no benefit to the God-honoring life. Eternal life is knowing God and the Son. The world’s rules don’t contribute to building a life of trust in God. They create an unhealthy concentration on the physical world. They substitute morality in place of life with God.
With these rules, we look away from God and order our own lives. We obey human rules of conduct, not the Bible’s ways of honoring God and neighbor. We lean on our own understanding.
When you married, wasn’t your relationship with your spouse important to you? Do you think ordinary duties like carrying out the trash or balancing the checkbook would enhance the relationship? Time spent with the spouse makes the difference, not trash and paper. Our relationship motivated the work we did around the house, not the other way around.
So it is with all these rules we pile on ourselves. Skip the rules; die to them and let your pursuit be God Himself, the source of life and every good thing. Our attention on Him and His life flowing through us will trump every rule. We will love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We will pamper our neighbor as we pamper ourselves. This we’ll do as we deal with the flesh and learn to love the Lord with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength.
These corrections in Colossians are to address why we are not walking in faith; why we are not alive to God. They show us several ways the world has slithered in and replaced God. They are prayer subjects to take into our private times to ask the Lord to search our hearts to see if the flesh is lurking anywhere in this area, to see if there is any evil way in us, and lead us to the way eternal.
As Christians, we can add legalistic rules to our walk and make it more stressful than it needs to be:
“You have to memorize three verses every week.”
“Prayer should be an hour long.”
“You have to keep the Old Testament sabbath laws.”
“You should worship the Lord with hymns, not contemporary music.”
Although scripture memory, prayer, and worship are vital to our spiritual lives, let the Spirit guide each person as He wills, not hard-and-fast rules. Then honoring the Lord will be accompanied with great grace in our lives.
Religion and the Occult
“Let no one rob you of your prize by self-abasement and worshiping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. These things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, humility, and severity to the body; but aren’t of any value against the indulgence of the flesh” (2:18, 23).
One of the most amazing insights I received about spiritual Christianity is how uncomplicated the life is. The simplicity of faith in God underlies everything. Love God supremely and love your neighbor as yourself. God’s love, light, and life supplies everything.
When we don’t put faith in Jesus first, we may add all kinds of forms, rituals, rules, and practices to fill the void of not knowing God. We supplement our so-called spiritual life with things we can see, feel, and do. Frequently, they are unnatural.
I went to a church where we read from the same script every Sunday in church, word for word. Many had repeated them so often that they were memorized. We, who are made in the image of God, don’t talk that way in our personal get-togethers. It would be forced and unpleasant. Can you imagine meeting with friends for coffee, but only speaking the same words each time? If not, then why do we think God likes it?
When we sit and enjoy the company of friends, we are getting a taste of what eternal life is like with God. In these times in good company we don’t fold our hands, wear robes, or light candles. We don’t need to use these practices because our enjoyment of the companionship is complete in itself.
App Attack
Although the epistles don’t say anything about smartphone apps, these inventions of the world have had a huge, destructive effect on its users. Tony Reinke’s book, 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, is a terrifying read. Our apps have been carefully designed by some of the most knowledgeable and highly paid behavior scientists.
There’s a reason the games and apps keep people hooked for hours. They include all the psychological tricks to keep us glued to the screen, including enticing rewards to lure us on, flashing colors, constant motion, the thrill of competition, ongoing rewards, and the chance for bragging rights.
You can bet the enemy loves this tech, and all other glowing screens that draw us from spending time with the Lord. The enemy wants to keep us from God as much as possible, soiling the bride for her appearance before the Judgment Seat of Christ. We can’t get those hours back. They have whittled our attention span down to mere moments; the fruit that takes time and ongoing cultivation to grow is out of sight, out of mind. It is being bred out of us. One writer says he can no longer read books because the Internet articles have cause him to read to the point and move on. Then how can he read the Bible? Anther way the enemy is winning its war against a holy people.
Conclusion
All of your difficulties to progress in your Christian faith are not about conservative vs. liberal, not easy vs. hard, not us vs. them. The battle is the flesh vs. the Spirit. You keep this pairing front and center and you’ll see the true enemy in you and around you.
When you don’t gauge the battleground as between the flesh and the Spirit—not seeing the problem as spiritual—you’ll look in the wrong places for solutions. You’ll look to the world for answers. But be warned if you do so: “don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
You are not of this world. Understand the enemy. Consider these words as an advance spy reporting enemy movements. Read the epistles with a fresh eye. The enemy’s tricks in the world are being exposed on every page. The wiles of the devil are relentlessly bombarding our senses and entangling us in its web of busy-ness. If Jesus doesn’t have first place in your heart, it’s because you have given it to another. God’s grace is more than enough to rescue us from every trap our foe lays, and to help us stand against him.
Jesus did not pray to take us out of the world, but that the Father would keep us while we live in it (John 17:15). The Father has provided every means to ensure our deliverance. “No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). We know how to escape. With every temptation, surrender to the Lord. Before every temptation, surrender to God, devote yourself to honoring Him. Faith in Jesus is the victory. When we stand in the truth that we have died to sin and are no longer citizens of this world, then the attacks are blunted. They lose their attraction, like easily shaking droplets off waterproof clothing. Where we cannot give all to the Lord, we have found an idol of the world and the flesh.
The flesh provides the entryways though which the world and the devil can enter. The eyes, ears, mind, senses—these are all underground tunnels through which the enemy may enter and we may be taken captive. What are you listening to? What are you thinking about? What are you watching? Whatever is not of God and His liberty is from the enemy. Are you a friend of the world or of God?
Faith simplifies. The world distracts. With the simplicity of faith, all things are permitted, but we will not let them dominate us. We make a distinction among those things of the world that will advance our purpose to please Christ. Then this world that distracts us with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is bumped from its pedestal. We enjoy a relationship of eternal life with the Father and Son in the simplicity of faith.
We are citizens who await a heavenly kingdom, whose maker and builder is God.
