Whatsoever is Born of God Overcomes the World (4)
Glory be to God in the Highest.It’s another Wednesday.It’s good to be back here.How are you doing? I will be rounding off the series today.You are welcome and thanks to those who share Rhemablog posts on various social media platforms.I might not know you but the All-knowing God is taking the records.God dearly bless the readers and the sharers.
“Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world…”-1John 5:4a
There are three Greek words that are translated as ‘world’ in the English Bible.They are:
1)/oikouménē/: It means the globe,the inhabited earth,Roman Empire(as seen in the synoptic gospels and Acts):
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world /oikouménē/ should be taxed.”-Luke 2:1
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world /oikouménē/ as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”-Matt 24:14
2)/aiṓn/:It means world,age.It is broader in meaning than the above.For example:
“The enemy that sowed them is the devil;the harvest is the end of the world /aiṓn/ ;and the reapers are the angels”-Matt 13:39
“That is the way it will be at the end of the world /aiṓn/. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous”-Matt 13:49
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world /aiṓn/and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”-Ephe 6:12
3)/kósmos/: The word was formed by a Greek philosopher Pythagoras who in his view ‘saw’ the sun,moon,stars,planets etc arranged in order.So the opposite of kosmos in English will be chaos.However,over the years,the meanings of kosmos have been extended beyond what the ancient Greek thought.
a)It could mean the material universe(the visibles and their glory):
“Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world /kósmos / and their glory.”-Matt 4:8
b)The moral universe(fallen world):
“Love not the world /kósmos/ ,neither the things that are in the world/kósmos/.If any man love the world/kósmos/,the love of the Father is not in him.”-1 John 2:15
c)The unseen world of evil that is antagonistic to God:
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does…We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”-2Cor 10:3 & 5
Simply,/kosmos/ and /aiṓn/ are synonymous and mean “all creation“, the “universe” or the “fallen world“.On the other hand,/oikouménē/ is more specific to the earth where men reside.
Let me now use two scriptures to delineate between kosmos and oikouménē:
“For God so loved the world/kosmos/ that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”-John 3:16
“And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world/oikouménē/,He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”-Heb 1:6
Therefore,oikouménē is a minute but significant part of the kosmos because the former is where Man lives.
In other words, God loved the fallen world or all creation(kosmos) and gave His Son(Jesus Christ) specifically to the inhabited earth(oikouménē).God didn’t send Him to the Sun or Moon or other planets.He gave the fallen Man His son so that “whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God” (1John 5:1) and consequently:
Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world(kosmos).He/she overcomes the rulers,the authorities,the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms who are up in arms over supremacy with him/her.They may attack those born of God but the latter will overcome in the end(Read more in Part 3 of the series) because greater is he that is in those born of God than he that is in the world(kosmos).
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”-1John 4:4
Also,everyone who is born of God overcomes the three major components of the world(kosmos):The lust of the flesh,the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
“For everything in the world(kosmos)–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–comes not from the Father but from the world.”-1John 2:16
The Devil will always want to tempt those born of God with these three baits like what he did to Christ but praise be to God they shall overcome him.
Lastly,Satan and his agents might try to oppose God’s agenda and purpose in the lives of the elect through trials,tribulations,failures,sorrows etc but the elect should not forget the encouragement from their Master:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world(kosmos) you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world(kosmos).”-John 16:33