NOT OF THIS WORLD
There are many logical arguments to rejecting the interpretation of “world” as the natural world. We see them most clearly in the following scriptures where Jesus clarifies that there are two different worlds: One is the world of religion and the other is the spiritual world of the New Covenant.

John 15:19: “If you were of the world, the world would love 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.

COMMENTARY: Jesus is addressing his disciples here as New Covenant disciples. Before they came to faith, they were loved and  accepted by fellow Jews because they practiced the same religion.

After they came to faith, however, they were no longer members of the world of religious Judaism. After they ceased being Old/First Covenant religionists and became New Covenant disciples, religious Jews hated them just like they hated Jesus.

This is what anyone who leaves the religion of their birth can expect. They will be loved and accepted  as long as they practice the religion of their friends and family. After they reject Defiled Religion in favor of Pure Religion, they will be rejected and hated because by friends and family because they pose a threat to the security of the religion. At that point, friends and family become enemies.

See Religion is the Enemy for more about rejection and hate that comes to people who become New Covenant disciples.

John 17:14-16: “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

COMMENTARY: It is obvious that Jesus and his disciples are in and of the natural world. Thus, “world” cannot be referring to the natural world. They did, however, live in the world of religion without practicing religion. They were hated because they did not practice religion. This is true today just as it was true when Jesus spoke.

The world that Jesus and his followers are in is the spiritual world established by God in New Covenant disciples when the law is written on their hearts by his spirit.

15 “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

COMMENTARY: Even though the religious world is full of Religious Enemies, Adversaries, Oppressors and Judaizers, Jesus does not ask God to remove them from it. The reason God does not want to take them out of the world is so that they can speak (i.e. teach) the truth that religion is sin to those who are still religious. See True Prophets and Model Warriors.

God’s reason for keeping his people in the world of religion is to utterly destroy those nations of Old/First Covenant religion and replace them with New Covenant  disciples who are not of the world of religion but are in the spiritual Kingdom of God/Heaven.

God wants his New Covenant disciples to stay in proximity to the world of religion but not succumb to it’s temptations (i.e. be kept from the evil one.)

1 John 2:16: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

COMMENTARY: Here Jesus makes the connection between the symbolism of lust of flesh, lust of eyes and pride to religion. This is the clue that allows us to interpret all other Biblical references regarding lust and pride to religion.

This verse also establishes the concept of empty life acquired in the world of religion as a contrast to abundant spiritual life which comes from God. See Death, Resurrection, New Life, Heaven, Forgiveness and Eternal Life, Tree of Life and Hidden Life of the Heart for more about life as God sees it.

John 8:19-26: They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father; if you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. 21 Again he said to them, “I go away, and you will seek me and die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 Then said the Jews, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.”

COMMENTARY: Jesus says in different ways that the world refers to religion. The religious Jews to which he was speaking are characterized as being from a world below which is symbolically called hell or Hades. Jesus, by contrast, is from above which is symbolically called the Kingdom of God and heaven. Symbolically speaking, these  are two different worlds. Jesus is from a spiritual world and the religious Jews are from the world of religion.

25 They said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Even what I have told you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge; but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”

COMMENTARY: Jesus declaration is to the world of religion symbolically represented by Judaism. This agrees with what Jesus said in John 18:19-21 about speaking openly to the world in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. But Christians and other religions should not think that Jesus is not speaking to them because Christianity is as much a part of the world of religion as Judaism.

John 18:35-37: Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me; what have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world.”

COMMENTARY: Jesus verifies again that his kingship of a spiritual world is different from the kingships that religious leaders have in the world of religion.

Saying that his servants (i.e. disciples) would fight for him if he was a king in the world of religion is a condemnation of the violent strategies that Jews are willing to apply to preserve their own kingdoms.

37 Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.”

COMMENTARY: What Jesus said here is what all New Covenant disciples will say of themselves.

1 Corinthians 5: It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment 4 in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral men; 10 not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

COMMENTARY: In verse 10 Paul differentiates between immoral people who are not religious and immoral people who are religious. He allows that associations with immoral, greedy people who are not religious is acceptable. He says, in effect, that New Covenant disciples need to stay in the world of religion so that they can speak the truth to religious people about religion being sin.

11 But rather I wrote to you not to associate with any one who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber–not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Drive out the wicked person from among you.”

COMMENTARY: Here Paul instructs Corinthians to stay in the world occupied by non-religious people while staying in the world of religion to judge religious people in the church who are guilty of immorality, greed, drunkenness  and so on.

Many scriptures speak of judgment of the world. And there are many other scriptures in which Jesus connects his ministry to the religious world — specifically the religion of the Jews. The context of these scriptures clearly ties Jesus’ ministry to religious Jews — not the physical world. It is people who are in bondage to one religion or another that need deliverance. It is nonsensical to say that the physical world needs deliverance from religion.

This does not mean that the religious world at large is not in view at all because God eventually wants that all men should be saved —  no matter where they live. It must be understood, however, that the salvation of the Jews must come before it comes to the rest of the world. In other words, Jesus’ message is first to religious Jews, then to religious Gentiles, and then to the greater world.

AUTHORS’ NOTE: See Israel, Jerusalem, Jews, Christians and Gentiles for understanding of the symbolic meaning of these people and places.

Tying this all together, we conclude that Biblical references to the “world” are to the world of religion in all its various manifestations. This includes Judaism and Christianity.