These are in the world…the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world….they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
—John 17:11, 14, 16
As He is, so are we in this world.
—1 John 4:17
If Jesus was not of the world, why was He in the world? The answer is that the Father had sent Him into the world. In these two expressions, “in the world,” and “not of the world,” we find the whole secret of His work as Savior, of His glory as the God-man.
He was in the world to fellowship with men, to enter into a loving relationship with them, and to struggle with the powers that rule the world. He was not of the world, witnessing against its sin and departure from God, in order to redeem all who belong to Him.
He was in the world and not of the world. To take one of these two truths and exclusively cultivate it is not so difficult. There are those who have taken “not of the world” as the only true Christianity, as when they seek to show their piety by severity in judging all that is in the world. Then there are those who stress “in the world,” who think that by showing that Christianity does not make us unfriendly or unfit to enjoy all that there is to enjoy, they will induce the world to serve God.
The follower of Jesus must combine both.
If he does not clearly show that he is not of the world how will he convince the world of sin, prove to her that there is a higher life, or teach her to desire what she does not yet possess? Separation from the spirit of the world must characterize him.
And still, he must live as one who is in the world, placed here by God, among those who are of the world, to win their hearts and to communicate to them of the Spirit that is in him. He will not succeed by yielding, complying, and softening the realities of Christianity. No, he will succeed only by walking in the footsteps of Him who alone can teach how to be in the world and yet not of it. Only by a life of serving and suffering love, and in which, full of the Holy Spirit, he brings men into direct contact with the warmth and love of the heavenly life, can he be a blessing to the world.