Pastor Ralph Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God’s desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? How is it possible to be “in” the world, but not “of” it, or contaminated by it? How do we achieve this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoiKosum Posted May 10, 2015 Report Share Posted May 10, 2015 (John 17:15-16) Is God’s desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? How is it possible to be “in” the world, but not “of” it, or contaminated by it? How do we achieve this? No it is not God's desire to take us out of this world. As Jesus said "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one." (John 17:15) Though we disciples are in the world, surrounded by an environment that is often hostile to Jesus and his disciples, we aren't part of the world system. In reality, we are no longer citizens of the world, but citizens of Jesus' Kingdom. We are resident aliens. "For everything in the world the cravings of sinful man, the **** of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father but from the world." (1 John 2:16) So while we are in this world, how do we stop ourselves from being contaminated? - "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2) Paul further wrote, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21) We are in the world Jesus wants us here to represent him and his Kingdom but we are not to adopt its value system and lifestyle. We do this with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit allows us to continue here without caving into the pressure to conform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanMary Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God’s desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? Jesus asked His Father to not take us out of the world but to keep and protect us from the evil one. We are His hands and feet and heart and mouth in the world, that He be made known through us while we're here. Also," He Who began a good work in "us" will bring it to completion at that day, bringing it to perfection." Phil 1:6 This is His work in us while we're in these bodies....perfecting us in love. How is it possible to be “in” the world, but not “of” it, or contaminated by it? We are born into the world, and we live here geographically (though we are seated with Him at the Right Hand of the Father, spiritually. Eph 2:6). To be in the world but not of and contaminated by it, is a partnership between us and Holy Spirit. Jesus said, He has "sanctified, (purified), consecrated us (separated for the Father and made holy) by Truth...His Word is truth." That is His part.(He did not leave us orphaned) Our part (free will) is to choose to rely on Him through surrender to Holy Spirit to walk in righteousness as our minds are renewed by the washing of His Word. How do we achieve this? We read, study, memorize, and meditate on His Word, all the days of our lives. Knowing what isTruth, keeps us from buying into the devils schemes, as he works in the world to deceive, destroy, divert, discourage all who will listen to his lies. Whatever age we are when we come to salvation we have a history of being steeped in the worlds way of thinking, which must be replaced with God's Word, and the help of Holy Spirit in a life surrendered to Christ's Lordship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen Posted May 16, 2015 Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God's desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? How is it possible to be "in" the world, but not "of" it, or contaminated by it? How do we achieve this? It is God's desire to leave some of us here for a time determined by Him to complete the work that needs to be done, to be a witness for Him until we are taken home. We are in the world but not of it. We are strangers to the ways of the world. We do not conform to the world but have been transformed by the renewing of our minds Romans 12:2, if we have yielded to the Holy Spirit to accomplish the good work God has started in us. If we have not God has some serious work to do in us. It is the Holy Spirit who accomplishes this as we yield to Him to weed out the undesirable nature in us and replace it with God's nature. God Bless! Jen Romans 15:13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanks Posted May 16, 2015 Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God's desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? How is it possible to be "in" the world, but not "of" it, or contaminated by it? How do we achieve this? God’s desire is to leave us here on earth to grow in grace and to witness for our Lord Jesus. When Jesus says we, as believers, must not be “of” the world, He was saying our natures must not be “conformed” but rather “transformed” (Romans 12:2). We should be transformed by the renewing of our mind, which means that we should think the way God thinks, as revealed in the Scriptures, and not set our minds on the things of this world (Col 3:1-7). We are “in” the world and are to testify that most of its works are evil and that salvation is only available to all who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are never meant to withdraw from life and abandon the world, rather we must always desire to win the world - to bring our light into this world of darkness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarence Posted May 16, 2015 Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God’s desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? How is it possible to be “in” the world, but not “of” it, or contaminated by it? How do we achieve this? It is not God's will to extract us physically from the world as we are in the world. Jesus prayed that the disciples should not be removed from the world ..."but that you (the Father) protect them from the evil one" (John 17:15)- so with his followers today. To live in the world, but not be part of it, is to live in the world without adopting its value system and lifestyle (from the notes). It is hard, but the bible says the way to do this is to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (by allowing God to change our lives) by focusing on his word and will for our lives with the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouse2014 Posted May 17, 2015 Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God’s desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? How is it possible to be “in” the world, but not “of” it, or contaminated by it? How do we achieve this? God's desire once we become believers is to leave us in the world so we can proclaim the word of truth to the world. Here, Jesus will protect us from the evil one in the world, for the Lord said he would neither leave or forsake us, but will be with us always. it is possible to be in the world , for we are in the world, however not of the world by it's influence of evil upon everyone. We aren't contaminated by the world, we are only passing through it, our true citizenship is in the Kingdom of God. We achieve our citizenship of the Kingdom of God by not becoming contaminated with the world of greed, jealousy and evil it offers us. The world is hostile to God and the truth, the Holy Spirit helps us by his power to overcome all that is contrary to God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteD Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 Lesson 29 Question 5 In John 17: 15 Jesus intimates clearly that he is not praying to the Father that he take the Christians out of the world, but he asks the Father to protect them from the evil one . We are to remain in the world as God's representatives but we are not to be of the world, that is, we are not to be hostile to God, lost to sin, at odds with the divine, ruined. For us it is impossible not to be affected by the evil one. But with Christ help and with the help of the Holy Spirit in us we can live connected to God, daily taking advantage of the Word of God and humbly praying for God's protection and staying connected with fellow Christians - Christian Fellowship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebeccaMallinson Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 God’s will is not always clear. Generally speaking God’s desire is not to immediately extract us from the earth, however, we will all die, whether while young or old. While we are here, it is with a purpose. Sometimes we know the purpose and sometimes not. To be ‘in’ but not ‘of’ the world, we have to adhere to God’s values, not worldly values. We achieve this by constant prayer and maintaining our focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haar Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God's desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? God wants us to remain here on earth for now to continue to do the work Jesus did, serving and bring people to the kingdom of light. How is it possible to be "in" the world, but not "of" it, or contaminated by it? How do we achieve this? It is possible to be "in" the world, but not "of" it by refusing to conform to the pattern or lifestyle of the world. Instead, we are to be transformed continuously by the renewing of our minds through the word of God and power of the Holy Spirit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley Tavaziva Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God's desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? How is it possible to be "in" the world, but not "of" it, or contaminated by it? How do we achieve this? Christians have a mission in the world. It is not Gods desire to extract us from the world but when someone is dying or leaving us, his or her last words are very important. Jesus left the disciples with these last words of instruction: They were under his authority; they were to make more disciples; they were to baptize and teach these new disciples to obey Christ; Christ would be with them always. Whereas in previous missions Jesus had sent his disciples only to the Jews, their mission from now on would be worldwide. Jesus is Lord of the earth, and he died for the sins of people from all nations. We are to go—whether it is next door or to another country—and make disciples. It is not an option but a command to all who call Jesus “Lord.” We are not all evangelists in the formal sense, but we have all received gifts that we can use to help fulfil the great commission. As we obey, we have comfort in the knowledge that Jesus is always with us. In the book of Luke, he wrote to the Greek-speaking world. He wanted them to know that Christ’s message of God’s love and forgiveness should go to the world. We must never ignore the worldwide scope of Christ’s Good News. God wants the world to hear the Good News of salvation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royk Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God's desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? How is it possible to be "in" the world, but not "of" it, or contaminated by it? How do we achieve this? If God's will was to extract us now, we would not be here doing this study. Likewise we don't know when He will call us home, but I pray that I will seek a rich Kingdom life to honor the Triune God To be "in" the world, but not "of" it, or contaminated by it, this is a tall order, yet I know many who seem to be living lives dedicated to God's church and Kingdom. I'm almost envious of their level of trust in God's grace, and mercy; and their faith that things will work for the good, no matter what. The only way to imagine that this can work is via prayer and meditation and by acting upon the "work" that God puts in front of us every day, sometimes every moment. "Remain in me...." trust me and let me lead, that is how we achieve this. Thank you God for so many blessings, things not of this world, but for the Kingdom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickledilly Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 God has given us, as the Body of Christ, unique purpose for life on earth and He does not desire to immediately take us out of this world once we’ve been redeemed to Him. We’re appointed as ambassadors for Christ and God makes His appeal to the lost through us (2Corinthians 5:20). We are to be light in the darkness (Matthew 5:14-16) and exalt and proclaim the only name under heaven by which man can be saved from sin (Luke 24:47). We’re commissioned to spread this message of hope throughout the whole earth (Matthew 28:19-20). So the redeemed of God are no longer bound to the philosophies, principles, or self-centered demands of this world. Before salvation, that was all we knew. But as children of the King, we have been transformed and made citizens of heaven that are only travelers on earth headed toward home. And so, we physically remain and live our human lives in the world. But we have the mind and heart of Christ, who is not of the world. Our lifelong battle is overcoming and putting to death all the natural mindsets, desires, and motivations that are worldly so that we’re filled with the greater holy life of Christ in us and we no longer conform to the patterns set by the world – patterns that can only result in destruction. The only way we overcome the world and avoid contamination is by humbling and yielding ourselves to the presence and power of the Spirit of God within. That’s paired with our practical steps of studying/applying the Word of God to know truth and maintaining constant communication with Him through prayer to know His heart. We need close involvement with a community of other believers and accountability with a circle of wise and trusted followers of Christ. We need to mature in living by faith in God's presently unseen realities rather than by what we can see in this transient world that only seems real. And we need to cultivate greater awareness at all times of God at work in our lives and a focus on the “end of the game”. God has placed us on His team that is beyond and above the world – and He has already won! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Applegarth Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 We are to remain in the world to represent Jesus and his Kingdom. Even though we are physically “in the world”, we are not to adopt its value system or its sinful lifestyle; we are of “the Kingdom of God”. Because of our humanity, we are vulnerable to Satan and his lies so we must always remain vigilant in order to keep influences of this world from contaminating the righteousness bestowed upon us as a result of Christ's sacrifice. How do we achieve this? Well, since we’re clothed in earthly humanity that’s certainly not easy. Satan and his sin absolutely loves this world and we are all, at some level at least, attracted to or tolerate its sinful practices and attitudes. If we ever hope to attain the Kingdom of God the path is through faith, prayer, study, worship and fellowship with other Christians. We simply can’t afford to compromise our Christianity so we have strive to develop a noncompromising, intolerance for the sin in the world. The spiritual standard that we should all be aspiring to is not to keep the world out completely because we are “in the world. We are not “of this world”, therefore the standard of holiness that we all need strive for comes from studying God’s Holy Word and praying constantly for the strength to repel the sin in this world so that it doesn’t contaminate our holiness, and it most certainly will if we’re not vigilant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Jerry Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 God’s desire is to leave us here in this world. Only our body has to be in the world but our souls and mind are of the heavenly body. We can achieve this by keeping our minds on the Father and praying at all times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godswriter Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God’s desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? How is it possible to be “in” the world, but not “of” it, or contaminated by it? How do we achieve this? No it is not for He wants us to stays here to do His will. To be in the world and not of it is to be conform your thinking to the way of Christ and learn to think like Christ did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Edwards Posted January 17, 2022 Report Share Posted January 17, 2022 Christ wants us to live as lights and examples of God in the world. Christ prayed that we would be kept from the devil. God's elect are called to be apostolic. I enjoy going away to pray for lengthy times, but I know that I must carry out my evangelistic calling. The ancient Egyptian church always had a fine balance between evangelism and seclusion of Christain communities where strict prayer and silence were rigorously maintained. Church of Alexandria was a beacon of Orthodoxy for centuries; renowned for apologetics and evangelism The Holy Spirit keeps us in holiness all day long in the midst of this depraved generation. By maintaining a steady prayer life and studying the Bible, including being active in ministry; we can maintain lives that our imbued by holiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irmela Posted October 14, 2022 Report Share Posted October 14, 2022 Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God's desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? It is not His desire to take us out of this earth, but rather to be in the world but not of the world. How is it possible to be "in" the world, but not "of" it, or contaminated by it? Of the world means being and doing what the world expects whereas in the world is being here but standing out as being different because Christ is our LIFE and in that way we are OF CHRIST and not of the world. How do we achieve this? In reality, we are no longer citizens of the world, but citizens of Jesus' Kingdom. We are in the world -- Jesus wants us here to represent Him and His Kingdom -- but we are not to adopt its value system and lifestyle. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2) I guess those sentences from the notes actually answer the questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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