In the three previous posts we have drilled down into the meaning of three primary aspects of the love of the world according to 1 John 2:15–17. We are now ready to summarize the meaning of “the world” by summarizing and condensing in one or two sentences how significant theologians have defined it.
Do not be intimidated by that. I think you will find this extremely helpful.
Why should you care what these theologians say? Because as we saw in the first six posts in this series, your relationship to God—indeed, your salvation—depends on having a proper relationship with the world. The extent to which Satan and demons are able to influence you depends on how you relate to the world.
So, we need to have clear understanding of what 1 John 2:15–16 means when it says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”
Method
I researched the views of these theologians using ChatGPT. The following are not direct quotations, but rather condensed summaries (for more on how ChatGPT created these descriptions, see the end of the post).
The theologians included are:
Historical: Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, Hermann Bavinck, Louis Berkhof.
Contemporary: John Frame, Wayne Grudem, Albert Mohler, John Piper, Paul Washer, Stephen Wellum.
What is “the world” according to…
Augustine: The world is humanity organized by disordered love—loving self and created things instead of loving God.
Thomas Aquinas: The world is the created order loved in a disordered way and preferred over God. It is inordinate or excessive love of temporal goods. It is the love of creatures as ultimate, which displaces love for God.
Martin Luther: The world is the whole system of human life organized in unbelief and opposition to God and the gospel. The world is hostile to Christ and the church and rejects the gospel.
John Calvin: The world is everything in the present life that draws and captivates the heart away from God.
In coming posts: Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, Hermann Bavinck, Louis Berkhof, John Frame, Wayne Grudem, Albert Mohler, John Piper, Paul Washer, Stephen Wellum.
Sources—If you are interested, how ChatGPT gathered these summaries
According to ChatGPT, the above descriptions were not verbatim quotations. Rather, they were careful summaries and syntheses of each theologian’s teaching, based on their known writings and theological frameworks. ChatGPT condensed their views into clear, comparable definitions, in some cases, using language they themselves wouldn’t have used word-for-word, but which accurately reflects their thought.
For each theologian ChatGPT drew from their commentaries, sermons, and systematic works. It identified their core theological categories (for example, disordered love, unbelief, affections. It expressed those ideas in clear, modern theological language. And it standardized the wording for easy comparison.
Why ChatGPT did not use direct quotations:
- Comparability
Direct quotes vary widely in style, length, and clarity. Summaries make side-by-side comparison possible. - Clarity
Some original texts (especially Aquinas, Augustine, Edwards) are dense or archaic. - Synthesis
Many of these theologians don’t give a single neat “definition” of “the world” in one sentence—you have to draw it together from multiple places.