Category: The World

What does 1 John 5:19 actually say?

In my last post, we explored the subject of Satan and demons and showed from Holy Scripture that they are real.

In the previous posts in this series (1st post. 2nd post) we also have seen that the reality of evil spirit beings is neither trivial nor cooky, because Holy Scripture also says, “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Let that sink in. Does it say a few bizarre satanists in fringe cults are under the power of the evil one? Does it say a portion of the world is under the power of the evil one? No, Scripture says “the whole world” is under the power of Satan.

How can Satan influence a world he cannot be seen in?

What could that possibly mean? For starters it must mean that Satan is exerting his power deceptively, through some people, and through some organizations, because no one can see Satan, who is a spirit. And few people would acknowledge that the whole world lies under his power. Most people would label that idea as superstitious, as exaggerated, as a conspiracy theory, or as paranoid.

But according to Scripture this is cold, hard, fact. And those who do not believe it are destined to be harmed by Satan, because his goal is to ruin the lives of humans created in God’s image.

So, assuming the above is true, how do you live in this fallen world without coming under the influence of the evil one and his demons?

Why Satan works indirectly rather than openly

For illustration purposes, imagine a small town in Nebraska where both adults and children happily eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains for breakfast. There is one resident, however, who eats boxed cereal containing enormous amounts of sugar, salt, and artificial preservatives. Sadly, he is not content with harming his own health. He wants to get rich by converting his neighbors from eating health food to instead eating junk food.

His plan is to start a breakfast cereal business that transforms the eating habits of every man, woman, and child in his town. That is a tall order, but he knows how to do it. Of course he will not start an ad campaign with slogans like, “Be happy; eat junk food!” Or, “Help me retire rich; buy my cereals!”

Instead he will transform the eating habits of his neighbors through subtle, indirect influences. He will hire songwriters to create popular music with lyrics that repeat the benefit of eating convenient, boxed cereal. Before long, everyone will be humming the lines of “Boxed cereal is better than broccoli, better than broccoli, better than broccoli.”

He will hire the most beautiful influencers in town to start touting his cereals on social media.

He will produce movies whose attractive stars eat boxed cereal and mock those who eat wisely.

You get the idea. The bad guy in this story influences people in subtle, pleasurable, indirect ways, not through a logical argument or direct appeal.

In the same way, Satan exerts his influence in our world. You come under the influence of Satan in many of the popular, commonplace things of our culture. Through some popular music, movies, Youtube videos, and TV shows. Through some newscasters. And through some public school curricula, college professors, and religious leaders. Through some companies and some of the arts. Through some books, magazines, websites, newspapers, and entertainment of all types.

How worldviews are formed through culture

What we get from all these sources and more are words and ideas, beliefs about what is morally right and wrong, beliefs about whether God exists and, if so, what is his nature and character, beliefs about evolution and creation, beliefs about the future of the world, beliefs about the reliability of the Bible. It comes winsomely, through people you admire and respect, who have already accepted the narrative.

All these beliefs comprise your worldview, your philosophy about reality. That is where Satan is always hard at work to lead people away from what Holy Scripture says. And the end result is, “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).

In my next post, we will explore how to escape the evil one’s influence in the world.

What does the Bible mean by ‘the world’? In my previous post I compared a convenience store with its shelves lined with candy to our world and its temptations toward evil.

I quoted an important Scripture that raises many questions: “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19).

So, according to the Bible, what is “the world”?

Who is the evil one? Does Satan really exist? If so, in what sense does Satan have power over the whole world?

What should your attitude be toward the world?

Let’s begin with the first question.

What is the world?

The Bible uses the word world in several different senses.

First, world can refer to the physical earth. The world is what God created in Genesis 1, and he pronounced it good. Since God is perfectly good, and he made the world, then the world is good.

Second, the Bible uses the word world to refer to humanity in general without having good or evil in view.

We see this in the well-known Scripture John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Third, the Bible uses the word world to refer to what is anti-God in humanity and human culture. What do humans create and do that is anti-God? What systems do humans create that reject God’s commandments?

This is the sense in James 4:4: “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Examples

Here are three examples corresponding to the three senses of the word world described above.

1. You go to a forest preserve and feel refreshed by the beauty of nature. On the way home, you stop at your favorite restaurant and order your favorite meal.
2. You attend a high school basketball game along with several members of your family to watch your sibling, who plays guard for the home team. Afterward you enjoy a family meal.
3. You join with some new friends to go to a club where there is abundant opportunity to engage in lust, sexual relations with someone who is not your spouse, profanity, drunkenness, drugs, and even violence.

Based on these distinctions, it is the third sense of the word world that is used in 1 John 5:19: “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” It is the people, organizations, cities, states, nations, and cultures that reject and oppose God and his commandments who lie in the power of the evil one.

The next post

In my next post we will examine these questions:

Who is the evil one?

Does Satan really exist?

If so, in what sense does Satan have power over the whole world?

When I was a kid, I lived two blocks from a small, independent grocery store. It was one of my favorite places to go. I did not pedal my bike there several times a week to buy groceries, though. My interest centered on the shelves facing the cash register, lined with candy.

My favorites were Snickers bars, Hershey’s chocolate bars, Baby Ruth bars, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I liked the various flavors of Wrigley’s gum and the Hostess chocolate cupcakes and Twinkies and dabbled in licorice, jawbreakers, and hard candies. I enjoyed Pixy Stix, which were paper straws filled with flavored sugar. There was a freezer filled with popsicles, frozen fudge bars, ice cream bars, and ice cream sandwiches.

I ate this assortment daily. When I remember this now, I cringe. I shudder to think how much sugar I consumed between ages five and twelve. We knew then that sugar was bad for your teeth, but now we know many other harmful effects of excess sugar on the body.

I don’t eat candy anymore. Today if I walk into a convenience store, I have a completely different attitude regarding what I will find on the shelves compared to my childhood delight in the nearby store.

A Christian’s shift in world-view

When we become true disciples of Jesus, we have a similar transformation in our attitude toward the world. Yes, there are good and beautiful things in our world, just as my candy store sold healthy food in aisle two and quality meat in the butcher’s market in the rear. But Christians soon learn our world has things that displease God.

While non-Christians know there are evils in the world, the world and its pleasures are typically their life and hope. They cannot agree with what the Holy Scriptures say, “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19).

That may sound to you like an extreme or outdated worldview. Let’s talk more about the shift in world-view that every true disciple of Jesus needs in upcoming posts.