In the last post we saw how four prominent, historical theologians—Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin—defined “the world,” as mentioned in 1 John 2:15–17.
We continue in this post with summary definitions from four more historical theologians: Jonathan Edwards, Herman Bavinck, Louis Berkhof, and John Wesley.
Jonathan Edwards: The world is the whole system of temporal things—pleasures, profits, honors, and relationships—insofar as they captivate the heart and compete with supreme love to God.
Herman Bavinck: The world is creation, which God created perfectly good, corrupted by sin and now oriented away from God. It is the sphere of rebellion under Satan’s influence.
Louis Berkhof: The world is the human race as corrupted by sin and estranged from God. It is humanity in its ethical alienation from God.
John Wesley: The entire network of sinful desires—sensual, material, and prideful—that governs fallen human life and stands in opposition to God.
For the source of these summary definitions, read the final section of the previous post.
In the next post we finish the definitions with six contemporary theologians: John Frame, Wayne Grudem, Albert Mohler, John Piper, Paul Washer, and Stephen Wellum.