(c) The scope appointed for the work of the missionaries of the ffospcl ; it 18 to be preached throu<jhout the world ; Mt 5H 1333, Mt 26i3=.Mk 149, Mk W\ Uo l*. Col 16, Ph 215.
1 Ti 3i'"',
3. Idiomatic and peculiar uses —
(a) A rhettjriral expression for the great majority of people In a particular place, as in French, ' tout le inotide,' Jn 12i9.
{h) Equivalent almost to the modern phrase 'the public' * Show thyself to the world ' = 'court publicity," Jn 7-*, cf. 1820.
(c) Means of sustenance for the body is called ^'Of t«u Mir/Mv, lJn3i7.
(rf) * The tonciie a world of iniquity,' Ja 36.
(p) The world before the Flood, He 117. 2 P 2^ 3". The popu- lation of the world, then, and its accumulations of wealth and the products of its labour, are no doubt chiefly in view ; yet the comparison in 2 P u**- 7 with 'the heavens and the earth that now are,' suggests a sweeping away at that time of the old order of nature.
V The term used with ethical sitniificance.
(a) As material and transitory- the world presents a contract with that which is spiritual and eternal. In this way St. Paul Been)S to regard it in the very important passages Oal 43 e'-*, Col 2* 20. So we gather from comparing them together and from their contents (see Lightfoot, in loc). The instances with which the apostle is dealing illustrate the general principle to which he refers. The Law and its ordinances belong to an external sphere. Now things outward ( = ' the things that are Been' of 2 Co 41^ have for St, Paul lost all their value through Christ's death, in comparison with the things spiritual, and this ougnt to be the case with all Christians. He is not think- ing of ttie world as evil. Indeed the Law, which is 'of the world ' in the sense defined, has been used by God for the rudi- mentary instruction and discipline of the Israelites, and so may other things which are of the world be used. Elsewhere, also, he allows for a certain use of them, which must, however, be sparing and kept in strict subordination to higher considera- tions, 1 Co 731-34 ; cf. Lk 1230, This view of the world is hardly to be traced in St. John's writings ; a darker one appears, we shall find, there, upon which St. Paul dwells less.
{h) Devotion to the things of the world produces a certain temper of mind, which under the sense of loss is manifested in that 'sorrow of the world' which is not 'according to God,'
2 Co 710. There is a scale for estimating men and things, which may be in a measure true relatively to the things of this world, but which is, to aav the least, altogether incomplete, 1 Co 1^- 23 413, Ja 25. The* world has a fancied wisdom which does not know God, 1 Co 120. ^i 319, Jn l^o ; it cannot receive the Spirit of Truth, Jn 14^7. There is, in short, a spirit of this world, 1 Co 212. Tho.se in whom this spirit is are described as being ' of the worhl ' or * of this world ' (Jn 82^, 1 Jn 4-*- 6) ; and. by contrast. Christ's disciples as * not of the worid' fJn 151* 17'* : cf. also 1 Co .510 and 1 PS).
The state of the world arising from the influence of this spirit is one of dire moral corruption, Eph 22, 1 Jn 215-17^ Ja 127 44^ 2 P 1-* 220.
(c) The world denotes the mass of men who are hostile to the truth and to the followers of Chriut, or at least indifferent to it and them, Jn 77 IG^o- 33. 1 jn 31- 1^ 4-'- 5.
(d) The world is dominated by the Evil One, Jn 1231, i Jn 4* 519.
(e) The world as the object of judgment and of saving mercv,
Ro 36- 19 1112. 15, 1 Co 02. 2 Co 5I!'. Jn l'^> 3^5-19 442 033. 61 glZ. 2^
93 12^6.47. Primarily, of course, men are the objects of judg- ment, and that individually. But this is not all that is meant. In view of the general use of the term xotruui and of OT language, we must think, also, of a judgment upon mankind collectively, and on the manner of life and environment which it has made for itself, and in a sense, too, on the whole crea- tion with which it is so intimately connected ; and so also with regard to salvation (cf. RoS^y).
(/) The Holy Spirit has a special offlce in regard to the world, distinct fromthat which He exercises towards believers (Jn 1(3^ >i).
(j) The Christian can through his faith overcome the world ; i.e.. no doubt, alike its spirit in himself, the opposition of worldly men, and the world's ruler (1 Jn 4-* M").
5. The word alatv — which signifies properly a period of time, but a much Icnger one than we mean by an age, probably indeed the whole period during which the present order of nature has continued and shall continue— is used in many places with much the same connotation as ' world.' It is often rendered by this word both in AV and RV, though by 'age' in RVm and at He 6^ in ItV. A<w» and jw5-a« are brought into close connexion at 1 Co I'-iO and Eph 22- 3. This ' leon ' is contrasted with that which is to come (Mt 1232, Mk 1030. Lk 1830, He &•). We read of it« cares (Mt 132-J = jik4"!'); its sons (LklCS 2034) ;iu rulers, i.«. the kings and jrreat ones of the earth (1 Co 2H- ») ; its wisdom (1 Co 120 2o 322) ; it3 fashion, to wliich the Christian must not be conformed (Ko 122). It ie evil (Gal I-*), and under the dominion of the Evil