Not Of This World

 Colossians  3:1-3

1 If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth. 3 For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Being raised together with the Messiah denotes our first resurrection (Revelation 20:6). This resurrection takes place when we are begotten from above by the Spirit of Jehovah and baptized in water in the name of the Son of God. Because we are now raised with the Messiah we are to have our mind set on the things above in heaven and not on the things of the earth. 

Paul refers to Psalm 110 in this passage, which is a Davidic covenant fulfillment text, which shows and proves that Jehoshua sat on the throne of David when he resurrected and ascended into heaven. Jehoshua being the now reigning Davidic King in heaven is precisely why we are to be heavenly minded and not earthly minded. What does this mean? 

Most Christians have a false understanding of what it means to not be earthly or worldly as they reduce this concept to watching movies, sports, listening to music and dress. This false understanding has led to ridiculous legalistic attitudes among many Christians and church denominations. 

In verse 3, Paul says that we, as resurrected saints, have died and that we are now hid in the Messiah. This death is spiritual, in that we have put to death the old man and his earthly nature. The life we have now in Messiah is a spiritual begetting into his character and we now have a heavenly nature. 

What does Paul identify as the earthly things that we are not to have our mind set on?

Colossians 3:5-6

5 Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; 6 for which things` sake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience:

The modern Christian thinks of being of the world as very superficial tripe things and rarely ever mentions the things that Paul mentions in the above passage. The earthly things that Paul says we are not have our minds set upon (verse 3) are listed in verse 5, which are fornication (Sodomy, Adultery, incest and beastiality), uncleanness (moral filth), passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry. 

Notice that Paul doesn't mention the NFL, NBA or NHL but he says the things of the earth are behaviors. Being earthly has to do with bad moral character, which of course produces bad moral behavior. This is what being of the world really means. This is what Jehoshua talked about, which is to call him Lord (King) but not doing as he says:

Luke 6:46

"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

It is not enough to profess belief in Jehoshua as Lord, but you must obey him to truly be his follower. To truly believe that Jehoshua is Lord is to have your mind set on his heavenly Kingdom, where he sits on the throne of David at Jehovah's right hand. Paul uses the Davidic Kingship Psalm (110) to exhort the brethren to put their mind on Heavenly things and not on earthly things. It's Jehoshua's Davidic Kingship that should inspire us to obey him and put away those earthly things. 

Paul is not so concerned about whether we watch NFL football on Sundays, but rather he cares that we put to death those sins mentioned in verse 5 of Colossians. The apostle Paul cares far more about our moral values and living according to them than any modern concept of what it means to be of the world. 

The deception is that modern Christians use the superficial interpretation of not being of this world to avoid the demand for moral excellence outlined in the above passage. This moral excellence means abstaining from many of the sins that are tolerated and/or accepted in today's churches.

Let's start with the sin of fornication, which is another false doctrine of the church. When I say false doctrine I mean a false interpretation of what fornication is. This is especially important in the modern day since the churches of Christendom are increasingly accepting Sodomy as an okay practice, as long as it is monogamous and between so-called "married" couples.

Fornication includes all of the sexual sins listed in Leviticus 18, most notably Sodomy. Yet this sin, which Paul equates to being earthly and worldly, is what the churches are increasingly accepting. 

Covetousness is the other sin, which Paul describes as earthly/worldly, that the churches of Christendom practice and even encourage. To speak against covetousness in the church will make you a pariah. 

The Institutional church system actively promotes the sins of fornication and covetousness, yet will have the nerve to say they are "not of this world". Paul says those sins are the very definition of being earthly or worldly. 

1 John 2:15-17

15.Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16.For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

John the apostle agrees with Paul's concept of what it means to be of the world (earthly), as he identifies being of the world as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. This is what it means to not the love the world, which is to abstain from the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Not loving the world has nothing to do with not watching movies, sports or listening to music, as that's the modern Christian understanding.

The Modern Christian false understanding of not being of this world has led to ridiculous amounts of legalism about things that have no bearing on our walk with Jehoshua and our salvation. It is also a cheap substitute for truly not being of this world, which is to sin not and to live righteously. The churches of Christendom actually teach that you cannot overcome sin and that sinning doesn't make you worldly, yet watching NFL football on Sunday does.

The lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes are the same sins that Paul is talking about in Colossians chapter 3, fornication and covetousness. The lust of the eyes denotes the desire for those things and the lust of the flesh is the fulfillment of those desires. The pride of life is man's attempt for fame and notoriety, which means a sacrifice of morals. 

Colossians 3:8

"but now do ye also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth"

The above attributes are members of the earth that we are to put to death and put away. This is done when we are begotten from above by the Spirit of Jehovah God and then subsequently baptized in the name of His Son. A true begotten from above experience will result in the death of our formerly earthly members. The things of the earth that we are no longer to do have nothing to do with our entertainment consumption, but rather our moral virtues and character. 

Being of the world has to do with the practice of sin and the definition of sin is very specific, which in shorthand is fornication, covetousness and uncleanness.  Again, being of the world has nothing to do with watching the latest movie or cheering on your favorite sports team.

Ephesians 5:5-7

5 For this ye know of a surety, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no man deceive you with empty words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

A Christian will not be judged at the last day for his football fandom or the fact that he watched Top Gun, but he will be judged according to whether or not he practiced any of the above worldly/earthly sins once converted. Again, being of the world from a biblical standpoint is practicing fornication, being a covetous person which is being an idolater. Also, being unclean will keep you out of the Kingdom. Uncleanness means soft and luxurious living. Paul says that of a surety, no one who practices these things has any inheritance in the Kingdom of the Messiah and God.

It's almost as if Paul knew exactly what the state of so-called Christianity would be when he wrote this, because he says to let know one deceive you with empty words, obviously meaning that there would be those who would say that you can practice those things and inherit the Kingdom. Not only will they not have the inheritance in the eternal Kingdom (future), but they don't have any inheritance in the militant Kingdom (present). 

Rather than being saved in sin, Paul says that the practice of these earthly/worldly sins is what causes Jehovah's wrath to pour out on the sons of disobedience. Notice that Paul doesn't call them brethren but says they are children of disobedience, meaning they are children of Satan. Finally, Paul says not to be partakers with them, that means no fellowship with them whatsoever.