12月4日 世界
12月4日，周四
世界
“不要爱世界和世上的东西。人若爱世界，爱父的心就不在他里面了。原来世上的一切，就如肉体的私欲，眼目的私欲和今生的骄傲，都不是出于父，而是从世界来的。这世界和世上的私欲都要渐渐过去，但那遵行神旨意的却存到永远。”（约翰壹书2:15-17）
这大概是圣经里最全面说明“世界”含义的经文之一。约翰在这里再次提到这个主题；整卷书信中，他对“世界”的问题始终十分关切，新约其他作者也是如此。若不将整个基督徒生命视为一场争战，你便无法真正读懂新约。我们生活在一个充满冲突的处境中。圣经告诉我们，有两个国度：光明的国度和黑暗的国度，两者不断对立、彼此冲突。保罗对以弗所教会说：“因为我们的争战，对抗的不是有血有肉的人，而是执政的、掌权的、管辖这黑暗世界的和天上的邪灵。”（弗6:12）约翰也在强调：所谓“世界”，一直都在那里，而基督徒一生都在与之争战。所以，我们务必要弄清楚，他这里所说的“世界”究竟是什么意思。
或许，新约对“世界”最恰当的定义，就是：一切与神和神的圣灵相敌对的事物。神呼召男女老少敬拜祂、荣耀祂；祂呼召人活着是为着祂的荣耀。著名的《西敏小要理问答》第一问如此总结：“人的首要目的，就是荣耀神，并以祂为乐，直到永远。”这正是神创造我们的根本目的——我们被造，就是要在各方面、用一切可能的方式荣耀神。
默想主题：
我们生活在一个充满了激烈的属灵争战的世界中。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：代下3-4章，约壹3章
个人灵修：鸿2章，路18章
December 4, Thursday
THE WORLD
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. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abidethfor ever. (1 JOHN 2:15-17)
That is, perhaps, one of the fullest statements in Scripture of what the New Testament means by this term the world; here John once more comes back to it. He is always very anxious about it, as is every writer in the New Testament. You cannot read the New Testament truly without seeing the whole of the Christian life as a life of conflict; we are in an atmosphere and in a world where there is a great fight going on. There are two kingdoms, the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, and you get these constant comparisons and contrasts. Paul says to the Ephesians, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (or “in the heavenlies”) (Ephesians 6:12). “The world,” says John, “is there the whole time, and the Christian is fighting against it.” So it is of vital importance that we should know what he means by this.
Perhaps the best way of defining what the New Testament means by “the world” is that it is everything that is opposed to God and His Spirit. God calls upon men and women to worship Him and to glorify Him; He calls upon them to live for His glory. There is a famous quotation in the Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Confession that says, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him for ever.” That is the chief object for which God created us; we are meant to glorify God in every way conceivable.
A Thought to Ponder: We are in a world where there is a great fight going on.