We like to be liked. Therefore one of the
most difficult things for us as Christians is
that, if we are faithful to Jesus and his word,
the world will hate us. ‘If the world hates
you, keep in mind that it hated me first,’ said
the Lord to his disciples (John 15.18).
John Benton, Editor
Elite world
Bear
in mind that, when John records
Jesus speaking about ‘the world’, the Gospel
writer is not so much referring to our planet
or its inhabitants but to the rebel spirit, the
system of attitudes
insinuated among us
by the devil, which is antagonistic to God,
his Word and his people. It is to do with
independence, power, pride, love of money,
etc. At one level, not all are quite so caught
up in the spirit of the world as others. The
poor and oppressed loved to hear Jesus. It
was the worldly rich and the ruling elites
who were the chief instigators of persecuting
both Christ and the early church.
subscribe now
Join today to gain access to the rest of this article and many others.
The Editorial
What’s next?
We are only human.
We like to be liked. Therefore one of the most difficult things for us as Christians is that, if we are faithful to Jesus and his word, the world will hate us. ‘If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first,’ said the Lord to his disciples (John 15.18).
Elite world
Bear in mind that, when John records Jesus speaking about ‘the world’, the Gospel writer is not so much referring to our planet or its inhabitants but to the rebel spirit, the system of attitudes insinuated among us by the devil, which is antagonistic to God, his Word and his people. It is to do with independence, power, pride, love of money, etc. At one level, not all are quite so caught up in the spirit of the world as others. The poor and oppressed loved to hear Jesus. It was the worldly rich and the ruling elites who were the chief instigators of persecuting both Christ and the early church.
subscribe now
Join today to gain access to the rest of this article and many others.
more infologin
If you are already a subscriber, log in to continue.
log inaccess code
If you have an access code, enter it here:
free trial
Get free access for 14 days:
Click here to find out how we take care of your personal data.