Just finished reading The Owner's Manual for Christians by Chuck Swindoll. I really needed it. Needed to get back to basics, to the Root of the vine - for I was in a place no Christian likes to be but finds themselves from time to time. You may have been there - that "no man's land" where you find yourself distanced from your Father and questioning everything about religion, church and Christianity. So I put things aside, slowed down, re-prioritized, reflected and got back to basics.
The amazing thing is when God gives us confirmation that what we are reading and/or hearing is correct and Biblical. That's what He did for me this week - starting with Keith's sermon on Sunday and culminating with Swindoll's book today. Both referenced Satan and his wily ways.
The physical world upon which we have our feet planted is visible. It can be measured. It can be felt. It has color and odor and texture. It's tangible, obvious. What is not so obvious is the system that permeates and operates within lives on this earth. It is a world system manipulated by the pervasive hand of Satan and his demons, who pull the strings to achieve the adversary's wicked ends. If we are ever to extricate ourselves from those strings, we must be able to detect them and understand where they lead.
Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world (the cosmos), the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)
So what is this system? What is its philosophy? What is the frame of reference of the cosmos - its thinking, its drives, its goals?
The first thing we need to know is that it is a system that operates apart from and at odds with God. It is designed to appeal to us, to attract us, to seduce us with its sequined garb of fame, fortune power, and pleasure. God's ways are often uncomfortable, but the world system is designed to make us comfortable, to give us pleasure, to gain our favor, and ultimately to win our support. The philosophy of the world system is totally at odds with the philosophy of God.
Greek grammarian Kenneth Wuest wrote:
Kosmos refers to an ordered system. . . of which Satan is the head, his fallen angels and demons are his emissaries, and the unsaved of the human race are his subjects. . . Much in this world-system is religious cultured, refined, and intellectual. But it is anti-God and anti-Christ.
Pay close attention to the commercials on television and observe what they're advertising and how virtually every word, picture, and sound is designed to pull you in, to make you dissatisfied with what you have and what you look like and who you are. The great goal is to make you want whatever it is that is being sold.
But it's not just on television. The world system, the cosmos philosophy, is everywhere. It's going on all the time, even when you can't see it, and especially when you're not thinking about it. It's whistling its appeal: "Come on. Come on. You'll love it. This is so much fun. It'll make you look so good, It'll make you feel so good." It motivates us by appealing to our pride and that that which pleases us, all the while cleverly seducing us away from God.
And over all this realm, don't forget, Satan is prince.
More from The Owner's Manual for Christians by Swindoll to come . . . . . .
The amazing thing is when God gives us confirmation that what we are reading and/or hearing is correct and Biblical. That's what He did for me this week - starting with Keith's sermon on Sunday and culminating with Swindoll's book today. Both referenced Satan and his wily ways.
The physical world upon which we have our feet planted is visible. It can be measured. It can be felt. It has color and odor and texture. It's tangible, obvious. What is not so obvious is the system that permeates and operates within lives on this earth. It is a world system manipulated by the pervasive hand of Satan and his demons, who pull the strings to achieve the adversary's wicked ends. If we are ever to extricate ourselves from those strings, we must be able to detect them and understand where they lead.
Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world (the cosmos), the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)
So what is this system? What is its philosophy? What is the frame of reference of the cosmos - its thinking, its drives, its goals?
The first thing we need to know is that it is a system that operates apart from and at odds with God. It is designed to appeal to us, to attract us, to seduce us with its sequined garb of fame, fortune power, and pleasure. God's ways are often uncomfortable, but the world system is designed to make us comfortable, to give us pleasure, to gain our favor, and ultimately to win our support. The philosophy of the world system is totally at odds with the philosophy of God.
Greek grammarian Kenneth Wuest wrote:
Kosmos refers to an ordered system. . . of which Satan is the head, his fallen angels and demons are his emissaries, and the unsaved of the human race are his subjects. . . Much in this world-system is religious cultured, refined, and intellectual. But it is anti-God and anti-Christ.
Pay close attention to the commercials on television and observe what they're advertising and how virtually every word, picture, and sound is designed to pull you in, to make you dissatisfied with what you have and what you look like and who you are. The great goal is to make you want whatever it is that is being sold.
But it's not just on television. The world system, the cosmos philosophy, is everywhere. It's going on all the time, even when you can't see it, and especially when you're not thinking about it. It's whistling its appeal: "Come on. Come on. You'll love it. This is so much fun. It'll make you look so good, It'll make you feel so good." It motivates us by appealing to our pride and that that which pleases us, all the while cleverly seducing us away from God.
And over all this realm, don't forget, Satan is prince.
More from The Owner's Manual for Christians by Swindoll to come . . . . . .
Enjoyed your post. And I concur with the battle raging. I always saw the cosmos as that created by God - to appreciate and worship the Creator.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to think about it in terms of the enemy. Perhaps both is true.
What God created is good and beautiful but so tainted by the enemy and we are seduced.
Thanks for thoughts to ponder.