What does it mean to be a friend of the world

Hey Kay,

I would look to the immediate context of the verse and then one parallel verse to get the meat of it.

v. 1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
v.2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
v.3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

I think a key word here is lust, wouldn't you agree? And now the paralell text:

1 John 2:15-17
"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 abideth for ever.

I think it is pretty clear then that God is referring to friendship (philia in Greek, and implies a kind of loving or friendly feeling. Still used in English, i.e. Hemophilia, pedophilia, necrophilia, et.) with sinful things that are of the world, or worldly.

RB

 

This verse would also come into play...

That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:12)

 

I remember when I was a kid that my church had some kids' mission group that was called "World Friends." I think it was some sort of kids' 'auxiliary' to some adult mission orgranization. I don't know if in naming it 'whoever' considered the verses about friendship with the world, but it does seem ironic.

BTW is any program labeled as an "auxiliary" a positive thing for a church?

 

Friend of the world = embracing and partnering with sin.

 

HP: What? Certainly we all have sinned but are you going to extrapolate that into the idea that we all continue in sin and love it?
1Jo 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jo 2:15 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.

 

Kay, we do all sin from time to time and we do it because it arises out of our hearts. It is not God's will that we do sin, but if we do, we have an advocate with the Father.

Sin for a Christian is not the practice of their life, but it is a reality.

 

HP: That is your question, so you tell us.

 

I don't see why not. One of the meanings of "auxiliary" is:

giving support: acting to support or supplement a group of people

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That would seem appropriate, whether the children's mission group was seen as supporting the children (in the sense of encouraging them to see missions biblically), or suporting the missionaries.

I have recently become an secretary of a regional support group for an Christian organisation called Pilgrim Homes, which seeks to provide care for elderly Christians who can no longer care for themselves in their own homes. Each such support group is called an "auxiliary".

I can see a danger (in the local church context) of misusing the word "auxiliary" to make it mean some kind of splinter-group, set apart from, and not answerable to, the church, but otherwise I see nothing wrong with it.