June 1, 2025
Why It Is Important for Christians to Be
In the World,
For the World,
But Not
Of the World
The Christian calling is to be “in the world, for the world, but not of the world”. Rooted in Jesus’ own words in John 17:14–18, this phrase reflects the tension and balance Christians are meant to live with as they follow Christ while engaging with a broken world. It speaks to the necessity of presence, purpose, and purity — three vital dimensions of Christian witness.
- PRESENCE
In the World: The Necessity of Presence
Being “in the world” affirms that Christians are not meant to retreat into isolated religious enclaves. Christianity is inherently incarnational. Just as Jesus Christ took on human flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), so his followers are called to live fully in the world — to work, love, grieve, and celebrate with others in the real world. Christianity is not a philosophy to be practiced in abstraction but a life to be lived amid the messy, beautiful reality of daily life.
The early Church understood this. Despite persecution, believers embedded themselves in society — in cities, marketplaces, and homes — showing by their lives what the Kingdom of God looked like. They didn’t hide. They lived as neighbours, workers, and citizens, yet with a distinct difference. Christians today are called to do the same.
To be “in the world” also means taking the world seriously: its needs, its structures, and its cultures. Withdrawal, while sometimes tempting, often leads to irrelevance or apathy. But when Christians engage with the world — in politics, education, the arts, business, and science — they bear witness to the Lordship of Christ over all of life. Their presence becomes a signpost pointing toward God’s redemptive purposes.
- PURPOSE
For the World: The Call to Mission and Love
Being “for the world” means that Christians do not exist for themselves. Their identity is not defined by self-preservation but by self-giving, following the model of Christ who “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). Just as God so loved the world that He gave His Son, so the Church is called to love the world through sacrificial service, justice, and proclamation.
This part of the phrase pushes against a fortress mentality. Christians are not meant to fear or disdain the world but to love it deeply — not its sinful systems, but the people and the creation that God longs to redeem. Mission, then, is not an optional activity but the Church’s very heartbeat. To be “for the world” is to embody God’s love in tangible ways: feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, advocating for the oppressed, and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.
The Church is the only institution that exists primarily for the benefit of those who are not its members. This captures the outward orientation of being “for the world.” The Church is a sent people, commissioned by Christ to go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19–20). That mission includes both word and deed, proclamation and social responsibility, healing and hope.
- PURITY
Not of the World: The Call to Holiness and Distinction
While Christians are called to be “in” and “for” the world, they are equally called to be “not of the world”. This part of the phrase captures the biblical call to holiness, separation, and distinctiveness. In John 17:16, Jesus says of his disciples, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” This is not a call to superiority or judgment, but to spiritual and moral difference.
The “world” in this context refers not to creation or humanity, but to the fallen system opposed to God — a world of idolatry, pride, greed, and rebellion. Christians are not to adopt the values of this world uncritically. Romans 12:2 commands believers, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Holiness, then, is not legalism but living in alignment with God’s character and truth.
This separation is crucial for Christian witness. If the Church mirrors the world in its values — in how it uses power, money, or relationships — it loses its distinctiveness and, with it, its credibility. Salt that loses its saltiness, Jesus warned, is no longer good for anything (Matthew 5:13). To be “not of the world” is to live with a different loyalty, one shaped by the values of the Kingdom of God.
This distinctiveness must not lead to judgmentalism or withdrawal, but rather to a compelling alternative. Christians are to be a “city on a hill” (Matthew 5:14), not hidden away, but visible as a community of love, peace, and justice that stands in contrast to the world’s brokenness. It is precisely this holy difference that makes the Church attractive and prophetic.
- Living in Tension: The Challenge and the Hope
Living in this threefold way — in, for, and not of the world — is not easy. It involves constant discernment, humility, and grace. Christians must resist two equal and opposite temptations: the temptation to conform to the world, and the temptation to escape from it. Both are distortions of the Gospel.
To navigate this tension well requires a deep relationship with God, grounded in Scripture, prayer, and community. It requires the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, who empowers believers to love the world as God does yet remain rooted in holiness. It also requires courage — to speak truth in love, to suffer for righteousness, and to persist in hope.
The good news is that Jesus prayed for this very balance in John 17. He did not ask the Father to take his followers out of the world, but to protect them from evil as they are sent into it (John 17:15–18). The mission of the Church is not undertaken in human strength alone, but with divine backing and presence. Christ himself is with us “always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Conclusion
To be “in the world, for the world, but not of the world” is the calling of every Christian. It reflects the very heart of the Gospel — God’s presence with us (in), God’s love for us (for), and God’s holiness transforming us (not of). When Christians live this out with faithfulness and grace, they become agents of God’s renewal in the world. They reflect the beauty of a Kingdom not of this world yet deeply invested in redeeming it. It is in this balance that the Church finds its true witness and its lasting impact.
Julian Holdsworth
BSBC Pastor
