The concept of World in Christianity
Synonyms: Earth, Globe, Planet, Sphere, Universe, Realm, Domain, Society, Humankind, Creation, Cosmos, Humanity, Terra
In Malay: Dunia; In French: Monde; In Dutch: Wereld; In Finnish: Maailman; In Spanish: Mundo; In German: Welt; In Swedish: Värld
The below excerpts are indicatory and do represent direct quotations or translations. It is your responsibility to fact check each reference.
Christian concept of 'World'
From: Ante-nicene Fathers
(1) The value of the flesh can be understood by considering the creation of the rest of this, because what something is made on account of is most precious to the maker.[1] (2) The world is composed of states, and dissolving it is viewed as impious, and the text suggests that marriage plays a role in the continuation of the world.[2] (3) This refers to the scope of life and salvation, for which the man Christ Jesus gave himself.[3] (4) The world is where all the works of God are known from the beginning, and the Lord declared certain warnings, and the apostles sent the epistle to the brethren in the world.[4] (5) The individual believes he will be a true disciple when this does not see so much as his body, indicating a complete transformation through his sacrifice.[5]
From: Gospel of Thomas Commentary
(1) The text suggests that those who have become wealthy should renounce this, indicating a detachment from material possessions and an embrace of a different reality.[6] (2) This refers to the planet on which humans live, providing a physical foundation for existence and observation.[7] (3) This is the realm of physical life, wealth, power, and status, which loses meaning when one becomes Christ, as mentioned in the comments.[8] (4) This refers to the sphere of existence, where the light shines, and those who believe in the light become the children of light.[9] (5) The world is the subject of the saying, 'the world is not worthy,' which indicates that the world has a lack of value in the context of someone who has found a corpse.[10]
From: Expositions of Holy Scripture
(1) The world is what Christian people and communities must have influence in if they are to be thorough-going Christians, even if they get hatred.[11] (2) This is the place that can draw us away from the peace of God if we are not rooted and grounded in it, which may present us with distractions.[12] (3) This refers to the entirety of humanity, and it is indebted to a great fact, and it often struggles with questions of faith and meaning.[13] (4) The world will be guided right and kept safe, and whatsoever is true and good shall rule, and the weak cause shall be the conquering, when God's kingdom, power, and glory are realized.[14] (5) This is the place where there is none other for the world to-day but the old Christ with the new aspect which the new conditions require, as Jesus Christ comes to this, as to every generation, with the air of belonging to it.[15]
From: Bible cyclopedia, critical and expository
(1) The world was being prepared for a world-wide religion, due to universal peace, roads, and commerce.[16] (2) This is a reference, and it is a place where people live, and some had renounced their apparent opposition to it, as described in the provided text.[17] (3) The world is the instrument of the sin.[18] (4) This is a place that is described in the Mishna as a courtyard in comparison to the world to come, and the actions of people are judged in reference to this world.[19] (5) This term is used in the text in various contexts. The world is estranged from God and under Satan, and the world's language is Chaldee. The world is broken, and the world's kingdoms become Christ's at the seventh trumpet.[20]
From: Hymns for Christian Devotion
(1) This refers to the place that people will return to, where there are activities, concerns, and a superficial display that the author mentions.[21] (2) This represents the broader community or society, where the author cautions against spreading negative information.[22] (3) This is the entire planet where the gospel should be triumphant in every region.[23] (4) This is a place where the speaker will share their happiness and joy in relation to the divine's actions.[24] (5) These are distant places that faith explores, providing individuals with insights and knowledge beyond their immediate surroundings.[25]
From: The Complete Sayings of Jesus
(1) This is the term used to describe what the Lamb of God takes away the sin of, as stated by John.[26] (2) This is a group of people who do not know the Comforter, but those who believe will know him.[27] (3) This is the place where offenses must come, emphasizing the reality of sin and the importance of avoiding causing others to stumble or sin.[28] (4) This term refers to the entire planet, where the gospel will be preached.[29] (5) The entity that cannot hate those who are not like Jesus, but is hated by Jesus because he testifies of its evil works.[30]
From: A Dictionary of the Bible (Hastings)
(1) The love of God must reach the world and rule the world through those who know it in ‘knowing the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ as stated in the text.[31] (2) This is a concept that St. John uses to describe a dark and dire enemy, vague and shadowy in outline, but most formidable in its opposition to the love of the Father and the light of the life of sonship.[32] (3) The world is overcome when sin and fear are cast out, and the indwelling Spirit is the spring of a new, eternal life for the man.[33] (4) This term refers to the forces, laws, and order of the world, including the human race, as described within the text.[34] (5) The Romans have left a great legacy to the world.[35]
From: A Cyclopedia of Biblical literature
(1) The world represents the physical universe and the planet Earth, and the focus of the text is to describe its creation and the events that occurred.[36] (2) This is where the total number of the Armenian nation is supposed not to exceed 2,000,000.[37] (3) Elam is mentioned among the mighty uncircumcised nations which had been the terror of the world, emphasizing their historical impact and the fear they inspired in other societies.[38] (4) This is the current order of things that will be terminated by the conflagration, including all the works of man it contains.[39] (5) This term is used to describe the earthly realm, which is contrasted with the spiritual realm.[40]
From: The Little Flowers of St. Francis
(1) The students desired to abandon the world, meaning they wanted to leave behind their worldly lives and embrace a spiritual path, dedicating themselves to religious service.[41] (2) The world was illuminated and adorned by the holy friars, demonstrating the significance of their spiritual contributions and exemplary lives, and their impact on others.[42] (3) The place from which St. Francis had robbed a fair prey, and where the friars were exhorted to keep themselves unspotted, full of evil.[43] (4) The world is the place where all people will wonder at the great and marvellous things that God will do upon the mountain.[44] (5) The world was renounced by both St. Francis and Messer Bernard, signifying their commitment to a life of devotion, as they sought a path guided by the teachings of Christ.[45]
From: The city of God
(1) The world refers to the place where the demons reside, and where they may predict the future, by reason of their greater acquaintance with the signs which are hidden from humans.[46] (2) This is the place to which the second theology belongs, and they think there is nothing better than it.[47] (3) This refers to a place where prophecy spread from the fountains of Israel, according to the text.[48] (4) It is the place where the city of God is set against, representing the history of an earthly power, particularly Rome.[49] (5) The world is a place where the gospel would fulfill the promise of Abraham, and the younger son of Joseph would become a multitude of nations.[50]
From: Summa Theologica (English translation)
(1) This refers to the physical universe and the state it will have after the judgment, which involves its quality and condition.[51] (2) This term encompasses all of existence, and is used to understand the concept of fate, and whether the idea is applicable to the entirety of reality, or only to certain things.[52] (3) Refers to the entirety of humanity, the text explores the idea of Christ's birth being made known to all of this, and also discusses those who were selected to receive the information.[53] (4) This refers to the world which has sin and Christ is the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world.[54] (5) This refers to the earthly realm, and the text states that Christ came into the world to spread the true faith and to show His power in the transformation of the world.[55]
From: Works of St. Anselm
(1) This refers to the entire planet, and it could not be saved unless the Son suffered death, and the Son chose to suffer death rather than the world not be saved.[56] (2) This term refers to the entirety of existence, including all living beings and the physical environment, encompassing the scope of human experience and the universe itself.[57] (3) This refers to the realm or sphere of existence where the restoration of life occurred, an essential component of the faith's core tenets.[58]
From: The Writings of St. Francis of Assisi
(1) The realm that those who do not do penance and do not receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ serve corporally, according to the text.[59]
From: The Existence and Attributes of God
(1) The universe and all that is in it, which was created by God, and is subject to His will, and the manifestation of His glory.[60] (2) This refers to the place where God's acts of government are designed for the same end, and his creatures deny him his due, if they acknowledge not his excellency in the world.[61] (3) A place where evil, tyranny, lust, and persecutions by men are laid upon the neglects of God, and the atheism cherished in their hearts.[62] (4) This is a place where people often charge God in their complaints in the time of affliction, and the Holy Ghost gives to Job, that in all this, he did not charge God foolishly, he never spake nor thought anything unworthy of the majesty and righteousness of God.[63] (5) The world, including the Gentiles, is reached by God, who uses means to reach them, such as breaking the chain of the devil and catching them by the net of the gospel.[64]
From: The Second Helvetic Confession
(1) The term used to describe the people who are saved by Jesus Christ.[65]
From: The Kebra Nagast
(1) The realm of existence, the entirety of the universe, which is directed and ruled by the divine's wisdom, power, and mighty arm.[66] (2) This is a broader scope, in which the kingdom of Israel will extend to, and in which idols will be destroyed.[67] (3) This is the entire creation, and the Pearl is for its sake and for the sake of Zion, and it is to be saved.[68] (4) This is the entire earth, where the people of Israel will be scattered after the Saviour's blood is poured out.[69]
From: The Book of the Bee
(1) This refers to the place where God stretched out his right hand, as mentioned in the provided text.[70] (2) This is where the glorious and good things are, and the world to come is where these things would be seen as hateful, and it is also where torment is experienced.[71] (3) The text refers to the world, in relation to the sum of years Mary lived.[72]
From: The Book of the Cave of Treasures
(1) The realm from which Methuselah was going forth, like all his fathers, but where Noah and his children would be saved from the terrible wrath.[73]
From: The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite
(1) The world is a sphere of concern for the Holy Angels, as their Hierarchy is occupied with the more manifest, and is more particularly concerned with the things of the world.[74] (2) This is where every man is coming into, and is lightened by the Paternal Light, representing the earthly realm where individuals receive divine illumination.[75] (3) This is where the God-incarnate work of the Lord Jesus was to be manifested for its salvation, as becomes the Divine goodness, as Gabriel instructed Zachariah, the Hierarch, that the son who was to be born to him, beyond hope, by Divine grace, should be a prophet of.[76]
Gnostic concept of 'World'
From: Pistis Sophia
(1) The world is a place of matter, associations, and cares that the disciples are instructed to renounce, representing a source of suffering and a barrier to inheriting the Light-kingdom.[77] (2) This term refers to the earthly realm, encompassing humanity and its experiences, serving as the context for the teachings, actions, and revelations of Jesus and his disciples.[78] (3) The world is the place where the darkness of the dragon can come, where the souls descend, where the counterfeiting spirit exists, and where the actions of the rulers and the power of the Light are manifested.[79] (4) This is where one can be in and where one can speak the name of the dragon to be saved, and it is where the angels of Yew snatch the souls to lead them before Yew.[80] (5) This is the location where the events occur, which is where the Ram of Boubastis is called.[81]
From: Fragments of a Faith Forgotten
(1) The souls of the faithful are freed from imprisonment in matter, and they obtain a state of perfect repose when they have completely ascended above this.[82] (2) The text mentions the world in the context of a saying where Jesus states that except ye fast to the world, ye shall in no wise find the Kingdom of God.[83] (3) The world is where sinners and the blind feeling in the darkness are, and it is where Jesus and his disciples are present, and the Kingdom of God is known.[84] (4) The world, or more accurately, the intermediate grades of the Mysteries, was something that the Christ illumined its tradition, and by His public teaching practically threw open to all what had previously been kept 'secret from the creation of the world.'[85] (5) The turning-point of the world-process was when the man-stage was reached, and the spirit that was left behind in man, was plagued by the soul, according to the text.[86]
From: The Gnostics and Their Remains
(1) This term refers to the world that the Angels created, which the disciples of Simon explain the dissolution of as referring to the redemption of their own sect, according to the provided text.[87]
The concept of World in local and regional sources
The keyphrase "World" encapsulates various spiritual dimensions—it denotes the realm shunned by teachers for divine service, signifies the domain rescued by God from sin, represents a quest for eternal life, and illustrates a context for prayers for the departed.
From: The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
(1) An entire place that is destroyed forever.[88] (2) This represents the author's perspective on the nature of human interactions and opinions, particularly in relation to Dr. Barrows's changed perception.[89] (3) The world is a place where there are various forms of religion and religious ideas, and it is important to find the right path for each individual.[90] (4) This refers to the global community, and India's people and thoughts were brought before it during a gathering in Chicago.[91] (5) The author describes this as a challenging place, emphasizing the struggle to obtain even basic necessities, expressing disillusionment with the lack of rewards.[92]
From: Triveni Journal
(1) This represents the global environment where tolerance and forbearance are becoming rare virtues, which is where universities must be a haven of refuge for all devotees of truth.[93] (2) The world is a great living entity subject to the law of balance of give and take, where one should render to the world in service more than they receive, so that they can build up a credit balance.[94] (3) This is where she was a dancer.[95] (4) We believe that this is the most effective way of working for the salvation of our country and this.[96] (5) The world is the place where Nanda's love is destined to spread, and where Sundari seeks to serve and find meaning.[97]
From: Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England
(1) The entity that the text states our Lord rescued from the darkness of sin, and on which He gave us hope.[98] (2) The world is the place where Offa, the son of Sighere, sought to receive life everlasting in, as the text states.[99] (3) The world is mentioned in reference to the departed, for whom the holy Oblation could be offered for deliverance.[100] (4) This refers to the things that the teachers did not want to serve, instead choosing to serve God and feed the soul.[101]
From: Sanskrit Words In Southeast Asian Languages
(1) This term signifies the planet on which we live, often used to represent the world or the earth, indicating the terrestrial sphere.[102]
From: History of Science in South Asia
(1) The distances of the luminaries from the centre of the world are discussed in the fifth chapter, and the knowledge of these is provided, and the center is also mentioned.[103]