I see a lot of cars with the bumper sticker that says, “Not of this world.” Most of them are done in an eye-appealing way, and some are just the four first letters of each word. It is a good reminder of who we are as Christians and what our eternal destination is. The challenge is to live as one who is “Not of this world.”
John 17:16-17
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
A Way of Life
These verses are part of Jesus final prayer in the upper room with the disciples. He lays out a lot of issues in this prayer and seeks His Father’s touch in each of them. When Jesus mentions the world, He is not talking about the planet earth. He is referring to worldly ways or a belief system. Jesus didn’t live by the rules of the world, and we shouldn’t either, but we need help from heaven above to accomplish this. That is why Jesus is praying this prayer.
Identify and Abide
We need to be sanctified by God. That means we are set apart. God sanctifies us and separates us to Himself so that we can live for HIm. That also means we are no longer living as everyone else does. Being separated means that we identify and abide by the standards and customs of that which we are now a part of but we have to remember that God is the one who sanctifies us. If we feel like we are becoming more and more like everyone else we are around, we need to ask God to once again draw us unto Himself.
Not of This World
The ingredient that sanctifies us is the truth of God’s Word. We live by that truth, and we uphold it above everything else. When something enters our hearts or minds, we measure it against the truth of God’s Word. The disciples lived by this, and they turned the world upside down. If the church committed to this, we would see the same thing happen. You are set apart by God; live you are not of this world.