Ⅳ
When we testify to the truth in “the age of this world,” we are one with the victorious Christ in fighting against Satan, the devil, the father of lies, “the ruler of this world,” “the god of this age” who “has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers”—Eph. 2:2; John 8:44; 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4:
A
The devil’s nature is a lie and brings in death and darkness; with darkness is falsehood, the opposite of truth—John 8:44:
１
The devil “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him”— v. 44.
２
The satanic darkness is versus the divine light, and the satanic lie is versus the divine truth—1 John 1:6.
３
As the divine truth is the expression of the divine light, so the satanic lie is the expression of the satanic darkness—John 8:12, 44.
B
“The god of this age” is Satan, the deceiver, the ruler of this present age; he dominates today’s world and hunts for man’s worship by blinding the thoughts, the minds, of the unbelievers—2 Cor. 4:4:
１
Blinded in 2 Corinthians 4:4 means to veil a person’s understanding.
２
Thoughts in this verse denotes the understanding of the mind.
C
“The whole world lies in the evil one”—1 John 5:19b:
１
The entire satanic world system and the people of the world, the fallen human race, are lying passively under the usurping and manipulating hand of Satan, the evil one.
２
In Greek the evil one refers to one who is pernicious, harmfully evil, one who influences others to be evil; this evil one is Satan, the devil, in whom the whole world lies—v. 19b.
３
This evil system, the kingdom of darkness, was judged when its ruler, Satan, was cast out by the Lord’s crucifixion in the flesh—John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11.
D
This world in Ephesians 2:2 refers to the satanic system, which is composed of many ages:
１
An age is a part of the world, the satanic system.
２
The age in Ephesians 2:2 refers to the present and modern appearance of the system of Satan, which is used by him to usurp and occupy people and keep them away from God and His purpose.
３
The present evil age in Galatians 1:4 refers to the religious world, the religious course of the world.
E
If we want to testify to the truth in the present age, we must obey Paul’s command in Romans 12:2: “Do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind”:
１
To be fashioned, conformed, is to assume an outward expression that does not come from within us nor is representative of our inner being as a regenerated child of God—John 1:12-13.
２
We should not be assimilated by the world to the extent that we who have been separated from the world unto God have the same image as this age.
３
We need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind, allowing the mingled spirit to spread into our mind, thus becoming the spirit of the mind and causing our mind, emotion, and will to be renewed by a new element being wrought into our inner being—Eph. 4:23; 1 Cor. 6:17; Rom. 12:2.
Morning Nourishment
1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and are not practicing the truth.5:19 …The whole world lies in the evil one.
Rom. 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.
To lie is of Satan. He is the father of liars (John 8:44). His nature is a lie, and it brings in death and darkness. With darkness is falsehood, the opposite of the truth. The satanic darkness is versus the divine light, and the satanic lie is versus the divine truth. As the divine truth is the expression of the divine light, so the satanic lie is the expression of the satanic darkness. If we say that we have fellowship with God, who is light, and walk in the darkness, we lie, we are in the expression of the satanic darkness, and we do not practice the truth in the expression of the divine light. (Life-study of 1 John, pp. 64-65)
Today’s Reading
Paul tells us not to be “fashioned according to this age” [Rom. 12:2]….The age is the present, practical world life, which is the opposition to and substitute of the church life. The entire world is a Satanic system, a system constituted by Satan. The Greek word for world, cosmos, denotes an organization, a system. Satan has systematized every person and every item of human life. This world system is composed of many ages. Just as the universal church is composed of many local churches, so the world is composed of many ages. Every local church is a part of the universal church, and every age is a part of the world. Each age has its modern fashion. The English word modern is an equivalent of the Greek word rendered “age.” The Greek words translated as “Do not be conformed to this age” may be translated as, “Do not be modernized.” Hence, to be modernized means to be fashioned, conformed according to the present age. Since an age, being the present, practical world life, is a part of the world system, you cannot be in the world without being in one of the ages. You cannot touch the world unless you touch one of the ages. Therefore, in order to forsake the world you must also forsake the age. The changes in the age of the world system can be illustrated by the changes in ladies’ hairdos. [Many] years ago…it was common for women to arrange their hair into a high tower, the higher the better….Each age has its fashion and style.The world opposes the church, and the ages oppose the churches. If we mean business to have the church life, we must give up the age. Since the present age opposes the church life, we cannot follow the age and be fashioned according to it and still truly experience the Body life. A person who is possessed by the modern age may attend the Sunday meetings, but he cannot practice the church life. If we want the Body life, the practice of the church life, we must not follow this age nor be conformed to it. This is the reason that Paul told us not to be conformed to this age.
We should not be conformed to the age, but transformed by the renewing of our mind (Eph. 4:23; Titus 3:5). To be conformed to the age means to adopt the modern fashions outwardly; to be transformed is to have an organic element wrought into our being to produce a metabolic change inwardly. We need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind….The mind is renewed not only by outward teachings, but by the element of Christ being added to it. When the Lord Jesus spreads Himself from our spirit into our mind, our mind will be renewed. By the renewing of our mind our soul is metabolically changed. In this way we experience transformation in our soul, a necessity for the church life. If we intend to practice the church life, we need to experience such a transformation in our soul by the renewing of our mind. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 299-301)
Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msg. 25; The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 7-8, 10