After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
6”I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.
11And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. 14I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
John 17:1-14
Letter to Diognetus Reviewed by Nathan Bierma, Calvin Institute of Christian WorshipPosted by tripp at August 7, 2007 06:56 AMThis anonymous second-century letter is the earliest, and arguably the most lyrical, reflection on what it means for Christians to be "in but not of" the world:
They live in their own countries, but only as aliens. They have a share in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign land is their fatherland, and yet for them every fatherland is a foreign land. ... It is true that they are "in the flesh," but they do not live "according to the flesh." They busy themselves on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws, but in their own lives they go far beyond what the laws require. They love all [people], and by all [people] are persecuted. They are unknown, and still they are condemned; they are put to death, and yet they are brought to life. They are poor, and yet they make many rich; they are completely destitute, and yet they enjoy complete abundance. They are dishonored, and in their very dishonor are glorified; they are defamed, and are vindicated. They are reviled, and yet they bless; when they are affronted, they still pay due respect. ... Christians dwell in the world, but are not of the world."In the world but not of the world" is an echo of Jesus' prayer in John 17 (verses 11 and 14): "They are in the world ... the world has hated them because they are not of the world." (The contrast between "in" and "of" is even better in Greek: "en" but not "ek"). This mysterious letter (translator Cyril Richardson calls its origins "puzzling" but presumes it to be Quadratus' Apology to Hadrian, c.129 A.D.) explores this tension beautifully in a series of contrasts: Christians are citizens but foreigners, on earth but citizens of heaven, killed but brought to life, poor but rich, defamed but vindicated. In short: in but not of the world.
This call to discipleship is urgently relevant to Christians today — especially those of us who are living comfortably in Western culture. We often fail to have a sense of "other-ness" about our Christian identity. We tend to pursue power and prosperity as earnestly as non-Christians do. Especially in Western countries that are not overtly hostile to Christianity, we may not see the urgent need to reject any allegiance that conflicts with our allegiance to Christ. But the Letter to Diognetus is a call to be "in the world but not of it," to stick out as strangers, to be poor but rich, to find our life by losing it.