The phrase not of this
world is found in John 18:36 where Jesus says that His kingdom is “not of this
world.” The context of Jesus’ statement is His interrogation by Pontius Pilate
during one of His trials. Pilate had summoned Jesus into the palace and, in
trying to ascertain the charges against Him, basically asked Jesus to
incriminate Himself. The conversation went like this:
Pilate asked, “Are you
the king of the Jews?”
Jesus responded with a question of His own: “Is that
your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?” “Am I a Jew?”
Pilate
replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it
you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my
servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my
kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus
answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came
into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth
listens to me” (John 18:33–37).
When Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king,
Pilate was thinking of a political position and that Jesus was possibly guilty
of sedition against Caesar. In saying that His kingdom is “not of this world,”
Jesus denied that He was a king in that sense - and His words were proved by
the lack of any subjects fighting to release Him (John 18:36).
But Jesus does
not deny His kingship wholly; He has a kingdom, but it is “from another place”
(John 18:36). He says He had “come into the world” (John 18:37), with the clear
implication that He was from some place other than this world (John 3:3). His
kingdom is heavenly and extends over the hearts and minds of His subjects. It
does not originate in this world: “His royal power and state are not furnished
by earthly force, or fleshly ordinances, or physical energies, or material
wealth, or imperial armies”.
As His followers, Christians are members of His
kingdom, which is “not of this world.” We know that “our citizenship is in
heaven” (Philippians 3:20). As a result, we “put aside the deeds of darkness
and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12). We wage spiritual battle, but
“the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world” (2 Corinthians
10:4). We “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). And we
rest in the knowledge that our King gives us eternal life: “The world and its
desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John
2:17).
We are on earth for now, but our earthly lives are nothing but a vapor in
comparison to eternity (James 4:14). “This world in its present form is passing
away” (1 Corinthians 7:31). The sufferings and trials of this world are part of
life. But, in remembering that we are “not of this world,” we know that such
things are just for a little while (1 Peter 5:10). The knowledge that we are
not of this world gives Christians hope even in the darkest times (1 Peter 1:6–9). This broken place is not where we ultimately belong, and it is not where
we will stay (Hebrews 13:14). “We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be
shaken” (Hebrews 12:28).
Christians, as part of Jesus’ kingdom, are not of this
world. We have been adopted as heirs of heaven by God Himself, and that is
where our citizenship is (Titus 3:7). Until our King returns, we wait (Titus
2:13), and we hope (Romans 5:5), and we do what we can to bring others into the
“not of this world” relationship with Jesus Christ.