The following is an analysis of the foundation of that^^^ claim.
A friend asked me today about the translation of John 18:36. It's that classic "my kingdom is not of this world" passage. Here is how the common translation, the NIV, handles it:
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.”
The context is this: Jesus has been accused by (a) faction(s) of the Jewish religious elite on the grounds of blasphemy: he's claiming to be their king (which means a lot more than just "king" in the Jewish worldview). The Jewish elite have brought Jesus to Pilate, the current Roman prefect of Judea. Pilate has a power which the occupied Jewish state does not: execution.
So that you can see what's going on in the text in question (v.36), here's a bigger chunk:
33 "Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?'So, Jesus is talking about kingship and kingdoms to a high ranking official in the government belonging to the ruler of the entire known world: Tiberius Caesar.
34 'Is that your own idea,' Jesus asked, 'or did others talk to you about me?'
35 'Am I a Jew?' Pilate replied. 'Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?'
36 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.'
37 '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.'
Here is my translation of verse 36. I've put the original Greek below:
Jesus replied; "The kingdom--the one over which I have authority--does not derive its principle from this world. If the kingdom, my kingdom, derived its principle from this world, my common servants would contend as with a competitor, so that I wouldn't be surrendered to the Jews. But presently, the kingdom--the one over which I have authority--is not from here."
36ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς· Ἡ βασιλεία ἡ ἐμὴ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου· εἰ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἦν ἡ βασιλεία ἡ ἐμή, οἱ ὑπηρέται οἱ ἐμοὶ ἠγωνίζοντο ἄν, ἵνα μὴ παραδοθῶ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις· νῦν δὲ ἡ βασιλεία ἡ ἐμὴ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐντεῦθεν.
Concerning "this world": By using not only the definite article (τοῦ) but also a demonstrative (τούτου), he is strongly emphasizing the "this" in "this world," which suggests a contrast against another possible world system. He's also really emphatic about the kingdom being his kingdom. Each appearance of "kingdom" is accompanied by an emphatic "my," or, "under my authority." See the definitions of "my," ἐμός, below.
Further, the preposition έκ (generally translated "of"), which I've given some definitions of below, is the same preposition used in verse 37 in reference to those who are "of the truth":
"'You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice'" (ESV).
Surely he's not referring to someone materially made "of the truth," but to someone who derives his/her principle, gain, meaning, from it. Similarly, I would say, Jesus is claiming that his kingdom derives its principle, its gain, its meaning, from another world system, not some other material (or non-material) planet. (This is not, however, an argument against an unseen spiritual reality.)
So, again, when I say that I live "in the world but not of it," I'm saying, together with Jesus, that I don't derive my meaning and gain from this present world system. My meaning is based upon another system, one grounded in truth and justice and love. Jesus is saying that his followers aren't fighting his execution because his kingdom doesn't require his avoidance of execution.
Because in his kingdom death doesn't win. In his kingdom, security and honor and justice and peace are dealt out by God himself. And, because this God is completely loving, uncompromisingly just, radiantly holy and impenetrably wise, the dealing out is of a different world entirely. A different system than that of Caesar.
That is what it means to be "in the world but not of it."
I'm not saying that this world doesn't matter.
I'm not saying that there is some other physical reality where I in fact live.
I am saying that the value, meaning and purpose of my life are derived from another system.
One that puts the good of others above my own.
One that puts truth before good feelings.
One that has no king except Him who laid down his life for his friends and calls me to do the same every day.
This is the Kingdom of God. It's located here, now, in the same physical universe, with the same science and the same broken people.
But it's a different philosophy. It's a different view. It's a different King.
And it lasts forever.
_______
ἐμός (emos 1699)
(This is the word generally translated "my" in the clause, "if my kingdom...")1. my
mine, denoting; possession, power over, authorship, right, etc. As the possessive adjective it has a greater emphasis than the cases of the personal pronoun above.
2. mine
mine, much more emphatic than the above; mine, denoting possession, power over, authorship, right, etc. As the possessive adjective, it has a greater emphasis than the personal pronoun above.
3. mine own
4. me (of)
my, mine; more emphatic, denoting possession, power over, authorship, right, etc
ἐκ (ek 1537)
1. of
out of, from among (a preposition governing only the Genitive case, and denoting motion from the interior; *opposite to εἰς (into/for) (eis 1519)).
2. from
from, from among, out of (motion from the interior).
3. out of
out of, from among (motion from the interior).
4. by
from, out of, implying motion from the interior; originating in, as the source, cause, or occasion, from, by; the material from which anything is made, of.
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