The Capillary Wave: Word Index
The word “secular” refers to civil life, that being; everything under the state or government jurisdiction, that which belongs to the state, especially concerning citizens, their rank, and position in that society/ house/ family. Secular things are affairs of the world; and the definition of which is “living in the world”
- Word Index: World
Given that secular things “belong to the state”, it will be wise to briefly evidence what the state is.
If something is secular then it is “worldly” and belongs to the state, and the things concerned with the state are: your position in society ie your standing and rank in the state community/ organisation (government), which are the attributes of a “person or thing”.
- Index jump to: person
Definitively then the word secular refers to the community and organisation of state government, which is itself a body politic, which is another word for a country. That which is secular refers to the things which that body politic owns [“belonging to the state”] and has jurisdiction over including its citizenry, who are ranked with a position within that secular society.
- “The whole people considered as a body politic”.
See How You Became The Government for further explanation.
Again clearly the word secular is concerned with those persons and things that are “of” and “belong” to the polity/ country/ body politic, which are under its control and governance.
To be clear if you are citizen of a country you belong to said country, and are under its control; being “of the world” by definition.
- Word Index: Citizen
- Word Index: Country
To summarise:
Secular things are by definition “worldly” things, belonging to the state.
Secular things are earthly not spiritual and exclude the belief in God in maters of ethics and morality.
- Secular things are in opposition to the cause of Christ
This fits in with the Strong’s Concordance definition of “world” which means:
- Strong’s Concordance number 2889
kosmos: order, the world Original Word: κόσμος, ου, ὁ Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: kosmos Phonetic Spelling: (kos’-mos) Definition: order, the world
Usage: the world, universe; worldly affairs; the inhabitants of the world; adornment.
- “the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ”
(cf. Winer’s Grammar, 26): John 7:7; John 14:27 (); ; 1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 Corinthians 6:2; 1 Corinthians 11:32; 2 Corinthians 7:10; James 1:27; 1 Peter 5:9; 2 Peter 1:4; 2 Peter 2:20; 1 John 3:1, 13; 1 John 4:5; 1 John 5:19; of the aggregate of ungodly and wicked men in O. T. times, Hebrews 11:38; in Noah’s time, ibid. 7; with οὗτος added, Ephesians 2:2 (on which see αἰών, 3); εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου and ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου (see εἰμί, V. 3rd.), John 8:23; John 15:19; John 17:14, 16; 1 John 4:5; λαλεῖν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου, to speak in accordance with the world’s character and mode of thinking, 1 John 4:5; ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, i. e. the devil, John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11; ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ he that is operative in the world (also of the devil), 1 John 4:4; τό πνεῦμα τοῦ κόσμου 1 Corinthians 2:12; ἡ σοφία τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, 1 Corinthians 1:20 (here G L T Tr WH omit τούτου); 1 Corinthians 3:19. (τά στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου, Galatians 4:3; Colossians 2:8, 20 (see 5 above, and στοιχεῖον, 3 and 4).)
- “worldly affairs; the aggregate of things earthly; the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments, riches, advantages, pleasures, etc., which, although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ”: Galatians 6:14; 1 John 2:16; 1 John 3:17; εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου, to be of earthly origin and nature, John 18:36; somewhat differently in 1 John 2:16 (on which see εἰμί, V. 3 d.); κερδαίνειν τόν κόσμον ὅλον, Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25; οἱ χρώμενοι τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ (critical text τόν κόσμον; see χράομαι, 2), 1 Corinthians 7:31a; μέριμναν τά τοῦ κόσμου, 33f; φίλος and φιλία τοῦ κόσμου, James 4:4; ἀγαπᾶν τόν κόσμον, 1 John 2:15; νικαν τόν κόσμον, the incentives to sin proceeding from the world, 1 John 5:4f; the obstacles to God’s cause, John 16:33; (cf. ἐλθέτω χάρις καί παρελθέτω ὁ κόσμος οὗτος, Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,