Scripture understands "the world" in a number of senses. It initially refers to the world as God's good creation. However, that same world has now fallen into sin, with the result that it can be a threat to believers. Believers are called to live in the world, maintaining contact with it, while remaining distinct from it, and avoiding being contaminated by it.

This set of themes consists of the following:

4027 world, fallen
4028 world, redeemed
4029 world, human beings in
4030 world, behaviour in
4035 abundance