If you would just re-read my response from the original post you would see that I answered that question...but maybe I answered too accurately.
You changed the question, so you did not answer the question I posed to you; therefore, you did not answer the question accurately.
By making it personal you are deviating from the truth as to your own predicament.
Here, let me answer this question:
Do I believe that I, right now, am a part of "the whole world" as it is written in "the whole world lies in the evil one" (1 John 5:19)?
No, I am not part of the whole world as used by the Apostle John "the whole world lies in the evil one" (1 John 5:19).
By God's grace mercy and Power I am not touched by the evil one (1 John 5:18), and "lies in" (1 John 5:19) is intimate "touch" (1 John 5:18), so I am not part of "the whole world" in "the whole world lies in the evil one" (1 John 5:19).
Do you want to compare your depravities with that of others? You should be asking "am I under the sway of the evil one?...not foist that on another person. But regardless on these forums I don't expect humility and real concern for one's own depravity as that is seen as unimportant because of poor teaching.
I am talking about the work of God in man.
I am talking about the Christian doctrine of the word "world" as used in the New Testament.
I am not talking about comparisons between people when I asked you the question.
I am talking about the Apostle John's teaching.
I am asking very specifically if you believe that you are part of the group of people that the Apostle John refers to as "the whole world" in 1 John 5:19.
Now I normally would not answer the same question over again what I already have
You evaded answering the question.
but i will because you seem to have a gap in your understanding of the word.
So here is my answer again....
Well, I'm ready to read on...
The whole world is under the sway of the devil...UNLESS......that person is abiding in Christ.
I did not ask if you are under the sway of the devil.
I asked "do you believe that you, right now, are a part of "the whole world" as it is written in "the whole world lies in the evil one" (1 John 5:19)?".
John did not write "sway".
John did write the word "lies".
To the degree that our minds are not that of Christ we will come under the sway of the devil through ignorance of His ways or else ignorance of God's ways.
There's the wrong word "sway" for 1 John 5:19 again, so here is the link to the concordance for the actual word that John used
Strong's Greek: 2749. κεῖμαι (keimai) -- to be laid, lie
The word is accurately "lies", so you are evading the question.
But if we are uncrucified in the outer man, then the devil will catch us as he wills. It is a game of cat and mouse, IOW, until we are crucified in the outer man and become DEAD to sin and the pull of this world.
“And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” (2 Tim. 2:26)
The Apostle Paul wrote "if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:25-26).
So Paul tells us that God grants repentance, and this is a wonderful work of God, and work of God severs people from the devil's will.
So Paul is talking about the separation from the devil which is similar to John's writing of Christians overcoming the devil (1 John 2:13) and Christian's not being touched by the devil (1 John 5:18).
I'm glad you brought up 2 Timothy 2:26 because it relates to the question I posed to you.
Now only the devil looks to either exalt or abase a brother, through a smug accusatory tone, so I won't say more than that since I don't know you or trust you with anything personal, either way.
Christians are ready to give an answer in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2), but look at you, you say you will not.
this is not a forum of disclosure or a platform for either justification or condemnation based on intimate details of one's personal walk. And I certainly don't think that a given doctrine needs to be used against a person. Or that such a doctrine might be a chance to boast, even in the Lord.
I made no request of intimate details.
I did not request that you list a series of sins that would make you a part of the whole world in 1 John 5:19.
The inquiry I made of you is quite simple. According to your belief, are you a part of the group that John refers to as "the whole world" in 1 John 5:19?
It is the Holy Spirit that convicts someone of sin. And it is the Spirit that brings the peace and joy of a walk that is pleasing to God.
You should let the Spirit teach you since you obviously will not receive something that is meant for your inner man to let slip past your outer man if it comes from a brother. And that is the whole issue.
You just changed the question, again.
The question is not about being pleasing to God.
The question is not about the "the inner man".
That is not "the whole issue" about the question.
The question is, do you believe that you are a part of the group that John refers to as "the whole world" in 1 John 5:19?
As we defend ourselves against the truth we are building up the walls of defense against the Lord. Will you deny the truth of the word in order to seek to fulfill the words of God elsewhere? So you should challenge your own understanding.
What it looks like to me is that you are seeking to hide your own depravities behind a challenge of the existence of those same depravities in others. But doing that is itself another depravity. So I don't get involved in such things, and neither should you. You will be judged for what you do. And I will be judged for what I have done. That should be enough for you. What do you care if a brother is either behind you or ahead of you in becoming free from the pull of this world? Does that change the truth of the word?
You did not answer the question, so here is the question again:
Episkopos, do you believe that you, right now, are in the group of people that are a part of "the whole world" as it is written in "the whole world lies in the evil one" (1 John 5:19)?