Greek word · Strong's G2889

κόσμος

kósmos · noun · “world”

In a sentence

Kosmos means world — sometimes the universe God made, sometimes humanity, and often the present age in its rebellion against God. Context tells which.

Kosmos can mean the created universe (“the world that he made”), the inhabited earth and its people (“God so loved the kosmos”), or the present world-system organized in opposition to God (“do not love the world”).

These uses must be read in context. The same word can speak of what God loves and gave his Son for, and of what the believer is not to be conformed to. Both are true: God loves people in the world, and warns them away from its rebellion.

Strong's reference

Definition: orderly arrangement, i.e. decoration; by implication, the world (in a wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively (morally))

KJV usage: adorning, world

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.