The Bible frequently speaks of rejecting or hating the world, and read from the correct perspective it is always empowering. Symbolically, “the world” refers to the external environment around you—the people, circumstances, and events that seem to happen to you. Neville Goddard teaches that this is not about hating others or your surroundings, but about refusing to believe that the world has power over your experience. If you place your faith in the world, you contradict the inner awareness that the Bible points to.
Jesus emphasises this distinction in John 17:14–16, saying:
“I have given them your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I AM [is] not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I AM [is] not of the world.”
Symbolic interpretation: Notice that Jesus repeats it twice. The “world” here represents external surroundings—circumstances, people, and events—while He points to the inner reality of God-consciousness. Just as Jesus is not defined or controlled by the world, we too are called to resist letting external appearances dictate our inner state. This reinforces Neville Goddard’s teaching that the Bible encourages you to place faith in your imagination and inner awareness, not in the external environment.
John 15:18–19
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
Symbolic interpretation: The “hatred” here is the resistance of external circumstances to your inner assumption. When your imagination embodies the desired state, the world—your surroundings—will seem to oppose it. This is not literal hostility but the appearance of opposition, demonstrating that you are creating independently of external events.
1 John 2:15–16
“Do not love the world or anything in the world.”
Symbolic interpretation: To “love the world” means to give your belief and attention to external events as if they control your awareness. Refusing to love the world is living in the awareness that your imagination, not your surroundings, determines experience. The Bible is warning against being deceived by appearances.
James 4:4
“Friendship with the world means enmity against God.”
Symbolic interpretation: Identifying with the external world—believing its events dictate your life—is a refusal to align with God, which represents your imagination and what you assume using it. The teaching is about choosing the inner world over external circumstances, not about rejecting people.
Romans 12:2
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Symbolic interpretation: Conforming to the world is letting external conditions shape your thoughts and feelings. True transformation comes from imagining the end fulfilled and refusing to be shaped by surroundings (see the stories on the early teachers). The Bible shows that reality is formed by consciousness, not appearances.
Living the Teaching
Rejecting the world means recognising that your surroundings are not your master. Each time you resist taking the world at face value and live from the assumption of your desired reality, you exercise the creative power described in the Bible. The world exists externally, but it only has the influence you allow it to have in your consciousness. By refusing to believe in the world’s power, you remain aligned with the inner truth of God as your imagination. Just as Jesus declared He is not of the world, you too can live from the inner reality rather than the external appearances.