Do We belong to a What (the World) or a Who (Jesus Christ)?

Bob Dylan, in his song, Gotta Serve Somebody, sings,

"You're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You're gonna have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody." 

Lyrics by Bob Dylan

Dylan's words agree with Scripture:

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or of the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

Making the distinction between a Who, Christ, and a what, the world, has revealed to me how often I try to belong to both, or have thought I can belong to both. 

And then I am in that tepid water Scripture talks about; I'm neither hot nor cold, and thus, life will feel a bleh lukewarm at best or entirely pointless and frustrating at worse. It is double-mindedness that has the reputation of being alive, but is only death (Revelation 3). 

The question then is, as it was posed to the Galatians, 

"Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?" Galatians 3:3

But we, if we are born again, have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). And Christ is not of the world. Christ does not belong to a what, so neither do we. Christ is the Who, and so He alone is Who we belong to:

"What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit." 1 Corinthians 2:12-14

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.” John 17:6-10a

“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” John 17:14-16

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.” John 17:25

“and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.” 1 Corinthians 3:23

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? 1 Corinthians 6:15a

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no-one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:1-10

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world…” Ephesians 6:12a

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13

“You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” 1 Thessalonians 5:5-10

“For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the father but from the world.” 1 John 2:16