LNTW: Chapter 1 - The Mind Behind The System

The first chapter of Love Not The World (and remember that this book was a compilation of different messages given by Watchman Nee through the years) serves as an introduction to the New Testament (NT) concept of "world".  There were these basic points, liberally supported by Scriptural citations:
1.  In John's Gospel there was the loss of hope of Messianic military conquest of the "world," but a new hope that Jesus' death and resurrection would draw men away from the "world."
2.  The NT key word for "world" was the Greek "kosmos," which meant either 'a harmonious arrangement' or 'an adornment,' and consisted of three different elements:
     a.  The material earth or universe,
     b.  The inhabitants of that world, or the whole of men alienated to God and hostile to Christ,
     c.  Worldly affairs, such as goods, riches, pleasures, advantages, endowments.
John liked the word "kosmos," accounting for almost half of all of the NT uses of the word.
3.  The "world" is an orderly arrangement with harmonious functioning, a planned system.
4.  Two key features of this system are:  it's hostile to God, and there is a mind behind it.
5.  Satan, the "world" system's mind and ruler, has been judged by Jesus and is to eventually be "cast out."  But Satan is preparing the "world" for the conquest of his antichrist.
6.  The "world" came into being after the fall of Adam and Eve, and is Satan's domain; the "world" will be supplanted by Jesus' Kingdom when He returns.
7.  All of our society, business and functioning on earth is in the "kosmos."  The "world" uses seductively the tools and technology of man, and actively seeks us out, even at the Church.
8.  Finally, there are two questions one must ask when moving, living and encountering in the "world":
     a.  How does this affect my relationship with God and Jesus Christ?
     b.  Is this of God, or is it of the "world"?  That is the one conflict of the universe.  

Living in the "world" then, to avoid its pitfalls, requires our choices based on the answers to those two questions.
Comment:  This first chapter seems to clearly define what Mr. Nee considered to be the "world" of which John spoke in 1 John 2:15, the source of the book's title, "Love not the world, . . ."  The suggestion is that the "world" is an external, planned system which man faces on a nearly constant basis, with all of its seductions and challenges.  But some of the Hebrew definitions of "world" (see the previous October blog) suggest that our heart may play a role also, that natural man may be born with some of the "world" in his heart.  So can the "world," with its reliance on man's self-focus and self-sufficiency, arise from within?  If so, what mind is it that runs that "world"?  How is "natural man" separated from the ruler of the "world," Satan?
On an unrelated small idea, isn't it interesting that even our grooming, our eating, and our other activities of daily living are generally done in and for the "world"?
Another question which I have about this first chapter concerns Mr. Nee's ideas about the origin of the "world."  Since he seems to think that Satan was the author of the "world," where does the dominion of God fit in?  One would have to think that the "world" came about only, at the least, from God's permissive will, as did Job's troubles from Satan.  How does that balance between God's power and Satan's governing work out?  Like Job, are we subjected to the "world" in order to give glory to the Father and the Son, and to show where our hearts are?  
I will look forward to hearing what others have to say about these issues concerning the "world."