In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks of his kingdom not being “of” (εκ) this world, and that believers should be in, but not “of” (εκ) this world. Some have interpreted this as if Jesus did not wish for his people and Church to have any business dealings and other absurdities. For instance, the Tanners, in a chapter entitled “Mormonism and Money” in their magnum opus Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? wrote the following:
The great wealth of the Mormon Church is becoming very apparent. Neil Morgan made this statement:
In Boise, Idaho, a responsible citizen told me: “The Mormons aren’t a church anymore; they’re a business. “ (Esquire, August 1962, page 91)
The Mormon leaders might do well to consider the following statement which was made by Jesus himself: “My kingdom is not of this world: . . .” (John 18:36)
The Bible does not say anything about Jesus trying to build a temporal kingdom or manage large business concerns; instead, it says that he had no place to lay his head. (Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? [5th ed.; Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1987. 2008], 527, emphasis in original)
Telford Work, professor of theology at Westmont College, wrote the following about such texts:
The apostles are still part of the world, but not like they were before. Verses such as John 15:19 are often translated to suggest that Jesus’s faithful ones are no longer part of the world. In that case, the word ek, which Jesus uses here times, could not mean the same thing each time. However, ek can denote an identity deriving from origin—for instance, I am from Southern California—and then it can have a consistent meaning: “If you were from the world, then the world was loving its own. The reason that the world hates you is that you are not from the world; rather, I chose you from the world.” To be chosen by Jesus is to gain a new identity, a new point of origin that builds on and transforms, rather than negates, the old one. It is a bit like joining the military or a monastic order. Becoming a member of the US Marine Corps wouldn’t mean I am no longer ek Southern California; but being ek Southern California would no longer define me even as I represent and defend my fellow Southern Californians. (Telford Work, Jesus—the End and the Beginning: Tracing the Christ-Shaped Nature of Everything [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2019], 60 n. 17)