I heard a story: A group of colorful and beautiful pencils are about to leave the factory.
Then they will go to different places to work and welcome their new life. First, they will suffer being sharpened by knives, because only through that can they begin to work; then they will be routinely criticized by rubbers, because only rubbers can correct the mistakes in their work; finally, they shall be held by one hand in their entire life, because only in this way can they perfectly fulfill their function, their way ahead be finer and their steps be steadier. Pencils spend their whole life experiencing these three processes: being sharpened by knives, being criticized by rubbers and being held by hands. Only through the three processes can they fulfill themselves. Otherwise, they will be worthless.
Only after believing in the Lord did I know: Each of us is a vessel in the Lord’s hands. In order to let us realize our value and functions, the Lord arranges many sufferings in our entire life, including smiting, discipline, trials and refinements. Only through experiencing these environments can we turn into a useful person, shoulder heavy burdens for the Lord, and gain His perfection of us. Otherwise, we will be worthless. Just as the Bible says, “The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD tries the hearts” (Proverbs 17:3). “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God” (Zechariah 13:9).
After being corrupted by Satan, we are full of satanic corrupt dispositions in our heart and soul, such as arrogance, conceit, crookedness, cunningness, selfishness, despicableness, and so on. We often live in these corrupt dispositions, unable to extricate ourselves from them. We are tortured to be extremely miserable so that we often cry out, “How could we free ourselves from the control of these satanic dispositions?” God’s words give us the answer. God says, “So if people do not have several years of refinement, if they don’t have a certain amount of suffering, they will not be able to avoid the bondage of corruption of the flesh in their thought and in their hearts. … Only in suffering can lessons be learned, which means being able to gain truth, and understand God’s intention. In fact, many truths are understood within experience of painful trials. Nobody says that God’s intention is known, that His almightiness and wisdom are understood, that God’s righteous disposition is appreciated in an environment of ease or in favorable circumstances. That would be impossible!” (“How to Satisfy God in the Midst of Trials”). From God’s words, I understand that only after experiencing the sufferings and trials arranged by God, can we cast aside our satanic dispositions, get rid of the bonds and control of them and no longer live in sin. Without a certain amount of suffering, we could never see through satanic disposition’s affliction on us and won’t forsake and abandon the bondage of Satan on us from heart. Although smiting, dealing, trials, and refinement bring pain to our flesh, only through these can we be perfected by God. Just like the gold, only through refinement can it be purer. Sufferings and trials are our cup of blessings, and even more the path we must take to become mature in life to be a useful vessel.
Archives for 5 月 2019
Bible Verse–1 Peter 5
1 Peter 5
5Likewise, you younger, submit yourselves to the elder. Yes, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.
Bible Verses–Genesis 7:1-5
Genesis 7:1-5
1And the LORD said to Noah, Come you and all your house into the ark; for you have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2Of every clean beast you shall take to you by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. 3Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive on the face of all the earth.4For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. 5And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him.
Bible Verses–Jonah 4:9-11
Jonah 4:9-11
9And God said to Jonah, Do you well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even to death. 10Then said the LORD, You have had pity on the gourd, for the which you have not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 11And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more then six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
The Basic Principles for Christians Getting Along With Others
By Hanxiao
After believing in the Lord, along with listening to more and more sermons, we have some understanding of the Lord’s words and also always put forbearance and patience into action according to the Lord’s teachings in interacting with others. For this reason, we often feel peace and joy in our heart. But it is undeniable that many Christians are very hazy about the principles of practice in establishing normal interpersonal relationships. In fact, there are mainly four principles for Christians’ interacting with others. With them, we will be able to live out the likeness that the Lord is pleased with in our life. The first principle is that we should be able to love each other while getting along with others; the second is dealing with people with wisdom; the third is treating others correctly; the fourth is that we should not interact with others on the basis of our philosophy of life, but should establish a proper relationship with God. So long as we keep the four principles in our daily life, we will be in accord with the will of God in interacting with others.
The first principle is that we can love each other.
The Lord Jesus required that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). For example, Peter said to the Lord Jesus: “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” The Lord Jesus said to him: “I say not to you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (See Matthew 18:21-22). We all have weaknesses and inadequacies, so our interactions with others should be based on loving each other. In this way, we will not have any trouble living in harmony with others. Those who have no love are inhuman and cannot get along with others, while those who have it have a compassionate heart, like to help others, and moreover are able to comfort those who suffer hardships. Besides, those who have no compassion love others conditionally. They only help and forgive those who did them a favor before or those who haven’t hurt them. As soon as someone impinges on or harms their own interests, they seem to forgive him outwardly, but their hearts are full of dissatisfaction and boredom. In this situation, we need to pray to God more and ask Him to grant us with a heart of truly forgiving and loving others. Only when we truly rely on God, can we have the faith to put forgiveness and patience into practice, and let go of the prejudices and dissatisfaction toward others inside us. But loving our neighbors as ourselves is not unprincipled, and God does not require a confused kind of love of men. We see that the Lord Jesus was full of mercy and love toward those who believed in and followed Him, but condemned and cursed the hypocritical Pharisees who opposed Him, this is an exemplification of the righteous disposition of God. So, we ought to draw a clear boundary line between ourselves and all the satanic forces that oppose and condemn God to achieve loving those who God loves and being clear about love and hate.
The second principle is dealing with people with wisdom.
In Matthew 10:16-17, the Lord Jesus said, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the middle of wolves: be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will whip you in their synagogues.” Actually, for Christians, using wisdom is an indispensable principle in practicing forbearance and patience and loving our neighbors as ourselves. This is because some people are the Christians pursuing truth, but some are the forces that are hostile to God, oppose God, and refuse to accept the gospel of God. And they are specially sent by Satan to interrupt and disturb the work of God. If church business or something about brothers and sisters is known to them, they will get a hold on these things to attack, judge, and condemn, and even report the brothers and sisters to the police. So, we must have discernment and be wise with these people. Secondly, it is unavoidable to encounter many difficulties in getting along with others, so it is indispensable for a Christian to use wisdom. Actually using wisdom is, on the one hand, for the sake of allowing others to gain benefits, and on the other hand, for the sake of helping to solve problems easily. For example, if we want to do or say something, we should consider what sort of disposition the person we are interacting with has, and how to go about things in a way that benefits them and does not harm them. All these are some practices of using wisdom. The principle of dealing with people with wisdom is also very important.
The third principle is treating others properly.
The Lord Jesus said to us: “And why behold you the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull out the mote out of your eye; and, behold, a beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5). If wishing to attain to treating others properly, we should not fixate our eyes on others, but should learn to find out our own shortcomings. If we always fixate our eyes on others’ shortcomings, we can never get along with others in harmony. For example, we often discover our families’ shortcomings when interacting with them: They do not take care of or show any consideration for us, the food they cook is not to our taste, the children are too disobedient to control, the husband seldom does housework, and so on. And when associating with our colleagues or friends, we often find that this colleague is too selfish, that colleague likes to judge others behind their backs, or a friend of ours likes to take advantage of others, and so forth. There are too many examples of this, and we are often troubled by them, not knowing how to deal with others. In fact, what we should do is not to fixate our eyes on others but to learn to find out others’ strengths and our own shortcomings. And never should we impose that which we believe is right on others. When doing things, we should take account not only of our own interests, but also of others’. Besides, we should learn to be more considerate to others, to benefit them, and to listen to others’ opinions more. If someone has some shortcomings or does something wrong that jeopardizes our interests, we should treat it properly. Since the Lord Jesus can forgive us, we should also forgive others.
The fourth principle is that we cannot use the philosophies of life to interact with others, but should instead establish a proper relationship with God.
This is the most important. In our daily life, we often use those philosophies of life in the world to maintain relationship with other people, such as “Think before you speak and then talk with reservation,” “More friends, more paths. More enemies, more barriers,” “Keeping silent on the faults of good friends makes for a long and good friendship,” and so on. When we do things according to these philosophies of life, actually, this just shows that what we worship is still Satan. Our maintaining relationship with others in this way is hated by God. What God requires of us is to have a normal relationship with Him and do everything according to His words, such as being an honest person, not telling lies in interacting with others, and not making flattering remarks. When seeing that the practices of some brothers and sisters are not in accordance with or violate the Lord’s teachings, we can point it out instead of being afraid of displeasing them. In short, all things are established on the basis of the Lord’s teachings. We can practice whatever the Lord requires of us. Only this is having a normal relationship with God.
The above are the four principles for us Christians’ interacting with others. If we often practice in this way, many difficulties we encounter when getting along with others will be readily solved, what we live out will surely gain the Lord’s approval, and we will certainly become ones pleasing to God. Amen!
Bible Verse–Deuteronomy 1:2
Deuteronomy 1:2
21Behold, the LORD your God has set the land before you: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has said to you; fear not, neither be discouraged.
No Condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)
Question: The Bible says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). By faith in Jesus Christ, we are no longer condemned and will enter the kingdom of heaven.
Answer: We like to think our belief in Jesus Christ means we are already in Him. This is our notion. “In Christ Jesus” doesn’t refer to all believers in the Lord Jesus. Actually, most of them are not approved by God. Just as the Lord said, “many are called, but few are chosen.” Among those who are not chosen, some of them only eat the loaves and are filled; some never love the truth, much less practice the truth; some even perform evil against God, especially those religious leaders, most of whom walk the path of the Pharisees and are antichrists; and some are just believers in name. So if we say all who believe in the Lord are in Jesus Christ, this is baseless! So who are the ones mentioned in the word of the Bible, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus….”? They are those who abide by God’s commandments, practice the truth, and obey God. In other words, they are the ones who pursue the truth and gain the life, are able to obey Christ, no longer do evil, and are completely compatible with Christ. Such people are those who are “in Christ.” It’s not true that all believers in the Lord are “in Jesus Christ.” Some believe in God, but God doesn’t acknowledge their belief. For instance, the Lord once said, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done any wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22-23). Can we say that these people who preach, cast out devils, and do many wonderful works in the Lord’s name are all in Christ? Aren’t they just the ones condemned by God? So, “believing in Jesus Christ” and “being in Christ” are different. Believers who cannot be approved by the Lord are not ones in Christ. This is because God’s work of saving man is not as what we’ve imagined that all believers in God can be saved. Many of them will be eliminated, especially those who sin willfully after they know the true way, like people who steal offerings, who deny God, who betray God, who don’t practice the truth, the fearful, and the fornicators. These people will still be condemned and eliminated. Those who engage in evil will be punished. Just like the Bible says, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins …” (Hebrews 10:26). So, not everyone who believes in the Lord is in Christ. But they are those who love the truth and pursue the truth, who obey Christ, have true knowledge of Him, and have no notion, no disobedience, and no resistance against Christ, and who can make Christ’s heart his own and can do God’s will. Only they are the ones who are in Christ, who are approved by God, and who can enter God’s kingdom.
Genesis: God’s Creation
God created the world
(Genesis 1:1-25)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth: and it was so.And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light on the earth: and it was so.And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light on the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creeps on the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
God Created Human Beings
(Genesis 1:26-31)
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps on the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
God Rests
(Genesis 2:1-3)
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Bible Verses–Genesis 17:4-5
Genesis 17:4-5
4As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
5Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you.
Bible Verses–Jonah 1:1-3
Jonah 1:1-3
1Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 3But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Bible Verses–Hebrews 11:17-19
Hebrews 11:17-19
17By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall your seed be called:19Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from where also he received him in a figure.
How Does the Lord Answer Our Prayers?
By Wang Nan
Many brothers and sisters in the Lord have such confusion: “I also sincerely prayed to the Lord, but it seemed that the Lord did not listen to and answer my prayers.” We are often confused by this. How can this happen? Is the Lord not the One who listens to prayers? We do sincerely pray, why can’t we get the Lord’s response? Before we look for the reason, let us consider the following questions first: How do we want God to answer our prayers? Do we know how God answers our prayers? If we do not know how God answers our prayers, isn’t it easy to miss God’s answer?
I remember I have seen such a short story:
A priest, trapped on the roof during a flood, prayed earnestly to God and he also believed God would come to save him. After the prayer, he saw there came a small boat, then a large ship and a helicopter, but he refused all their rescues, for he believed that God would come to save him. In the end, the priest was sucked in the flood by a large wave and was drowned.
After reading this story, can we say God doesn’t come to save him? No, God does come to save him. These rescue teams are all sent by God, but the priest misses them. In fact, in our experience, just like the priest, while praying to God, we are still imagining and expecting God to respond to us according to our own requirements and ways. If what God does did not meet our imagination, we would think God doesn’t answer our prayers. In many cases, it is not that God does not respond to our prayers, but rather that we do not know the ways God answers our prayers. We all know that God is the Creator while we are creatures, so it’s up to God how to answer our prayers. We should take up our position and learn to seek, accept and obey, but not to ask and expect God to respond to our prayers in the way we imagine, otherwise the loss will be on our own!
The Lord once promised us: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened” (Mat 7:7-8). The word of the Lord is faithful, and God is as good as His word and His word shall be accomplished, but how does God answer our prayers and knocking? As we open the Bible, it is not hard to see the ways God responds to our prayers are often beyond our imagination and break our notions. In the Old Testament age, the Israelis were exploited indefinitely by the Egyptians and lived a life as prisoners. In pain, the Israelis prayed to Jehovah God and asked Him to save them from Egyptian Pharaoh’s control. However, instead of saving the Israelis from Egypt in a moment as they imagined, Jehovah God sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt. Because it was in disagreement with the conceptions of them, Israelis had a great deal of rebelliousness and defiance toward Jehovah God, finally resulting in wandering for 40 years in the wilderness before reaching the land of Canaan. In the late period of the Age of Law, Israelis lived miserably under the slave rule of the Roman government. They prayed and called on Messiah to come quickly to save them from Roman’s slavery. However, when Messiah, the Lord Jesus, whom they desperately yearn for, came to do work in a practical way to save them, they crucified Him on account of the work of the Lord Jesus not in line with their notions. From these two historical facts, we can see that although people believe in God and pray to God, they become those who oppose God because of not knowing how God fulfills His promises to man.
In fact, God has been speaking to us through all things, answering our prayers, and telling us His will. He has never been hidden from us. As long as we pay a little attention, and experience and appreciate the people, events, and objects with heart every day, we will see God is around us and guides us all the time. I saw a passage of God’s word saying: “When you look to God, it’s possible that He doesn’t give you any feeling or any clear ideas, much less any clear directions, but He allows you to understand something. Or maybe this time you haven’t understood anything, but is it then right to look to God? Is it wrong? No, it isn’t wrong. People practicing in this way is not done to follow rules, but rather it is the needs of their hearts and is how man should practice. It’s not that you can obtain enlightenment and guidance every time you look to God and call on God. This kind of spiritual state in life is normal and natural. Looking to God is people’s normal contact with God in their hearts.
“Sometimes, looking to God doesn’t mean speaking clearly when you pray to God for something, or for God to guide you in some way, or that you pray to God for protection; rather it is that, when you encounter some issue, you are able to call on Him sincerely. So, what is God doing there? When someone’s heart stirs, and they have this idea: “Oh God, I can’t do this myself, I don’t know how to do it, and I’m weak and dispirited,” when these thoughts arise in them, does God not know about it? When these thoughts arise in man, are people’s hearts sincere? When they call on God sincerely in this way, does God assent to help them? Despite the fact that they may not have spoken a word, they show sincerity, and so God assents to help them.” Actually, God’s will has never been hidden from us. As long as we sincerely pray before God, He will see our heart and answer us. In many cases, the reason why we do not get God’s answer is not that God does not respond to us but that we believe in the vague God, just like the priest in the story. God is the living God, and always by our side. When we are in difficulty and call on God, He knows and arranges people, events, and objects practically to help us, so that our difficulties can be solved and we can understand God’s intentions. On the contrary, if we believe in the vague God and ignore God’s practical work, we will lose His salvation.
As a matter of fact, the ways God answers are by no means as simple as we imagine. The ways God answers us are various and we have truly experienced some in our prayers of many years. For example: Sometimes, God will give us clear words, and we know how to do it through the guidance of God’s Words; sometimes, God will remind us through the people, events and objects around us, someone saying or doing something, our difficulties will suddenly be solved; at other times, God will enlighten and move us, so we ponder and then understand unknowingly. These are several common ways God answers us. We can say that every brother and sister who truly believes in God has such experience. We are unable to fathom God’s wisdom, and there are many other ways God responds in our experiences, which requires us to appreciate with heart.
Prayer is the most direct way to establish normal relations with God. Through prayer, we receive the work of the Holy Spirit and strengthen our spirit; through prayer, we understand God’s will and know how to become a person to comply with God’s will; through prayer, we are protected by God and gradually walk on the way of fearing God and shunning evil. … Without prayer we can’t obey God, obey His work, and carry out His will. Prayers are crucial to our belief in God and pursuit of truth to be perfected. Prayer is opening and leading the way, through which we finally gain the power from God to practice the truth, do our duty well and satisfy God. So prayers play the most crucial role in our life experiences. Thus it has become even more important to learn to pray to the practical God and listen to His response!
All the glory be to God!
Bible Verse–John 1:42
John 1:42
42And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, You are Simon the son of Jona: you shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Genesis: The Origin of Mankind’s Corruption
Garden of Eden
(Genesis 2:4-9; Genesis 2:15-25)
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat:But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them: and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her to the man.
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall join to his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
The Serpent’s Deception
(Genesis 3:1-13)
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Yes, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. And the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die: For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called to Adam, and said to him, Where are you? And he said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded you that you should not eat? And the man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
The Expulsion from Paradise
(Genesis 3:14-24)
And the LORD God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; on your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life:
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.
And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life;
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you; and you shall eat the herb of the field;
In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return to the ground; for out of it were you taken: for dust you are, and to dust shall you return.
And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
To Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from from where he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
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