By Chengshi

The Lord Jesus said, “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43). These words tell us that only righteous people can enter God’s kingdom, and enjoy the blessings of the heavenly kingdom. So what kind of people are righteous? Most Christians reckon that as long as we accept the Lord Jesus’ salvation, persistently attend meetings, often pray and read the Bible, show others tolerance, patience and love, can suffer, work, trek and expend, we will then be righteous people in God’s eyes and be people after God’s heart. Is this view right? Does it accord with the Lord’s will? It’s necessary to fellowship about this topic, because only if we correctly understand the standard for being righteous people can we seek in accordance with God’s requirements and enter the kingdom of heaven in the end. Let’s fellowship about this issue.

We should first figure out what basis we have for believing that as long as we follow the Lord, accept the salvation of the cross, labor and sacrifice for the Lord, then we’ll be righteous people in God’s eyes. Did the Lord Jesus say this? Did the Holy Spirit testify to this? If the answers are both no, then does it please God’s heart if we pursue this way? Let’s look at what the Lord Jesus 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 many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22-23). We can see from these words that for many of those who prophesy and cast out devils in the name of the Lord, labor for Him and have good behaviors, not only does the Lord not praise them, but instead brands them as evil-doers. Why is this so? Recalling 2,000 years ago, though the Pharisees traveled over sea and land spreading the gospel, worked hard for God, and appeared to do some good deeds, they didn’t know God while believing in Him and didn’t have a place for Him in their hearts at all. Therefore, when the Lord Jesus came to work, they didn’t seek or investigate in the slightest, but instead frantically condemned God’s work according to their notions and imaginings and obstructed believers from examining the true way. In the end, they even colluded with the Roman government to crucify the Lord Jesus to protect their positions and livelihoods, committing the most heinous of sins and thereby receiving God’s punishment and curse. From this, we can see that God’s measure of whether people are righteous or evil is not based on their outward dedication or good external behaviors. Let’s look at ourselves. When our life is going smoothly, we are grateful to God, but once we meet with adversities or difficulties, we are full of misunderstandings and complaints; we work and preach not simply to exalt God, testify to Him, or bring the brothers and sisters before Him, but to honor ourselves, make others exalt us by speaking letters and doctrines, competing with God for status; and so on. How can we receive God’s approval by simply making sacrifices and dedicating ourselves to Him in this way? Can such behaviors be considered to be righteous deeds?

In God’s eyes, what exactly are righteous people like? God’s words say, “‘Righteousness’ does not mean giving alms, it does not mean loving your neighbor as yourself, and it does not mean not fighting, arguing, robbing, or stealing. Righteousness means taking God’s commission as your duty and obeying God’s orchestrations and arrangements as a heaven-sent vocation, regardless of the time or place, just like all that was done by the Lord Jesus. This is the very righteousness spoken of by God.” We understand from these words that God determines whether people are righteous or evil not based on how many superficial good deeds they have, but on whether they put God’s commission first and whether they can truly obey God, fear God and shun evil. Only if people have God’s heart as their own heart in everything, abandon their own interests when meeting with all manner of trials and refinements, and don’t misunderstand or complain about God, but follow God’s will, sincerely submit to Him and love Him, can they be compatible with God, be called righteous and praised by God. Take Noah for example. When God commanded him to build an ark, he absolutely believed in and obeyed God’s words, and acted according to God’s instructions and requirements. It took 120 years for him to build the ark, and during that period, though the people of the world mocked and slandered him, he still upheld God’s commission. When Noah finished building the ark, God began to destroy the world, and in the end only Noah’s family of eight received God’s protection and survived. God saw Noah’s pure obedience and so called him a righteous person. There was also Job. When all his possessions were taken away in an instant, he obeyed first and sought God’s will, and through that he realized that everything he had was bestowed by God, not obtained through his own labor. Whatever is conferred or taken away by God, a created being should not have any demands of God or complain against Him, which is the sense man should have. This is why Job said, “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21). When he was covered with sores, he chose to rather curse the day of his own birth than complain and betray God, thereby bearing resounding witness for God. Because Job feared God and shunned evil, he was called a perfect man by God.

We are able to sufficiently understand from the above facts that though we do good deeds, we can still sin and resist God, which proves that we are still not truly righteous people. So, how can we become truly righteous people? As we all know, the Lord Jesus once promised, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12-13). And another passage in the Bible says, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin to salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). From these prophecies, it can be seen that when the Lord returns, He will speak and express all truths to purify and change people, and allow us find the path to break away from sin. Only then can we get the chance to enter God’s kingdom.

Let’s take a look at two passages of God’s words, “The sins of man were forgiven, and this is because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live within the corrupt satanic disposition of old. This being so, man must be completely saved from his corrupt satanic disposition, so that his sinful nature may be completely extirpated, never to develop again, thus enabling the disposition of man to be transformed. This would require man to grasp the path of growth in life, to grasp the way of life, and to grasp the way to change his disposition. Furthermore, it would require man to act in accordance with this path, so that his disposition may gradually be changed and he may live under the shining of the light, so that all that he does may be in accord with the will of God, so that he may cast away his corrupt satanic disposition, and so that he may break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation.” “When people cast off the filthy, corrupt things of Satan, they gain God’s salvation. But if they still do not divest themselves of filth and corruption, then they are still living under the domain of Satan. People’s conniving, deceitfulness, and crookedness are all things of Satan. Saving you is allowing you to escape from these things. God’s work cannot be wrong; it is all in order to save people from darkness. When you have believed to a certain point and can divest yourself of the corruption of the flesh, and are no longer enshackled by this corruption, will you not have been saved? When you live under Satan’s domain you are incapable of manifesting God, you are something filthy, and cannot receive God’s inheritance. Once you have been cleansed and made perfect, you will be holy, you will be a proper person, and you will be blessed by God and delightful to God.”

God’s words make it very clear that the Lord Jesus did the work of redemption to absolve mankind of sin, making us righteous through faith and saved through faith, but our internal sinful natures remain unresolved. As a result, we still often involuntarily commit many sins and resist God. For example, we frequently express satanic dispositions such as arrogance, cunning, deceit, selfishness, despicability, etc.; we often lie and engage in deception in pursuit of reputation and status; when confronted with natural and manmade disasters, or trials and tribulations, we misunderstand and complain about God, and even betray Him; though we may nominally believe in God, we still worship and follow people; we are unable to get along with others in a normal fashion, we fight openly and maneuver covertly and have jealous disputes with other co-workers, and so on. So, in the last days, according to our needs and based on the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, God does a higher and more thorough stage of work, which is the work of cleansing mankind through words. God uses the expression of the word to carry out the work of judgment and chastisement, and we should pursue and practice the truth in accordance with God’s words. When God’s words have become our life, we will no longer be controlled by satanic corrupt dispositions or bound and constrained by satanic nature. At that time, we will have achieved changes to our life disposition and become compatible with God, and then we will no longer resist or betray God but will truly worship and obey God, and be people who conform to God’s will. When we will no longer sin or resist God and have achieved purification, we will then be qualified to see God’s face and share in the good blessings of God. Therefore, accepting God’s work of judging and cleansing in the last days is the only path for us to become righteous people and gain complete salvation.

Brothers and sisters, through the above fellowshiping, we have some new understanding of what it is to be a truly righteous person. If we want to become a righteous person praised by God, it is crucial to accept God’s work of judgment in the last days. Only by accepting God’s work of judgment and attaining cleansing and salvation, can we become truly righteous people and enter God’s kingdom.

By Li Zhi

I believe that everyone knows well the story of Job. When his property was all taken away, his servants were murdered and his children had their lives taken, Job still revered God and shunned evil and didn’t sin with his tips. Moreover, he said a famous saying that cowed Satan, “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21). No matter whether God gave or took away, Job praised God’s holy name and willingly obeyed in the presence of God, creating a beautiful and resounding testimony for God. But Satan was not yet convinced and it continued to attack Job, causing him to be covered in sores. Despite this, Job still didn’t abandon God. The Bible records, “And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat down among the ashes. Then said his wife to him, Do you still retain your integrity? curse God, and die. But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips” (Job 2:8–10). The testimony of Job is worthy enough to be admired and emulated by the later generations. I really liked reading the Book of Job, which increased my faith, but there was one thing that I didn’t understand. God knew that Job had fear and reverence for Him and stayed away from evil, so why did God allow Satan to tempt Job and subject him to such great suffering? What is God’s will in this matter? Recently, through reading a book, I came to understand a little about God’s will …

First, God testing Job was to verify his reverence and obedience to God.

That book says, “And what did God do when Job was subjected to this torment? God observed, and watched, and awaited the outcome. As God observed and watched, how did He feel? He felt grief-stricken, of course. But, as a result of His grief, could He have regretted His permission to Satan to tempt Job? The answer is, No, He could not have. For He firmly believed that Job was perfect and upright, that he feared God and shunned evil. God had simply given Satan the opportunity to verify Job’s righteousness before God, and to reveal its own wickedness and contemptibility. It was, furthermore, an opportunity for Job to testify to his righteousness and to his fear of God and shunning of evil before the people of the world, Satan, and even those who follow God” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II”). After reading this passage, I understood that God allowing Satan to tempt Job was to test Job’s reverence and obedience to Him. After years of God’s work on Job, whether it be Job’s humanity, faith in God, knowledge of or reverence to God, they had all become perfect. At that time, God was going to test Job, and He used the service of Satan to subject him to trials. That gave Job an opportunity to testify to his reverence and obedience to God before Satan and all people. Through this, Satan was utterly convinced and acknowledged God’s words are the truth, and thereby it was humiliated and defeated. Meanwhile, that enables us humans to have discernment on the essence of Satan—not only wickedness and despicableness but also the utmost foolishness. Amid these two times of Satan’s attacks, Job bore resounding testimony, which proved that he was a man that feared God and shunned evil, and which particularly made Satan utterly convinced and not dare to tempt him any longer. In the end, Job escaped the bondage and constraints of Satan, lived in the light of God and gained true release and freedom. That was God’s blessing of Job.

Similarly, as we believe in God and follow Him, God will also put us into different tests based on our own statures. This means that we will encounter Satan’s temptations and through them we can verify whether we are true believers in God. Take me as an example. I, after believing in God for several years, already understood some truths through reading God’s words, and I was resolved to bear witness to God. But when unpleasant issues continuously happened at my home—my child was ill, my husband was injured at work, and then I got into a car accident—I felt weak inside and even complained, “I sincerely believe in God. Then why did these unfortunate things befall me?” Through praying and seeking guidance from God, I remembered the testimony of Job, and I suddenly saw the light. It turned out that these things I encountered were the battles of the spiritual world and that Satan’s temptations came upon me. Satan tried to use these environments to make me deny God and betray Him and achieve its aim of consuming me whole. Yet from God’s side, that was also God testing me to see if I had true confidence in God when facing unpleasant matters. At that time, I finally realized that my stature was really small, and that my faith in God was not true faith and couldn’t stand His test at all. When only something unpleasant happened to my family, I complained against God—there was no comparison with Job’s obedience and reverence to God. In the past, when nothing happened to me, I resolved before God that I was willing to obey His orchestration and arrangements and bear witness to Him. However, only through the revelation of these trials did I realize that that was not my real stature, and that I didn’t have any obedience or reverence to God. I still needed to keep working hard at pursuing the truth, diligently pray and draw near to God and read God’s words more. Only by taking God’s words as a weapon to battle with Satan could I overcome Satan’s temptations. Afterward, I relied on God and got through those gloomy days, and not until then did I truly comprehend God’s kind intentions. God arranging these situations to test me was His love and salvation of me. I truly saw my stature and deficiencies and was inspired to pursue the truth. Thank God for saving me!

Second, God testing Job was to allow man to know Satan’s wickedness and despicableness.

The Bible records, “And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and eschews evil? Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Does Job fear God for nothing? Have not You made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face” (Job 1:8–11). “And Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has will he give for his life. But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse You to Your face” (Job 2:4–5). And that book says, “Through these words, Satan completely lays bare the attitude toward God and the loathing of Job’s fear of God that it holds in its heart. When this happens, its maliciousness and evil nature are completely exposed. It loathes those who fear God, loathes those who shun evil, and even more so loathes Jehovah God for bestowing blessings on man. It wants to use this opportunity to destroy Job whom God raised with His own hand, to ruin him, saying: ‘You say Job fears You and shuns evil. I see it otherwise.’ It uses various ways to provoke and tempt Jehovah God, and uses various ways so that Jehovah God hands Job over to Satan to be wantonly manipulated, harmed and handled. It wants to take advantage of this opportunity to exterminate this man who is righteous and perfect in God’s eyes. Is its having this kind of heart a momentary impulse? No, it is not. It has been long in the making. God works, God cares for a person, looks upon a person, and Satan dogs His every step. Whoever God favors, Satan also watches, trailing along behind. If God wants this person, Satan would do everything in its power to obstruct God, using various evil ways to tempt, harass and wreck the work God does in order to achieve its hidden objective. What is its objective? It does not want God to have anyone; it wants all those that God wants, to occupy them, control them, to take charge of them so they worship it, so they commit evil acts alongside it. Is this not Satan’s sinister motive? Normally, you often say that Satan is so evil, so bad, but have you seen it? You can only see how bad man is and have not seen in reality how bad Satan actually is. But have you seen it in this issue concerning Job? (Yes.) This issue has made Satan’s hideous countenance and its essence very clear. Satan is at war with God, trailing along behind Him. Its objective is to demolish all the work God wants to do, to occupy and control those whom God wants, to completely extinguish those whom God wants. If they are not extinguished, then they come to Satan’s possession to be used by it—this is its objective.” From the means that Satan adopted to tempt Job, we can see that each time when it abused him, Satan grew more and more wicked and contemptible. First, in just one night, Satan made Job lose a mountainside of livestock, all of his immense wealth and all of his children. Yet despite this, Job still didn’t abandon God. But Satan was unwilling to give up, and began a second round of attacks upon Job. It put forth its hand to harm his bones, had his body covered with sores and used his wife and friends to attack and judge him. We can see from these facts that Satan is so evil and despicable. It doesn’t allow man to love and follow God. It uses various means to attack and afflict those who sincerely follow God, and looks for opportunities to thoroughly destroy our faith in God and reverence for Him, so that we will wallow in the mire with it and follow it in alienating and betraying God. This way, it will be able to completely control and toy with us in the palm of its hand, making us betray God along with it and ultimately be punished and destroyed by God.

These facts about Satan’s harming Job allow us to see through Satan’s tricks and intentions, so that we will be able to forsake and betray it and won’t fall for its schemes. For example, when many brothers and sisters were enthusiastically expending for God after first starting their belief in God, misfortunes unexpectedly befell their families. At that time, the unbelievers around them sneered, “Since you believe in the true God, why does your family meet with bad things? Look, we don’t believe in God but have better luck than you.” Then we developed doubts of God, “Right, why do we believers suffer disasters?” Besides, when some brothers and sisters who spent for God were arrested and imprisoned by the CCP government, the evil police mocked them by saying, “Why don’t you let your God come save you?” Hearing this, we generated misunderstandings about God, “I’ve been spreading the gospel and expending for God. Why doesn’t God protect me?” … We had come across so many such temptations, but we never understood why these unfortunate things befell us, and thus we were filled with conceptions and misunderstandings about God in our hearts. All this is caused because we lack true faith in God and knowledge of Him and are unable to see through Satan’s cunning schemes. Now, it seems that all the situations that we encounter are the battles of the spiritual world, just like Satan accusing Job. Satan tries to use its evil and despicable way, through many unfortunate things, to make us develop misunderstandings of and barriers to God and even betray Him, so that we will return under the domain of Satan and continue to be controlled and afflicted by it. That shows us Satan’s treachery and evil. God allowed Satan to tempt Job, and also allows it to tempt us, with the aim of letting us have discernment about Satan’s wickedness. In so doing, no matter how Satan tempts us in the future, we will be unlikely to blame or betray God, and will be able to stand witness and follow Him resolutely.

Thank God! Through this period of reading the Book of Job and pondering why God allowed Satan to tempt Job, I’ve known that the disaster Job was faced with was a battle in the spiritual realm. Therefore, if I am tempted by Satan in the future, I’ll be able to see through its schemes and understand God’s kind intentions, and have resolve to stand firm in my testimony to God and put Satan to shame.

By Yaning

One day, after a meeting, a sister asked me, “Brother, the Lord Jesus said, ‘No man puts a piece of a new garment on an old; if otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old’ (Luke 5:36). Do you know what this parable means? What does the Lord want to tell us through it?”

Hearing the sister’s questions, I thought that I happened to have some understanding of this parable of the Lord Jesus, so I replied without thinking, “In the Old Testament, the Israelites were required to fast on the day of atonement every year. But as the salvation of the Lord Jesus had come, the old practices were no longer applicable, and people should abide by the new requirements proposed by the Lord. By telling this parable, the Lord Jesus warns us that in our faith in Him, we cannot cling only to the laws of the Old Testament like the Pharisees did, but instead should accept and follow the Lord’s words and act in accordance with His teachings.” Upon hearing my answer, the sister nodded her head, and I also felt gratified for my ability to understand the Lord’s will.

Just then, Co-worker Zhang, who had recently returned from another place, said, “Brother Wang, I used to think like you. But God’s words are the truth and contain deep meaning. A couple of days ago, I had a fellowship with a brother from another church on this verse. Through reading a book of truth, I gained some deeper understanding about the Lord’s will behind this parable. How about we fellowship together?”

Hearing that Brother Zhang had a deeper understanding and knowledge about this verse, I said happily, “That would be great!”

“Brother Zhang,” the sister anxiously cut in, “since you have a deeper understanding, please tell us about it!”

Brother Zhang smiled and said, “OK. Let me first read a passage that we read that day.” As he said this, he took a tablet out of his bag and read, “‘Because there are always new developments in God’s work, thus there is new work, and thus there is also work that is obsolete and old. This old and new work is not contradictory, but complementary; each step follows on from the last. Because there is new work, the old things must, of course, be eliminated. … The work of God is always new and never old, and it never forms doctrine and is, instead, continually changing and renewing to a greater or lesser extent. This work is the expression of the inherent disposition of God Himself. It is also the inherent principle of God’s work, and one of the means by which God accomplishes His management. If God did not work in this way, man would not change or be able to know God, and Satan would not be defeated. Thus, in His work there continually occur changes that appear erratic, but which are actually periodic. … God’s intention has always been for His work to be new and alive, not old and dead, and that which He makes man hold firm to varies with the age and period, and is not everlasting and immutable. That is because He is a God who causes man to live and be new’ (‘Only Those Who Know the Work of God Today Can Serve God’).

“From this passage we can see that God’s work does not follow rules, and that He performs new work in accordance with His plan for mankind’s salvation as well as according to the degree of mankind’s corruption by Satan. God’s work varies with the age and period, and is not everlasting and immutable, and He always does newer and higher work. When the new work begins, the previous work becomes out of date, and God embarks on another plan and carries out new work. For example, Jehovah God did the work of issuing laws and guiding the lives of people. Under the guidance of Jehovah God, the Israelites of the time learned how to conduct their lives and how to worship God, and understood what sin was. But in the later period of the Age of Law, as man was becoming more and more corrupted by Satan, no one was able to keep the laws and commandments any longer, and all were in constant danger of being sentenced to death by the law. In order to save mankind, God incarnated into the image of Jesus and, on the basis of the work of the Age of Law, did a stage of work of redeeming mankind through crucifixion. The Lord Jesus brought a new age, fulfilled the laws and commandments, gave people a new way to practice and proposed new requirements for them, such as being tolerant and patient, loving their enemies, being the light of the world and salt of the earth, and so on. From the outside, these two stages of work appear different, but they actually complement each other, through which God saves mankind from the influence of Satan step by step. From this we can see that God’s work does not remain unchanged, but rather is always moving forward, and that God’s requirements of mankind are becoming ever higher.

“The Pharisees back then, however, didn’t know God’s work. They abided by religious notions and used the laws of the Old Testament to examine the Lord Jesus’ new work and words. They said that the Lord Jesus sat at the table with tax collectors, and that He and His disciples had violated the laws by not keeping the Sabbath day and not fasting, thereby denying that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah. So when the Lord Jesus said, ‘No man puts a piece of a new garment on an old; if otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old’ (Luke 5:36), He was telling people that God’s work is ever new and never old, that the work of redemption God ushered in was new, and that God wouldn’t do the new work and the old one simultaneously, for that would make it impossible for the new work to be carried out.”

After listening to the brother’s fellowship, my heart brightened considerably. I had read many spiritual books, but none of them explained God’s work so clearly. I said to Brother Zhang, “What you fellowshiped is truly something I have never understood. Do you have any other new understanding? Please share more with us.” After saying this, I anxiously waited for Brother Zhang to continue his fellowship.

Brother Zhang took a sip of water and continued, “We humans love to cling to the old, so when God performs new work, we are apt to be eliminated by the Holy Spirit for holding on to the old work. Therefore, we must understand that God only works on and leads those who are willing to let go of their old notions and who obey God’s new work. The book says, ‘People love to cling to the old. They cling to the notions of the past, to things from the past. This is a great obstacle to their service.’ ‘As of today, God will formally perfect those who have no religious notions, who are ready to set aside their old selves, and who obey God in a simple-hearted way, and He will perfect those who long for the word of God. These people should stand up and serve God. In God there is endless abundance and boundless wisdom. His amazing work and precious words are awaiting even greater numbers of people to enjoy them’ (‘Religious Way of Service Must Be Banned’). These passages tell us that, because we humans have no truth or knowledge of God, we love to cling to the old and to God’s past work. This is especially true for those who have followed God and served Him for many years. When they have some experience in preaching and master some biblical knowledge and theological theories, they treat these things as capital and thus believe that they have known God’s work. However, once they cling to these things, it will be hard for them to accept God’s new work. Meanwhile, those who do not have old religious notions, who are able to obey in a simple-hearted way, and who can accept God’s new work and new words will obtain God’s salvation. Just like when the Lord Jesus came to do new work, those Pharisees, who had served God in the temple for many years and clung to old religious notions, thought that the Lord Jesus was not the Messiah foretold in the Bible because He looked very ordinary and came from a humble background. Especially when they saw that the work performed by the Lord Jesus was not recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible, they condemned and blasphemed Him, and in the end even nailed Him to the cross, thus suffering the pain of national subjugation. By contrast, those fishermen, publicans, harlots and sinners, when seeing that the Lord Jesus’ words were not things that people could express and that His work contained power and authority, were able to believe in and follow Him. Take Peter, Jacob, John and Matthew for example. When the Lord Jesus called out to them, they immediately gave up everything and followed Him, during which time they heard the truth expressed by the Lord Jesus, witnessed His authority and wonderful deeds, and recognized that the Lord Jesus was Christ, the coming Messiah, and in the end attained God’s salvation.”

After listening to the words that Brother Zhang read as well as his fellowship, the sister kept nodding her head, and I also felt that these were entirely new ideas. I said, “Brother Zhang, what you fellowshiped today really gave me a deeper understanding of this parable. Through this parable, the Lord Jesus tells us that God’s work is always new and never old, and that it is carried out based on the degree of mankind’s corruption. When people at the end of the age of the Old Testament could no longer uphold the laws, God performed a new work to save mankind based on this situation. If God begins new work but we cling to our old notions and use His previous work to measure the new one, then it will be hard for us to accept God’s new work.”

Brother Zhang said, “It’s true. We are now in the last days, the prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically been fulfilled, and the Lord is about to return at any time. According to the prophecies in the Book of Revelation, God will perform the work of opening the little scroll, loosing the seven seals, separating the goats from the sheep, the wheat from the tares, and the good servants from the wicked servants, and perfecting a group of overcomers. However, this is just briefly mentioned in the Book of Revelation but is not recorded in detail, so none of us know how God will specifically fulfill and accomplish all this. In light of this, when the Lord Jesus returns to work in the last days, we should be like the wise virgins and open the door to actively welcome Him, be someone who thirsts for and seeks the truth, and investigate any message about the new work done by the returned Lord to see whether it is from God. Only in this way can we have the opportunity to welcome the Lord and gain God’s salvation of the last days.”

Hearing what the brother said, my heart felt very bright and I said, “Yes, you’re right. The Book of Revelation only prophesies that the Lord will come to work and save mankind in the last days, but none of us can perceive how the Lord will do this work when He returns. This is because God’s work is too wise and unfathomable. But no matter what, as long as the Lord comes back to do new work, we must go out to welcome Him just like Peter, Matthew and the others walked out of the temple to investigate the Lord’s work. This is the only way we can attain the Lord’s salvation. After listening to your fellowship today, I understand a lot more about the parable told by the Lord Jesus. Thanks be to the Lord! Brother Zhang, this book is very good because it can help us know God’s work and understand His will. Could I borrow it to read?”

Brother Zhang agreed right away …

By Xiaoliang

When I got up early in the morning, I said a prayer, then opened up the Bible and read the following: “And, behold, one came and said to Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And He said to him, Why call you Me good? there is none good but One, that is, God: but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, Which? Jesus said, You shall do no murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother: and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to Him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said to him, If you will be perfect, go and sell that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus to His disciples, Truly I say to you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:16–24). I had read these verses many times, but I didn’t know why it is hard for a rich man to enter God’s kingdom. What did the Lord mean when He told this parable to His disciples? A camel simply cannot go through the eye of a needle, which implies that the rich young man was entirely unable to enter into the kingdom of God. So, what does the Lord want us to understand through this parable?

I read that the Lord Jesus said: “Whoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33). These words shone a light on all before me. The Lord told us to forsake all, including status, fame, wealth, material enjoyment, and so on—all of which can prevent us from following God.

As I contemplated this, I understood why the Lord Jesus asked the rich man to sell all that he had and give to the poor. It turned out that the Lord looked within the rich man’s heart, and knew that he attached importance to wealth in his heart, viewing it as the most important thing. If the rich man could let go of money to follow God, it meant he had a place for God in his heart, was willing to follow God and walk the path of believing in God, and treated gaining the truth and life as what he should pursue above all in his life. However, the rich man went away sorrowful then. This proved that in his opinion, it was all right if he didn’t walk the path of faith all his life, follow the Lord’s way, or even enter into the heavenly kingdom, but to be without money was absolutely impossible. He thought that having money meant having living capital, and that with money he would not have any worries about future consequences, so he put wealth before everything. He believed: “Money isn’t everything, but without it, you can do nothing” and “Money is first.” Therefore, faced with the Lord’s requirement, the rich man chose wealth rather than following the Lord. The rich man’s giving up his life instead of money showed us that for him to enter the heavenly kingdom was indeed as difficult as a camel getting through the eye of a needle.

I then read where the Lord Jesus said: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36–37). A passage of Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life also says: “What’s the most important thing that people (including unbelievers) should gain in life? Is it important to gain money? If you’ve earned lots of money, an illness befalls you, and you die of the illness, then what’s the use of money? What if you buy a nice villa or condominium? If you fall sick and die, who will live there? You may have a good husband (or a good wife) and good children, but if you meet your unfortunate death, what’s the point of having them? All of these are empty. Everything of the material world is empty. To be able to finally obtain God’s praise and a good destination in life—this is the most precious, valuable and important. Tell me, when those who are wealthy have a fatal illness, can they be comforted? (No.) Why do they have no comfort after having so much money? The main reason is because money can’t save their lives. ‘Will man really go to heaven or hell after death?’ This is what they will think about. When someone is dying, what will he ponder? Destination! As a man is in his twilight years, he’ll be able to realize that having a good destination is so important and it’s more precious than anything. Even if he suffers all his life, as long as he can have a good destination, he will smile at the moment of his death. On the contrary, when he is close to death, if he’s enjoyed all the blessings in the world but can’t have a good destination and will go down to hell, he will feel he has wasted his life and taken the wrong path because he fails to gain a good destination. Destination is the most important thing for man. Everything else is not important and is worldly thing.”

After reading the Lord’s words and this passage of fellowship, I came to have some knowledge of God’s will. People, who live in this world, often take fame and money as life and treasure, believing that acquiring them enables them to live comfortably, leisurely and freely, and that with money life will not be in vain, so many people long for a great fortune. But when their lives are almost over, they come to realize that money cannot extend their lives and that exhausting their lives for wealth is really not worth it. So, God hopes that through the parable of the rich man, we can grasp the importance of seeking life, escape from the bonds of money, come before Him with one heart and mind to accept His salvation and guidance, and thus have a beautiful destination. God examined the innermost heart of the rich man, who attached importance to money and sought gains. The rich man only wanted to obtain greater interests from God, grasping money on the one hand, and grasping God on the other so he could enter the kingdom of heaven. That was why when God asked him to lay aside all he possessed and distribute them to the poor and then follow God and pursue life, he chose to leave God. The rich man valued property more than the truth, so though he knew the truth perfectly well, he was unwilling to pursue. Therefore, the Lord Jesus said: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” These words were said about the essence of the rich man. Through using this parable, the Lord Jesus wanted us humans to know this: If we cannot give up everything to pursue the truth, seek to know God and be gained by God, then we will not get into God’s kingdom. Contrarily, if our intention in following God and serving God is to believe in God’s words, to love God and satisfy God, and to gain the truth and live out a meaningful life, then we will be able to please the Lord and have the opportunity to enter into God’s kingdom. As it happens, by means of this parable, God wants to let us set the motives for our following Him aright, have the faith to follow Him, and finally gain life.

The Lord Jesus said: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). From the text, we can see that the Lord asks us to serve Him with a single-minded heart, not to worry about our personal future, but to dedicate and expend ourselves in order to care for and satisfy His will. Actually, what the Lord has bestowed upon us is enough for us to enjoy. His intentions are that we can be content with food and clothes, and focus on seeking the truth, spreading the gospel, bearing witness to Him, and following His will. Take Peter, the disciple of the Lord Jesus, for example. During the time he followed the Lord, he focused on pursuing truth and practicing the Lord’s words. After he received the Lord’s commission, he shepherded and nourished the church with all his heart and soul. He never thought of his own future, but only sought to love God all his life, so the Lord Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven to him. In the end, Peter was martyred for preaching the gospel and lived out a life of meaning.

From this parable, I came to realize that nowadays, many believers’ perspectives on belief in God are just the same as that of the rich young man. After believing in God and reading God’s words, they know that pursuing and gaining the truth is important and has to do with their destinations, yet they still fail to let go of money, fame and gain, and only wish to be wealthy in the world. To this end, they work desperately hard to make money, with the result that they aren’t able to say prayers, practice spiritual devotions or attend meetings in a normal way, and their hearts drift away from God. As a matter of fact, we only live once, and if we give up on the opportunity to believe in God and get the truth and life for the sake of money, or we pursue money while maintaining our faith in God, desiring both of them, our lives will only be forfeited.

The Lord Jesus said: “Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:25–26). God’s words carry authority and power, as well as His compassion and care for man, allowing us to know that as God created all things on earth and in heaven, He also controls and rules them, needless to say. God has arranged the basic necessities suitably for us, and so we need only believe in Him and follow Him. Besides, these words brim with God’s painstaking care and thought, enabling us to understand that we are above any other created being in God’s heart and that He will take responsibility for our lives.

Thanks to the Lord’s guiding me, I came to understand these truths. I believe we now know in our hearts which is actually important: Life, or fame and fortune. The Bible says: “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1 Timothy 6:8). In our lives, we should not seek riches or a wealthy life, but instead we should be content with sufficient clothing and food. Apart from working normally, for the rest of our time, we should read God’s words more, spread His gospel more, work more in the ministry of the church, and seek to understand the truth. This is what we should enter into.

By Jianqiang

When I was in senior high school, I learned from my teacher that Bible was a great work of literature in the world. Later, I found this book to know clearly, with curiosity, what had been written within. The moment I opened it, I caught sight of Chapter I Genesis. Then I, without thinking, read God’s creation of six days hastily. I wondered: Why are the words so repetitive in this world masterpiece? The most obvious repetition is the word “God saw that it was good,” which was repeated five times; how can it be addressed as a masterwork in the world? I felt puzzled at it.

Thanks for the Lord’s grace. Later, I believed in the Lord Jesus, and was convinced that the heavens and earth and all things were created by God. However, I was still barely comprehensible for the reason why the words “God saw that it was good” in the Bible were repeated several times. Not until one day, when my friend gave me a spiritual book, did I know from it that, the words, simple and repetitive, contain the Creator’s evaluation and approval for all things in the universe created by Him. Moreover, I saw God’s authority and power from these words.

It says in the book: “‘God saw that it was good.’ What do you think this means? Here, we get a glimpse of God’s emotions. God watched all things that He had created come into being and stand fast because of His words, and gradually begin to change. At this time, was God satisfied with the various things that He had made with His words, and the various acts that He had achieved? The answer is that ‘God saw that it was good.’ What do you see here? What does it represent that ‘God saw that it was good’? What does it symbolize? It means that God had the power and wisdom to accomplish that which He had planned and prescribed, to accomplish the goals that He had set out to accomplish. When God had completed each task, did He feel regret? The answer is still that ‘God saw that it was good.’ In other words, not only did He feel no regret, but was instead satisfied. What does it mean that He felt no regret? It tells us that God’s plan is perfect, that His power and wisdom are perfect, and that it is only by His authority that such perfection can be accomplished. … which is to say that, when ‘God saw that it was good,’ all that He had made assumed a permanent form, was classed according to type, and was given a fixed position, purpose, and function, once and for all eternity. Moreover, their role among all things, and the journey that they must take during God’s management of all things, had already been ordained by God, and were immutable. This was the heavenly law given by the Creator to all things.

“‘God saw that it was good,’ these simple, underappreciated words, so often ignored, are the words of the heavenly law and heavenly edict given to all creatures by God. They are another embodiment of the Creator’s authority, one that is more practical, and more profound. Through His words, the Creator was not only able to gain all that He set out to gain, and achieve all that He set out to achieve, but could also control in His hands all that He had created, and rule all things that He had made under His authority, and, furthermore, all was systematic and regular. All things also lived and died by His word and, moreover, by His authority they existed amidst the law that He had set forth, and none was exempt! This law began at the very instant that ‘God saw that it was good,’ and it shall exist, continue, and function for the sake of God’s plan of management right up until the day that it is repealed by the Creator! The unique authority of the Creator was manifested not only in His ability to create all things and command all things to come into being, but also in His ability to govern and hold sovereignty over all things, and bestow the life and vitality upon all things, and, moreover, in His ability to cause, once and for all eternity, all things that He would create in His plan to appear and exist in the world made by Him in a perfect shape, and a perfect life structure, and a perfect role. So too was it manifested in the way that the thoughts of the Creator were not subject to any constraints, were not limited by time, space, or geography.” Through the interpretation in this passage, I was able to understand the meaning of the words “God saw that it was good” in the Scriptures. Under the authority of God’s words, all things created by God came into being and stood fast, and were assumed a permanent form for all eternity, there being no need to modify. From the very beginning until today, all these different configurations of life have existed in the world. Because of God’s predestination, all beings, in their respective position, bring sorts of functions and uses into play, adhering to this unchanging law. Their existence all shows forth the Creator’s authority and power, and is the proof of the unique identity and status of the Creator. That God saw that they all were good means that God’s plan is perfect, that His power and wisdom are perfect, and that God’s authority is the only source by which He can accomplish the perfection. Therefore, the repeated words “God saw that it was good,” in fact, imply the infinite wisdom of God, which is unable to be fathomed by us human beings. From then on, I did not dare to despise and doubt these words, thinking there was no point in repeating them, but learned to experience and appreciate God’s words carefully.

For all things created by Him, God saw that they were good, which I couldn’t help but associate with that God governs everything of man, and that both our families and jobs are arranged by Him. Regardless of whether or not we are pleased with them, we should not judge blindly, for God saw that they were good. What reasons do we have to find fault? I, before, wasn’t satisfied with my wife. Owing to her common appearance, and some of her thoughts, views and knowledge clashing with mine, I used to comment on and disparage her at will. Thus, we often fought against each other, resulting in hardly peaceful days in our home. But, since I knew God’s will within the words “God saw that it was good,” I tried to put down my own opinions and look at her in another point of view. To my surprise, I found she has many advantages that have not been discovered by me before. For instance, she is ordinary, which allows her to act dutifully, manage the household industriously and thriftily, look after our children carefully without complaint, leading our home life in perfect order. Although some of her words went against and repelled me, yet, thanks to her nagging words, I did not play cards and drink heavily any more, and gave up many other bad habits. … When rethinking profoundly in this way, I saw all that God had arranged for me was good, then I was ready to submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangement. And I began to look upon my wife as a mirror to reflect on myself and know my shortcomings, rather than make improper comments on her. From then onward, the fight between us came to an end, and our home welcomed a peaceful and quiet life. Thanks be to God! To us, getting to know every word of God carefully for His thoughts is a worthy pursuit. In this way, we can know God, allow His word to lead our life, honor Him as great in our hearts and always live before Him. If this is how it is, we can live under the care and protection of God, spending a happy and quiet life.

By Baixue

Every brother and sister in the Lord who knows the Scriptures very well is familiar with Job’s trials. In Scripture it is written about him, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1). Then, on account of two accusations against Job Satan made before God, Jehovah said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only on himself put not forth your hand” (Job 1:12); “Behold, he is in your hand; but save his life” (Job 2:6). Then, trials came upon Job. In the trials of losing his property and children, as well as the trial of sore boils all over his body, his faith in God and reverence for Him were not shaken. What’s more, he still praised God and said, “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21) and “shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). Ultimately, Job’s reverence for Jehovah God gained God’s approval and blessing, becoming an exemplar for later generations to emulate. Every time I read Job’s stories, I have great admiration for his perfect and upright humanity, and even more envy his reverence for God amid Satan’s malicious temptations and attacks. Nevertheless, what made me confused is: Since Job was so perfect and upright, and adored by people so much, why did God allow Satan to afflict him and subject him to such great trials?

Later, I read the following passage, “Everything that God does is necessary, and possessed of extraordinary significance, for all that He does in man concerns His management and the salvation of mankind. Naturally, the work that God did in Job is no different, even though Job was perfect and upright in the eyes of God. In other words, regardless of what God does or the means by which He does it, regardless of the cost, or His objective, the purpose of His actions does not change. His purpose is to work into man God’s words, God’s requirements, and God’s will for man; in other words, it is to work into man all that God believes to be positive in accordance with His steps, enabling man to understand God’s heart and comprehend God’s substance, and allowing him to obey God’s sovereignty and arrangements, and thus allowing man to attain the fear of God and shunning of evil—all of which is one aspect of God’s purpose in all He does.”

After reading this passage, I understand that God’s consignment of Job to Satan involves His management, as well as His salvation of mankind. In fact, the process of Job’s trials was precisely that of his being saved by God. God’s trials of Job were mainly to make his faith perfect. Anyone who has read the Scriptures knows that although Job had great faith in Jehovah God before his trials, he said that he had heard of Him by the hearing of the ear. Later, after seeing Jehovah God’s appearance, he said his eyes saw Him. This is the effect God’s work has achieved through allowing him to undergo trials, which is to say, through God’s consignment of him to Satan, and then through God’s salvation.

I continued to read, “The other aspect is that, because Satan is the foil and serving object in God’s work, man is often given to Satan; this is the means God uses to allow people to see the wickedness, ugliness, and contemptibility of Satan amid Satan’s temptations and attacks, thus causing people to hate Satan and be able to know and recognize that which is negative. This process allows them to gradually free themselves from Satan’s control, and from Satan’s accusations, interference, and attacks—until, thanks to God’s words, their knowledge and obedience of God, and their faith in God and fear of Him, they triumph over the attacks of Satan, and triumph over the accusations of Satan; only then will they have been completely delivered from the domain of Satan. People’s deliverance means that Satan has been defeated, it means that they are no longer the food in Satan’s mouth—that instead of swallowing them, Satan has relinquished them. This is because such people are upright, because they have faith, obedience, and fear toward God, and because they completely break with Satan. They bring shame upon Satan, they make a coward of Satan, and they utterly defeat Satan. Their conviction in following God, and obedience to and fear of God defeat Satan, and make Satan completely give them up. Only people such as this have truly been gained by God, and it is this which is God’s ultimate objective in saving man. If they wish to be saved, and wish to be completely gained by God, then all those who follow God must face temptations and attacks both great and small from Satan. Those who emerge from these temptations and attacks and are able to fully defeat Satan are those who have been saved by God. … Such people are not bound, spied upon, accused, or abused by Satan, they are completely free, they have been completely liberated and released. Job was just such a man of freedom, and this is precisely the significance of why God handed him over to Satan.”

Satan is the serving object in God’s work. Through handing us over to Satan, through a means of trials, God allows us to have discernment and knowledge of the wickedness and ugliness of Satan. Regardless of how Satan accuses, tempts and attacks us, as long as we live by the truth and God’s words, thanks to our knowledge and obedience of God and our faith in God and fear of Him, we will triumph over the interference and attacks of Satan, no longer be deceived or controlled by Satan and bear testimony to God. As such, we will be those who triumph over Satan, namely, those who escape from the influence of Satan. And Satan will be put to shame and defeated. Finally, only when we are able to follow the way of God and are capable of fearing God and shunning evil can we be saved by God completely. And then we can worship the Creator in a free and released way like Job and live in the light of God’s countenance.

Through these words, I see Job’s trials are of great significance and I understand what God has done is His love and salvation for us. For example, although Job endured some suffering in his trials at that time, he harvested a phenomenal wealth of life, getting an understanding and sense of God’s concern and care for man and becoming the person who gained God’s praise. Nowadays, I recall the trials we encounter in our daily life: Although they are small, such as suffering illness, losses of property or misunderstanding of our family and friends who do not believe in God, as well as enduring some setbacks and failures in our life, we often misunderstand God’s will and even complain about Him at that time because of having no understanding of the meaning of God’s trials. However, if we understand the meaning of His trials and what effect He would like to achieve through His trials, we will know these agonizing trials are precisely the path on which every Christian has to travel to do battle with Satan and to be saved. What we shall do is to stand up to face all agonizing trials bravely, to do battle with Satan by God’s words and to defeat Satan through our faith in and obedience to Him. In this way, ultimately, we can become a person who fears God and shuns evil like Job, being saved by Him and gaining His approval and blessing.

Han Xiao

From the Genesis of the Bible, I saw that God created light in just one sentence, and He also created air, the earth, seas and all sorts of plants on the land and so on in one sentence. It made me realize that God speaks, and it will be accomplished; He commands, and it will stand firm. He uses His word to accomplish everything, and commands all things through His thoughts. God is indeed so almighty and so lofty! His deeds are so wonderful! Therefore, whenever reading this scripture, “To Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Gen 3:21), I believed that God made coats for Adam and Eve by a thought or simply by performing a sign. But only after I read God’s words did I realize that God had actually made the coats for them personally rather than doing it through the thought or miraculous methods as I had imagined, which greatly countered my conceptions and imaginations.

God says, “God created these two people and treated them as His companions. As their only family, God looked after their living and also took care of their basic necessities. Here, God appears as a parent of Adam and Eve. While God does this, man does not see how lofty God is; he does not see God’s paramount supremacy, His mysteriousness, and especially not His wrath or majesty. All he sees is God’s humbleness, His affection, His concern for man and His responsibility and care toward him. The attitude and way in which God treated Adam and Eve is akin to how human parents show concern for their own children. It’s also like how human parents love, look after, and care for their own sons and daughters—real, visible, and tangible. Instead of putting Himself in a high and mighty position, God personally used skins to make clothing for man. It doesn’t matter whether this fur coat was used to cover their modesty or to shield them from the cold. In short, this clothing used to cover man’s body was personally made by God with His own hands. Rather than creating it simply through the thought or miraculous methods as people imagine, God had legitimately done something man thinks God could not and should not do. This may be a simple thing some might not even think as worthy of mentioning, but it also allows all those who follow God but were previously full of vague ideas about Him to gain an insight into His genuineness and loveliness, and to see His faithful and humble nature.”

Each line of God’s words struck my heart. At the very moment, I came to realize that although I had believed in the Lord for many years and was familiar with the Bible and could even recite it, I did not know God at all. Simply based on the letters of the verses, I knew that God has authority, and as His word issues forth, then the matter is finished. Yet, except for admiring God in my heart, I had no knowledge or understanding of Him. Only when I read God’s words today did I know that after creating man, God did not only treat them as created beings and provide for them, but also treated them as His family, and as His own children to look after and care for. From God’s words, I could see that He showed concern for mankind and had a responsibility to them. Hence, despite that God has authority to solve all the problems simply through the thought, He practically made coats for Adam and Eve with His own hands. Just like our parents who concern and care for us day and night, God loves, looks after, and cares for us as His own family. God indeed loves us so much. On this matter that I thought God could not do, I saw His genuineness and His humbleness. I even more felt, at that moment, God is so lovely and worthy of our praise and worship.

Later I read another passage of God’s words, which made me realize what God’s will was in making clothing for Adam and Eve with His own hands. God says, “I hope when you understand the real side of God you will grow even closer to Him and be able to even more truly appreciate His love and care for mankind, while at the same time also give your heart to God and no longer have any suspicions or doubts toward Him. God is quietly doing everything He is for man, doing it all silently through His sincerity, faithfulness, and love. But He never has any apprehension or regret for all that He does, nor does He ever need anyone to repay Him in any way or have intentions of ever obtaining anything from mankind. The only purpose of everything He has ever done is so He can receive mankind’s true faith and love.” From God’s plain and simple words, I understood the will of God: God loves man, and would like to do all things and expend everything for us. God, however, only wishes to gain our true faith and love for Him. It was because Adam and Eve were possessed of neither true faith nor love for Him that they trusted in Satan’s lies, thereby falling into its cunning scheme, and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, committing a sin. Subsequently, what they faced was a life filled with strength labor and sorrow and they ended in death. Adam and Eve had sinned, yet they were still the men created by God’s hand, and God did not turn His back on them or pay heed to them due to their sins. Still, He treated them as His family, and used animal skins to make coats for them with His own hands, which conveys His expectations of man: He hopes we can truly believe in and love Him, and never have any suspicions or doubts toward Him.

So from the thing that God personally used skins to make fur coats for Adam and Eve with His own hands, we can see God’s love and care for man. And from the fact that God created all things, holds sovereignty over all things, governs and supplies all things, and created a favorable living environment for mankind to live and multiply, we can also see that God truly pays every minute and second for man. However, He never justifies Himself or demands anything from man, but only asks us to have true faith in Him. Similarly, God has never ceased His work of management of saving man regardless of whether we have knowledge of Him or understand His intention. He started His plan to save mankind after Adam and Eve had been corrupted by Satan. From the work of the Age of Law done by God recorded in the Old Testament to the work of redemption that God personally became flesh to perform recorded in the New Testament, and then to the work in the last days prophesied in the Revelation, we can see God’s work of saving mankind is so real and true. As long as we believe in Him, follow His footsteps, experience His words and work, we will be able to know His amiableness and loveliness.

Hanxiao

Many Christians believe that the Lord Jesus’ disposition is mercy and lovingkindness. He never unleashes His wrath to people, but instead He treats people like a loving mother to her baby, carrying no majesty or wrath. Especially to those who believe in Him and follow Him, whatever sins they commit, He will not curse them, but forgive them. Does this conception of man accord with the truth? Then, let’s fellowship about the truth concerning God’s disposition!

We believe that the Lord Jesus’ disposition is only lovingkindness and mercy, without majesty or wrath. Is it true? If it were so, then why would the Lord Jesus rebuke the Pharisees when He did His work? He said: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:33). The Lord Jesus condemned the Pharisees as the generation of vipers and Satan, and pronounced seven woes against them. And Judas, who betrayed the Lord Jesus as one of His disciples, was punished by Him because of offending His disposition. He burst asunder in the middle, and all his bowels gushed out. Similarly, Ananias and Sapphira his wife, who lied to the Holy Spirit and didn’t acknowledge that they kept back part of the price, were punished to death by God immediately. From these facts, we know that the disposition of the Lord Jesus encompasses not only lovingkindness and mercy, but also majesty and wrath, the combination of which is the very manifestation of God’s inherent righteous disposition. The reason why the Lord Jesus expressed the disposition of mercy and lovingkindness in the Age of Grace was because people in the Age of Law, who lived in sin and under the condemnation of the law, needed mercy and salvation of God badly. Hence, God was incarnated for the first time to do the redemptive work under the name of Jesus and bear the sins of man through His crucifixion. As long as man repented and confessed sins to the Lord Jesus, he would be forgiven of his sins, through which he would be qualified to pray to the Lord and enjoy the abundant grace from Him. It was just because God expressed the disposition of mercy and lovingkindness in the Age of Grace that man could be saved through the grace. Obviously, our conception that God’s disposition is only lovingkindness and mercy but not majesty or wrath, is purely man’s conception and imagination. It is the delimitation of God’s disposition and is not in accord with the truth at all.

Actually, God’s mercy and wrath for mankind are principled. They are not baseless, but are determined by man’s different attitudes toward God and by his deeds. Just as this passage of words I saw in a book, “The mercy and tolerance of God do indeed exist, but God’s holiness and righteousness when He unleashes His wrath also show man the side of God that brooks no offense. When man is fully capable of obeying the commands of God and acts in accordance to God’s requirements, God is abundant in His mercy toward man; when man has been filled with corruption, hatred and enmity for Him, God is profoundly angry…. He is tolerant and merciful toward things that are kind, and beautiful, and good; toward things that are evil, and sinful, and wicked, He is profoundly wrathful, such that He is unceasing in His wrath. These are the two principal and most prominent aspects of God’s disposition, and, moreover, they have been revealed by God from beginning to end: abundant mercy and profound wrath” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II”).

God’s inherent disposition possesses not only lovingkindness and mercy but also profound wrath. The tolerance and mercy of God toward man do indeed exist, but His majesty and wrath brook no offense. God is loving, merciful and tolerant toward those who are capable of obeying Him and following His way; while toward those who resist Him, fail to follow His way and are disobedient to His work, God is majesty and anger, and even condemnation and curse. For example, when the Lord Jesus did His work, to those who were able to obey the Lord’s words and work, follow His way, and confess their sins and repent to Him, like tax collector, Peter and Samaritan woman, the Lord was tolerant, forgiving, merciful and loving. Moreover, He blessed and guided them frequently. However, the Lord cursed the Pharisees who persecuted, condemned and created rumors on Him and punished Judas who betrayed Him. What’s more, from different outcomes of people in Nineveh and in Sodom in the Age of Law, we can see that God is abundant in His mercy toward those who listen to His words, obey Him, and repent to Him; He is profoundly angry toward those who stubbornly oppose Him. In fact, before God decided to destroy Sodom and Nineveh, He gave them the same opportunity to repent. Consequently, people of Sodom were destroyed by God, for their stubborn resistance toward God offended His disposition; people in Nineveh gained God’s mercy for their repentance before God. From these facts of God’s work, we see that God’s disposition is indeed righteous, is real and vivid, but not unchangeable. God’s attitudes toward man vary with man’s attitudes toward Him and His work. So, God’s disposition is abundant mercy and profound wrath. If we define God’s disposition as mercy and lovingkindness, we won’t gain the knowledge of God, and will easily offend His disposition and be cursed and punished by Him because of lacking the knowledge of His disposition. Therefore, we should not delimit God in believing in God. And it is of vital importance to know His disposition.

By Luo Fan

Recently, I came across many difficulties in my job, which made me open the Book of Job and read it again. I saw the archetypal words spoken by Job: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). Pondering these verses, I wondered: Why was Job able to utter these words when such a great disaster befell him? What power made him say them?

With this question, I searched everywhere, and finally found the answer in the following passage of words in a spiritual book: “In his heart, Job profoundly believed that all he possessed had been bestowed upon him by God, and had not come off the back of his own labor. Thus, he did not see these blessings as something to be capitalized upon, but took holding on to the way that he should by tooth and nail as his living principles. He cherished God’s blessings, and gave thanks for them, but he was not enamored of, nor did he seek more blessings. Such was his attitude toward property. He neither did anything for the sake of gaining blessings, nor worried about or was aggrieved by the lack or loss of God’s blessings; he neither became wildly, deliriously happy because of God’s blessings, nor ignored the way of God or forgot the grace of God because of the blessings he frequently enjoyed” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II”). Job had received so many blessings from God, but he did not regard them as something to be capitalized upon, nor did he forget God’s grace because of them. When he lost all his property, instead of being sorrowful and distressed or gathering his servants to go wrest them back, he obeyed God’s sovereignty and arrangement.

Then I thought about myself: When I was blessed by God in my job at ordinary times and everything went right for me, I would always admire myself secretly, thinking that I had the ability, and I often showed off my brilliance and achievements in front of my colleagues. But because I was arrogant, self-satisfied, and self-righteous, God hid His face from me. Without the leadership and guidance of God, I lived in the darkness, becoming like a fool. Not only did my work performance drop sharply, but I couldn’t see through the problems in my job at all. I even felt that I was incapable of doing this job and would be fired at any time. Living in a state of depression and disappointment, I either complained that the difficulty of the job was great or complained that the clients and the leaders were too demanding. … At that time, Job could act that way when he only realized from his experiences that all he possessed was bestowed upon him by God. Such a humanity is truly admired by later generation. In contrast, I, who have believed in God for many years, knew clearly that the achievements I made in my work all came from God’s blessings, but when I lost these blessings, I was unhappy or even negative and retreating.

Reflecting on the journey I’d gone through, I realized that, in order to save us, God has been setting up different environments for us at different times. Sometimes God arranges an environment of ease, in which we live in God’s blessings. At such times, we should thank God for His grace, and should not steal His glory. Sometimes God creates adversity for us to better perfect us. For example, in the case of Job, after he underwent the trial of losing everything and life threatening, he saw God and said, “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees you” (Job 42:5); such a result is only achieved through adverse circumstances. Another point, which is especially important, is that we shouldn’t misunderstand God’s will while undergoing adversities, for God does not have the intention to abandon us nor does He want us to suffer when He allows hardships to befall us. Sometimes in order to temper us, through the adversities, God leads us to overcome the difficulties and improve our professional skills. Sometimes we run up against a wall because we have some false viewpoints within; and so we have to come before God to examine ourselves so as to know our false viewpoints and have them transformed. Sometimes because there’s something wrong with our work but we don’t realize it, God allows us to encounter setbacks so as to force us to stop and reconsider the work, so that we will find the problems and get them resolved. … All in all, when we meet with difficulties in our work, it contains God’s intentions of various aspects, which requires us to ponder carefully in the actual difficulties.

My false viewpoints were altered through Job’s experience. In my future experiences, I’m willing to seek God’s will in all things and obey God’s arrangements. When I don’t understand God’s will, I will no longer blindly judge and misunderstand God’s will. I will pursue to have true faith and obedience in God like Job, achieving a deeper knowledge of God.

Question: It is said in the Bible, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns?” (Romans 8:33-34). This proves that the Lord Jesus has forgiven all our sins through His crucifixion. The Lord doesn’t regard us as sinful, then who can accuse us?

Answer: The Bible says, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect?” But we must be very clear who are the ones chosen by God? Those habitual sinners, traitors, those who steal from the offering, fornicators, the fearful, and the hypocritical Pharisees, are they the ones chosen by God? If anyone who believes in God is one He has chosen, then how do we explain the words in Revelation 22:15, “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and makes a lie”? Therefore, not everyone who believes in God is chosen by God. Only those who truly serve the Lord and love God, and have real testimony are ones chosen by Him. For example, Abraham, Job, and Peter are those who obeyed and feared God. They had righteous deeds and testimonies. They were approved by God. No one could accuse them. Yet when did God call all believers righteous? Most people often sin, and still resist and betray God. This is a fact. Lord Jesus never called most of His believers righteous. So “God’s elect” refers to those who do righteous deeds and can follow God’s will.

The Ark Rests on Ararat – Genesis 8

And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

Noah Sends a Raven and a Dove

And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned to him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in to him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, see, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again to him any more.

Exiting the Ark

And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. And God spoke to Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, you, and your wife, and your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. Bring forth with you every living thing that is with you, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creeps on the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply on the earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him: Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatever creeps on the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

By Li Lan

The word “manna,” I believe, is familiar to every brother and sister in the Lord, as it is recorded in the Old Testament that, after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they stayed in the wilderness for forty years, during which time God sent manna from heaven to feed them every day. At that time, the manna bestowed by God was the material food, which the Israelites needed most to survive in those days.

In another chapter of the Bible, Jehovah God also mentioned manna, “And he humbled you, and suffered you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you knew not, neither did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Jehovah does man live” (Deuteronomy 8:3). From God’s words, we can know that manna not only refers to one type of material food but also to God’s words, and that we humans live not only by the material manna, but even more by God’s words, the spiritual manna.

Similarly, when the Lord Jesus came to do the work of redeeming all mankind, He once said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:51), and “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). From the Lord’s words it can be seen that what the Lord supplies to us is not only material things but even more spiritual nourishment.

The Book of Revelation says, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna” (Revelation 2:17). And the words “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” are prophesied seven times. Since they are especially emphasized, that means what the Holy Spirit says to the churches must be very important and that God wants everyone to hear His utterances. You may notice that in this verse it is said: “To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna,” but we all know that the Lord Jesus’ words have been revealed to all of mankind, so His words cannot be the “hidden manna.” Then, what exactly does the “hidden manna” refer to?

As to this question, let’s look at John 16:12-13, where the Lord Jesus said: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.” Here, the Lord tells us that when He returns, He will speak again, bestow upon us mankind more truths and tell us all of the mysteries we don’t know as well as the things to come. Thus, the word of the returned Lord, I believe, is the hidden manna, the truth that will make our hearts satisfied more and allow us to genuinely appreciate the true meaning of the words “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Therefore, at this critical juncture of the Lord’s arrival, if we are able to find what the Holy Spirit says to all churches, that is, the utterances of the Holy Spirit, we will obtain the hidden manna.

By Bai Xue

The Bible records, “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that you are John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He said to them, But whom say you that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also to you, That you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-19). Every time I saw these verses, I would think: The twelve disciples were all the followers of the Lord Jesus, but when the Lord Jesus asked them who they thought He was, their answers were different. And only Peter said the Lord Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter recognized the inherent substance and identity of the Lord Jesus, so his answer was the most accurate, and also satisfactory to the Lord Jesus. Because only Peter had knowledge of God, the Lord gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. So, since they were all the Lord Jesus’ disciples, why was it that only Peter recognized Jesus as Christ at that time?

Later, through reading the Bible, communicating with some brothers and sisters, and praying to God, I gained some enlightenment. I came to realize it was no accident that Peter recognized the Lord Jesus as Christ; actually it was closely related to his careful observation of the Lord Jesus’ action and His being and possessions in ordinary life. During the period of the Lord Jesus’ work, Peter lived with the Lord Jesus and ate with Him. He focused on observing every action and word of the Lord Jesus in real life, and from that he appreciated with his heart the disposition and emotions of God that the Lord Jesus revealed. Particularly, Peter paid special attention to the Lord Jesus’ words, in which he often searched for the truth and sought God’s will. He found that every word the Lord Jesus spoke was the truth, and could bring people the supply of truth and life, and that no one could speak such words. He also gradually knew God’s disposition and what God has and is from the Lord Jesus’ utterances and work. And he saw that even though the Lord Jesus looked like a normal human being, and wasn’t physically imposing or born in the palace or in the noble’s family as people imagined, yet what He expressed was the truth that wasn’t possessed by corrupt people, and He was equipped with all that God has and is. His magnanimity was as boundless as the seas and the sky, and His tolerance and mercy for mankind was without limits, yet He was humbly hidden and dined with the sinners. He was not arrogant, not selfish, and He had no trace of any corrupt disposition of human beings. All that was revealed by the Lord Jesus was holiness and righteousness, and His selfless love for us mankind. His emotions of pleasure, anger, sorrow, and happiness were not for Himself. He took pleasure because the truth He expressed had brought the light to mankind, and He felt sorrow because corrupt mankind was living in the sin and being afflicted by Satan. The truth that the Lord Jesus expressed was the reality of all positive things, and such essence and being could only be possessed by God Himself. It was through each and every detail of his contact with the Lord Jesus that Peter recognized the Lord Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Eventually, because of his knowledge of God, Peter was approved by the Lord, and the Lord gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven and entrusted him with the mission to shepherd the flock.

I envy and aspire Peter’s experience of knowing the Lord Jesus. And from it, I saw the precious quality of Peter was that he never came to know the Lord Jesus from His appearance, but by gradually experiencing the actual words and work of the Lord Jesus, feeling them with his heart, and pursuing to know God, know God’s substance, God’s disposition, and God’s being and possessions. And eventually he recognized the Lord Jesus as the incarnate Christ. It also has brought me some inspiration: If we want our belief in God to allow us to achieve true knowledge of God, we must focus on God’s word. For it is through His word that God enables us to know His being and possessions, His disposition, His will, His requirements of man, and so on. Besides, only by taking heed of God’s word, can we come to know Him little by little. I am willing to seek the truth and grasp God’s intention more in God’s word like Peter, experience God’s work to gain knowledge of God’s disposition, and pursue to be a person who knows God.

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.

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.

Yanxi

by Zhang Yiping