Davar Kingdom of God

"You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he (Isa 43:10). Vv. 10-13 are in a chiastic form (A-B-C-D-C-B-A) so that v. 10 corresponds to v. 12. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "that I am God (v. 12).” Note that there are three verbs (to “know,” to “believe,” and to “understand”) with “you (the Lord’s chosen people)” as their subject in v. 10, and there are also three verbs (to “reveal,” to “save,” and to “proclaim”) in v. 12 with “I (the Lord)” as their subject. First, the Lord “reveals” his plan by speaking to the people so that they will “know” his plan. When they know his plan, they will come to “believe” that what he has revealed will be fulfilled, and as a result, the Lord will “save” them. But that is not the end. After the Lord saves, he will “proclaim (lit. let them hear)” that he is the one who has saved them so that they will “understand” that he is the Lord (Yahweh) who fulfills his word. And the Lord’s chosen people are the “witnesses” of that—he is Yahweh, the one who fulfills his word. These words were spoken originally to those who received God’s judgment and were taken to Babylon in captivity at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. But the same words can be applied to those who are in Christ today. Your first father sinned; your spokesmen rebelled against me. So I will disgrace the dignitaries of your temple, and I will consign Jacob to destruction and Israel to scorn (vv. 27-28). Note the expression, “your first father sinned.” The anger he poured out unto the people, his children, at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem had been, in fact, kept and piled up ever since the time of “the fist father” who had sinned, whoever that first father was. And once his anger was released upon them, he is no longer angry. He says: I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more (v. 25). The same thing happened through Christ, his only Son, who gave himself as a pleasing aroma to ease God’s wrath. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement (a propitiation), through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished (Rom 3:25)— The Greek word hilasterion, translated as “a sacrifice of atonement,” is a kind of sacrifice given to gain God’s favor for the pacification of his wrath. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18). God’s wrath has been removed completely. He is no longer angry with us. We used to be enemies to God, but we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Now is the time of God’s favor—the day of salvation! As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation (6:1-2).

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor 5:17)! If you are in Christ, this is the reality in which you live. The reality you used to live has become old and disappeared, and a new reality has come. When the reality you live in changes, the way you live changes. When you are a single, you live as a single. But when you get married, which is a new reality, you start living as a husband or a wife. Then, when a baby is born, which is another new reality, you begin to live as a father or a mother. In the same way, if you are in Christ by having been baptized into Christ and his death, you are a new creation—the fulfillment of God’s word, and live in a new reality. You cannot live in the old reality you used to live in. Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland (Isa 43:18-19). Here, “the former things” and “the past” mean Satan’s work of death and destruction that happened in the past. And “a new thing” means God’s work of creation and life. The work of destruction has gone, and the reality of death has disappeared. To “forget” and “not dwell on” means not to accept as your reality. We must not accept the old reality of destruction and death because what was destroyed was created back, and death has been swallowed in victory. What was lost was restored to us, and the word of life was fulfilled in us. We are the witnesses of that. Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, "It is true." Here, “the former things” are God’s work of creation we have experienced in the past. We should know that all such work was done as his word was fulfilled. Nonbelievers have not experienced or seen such work, nor believe that God has the power to fulfill his word. Therefore, God wants us to go out and testify before them as his witnesses. "You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he (v. 10).” “I am he” means “I am the one who fulfills my word”: He is Yahweh, the Lord. There are three things we need to do: to know, to believe, and to understand. First, we need to know what he says, the truth—his will and plan. Second, we need to believe that God has the power to do what he says so that what he says will be fulfilled. Third, after it was fulfilled, we need to understand that what occurred to us was the fulfillment of his word. I, even I, am the Lord (Yahweh), and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed-- I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, (vv. 11-12)… Note the strong emphasis on “I” at the beginning of the sentence. He is the only God, and there is no other God. He is Yahweh, the God who faithfully fulfills his word. Note also the three verbs used here: to reveal, to save and to proclaim (lit. to let someone hear). He revealed his plan and will to us with his word, and saved us by fulfilling it, and proclaimed to us, or let us hear and see that it was by the fulfillment of his word that we were saved. We are the witnesses of that.

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died (2 Cor 5:14). The verb “to compel” in Greek means “to seize so as to leave little room for movement.” Because of Christ’s love, we have no choice but to live as follows: And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again (v. 15). When the reality in which we live changes, the way we live also changes. Our reality is now that when Christ died for all, we also died together with him. If we died, we no longer can live for us who died, but for him who died and lives in us. In other words, we no longer have the ownership of our life, but Christ does. This is the new reality we live in. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. “From a worldly point of view” literally means “according to the flesh.” It is the standard that our flesh considers as reality. Christ is a son of a carpenter from Nazareth according to that reality, but he is the Son of God, the pre-existent Word according to the reality that the Bible teaches. And the same reality tells us who we are as follows: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come (v. 17)! Every creation is the fulfillment of God’s word. God said, “Let there be light!” and there was light. In the same way, he said to you, “Live!” and you began to live as the fulfillment of what he said. New creation deletes old destruction. When light comes, darkness vanishes. “The old has gone, the new has come!” The old reality is gone, and the new reality has come. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (v. 18): All realities are made by God. His name is “I am that I am.” He is the source of all realities. Mass to which every object in this world owes its existence is one form of the reality that he made. But he can also create reality without mass. And according to this reality, anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. We know that our eyes can see only certain types of light, but there are many other types of light that we cannot see. Thus, what we see with our eyes is not the only reality that exists or we live in. God sees all types of lights. In fact, he is the source of all lights with which everything was made in a physical sense as well as in a spiritual sense: “the whole earth is full of his glory.” Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland (Isa 43:18-19). Therefore, as those who live according to a new reality, we should no longer count the things of the old reality. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” “To forget” means “not to remember, or speak about,” and “not to dwell” means “not to understand, or consider.” Do not take your past as your reality. Do not hold onto it. Now is the time of reconciliation, the time of God’s favor, the day of salvation, and the year of Jubilee.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom 6:11). If you wish to have God’s word fulfilled in your life, you will need to accept the spiritual reality that the Bible teaches and live standing upon it by faith. In the above verse, pay attention to the verb “count.” Abraham counted the stars in heaven, and believed that God, who said, “So shall your offspring be,” had power to fulfill his word. Then, God also counted him as righteous. It is exactly in the same way that we were made righteous when we believed that God, who had raised Jesus from the dead, has the power to do the same for us according to his word. Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (vv. 3-4). Note the expression, “don’t you know,” which indicates that the object of knowing is a fact—the spiritual reality in which believers live. We believe that Jesus died for us, and he was raised from the dead three days later. It means that we believe that the fact about Jesus’ death and resurrection, which happened two thousand years ago in Jerusalem—at the time we did not even exist, covers us and works for us today beyond the physical reality of time and space that we are living in. In other words, what we believe is the spiritual reality that our physical eyes do not see—that we all died, were buried, and were raised from the dead with Jesus. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection (v. 5). We were all united with Christ, and when God sees us, he sees us through Jesus: whatever he is, we are also—completely righteous and blameless. This is how he sees us, and it is the firm reality. God’s eyes are not like our eyes, and he sees through the spiritual reality. If this is true, and what these scriptures say is a genuine reality for us, then, there must be a certain way in which we should live according to the new reality we were brought in. If the reality changes, our way of life changes, too. Once we have become the righteousness of God, we are to walk on the way of righteousness—no other way. If we walk on the other way—the way of sin, we deceive ourselves and live according to a wrong reality. But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness (vv. 17-18). In a sense, we lost the freedom concerning the righteous way of living that the Bible teaches. We used to be free from it because we were ignorant about the spiritual reality of God’s word. That time, the only reality we knew was that of this world, and we were completely sunk in it, and lived according to whatever the eyes of our flesh saw. And there was no fulfillment of God’s word. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death (vv. 20-21)! But now, given the faith to accept the reality of the Bible, and having become the righteousness of God, we can and should live according to the reality that the Bible speaks about. When you live that way, the fulfillment of God’s word is inevitable.

What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (Rom 4:3). Abraham counted the stars in heaven, and God said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed that what God said would be fulfilled, and his faith was counted as righteousness. Just as he counted the stars, God counted him as righteous. It was the most vital step that he had to take in order for God’s plan and promise to be fulfilled in him. In the same way, in order for God’s word to be fulfilled in you and for all his promises to come true, you must be righteous before him. Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isa 59:1-2). The truth is that God desires to save you more than you want him to save you, but he cannot if you are unrighteous before him. However, once this unrighteousness is removed, he can save you from all problems and sufferings, and his blessings can be yours unlimitedly. Therefore, the promise (to be heir of the world) comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all (Rom 4:16). As Abraham was counted as righteous by faith, we who believe in Christ were also counted as righteous by faith, not by works. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness (vv. 20-22)." “To do what he had promised” means “to fulfill what he had promised.” Abraham believed in the fulfillment of God’s word, and you followed him by believing the same way. Thus, you were counted as righteous the same way. No matter how acutely Satan brings charges against you, it is God who justified you and counted you as righteous through Christ. You can always go near to him and stand before him with boldness and confidence. … let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water (Heb 10:22). Yet, you should not forget that it was by the following truth that you were made righteous. Jesus said: It is written: “And he was numbered with the transgressors”; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment (Luke 22:37). Sin is spiritual, and unrighteousness is a spiritual condition—a reality in the spiritual world. Christ did not sin in this physical world, yet he was numbered (counted) as unrighteous in the spiritual world. On the other hand, we who sinned in this world were counted righteous in the spiritual world through Christ. This, too, came as the fulfillment of God’s word, and we are Abraham’s offspring, the new humanity—the believers of the fulfillment of God’s word.

There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father, give me my share of the estate.” So he divided his property between them (Luke 15:11-12). The younger son went to the father and asked for his share of the property that he was entitled to as his son. With what he received, he decided to go to a far country where he would be free from the law, and the supervision of the father would not reach. In other words, he wanted to live according to his own ideas and principles by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living (v. 13). So he did. But the moment he did, the riches of the grace of his father, which he used to receive as the fulfillment of his word, disappeared. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything (vv. 14-16). He was no longer living as the son of his father with all rights he once had, but was made to work as a slave under the ownership of a foreign master—no mercy, no grace—the state of death as expressed later by the father. When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men (vv. 17-19).” This should be compared with the attitude he had at the beginning: he did not want to obey his father, but demanded to receive his share of the estate as his son. After he lost everything, he decided to work as one of his hired men, which indicates that he was ready to obey the command of his father. So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him (v. 20). There is no description of how the son reacted to these actions of his father who was always watching to accomplish what he desired, and to fulfill his word. The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son (v. 21).” As he was about to say, “make me like one of your hired men,” the father turned to his servants and said to them: “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate (vv. 22-24).” The father said, and his word was fulfilled. The moment this son returned to the father, the fulfillment of the father’s word returned.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isa 55:8-9).” God’s thoughts are higher than your thoughts. What he desires and plans are far bigger than what you desire and plan. Therefore, speaking of the fulfillment of God’s word, it will be difficult if you confine yourself to your own small and selfish desires and plans. Abram was childless, and wanted a child who would inherit his possessions. His wife, Sarai, wanted a baby that she could hold in her arms. But God’s plan for them was much bigger than that. Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. …and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Gen 12:2-3). And the land that God planned to give him was much larger—not a field or a small piece of land. Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever (13:14-15). What about the purpose of all of this? Why did God desire to give him all of these? It was not simply about the increase of his offspring or the possession of the land. His thoughts were far deeper than Abram’s thoughts. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him (18:19). For this purpose, God taught and trained him. He wanted Abram to have the same thoughts as his own. It was for this reason that God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac to him. Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about (22:2). You should not consider the desires you have in your heart to be merely your own—small and selfish. God is not a tool with which you come to have what you want. No, he is the one who created you, and he always has something he himself wants to do for you and through you. You are his tool for the fulfillment of his word. … so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it (Isa 55:11). The fulfillment of God’s word is the fulfillment of what he desires. He speaks what he himself desires and fulfills what he himself speaks. We are his instruments, and we should let him fulfill his own word. The Lord said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled (Jer 1:12)." Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Eph 3:20-21).

He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter. So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings." And Saul offered up the burnt offering (1 Sam 13:8-9). Seeing the Philistines, as numerous as the sand on the seashore, being assembled to fight against Israel, all the troops with king Saul were quaking with fear, and many of those who followed him began to leave and scatter. So, Saul offered the burnt offering though he was not a priest. This offering was offered not to God, but to the people so that he could keep his men from leaving. It was done according to the idea of his mind. Just as he finished offering it, Samuel showed up, and said to him. You acted foolishly. You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure (vv. 13-14); … When a Christian walk according to the flesh—his own understanding and ideas, the fulfillment of God’s word stops. It is the same thing as eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Bible says: Trust in the Lord with all your heart And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, And he will make your paths straight (Pro 3:5-6). We have God’s presence all the time, but it is our responsibility to acknowledge him wherever we go. King Saul, when he was attacked by the Philistines, did not acknowledge the Lord, but leaned on his own understanding. Therefore, the word did not come to be fulfilled: his kingdom was not established. You can compare this with the story of Jehoshaphat who was attacked by the allied forces of the Moabites and Ammonites—a vast army. Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him (2 Chr 20:3-4). King Jehoshaphat put God first, not himself, or his own understanding. He stood before the temple of the Lord, and prayed: O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. … For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you (vv. 6-12). This is what it means to trust the Lord with all your heart. So, the word of the Lord came to him: Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's (v. 15). Because he committed his way to the Lord, it was the Lord himself who did it by fulfilling his word. When you think you can still do it, fear comes and you fail with no fulfillment of his word. Jehoshaphat encouraged the people by saying: Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; Have faith in his prophets and you will be successful (v. 20).

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:8-9). The Bible speaks a lot about food. That is because humans have bodies to maintain, and need to eat continually. Eating has become the center of our life, and even the purpose of it. Therefore, using it metaphorically, the Bible teaches us about the way of living. The above scripture in Genesis mentions two different trees—one from which man can eat freely, and the other from which he cannot. God said to Adam who had eaten from the tree that he was commanded not to eat from: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat of it,” … through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. … and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground (3:17-19), … Note, here, that the verb “to eat” is used so many times. The sin that came from eating from a wrong kind of tree resulted in another way of eating. This is the world we see today—how people eat and die, not live. Satan said to Jesus who had fasted forty days and forty nights, and was hungry: If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread (Mat 4:3). But Jesus answered: It is written: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (v. 4).” Here, you see two kinds of food—one that fills your physical stomach, and the other that is your spiritual food, the word of God. But this spiritual food is not only for your spiritual satisfaction, nourishment or growth. The disciples who had gone to a town to get some bread came back and urged him to eat, saying, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said: I have food to eat that you know nothing about. … My food … is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work (John 4:32-34). As when he was tempted by Satan, he refused to eat the food that the disciples brought. For him, the real food is to do the will of the Father, and finish his work—the fulfillment of the Scripture. These two kinds of food represent two different ways of lifestyle. Jesus said to the crowd who came to follow him after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand: I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval (6:26-27). Food is something that you “work for.” Humans after the Fall came to work for food that spoils: this food, you eat, and die. It is the way you live by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But the food that Jesus gives endures to eternal life. Where is really the difference? Jesus said: The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life (v. 63).

The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (Rom 8:6). There are two ways for a human to live: 1) To live as the fulfillment of God’s word 2) To live with his/her own ideas If these two lifestyles are to be illustrated using the story of Adam and Eve who lived in the Garden of Eve, lifestyle 1) is to eat from the tree of life, and lifestyle 2) is to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And Paul explains the same two ways of living as follows: 1) To live according to the spirit 2) To live according to the flesh This is to be understood together with the fact that a human has three parts—spirit, soul and body. A human is essentially a spirit who has a soul and lives in a body. A spirit and a soul are two independent beings, and each has its own will, reason and emotion. God speaks to the sprit, and the spirit speaks to the soul, and the soul controls the body. This is how God’s plan and will are carried out in this physical world, and his word comes to be fulfilled. It is not merely about keeping the law, but about God’s work being done for us through our actions. He always desires to do his will on earth as he does in heaven. But when our soul stops listening to the spirit, and does not carry out what God says, the fulfillment of his word stops for us. This happens when we live according to our ideas in our soul: that is to say, by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The result is death—spiritual death, and with no spiritual communication with God, we are left to live with our own fleshly ideas with no spiritual power. In this condition, it is impossible to keep the law, God’s commandments, which are spiritual and requires spiritual power in order for us to keep them. … the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God (vv. 7-8). So, Christ came to save us from this miserable condition. He lived completely and perfectly according to the spirit. Yet, he was always surrounded by those who lived according to the flesh. Interestingly, the contrast and friction between him and them is seen everywhere in the gospels. We can look at John 6, for example. Some of the crowd whom Jesus fed from five loaves of bread and two fish came to follow Jesus by crossing over the lake. When they found him on the other side of the lake, he said to them I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval (John 6:26-27). They wanted to make Jesus the prophet like Moses who had given the manna, or the king-messiah who would give them freedom from the Romans. However, Jesus was to die as the Lamb of God fulfilling the scriptures. While these people approached him attempting to lure him to give them another free meal with their fleshly calculations, Jesus explained to them that he was the true and living bread that came from heaven. Jesus lived in a different world—the reality different from the reality they lived in. They were disappointed with his words, complained and accused him From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him (v. 66).

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! … Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Phil 4:4-6). There are two ways for humans to live. One is to live always rejoicing, and the other is to live with worries and anxiety over their needs and health. Joy comes from the presence of God, but worries come from themselves. When you try to live by your own ideas, you come to have worries and fear because you know you are not as able, smart, strong or good as you want to be—not enough for what you really wish to get. It is only when you look at your almighty God who is more than enough that his supernatural peace begins to surround you. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (v. 7). The “understanding” we have is what comes from our flesh, and is always based on our physical reality, but the “peace of God” comes from God and is of the reality of a different dimension. If you want to live rejoicing with this peace, you will need to listen to him constantly through your spirit, and live according to the spiritual reality in which God lives. The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (Rom 8:6). The soul of a human, as created by God, resides between the body and the spirit facing both the physical reality and the spiritual reality. But the soul (flesh) of a spiritually dead person has lost fellowship with the spirit and is left only in contact with the physical reality through the body. As a result, every activity (the mind) of the soul is dead, not spiritually empowered, and it causes all kinds of problems in life. Abram, to whom God had already promised to give a child and make him into a great nation, once said: O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" … "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir (Gen 15:2-3)." Abram, seeing that he had not been given a child yet and was getting older and older, constantly worried about his heir, and wanted to have some kind of security as to what to do with his possessions. None of his ideas, as seen in these words, was based on the promise, or the spiritual reality that God had presented to him. They all came from Abram’s own flesh, and were his own plans and ideas, which were only based on the physical reality he was facing. If he had carried out any of those ideas, what would have happened to God’s promise? The mind of flesh is hostile to God: it hinders the fulfillment of his word. So God took Abram out of his tent (the reality he was live in), and told him to look up at the heavens (spiritual reality), and count (consider) the stars. It took some time for him to count them—to come out of the physical reality, and go into the spiritual reality. Then, God spoke to him: So shall your offspring be (v. 6). For the fist time, he believed—received the spiritual reality presented to him according to God’s idea and plan. This spiritual reality, the Bible calls “wisdom.” Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding (Pro 3:5). She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who embrace her; Those who lay hold of her will be blessed (v. 18).

And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Gen 2:16-17)." We humans were created from the beginning to live as the fulfillment of God’s word, which is the will of God, and we are required to listen to him through our spirit and be faithful and obedient to him doing what he says. Instead, to live according to our own thoughts and ideas by not listening to him and not doing what he says is to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The former brings life and blessings, and latter death and curses. The same difference is seen in the covenant that the people of Israel had with God—life and blessings if God’s commands are kept, and death and curses if not. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life (Deut 30:19). You need to keep in mind that this choice between life and death is only for those who remain under the covenant with God. It was only in the Garden of Eden that humans had the choice between the two trees. Once they were driven out of the garden, they had no choice but to live under curses. The people of Israel who were brought into the Promised Land had this choice, and we believers under the covenant through Christ have this choice as well: in a spiritual sense, we have been brought back to the Garden of Eden. Speaking of Christians, the Bible says: Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Rom 8:12-13). To walk according to the spirit is life, and to walk according to the flesh is death: this choice, we have now. The former means to live as the fulfillment of the word by accepting it and doing what it says, and the latter means to live with the soul in the center of our being, according to its thoughts and ideas, by ignoring God’s voice that comes through the spirit. With no fulfillment of God’s word, his will and good purpose, it results in spiritual death. In such a condition, it is totally impossible for us to obey God’s commands and do his will. We can still understand mentally in our head that his commands are good, and try to keep them with all our efforts, but we always find ourselves not keeping them. The reason is that the word is not in our hearts. For this very reason, God sent his Son to us. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:4). Our sin had to be removed in order for the word to come into our hearts. The Bible also says: The unfolding (lit. entrance) of your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple (Ps 119:130). Once the word comes into our hearts, it becomes a part of our own thoughts and desires so that we can do his will as something we want to do with a pure heart without any superficial or legalist attitude—true freedom. This is also explained as follows: … for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, (Phil 2:13-14) …

No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it (Deut 30:14).’” God’s word is given to us so that we can do and obey it. When it is obeyed, the word becomes complete and fulfilled. There are two ways in which humans live: one is the way in which they obey God, and let his word be fulfilled in their lives, and another is the way in which they live against his will with disobedience to him. The result of the former is life, and that of the latter is death. The two trees that were in the middle of the Garden of Eden symbolically represent these two styles of living. And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Gen 2:16-17)." Where there is a command of God, there is a covenant relationship between him and the people he commands. We were all created under his covenant that requires us to be obedient to him. When we lose obedience to him, the covenant is broken, and the fulfillment of his word stops. The result is death. This principle applies equally to the people of Israel under the covenant made through Moses. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Deut 30:19-20). When they faithfully obey the Law, the word of God who is life becomes fulfilled, and they will be blessed, and live long in the land they come to possess. A covenant in the Bible is always associated with a land. To Adam, the Garden of Eden was given, and to the people of Israel, the land of Canaan was given. It represents the inheritance of those who belong to him under the covenant. When the people of Israel entered the land under the leadership of Joshua, they gathered near Shechem and proclaimed blessings on Mount Gerizim and curses on Mount Ebal. These mountains in the center of their land served as a reminder of the covenant they had with God just as the two tress did in middle of the Garden of Eden. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so (Rom 8:5-7). The principle discussed above applies also to Christians under the new covenant through Christ. This scripture mentions the choice between the two styles of living: one is to live according to the flesh, and the other to the spirit. Apparently, the former corresponds to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the latter the tree of life. The covenant that God made with Adam is still valid to us who are in Christ today. When we were still sinners, we did not have this choice because we had been driven away from the Garden of Eden, but now we do after we were brought back to the Garden of Eden in Christ. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (vv. 12-13).

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Mat 4:4).’” “Bread” is physical food, and God’s “word” is spiritual food. Since we are spiritual beings, we live not only on physical food, but also on spiritual food. But, is this all that this scripture says, and was it all that Jesus meant? Pay attention to the phrase “every word that comes from the mouth of God.” At this time, Jesus’ ministry was about to begin—the time for the fulfillment of all the scriptures written about him. Physical food is not only for our growth, but also for the energy to act and do all our work. In the same way, spiritual food is not only for the salvation of our soul, or the spiritual growth of our faith, but also for the spiritual work we do according to the will of God: that is, for the work we do for the fulfillment of his word. No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey (or, can do) it (Deut 30:14). Thus, God’s word is not just for your spiritual growth. If so, it would be better to say, “it is in your ears,” because we know that faith comes by hearing the word of God. Note that it is “in your mouth”, and “you can do it, ” according to the above scripture. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate (lit. utter) on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Josh 1:8). Here, God was encouraging Joshua not to let the Law (the word) depart from his mouth so that he could do what it said. To do the word of God means to bring it to its fulfillment. More particularly, the fulfillment, for Joshua, meant as follows: Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them (v. 6). This promise for the inheritance of the land had been given in the time of Abraham, and now it was about to be fulfilled through Joshua, and it had to be fulfilled. It was by the fulfillment of God’s word that we humans were created. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground (Gen 1:26)." If our existence came as the fulfillment of God’s word, then the purpose of our existence must be also for the fulfillment of his word—to rule over all the earth. This must be fulfilled. Just as the Promised Land had to be given to the people of Israel through Joshua as the fulfillment of his word, the above scripture must be fulfilled. It was once inhibited because of our sin and disobedience to God, but now through Christ, the right and power to rule over the earth has been restored to us completely: by grace and in Christ, we have become the heir of the world (Rom 4:13-16). And for this purpose, we were chosen to live in obedience to God doing his word according to his will, not doing our own word according to our will. And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Gen 2:16-17)."

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it (John 1:4-5). In the Bible, life is often expressed together with light, and death with darkness. We have, for instance, the following verses: He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom (lit. the shadow of death) and broke away their chains (Ps 107:14). The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned (Isa 9:2). That “the light shines in the darkness” indicates that life has victory over death, and that “the darkness has not understood (or, overcome) it” indicates that death has opposed life, but has not been able to defeat it. It points to the death and resurrection of Christ. In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, while the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters, God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness (Gen 1:1-4, translation mine). That “God saw that the light was good” indicates that he did not see that the darkness was good, and wanted to do something about it. So he said, “Let there be light (lit. let light be),” and that word was fulfilled: what he desired was accomplished. And the same work of creation is seen in the New Testament: he saw the darkness of our human world, and desired that light would come to it. So he sent his word—the life and light, and it was accomplished. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12)— Those who received the preexistent Word came to have “the right to become children of God.” It indicates that they had not had it, or had lost it before they came to believe. However, we know that when God created humans, he created them as his children. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground (Gen 1:26)." All children grow to be like their parents in their personality as well as in their physical appearance. The physical resemblance comes from a gene that is contained in every cell of our body. In the same way, God passed on his gene to humans when he created them as his children. Humans were to grow according to his gene—his nature and power, and to show his glory on earth by working with him and bearing fruit for him as it was programed in the gene. There was, however, one very important condition for this purpose to be fulfilled. And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Gen 2:16-17)." They needed to be obedient to him keeping his commands—his words. Humans were created under the covenant with him, and they were to live by every word that came from his mouth.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:1-3). It is essential for us to know and accept, by faith, the truth that everything was made through “the Word.” In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light (Gen 1:1-3). The particular verbal form of “Let there be …” is called “jussive.” It indicates the wish of the speaker upon another person or thing that is the subject of the verb. God saw that “the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep,” and thought that something was very wrong. He first wished to have “light” there. So he spoke the word, “Let there be light,” and that word came to be fulfilled. In fact, the whole Bible is what God spoke in this way to accomplish what he desired for humanity. Every word he spoke must be fulfilled and will be. Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so (v. 11). Note the pattern, “God said, …. And it was so”—God’s speaking of the word followed by its fulfillment. Note also, especially here, how the “seed” and “seed-bearing” (both come from the same root) are repeated. Every seed carries its own gene that controls the characteristics and the growth of that particular plant, and every gene is unique. And the plant we see is the fulfillment of its own gene. The whole world including humans were created and exist in this system of “seed” and “seed-bearing.” And this is true in a spiritual sense as well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Ps 139:15-16). All the days formed for you—what life you will have, the purpose and tasks of your life as well as your characteristics—were already determined and written in God’s book even before your first birthday. This determination is in your spiritual gene. And if it is a gene, it must have been handed down from somebody else? Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground (Gen 1:26)." Note again that we humans came to exist as the fulfillment of God’s word. And what is significant particularly here is the “image” and “likeness” of God in which we were made—the spiritual gene that we inherited from God. We were all created as God’s children. … the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (2:7). Here, the spiritual gene in us is expressed as “the breath of life” which came from God’s mouth. What we see in each one of us is the result of God’s breath—the fulfillment of every word that comes out of his mouth.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:1-3). We all know that all things were created by God. But do we know that all things were made through the preexistent Word? By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command (lit. word), so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible (Heb 11:3). Since we humans are born into this physical world, we live as if the world we live in is the only world that exists, and cannot think of the time when it did not exist. When we make something, we always use some kind of material, and make it into another thing that is also material. So, the truth that “what is seen was not made out of what was visible” needs to be taught to us, and we need to accept it by faith: that is, by believing what God’s word says. God’s word always accomplishes what he says. Everything was created according to what God said, and this world came to exist as the fulfillment of his word. Furthermore, we need to be taught that this Word is not a medium of communication, but a living being. The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; Before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the earth or its fields … I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and … Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind (Pro 8:22-31). In the context, this “I” is the personified “wisdom” who existed before creation. And this “wisdom” has come to be expressed as “the Word” in the gospel of John. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). The preexistent Word has become the incarnate Word by coming into this world in space, and into the midst of human history in time: he was born as a baby—a descendant of Adam. Having become a human, he has become a visible image of invisible God—the visible fulfillment of the invisible Word. His life on earth, from his birth till the time he was lifted up into heaven, was the fulfillment of God’s word as he himself said: This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:46-47). Yet, note that this fulfillment is not restricted to him, but also extended to his disciples as well—“repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” As believers in Christ, we have become part of this fulfillment of God’s word.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Col 1:13), … If you are in Christ, you belong to him. And you have been rescued “from the dominion of darkness” and brought into “the kingdom of the Son he (the Father) loves”—the kingdom of love in which Christ rules, as this scripture says. In a figurative sense, it can be said that Christ is a shepherd and those who belong to him are his sheep. As the role of a king is often compared with that of a shepherd in the Bible, Christ is our king and shepherd, and we belong to his kingdom and sheep pen. This king-shepherd has laid down his life for us (John 10:15), and feeds and tends us spiritually as well as physically (Ezek 34). Jesus said in his parable of the shepherd and his flock: When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice (John 10:4). According to this parable, it is by the gate that the shepherd enters the sheep pen. This gate is the entrance or exit from God’s world to this world, and vice versa. It was by this gate that Christ came into this world as “the King of glory” (Ps 24:7ff.), and through his death and resurrection, he rescued us from the world of death, and brought us into the world of life (Ezek 34:13, 37:12-14). Jesus said: I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture (v. 9). So, Christ not only came to us through this gate, but also became the gate itself for us, and it is by this gate—in Christ—that we enter his sheep pen—his kingdom. This gate is expressed as “the gate of heaven” in the story of Jacob’s dream at Bethel (Gen 28:17). Jacob saw “a stairway resting on the earth, with its top (lit. head) reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it (v. 12).” Interestingly, Jesus said the similar thing concerning himself as follows: I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John 1:51). These words were spoken to Nathanael whom Jesus had seen being under the fig tree. Trees, like the stairway in Jacob’s dream, gave people easy access to the spiritual realm—heaven. In other words, Jesus meant to say, “Nathanael, here am I, the true tree. Follow me.” The same truth is said by Jesus in the following way: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). It is through Christ, and in Christ, that we have now access to our God, whom we call “Abba, Father.” Also in the same gospel are found the following words spoken to the Samaritan woman: You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:22-24). Here, Jesus, whose name means “salvation,” explains that he, together with the Holy Spirit, serves as a true means of worshipping the Father. It should be remembered that “the truth” is Jesus himself. True worshippers worship the Father in Christ and in the Holy Spirit, and they are all part of the family of the Trinity. This is such a great privilege for those who are in Christ—whose heart Christ lives in. So, Paul prays: For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Eph 3:14-17).

I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep (lit. the gate of the sheep). All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them (John 10:7-8). This passage is known as an “I am” passage in John’s gospel. There are seven ‘I am’ passages in the gospel (the number varies depending on how you count them), and they are all related to the life-giving work of God’s redemption through the death and resurrection of Christ. The ones in John 10 particularly reveal Christ as the shepherd who leads the sheep out of the sheep pen (vv. 1-5). Two kinds of predicate “I am” statements are used to show this role of Christ: “I am the gate (particularly, the sheep gate),” and “I am the good shepherd.” It is interesting to note that there was actually a gate called “Sheep Gate” in the northeast corner of Jerusalem near the pool of Bethesda (John 5:2, cf. Neh 3:1, 32). I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (vv. 9-10). I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (v. 11). A gate is basically an opening of entrance or exit through which one passes from one area to another. As we have already discussed, behind these passages concerning “the gate” in John 10 lies Ps 24. It is worth also looking at the other passages about gates in the Bible. For instance: Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Mat 7:13-17). Think of this gate as a small entrance that leads to a large area like a national park enclosed by a tall fence built all around it. This entrance is the only gate to get in, and it is very small—big enough for only one person to go in at a time. Such is the gate that leads to life—the kingdom of God. Jesus is the only name, and there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it (16:18). Many of major cities in the ancient Neat East were fortified with high and thick walls built around them. They were so thick that they could make some chambers inside the walls at the gates where the important members of the city met and had their meetings. “The gates of Hades” are the gates where Satan and his spirits meet and work out their schemes to hinder and stop God’s work on earth. The church built upon the rock is the tower built on the top of the walls (cf. Prov 18:10), and is connected with the “heads” of the gates in Ps 24. “The keys of the kingdom of heaven” can be understood as the name of Jesus given to the church. Note also that all four gospels record the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem as an important epoch-making event (Mat 21, Mark 11, Luke 19:28ff, and John 12:12ff). Undoubtedly, he must have entered the city through a certain gate, and it can be seen as one form of the fulfillment of his words in John 10:2—“the man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.” Then, he said in v. 3, “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” And look at the following event recorded in Matthew: The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people (27:52-53).

In the first part of chapter 10 of John’s gospel, you find two different parables told by Jesus: one beginning at v. 1, and another at v. 7. Although, at first glance, they appear to be alike in content with the image of a shepherd and his flock, some clear differences are, in fact, observed. "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep (John 10:1-2). This is the beginning of the first parable. If you are to interpret it allegorically, the “thief and robber” would be Satan, and the “shepherd” would be Christ. Keep in mind that the “sheep pen” has a “gate,” and many sheep are inside the pen. Note that the shepherd “enters” by the “gate.” The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice (vv. 3-4). What makes this parable somewhat special and different from the common scene of shepherds in Palestine is that the shepherd does not open the gate by himself, but the “watchman” opens it for him. Once the shepherd enters, he “leads them (the sheep) out” through the gate by calling them by name. And once they are outside the pen, he “goes on ahead of them” and they “follow him.” What does this parable mean? But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice (v. 5)." Pay attention to the kind of relationship that the shepherd and the sheep have: they follow the shepherd because they know his voice, but run away from a stranger because they do not know his voice. These sheep belong to the Shepherd, and it illustrates well those who are in Christ. From the context of chapter 9 and the subsequent stories in chapter 10, it is most likely that the day in which Jesus told these parables was Sunday, which was two days before Hanukah (The Feast of Dedication). Many Jews must have been already in Jerusalem to celebrate this feast. It was their custom that on Sundays, worshipers at the temple recited Ps 24 right after the morning sacrifice was given (on each day of the week, a certain psalm was recited). Lift up your heads, O you gates; Be lifted up, you ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; Lift them up, you ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory. Selah (Ps 24:7-10) These gates lift their heads toward heaven, and the King of glory comes in through them. With this psalm in the background, Jesus told the above parable. It depicts how the sheep, those who belong to him, will come alive and be led out of the sheep pen, in which they have been imprisoned by the thief. Jerusalem was surrounded by walls, and Jesus saw the people in it as the lost sheep without a shepherd in the sheep pen. Through his death and resurrection, he would lead them out—from the dominion of Satan to the care of the Shepherd and Overseer, from the bondage of death and fear to the pasture of life and freedom. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13-14). This is what “in Christ” means. The depiction of the parable somewhat resembles the story of the valley of dry bones in Ezek 37. The dry bones of those who had been killed at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem came to life, forming a vast army, and were led out of the graves. Looking into more stories or passages that support the same truth always helps us understand the truth better by bringing more light to it.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority (Col 2:9-10). Blessed are those who see themselves as those in Christ. To them belongs the same fullness of God that lives in Christ. It is important to know that there are two statements in this verse: the first one states that the fullness of the Deity lives in Christ, and the second one states that the same fullness has been given to us “in Christ.” The crucial factor that connects the two statements is in the phrase, “in Christ.” Without it, God’s fullness would mean nothing to us. No matter how wonderful Christ is with all the fullness of the Deity, we would be still nothing without being “in Christ.” Needless to say, the important spiritual reality behind this is the covenant God made with us through Christ. A covenant binds two partners together. With this new covenant, we have become one with Christ, who as a man died for our sins, and was raised from the dead. And on the basis of this oneness with him, you and me, who believe him, have been brought into his kingdom, God’s family, having the same Father, and now enjoy the same fullness Christ has. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13-14). And, if you are in Christ, you are to live in Christ. Since you now exist in Christ, you have no choice but to live as one in Christ. Apart from him, you can do nothing. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness (2:6-7). Thus, any teaching or idea that distracts you from this lifestyle, or anything that hints that you can still live by not being rooted and built up in Christ is from the devil, not from God. This world is filled with such teachings, thoughts and attitudes, so we always need to stay alert spiritually not to be taken captive by them. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (v. 8). If you are a Christian and still have difficulty seeing yourself as one in Christ, look at the words Jesus spoke about you. For instance, the following are the words he spoke in his prayer to the Father the night before he died. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word (John 17:6). Try to see the sense of responsibility Jesus expresses in these words: these disciples, who have been given to him, are completely under his dominion and care. You exist in the same way in Christ. “You are mine!” he says. And make sure that you accept and obey every word God speaks to you. When Adam and Even ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil by obeying the serpent’s word, they stopped belonging to God and came to belong to the devil. By obeying God’s word, you continue to live in Christ. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them (vv. 9-10). God loves all people on earth, both believers and non-believers. But the way he deals with them is not the same. The difference comes from whether a person belongs to him or not. Note that he prayed, “I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.” Let us humbly accept these words and continue to live in Christ, rooted and built up in him.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13-14). If you are “in Christ,” you belong to Christ, and are in his kingdom. There are two, and only two, different spiritual kingdoms: one is the kingdom ruled by Satan, and the other the kingdom ruled by Christ. The former is expressed, according to the above scripture, as “the dominion of darkness,” and the latter “the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Every human belongs to either of the two kingdoms. We, who are now in Christ and in his kingdom, used to belong to Satan in the past, and were in his kingdom with the rest of people in the world. But through “redemption, the forgiveness of sins,” which we came to have in Christ, God “brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” It was through Christ that we were redeemed and were brought into his kingdom. And for this very purpose, Christ was sent to this world. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (vv. 15-17). Note the expressions, “by him,” “for him,” and “in him.” Christ already existed when nothing was created yet—even before Satan existed. All things in heaven and earth, spiritual and physical, were created by him, for him, and in him. Thus, everything initially belonged to him, and still does. It is important to know that the dominion of Satan happened to humanity against the will of God, and Christ came to this world to stop such a dominion and put everything under his feet. And we, who are in Christ, have been transferred to the kingdom of his own family. Humans are all vessels. The nature of each vessel is determined by what is contained in it: if you are led by Satan, you are his slave and carry out his desire, but if you are led by the Spirit of God, you are his son, and do the will of your Father. The choice is yours, and whichever you choose, the one you accept and belong to determines your existence and nature. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation, the righteousness of God, and more than a conqueror. God is love, and he loves. When he loves, he does so as he loves himself. That is why Jesus said, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Loving yourself means loving those who belong to you—your husband, wife, children, etc. It does not mean, of course, that you should hate, should not love, or do not need to love those who do not belong to you. God does love all people, but he loves those who belong to him with a special kind of love. Jesus prayed to the Father the night before he was crucified, saying: I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word (John 17:6). In Jesus’ mind, all disciples are his: they are given to him. He also said: I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours (v. 9). Jesus did not pray for the world in the same way as he prayed for his disciples. Those who have been given to him are very special to him. That is who you are in Christ—God’s “treasured possession.” Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exod 19:5-6).

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority (Col 2:9-10). Reading the New Testament, we often come across expressions like “in Christ,” “in him,” “in whom,” “by him,” “through him,” etc. Such expressions are especially used exuberantly again and again by Paul in his letters (more than160 times). In the above scripture, Paul first states that “all the fullness of the Deity”—the very essence and qualities of God like his love, holiness, righteousness, might and glory—dwells in Christ who has come in the flesh, and goes on to state that we believers today have come to be filled with the same “fullness” in Christ. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness (vv. 6-7). So, he urges us to live (lit. walk) “in him” having been rooted, and being continually built up “in him.” But what is the meaning of the phrase “in him”? How can we walk in him? In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead (vv. 11-12). Circumcision was instituted by God as the sign of his covenant (Gen 17): it symbolizes the fact that the one circumcised has entered into the covenant with God and is now bound by the terms of the covenant. However, the circumcision discussed here was “the circumcision done by Christ (lit. the circumcision of Christ)”—his death and resurrection, which our baptism is the symbol of. Baptism was instituted by Jesus under the new covenant as circumcision was under the old covenant: it signifies the spiritual fact that we have been united with Christ in his death and resurrection (cf. Rom 6:3-5). In other words, both the circumcision of Christ and baptism signify the special spiritual status of union that the believers have with Christ. This is the meaning of the phrase “in Christ”: if you are in Christ, you are united with him, and belong to him. We humans are easily affected by what is around us. What we belong to affects and determines our personality, thoughts and way of life. Thus, what or whom we belong to is very crucial: if you belong to God, you will live and be blessed, but if you belong to Satan, you will suffer and die. Eve chose to have union with Satan by listening to him and accepting his word. Adam followed her by listening to her. By accepting God’s word, you come to be united with God, and by accepting Satan’s word, you come to be united with Satan. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (v. 8). Every person has a choice of accepting God’s word or accepting Satan’s word. Jesus, too, was given that choice, and tempted in the same way we are. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone (Luke 4:3-4).’” Jesus never accepted Satan’s word, but rather, he always had union with the Father by accepting his word. In the same way, all believers should remain united with Christ by having his words remain in them. Know that you are in Christ, and apart from him you can do nothing (John 15:5).

Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city. "Let all who are simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgment. "Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding (Pro 9:1-6). “ The Bible teaches that wisdom existed before the creation of this universe, and all things were made by this wisdom (cf. Pro 8:22-31). According to John’s gospel, this wisdom is called “Word (logos)”, and it is Christ himself, the very source of God’s life and creation (John 1:1-4). The book of Proverbs says: She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed (3:18). If you eat from this tree of life, and feed yourself with wisdom, you will live. And this wisdom calls and shouts, “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed.” Here, the Hebrew word for “food” (lehem) literally means “bread.” Note that two things are served in this meal—bread and wine. Try to see how this comes to be linked with the bread and wine we take as communion—the body and blood of Jesus. He said: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:54). Jesus is the bread of life coming down from heaven. His “fresh” and “blood” are the food and wine that the personified wisdom in the above passage of Proverbs offers. Christ is the wisdom through which the universe was created, and the tree of life to those who embrace him. It should be remembered, however, that beside the tree of life, there was another tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So, the above passage in chapter 9 of Proverbs goes on to say: The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way. "Let all who are simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgment. "Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!" But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave (Prov 9:13-18). The woman Folly also calls and shouts, “Let all who are simple come in here!” She, too, is offering some kind of wisdom to those who come to her: “But little do they know that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the deaths of the grave.” What kind of wisdom is this? In fact, it is not wisdom, at all. It only looks “desirable for gaining wisdom.” Be careful. It teaches you how to steal water and how to eat food in secret. If you learn from her, you will end up paying a very high price—painful toil, the sweat of your brow, and death. Instead, God’s wisdom shouts: Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost (Isa 55:1). The bread and the wine that the true wisdom offers are all free. You legally buy them “without money and without cost.” In fact, somebody has already paid the price for you—his own life. So, come and eat this meal! He prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemy—no more dishes of defeat, regrets, worries, sickness, poverty, or death. This meal will keep you going in the lifestyle of creation.

Today, people work and labor for various needs—food, clothes, housing, educations, etc. They have no doubts about this lifestyle, and even think it is a great virtue to work for living. Yes, they are right in a sense: the Bible urges Christians to work diligently and earn the bread they eat (Eph 4:28, 1 Thess 4:11-12, 2 Thess 3:10-12). However, it should be remembered that the lifestyle of working for our needs is a result of our sin according to the Bible. To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, `You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return (Gen 3:17-19)." This is how destruction came to our world. We work and eat our food “through painful toil” and “by the sweat of” our brow. We eat “the plants of the field,” yet they do not nourish our body well. Against this lifestyle, God commanded his people to live in the following way: Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare (Isa 55:1-2).. This is entirely a different lifestyle. If what Gen 3:17-19 describes is a destruction lifestyle, this one is a creation lifestyle: we buy and eat, but “without money and without cost.” And how can we change our lifestyle from the former to the latter? The book of Jeremiah goes on to say: Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David (v.3). It is by listening to God’s word and coming to God that you can change your lifestyle from that of destruction to that of creation. The covenant, here, refers to the covenant God made with David. But note that it says, “I will make …” in a future tense indicating that it had not happened yet at the time when God spoke this oracle. The book of Proverbs has the following passage: Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city. "Let all who are simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgment. "Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding (Prov 9:1-6). The feast is prepared for you by God, and you are only to come, eat and drink. It is not difficult at all to see what the “meat” and the “wine” mean in the perspective of the New Testament. Read also Psalm 23 with the same thought in focus. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, … Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; … You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Ps 23). Isn’t it amazing to know that the Lord himself “prepares a table before” us while our “enemies” try to stop us from eating, but are not able to? Only the “goodness and love” of the Lord, not any of destruction, will “follow” us. Note the verb, “follow.” We do not need to go out and seek them, but they will follow us!

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost (Isa 55:1). We see another important aspect of creation work that God did for us. This way of description belongs to type 2 of creation in Gen 2 and 3: it begins with a condition without water, and creation occurs with the springing up of water. The above oracle begins with the picture of drought and a famine. The verb to buy is shavar, which means to ‘buy grain for food.’ The phrase, “Wine and milk,” symbolizes the productiveness of the land as God’s blessings. It helps if you realize that the way to buy grain without paying money is reminiscent of the story of Jacob’s sons who went to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain (Gen 42-45): each time, their money was returned to them! Obviously, Joseph is a type of Christ. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy (v. 2a)? Here, God speaks of something beyond physical bread. People spend so much money and time trying to get what they eat and what satisfies them that they die actually without getting what they really need and what really satisfies them. Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare (v. 2b). Here, the word shama’ (to hear) is used twice—once in imperative and another in infinitive—showing a strong emphasis: “Listen and listen,” or “Make sure you listen.” Listening to God and his word is the first step we need to take. Give ear and come to me; hear (shama’) me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David (v. 3). Note, here, another imperative “come to me” in addition to “listen” and “give ear.” When this oracle was given, the Jews were in the Babylonian captivity. To go to God meant to return to him through repentance. The best illustration of this going back to God is found in the parable of the lost son. When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death (v. 17)! … This son came to remember how good and generous his father was. He wanted to go back to his father, but he had committed a terrible sin against the father. … I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.” So he got up and went to his father (vv. 18-20a). It was good that he decided to go back to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son (vv. 20-21).” From this point, the parable is silent as to what this son did or said. And read the next part, and meditate upon it. But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate (vv. 22-23). … I wonder how this younger son reacted to all this that the father did for him. Did he refuse to receive what the father offered him? No, he accepted and received everything given to him. Did he pay for it? No, a thousand times no! He had nothing to pay with. All he did was that he repented, and went back to the father.

"Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband," says the Lord (Isa 54:1). These words, which sound paradoxical, were not simply spoken to comfort barren women. For the historical background of this oracle, we need to go back to the time of Jeremiah and that of Ezra-Nehemiah—the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity, and the restoration of the city and the people. The Bible contains many stories of barren women: for instance, Sarah the wife of Abraham (Gen 11:30ff), Rebekah the wife of Isaac (Gen 25:21), Rachel the wife of Jacob (Gen 30), the wife of Manoah, the mother of Samson (Judg 13), Hannah the mother of Samuel (1 Sam 1), and Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1). God used these women, and called their children before they were born. The above scripture prophesied about the redemption and the restoration of Israel whom Yahweh once divorced, but it also applies to those who are Jews inwardly, the Israel of God, children of promise today. We are the results of God’s work of creation through Jesus Christ. Paul, by quoting from the above passage in Isaiah, explains the spiritual status of those who are in Christ as follows: These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. … But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written: "Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children … because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband (Gal 4:24-27)." We were born not from the earthly city of Jerusalem, but from Jerusalem that is above. God’s creation occurred not on Hagar, but on Sarah who was barren. The children who were born from Sarah are children of promise, and God’s unfailing grace and blessings are upon them. Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities (Isa 54:2-3). God, the Creator, is the husband of our mother. For your Maker is your husband--the Lord Almighty is his name-- the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth (vv. 5). This husband loved his wife so much that we were born. "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. … with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the Lord your Redeemer (vv. 7-8). The reason this wife was abandoned was because she committed adultery: not that he abandoned her, but rather, she abandoned him by going to another man. In spite of all this, this husband loved her. "To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you (vv. 9-10). Creation occurs where there is love. Without love, there is no creation. Hatred is darkness and brings destruction, but love is light and brings creation. Let us love one another to bring this light of creation around us. Yet I am writing you a new command; … because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. … Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him (1 John 2:8-11).

She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed. (Pro 3:18). When man was driven out of the Garden of Eden, he lost the access to the tree of life, which resulted in　his death: the spiritual death first, and eventually the physical death came to him. But the above scripture reveals that we now and still have the access to this tree through wisdom. Wisdom is the word of God, and is ultimately the person of Jesus Christ. Through his death and resurrection, the tree of life has been restored and became available to those who believe in him. Death has been swallowed up in victory, and we, who are in Christ, are new creations! This, however, does not apply automatically to all humans who live today. The above scripture teaches that wisdom is a tree of life only to “those who embrace her.” In other words, you need to seek it. The same book says: I (wisdom) love those who love me, and those who seek me find me (8:17). If you seek wisdom, it gets bigger and bigger like a snowball, but if not, it gets smaller and smaller, and even the wisdom you have will melt away. Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning (9:7-9). If you want to teach wisdom, teach those who already have it. This is so true. The truth is that those who do not have wisdom do not know the value of it, and that is why they do not seek it: actually, they do not feel like seeking it, and they cannot seek it. So, if you still want to teach such people, you will first need to let them seek wisdom. And in order to let them seek it, you will need to teach them how valuable wisdom is, and that is not easy! How can we do that? The book of Proverbs says: The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother (Prov 29:15). “The rod of correction” is the help of God’s love for those who do not seek wisdom. And the reason we do not know the value of wisdom is that we have many other things that look more valuable than wisdom—the world and everything in the world, the cravings of the flesh, the lust of our eyes, etc. These are all, of course, deceptions caused by Satan. He always tries to distract us from our spiritual focuses and concentration. This concentration is called “holiness.” Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness (Heb 12:10). The lifestyle with this type of spiritual concentration is quite observable in the earthly life of Christ everywhere, but it can be particularly observed just before his death. Read that part of the gospel, and try to see what he went through by paying attention to the differences between his lifestyle and that of his disciples in terms of the spiritual concentration. For instance, read: An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation (Luke 22:43-46)." He was born to die on the cross. When his life with this purpose was about to be finalized, all the noises and disturbances that had been working against him peaked. He could easily lose the concentration he had kept since his birth. Not only his enemies attacked him, but also one of his own disciples betrayed him, and all the other denied and abandoned him. It is so amazing to see that in the midst of all these distracting noises he still maintained his concentration and holiness, fighting a good fight of faith

… to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:12-13). There are two things that the church needs to seek in order that it may be built up: it is to reach “unity in the faith,” and to reach unity “in the knowledge of the Son of God.” The latter is easy to understand concerning why it is necessary: it is because the church is the body of Christ, and without the true knowledge of the Son of God, it cannot function as such. Then, what about the unity in faith: why does the church need to seek it? First of all, we need to keep in mind that the building-up of the body of Christ is creation, and it demands faith on our part in order for that creation to be realized. And regarding how faith works for creation, we see a good example in the life of Abraham: he was old and his wife Sarah was a barren woman. From a physical point of view, it was impossible for them to have a baby, but not so in faith. Faith creates things and gives life to the dead. As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be (Rom 4:17-18)." Just as God created this world by calling light when there was no light, we, by faith, call things that are not as though they were. Abraham, by faith, called himself “a father of many nations” when there was no hope in his sight. Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness (vv. 19-22)." In chapter 15 of Genesis, we read that Abraham grumbled about his situation—no children to inherit his estate. God said to him: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward (Gen 15:1)." It was right after Abraham and his 318 men went out to fight against the kings who had come to conquer Sodom and Gomorrah. He brought back Lot and his family, together with the citizens of the cities. He saved others, but had no children of his own. So, God told him to count stars in the sky, and when he did, he chose to accept the reality that God offered—“So shall your offspring be”—instead of the reality which he had been grumbling about. Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness (v. 6). This was the beginning of the creation that Abraham experienced afterwards. It was not only the beginning of the creation of his life, but also the beginning of the creation of God’s people, and eventually of the creation of the whole humanity, because out of Abraham came the nation of Israel, and out of Israel came the messiah, Jesus Christ. It all started with one person who came to have faith as small as a mustard seed. Where there is no faith, there is no creation. It is by this faith that the body of Christ may be built up. The church needs to learn more about faith, and seek to reach “unity in the faith.” From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit (Prov 18:20-21). The first step of learning about faith is to learn the importance of our mouth confessions. Your tongue is very powerful, and it works for both “life and death”

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Eph 4:2-3). Note the phrase, “the unity of the Spirit.” There are all kinds of unity in which people gather and stay together, but we Christians are to keep “the unity of the Spirit.” Talking of unity, we are reminded of the story of the tower of Babel. Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there (Gen 11:1-2). These people moved eastward. After humans were driven out of the Garden of Eden, they moved eastward: Cain lived in the land, “east of Eden (4:16),” and the descendants of Shem in the post-diluvian period, especially, those of Joktan, lived “in the eastern hill country (10:30).” At this point, the sons of two brothers, Joktan and Peleg, were separated geographically and lived in different lands (cf. 10:25). This might be related to the fact that the more archaic east Semitic languages like Akkadian and Assyrian are distinguished from the relatively new west Semitic languages like Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth (vv. 3-4)." Note the use of the subject, 1st person plural “we,” in this passage: they, in unity, desired to build something that would help them to have more unity—“a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other (vv. 5-7)." Did the tower really reach to the heavens? Ironically, God needed to come down to see the city and the tower, and it shows their foolishness in thinking that they could build such a tower. Compare the expression “one people speaking the same language” with the expressions found in the following passage: There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Eph 5:8-10). This “body” is the body of Christ, the church. Its head reaches to the heavens as Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and the body with its feet on the earth connects this world with God in heaven. Christ first “descended to the lower, earthly regions,” and “ascended higher than all the heavens.” This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe (vv. 8-10). God once stopped us from building the tower of Babel, but he himself built the body of Christ for us. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (vv. 11-13). Note the expressions, “be built up,” and “attaining to the whole measure of (lit. the height of) the fullness of Christ.”

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them (Eph 5:8-10). Every component of God’s salvation done for us is creation. Just as this universe was created from darkness to light, we were saved from darkness to light. We were made light to live as children of light doing good works of light. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10). God first started a good work in us, and has prepared in advance for us to do the same good works. In fact, the same God will carry it on to completion. … being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6). As we have already seen, Paul, in writing this letter to the Ephesians, had in mind the stories of creation in Genesis. The metaphorical analogy you find in the expressions he uses as well as the contents of his arguments cannot be ignored, and you can see easily that it is not accidental, but intentional. The story that lies behind chapter 3 of this letter is the story of Noah. Apparently, Paul sees himself as Noah. Note that this letter was written when he stayed in his own rented house in Rome as a prisoner preaching the kingdom of God to those who visited him. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly (Eph 3:1-3). A mystery was revealed to Noah concerning the flood and how his family together with the animals would be saved. In the same way, it was through God’s revelation that the mystery of the salvation of the Gentiles was made known to Paul. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power (vv. 6-7). A part of the revelation given to Noah was the blueprint of the ark—its length, width, height, etc. (Gen 6:15-16). In the same way, Paul discusses the blueprint of the ark—the house and the temple in which Christ dwells with his love. He prays in the following way: And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (vv. 17-19). It is important to realize that the Noahic covenant is the third one of the seven major covenants in the Bible. Just as the earth was created in six days, which were divided into two sets of three days (the first set consists of Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and the second one Day 4, Day 5, Day 6), the first six covenants can be divided into two sets. The seventh one was the special covenant through Jesus Christ just as the seventh day was a special day, which was set apart from the rest. There was a break between the third one and the fourth one as the Noahic covenant was the renewal of the first covenant in Gen 1 (see Gen 8:15-9:17), and the world came to have a new start with that covenant. In the same way, Paul ends, in a rather unusual way, the first part of his letter at the end of chapter 3 with a doxology in the middle of his letter: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (vv. 20-21).

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient (Eph 2:1-2). The whole process of the salvation of humanity after the Fall of Man can been seen as creation processed in cycles of destruction and creation just as the whole universe was created and is still in the process of destruction and creation. The same power used to create this universe operated to redeem us who were once dead in our transgressions and sins. God has restored us in Christ to the original state in which we humans are once again without blemish or defect. Try to see the similarities between what Paul discusses in Ephesians 2 and the story of creation in Genesis 2. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens--and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground (Gen 2:5-6) … Creation is God’s act of love. It was by his love and mercy that he sent his Son to save us who had become insignificant as dust, and were on our way to the ground. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved (Eph 2:4-5). … the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Gen 2:7). Having been formed and made alive with God’s breath of life, the first man was put in the Garden of Eden. In the same way, having been raised with Christ, we are now seated with him in the heavenly realms. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6) … Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed (Gen 2:8). “Eden” was a mountain where God sat, and in the “east” of it was the garden where the first man and woman lived. After the fall, they were driven out of the garden eastward, and lived there (Gen 3:24, 4:16). They moved even more eastward, and tried to build the tower of Babel there (11:2). Note that the tabernacle and the temple were built facing east. But Abraham, for the first time in Genesis, moved from Ur, which was in the east, westward to the land God showed him. It was the beginning of God’s creation for our human race, and he himself was created so that he could do good works God prepared for him. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10). What lies behind the passage following Eph 2:11 is the story of Cain and Abel with the former representing the Gentiles and the latter Israel, the chosen people. In Christ, these two kinds of peoples have come to be united together as one family. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations (Eph 2:13-14). The blood that once cried out from the ground for an unjust death causing hostility between the Gentiles and the Hebrews is replaced by the blood that now cries out for God’s unchanging love to create one man bringing peace and unity upon the earth. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. … Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household (Eph 2:13-19), …

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. " … God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground (Gen 1:26-28)." At the time of creation, God created men and women to let them rule over the world. Since ruling is only possible with authority, God must have given them the authority to rule. It is important to realize that this authority is spiritual in nature, and is given from God, not that we can earn it with any human effort. It should not be confused with earthly kind of authority, which is often misused with arrogance and selfishness. It was by this spiritual authority that every evil sprit surrendered to Jesus begging him not to cast him away, and the same authority was given to his disciples. We find the following words in the letter to the Ephesians: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3). The most important of all the spiritual blessings we receive in Christ is this authority—the spiritual power to rule over the world. It has been given to us, of course, by God’s grace and love. Although it was ours already at the time of creation, Satan deceived us and took it from us. Since then, he became “the prince of this world” as Jesus called him (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). So, Christ came in the flesh, and through his death and resurrection, he took the authority back from Satan. And as soon as he was raised from the dead, he delegated that authority to his disciples, and sat at the right hand of the Father. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come (vv. 19-21). And if it ends here, it would mean nothing to us today. But it goes on to say: And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way (vv. 22-23). Christ has been given to the church—not to the world, or to all people on earth. If you want to get any benefit out of this truth, you need to belong to his body—the church. Note that God placed all things under Christ’s feet. Since the feet are under the body, all things are placed under the body, too. The church today needs to be wakened to realize that all things are placed under her with authority to rule over them. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the church, the body of Christ. Such was God’s plan before the creation of the world, and it has neither changed nor wavered even on the fact that we sinned. It was completely by God’s grace and love that we have been restored to the original state of creation. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus (vv. 4-7). So, let us stand together firmly upon this truth by faith, and do the kind of creation work that God has prepared for us. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (v. 10).

… and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-- (Gen 2:5-6). The creation story in Gen 2 begins with the ground that was watered by streams coming up from the earth. As we have seen, this is one kind of metaphoric image that is frequently used to express the creation work of God. The noteworthy part of this story is the forming of the first man Adam from the dust of the earth, for whom a woman was made out of his rib while he was in a deep sleep. Meditate upon it and try to see how it comes to be connected to what happened to humanity through Christ—Christ being the husband, and humanity the wife. Note that a helper was first sought by Adam: So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found (v. 20). God’s creation is not merely physical, but it rather originates in a spiritual realm. God saw that Adam was lonely, and wanted to give him a suitable helper. That was where this creation began. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man (vv. 21-22). Since this was before death came into the world, God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep—not death. In the case of Christ, since he came to the world into which death had already come, he died, and out of him, the church—his body—was created. Now, look at the story of the Samaritan woman in John 4, and compare it with the creation story of Gen 2. Both stories are told in the similar setting—a dry land out of which water comes up. Surprisingly, it was Jesus himself who first asked for a drink. Water in the Bible is a symbol of love (Prov 5:15-20), and all humans are thirsty for true love. Jesus said: Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:13-14). Indeed, this woman met her true husband—her spiritual husband—that day, and her search was over. She became a new creation in Christ just as Eve was created from Adam. This woman symbolically represents the church, which is metaphorically expressed as Jesus’ bride, or wife in the New Testament. Jesus went on saying: Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (vv. 23-24). Worship is a form of the love and fellowship we have for God. Note that God himself seeks such worshippers, and this woman was called to be one of them. The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he (vv. 25-26)." Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people (v. 28), … According to the New Testament, love fulfills all the requirements of the Old Testament. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself (Gal 5:14)." God has already poured his love into our hearts through Christ. It is the spring of water welling up to eternal life. There, you have the source of all of God’s creation.

My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; For they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life (Prov 4:20-23). Nobody imagines that the tree of life, which is said to have been in the Garden of Eden, is in his/her own heart. Yet, the Bible teaches that you can still eat from it today, if you know how. “The wellspring of life” in the above scripture signifies the same as the tree of life. While the tree of life is for the fruit you eat, the wellspring of life is for the water you drink. It was this water that was watering the Garden of Eden. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters (Gen 2:10). At the beginning of creation, rain had not yet fallen on the earth, and the ground was watered only by springs that came up from the earth. … and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground (vv. 5-6)— With this water that came up from the earth, “all kinds of trees”—“trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food” were produced. Among them were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. An interesting analogy can be drawn between this story of creation and the story of John 4: Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour (John 4:6). Jesus was tired from the journey, and was thirsty. There, this woman came to draw water from the well. This setting of dryness is similar to what is seen at the beginning of the story of creation in Gen 2. Jacob’s well, however, is a man-made well representing the lifestyle of seeking water under the old covenant. Jeremiah spoke of this lifestyle and said, “They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jer 2:13).” Compare it with what Jesus said: Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:13-14). Jesus pointed out to her that she was seeking her water from a wrong place and a wrong partner. Now the right partner appeared to her, and he taught her how to get the right water from the right place. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (vv. 23-24). Do not think that it is difficult for you to be one with God. As husband and wife become one flesh in marriage, you become one with God in spirit when you worship him. Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit (1 Cor 6:16-17). You are a very spiritual being, though you may not think or feel so. Without spiritual fellowship with God, you would never be happy or satisfied. Your satisfaction comes only when you worship your spiritual Father in spirit and in truth. This way of worship has now become available to you through Jesus’ death and resurrection. You do not need to drink from Jacob’s well or broken cisterns any more. With Jesus living in you, you are now being created daily as the wellspring of life coming up from your spirit waters your soul and body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life (Prov 4:23).

But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code (Rom 7:6). We have seen so far that the stories of Gen 2-3 deal with the spiritual state of a human heart, not merely what happened to the first humans, Adam and Eve, but what happens to us in our hearts spiritually when we sin. Now, we want to know what the two trees planted in the middle of the Garden of Eden mean to us: what does it mean to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and how can we regain the access to the tree of life and eat from it? Unfortunately, believing in Jesus does not automatically make you eat from the tree of life. All believers in Christ are given the right to eat from it, but are not necessarily eating from it. According to Paul, to eat from the tree of life is to live according to the spirit, and to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is to live according to the flesh. Those who live according to the spirit listen to the voice of God who speaks to them through the spirit, but those who live according to the flesh live according to their own decisions and ideas contained in the flesh (soul) about what is good or evil. The problem with the latter case is that the soul is not powerful enough to carry out what it thinks good due to the sin in it, and when they try to do it, they find themselves not doing it. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me (vv. 15-17). For Paul, “what I want to do” is the law in the Old Testament, but for the Gentiles, it is the conscience that every human has, and for Christians, it is all that the Bible says is good and is summed up as a single command—to love one another. We all desire to do what is good, but the moment we try to do it, we fall into Satan’s temptation, and find ourselves not doing it. Rather, the Bible teaches us to listen to the voice of God we hear in our hearts. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. … Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites (Exod 25:20-22). Note that the location of the ark in the tabernacle along with two cherubim on top of its cover is related to the description of cherubim and a flaming sword placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden: After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life (Gen 3:24). Here, the expression “to guard the way to the tree of life” should be understood in a positive sense: one day the access to this tree would be restored. The tree of life for Moses was the voice he heard between the two cherubim above the atonement cover of the ark. And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was obviously the Ten Commandments written on the stone tablets that were placed inside the ark, which was covered and sealed with “the atonement cover”: in a sense, the access to the stone tablets was prohibited. This pointed to the time when the access to the stone tablets would be no longer necessary: … for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, (Phil 2:13-14)… God’s voice you hear inside your heart is not actually a voice any more, but a “will” that he puts in you. Note that “it is God who works in you to will” directly—not through the process of teaching you so that you try to do it. You do what you want to do, and end up doing the will of God.

She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who embrace her; Those who lay hold of her will be blessed (Prov 3:18). In the middle of the Garden of Eden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But when man ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he was driven out of the garden and lost the access to the tree of life. What does this mean to us? Is there a way still for us to regain the access to the tree of life? In order to get answers to these questions, you will need to understand certain facts. First, it should be realized that the word “adam” in Hebrew means “man,” “human,” and is not used as a proper noun—a person called “Adam”—in the stories of creation, at least in the first three chapters of Genesis. It rather refers, as a type, to human beings in general—both the ones who lived in the past, and those living today. So, if a person sins, he/she sins as this “adam” sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Second, you need to know that the Garden of Eden symbolically represents a place where God and man meet—the point that connects the heaven and the earth as the tent of meeting, the tabernacle or the temple functioned the same way for the people of Israel. Note, for instance, the way God’s appearance before the “adam” and his wife is described: Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking (would walk) in the garden in the cool of the day…(Gen 3:8). Therefore, it can be said that the “adam” in the Garden of Eden was a priest. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it (2:15). The verb ‘to work (‘avad)’ also means “to serve, worship,” and is sometimes used together with shamar ‘to keep, observe’ (here translated as “to take care of”) for the services and duties that priests performed in the tabernacle (Num 3:7, 8, 8:26, 18:7). The “adam” did not need to work the ground for living that time (cf. 3:23). And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life (3:22-24). From this description of cherubim placed on the east side of the garden, we can easily draw the analogy between the garden and the tabernacle (or the temple). There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites (Exod 25:22). Note how the ark of the covenant was covered with a lid, and two cherubim were placed on it. In the ark were the two tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written. Why was the ark sealed with such a cover so that the tablets could not be seen? Furthermore, why was the cover called “an atonement cover”? And why were the two cherubim placed on top of it so that it was even more difficult to open it and see inside? We have the following passage in the New Testament: … for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing (Phil 2:13-16).

From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; With the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, And those who love it will eat its fruit. (Prov 18:20-21) The heavens and the earth were created as God “said.” This universe was formed by God’s word, and all things were made through “the Word,” and without it (him) nothing was made. As the word is confessed and spoken with your mouth, creation occurs in your life, giving you life, as the Bible says, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” We, having been created as images of God, rule over the earth. And it is with our mouth that we rule. That is why God has given us languages together with the ability to speak them. And with our mouth, we not only rule, but also participate in God’s creation work as the above scripture in the book of Proverbs says. We Christians believe in God and his only Son, who came to this world as Christ, died and rose from the dead. Through Christ, God delivered us from the dominion of darkness, and brought us into the dominion of the Son. We were all transferred from the world of destruction to that of creation. We as citizens of God’s kingdom of creation, we are all new creations. Death no longer reigns over us, and we reign instead over death and the world of destruction by doing the same work of creation that God does. We Christians all know the importance of believing: we all believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and the Bible is God’s Word. But when it comes to the importance of confession, we do not know it enough. Because of our negative confessions—those of unbelief, worries and anxiety, we see the work of destruction happening everywhere in our lives. Jesus said: I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him (Mark 11:23). Pay attention to “what he says”—not “what he believes,” or even “what the Bible says.” It is “what he says” that happens. That means, first of all, that if you do not say, nothing happens. God’s word is active and powerful, and you believe in it all right, but unless you put it in your mouth and say it, you will have no result. God’s word is not only something that you need to believe with your heart, but also something that you need to say with your mouth, and do with your body. No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction (Deut 30:14-15). We modern people are so used to abstract ideas and principles that we often do not care whether they materialize or not as reality. We listen to God’s word, and are merely satisfied with the fact that we listen. Then, we say, “Amen,” to show agreement with what we hear. But God’s word is deeper than the metal level of agreement. We need to believe it in our hearts, and confess it with our mouths. Having been kicked out of the Garden of Eden, we lost the access to the tree of life. But God has restored this access for us. She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who embrace her; Those who lay hold of her will be blessed (Prov 3:18). Meditate upon this scripture. It will be no use if you only have it in your heart. You need to take its fruit, and eat it with your mouth. And it is with the fruit of your mouth that your stomach is filled, and there, is your tree of life.

These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up--for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground (Gen 2:4-6)-- As you have learned already, there are two types of creation stories in the Bible: type 1 in Gen 1 (1:1-2:3), and type 2 in Gen 2 (2:4ff). In type 1, the earth was created from chaos with darkness and light being separated from each other, and waters being divided into waters above and waters below. In type 2, our world was created as the ground was watered and became a fruitful and productive land. And when it comes to the creation of humankind, the difference is even more significant: man was created in the image of God as a king who rules over the earth in type 1, while in type 2, he was formed from the dust of the ground as a worker who is to obey and serve God. … then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (vv. 7-9). The word “eden” in the Semitic languages means “luxury.” Note that man was created to live in such a luxurious place where all trees were pleasant to the sight and good for food. This can be compared with the way that, in type 1, man was created at the end of the sixth day to rest on the seventh day (the Sabbath). In the book of Isaiah, the following passage is found regarding God’s chosen people, Israel. But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen! 
Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: 
Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. 
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; 
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, 
and my blessing on your descendants. 
They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. 
This one will say, “I am the Lord's,” another will call on the name of Jacob,
 and another will write on his hand, “The Lord's,” 
 and name himself by the name of Israel (Isa 44:1-5). Here, it says that Israel was “made” and “formed” by the Lord. Think about how Israel was created by God among all the peoples on earth, who were also created in a natural sense. In what sense was Israel made and formed by the Lord? In the same way that Israel was created, you, being in Christ, are a new creation while all the people around you are also God’s creatures in a natural sense. You need to realize that creation occurs first in the spiritual realm, and then, it comes to be manifested eventually in the physical world as well. So, if you think of creation merely in the realm of physical world, what the Bible says will make no sense to you. The way Israel was created applies to you who are in Christ today because you were born again and have become a new creation in him. Look at the following words, which were originally spoken to the people of Israel whose nation and land were totally destroyed and deserted by their enemies. The same words now apply to you. Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; 
and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! 
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? 
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, 
and delight yourselves in rich food. 


For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6). The salvation we receive through Christ is a work of creation. The above scripture tells us that the same light that shone over the darkness at the time of creation in Genesis has shone in our hearts. Paul believed that the gospel he preached had that kind of creation power. In fact, Jesus said to Paul at the time of his conversion: I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Acts 26:18). The following words are also found in his letter to the Colossians: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13-14). This type of God’s creation, needless to say, is first seen at the beginning of the book of Genesis. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day (Gen 1:1-5). As for the same type of creation, John in the New Testament writes in the following way: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it (John 1:1-5). We need to keep in mind that creation not only occurred for this universe in a physical sense at the time it was created, but also occurs today for anyone who accepts the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do not limit yourself by thinking that God’s creation is only for physical things. He can, of course, creates things physically out of nothing, but he also creates you spiritually. Read, for instance, the following story as such creation—creation of God’s people: Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. And there was (the division of) the cloud and the darkness. And it (the cloud) lighted up the night; so neither went near the other all night long. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a w (Exod 14:19-22, the translation of italicized part is mine). This cloud was shining all the time, though it did no look shining during day due to the sunlight. The cloud was the light shining over the darkness of night. The Egyptians were chasing after the Israelites, but the cloud stood behind the Israelites to separate them from the Egyptians. Compare this story with that of Genesis 1. Note the way that the sea was divided by a wind (ruach in Hebrew meaning “spirit”).

But now, this is what the Lord says— He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; You are mine (Isa 43:1). Here, the Hebrew word, “to create” in “he who created you,” is bara’, and “to form” in “he who formed you,” is yatsar. It is helpful to know that the Bible has two different creation stories in Genesis—type one in chapter one, and type two in chapter two. These can be explained as two different traditions on how the world was created, each of which has its own emphases and themes that are contrasted with those of the other. The verb bara’ represents the story of type one, and yatsar that of type two. The important nuance embedded in bara’ is to create something by dividing it into two contrasted things. See, for instance, the following usages: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1). So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (v. 27). In the same way, light was created against darkness. It is important to know that creation in the Bible does not mean creation out of nothing. On the other hand, the second type of creation story is represented by the verb, yatsar, which means to make something with hands as a potter makes pottery with clay. The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (2:7). The important implication of this statement is that what was formed was first dead, and when God breathed his breath of life into it, it became alive—the essential theme in the second type of the creation story. Death came into this world as a result of people’s sins, and they return to dust from which they were taken. Death came to be realized to them when they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, and deprived of the access to the tree of life. In the same way, the people of Israel were taken captives to Babylon by having been deprived of the access to the Temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed. Yet, God would restore them to Jerusalem: the temple would be rebuilt, and the people would be revived. Such was the historical background of the above passage in Isa 43. We are new creations today in Christ: God has restored us to the spiritual Garden of Eden where we have now free access to the tree of life again. We have the following words in Proverbs: She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who embrace her; Those who lay hold of her will be blessed (Prov 3:18). “Wisdom” is the truth, the word of God, which is Christ himself according to John’s gospel. The Bible says, “… in whom (Christ) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3).” Jesus said one time to those who came to follow him seeking the bread that would only fill their stomachs. I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you (John 6:27-27). He continued saying: But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world (vv. 50-51). This is the Lord’s Supper—the communion we receive today. It is the restored access to the tree of life—the work of God’s creation. Jesus said to the disciples who were wondering what he meant by all these words: The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life (v. 63).

Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation (Gal 6:15). This is where the difference comes between our faith in Christ and various religions in the world. What we have is the faith in God’s word, not Christianity, and what counts is God’s “new creation,” not circumcision, or anything, other than God’s grace, that Christians may consider as a means of salvation. Those to whom this letter was written had been saved by Paul’s preaching of the gospel, but when the teachers from the so-called “circumcision group” came and taught them about circumcision as a required means of salvation, they accepted it and departed from the grace of God. Hearing this news, Paul wrote this letter to the Galatian Christians. For us, this “circumcision” can be anything that we may falsely put our faith in, other than what God’s word really says, like our faithfulness in attending church services, the amount of offerings we give, or the volunteer work we do for the church. Sometimes, good Christians come to me and ask this question, “I have been faithfully doing this for the church, but why are my problems still not solved? Why do I not get blessings so much?” The Bible does not promise that if you work hard, God will solve your problems and bless you more. In fact, he is glad to solve your problems and bless you even before you do anything. God’s salvation and blessings are given freely as his grace, not as your salary—in the form of “a new creation.” The Bible teaches that the people of Israel came to exist, not by circumcision, but by God’s creation. Hence, the expressions like the following are found in the Bible: This is what the Lord says—the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker (Isa 45:11): I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King (43:15). God created Israel as a nation, and its people are God’s children. However, when they worshiped idols, God’s judgments came upon then: the nation was destroyed, Jerusalem was burnt, and those who survived were taken captive to Babylon. Yet, God said he would create it again! In order to understand what these passages mean, you will need to know the historical background in which they were written. If you are interested, read Jeremiah and Ezekiel. After the news of the fall of Jerusalem had reached Ezekiel, he had the following experience: The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know (Ezek 37:1-3)." Where was this “valley” located? 　The following words are also recorded in Isaiah. God said: Forget the former things; Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert, And streams in the wasteland (Isa 43:18-19). Just as it was prophesized, the people returned, the temple and the city were rebuilt, the covenant was renewed, and the nation of Israel was created again. In the same way, yet in a much more spiritual and universal level, a creation has occurred in each one of us who are in Christ. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; The old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor 5:17)!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor 5:17). These words of Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians are so familiar to us today that such mental familiarity sometimes causes spiritual blindness to the true meaning of the scripture. Although it says, “The old has gone, the new has come,” we still have the same hair, nose, and eyes; we speak the same language, and have the same memory of the past as before. How much have we really changed from “the old” to “the new” since we believed in Jesus? Does the Bible lie? If not, something must be wrong with the way we understand it. The reason that the Bible often seems unreal is that it always speaks of spiritual realities, not physical ones. Hence, you always need to be aware of the gap between these two different realities. Look at what Paul says immediately before the above verse: So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer (v. 16). What he means by “a worldly point of view (literally, according to the flesh)” is the view in which a natural man with no spiritual awareness or discernment sees things of this world. For instance, if you consider Jesus from this point of view, he was only a son of a carpenter, who lived in Nazareth, but from a spiritual point of view, he is the Son of God, the Incarnate Word, who existed before the creation of this world. In the same way, when the Bible says that you are “a new creation,” it speaks of you from a spiritual point of view, not from a worldly point of view. What is important about this reality is that you need to accept it by faith, and only then, the truth becomes activated and begins to work for you. Jesus who physically lived on earth two thousand years ago died for the forgiveness of the sins of all people. This truth, however, works only for those who accept him by faith. Read the following scripture: We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Rom 6:4). In what sense, can you say that you “were buried with him”? Were you? No, not in a physical sense, but yes, in a spiritual sense. This baptism, therefore, is not the water baptism you received. Even if you have not been baptized with water physically, you were baptized into Jesus Christ, and were united with him in his death as long as you believe in him. It is the spiritual reality that happened to you, and you need to take it by faith. The new series “God of Creation” has started. I see a lot of misunderstandings as well as ignorance concerning God’s creation among people of faith today. Be open-minded, and meditate upon the scriptures presented to you. If you really grasp what they mean, the truth you learn will change your life. It is so powerful that God’s creation work will be manifested not only to you, but also to those who come into contact with you. Be faithful in listening to the sermons, and doing each drill. Drills are made in a self-study format so that as you answer each question, you come to discover truths directly from the Bible. These drills also aim to train your spiritual ears and eyes so that you come to see more the mystery of God’s wisdom. The Bible contains so many stories and passages regarding God’s creation starting with those in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. They are all true stories revealing the true spiritual realities. Let us first look at the following passage in Ezekiel: The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know (Ezek 37:1-3)."

He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor (Ps 112:9). These words describe the spiritual status of the one “who finds great delight in his commands”: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor.” The heart of giving is an important part of God’s image, and it comes from God. All humans, no matter how wicked they may become, still have this heart hidden inside them, and when they give, whether it is material or work, they always experience joy. We are all created to give. Yet, this hidden heart of giving is often veiled to us today, so that it does not work effectively. Obviously, it is Satan who has blinded us to it by making us believe that God is so mean that we, too, can be mean like him. It does not mean, though, that we have lost that heart of giving as a part of God’s image. It is still in us. Therefore, all we need to do is to follow that hidden heart, and let the joy of giving spring up in us. Paul quotes the above verse in his second letter to Corinthians, in which he encourages the church members there to give and help their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. If it is only a matter of collecting money, he can simply command them to give. In that way, however, the offerings they give would have no meaning in God’s kingdom, and the money moves in no relationship with God’s work. Thus, he encourages them to give by teaching some basic principles of giving: Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever (2 Cor 9:7-9)." The most necessary condition in giving is to be “a cheer giver.” It means that you give willingly with the genuine desire to give. “Not reluctantly or under compulsion” refers to a non-legalistic attitude, not by being bound by a negative obligation—“I must give, though I do not want to.” To “give what he has decided in his heart to give” signifies freedom from such a legalistic attitude: you give by obeying the will given by God who lives in you. Thus, if you give against such freedom by comparing with others and desiring to be seen or praised by them, you lie to yourself and God because you give even though you really do not want to give. You remember what happened to Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Everything that does not come from faith is sin. Therefore, it is not the amount of money you give, but the heart of giving that matters in God’s kingdom. Look at the following story: Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on (Mark 12:41-44)." Note, particularly, the way Jesus sat down and watched the people giving. He watches you in the same way when you give. God is keener on seeing a spiritual thing than a physical thing because he is a spirit. He blesses you by seeing your heart of giving. And what is more significant is that God blesses others in your family and in your church by seeing you giving. This is a very important principle of God’s grace: God blessed us all because of one man, Jesus Christ. (we are) … sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything (2 Cor 6:10).

Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands (Ps 112:12). Psalm 112 sings about the “the man … who finds great delight in his commands.” It describes what he is like, and the promises given to him. To delight in God’s commands is different from to delight in his works. When God delivers us from our problems and meets our needs, we naturally rejoice and delight in his works, and come to praise him. This is, in fact, the first step that all believers should take in knowing him as a gracious and compassionate God. Psalm 111 sings exactly about that. Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate (Ps 111:1-4). It is quite noticeable that these two psalms, 111 and 112, were written as a pair: the first one sings about God who causes us to delight in his works, and the second one about those who delight in his commands. The similarities in the structure (both are acrostics) and in some of the words and expressions used tie these two psalms together and lead the eyes of the reader to ponder and compare between them so that the differences in the subjects—God and the man—comes to shed even more light on the truth. Ps 112 continues: His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man (vv. 2-4). Because of this man who delights in the Lord’s commands, “his children” and “generation” are blessed, and “wealth and riches are in his house.” In Hebrew, “house (beit)” can mean a whole clan or nation. In other words, the multiplication and the transferring of God’s blessings take place for the other people because of this one man who finds great delight in God’s word. Note that the expression, “his righteousness endures forever,” here, speaking of this man’s righteousness, is already used in the previous psalm speaking of God. This man has the same kind of righteousness that God has! Then, the psalmist goes on to describe further about this righteousness in the following verses more specifically: Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice (v. 5). He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor (v. 9). The word “justice (mishpat)” denotes actions in which he takes care of the poor—orphans and widows. This is the most important character of the one who finds great delight in God’s word. Paul quotes v. 9 of this psalm in his second letter to Corinthians teaching them about giving: Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever (2 Cor 9:7-9)." Only those who have the heart of a giver understand the heart of God. And those who have the heart of God love and find great delight in his word. His righteousness stands firm forever. They do not fear bad news because their house is built on the rock.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers (Ps 1:1-3). This psalm depicts what a person who delights in the word of God is like, and at the same time, it describes the kind of blessings that are promised to such a person. Unfortunately, we do not find so many Christians who really love and delight in God’s word. For most of them, the Bible is something they feel obligated to read, or something that will benefit them as they live on earth if they read them, at least, in times of trouble. It is not at the level of loving it and delighting in it. All humans as well as animals have desire to eat when hungry. They delight in the food they eat. It is natural, however, that when not hungry, they do not delight in it as much as they do when hungry. Healthy people cannot go without food even for a day: they love to eat, and enjoy the food they eat. But when it comes to spiritual food, some Christians feel still all right even after living without it for weeks, months and years. Why so? The Bible says, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God?” Don’t they feel hungry? If not, there must be something that makes them feel not hungry. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation (1 Pet 2:1-20). Newborn babies crave milk, and always cry when they feel hungry. What is important about craving “pure spiritual milk” is this hunger. If you do not feel this hunger, you will not crave. And the reason for not feeling hungry is that you feel already full with something else—“all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” That is why this scripture tells us to rid ourselves of all these things so that we can crave God’s word. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature (Luke 8:13-14). Compare these two types of soil. Those on the rock, at least, receive the word “with joy,” but those with thorns do not even receive the word with joy. The reason is that they are filled with “life’s worries, riches and pleasures,” and do not feel the hunger for God’s word. Many things can be said about joy in the word of God. Some who do not have delight in God’s word read the Bible legalistically, or superficially. They have not tasted the sweetness of the word, yet. In the story of Neh 8, we see that the Jews who had returned from the Babylonian captivity learned this sweetness when the Book of the Law of Moses was read and explained to them. We find the following words in Ps 119: How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth (Ps 119:103)! Another possible reason for not delighting in the word is that some listen to it in an impersonal way. They receive God’s word as truth all right, but do not accept it something that speaks about them personally: in other words, they only think that the Bible teaches truths about God and humans in a general sense, and have difficulty in applying it to themselves personally and specifically. Look at the following words: Then I said, "Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart (Ps 40:7-8)."

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers (Ps 1:1-3). One kind of joy we receive from God is joy in the word of God. We rejoice when our needs are met, our problems solved, and sickness cured by God, but the joy we come to have by hearing the word and understanding it is different and more spiritual in its quality. Needless to say, this joy goes along with faith, which comes by hearing the word of God, and God’s power comes to be manifested with this joy and faith. The above psalm says, “He is like a tree … which yields its fruit in season, … Whatever he does prospers.” A word must be said about the verb “to meditate,” hagah in Hebrew. It means to murmur or mutter, and originally comes from the sound of the roaring of an animal. You try to say something, but do not know how to express it with words, so you murmur, not to anybody, but to yourself or to God. You do that with God’s word. It is like praying in an unknown tongue—it is a voice of your spirit. So often we try to understand God’s word with our head, and we think we know what it means, but it does not do much for us as we expect it to. The reason is that the word is not really in our heart, and we do not believe in it completely. But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Rom 10-8-10). According to this scripture, we must do two things to be saved: to confess with our mouth, and to believe in our heart. It says nothing about knowing or understanding in our head. The power of God’s word becomes effective only when it is confessed with your mouth. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8). The same Hebrew word, hagah, is used for the verb “meditate” in this verse. So often, we hear God’s word once or twice, and think it is easy to do it, but later we find ourselves not doing it. The reason for that is because we do not “meditate (murmur with your mouth) on it day and night.” When we do, it is manifested, first, as joy springing up in our hearts. There is an interesting story about joy in the word of God in the book of Nehemiah. Many decades had passed since the Babylonians swept the land of Israel destroying all the cities there including Jerusalem. The remnants of survivors who had been taken captive to Babylon returned to the land to build the temple, and were still rebuilding the city. One day, they all gathered in Jerusalem near the temple, and asked Ezra to bring the book of the Law and read it. As he and the Levites read it loud before them, and explained the meaning of it, those who were listening began to weep. Then: Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." The Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve." Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them (Neh 8:10-12).

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings (Rom 5:2-3), … To rejoice in your sufferings is not to rejoice over the sufferings per se. No, every suffering you experience while living on earth comes from Satan, whether it is sickness, poverty, or a bad human relationship that causes you to suffer. Such sufferings cannot make you rejoice, and you should not thank God for them. You can only thank God for what he does and what he gives. He is not the author of any suffering. Knowing this truth, you can still rejoice in your sufferings as the above scripture says. Paul explains the reason for it as follows: … because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us (Rom 5:3-5). What you need to realize is that the kinds of sufferings Paul has in mind are mainly those of persecutions, or hardships that he experiences in preaching the gospel. Note the way he points our attention to the love of God, which was poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. He argues that because of this love, he can go on to preach the gospel in spite of all these sufferings—the persecutions. It is God’s love that actually compels him to preach, and gives joy and strength to overcome such hardships. James writes in the similar way: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4). Here, sufferings are expressed as “trials of many kinds” in a more general sense. They are trials because they challenge your faith to test you. Note that he, too, speaks about “perseverance,” through which you will grow up to be “mature and complete”—something Paul expresses as “character.” Therefore, James urges believers to “consider it pure joy” when facing such trials and sufferings. For Christians, there is really nothing to be afraid of. All things, even though they look destructive, are constructive in God. This truth, if you accept it by faith, will change the way you live on earth. Without faith in God’s creation work, you will always be afraid of sufferings and will need to run away from them instead of facing them, because for those who have no faith in God’s goodness and power of creation, sufferings are considered merely works of destruction. See, for instance, the following words of Paul: That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor 12:10). What he lists here are all works of destruction—“weaknesses,” “insults,” “hardships,” “persecutions,” and “difficulties.” Paul went though all these works of destruction, and became weak physically and even mentally. Nevertheless, he says, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” It means that even if he feels and looks weak, but he is actually strong in God who gives him strength. The Greek word for “weakness” is astheneia, and many think that it refers to some kind of a chronic disease Paul had as the following verse seems to suggest: To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me (v.7). This theory implies that God sometimes leaves people sick, and in such cases, it is God’s will for them to be sick: no matter how hard they pray, they will not be healed. Accepting this idea, Christians often pray, “If it is your will …” But the key to understanding what Paul really means lies within the context of the whole passage. You will need to go back to ch. 11, and find out what he means by “weakness.”

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thess 5:16-18). Living in the world full of bad news and bad happenings, how can we be joyful always? Yes, there are times when we rejoice at good news and good happenings, but most of what we hear and see in this world is not good, if not bad, and there is not much we can be joyful about. It seems impossible to be joyful “always.” Yet, the Bible commands us to “be joyful always!” The only way to be joyful, then, is to be joyful in spite of all the bad news and bad happenings by not being controlled by what we feel or what our natural instinct says. Since our circumstances cannot always make us feel joyful, we need to be willfully joyful by faith standing upon God’s word. And if the Bible commands us to be joyful always, we should and we can. Look at the following words: And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance (Rom 5:2-3); … Since God is spirit, anything of God—not only his existence, but also anything of his nature, his love, and his power—is spiritual. In order to have joy, which comes from the presence of God, we will need to focus upon the spiritual reality, rather than the physical reality. And this spiritual reality is manifested in us through our faith in the word. On the other hand, the sufferings that we experience today are the manifestations of Satan’s work of destruction, which came as the results of our sin. As long as we live on earth where Satan is still at work, we will experience such sufferings including persecutions. The important thing to remember, however, is that while those who are still hostile to God because of their disobedience and unbelief cannot help being afraid of such sufferings, we Christians, who have been reconciled to him through Christ, need not be afraid of them at all because of his promise: he will turn all those sufferings into something good and very valuable. Read the following words: Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us (Rom 5:3-5). Pay attention to the reason why we rejoice in our sufferings: “because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Everything that is seen with our physical eyes will perish and cannot be taken with us when we leave this world. But the “character” together with “hope” you have gained as a result of suffering and perseverance will never be lost even after the world perishes. If so, why should we be still afraid of our sufferings? God is no longer angry with us because we have been reconciled to him through Christ. He loves us, and he is for us. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were required to give various kinds of sacrifices and offerings at the temple when they worshipped God. One kind of such sacrifices was called “fellowship (peace) offering.” It was to repair their hostile relationship with God so that they could approach him peacefully and boldly. In other words, it brought reconciliation between God and his people. The New Testament teaches us that Jesus was offered as the fellowship offering. See, for instance, the following words: We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:20-21). Because of this reconciliation we now have, we rejoice in God, and even in our sufferings.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thess 5:16-18). Note the last part of this scripture: “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” God wants to be with you more than you desire to be with him. In fact, he is with you all the time, but he wants you to have faith in it. That is why the above scripture urges you to do the three things—to “be joyful always,” to “pray continually,” and to “give thanks in all circumstances.” In order to see the mechanism of how these three steps work for us, let us look at Ps 95: Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song (Ps 95). Pay attention to the expressions like “let us sing for joy,” “let us shout aloud,” and “with thanksgiving.” It is through joy and thanksgiving that you go before God: note the expression, “let us come before him.” Then, v. 6 says: Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker (v. 6). Once you enter into God’s presence by being joyful and giving thanks to him, you can now worship him and pray to him. This means that if you are joyful always, and give thanks in all circumstances, you are in God’s presence all the time, and you can pray and worship him anytime. While constant joy and invincible thanksgiving trigger God’s presence and activate his power, worries, fear and complaints impede his presence and deactivate his power. See the following verses: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did (vv. 7-9). If you are not familiar with the story of Meribah and Massah, read it. Try to understand how they tested and tried the Lord. In fact, many Christians, without knowing, are testing and trying God as they did. They have no joy, no victory, no faith and no blessing. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways." So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest (vv. 10-11)." It is interesting to see how differently people see things and come to react to the problems and needs they face. We often see that those with relatively small needs and problems worry about them more than those with bigger needs and more serious problems do. The way you see what is happening around you is very crucial because if you see it negatively, you will not be joyful or thankful. The above scripture tells us to be joyful always, and give thanks in all circumstances. How can we do that, though? Look at the following words of Jesus: As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life (John 9:1-3).”

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thess 5:16-18). Here is the well-known scripture of three commands—to be joyful, to pray, and to give thanks. Pay attention also to the adverbial phrases attached to them—“always,” “continually,” and “in all circumstances.” Look at the following psalm where you also see the same three elements of joy, prayer and thanksgiving emerge: Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations (Ps 100). The Hebrew word for “to worship (avad)” means to work and serve, which is equivalent to “to pray” for us. The important truth you find in this psalm is that you “come before him” or “enter his gates” with joy and thanksgiving. If you want to worship God or pray to him, you will need to come before him. And if you want to come before him, you will need to be joyful and give thanks to him. In the above words of 1 Thess 5:16-18, Paul urges you to be joyful always and given thanks in all circumstances so that you can pray and worship him continually. The Bible teaches us that joy comes from God. In heaven, there is great joy before God. That is why whether you are an angel or a human, you will need to be joyful if you want to stand before him. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Ps. 16:11). God is love, life and light. In the same way, God is joy. Love, life and light as well as joy are all, the essence or the nature of God. In the book of Proverbs, we find the following passage concerning the wisdom that existed before the creation of this universe: … when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind (Prov 8:29-31). This wisdom, the preexistent Word, came to this world, and lived among us. He said one time concerning this joy: I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (John 15:11).