首先，我們看到聖靈和創造今日的世界有關。第二，神說是和我們說話大不相同，是大有能力的。第三，我們從光這個字，就可以看到有先前世界的存在，我們詳細的說明了這一點。最後我們討論了日這個字為什麼是指今日的一天，從「神藉著聖經告訴我們是一致的」，就可以明顯的看到這一點，因為聖經中明寫了，亞當和夏娃是在第六日被逐出了伊甸園，而這裏的日是用同一個字。也提到了經文為什麼說，一日是有晚上，有早晨。

1. 聖靈和創造今日的世界有關

       『地(H776)是空虛混沌，淵面黑暗；神的靈(聖靈)運行在水面(H4325)上。』(創世記 1:2)

        我們看見那時地的情況，說明地球已經有了，括弧內是指那字在彙編(Strong’s Concordance)中的號碼。我們也知道同時水已經有了，不再是創世記中第一節的起初，『起初神創造天地。』(創世記 1:1) 那時所說的是無中生有的創造，這經文是指現今世界在已有的基礎上的創造。聖靈運行在水面上，說明了祂和現今的世界的創造有關，至於祂那時在做什麼，我們當然不知道，聖經沒有說。

2. 神說

       『神說：「要有光。」就有了光。神看光是好的，就把光暗分開了。神稱光為晝，稱暗為夜。有晚上，有早晨，這是頭一日(H3117)。』(創世記 1:3-5)

        我們在分享這些經文前要再次強調，當基督徒真正相信新舊約是神所默示的時候，自然會相信「神藉著聖經告訴我們是一致的」，而且「不把聖經的話打折扣」。在這些原則下，我們已在『2140 起初神創造天地 – 創(1)1』中，說明了聖經是多麼符合邏輯的原則，如果非基督徒假設聖經是神所默示的，就可以看到同樣的結論。請到『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』的網站後，按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』，找到這篇文章。

        在這裏，我們就在這兩個原則下來看這些經文，並說明我們是何時用的這兩個原則，為了避免繁長，以後基本上就不再說明了。

        首先我們看到了「神說」這兩字，神的話是帶著能力的。『因為他說有，就有；命立，就立。』(詩篇 33:9)   且『…世界是藉神 (「的」) 話造成的，這樣，所看見的，並不是從顯然之物造出來的。』(希伯來書 11:3)   所以祂的話是大有能力的。『神說：「要有光。」就有了光。』(創世記 1:3) 這時我們兩個原則都看到了，從創世記、詩篇、和希伯來書都是一致的，且我們沒有把聖經的話打折扣，就明顯的看到了這一致性。

3. 先前的世界的存在

        『光』在原文是 H216，這字在創世記第一章只出現過六次，最後一次是在創世記 1:18，『管理晝夜，分別明(H216)暗。…』這是在第四日的經文，我們現在把第四日的經文全部列出。『神說：「天上要有光體(H3974)，可以分晝夜，作記號，定節令、日子、年歲，並要發光(H3974)在天空，普照(H215)在地上。」事就這樣成了。於是神造(H6213)了兩個大光(H3974)，大的(H3974)管晝，小的管夜，又造眾星，就把這些光(體)擺列在天空，普照在地上，管理晝夜，分別明(H216)暗。神看着是好的。有晚上，有早晨，是第四日(H3117)。』(創世記 1:14-19)

                       這看起來好像有明顯的不合，怎麼可能第一日就有光而在第四日才『造』日月星辰？那光從那裏來的？首先，同一個字在這裏不會有不同的意義，我們注意到日月的光是用不同的字。如果你看創世記 1:16 這『造』字，不是使無變為有的創造 (H1254) ，是用不同的『造』這個字  H6213 (made)。那麼這個造字到底是什麼意思？我們來看這些經文就很清楚了。『耶和華神說：「那人獨居不好，我要為他造(H6213)一個配偶幫助他。」』(創世記 2:18)『耶和華神就用那人(亞當)身上所取的肋骨(H6763)造成(made, H1129)一個女人(夏娃)，領她到那人跟前。』(創世記 2:22)  那時亞當已存在，夏娃是用已存在的亞當造成的。所以唯一的邏輯解釋是『光(H216)』已經存在了，就是日月眾星已創造(H1254)，是先前創造的世界留下來的，現在只需要『造』就可以了。

     其實我們不需要這麼複雜，我們再看看這節經文，『創造(H1254)天地的來歷，在耶和華神造(H6213)天地的日子，乃是這樣：』(創世記 2:4) 這經文是用兩個不同的字，在起初的確是無中生有的創造(H1254)，而後在這世界中，神造(H6213)了天地，因為天地在先前的世界就已創造了。這也和創世記 1:2 所說的一致，先前的世界結束時，地是空虛混沌，淵面黑暗，這是兩個世界中間的情景。

        在這裏我們只是看到先前的世界是存在的，但是沒有說有幾個先前的世界。我們知道，恐龍的存在可以從考古學得知，照現在的科學的估計，創造是遠遠在恐龍存在之前，所以應該是至少有兩個先前的世界，一為撒但所面對的世界，一為恐龍所面對的世界。當然也有人說，恐龍和人是同時創造的，只是恐龍已絕種，但這可能性依照現在的科學是沒有的。

       有人說，其實光也不是非要有太陽不可，啓示錄不是這樣說嗎？當聖城新耶路撒冷由神那裏從天而降時，城中『不再有黑夜，他們也不用燈光、日光，因為主神要光照他們。…』(啓示錄 22:5) 那時的確是不要日光了，但我們是在說現今的世界創造時，光是由太陽而來，所以這說法不是聖經所講的。

4. 日這個字是指今日的一天

     我們再看看日(H3117)這個字，『神稱光為晝，稱暗為夜。有晚上，有早晨，這是頭一日。』(創世記 1:5)   有晚上，有早晨，這顯然是我們現在說的一日。不過只是這樣說，有人可能還有疑問，譬如有人說這不是指現在的這一日，只是代表一個次序，第一日發生的事情在第二日發生的事情之前，等等，這是主觀的看見，不是聖經所說的。

        又有人說，聖經的確在新約說過，『親愛的弟兄啊，有一件事你們不可忘記，就是主看一日如千年，千年如一日。』(彼得後書 3:8)   但我們可以看到這是在講完全不同的事情，因為接著就說，『主所應許的尚未成就，有人以為他是耽延，其實不是耽延，乃是寬容你們，不願有一人沉淪，乃願人人都悔改。』(彼得後書 3:9)   這也是主觀的看見，不是按照聖經的這個字的用法。

        那聖經究竟是怎麼說？在伊甸園中，『耶和華神吩咐他(亞當)說：「園中各樣樹上的果子，你可以隨意吃，只是分別善惡樹上的果子，你不可吃，因為你吃的日子 (H3117) 必定死。』(創世記 2:16-17) 用的是同一個字。

       日(H3117)這個字是指今日的一天，也可以從「神藉著聖經告訴我們是一致的」可以看到。  在約伯記的一開始就說，『耶和華對撒但說：「凡他(約伯)所有的都在你手中，只是不可伸手加害於他。」 於是撒但從耶和華面前退去。』(約伯記 1:12) 然後是在同一天中，示巴人把牲畜擄去，除了報信的外，用刀殺了僕人，撒但又行了超自然的事對羣羊和僕人這樣做，而迦勒底人也是這樣的對待駱駝和僕人，且狂風又使房屋倒塌壓死了他所有的兒女。(參約伯記 1:13-19)   撒但會選擇最好的時機，一氣作成牠要做的。

       在第六日(H3117)時，『神就照着自己的形像造人，乃是照着他的形像造男造女。』(創世記 1:27) 所以亞當和夏娃是在第六日造的。『耶和華神所造的，惟有蛇比田野一切的活物更狡猾。蛇對女人說：「神豈是真說不許你們吃園中所有樹上的果子嗎？」』(創世記 3:1) 『…那古蛇，名叫魔鬼，又叫撒但，…』(啓示錄 12:9)   撒但不會等的，祂引誘夏娃就是在她造的那一天。牠引誘成功後，然後是『耶和華神說：「那人已經與我們相似，能知道善惡。現在恐怕他伸手又摘生命樹的果子吃，就永遠活着。」』(創世記 3:22) 所以神在這事上也不會等的，就當天把他們趕出去了。這些都是第六日發生的事情，因神『…就在第七日(H3117)歇了他一切的工，安息了。』(創世記 2:2) 這裏也是用的同一個字。

        有人說，在我們一日中要創造日月星辰是不可能的，時間太短了！從神是大能的角度看，沒有不能成的事。但聖經其實是在說，第一日只是讓已創造好的光顯露出來而已，工作量相對創造來說，不是很大的。所以這樣說也是人的看法，從人的角度看事情。

        順便一提的是，這裏只說到有晚上，有早晨，是自然的時間，不是指時鐘上人為所訂的時間。那有人可能會問，為什麼一天是從晚上開始，有光以後，神不是白天作工嗎，然後因光才有晚上，為什麼不是一天從早晨到晚上呢？這是角度的問題，從神的角度看的確是如此，一天是從白天開始工作，晚上歇息，到第七天祂就歇了他一切創世的的工作。從人的角度看就會完全不一樣，亞當和夏娃是在白天被趕出伊甸園的，他們的一天是從晚上開始，所以從人的角度看一天的確是有晚上、有早晨。所以看聖經一定要知道是從那個角度看，才可能不強解聖經。

(經文除了特別註明外，是基於和合本。)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

First, we see that the Holy Spirit is involved in the creation of the world we see today. Second, God’s speaking is very different from our speaking and is very powerful. Third, from the word “light” we can see the existence of the previous world, and we have explained this in detail. Finally, we discussed why the word “day” is the same as today. This can be clearly seen from “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent”, because the Bible clearly states that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden on the sixth day, and the same word is used for “day” here. It also mentions why the scripture says that there is evening and morning in one day, but not reversed.

1. The Holy Spirit is involved in the creation of today’s world

“The earth (H776) was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) was moving over the surface of the waters (H4325).”(Genesis 1:2)

We see the condition of the earth at that time, which indicates that the earth already existed. The word in parentheses refers to its number in the Strong’s Concordance. We also know that water already existed at the same time and was no longer at the beginning as in the first verse of the Book of Genesis, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”(Genesis 1:1) What was said at that time was creation out of nothing. This verse refers to the creation of the current world based on the existing foundation. The Holy Spirit moving over the surface of the water shows that He is related to the creation of the present world. As for what He was doing at that time, we certainly don’t know, since the Bible does not say.

2. God said

“Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God 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, one day (H3117).”(Genesis 1:3-5)

Before we share these scriptures, we must emphasize again that when Christians truly believe that the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God, they will naturally believe that “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent” and “will not discount the words of the Bible.” Under these principles, we have explained in “1140 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth – Genesis(1)1,” how the Bible is logically consistent with principles. If non-Christians assume that the Bible is inspired by God, they can see the same conclusion. Please go to the website ” https://a-christian-voice.com/ ” and click “Understanding of Spiritual Life” to find this article.

Here, we will look at these scriptures under these two principles and explain when we use these two principles. In order to avoid being too lengthy, we will basically not explain them anymore.

First, we saw the two words “God said.” God’s words are powerful. “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”(Psalm 33:9)   And “…the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”(Hebrews 11:3)   So His word is powerful. “Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.”(Genesis 1:3) At this point we have seen both principles. The Books of Genesis, Psalms, and Hebrews are all consistent, and we have not discounted the words of the Bible, so we can clearly see this consistency.

3. The existence of the previous world

“Light” in the original text is H216. This word only appears six times in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, and the last time is in this verse, “and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light (H216) from the darkness; …”(Genesis 1:18) These are the verses for the fourth day. Now let us list all the verses for the fourth day and then explain the relevant part. 

“Then God said, “Let there be lights (H3974) in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights (H3974) in the expanse of the heavens to give light (H215) on the earth”; and it was so. God made (H6213) the two great lights (H3974), the greater light (H3974) to govern the day, and the lesser light (H3974) to govern the night; He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light (H216) from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day (H3117).”(Genesis 1:14-19)

This seems to be obviously inconsistent. How could there be light on the first day and the sun, moon and stars were made on the fourth day? Where does that light come from? First of all, the same word cannot have different meanings here, as we notice that different words are used for the light of the sun and the moon. If you look at the word “make” in Genesis 1:16, it is not “create” (H1254), but a different word “make” is used, H6213 (made). So what does this character creation mean? It becomes very clear if we look at these scriptures. “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make (H6213) him a helper suitable for him.””(Genesis 2:18) “The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib (H6763) which He had taken from the man (Adam), and brought her (Eve) to the man.”(Genesis 2:22) Adam already existed at that time, and Eve was made from the existing Adam. Therefore, the only logical explanation is that “light (H216)” already exists, that is, the sun, moon and stars have been created (H1254), and are left over from the previously created world. Now it only needs to be “made”.

Actually, we do not need to be so complicated. Let’s look at this verse, “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created (H1254), in the day that the LORD God made (H6213) earth and heaven.”(Genesis 2:4) This verse uses two different words. In the beginning it was indeed creation out of nothing (H1254), and then in this world, God made (H6213) the heavens and the earth, because the heavens and the earth had been created in the previous world. This is also consistent with what is said in Genesis 1:2, that at the end of the first world, “The earth (H776) was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep,” which was the scene between the two worlds.

Here we only see that the previous world existed, but we do not say how many previous worlds there were. We know that the existence of dinosaurs can be learned from archaeology. According to current scientific estimates, creation took place long before the existence of dinosaurs, so there should have been at least two previous worlds, one was the world faced by Satan, and the other was the world faced by the dinosaurs. Of course, some people say that dinosaurs and humans were created at the same time, but dinosaurs are extinct. However, this possibility does not exist according to current science.

Some people say that light does not necessarily require the sun. Doesn’t the Book of Revelation say so? When the holy city, New Jerusalem, comes down from God out of heaven, “…there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; …”(Revelation 22:5) It is true that there will be no need for sunlight at that time, but we are talking about the creation of the present world, when light came from the sun, so this statement is not what the Bible says. 

4. The word “day” means the same day as in today

Let’s look at the word day (H3117), “God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day (H3117).”(Genesis 1:5) There was evening and there was morning, which is obviously what we now call a day. However, just saying this may still cause some people to have doubts. For example, some people may say that this does not refer to the present day, but only represents a sequence. Things that happened on the first day come before things that happened on the second day, and so on. This is a subjective view and is not what the Bible says.

Others say that the Bible does say in the New Testament, “…beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.”(2 Peter 3:8) But we can see that this is talking about something completely different, because it goes on to say, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”(2 Peter 3:9) This is also a subjective view and is not in accordance with the biblical usage of this word.

So what does the Bible say? In the Garden of Eden, “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day (H3117) that you eat from it you will surely die.”(Genesis 2:16-17) The same word was used.

The word day (H3117) refers to today’s day, which can also be seen from “God tells us through the Bible that everything is consistent.” At the beginning of the Book of Job it says, “Then the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.”(Job 1:12) Then on some day later but on this same day, the Sabeans took the livestock and killed the servants with the sword, except for the messenger. Satan also performed supernatural works to the flocks and servants the same way, and the Chaldeans did the same to the camels and servants. A strong wind also caused the house to collapse and crushed all his children. (See Job 1:13-19) Satan will choose the best time to accomplish what he wants to do in one go.

On the sixth day (H3117), “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”(Genesis 1:27) So Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?””(Genesis 3:1) “…the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, …”(Revelation 12:9) Satan would not wait, he tempted Eve on the day she was created. After the temptation was successful, “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.”(Genesis 3:22) So God would not wait in this matter and drove them out that same day. All these things happened on the sixth day. “By the seventh day (H3117) God completed His work which He had done, …”(Genesis 2:2) The same word is used here.

Some people say that it is impossible to create the sun, moon and stars in one day because the time is too short! From the perspective of God’s almighty power, nothing is impossible. But the Bible actually says here that the first day was just to reveal the light that had already been created, and the amount of work was not very large compared to creation. So that some people say is also a human perspective, looking at things from a human viewpoint.

By the way, what is mentioned here regarding evening and morning is the natural time, not the time set by humans on the clock. Then someone might ask, why does a day start in the evening? After there was light, didn’t God work during the day? And because of the light there was night. Why doesn’t a day go from morning to evening? This is a matter of perspective. From God’s perspective, this is indeed the case. A day begins with work during the day and rest at night. On the seventh day, He rested from all His work in creating the world. From a human perspective, it would be completely different. Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden during the day, and their day began in the evening, so from a human perspective, a day does have an evening and a morning. Therefore, when reading the Bible, you must know from which perspective you are looking at it so that you do not distort your interpretation of the Bible.

(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

In this piecewise Bible study, we only talked about two topics. One is the controversial topic of tithing, let’s see what the Bible says about its true meaning. Second, Christians all know that the Bible says not to acknowledge Satan as their father. We have also explained some situations where this could happen if we are not careful, so we really need to be vigilant!

Last time we mentioned that Christians live in faith and believe that the Bible is inspired by God. Because of this, we know that “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent” and “do not discount the words of the Bible.” When we take this as a logical axiom, we will discover how logical the Bible is! In “250413 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth – Genesis (1) 1 2140”, we use the first sentence of the Bible to explain this concept. We can share so much in just one verse. The link is “https://youtu.be/rptERpX82iA?si=LNuZapGQjvdcuEVp” in Chinese. If you don’t know Chinese, you can go to its corresponding article “1140 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth – Genesis(1)1.” This article is on the website “https://a-christian-voice.com/“, click “Understanding of Spiritual Life”.

At this point, I should explain why I have to refer the YouTube instead of the article directly. This is because if a video is corrected on YouTube, it must be re-uploaded and the time cannot be maintained, while an article can be changed and the original video time cannot be seen. This can be seen in “240721 Correction: The Announcement of the Lord Jesus as the Triune God and the Messiah – Revelation (18) 2110”, the correction is due to cutting out one error and its associated parts, the rest remaining the same. The corrected date is 8/5/24, but the original meeting was on 7/21/24. Although the article is later than the meeting, it will not fall within the corrected time. This can be confirmed in the corrected YouTube video, https://youtu.be/8bDi9tI7zhI?si=LxW3RlB84FETzjwR.

In “250420 What We Can Do About the Holy Spirit’s Leading Bible Study 2141”, whose link is “https://youtu.be/i_Vysc4NMIA?si=S64Wrb4wDVkP_zhD” in Chinese. The corresponding article is “1141 What we can do regarding Holy Spirit leads us to study Bible.” In 1141, I mentioned the method the Holy Spirit taught me to read te Bible, that is, we can let the Holy Spirit lead us in Bible study like in 1140. In its “3. How do we know God is leading us to study the Bible?”, we see that the Holy Spirit has absolute sovereignty, and His guidance is sometimes divided into more than one step. In “3,” we also gave an example regarding paradise, that happened not long ago, to illustrate this point. 

Now we not only want to share the true meaning of tithing, but also use this topic to see another example of how the Holy Spirit leads us the Bible study in more than just one step. Moreover, because this matter will start in 2020 and end in 2025, there is definitely some foreknowledge, which is something Satan cannot do. Only the Triune God can do it. We mentioned this in “200830 Some Nature of Satan”, the link is “https://youtu.be/c7LMREAN-IM?si=uposXuthU-GvOa6Q”, which is only in Chinese and no corresponding article. Sorry about this. Here we only want to emphasize that Satan cannot foreknow; otherwise, Satan wouldn’t get involved in Jesus’ crucifixion as the verse says, “After the morsel, Satan then entered into him (Judas, the betrayer). …”(John 13:27)

I would like to take this opportunity to explain that a piecewise Bible study basically starts by putting the live recording of the meeting on YouTube, and then writing a corresponding article, which may also include revelations added after the meeting, because the Triune God has absolute sovereignty, and we cannot limit what He wants to do. In “1141 What we can do regarding Holy Spirit leads us to study Bible”, 1141 is a number, representing that there are 141 articles on the website. The first 1 refers to the English version, 2141 refers to the Traditional Chinese version, and the Simplified Chinese version is 3141.

In 2142, the time when some things happened is recorded, so we can clearly see God’s guidance until we can finally see the true meaning of tithing. This involves foreknowledge which Satan cannot do, only God can do. We have also mentioned some examples of Christians who have accidentally acknowledged Satan as their father. Simply put, I hope that everyone can see God’s own guidance in 2142, which is His endorsements.

1. The true meaning of tithing

Before we share about the Bible saying about tithing, we need to use this topic to look at an example with foreknowledge, where the Holy Spirit led us in multiple steps. It is very obvious that we can only see what the Holy Spirit wants us to see, that is, according to what the Holy Spirit allowed me to see at the time, thus I used logical reasoning to come to different conclusions. Therefore, we first shared this topic four times, and it was not until the fifth time that the Holy Spirit allowed me to see what the Bible actually says!

The first time was on YouTube in 2020 at about 13:40 on “200816 Looking at some scriptures from the perspective of the inerrancy and consistency of the Bible”, and the link in Chinese was “https://youtu.be/xea-Yj-jnro?si=ai5_K5F4MSH10p6S“. Sorry that there had no corresponding article in the early stage of the piecewise Bible Study in 2020. Here, we just want to show you the time when it happened. The second time was on YouTube also in 2020, at about 24:10 on “201220 Three Examples of Reading the Bible from the Entire Bible”, and the link in Chinese was “https://youtu.be/O3E84s3SoYI?si=SNlq2XkXnA2GGrBD“. 

The third time was on YouTube in 2021 at about 14:25 on “210918 A doer of the word is better than a hearer – the third one of trilogy,” and the link in Chinese is “https://youtu.be/KuAza8O-eS4?si=jro1s2to9Pvc_pd4.” The corresponding article is “1003 A doer of the word is better than a hearer – the third one of trilogy.”

The fourth time was on YouTube in 2021 at about 0:54 on “211024 One tenth offering interpreted and a time to every purpose under heaven 1008,” and the link in Chinese is “https://youtu.be/SsCDXc2O3Z4?si=FOGi_E4ASCcfDr6d.” The corresponding article is “One tenth offering interpreted and a time to every purpose under heaven (by Whirlwind) 1008.”

The fifth time was on YouTube in 2025 at around 49:20 on “250216 Yu Hongjie’s Discipleship of Newself – Unbiblical Places (2) 2132”, and the link in Chinese is “https://youtu.be/rqyCALRKpV4?si=QNNANGtT9m7aWlPY.” The corresponding article is “1132 Yu Hongjie’s Discipleship of Newself – Unbiblical Places (2).”

In the fifth “1132,” I mentioned how I got to know Brother Yu in the Lord. Because I really wanted to see God grants Brother Yu’s church the revival he desired, I met with him in church for about an hour. The issues we discussed basically included his confirmation, my need for discernment, whether it was right to feel the work of the Holy Spirit in my mind, whether Adam had a share in holiness when he was created, what it meant to ask or think more than what is asked or thought, and the true meaning of tithing. It was also because he pointed out the verses that I had not understood before that I learned from his words what the Bible says about tithing. If you are interested, you can go to the website “https://a-christian-voice.com/” and click “Understanding of Spiritual Life” to find this article.

Unfortunately, when I tried to communicate with him again via email, his co-workers deprived him of the opportunity to see the email and make a decision for himself, as you can see from my records. The email dated September 19, 2024 at 9:34 pm said, “Therefore, all relevant emails will be reviewed and replied by office coworkers. It isn’t convenient (adequate) for us to forward him (Brother Yu) your email. Hopefully you can understand!” Although I tried to remain anonymous as much as possible, such as in the piecewise Bible study, the office had my mobile phone number and know how to contact me. By this way, I can also remain anonymous as much as possible. Just hope that they will change their minds in the end and give Brother Yu a chance to make his own decision. I really hope he has the opportunity to see the true meaning of tithing and will get the church revival he hopes to see.

Now we can share the question we want to ask, which is, “does the Bible say that we must tithe in the New Testament era?” The answer is no. Let’s briefly look at why the Bible says so.

Let’s start with the Old Testament. The first giving was when the tabernacle was built. “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution.”(Exodus 25:1-2) Let’s see how this giving ended. “So Moses issued a command, and a proclamation was circulated throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman any longer perform work for the contributions of the sanctuary.” Thus the people were restrained from bringing any more. For the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.”(Exodus 36:6-7) Therefore, God’s house had enough food for the construction of the tabernacle. From these verses, we can see that the key to giving is to be “willing” and the purpose is to have “food in God’s house.”

Those who say that tithing is a must often quote this verse, ““Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”(Malachi 3:8-10)

Opponents would say that if we must follow the Old Testament, in addition to the tithe, we must also add the offerings, so it is definitely not just one-tenth! But this does not make sense, because in the New Testament age there are no more sacrifices, because “…He (Christ), having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.”(Hebrews 10:12) It also clearly says, “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:18) So in the New Testament era, the most that was left was the tithing. The question is, does the New Testament say that the tithing is mandatory?

The only reference to tithing in the New Testament is this verse, ““Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”(Matthew 23:23) But if we look at the original text of the Strong’s Concordance, it is required that the scribes and Pharisees in the Old Testament to tithe. At that time, it was still in the Old Testament era, because Jesus had not yet died and resurrected and ascended to heaven, so these words were spoken to people in the Old Testament.

In fact, it is even clearer from the perspective of “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent” that Jesus Himself kept the true meaning of the Sabbath rather than the letter of the law as an example to us. How could He require us in the New Testament era to keep the law of tithing literally! A person who loves the Lord will naturally consider the needs of God’s house and do his best to provide food for it. If a person who loves the Lord has the power to give more than the tithe, he will definitely give more than the tenth. If a person who loves the Lord does not have the ability to offer a tenth, his offering of less than a tithing will still be accepted by the Lord because he has willingly done what he can with his strength. 

2. Do not acknowledge Satan as your father

The Bible clearly states, “…the devil (Satan), Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”(John 8:44) From this verse, we can clearly see that those who tell lies acknowledge Satan as their father, and we can also see that the Triune God did not create lies. Lying is a sin of disobedience to God, for the Lord says, “‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.”(Leviticus 19:11) John said, “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.”(1 John 3:6) We have previously spent considerable time in “”1096 Yu Hongjie’s Discipleship of Newself – Unbiblical Places (1)” to prove that the Bible defines sin as disobedience to God. If you are interested, you can go to the website “https://a-christian-voice.com/” and click “Understanding of Spiritual Life” to find this article.

We just shared that the Bible tells us that there is no law requiring us to obey the tithing in the New Testament era, but some people will distort the Bible. Peter puts it very clearly when he says, “…our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”(2 Peter 3:15-16) For churches that advocate tithing, once they know that they should not keep such a law without distorting their interpretation of the Bible, they should stop advocating such things and stop deceiving themselves and thus lying to acknowledge Satan as their father.

Those who believe that the Bible literally contains no errors are deceiving themselves and thus lying too, because the Bible contains obvious contradictions. This is also an example of acknowledging Satan as the father. When we see an obvious contradiction, we should ask why God would inspire this obvious contradiction in the Bible. In “1111 The True Meaning of Biblical Inerrancy,” we discussed this issue in detail and gave quite a few examples. We also discussed a possible way of writing the Bible: with the ability to automatically correct errors in “4. A possible way to write the Bible: with the ability to automatically correct errors” of 1141, which can be considered as an annotation of such inspired obvious errors. Some churches would say that the original version of the Bible is free of textual errors. Since the original version has been lost, no one can prove whether this narrative is right or wrong. It is just playing the words.

Peter said it well, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”(1 Peter 5:8) Don’t sin by lying, thus “…do not give the devil an opportunity.”(Ephesians 4:27)

(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

    在这次的专题查经中，我们只谈了两个话题。一个是有争议性的十一奉献的话题，看圣经怎么说其真谛。二是基督徒都知道圣经说不要认撒但为父，我们也就说明了一些一不小心就会是这样的情况，真的要警惕！               

    我们上次提到过基督徒是活在信心里面，相信圣经是神所默示的，也因为此，就知道『神借著圣经告诉我们是一致的』和『不把圣经的话打折扣』。当我们以此为逻辑的公理时，我们会发觉圣经是多么符合逻辑的原则！在『250413 起初神创造天地 – 创(1)1 2140』中，我们用圣经的第一句话，来阐述这概念，只一节就可以分享这么多，其链结为『https://youtu.be/rptERpX82iA?si=LNuZapGQjvdcuEVp』。     

    在『250420 对圣灵带领查经我们可做的事 2141』中，就提到圣灵教我的方法，可以像『2140』那样的让圣灵带领我们查经，在其中约44:00时的『3. 如何知道神在带领我们查经』中，我们看到圣灵有绝对的主权，祂的带领有时候会分为不只是一个步骤，并举了一个刚发生不久有关乐园的例子来说明这点，其链结为『https://youtu.be/i_Vysc4NMIA?si=S64Wrb4wDVkP_zhD』。     

    我们现在不只是要分享十一奉献的真谛，并要借著这话题来看圣灵不只是分为一个步骤带领的另一个例子，更因为这件事情是从2020年开始到2025年才结束，所以绝对有预知的事情，这是撒但不能做的，只有三位一体的神能做。我们在『200830 撒但的一些本质』提到这点，其链结为『https://youtu.be/c7LMREAN-IM?si=uposXuthU-GvOa6Q』。     

    看到这里，有没有注意到这次引用的都是油管(YouTube)而不是文章，是因为视频在油管上更正，就必须重新上载，时间就不能保持了，而文章则可更改，不能看出原先的视频时间。这可以在『240721 更正 主耶稣是三位一的神和弥塞亚的宣告 – 启示录 (18) 2110』中看到这点，更正是因为切掉了一个错误及其相关的部份，其余的保持一样。 更正后为8/5/24，而原先的聚会是在7/21/24，虽文章较迟，也不致于到更正后的时间。这点可以在更正后的油管中证实，『https://youtu.be/8bDi9tI7zhI?si=LxW3RlB84FETzjwR』。

    趁这机会解释一下，专题查经基本上先是将聚会的实况录影放在油管上，然后写相应的文章，其中也可能包括聚会后加上的启示，因为三位一体的神有绝对的主权，我们不能限制祂要怎么做。在『3141 对圣灵带领查经我们可做的事』中，3141 是编号，代表网站上有141篇文章，前面的3指简体中文版，其相应英文版为1141，繁体中文版为2141。     

    在3142中记录了一些事情发生的时间，所以可以清楚的看到神的带领，一直到我们能看到十一奉献的真谛为止。这其中介入了撒但不能做的预知，只有神能做。我们也提到了一些基督徒会一不小心就认撒但为父的例子。简单的来说，希望大家在2142中能看到神自己的带领，就是祂的背书。

1. 十一奉献的真谛        

    在我们分享圣经怎么说十一奉献前，我们要借著这话题来看一个带有预知的、圣灵分为多个步骤带领的例子，并且很明显的看到了，我们只能看见圣灵要我们看见的，也就是依照圣灵当时让我看见的，用逻辑的推导得出了不同的结论，因此这个话题我们先是分享过四次，直到第五次，圣灵才让我看见了圣经到底怎么说！       

    第一次是在2020年油管(YouTube)上的『200816 从圣经的无误和一致性看一些经文』约13:40时，其链结为『https://youtu.be/xea-Yj-jnro?si=ai5_K5F4MSH10p6S』。 第二次是在2020年油管上的『201220 读经要从整本圣经读的三个例子』约24:10时，其链结为『https://youtu.be/O3E84s3SoYI?si=SNlq2XkXnA2GGrBD』。 第三次是在2021年油管上的『210918 行道胜听道 – 三部曲的第三部 2003』约14:25时，其链结为『https://youtu.be/KuAza8O-eS4?si=jro1s2to9Pvc_pd4』。 第四次是在2021年油管上『211024 圣经不可强解和万物有定时 2008』约0:54时，其链结为『https://youtu.be/SsCDXc2O3Z4?si=FOGi_E4ASCcfDr6d』。 第五次是在2025年油管上『250216 于宏洁的新人门训 – 不合乎圣经的地方 (2) 2132』约 49:20时，其链结为『https://youtu.be/rqyCALRKpV4?si=QNNANGtT9m7aWlPY』。        

     在第五次的『3132 于宏洁的新人门训 – 不合乎圣经的地方 (2)』中，我提到了如何在主里知道于弟兄的，因为我非常希望看到神赐给于弟兄的教会一个他所希望的复兴，所以我和他在教会中见过一次约一小时的面。我们谈到的问题，基本上包括了他的证实、我需要分辩、在意念中感觉圣灵工作是否是对的，亚当创造时是否和圣洁有份这一点，讨论了超过所求所想的事是指什么，和十一奉献的真谛。也是因为他指出了我以前没有看懂的经节，我才由他的话中知道了圣经是怎么说关于十一奉献的。如果你有兴趣的话，可以到『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』的网站后，按『对属灵生命的了解』，找到这篇文章。

    很不幸的，当我再要和他在电子邮件中交通时，他的同工剥夺了他能够自己看到而做决定的机会，你们可以从我的记录中看到这点。在2024 年九月十九晚上9:34 pm的电子邮件说，「故相关邮件一律是由办公室同工察看并回复，也不便代为转达，还望您见谅！」虽然我是尽可能保持匿名如专题查经般，但他们有我手机的电话号码，知道如何和我联络，我也可以尽可能的保持匿名，希望他们最后能改变主意，给于弟兄有一个自己决定的机会。真是希望他有机会看到十一奉献的真谛，得到他所希望看到的教会复兴。        

    我们现在可以分享我们要问的问题了，就是圣经有没说在新约时代，我们一定要十一奉献？答案是没有。我们就简单的看看为什么圣经这样说。           

    先从旧约说起，第一次的奉献是在建会幕的时候，『耶和华晓谕摩西说：「你告诉以色列人当为我送礼物来，凡甘心乐意的，你们就可以收下归我。」』(出埃及记 25:1-2) 我们来看这次的奉献是如何结束的，『摩西传命，他们就在全营中宣告说：「无论男女，不必再为圣所拿甚么礼物来。」这样才拦住百姓不再拿礼物来。因为他们所有的材料够做一切当做的物，而且有余。』(出埃及记 36:6-7) 所以在建会幕的这件事上，神家有足够的粮。从这些经文中，我们可以看到奉献的重点是要「甘心乐意」，而目的是要「神家有粮」。           

    说一定要十一奉献的人，常引用这经文，『「人岂可夺取神之物呢？你们竟夺取我的供物。 「你们却说：『我们在何事上夺取你的供物呢？』 「就是你们在当纳的十分之一和当献的供物上。因你们通国的人都夺取我的供物，咒诅就临到你们身上。」万军之耶和华说：「你们要将当纳的十分之一全然送入仓库，使我家有粮，以此试试我是否为你们敞开天上的窗户，倾福与你们，甚至无处可容。」』(玛拉基书 3:8-10)     

    反对的人会说，如果一定要依照旧约，除了十一外，还要加上当献的供物，所以绝对不只是十一！可是这没有道理，因为在新约时代没有献祭了，因『…基督献了一次永远的赎罪祭，就在神的右边坐下了。』(希伯来书 10:12) 又很清楚的说，『这些罪过既已赦免，就不用再为罪献祭了。』(希伯来书 10:18) 所以新约时代最多只剩下了十一奉献，问题是新约有没说一定要十一奉献？           

    新约中唯一提到十一奉献的地方是这节经文，『经学士和法利赛人、假冒为善的人哪，你们有祸阿！因为你们将薄荷、茴香、芹菜、献上十分之一，而律法上较有重量的事，如正义怜悯和信实、你们却遗弃了。其实呢，前者那些虽不可遗弃，后者这些却必须行。』(马太福音  23:23, 吕振中译本)    在和合本的翻译本是说，『你们这假冒为善的文士和法利赛人有祸了！因为你们将薄荷、茴香、芹菜献上十分之一，那律法上更重的事，就是公义、怜悯、信实，反倒不行了。这更重的是你们当行的，那也是不可不行的。』(马太福音 23:23, 和合本)          

    因我主要用的是和合本，因此没有看到这里是说十一奉献是不可不行的，以为公义等事是不可不行的。但如果我们去看英文版本和汇编(Strong’s Concordance)原文的这经文，的确会看到吕振中译本是对的，对旧约的法利赛人是说要有十一奉献。那时仍是在旧约时代中，因耶稣还没有死而复活升天，所以这话是对在旧约中的人说的。           

    其实从「神借著圣经告诉我们是一致的」来看更清楚，耶稣自己守的是安息日的真谛而不是律法的字句，祂怎么会要求在新约的我们守十一奉献的律法呢！一个爱主的人自然会考虑到神家的需要，尽可能的使神家有粮。如果一个爱主的人有力量能够做超过十一的奉献，他一定会奉献超过十分之一。如果一个爱主的人没有能力奉献十分之一，他的不到十一的奉献照样为主所悦纳，因为他已甘心情愿的尽他的力量做到所能做的。

2. 不要认撒但为父          

    圣经明说，『…魔鬼(撒但)…说谎是出于自己，因他本来是说谎的，也是说谎之人的父。』(约翰福音 8:44) 从这节经文，我们可以很清楚的看到，说谎的人就是认撒但为父，并可以看到三位一体的神并没有创造说谎。说谎是犯了不顺服神的罪，因耶和华说，『你们不可偷盗，不可欺骗，也不可彼此说谎。』(利未记 19:11) 约翰说，『凡住在他(主)里面的，就不犯罪；凡犯罪的，是未曾看见他，也未曾认识他。』(约翰一书 3:6) 我们以前花了相当大的篇幅在『3096 于宏洁的新人门训  –  不合乎圣经的地方  (1) 』中证明了，圣经说罪的定义就是不顺服神。如果你有兴趣的话，可以到『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』的网站后，按『对属灵生命的了解』，找到这篇文章。          

    我们刚才分享了圣经告诉我们，在新约时代没有要我们守十一奉献的律法，但有些人会强解圣经的。彼得说得很清楚说，『…我们所亲爱的兄弟保罗，照著所赐给他的智慧写了信给你们。他一切的信上也都是讲论这事。信中有些难明白的，那无学问、不坚固的人强解(曲解, 吕振中译本)，如强解别的经书一样，就自取沉沦。』(彼得后书 3:15-16) 对于倡导十一奉献的教会，一但不强解圣经而知道了不要守这样的律法，就应该停止这样的倡导，不要再欺骗自己，说谎而认撒但为父。          

    对于那些认为圣经的无误是字句上的，也是在自己欺骗自己，是在说谎，因为圣经有明显的矛盾，所以这也是认撒但为父的一个例子。看到明显的矛盾时，我们该问的是，神为什么在圣经中要默示这明显的矛盾，在『3111 圣经无误论的真谛』中，我们就详细的讨论这问题，并举了相当多的例子。我们也在『3141 对圣灵带领查经我们可做的事』中的『4. 一个可能圣经的写法: 有自动更正错误的能力』，讨论了一个圣经可能的写法，有自动更正错误的能力，可以考虑为这样默示的注解。有些教会就会说，圣经的原版是在文字上没有错误的。因原版已失传，就没有人能证明这叙述的对错，这是在玩文字的游戏。   

    彼得说得好，『务要谨守、警醒，因为你们的仇敌魔鬼，如同吼叫的狮子，遍地游行，寻找可吞吃的人。』(彼得前书 5:8) 不要说谎而犯罪，『…不可给魔鬼留地步。』(以弗所书 4:27) 

(经文除了特别注明外，是基于和合本。)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到这网站后要按『对属灵生命的了解』。)  

           在這次的專題查經中，我們只談了兩個話題。一個是有爭議性的十一奉獻的話題，看聖經怎麼說其真諦。二是基督徒都知道聖經說不要認撒但為父，我們也就說明了一些一不小心就會是這樣的情況，真的要警惕！

          我們上次提到過基督徒是活在信心裏面，相信聖經是神所默示的，也因為此，就知道『神藉著聖經告訴我們是一致的』和『不把聖經的話打折扣』。當我們以此為邏輯的公理時，我們會發覺聖經是多麼符合邏輯的原則！在『250413 起初神創造天地 – 創(1)1 2140』中，我們用聖經的第一句話，來闡述這概念，只一節就可以分享這麼多，其鏈結為『https://youtu.be/rptERpX82iA?si=LNuZapGQjvdcuEVp』。

     在『250420 對聖靈帶領查經我們可做的事 2141』中，就提到聖靈教我的方法，可以像『2140』那樣的讓聖靈帶領我們查經，在其中約44:00時的『3. 如何知道神在帶領我們查經』中，我們看到聖靈有絕對的主權，祂的帶領有時候會分為不只是一個步驟，並舉了一個剛發生不久有關樂園的例子來說明這點，其鏈結為『https://youtu.be/i_Vysc4NMIA?si=S64Wrb4wDVkP_zhD』。

     我們現在不只是要分享十一奉獻的真諦，並要藉著這話題來看聖靈不只是分為一個步驟帶領的另一個例子，更因為這件事情是從2020年開始到2025年才結束，所以絕對有預知的事情，這是撒但不能做的，只有三位一體的神能做。我們在『200830 撒但的一些本質』提到這點，其鏈結為『https://youtu.be/c7LMREAN-IM?si=uposXuthU-GvOa6Q』。

     看到這裏，有沒有注意到這次引用的都是油管(YouTube)而不是文章，是因為視頻在油管上更正，就必須重新上載，時間就不能保持了，而文章則可更改，不能看出原先的視頻時間。這可以在『240721 更正 主耶穌是三位一的神和彌塞亞的宣告 – 啓示錄 (18) 2110』中看到這點，更正是因為切掉了一個錯誤及其相關的部份，其餘的保持一樣。

更正後為8/5/24，而原先的聚會是在7/21/24，雖文章較遲，也不致於到更正後的時間。這點可以在更正後的油管中証實，『https://youtu.be/8bDi9tI7zhI?si=LxW3RlB84FETzjwR』。

     趁這機會解釋一下，專題查經基本上先是將聚會的實況錄影放在油管上，然後寫相應的文章，其中也可能包括聚會後加上的啓示，因為三位一體的神有絕對的主權，我們不能限制祂要怎麼做。在『2141 對聖靈帶領查經我們可做的事』中，2141 是編號，代表網站上有141篇文章，前面的2指繁體中文版，其相應英文版為1141，簡體中文版為3141。

     在2142中記錄了一些事情發生的時間，所以可以清楚的看到神的帶領，一直到我們能看到十一奉獻的真諦為止。這其中介入了撒但不能做的預知，只有神能做。我們也提到了一些基督徒會一不小心就認撒但為父的例子。簡單的來說，希望大家在2142中能看到神自己的帶領，就是祂的背書。

1. 十一奉獻的真諦

        在我們分享聖經怎麼說十一奉獻前，我們要藉著這話題來看一個帶有預知的、聖靈分為多個步驟帶領的例子，並且很明顯的看到了，我們只能看見聖靈要我們看見的，也就是依照聖靈當時讓我看見的，用邏輯的推導得出了不同的結論，因此這個話題我們先是分享過四次，直到第五次，聖靈才讓我看見了聖經到底怎麼說！

        第一次是在2020年油管(YouTube)上的『200816 從聖經的無誤和一致性看一些經文』約13:40時，其鏈結為『https://youtu.be/xea-Yj-jnro?si=ai5_K5F4MSH10p6S』。 第二次是在2020年油管上的『201220 讀經要從整本聖經讀的三個例子』約24:10時，其鏈結為『https://youtu.be/O3E84s3SoYI?si=SNlq2XkXnA2GGrBD』。 第三次是在2021年油管上的『210918 行道勝聽道 – 三部曲的第三部 2003』約14:25時，其鏈結為『https://youtu.be/KuAza8O-eS4?si=jro1s2to9Pvc_pd4』。 第四次是在2021年油管上『211024 聖經不可强解和萬物有定時 2008』約0:54時，其鏈結為『https://youtu.be/SsCDXc2O3Z4?si=FOGi_E4ASCcfDr6d』。 第五次是在2025年油管上『250216 于宏潔的新人門訓 – 不合乎聖經的地方 (2) 2132』約 49:20時，其鏈結為『https://youtu.be/rqyCALRKpV4?si=QNNANGtT9m7aWlPY』。

        在第五次的『2132 于宏潔的新人門訓 – 不合乎聖經的地方 (2)』中，我提到了如何在主裏知道于弟兄的，因為我非常希望看到神賜給于弟兄的教會一個他所希望的復興，所以我和他在教會中見過一次約一小時的面。我們談到的問題，基本上包括了他的證實、我需要分辨、在意念中感覺聖靈工作是否是對的，亞當創造時是否和聖潔有份這一點，討論了超過所求所想的事是指什麼，和十一奉獻的真諦。也是因為他指出了我以前沒有看懂的經節，我才由他的話中知道了聖經是怎麼說關於十一奉獻的。如果你有興趣的話，可以到『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』的網站後，按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』，找到這篇文章。

     很不幸的，當我再要和他在電子郵件中交通時，他的同工剝奪了他能夠自己看到而做決定的機會，你們可以從我的記錄中看到這點。在2024 年九月十九晚上9:34 pm的電子郵件說，「故相關郵件一律是由辦公室同工察看並回覆，也不便代為轉達，還望您見諒！」雖然我是儘可能保持匿名如專題查經般，但他們有我手機的電話號碼，知道如何和我聯絡，我也可以儘可能的保持匿名，希望他們最後能改變主意，給于弟兄有一個自己決定的機會。真是希望他有機會看到十一奉獻的真諦，得到他所希望看到的教會復興。

        我們現在可以分享我們要問的問題了，就是聖經有沒說在新約時代，我們一定要十一奉獻？答案是沒有。我們就簡單的看看為什麼聖經這樣說。

           先從舊約說起，第一次的奉獻是在建會幕的時候，『耶和華曉諭摩西說：「你告訴以色列人當為我送禮物來，凡甘心樂意的，你們就可以收下歸我。」』(出埃及記 25:1-2) 我們來看這次的奉獻是如何結束的，『摩西傳命，他們就在全營中宣告說：「無論男女，不必再為聖所拿甚麼禮物來。」這樣才攔住百姓不再拿禮物來。因為他們所有的材料夠做一切當做的物，而且有餘。』(出埃及記 36:6-7) 所以在建會幕的這件事上，神家有足夠的糧。從這些經文中，我們可以看到奉獻的重點是要「甘心樂意」，而目的是要「神家有糧」。

           說一定要十一奉獻的人，常引用這經文，『「人豈可奪取神之物呢？你們竟奪取我的供物。 「你們卻說：『我們在何事上奪取你的供物呢？』 「就是你們在當納的十分之一和當獻的供物上。因你們通國的人都奪取我的供物，咒詛就臨到你們身上。」萬軍之耶和華說：「你們要將當納的十分之一全然送入倉庫，使我家有糧，以此試試我是否為你們敞開天上的窗戶，傾福與你們，甚至無處可容。」』(瑪拉基書 3:8-10)

     反對的人會說，如果一定要依照舊約，除了十一外，還要加上當獻的供物，所以絕對不只是十一！可是這沒有道理，因為在新約時代沒有獻祭了，因『…基督獻了一次永遠的贖罪祭，就在神的右邊坐下了。』(希伯來書 10:12) 又很清楚的說，『這些罪過既已赦免，就不用再為罪獻祭了。』(希伯來書 10:18) 所以新約時代最多只剩下了十一奉獻，問題是新約有沒說一定要十一奉獻？

           新約中唯一提到十一奉獻的地方是這節經文，『經學士和法利賽人、假冒爲善的人哪，你們有禍阿！因爲你們將薄荷、茴香、芹菜、獻上十分之一，而律法上較有重量的事，如正義憐憫和信實、你們卻遺棄了。其實呢，前者那些雖不可遺棄，後者這些卻必須行。』(馬太福音  23:23, 呂振中譯本)    在和合本的翻譯本是說，『你們這假冒為善的文士和法利賽人有禍了！因為你們將薄荷、茴香、芹菜獻上十分之一，那律法上更重的事，就是公義、憐憫、信實，反倒不行了。這更重的是你們當行的，那也是不可不行的。』(馬太福音 23:23, 和合本)

           因我主要用的是和合本，因此沒有看到這裏是說十一奉獻是不可不行的，以為公義等事是不可不行的。但如果我們去看英文版本和彙編(Strong’s Concordance)原文的這經文，的確會看到呂振中譯本是對的，對舊約的法利賽人是說要有十一奉獻。那時仍是在舊約時代中，因耶穌還沒有死而復活升天，所以這話是對在舊約中的人說的。

           其實從「神藉著聖經告訴我們是一致的」來看更清楚，耶穌自己守的是安息日的真諦而不是律法的字句，祂怎麼會要求在新約的我們守十一奉獻的律法呢！一個愛主的人自然會考慮到神家的需要，儘可能的使神家有糧。如果一個愛主的人有力量能夠做超過十一的奉獻，他一定會奉獻超過十分之一。如果一個愛主的人沒有能力奉獻十分之一，他的不到十一的奉獻照樣為主所悅納，因為他已甘心情願的儘他的力量做到所能做的。 

2. 不要認撒但為父

          聖經明說，『…魔鬼(撒但)…說謊是出於自己，因他本來是說謊的，也是說謊之人的父。』(約翰福音 8:44) 從這節經文，我們可以很清楚的看到，説謊的人就是認撒但為父，並可以看到三位一體的神並沒有創造說謊。說謊是犯了不順服神的罪，因耶和華說，『你們不可偷盜，不可欺騙，也不可彼此說謊。』(利未記 19:11) 約翰說，『凡住在他(主)裏面的，就不犯罪；凡犯罪的，是未曾看見他，也未曾認識他。』(約翰一書 3:6) 我們以前花了相當大的篇幅在『2096 于宏潔的新人門訓  –  不合乎聖經的地方  (1) 』中証明了，聖經說罪的定義就是不順服神。如果你有興趣的話，可以到『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』的網站後，按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』，找到這篇文章。

          我們剛才分享了聖經告訴我們，在新約時代沒有要我們守十一奉獻的律法，但有些人會強解聖經的。彼得說得很清楚說，『…我們所親愛的兄弟保羅，照着所賜給他的智慧寫了信給你們。他一切的信上也都是講論這事。信中有些難明白的，那無學問、不堅固的人強解(曲解, 呂振中譯本)，如強解別的經書一樣，就自取沉淪。』(彼得後書 3:15-16) 對於倡導十一奉獻的教會，一但不強解聖經而知道了不要守這樣的律法，就應該停止這樣的倡導，不要再欺騙自己，說謊而認撒但為父。

          對於那些認為聖經的無誤是字句上的，也是在自己欺騙自己，是在說謊，因為聖經有明顯的矛盾，所以這也是認撒但為父的一個例子。看到明顯的矛盾時，我們該問的是，神為什麼在聖經中要默示這明顯的矛盾，在『2111 聖經無誤論的真諦』中，我們就詳細的討論這問題，並舉了相當多的例子。我們也在『2141 對聖靈帶領查經我們可做的事』中的『4. 一個可能聖經的寫法: 有自動更正錯誤的能力』，討論了一個聖經可能的寫法，有自動更正錯誤的能力，可以考慮為這樣默示的註解。有些教會就會說，聖經的原版是在文字上沒有錯誤的。因原版已失傳，就没有人能証明這敍述的對錯，這是在玩文字的遊戲。

    彼得說得好，『務要謹守、警醒，因為你們的仇敵魔鬼，如同吼叫的獅子，遍地遊行，尋找可吞吃的人。』(彼得前書 5:8) 不要說謊而犯罪，『…不可給魔鬼留地步。』(以弗所書 4:27)

(經文除了特別註明外，是基於和合本。)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

    在前言中，我们提到读经的目的是要得生命是耶稣说的，和生命只能从神来是保罗讲的，现今我们只有被三位一体的神中的圣灵引导，才能得生命。所以在这里我们一直强调，我们的分享最多在知识的层面，希望借著它能把大家带到神的面前得生命。譬如说，我们看到了，当我们真正的愿意打开心门时，祂一定会在我们身上作工，只是没有说是在何时。在第二中，我们提到了一个圣灵用的方法，使我们能把神的话存在心里，这是圣灵带领我们查经的前奏，因为圣灵有绝对的主权，我们能做的就是要知道圣灵在带领我们查经，要我们和祂同工。也是因为祂有绝对的主权，我们在第三中只能举一些例子来说明如何知道神在带领我们查经，其中我们也看到了在旧约中的巴兰，是堕落的先知，是死不悔改的。最后我们看到了部份圣经的写法和编码理论(coding theory)相似，就说明了编码理论的自动更正错误能力的基本原理，然后提到了圣经的那部份为什么也有自动更正错误的能力。

1. 前言        

    我们上次说过，基督徒相信新旧约都是神所默示的，因而知道「神借著圣经告诉我们是一致的」，且「不把圣经的话打折扣」。当我们以这两者作为逻辑的公理时，我们就会发觉圣经是多么的符合逻辑，非基督徒只要能做同样的假设作为逻辑的公理，就会得到同样的结论。我们在『2140 起初神创造天地 – 创(1)1』中，用圣经的第一句话来阐述了这概念。请到『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』的网站后，按『对属灵生命的了解』，找到这篇文章。今天我们就来看实际上是如何能做到这点。      

    耶稣说读经的目的是要得生命，『你们查考圣经，因你们以为内中有永生；给我作见证的就是这经。然而你们不肯到我这里来得生命。』(约翰福音 5:39-40) 我们知道，生命只能从神来，『我(保罗)栽种了，亚波罗浇灌了，惟有神叫他生长。可见栽种的算不得甚么，浇灌的也算不得甚么，只在那叫他生长的神。』(哥林多前书 3:6-7) 在现今的世界中，『…有基督耶稣已经死了，而且从死里复活，现今在神的右边，也替我们祈求。』(罗马书 8:34) 耶稣说，『但我要从父那里差保惠师来，就是从父出来真理的圣灵，他来了，就要为我作见证。』(约翰福音 15:26) 圣灵不只是要做见证，而且『只等真理的圣灵来了，他要引导你们明白(原文: 进入)一切的真理，…』(约翰福音 16:13)        

    简言之，现今在这世界上，对我们来说只有圣灵的存在，当耶稣在大使命所应许的，『…我就常与你们同在，直到世界的末了。』(马太福音 28:20) 是以内住的圣灵方式成就的，因圣经是说，『岂不知你们的身子就是圣灵的殿吗？这圣灵是从神而来，住在你们里头的；…』(哥林多前书 6:19) 圣经不会骗我们，不管我们感不感觉到，圣灵就是内住在基督徒里。说到这里，当我听到别人在聚会中祷告求圣灵与我们同在时，这样的人罢明了是在把圣经的话打折扣，因为耶稣说得很清楚，『…无论在哪里，有两三个人奉我的名聚会，那里就有我在他们中间。』(马太福音 18:20) 实在是没有必要祷告圣灵与我们同在，要祷告，也是该求圣灵在我们中间工作。        

    彼得说，『…我们所亲爱的兄弟保罗，照著所赐给他的智慧写了信给你们。他一切的信上也都是讲论这事。信中有些难明白的，那无学问、不坚固的人强解(曲解, 吕振中译本)，如强解别的经书一样，就自取沉沦。』(彼得后书 3:15-16) 要想不强解圣经如彼得所说，就只有让圣灵带领我们查经。事实上，我们只能了解圣灵要我们知道的，这就是保罗所说的，『若有人以为自己知道甚么，按他所当知道的，他仍是不知道。』(哥林多前书 8:2)        

    我们也知道圣灵是三位一体的神中的一位，有绝对的主权，因为『这一切都是这位圣灵所运行、随己意分给各人的。』(哥林多前书 12:11) 很明显的，这里是说随己意。既然如此，三位一体的神有全权决定要不要带领我们查经，我们能做什么呢？不是要躺著什么事都不做，而是要与神同工，等下我们就能看见如何与神同工。        

    其实，只要我们真正的愿意打开心门，祂一定会作工的，因为这是耶稣的应许。在启示录中的老底嘉的教会，把耶稣关在门外，祂仍然说，『看哪，我站在门外叩门，若有听见我声音就开门的，我要进到他那里去，我与他，他与我一同坐席。』(启示录 3:20) 这里只是说坐席，没有说一定会作工，但祂一定会作工的，要不怎么会有，『得胜的，我要赐他在我宝座上与我同坐，就如我得了胜，在我父的宝座上与他同坐一般。』(启示录 3:21) 唯一没有说的是时间会在何时，所以祂仍然是有绝对的主权。这又是神借著圣经告诉我们是一致的一个例子。

    我们在这里要强调的是，要真正的开心门，因为『人心比万物都诡诈，坏到极处，谁能识透呢？』(耶利米书 17:9) 自己会欺骗自己的！只有当我们做出来时候，我们才能确定自己的真正想法，难怪雅各会说，『…你愿意知道没有行为的信心是死的吗？』(雅各书 2:20) 这也就是我们能做的第一步，行出符合祂心意的行为，就是把祂的话存在心里的行为。第二步是主权在祂，等祂的时间到了的时候自然会带领我们查经，我们能做的就是，如何知道神在带领我们查经，能与神同工。

2. 把神的话存在心里        

    圣经的一个确定的写法是这里一点那里一点，因为旧约明说，『所以耶和华向他们说的话是：命上加命、令上加令，律上加律、例上加例，这里一点、那里一点。…』(以赛亚书 28:13) 因此一定要看整本圣经，才能把神的话存在心里，读出圣经的想法，而这正是三位一体的神借著一位弟兄教导我读经的第一步！ 为什么我能这么的确定是圣灵的带领呢？因为他在我身上做过一件只有圣灵能做的预知的事情。在油管中的『201011 从两个神迹中创造了一个不是圣经所说的神』中，我们在约 7:15 时开始详述了这件事情，其链结为『https://youtu.be/_ZdullOIWTA?si=mgg3Gxb7uhZ6CnK7』。

    要能够确定的知道没有遗漏任何一个圣经的话语，我们可以从旧约的第一章第一节看起，直到旧约看完，接著就是从新约的马太福音开始，直到启示录的最后一节，这是一遍。然后重复，直到神认为我们已经把祂的话存在心里。主权是在祂，决定什么时候祂会带领我们查经，而我们一但知道神是在带领我们查经，我们就要和神同工。         #####因为是重复，我们也可以从比较容易读的新约开始，这样只有在第一遍时有区别，一但读完新约，就和前者所述的相同了。我们要提的一点是，如果你在这样的读经时，觉得自己读不懂没有关系，读过去就是，要知道目的是在把神的话存在心里。到第二步圣灵带领我们查经时，自然会看得懂一些经文，就是祂要我们能了解的。这样的读经是一定要在信心里面，虽然读不懂，也要继续往前。        

    如果我们这样读经，每天花大约一小时，一年大约可读整本圣经三遍。这不是说把圣经共有几章，除以三，然后再除以一年的天数，每天再就读完这样固定的章数，所以可以一年读完圣经三遍。这是律法，遵从这样的律法是不可能甘心情愿的去读经的，最多是勉强自己做到这律法，更不要说是学习跟随圣灵的带领了。

    如果是每天愿意花大约一小时，每天从那一章节开始，那一章节结束，是不能预先知道的。这就犹如以色列人出埃及的时候，『立起帐幕的那日，有云彩遮盖帐幕，就是法柜的帐幕。…云彩几时从帐幕收上去，以色列人就几时起行；云彩在哪里停住，以色列人就在那里安营。』(民数记 9:15-17) 他们在跟随神的引导，我们这样的读经，也同时在学习跟随圣灵的带领。       

    要强调的一点是，当我们甘心情愿的这样读经时，仇敌不会放过我们的，当我们愈接近神时，我们会经过愈多的试探，因为『…仆人不能大于主人，差人也不能大于差他的人。』(约翰福音 13:16) 我们看耶稣在受洗后被领去旷野受试探时，『魔鬼(撒但)用完了各样的试探，就暂时离开耶稣。』(路加福音 4:13) 只是暂时的离开，然后希伯来书就明讲了，『…我们的大祭司(耶稣)并非不能体恤我们的软弱，他也曾凡事受过试探，与我们一样，只是他没有犯罪。』(希伯来书 4:15) 所以我们受试探时不要讶异，但要深深相信圣经的话，『你们所遇见的试探，无非是人所能受的。神是信实的，必不叫你们受试探过于所能受的。在受试探的时候，总要给你们开一条出路，叫你们能忍受得住。』(哥林多前书 10:13)        

    对一个正常的人来说，看和听是不一样的，在这样的读经过程中，你可能会发觉，只是用听的不行，一定要用看的才可以，因为这和人体的构造有关，听和看有著不同的机置，用听的不能达到用看的同样的目的，所以我们以下就简单的说明一下，看所能达到的。        

    一个人的大脑犹如一台生物的计算机，只是目前的科技尚不知程式存于何处，人体是这么复杂，最可能的是永远都不会知道。如果以人的视觉为例，简单来说，眼睛犹如照相机，把看到的东西照下来，然后经过视网膜转换为电的讯号，最后存在记忆里。如果这过程是真如计算机般，只看一次就可以精确的存下所看过的了。但实际上我们是不同的，因为神经不是都联接在一起，神经网路中神经和神经间的讯号传导是透过离子的，这样的传导会造成不确定性，所以必须读多次，才有可能存神的话语在心里。        

    我不知道每个人要读几次才行，有人说至少要读十次，这只是没有上限的鼓励人的话，我自己的经验是需要读的次数比这更多。但我不知道最后读了多少遍，只记得有一天和姊妹说，我读不懂圣经，只能知道别人的话在不在圣经里面，很久以后才真正的发现，如果神允许的话，我的确是可以知道别人说的是否圣经中提到过。        

    我们再看看计算机是如何取出资料的，基本上资料的储存是用层次的方式，我们需要取出某一特定的资料，必须知道这资料存在那里，就是要知道这资料存的路径，也就是每一层次的档案名称，直到最后找到这资料。所以除非我们知道这资料的路径，就算资料是存在那里，我们也找不到。        

    如果脑部的储存系统和这类似，那么要知道路径才可以找到资料，当我们把圣经的话已经存在心里时，圣灵只要告诉我们路径，我们就可以找到相应的资料了。如果我们是脑袋空空，没有东西，圣灵怎么能带领我们去查经呢？请注意，我没有说就是这样的，只是依照目前我所知的，能够作到的最好解释！        

    至于圣灵是如何开始带领我的查经，是这开始以后非常长的一段时间才想起的，知道这开始是和刚才提到的『201011』中约 11:50 说的第二个神迹有关。在 2018 时，我还在忧郁症中，那是岳母去世且姊妹在台湾的一年，那时我以为自己还不能读圣经，属灵的生命没有灵粮总有一天会死的，就犹如属世的生命没有食物般。        

    当另一姊妹知道我的姊妹不在家，而认为我在忧郁症中有饭食的需要时，就因爱心坚持要送饭食给我。在送饭的事后，我们就有了一个很简短的交通，最后我说到我仍然不能像以前一样的，从创世记到启示录去读经，然后就突然意识到，我正在以专题的方式读经，有时是看一件事，有时是看一个人物，等等。从此以后我就不再从创世记到启示录去读经，经过一长段时间后，才意识到这是圣灵的工作，知道现在绝对是圣灵在带领我读经。

3. 如何知道神在带领我们查经

    既然是主权在祂，等祂的时间到了的时候才会带领我们查经，我们能做的就是要知道祂在带领我们查经，要我们和祂同工。即使我们看不到圣灵的带领，也要站在祂那一边的和祂同工，因为祂的带领是包括了要我们踏出第一步。譬如说我们以前分享过，在使徒行传的第十六章中，圣灵禁止保罗和西拉在亚西亚讲道，和不要往庇推尼去，然后用异象现与保罗而去了马其顿，这不是要他们踏出错误的第一步然后更正他们吗？也是因为祂有绝对的主权，我们只能举出一些祂做的例子，而不能说到限制祂主权的规则。在『2133 是否是神的话及神要的行动的例子』中，我们举了三个圣灵带领我们的例子，附上发生的时间，所以知道这是最近才发生的事情，你可以和以前一样的找到这篇文章。  请注意，这里我强调这些都是最近才发生的事情，是因有人教导说，发生的事情要等一段时间才能作见证。不是这样的，神是又真又活的神，只要我们的动机不是自己欺骗自己的为自己的荣耀，而是为祂的荣耀，祂是会带领我们作见证的。

    有时候圣灵的带领会分为不只一个步骤，举一个刚发生不久的例子来说明这点。在和耶稣同钉的两个犯人中的一个『…说：「耶稣啊，你得国降临的时候，求你记念我！」耶稣对他说：「我实在告诉你：今日你要同我在乐园里了。」』(路加福音 23:42-43) 有人看到这经文就以为基督徒死后都会到乐园去等待，那时的看见是那犯人只是一个不受洗的特例，是大有信心才会那样说话，所以耶稣就直接告诉他死后要同祂在乐园里。圣经绝对没有说所有的基督徒死后都会到乐园等待，要分辩特例和一般情况，那时也这样分享了。在『2063   基督徒的信仰简介』中的『7. 临死前的真信绝对有效，但有机会时该受洗』，我们从受洗的角度来看这一件事情。        

    不久之前，我才意识到那犯人是有超出我想像的大信心！耶稣那时已距死不远，而那犯人对祂说祢得国降临的时候，死人不能如此，所以他相信主会死而复活，且更会再来，只有神才能如此。难怪耶稣会对他说，『今日你要同我在乐园里了』。我们也注意到，第二次的看见只是加在第一次的看见上面，好像这例子是专为这次的分享而适时出来的！我很清楚这是圣灵的带领，但就像一般的见证一样，有部份是不能显给人看的，到目前为止，唯一可显给人看的见证，是医疗系统中记录的客观事实，就是在『2123 神用客观的、给别人看的客观事实显现祂的存在 』中所分享的。

    我们要分辩，就是有过和神很亲密的人，也不见得不会堕落，旧约就有一个明显的例子，就是堕落的先知比珥的儿子巴兰。我们说他是先知，因新约是说，『…巴兰就是那贪爱不义之工价的先知，他却为自己的过犯受了责备；那不能说话的驴，以人言拦阻先知(G4396)的狂妄。』(彼得后书 2:15-16)     

    我们不知他是何时完全堕落的，在他堕落前，他是和神很亲密的，我们可以从在摩押王西拨的儿子巴勒请他去咒诅以色列人看到这一点。圣经明说，『巴兰举目，看见以色列人照著支派居住，神的灵就临到他身上。』(民数记 24:2) 在他最终没有咒诅以色列人后，『…巴兰起来回他本地去，巴勒也回去了。』(民数记 24:25)        

    在他完全堕落后，不知何时回到了亚摩利王西宏的国那里，当约书亚的『那时，以色列人在所杀的人中，也用刀杀了比珥的儿子术士(H7080)巴兰。』(约书亚记 13:22) 所以即使曾和神很亲密的先知也会堕落的。我们要悔改，新约很清楚的说，『我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。』(约翰一书 1:9) 不要像巴兰般的死不认错悔改！所以一但知道自己犯了罪，就至少要在神面前悔改，更有可能还要像大卫般的在众人面前悔改。大卫和拔示巴同室以后，拿单去见他，使他知道自己犯了大罪，他就写了诗篇 51 篇，不只是在神面前彻底悔改，并交于伶长，并不隐瞒自己的过错。

4. 一个可能圣经的写法: 有自动更正错误的能力        

    基督徒相信圣经是神所默示的，三位一体的神早就知道圣经是不可能以原版传到现在，祂在默示的时候就考虑到这点，能让不强解圣经的人，看到圣经能有自动更正错误的能力，我现在要分享就是一个这样，从至少是部份圣经看到的方法，来对付这样的问题。要强调的是，我不是在说圣经就是这样写的，只是要分享一个人都能想出有自动更正能力的方法，神一定会做的更完善。        

    这方法能比较清楚的描述是基于编码理论(coding theory)，对不懂编码理论的人，我们就先叙述其基本原理，然后用类比的方式来说明一个圣经可能的写法。        

    我们现在就用地球和远处太空船之间的通信，来说明编码理论的基本原理，在这种情况下，因距离远、而要相当长的时间、才能从地球上发给太空船一个指令。换句话说，基本上就是一个指令没有机会送第二次，一次就要对，当发觉一些(不是所有)错误时，要能自动的更正这些错误。这不是和圣经只有一次默示的机会相似吗？不同的地方是印刷术在有原版圣经时还没有发明，只能抄写，尤其在旧约原文圣经抄写时非常严格，有错误的机会非常小，而通讯管道则一定有产生多重错误的较高可能性，所以两者最多只是相似，不是相同。        

    现在我们就把编码理论的基本原理用一个简单的例子来说明。在计算机里，任何的讯息都是用一长串的零和壹来表示，要送一个讯息，如果零或壹的输送没有错误的话，这个讯息的输送就不会有错，所以最简单要输送的讯息就是零或壹，我们就用输送零或壹作为例子，看看编码理论怎么能够自动更正某些错误的基本原理。        

    当要输送零时，就连续输送三个零，这就是输送的信号。同样的，当要输送一个壹时，就连续的输送三个壹。也就是说，要输送这样的讯息，实际上输送的信号，比输送只一次的原先的讯息，就慢了三倍，我们就看看带有错误的接收信号，如何能自动更正某些错误。        

    当零经由传输管道到接收器时，可能会产生错误而变为壹，同样的，壹会因错误而变为零。如果传输的是零，而现在收到的信号只有一个错误，就会有两个零一个壹，我们就知道原先的讯息是零，也就是说自动的更正了一个错误。当然传输壹也是一样的只能更正一个错误。要想如此的更正两个错误，就要慢五倍。以此类推，传输的信号愈慢，就能更正越多的错误，也就是以时间来换取错误的减少。        

    在圣经中，一些概念会以不同的方式重复的出现，所以会比只说一次就会篇幅长了不少，但错误就会因此而自动更正。以编码理论作为类比，编码理论是以时间换取错误的减少，圣经则是以篇幅长而达到同样的效果。我要再次强调，全部圣经不见得都是以编码理论的方式写的，我们在这里只是分享一个人都能想出的方法，神一定是会做的更完善。

(经文除了特别注明外，是基于和合本。)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到这网站后要按『对属灵生命的了解』。)  

        在前言中，我們提到讀經的目的是要得生命是耶穌說的，和生命只能從神來是保羅講的，現今我們只有被三位一體的神中的聖靈引導，才能得生命。所以在這裏我們一直強調，我們的分享最多在知識的層面，希望藉著它能把大家帶到神的面前得生命。譬如說，我們看到了，當我們真正的願意打開心門時，祂一定會在我們身上作工，只是沒有說是在何時。在第二中，我們提到了一個聖靈用的方法，使我們能把神的話存在心裏，這是聖靈帶領我們查經的前奏，因為聖靈有絕對的主權，我們能做的就是要知道聖靈在帶領我們查經，要我們和祂同工。也是因為祂有絕對的主權，我們在第三中只能舉一些例子來說明如何知道神在帶領我們查經，其中我們也看到了在舊約中的巴蘭，是墮落的先知，是死不悔改的。最後我們看到了部份聖經的寫法和編碼理論(coding theory)相似，就說明了編碼理論的自動更正錯誤能力的基本原理，然後提到了聖經的那部份為什麼也有自動更正錯誤的能力。

1. 前言 

        我們上次說過，基督徒相信新舊約都是神所默示的，因而知道「神藉著聖經告訴我們是一致的」，且「不把聖經的話打折扣」。當我們以這兩者作為邏輯的公理時，我們就會發覺聖經是多麼的符合邏輯，非基督徒只要能做同樣的假設作為邏輯的公理，就會得到同樣的結論。我們在『2140 起初神創造天地 – 創(1)1』中，用聖經的第一句話來闡述了這概念。請到『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』的網站後，按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』，找到這篇文章。今天我們就來看實際上是如何能做到這點。

       耶穌說讀經的目的是要得生命，『你們查考聖經，因你們以為內中有永生；給我作見證的就是這經。然而你們不肯到我這裏來得生命。』(約翰福音 5:39-40) 我們知道，生命只能從神來，『我(保羅)栽種了，亞波羅澆灌了，惟有神叫他生長。可見栽種的算不得甚麼，澆灌的也算不得甚麼，只在那叫他生長的神。』(哥林多前書 3:6-7) 在現今的世界中，『…有基督耶穌已經死了，而且從死裏復活，現今在神的右邊，也替我們祈求。』(羅馬書 8:34) 耶穌說，『但我要從父那裏差保惠師來，就是從父出來真理的聖靈，他來了，就要為我作見證。』(約翰福音 15:26) 聖靈不只是要做見証，而且『只等真理的聖靈來了，他要引導你們明白(原文: 進入)一切的真理，…』(約翰福音 16:13) 

        簡言之，現今在這世界上，對我們來說只有聖靈的存在，當耶穌在大使命所應許的，『…我就常與你們同在，直到世界的末了。』(馬太福音 28:20) 是以內住的聖靈方式成就的，因聖經是說，『豈不知你們的身子就是聖靈的殿嗎？這聖靈是從神而來，住在你們裏頭的；…』(哥林多前書 6:19) 聖經不會騙我們，不管我們感不感覺到，聖靈就是內住在基督徒裏。說到這裏，當我聽到別人在聚會中禱告求聖靈與我們同在時，這樣的人罷明了是在把聖經的話打折扣，因為耶穌說得很清楚，『…無論在哪裏，有兩三個人奉我的名聚會，那裏就有我在他們中間。』(馬太福音 18:20) 實在是沒有必要禱告聖靈與我們同在，要禱告，也是該求聖靈在我們中間工作。

        彼得說，『…我們所親愛的兄弟保羅，照着所賜給他的智慧寫了信給你們。他一切的信上也都是講論這事。信中有些難明白的，那無學問、不堅固的人強解(曲解, 呂振中譯本)，如強解別的經書一樣，就自取沉淪。』(彼得後書 3:15-16) 要想不強解聖經如彼得所說，就只有讓聖靈帶領我們查經。事實上，我們只能瞭解聖靈要我們知道的，這就是保羅所說的，『若有人以為自己知道甚麼，按他所當知道的，他仍是不知道。』(哥林多前書 8:2)

        我們也知道聖靈是三位一體的神中的一位，有絕對的主權，因為『這一切都是這位聖靈所運行、隨己意分給各人的。』(哥林多前書 12:11) 很明顯的，這裏是說随己意。既然如此，三位一體的神有全權決定要不要帶領我們查經，我們能做什麼呢？不是要躺著什麼事都不做，而是要與神同工，等下我們就能看見如何與神同工。

        其實，只要我們真正的願意打開心門，祂一定會作工的，因為這是耶穌的應許。在啓示錄中的老底嘉的教會，把耶穌關在門外，祂仍然說，『看哪，我站在門外叩門，若有聽見我聲音就開門的，我要進到他那裏去，我與他，他與我一同坐席。』(啓示錄 3:20) 這裏只是說坐席，沒有說一定會作工，但祂一定會作工的，要不怎麼會有，『得勝的，我要賜他在我寶座上與我同坐，就如我得了勝，在我父的寶座上與他同坐一般。』(啓示錄 3:21) 唯一沒有說的是時間會在何時，所以祂仍然是有絕對的主權。這又是神藉著聖經告訴我們是一致的一個例子。

        我們在這裏要強調的是，要真正的開心門，因為『人心比萬物都詭詐，壞到極處，誰能識透呢？』(耶利米書 17:9) 自己會欺騙自己的！只有當我們做出來時候，我們才能確定自己的真正想法，難怪雅各會說，『…你願意知道沒有行為的信心是死的嗎？』(雅各書 2:20) 這也就是我們能做的第一步，行出符合祂心意的行為，就是把祂的話存在心裏的行為。第二步是主權在祂，等祂的時間到了的時候自然會帶領我們查經，我們能做的就是，如何知道神在帶領我們查經，能與神同工。

2. 把神的話存在心裏

        聖經的一個確定的寫法是這裏一點那裏一點，因為舊約明說，『所以耶和華向他們說的話是：命上加命、令上加令，律上加律、例上加例，這裏一點、那裏一點。…』(以賽亞書 28:13) 因此一定要看整本聖經，才能把神的話存在心裏，讀出聖經的想法，而這正是三位一體的神藉著一位弟兄教導我讀經的第一步！ 為什麼我能這麼的確定是聖靈的帶領呢？因為他在我身上做過一件只有聖靈能做的預知的事情。在油管中的『201011 從兩個神蹟中創造了一個不是聖經所說的神』中，我們在約 7:15 時開始詳述了這件事情，其鏈結為『https://youtu.be/_ZdullOIWTA?si=mgg3Gxb7uhZ6CnK7』。

        要能夠確定的知道沒有遺漏任何一個聖經的話語，我們可以從舊約的第一章第一節看起，直到舊約看完，接著就是從新約的馬太福音開始，直到啓示錄的最後一節，這是一遍。然後重複，直到神認為我們已經把祂的話存在心裏。主權是在祂，決定什麼時候祂會帶領我們查經，而我們一但知道神是在帶領我們查經，我們就要和神同工。

        因為是重複，我們也可以從比較容易讀的新約開始，這樣只有在第一遍時有區別，一但讀完新約，就和前者所述的相同了。我們要提的一點是，如果你在這樣的讀經時，覺得自己讀不懂沒有關係，讀過去就是，要知道目的是在把神的話存在心裏。到第二步聖靈帶領我們查經時，自然會看得懂一些經文，就是祂要我們能瞭解的。這樣的讀經是一定要在信心裏面，雖然讀不懂，也要繼續往前。

        如果我們這樣讀經，每天花大約一小時，一年大約可讀整本聖經三遍。這不是說把聖經共有幾章，除以三，然後再除以一年的天數，每天再就讀完這樣固定的章數，所以可以一年讀完聖經三遍。這是律法，遵從這樣的律法是不可能甘心情願的去讀經的，最多是勉強自己做到這律法，更不要說是學習跟隨聖靈的帶領了。

        如果是每天願意花大約一小時，每天從那一章節開始，那一章節結束，是不能預先知道的。這就猶如以色列人出埃及的時候，『立起帳幕的那日，有雲彩遮蓋帳幕，就是法櫃的帳幕。…雲彩幾時從帳幕收上去，以色列人就幾時起行；雲彩在哪裏停住，以色列人就在那裏安營。』(民數記 9:15-17) 他們在跟隨神的引導，我們這樣的讀經，也同時在學習跟隨聖靈的帶領。

       要強調的一點是，當我們甘心情願的這樣讀經時，仇敵不會放過我們的，當我們愈接近神時，我們會經過愈多的試探，因為『…僕人不能大於主人，差人也不能大於差他的人。』(約翰福音 13:16) 我們看耶穌在受洗後被領去曠野受試探時，『魔鬼(撒但)用完了各樣的試探，就暫時離開耶穌。』(路加福音 4:13) 只是暫時的離開，然後希伯來書就明講了，『…我們的大祭司(耶穌)並非不能體恤我們的軟弱，他也曾凡事受過試探，與我們一樣，只是他沒有犯罪。』(希伯來書 4:15) 所以我們受試探時不要訝異，但要深深相信聖經的話，『你們所遇見的試探，無非是人所能受的。神是信實的，必不叫你們受試探過於所能受的。在受試探的時候，總要給你們開一條出路，叫你們能忍受得住。』(哥林多前書 10:13)

        對一個正常的人來說，看和聽是不一樣的，在這樣的讀經過程中，你可能會發覺，只是用聽的不行，一定要用看的才可以，因為這和人體的構造有關，聽和看有著不同的機置，用聽的不能達到用看的同樣的目的，所以我們以下就簡單的說明一下，看所能達到的。

        一個人的大腦猶如一台生物的計算機，只是目前的科技尚不知程式存於何處，人體是這麼複雜，最可能的是永遠都不會知道。如果以人的視覺為例，簡單來說，眼睛猶如照相機，把看到的東西照下來，然後經過視網膜轉換為電的訊號，最後存在記憶裏。如果這過程是真如計算機般，只看一次就可以精確的存下所看過的了。但實際上我們是不同的，因為神經不是都聯接在一起，神經網路中神經和神經間的訊號傳導是透過離子的，這樣的傳導會造成不確定性，所以必須讀多次，才有可能存神的話語在心裏。

        我不知道每個人要讀幾次才行，有人說至少要讀十次，這只是沒有上限的鼓勵人的話，我自己的經驗是需要讀的次數比這更多。但我不知道最後讀了多少遍，只記得有一天和姊妹說，我讀不懂聖經，只能知道別人的話在不在聖經裏面，很久以後才真正的發現，如果神允許的話，我的確是可以知道別人說的是否聖經中提到過。

        我們再看看計算機是如何取出資料的，基本上資料的儲存是用層次的方式，我們需要取出某一特定的資料，必須知道這資料存在那裏，就是要知道這資料存的路徑，也就是每一層次的檔案名稱，直到最後找到這資料。所以除非我們知道這資料的路徑，就算資料是存在那裏，我們也找不到。

        如果腦部的儲存系統和這類似，那麼要知道路徑才可以找到資料，當我們把聖經的話已經存在心裏時，聖靈只要告訴我們路徑，我們就可以找到相應的資料了。如果我們是腦袋空空，沒有東西，聖靈怎麼能帶領我們去查經呢？請注意，我没有說就是這樣的，只是依照目前我所知的，能夠作到的最好解釋！

        至於聖靈是如何開始帶領我的查經，是這開始以後非常長的一段時間才想起的，知道這開始是和剛才提到的『201011』中約 11:50 說的第二個神蹟有關。在 2018 時，我還在憂鬱症中，那是岳母去世且姊妹在台灣的一年，那時我以為自己還不能讀聖經，屬靈的生命沒有靈糧總有一天會死的，就猶如屬世的生命沒有食物般。

        當另一姊妹知道我的姊妹不在家，而認為我在憂鬱症中有飯食的需要時，就因愛心堅持要送飯食給我。在送飯的事後，我們就有了一個很簡短的交通，最後我說到我仍然不能像以前一樣的，從創世記到啓示錄去讀經，然後就突然意識到，我正在以專題的方式讀經，有時是看一件事，有時是看一個人物，等等。從此以後我就不再從創世記到啓示錄去讀經，經過一長段時間後，才意識到這是聖靈的工作，知道現在絕對是聖靈在帶領我讀經。

3. 如何知道神在帶領我們查經

        既然是主權在祂，等祂的時間到了的時候才會帶領我們查經，我們能做的就是要知道祂在帶領我們查經，要我們和祂同工。即使我們看不到聖靈的帶領，也要站在祂那一邊的和祂同工，因為祂的帶領是包括了要我們踏出第一步。譬如說我們以前分享過，在使徒行傳的第十六章中，聖靈禁止保羅和西拉在亞西亞講道，和不要往庇推尼去，然後用異象現與保羅而去了馬其頓，這不是要他們踏出錯誤的第一步然後更正他們嗎？也是因為祂有絕對的主權，我們只能舉出一些祂做的例子，而不能說到限制祂主權的規則。在『2133 是否是神的話及神要的行動的例子』中，我們舉了三個聖靈帶領我們的例子，附上發生的時間，所以知道這是最近才發生的事情，你可以和以前一樣的找到這篇文章。  請注意，這裏我強調這些都是最近才發生的事情，是因有人教導說，發生的事情要等一段時間才能作見証。不是這樣的，神是又真又活的神，只要我們的動機不是自己欺騙自己的為自己的榮耀，而是為祂的榮耀，祂是會帶領我們作見証的。

       有時候聖靈的帶領會分為不只一個步驟，舉一個剛發生不久的例子來說明這點。在和耶穌同釘的兩個犯人中的一個『…說：「耶穌啊，你得國降臨的時候，求你記念我！」耶穌對他說：「我實在告訴你：今日你要同我在樂園裏了。」』(路加福音 23:42-43) 有人看到這經文就以為基督徒死後都會到樂園去等待，那時的看見是那犯人只是一個不受洗的特例，是大有信心才會那樣說話，所以耶穌就直接告訴他死後要同祂在樂園裏。聖經絕對沒有說所有的基督徒死後都會到樂園等待，要分辨特例和一般情況，那時也這樣分享了。在『2063   基督徒的信仰簡介』中的『7. 臨死前的真信絕對有效，但有機會時該受洗』，我們從受洗的角度來看這一件事情。

        不久之前，我才意識到那犯人是有超出我想像的大信心！耶穌那時已距死不遠，而那犯人對祂說祢得國降臨的時候，死人不能如此，所以他相信主會死而復活，且更會再來，只有神才能如此。難怪耶穌會對他說，『今日你要同我在樂園裏了』。我們也注意到，第二次的看見只是加在第一次的看見上面，好像這例子是專為這次的分享而適時出來的！我很清楚這是聖靈的帶領，但就像一般的見証一樣，有部份是不能顯給人看的，到目前為止，唯一可顯給人看的見証，是醫療系統中記錄的客觀事實，就是在『2123 神用客觀的、給別人看的客觀事實顯現祂的存在 』中所分享的。

       我們要分辨，就是有過和神很親密的人，也不見得不會墮落，舊約就有一個明顯的例子，就是墮落的先知比珥的兒子巴蘭。我們說他是先知，因新約是說，『…巴蘭就是那貪愛不義之工價的先知，他卻為自己的過犯受了責備；那不能說話的驢，以人言攔阻先知(G4396)的狂妄。』(彼得後書 2:15-16)

     我們不知他是何時完全墮落的，在他墮落前，他是和神很親密的，我們可以從在摩押王西撥的兒子巴勒請他去咒詛以色列人看到這一點。聖經明說，『巴蘭舉目，看見以色列人照着支派居住，神的靈就臨到他身上。』(民數記 24:2) 在他最終沒有咒詛以色列人後，『…巴蘭起來回他本地去，巴勒也回去了。』(民數記 24:25) 

        在他完全墮落後，不知何時回到了亞摩利王西宏的國那裏，當約書亞的『那時，以色列人在所殺的人中，也用刀殺了比珥的兒子術士(H7080)巴蘭。』(約書亞記 13:22) 所以即使曾和神很親密的先知也會墮落的。我們要悔改，新約很清楚的說，『我們若認自己的罪，神是信實的，是公義的，必要赦免我們的罪，洗淨我們一切的不義。』(約翰一書 1:9) 不要像巴蘭般的死不認錯悔改！所以一但知道自己犯了罪，就至少要在神面前悔改，更有可能還要像大衞般的在眾人面前悔改。大衞和拔示巴同室以後，拿單去見他，使他知道自己犯了大罪，他就寫了詩篇 51 篇，不只是在神面前徹底悔改，並交於伶長，並不隱瞞自己的過錯。

4. 一個可能聖經的寫法: 有自動更正錯誤的能力

        基督徒相信聖經是神所默示的，三位一體的神早就知道聖經是不可能以原版傳到現在，祂在默示的時候就考慮到這點，能讓不強解聖經的人，看到聖經能有自動更正錯誤的能力，我現在要分享就是一個這樣，從至少是部份聖經看到的方法，來對付這樣的問題。要強調的是，我不是在說聖經就是這樣寫的，只是要分享一個人都能想出有自動更正能力的方法，神一定會做的更完善。

        這方法能比較清楚的描述是基於編碼理論(coding theory)，對不懂編碼理論的人，我們就先敍述其基本原理，然後用類比的方式來說明一個聖經可能的寫法。

        我們現在就用地球和遠處太空船之間的通信，來說明編碼理論的基本原理，在這種情況下，因距離遠、而要相當長的時間、才能從地球上發給太空船一個指令。換句話說，基本上就是一個指令没有機會送第二次，一次就要對，當發覺一些(不是所有)錯誤時，要能自動的更正這些錯誤。這不是和聖經只有一次默示的機會相似嗎？不同的地方是印刷術在有原版聖經時還沒有發明，只能抄寫，尤其在舊約原文聖經抄寫時非常嚴格，有錯誤的機會非常小，而通訊管道則一定有產生多重錯誤的較高可能性，所以兩者最多只是相似，不是相同。

        現在我們就把編碼理論的基本原理用一個簡單的例子來說明。在計算機裏，任何的訊息都是用一長串的零和壹來表示，要送一個訊息，如果零或壹的輸送沒有錯誤的話，這個訊息的輸送就不會有錯，所以最簡單要輸送的訊息就是零或壹，我們就用輸送零或壹作為例子，看看編碼理論怎麼能夠自動更正某些錯誤的基本原理。

        當要輸送零時，就連續輸送三個零，這就是輸送的信號。同樣的，當要輸送一個壹時，就連續的輸送三個壹。也就是說，要輸送這樣的訊息，實際上輸送的信號，比輸送只一次的原先的訊息，就慢了三倍，我們就看看帶有錯誤的接收信號，如何能自動更正某些錯誤。

        當零經由傳輸管道到接收器時，可能會產生錯誤而變為壹，同樣的，壹會因錯誤而變為零。如果傳輸的是零，而現在收到的信號只有一個錯誤，就會有兩個零一個壹，我們就知道原先的訊息是零，也就是說自動的更正了一個錯誤。當然傳輸壹也是一樣的只能更正一個錯誤。要想如此的更正兩個錯誤，就要慢五倍。以此類推，傳輸的信號愈慢，就能更正越多的錯誤，也就是以時間來換取錯誤的減少。

        在聖經中，一些概念會以不同的方式重複的出現，所以會比只說一次就會篇幅長了不少，但錯誤就會因此而自動更正。以編碼理論作為類比，編碼理論是以時間換取錯誤的減少，聖經則是以篇幅長而達到同樣的效果。我要再次強調，全部聖經不見得都是以編碼理論的方式寫的，我們在這裏只是分享一個人都能想出的方法，神一定是會做的更完善。

(經文除了特別註明外，是基於和合本。)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

In the preface, we mentioned that Jesus said that the purpose of reading the Bible is to have life, and that Paul said that life can only come from God. Now we can only have life if we are guided by the Holy Spirit in the Triune God. So here we have always emphasized that our sharing is at most at the level of knowledge, hoping that through it we can bring everyone to God and have life. For example, we have seen that when we are truly willing to open our hearts, He will definitely work in us, but He does not say when. In the second part, we mentioned a method used by the Holy Spirit to enable us to keep God’s word in our hearts. This is a prelude to the Holy Spirit leading us in Bible study. Because the Holy Spirit has absolute sovereignty, all we can do is to know that the Holy Spirit is leading us in Bible study and wants us to work with Him. Also because of His absolute sovereignty, we can only give some examples in the third part to illustrate how to know that God is leading us in Bible study. Among them, we also saw Balaam in the Old Testament, who was a fallen prophet and refused to repent. Finally, we saw that the writing style of part of the Bible is similar to coding theory, which explains the basic principle of the automatic error correction ability, and then mentioned why that part of the Bible also has the ability to automatically correct errors by analogy.

1. Preface 

We said last time that Christians believe that both the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God, and therefore know that “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent” and “does not discount the words of the Bible.” When we use these two as logical axioms, we will find how logical the Bible is. As long as non-Christians can make the same assumptions as logical axioms, they will reach the same conclusion. In “1140 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth – Genesis(1)1”, we explained this concept using the first sentence of the Bible. Please go to the website “https://a-christian-voice.com/” and click “Understanding of Spiritual Life” to find this article. Today we’re going to look at how this can actually be done.

Jesus said that the purpose of reading the Bible is to have life, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”(John 5:39-40) We know that life can only come from God, “I (Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”(1 Corinthians 3:6-7) In today’s world, “…Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”(Romans 8:34) Jesus said, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.”(John 15:26) The Holy Spirit not only bears witness, but also “…when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; …”(John 16:13)

In short, the only existence for us in this world today is the Holy Spirit, as Jesus promised in the Great Commission, “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”(Matthew 28:20) It is accomplished by the indwelling Holy Spirit, for the Bible says, “…do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, …”(1 Corinthians 6:19) The Bible does not lie to us. Whether we feel it or not, the Holy Spirit lives in Christians. At this point, when I hear others praying for the Holy Spirit to be with us during meetings, such people are clearly discounting the words of the Bible, because Jesus said very clearly, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”(Matthew 18:20) There is really no need to pray for the Holy Spirit to be with us. If we do pray, we should ask the Holy Spirit to work among us.

Peter said, “…our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”(2 Peter 3:15-16) If we want to avoid distorting the Bible to as Peter said, we can only let the Holy Spirit lead us in Bible study. In fact, we can only understand what the Holy Spirit wants us to know, which is what Paul said, “If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know.”(1 Corinthians 8:2)

We also know that the Holy Spirit is one of the Trinity and has absolute sovereignty, because “…one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”(1 Corinthians 12:11) Obviously, it means to do ‘as He wills.’ In this case, the Triune God has the full authority to decide whether or not to lead us in Bible study. What can we do then? It is not about lying down and doing nothing, but about working together with God. We will see how to work together with God shortly.

In fact, as long as we are truly willing to open our hearts, He will definitely work, because this is Jesus’ promise. The church in Laodicea in the Book of Revelation shut Jesus out, but He still said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”(Revelation 3:20) Here it only says to dine with me; it does not say that He will definitely work. But He will definitely work, otherwise how could it be possible, “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”(Revelation 3:21) The only thing it doesn’t say is when that will happen, so He still has absolute sovereignty. This is another example regarding what God tells us through the Bible is consistent.

What we want to emphasize here is that we must truly open the door of our hearts, because ““The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”(Jeremiah 17:9) One can deceive himself! Only when we act can we be sure of our true thoughts. No wonder James said, “…faith without works is useless?”(James 2:20) This is the first step we can take, to act in accordance with His will, that is, to keep His words in our hearts. The second step is that sovereignty lies with Him. When His time comes, He will naturally lead us in Bible study. What we can do is to know that God is leading us in Bible study and to work with Him.

2. Keep God’s Word in your heart

A definite way in the Bible writing is to use a little here and a little there, because the Old Testament clearly states, “So the word of the LORD to them will be, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,” …”(Isaiah 28:13) Therefore, we must read the entire Bible in order to keep God’s words in our hearts and understand the Bible’s ideas. This is exactly the first step that the Triune God took to teach me to read the Bible through a brother! Why can I be so sure that it is the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Because the brother did something in me that was foreknowledge that only the Holy Spirit could do. In the YouTube video “201011 Creating a God Not Said in the Bible from Two Miracles”, we start describing this incident in detail in Chinese about 7:15, and the link is “https://youtu.be/_ZdullOIWTA?si=mgg3Gxb7uhZ6CnK7“.

To be sure that we have not missed any words of the Bible, we can start from the first verse of the first chapter of the Old Testament until the end of the Old Testament, and then start from the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament until the last verse of the Book of Revelation. This is counted as one time reading. Then repeat until God thinks we have His Word in our hearts. He is sovereign and decides when to lead us in Bible study. Once we know that God is leading us in Bible study, we should work with Him.

Because it is repetitive, we can also start with the New Testament which is easier to read. In this way, there will be differences only in the first time. Once you finish reading the New Testament, it will be the same as what was described in the previous one. One point we want to mention is that if you feel that you don’t understand the Bible when you are reading it like this, it doesn’t matter. Just read it forwards. You must know that the purpose is to keep God’s words in your heart. In the second step, when the Holy Spirit leads us to study the Bible, we will naturally understand some of the scriptures that He wants us to understand. This kind of reading of the Bible must be done with faith, and even if you don’t understand it, you must continue moving forward.

If we read the Bible in this way, spending about an hour a day, we can read the entire Bible about three times a year. This does not mean that you can divide the number of chapters in the Bible by three, then divide that by the number of days in a year, and then read that fixed number of chapters every day, so you can read the Bible three times a year. This is the law. It is impossible to read the Bible willingly just to obey such a law. At most, one can only reluctantly fulfill this law, let alone learn to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

If you are willing to spend about an hour every day, you cannot know in advance which chapter you will start and end with. This is just like when the Israelites left Egypt, “Now on the day that the tabernacle was erected the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and in the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the tabernacle, until morning. So it was continuously; the cloud would cover it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. Whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would then set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp.”(Numbers 9:15-17) They were following God’s guidance. When we read the Bible in this way, we are also learning to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

One point that needs to be emphasized is that when we read the Bible willingly in this way, the enemy will not let us go. The closer we are to God, the more temptations we will experience, because “Truly, truly, I (Jesus) say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.”(John 13:16) When Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted after his baptism, “When the devil (Satan) had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.”(Luke 4:13) It was only a temporary departure, and then the book of Hebrews clearly stated, “…we do not have a high priest (Jesus) who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”(Hebrews 4:15) So we should not be surprised when we are tempted, but we should deeply believe the words of the Bible, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”(1 Corinthians 10:13)

For a normal person, seeing and hearing are different. In the process of reading the scriptures, you may find that it is not enough to just hear, you must see, because this is related to the structure of the human body. Hearing and seeing have different mechanisms. Hearing cannot achieve the same purpose as seeing, so we will briefly explain what seeing can achieve.

A person’s brain is like a biological computer, but current technology does not know where the program is stored. The human body is so complex that it is most likely that we will never know. If we take human vision as an example, to put it simply, the eye is like a camera, taking a picture of what it sees, which is then converted into electrical signals through the retina and finally stored in the memory. If this process is really like a computer, you only need to watch it once to store exactly what you have seen. But in fact, we are different because our nerves are not all connected together. The signal transmission between nerves in the neural network is through ions. Such transmission will cause uncertainty, so we must read it many times before we can store God’s words in our hearts.

I don’t know how many times each person should read it. Some people say that it should be read at least ten times. This is just encouragement without an upper limit. My own experience is that it needs to be read more times than this. But I don’t know how many times I read it in the end. I just remember telling my sister one day that I couldn’t understand the Bible and could only know whether what others said was in the Bible. It was a long time later that I truly discovered that if God allowed, I could indeed know whether what others said was mentioned in the Bible.

Let’s look at how computers retrieve data. Basically, data is stored in a hierarchical manner. If we need to retrieve certain data, we must know where the data is stored. That is, we must know the path where the data is stored, that is, the file name of each level, until we finally find the data. So unless we know the path to the data, we won’t be able to find it even if it exists there.

If the brain’s storage system is similar to this, then we need to know the path in order to find the information. When we have the words of the Bible stored in our hearts, the Holy Spirit only needs to tell us the path, and we can find the corresponding information. If our heads are empty and we have nothing, how can the Holy Spirit lead us to study the Bible? Please note that I did not say that it is like this exactly, it is just the best explanation I can give based on what I know so far!

As for how the Holy Spirit began to lead me in Bible study, it was only after a very long time after it started. I realized that it was related to the second miracle mentioned in the “201011” mentioned earlier at about 11:50. In 2018, I was still suffering from depression. That was the year my mother-in-law passed away and my sister was in Taiwan. At that time, I thought I was not yet able to read the Bible. Spiritual life without spiritual food would die one day, just like worldly life without food. By

When another sister knew that my sister was not at home and thought that I needed food due to depression, she insisted on sending me food out of brother’s love. After delivering the meal, we had a very brief fellowship. At the end I said that I still couldn’t read the Bible from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation as I did before. Then I suddenly realized that I was reading the Bible in a thematic way, sometimes looking at an event, sometimes looking at a person, and so on. From then on, I no longer read the Bible from the beginning to the end. After a long time, I realized that this was the work of the Holy Spirit and that it was definitely the Holy Spirit who was leading me in reading the Bible.

3. How do we know God is leading us to study the Bible?

Since He is sovereign, He will lead us in Bible study only when His time comes. All we can do is to know that He is leading us in Bible study and wants us to work with Him. Even if we cannot see the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we must stand on His side and work with Him, because His guidance includes us taking the first step. For example, as we have shared before, in Acts 16, the Holy Spirit forbade Paul and Silas to preach in Asia and to go to Bithynia, and then appeared to Paul in a vision and went to Macedonia. Wasn’t this to correct them after they took the first wrong step? Also because He has absolute sovereignty, we can only cite some examples of what He has done, but cannot talk about rules that limit His sovereignty. In “1133 Examples about if it is God’s words and actions that God wants,” we gave three examples of the Holy Spirit leading us, and attached the time when they happened, so you know that this happened recently. You can find this article as before. Please note that I emphasize here that these are recent events because some people teach about things that happen have to wait for a while before they can be witnessed. It is not right. God is a true and living God. As long as our motive is not to deceive ourselves for our own glory, but for His glory, He will lead us to bear witness.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit’s guidance is divided into more than one step. Let me give you an example that happened not long ago to illustrate this point. One of the two criminals crucified with Jesus “was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.””(Luke 23:42-43) Some people see this verse and think that all Christians will go to paradise after they die. At that time, I saw that the criminal was just a special case who was not baptized, and it took great faith to speak like that, so Jesus directly told him that he would be with Him in paradise after he died. The Bible definitely does not say that all Christians will go to paradise after they die. We need to distinguish between special cases and general situations, and this was also shared at that time. In “7. True faith before death is absolutely valid, but you should be baptized when you have the opportunity” of “1063 Introduction to the Christian Faith,” we look at this matter from the perspective of baptism.

Not long ago, I realized that the prisoner had greater faith than I thought! Jesus was not far from death at that time, and the criminal said to Him that when You come into your kingdom, dead people cannot do that, so he believed that the Lord would die and be resurrected, and would come again, and only God could do that. No wonder Jesus said to him, “today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” We also noticed that the second sight was just an addition to the first sight, as if this example was specially created for this sharing! I am very clear that this is the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but like any other testimony, some parts cannot be shown to others. So far, the only testimony that can be shown to others is the objective facts recorded in the medical system, which is shared in “1123 God reveals His existence through objective facts that are visible to others.”

We need to discern that even those who once had a close relationship with God may not necessarily avoid falling. There is an obvious example in the Old Testament, that is, the fallen prophet Balaam, the son of Beor. We say he is a prophet because the New Testament says, “…Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet (G4396).”(2 Peter 2:15-16)

We do not know when he completely fell. Before his fall, he was very close to God. We can see this when Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, asked him to curse the Israelites. The Bible clearly says, “And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.”(Numbers 24:2) After he finally refrained from cursing the Israelites, “Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way.”(Numbers 24:25)

After his complete depravity, he returned to the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites at some point, and among those killed at that time “The sons of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner (H7080), with the sword among the rest of their slain.”(Joshua 13:22) So even a prophet who was once very close to God could fall. We must repent. The New Testament clearly says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(1 John 1:9) Don’t be like Balaam, who refused to repent! Therefore, once you realize that you have committed a sin, you should at least repent before God. More likely, you should also repent in front of everyone like David did. After David had sex with Bathsheba, Nathan came to him and made him realize that he had committed a serious sin. David then wrote Psalm 51, not only completely repenting before God but also handing it over to the choir director and not hiding his faults.

4. A possible way to write the Bible: with the ability to automatically correct errors

Christians believe that the Bible is inspired by God. The Triune God knew long ago that it was impossible for the Bible to be passed down to the present day in its original form. He must take this into consideration when He inspired the Bible, so that people who do not force their interpretations of the Bible can see that the Bible has the ability to automatically correct errors. What I want to share now is such a method, which is seen from at least part of the Bible, to deal with this problem. I want to emphasize that I am not saying that the Bible is written this way, I am just sharing that if a person can come up with a method that has auto-correction capabilities, God will surely do a better job.

This method can be described more clearly based on coding theory. For those who do not understand coding theory, we will first describe its basic principles and then use analogies to illustrate how a Bible may be written.

We will now use the communication between the Earth and a distant spacecraft to illustrate the basic principles of coding theory. In this case, due to the long distance, it takes a considerable amount of time to send a command from the Earth to the spacecraft. In other words, basically there is no chance to send a command a second time, it must be correct the first time, and when some (not all) errors are found, they must be able to be corrected automatically. Isn’t this similar to the Bible having only one chance to be inspired? The difference is that printing had not yet been invented when the original Bible was available, so it could only be copied by hands. Especially when copying the original Old Testament, the copying was very strict, and the chance of error was very small. However, communication channels would definitely have a higher possibility of producing multiple errors, so the two are at most similar, not identical.

Now let us illustrate the basic principles of coding theory with a simple example. In a computer, any message is represented by a long string of zeros and ones. To send a message, if there is no error in the transmission of zero or one, then there will be no error in the transmission of the message. Therefore, the simplest message to be transmitted is zero or one. We will use the transmission of zero or one as an example to see the basic principles of how coding theory can automatically correct certain errors.

When zero is to be transmitted, three zeros are transmitted continuously, which is the transmission signal. Similarly, when you need to deliver a one, deliver three ones in succession. That is to say, to transmit such a message, the signal actually transmitted is three times slower than the original message transmitted only once. Let’s see how a received signal with errors can automatically correct certain errors.

When a zero passes through the transmission pipeline to the receiver, it may cause an error and become a one. Similarly, a one may cause an error and become a zero. If zero is transmitted and the received signal has only one error, there will be two zeros and only a one, and we will know that the original message was zero, which means that one error was automatically corrected. Of course, the same is true for transmitting one, which can only correct one error. To correct two errors in this way would be five times slower. By this way, the slower the transmitted signal, the more errors can be corrected, which means that time is exchanged for a reduction in errors.

In the Bible, some concepts appear repeatedly in different ways, so the text will be much longer than if it were only mentioned once, but the errors will be automatically corrected. Using coding theory as an analogy, coding theory trades time for fewer errors, while the Bible achieves the same effect by being longer. I want to emphasize again that the entire Bible is not necessarily written in the form of coding theory. We are just sharing a method that people can come up with. God will definitely do it better.

(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

When Paul said, “All Scripture is inspired by God …”(2 Timothy 3:16), the New Testament had not yet been written, and some parts, such as the Book of Revelation, had not even been written, so he was referring to the Old Testament. But Christians live in faith and believe that both the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God. Because the Bible is inspired by God, they believe that God is not ambiguous, so they believe that “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent.” Also, because the Bible is inspired by God, we “do not discount the words of the Bible.” In other words, we must read the Bible based on these two. In short, if we take these two as axioms in our logical deductions and do not force our interpretation of the Bible, we will find how much the Bible conforms to logical principles.

Today we will use the first sentence of the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”(Genesis 1:1), to illustrate this concept. For a non-Christian, if he could assume that these two are indeed logical axioms, he would come to the same conclusion through logical deduction. If we do not assume that such axioms are correct and only use logical deduction, we will reach the conclusion of agnosticism and not know whether God exists.

We know that although the Bible was written by different people, because the Bible is inspired by God, there is only one ultimate author, who is the Triune God. This means that Christians must live in faith and believe in this in faith. Therefore, when studying the Bible, we must read the Bible as a whole, and the New and Old Testaments must be read in conjunction with each other. Here we mentioned that God is a Triune God. We will discuss this concept in detail later, so we will not go into details now.

First, through an introduction to the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis, we can see why God’s will is mentioned in these first three chapters. We can understand it by looking at the logic. Second, let us look at what the Bible says about the situation before the creation of the heavens and the earth. It is God who created time and space. For people like me who do not understand the original text, the arrangement and use of the reference book Strong’s Concordance are briefly introduced so that when necessary, we can look up the meaning of the original text to read the Bible. Third, we described that from the perspective of man and from the perspective of Satan, time and space are different, and time can only move forward. From two passages in the Bible, we can see that God can control time, so from God’s perspective, time is a dimension, but we are not. Finally, we discussed the heavens and the earth mentioned in the first section, and explained why the Bible says that there are only three dimensions that are consistent with the facts.

1. God’s Will being in the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis

Why do we say that God’s will is in the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis? The reason is simple, because Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden at the end of Chapter 3, and starting from the first verse of Chapter 4, it talks about life after being driven out of the Garden of Eden. Logically, this is an obvious conclusion. If His will had been fulfilled and Adam and Eve had not eaten the fruit of the tree of life, they would have lived forever and would not have died, and there would have been no salvation plan as it exists now! So, God’s Will is quite clear in the first three chapters of Genesis.

Here, we will briefly introduce what the first three chapters are about, and then look at each verses carefully. First, in all the scriptures on the first day, we saw the difference between the two words “create (H1254)” and “make (H6213)”. We will see the meaning in brackets later. Through the word “light”, we can see the existence of the previous world. From the scriptures related to the second day to the seventh day, we see that “God said” is very powerful, and we also see that “each according to his kind” is a principle of God’s work, that is, the principle of separation. We also know that fish and birds are “created”, while animals and plants are merely “made”. “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”(Genesis 2:3)

The scripture also states that Adam was created in the image and likeness of God, while Eve was made from the pre-existing Adam. We also noticed that image and likeness are two different words. Although the Bible does not directly say what likeness is, it talks a lot about image because we already have the sinless likeness of Jesus, but we need to put to death the old self and allow the new self of the indwelling Holy Spirit to grow up and be conformed to the image of Jesus.

The scriptures also discussed Adam and Eve’s fall from disobedience to God on the sixth day and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden that same day. We have seen that when Satan tempted Eve, he used a strategy that mixed right and wrong. People often only see the right part and think that the wrong part is also right. We must carefully discern them. In the process, we also see why Eve was tempted. From the command God gave to Adam, “but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”(Genesis 2:17) We can see from it and the Old and New Testaments that when a person dies, the spirit leaves the body first, and when the soul leaves the body, the person dies. So we can see that a person has three parts: spirit, soul, and body. This is the so-called tripartite, which is what the Bible says.

Although God’s punishment for their disobedience was clear, He is a merciful and gracious God, and He began His plan of salvation in a prophetic way at that time before He drove them out of the Garden of Eden for the reason stated in the Scripture, “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever””(Genesis 3:22) We will see later how terrible it is to commit the sin of disobeying God and yet live forever.

2. Before the creation of the heavens and the earth

Before the creation of the heavens and the earth, when there was neither time nor space, the Triune God already existed, with equal dignity and honor, and united by love, just as Jesus Himself said, “…You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”(John 17:24) Therefore, in Genesis 1:1 it says, “In the beginning God (H430, plural) created (H1254, singular) the heavens (H8064, plural) and the earth (H776, singular).” The word “beginning” in “create” refers to the beginning before God created the world, so it was God who created time and space. Without discounting the words of the Bible, we can see that the word “create” (H1254) refers to the creation out of nothing. Please note that in the first verse, we have already seen the concept of God being a multi-person God, because in this sentence, the subject is in the plural and the verb is in the singular. As to why it is three, it will not become clear until we discuss it in detail later.

Here, for those who do not know the Strong’s Concordance system, we would like to explain briefly. Basically, every word in the Bible has a corresponding number. For example, God’s number here is H430. Since most of the Old Testament is written in Hebrew, and only a very small part is written in Aramaic, the numbers all begin with H. The New Testament was written in Greek, so the numbers all begin with G. For example, this verse, “Just as the Father has loved (G25, verb) Me, I have also loved (G25) you; abide in My love (G26, noun).”(John 15:9) Please note that different tenses have different numbers even though they mean the same thing.

This arrangement makes it easy to find all the verses with the same number in the Strong’s Concordance. After looking at these verses and their context, we can basically know how this word is used in the Bible. But sometimes we have to look at how it is used in the Bible to see its meaning. For example, if a word only appears once, we can only look at how it is used in the Bible to determine its meaning, rather than just looking at a root-based dictionary in the Concordance.

3. Time and Space

We live in three-dimensional space, and time can only move forward. Satan is the same as us, and time can only move forward. This is clearly stated in the scriptures: “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”(Revelation 12:12) If Satan’s time could be delayed, there would be no such thing as knowing that its time is short. Satan can do more things than we can, but time can only move forward just like us.

For God, it is different from us. He is in the four-dimensional space. For Him, time is just one-dimensional and is no different from any other dimensions. That is to say, in three-dimensional space, if there is no obstruction, we can move freely from one point to another, and we can freely choose the origin as the standard for describing the points. While in this dimension of time, we can only move forward, and He can do whatever we can do in the other three dimensions. There are two places in the Bible where it is said that He can indeed control time, that is, choose the origin. Since He can control the choice of the origin, He can naturally move forward and backward on the timeline. Therefore, Jesus would say during the time of His incarnation, “…Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”(John 8:58)

Some people may say that God can live in four dimensions or higher than four dimensions in addition to time, but the Bible says that He also lives in three dimensions in this world in addition to time. God originally created the world by “calling into being something that is not there”, and then He restricted Himself to abide by this rule and no longer “calling into being something that is not there” because the work of creation and making had been completed on the seventh day. In fact, we can also see this in the New Testament, because even a miracle like the five loaves and two fishes starts with the five loaves and two fishes, not “calling into being something that does not exist.” In fact, no one has ever been to such a space of four dimensions or higher in addition of time, so such a space only exists in mathematics. He will not lie. We must believe what the Bible says. He did not create lies, because Satan is the father of lies. The scripture says very clearly, “…the devil (Satan)… Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”(John 8:44)

There are two places that mention that He can control time. One is, “Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “O sun, stand still at Gibeon, And O moon in the valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.”(Joshua 10:12-13) Another place is “Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD the third day?” Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?” So Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.” Isaiah the prophet cried to the LORD, and He brought the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.”(2 Kings 20:8-11) So God does have control over time.

4. The heavens, the earth, and three-dimensional space

“In the beginning God (H430, plural) created (H1254, singular) the heavens (H8064, plural) and the earth (H776, singular) …”(Genesis 1:1) @The word “earth” is singular, so there is only one “earth”, which refers to the Earth. But “heavens” is plural, referring to there are many heavens. What exactly does this mean? Let us first give a wrong but seemingly reasonable explanation, and then share with you what the Bible is actually saying!

First, we can see from the following verses that Jesus’ body had no restrictions on moving around on earth after His resurrection, and the physical door obviously could not limit Him. For example, the scripture says, “After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.””(John 20:26) The doors are closed, but Jesus could come and stood among them. In fact, Jesus had gone down to Hades as well, “…I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”(Revelation 1:18) And “…Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, …”(1 Peter 3:21-22) Jesus’ body after resurrection is a spiritual body, which can move freely in the world, Hades, and heaven. We seem to be able to expand this vision and assume that there are no restrictions on the activities of spirits in the same dimensional space, that is, to expand this statement into an axiom of logical deduction.

Based on this axiom, the following scriptures can tell us that there is at least four dimensions of space that do not include time. “But Abraham said (to the rich man in Hades), ‘…between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’” (Luke 16:25-26) Abraham was in the spirit body at that time, for the Bible says, “…the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”(Philippians 3:20-21) Therefore, all those who are saved have a spiritual body. Based on the axiom that there are no restrictions on the activities of spirit body in the same dimensional space, how can there is a great chasm between them in the same space? It must be in spaces of different dimensions, which means that at least four dimensions exist, otherwise it is inconsistent with the axiom. Without this axiom, it would be impossible for us to use the words in the Bible and logic to conclude that the fourth dimension exists.

The problem with this statement lies in the axioms of logic. We cannot expand it into an axiom with just one example. This is illogical. In fact, if there is only three-dimensional space, we can easily explain the chasm mentioned in Luke 16:25-26. As long as Abraham and the rich man are on different distant planets in three-dimensional space, there will naturally be a chasm separating them. In this situation, spirit body can still communicate. The Bible does not say how Abraham communicated with the rich man, but it was obviously not with words.

In short, we cannot say in the beginning in the first verse that no matter how vast the universe is beyond our imagination, it is only a part of the sky we see, and there are heavens as seen from the earth, because only when reaching Genesis 1:3, it starts to talk about the creation and making of the present world. From the first verse, we see the power of God’s creation and making.

(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

    当保罗说，『圣经都是神所默示的，…』(提摩太后书 3:16)，那时还没有新约的圣经，部份如启示录根本还没开始写，所以他当时的这句话是指旧约而言。但基督徒是活在信心里面，相信新旧约都是神所默示的，因为圣经是神所默示的，相信神不是模梭两可的神，所以相信「神借著圣经告诉我们是一致的」，也因为圣经是神所默示的，所以我们「不把圣经的话打折扣」，换句话说，我们必须基于这两者去看圣经。简言之，我们在逻辑的推导中，如果把这两者作为公理，且不强解圣经，就会发觉圣经是多么的符合逻辑的原则。    

    我们今天会用圣经的第一句话，起初神创造天地，来阐述这概念。对一个非基督徒而言，如果能假设这两者的确是逻辑的公理，会用逻辑的推导得出同样的结论。如果没有假设这样的公理是正确的，而只用逻辑的推导，就会得到不可知论的结论，不知道神是否存在。    

    我们知道，圣经虽是不同的人写的，因圣经是神所默示的，所以终极的作者只有一位，就是三位一体的神，也就是说基督徒必须生活在信心里面，是在信心里面如此的相信。因此查经的时候，我们必须把圣经作为一个整体来读，新旧约必须彼此之间相互呼应的来读。在这里我们提到了神是三位一体的神，我们以后会详细谈这概念，现在就不多说了。

    首先，我们透过简介创世记的前三章，看到为什么神的旨意在这前三章都提到过，看逻辑就知道了。第二，我们来看圣经是怎么说在没有创造天地之前的情景，是神创造了时间和空间，并对不懂原文的人如我般，简介了工具书汇编的安排和使用，使得有需要的时候，能查原文字的意义来读经。第三，我们叙述了从人和从撒但的角度看，时间和空间是不同的，时间只能往前。从两处经文，我们可以看到神能控制时间，所以从神的角度看，时间是一度空间，我们不是。最后我们讨论了第一节提到的诸天及地，也说明了为什么圣经是说，只存在符合事实的三度空间。

1. 神的旨意在创世记的前三章           

    为什么我们说神的旨意在创世记前三章呢？原因很简单，因为亚当和夏娃在第三章结束时就被赶出了伊甸园，从第四章的第一节开始，就说到了被赶出伊甸园后的生活。从逻辑上来说，这是是很显然的结论，如果祂的旨意达到了，亚当和夏娃没有吃生命树上的果子，就会永远活著，没有死就不会有如现在般的救恩计划了！所以神的旨意在创世记的前三章中说得相当清楚。          

    在这里，我们就简单的介绍一下前三章都讲了些什么，然后一节一节的相当仔细看。先是从第一日所有的经文中，我们看到了「创造(H1254)」和「造(H6213)」这两个字的不同，等会我们会看到括弧中的意义。透过「光」这个字，我们就可看见有先前世界的存在。从第二日到第七日相关的经文中，我们看到了「神说」是大有能力的，也看到了「各从其类」是神做事的一个原则，就是分别的原则，且知道鱼和鸟是「创造」的，而动植物只是「造」的。到第七日，造(H6213)物的工作完毕了，并定了安息日为圣日。           

    经文也叙述了亚当是按著神的形像和样式创造的，而夏娃则是从已存在的亚当中造的。我们也注意到形像和样式是两个不同的字，虽然圣经没有直说样式是什么，但形像讲得很多，因为我们已有了耶稣无罪的样式，但需要治死老我，让内住圣灵的新人长大成人，模成耶稣的形像。       

    经文也讨论了亚当和夏娃在第六日时不顺服神的堕落，并在当天被赶出了伊甸园。我们看到了撒但引诱夏娃时，是用对错相杂的策略，人常常只看见对的部份就以错的部份也是对的，要小心的分辩，其间也看到了夏娃为什么会被引诱。从神给亚当的命令，『只是分别善恶树上的果子，你不可吃，因为你吃的日子必定死。』(创世记 2:17) 我们从其中和新旧约中就能看到，人死时，是灵先离开，等魂离开身体后，人就死了，所以我们能看到，人有灵魂体三部份，就是所谓的三分法，是圣经所说的。        

    虽然神对他们的不顺服的惩罚很清楚，但祂是有怜悯有恩典的神，那时就以预言的方式开始了救恩的计划，然后才把他们赶出伊甸园，原因就像经文所说的，『耶和华神说：「那人已经与我们相似，能知道善恶。现在恐怕他伸手又摘生命树的果子吃，就永远活著。」』(创世记 3:22) 我们以后会看到，犯了不顺服神的罪，而又永远活著时，是一件多么可怕的事情。

2. 没有创造天地之前           

    在没有创造天地之前，既没有时间，也没有空间，三位一体的神就已存在，是同尊同荣的，是以爱为联结的，就如耶稣自己所说的，『…创立世界以前，你已经爱我了。』(约翰福音 17:24) 所以，在创世记 1:1 说，『起初神 (H430, 复数) 创造 (H1254, 单数) 天(H8064, 复数) 地(H776, 单数) 。』的起初，是指神创立世界以前的起初，所以是神创造了时间和空间，因为不把圣经的话打折扣，我们可以看到，创造 (H1254) 这个字是指无中生有的创造。请注意，在第一节中，我们已经看到神是多位一体的神的概念，因为在这句子中，主词用的是复数，而动词则是用单数，至于为什么是三，要等到以后我们详谈时才会清楚。              

    在这里，对不知道汇编(Strong’s Concordance)系统的人，我们要稍做解释，就是圣经的每一个字基本上都有一个相应数目的编号。譬如神在此处的编号为H430，因旧约大部份是用希伯来文(Hebrew)写的，只有极少的部份是用亚兰文，所以编号都是以H为开头。新约都是用希腊文(Greek)写的，所以编号都是以G为开头。譬如这句经文，『我爱(G25, 动词)你们，正如父爱(G25)我一样，你们要常在我的爱(G26, 名词)里。』(约翰福音 15:9) 请注意，不同的词类虽然意义相同，但会有不同的编号。           

    这样的安排使汇编可以很容易找到同一编号的所有经文，看这些经文及其上下文后，我们基本上就可以知道这字在圣经中怎么使用，但有时要看它在圣经中如何使用来看它的意思。譬如说，如果一个字只出现一次，我们只能看它在圣经中如何使用来看它的意思，而不能只看汇编中基于字根的字典。

 3. 时间和空间              

    我们生活在三度空间中，时间只能往前，撒但和我们相同，时间只能往前，这点经文说得很清楚，『所以诸天和住在其中的，你们都快乐吧！只是地与海有祸了，因为魔鬼(撒但)知道自己的时候不多，就气忿忿地下到你们那里去了。』(启示录 12:12) 如果牠的时间能够往后，就不会有知道自己时候不多的事情。撒但可以做比我们多的事情，但时间只能往前是和我们一样。              

    神和我们不同，是在四度空间中，因时间对祂来说是一度空间，和其他的空间没有任何的不同。也就是说，我们在三度空间中，如果没有阻拦，可以自由的从一点到另一点，且可以自由的选择原点作为我们描述点的标准。而在时间的这一度上，我们就只能往前，而祂可以做我们在其他三度空间能做的事情。在圣经上有两处地方说到祂的确能控制时间，也就是选择原点。祂既然能控制原点的选择，自然也能在时间轴上前后移动，所以耶稣在道成肉身的时间中会说，『…我实实在在地告诉你们：还没有亚伯拉罕就有了我。』(约翰福音 8:58)     

    有人可能会说，神是能活在除时间之外的四度或高于四度的空间，但圣经是说祂也在这世界上活在除时间之外的三度空间里。神本是「使无变为有」的这样创立了世界，然后自己限制自己遵守这规则，不再「使无变为有」，因为创世的工作已在第七日完成了。其实在新约中就可看到这点，因为即使是像五饼二鱼的神迹，也是要从五饼二鱼开始，不是「使无变为有」。事实上，没有人到过除时间之外的这样四度或更高度的空间，所以这样的空间只在数学中存在。祂不会说谎，我们要相信圣经怎么说，谎言不是祂创造的，因撒但是谎言之父，经文说得很清楚，『…魔鬼(撒但)…说谎是出于自己，因他本来是说谎的，也是说谎这样的空间之人的父。』(约翰福音 8:44)              

    关于两处地方提到祂能控制时间，一是『当耶和华将亚摩利人交付以色列人的日子，约书亚就祷告耶和华，在以色列人眼前说：「日头啊，你要停在基遍；月亮啊，你要止在亚雅仑谷。」于是日头停留，月亮止住，直等国民向敌人报仇。 这事岂不是写在雅煞珥书上吗？ 日头在天当中停住，不急速下落，约有一日之久。』(约书亚记 10:12-13) 另外一处是在『希西家问以赛亚说：「耶和华必医治我，到第三日，我能上耶和华的殿，有甚么兆头呢？」以赛亚说：「耶和华必成就他所说的，这是他给你的兆头：你要日影向前进十度呢？是要往后退十度呢？」希西家回答说：「日影向前进十度容易，我要日影往后退十度。」先知以赛亚求告耶和华，耶和华就使亚哈斯的日晷向前进的日影，往后退了十度。』(列王纪下 20:8-11) 所以神的确是能控制时间的。

4. 诸天及地、和三度空间          

    『起初神创造天(H8064, 复数)地(H776, 单数)。…』(创世记 1:1) 地是单数，所以只有一个地，就是指地球。但天是复数，是指诸天，这究竟是指什么意思呢？我们就先给一个错误但好像是很合理的解释，然后和大家分享圣经究竟是在说什么！           

    首先，我们可以从下述经文中看到，耶稣复活后的身体在地上活动是没有限制的，物质的门显然不能限制祂。譬如经文说，『过了八日，门徒又在屋里，多马也和他们同在。门都关了。耶稣来站在当中说：「愿你们平安！」』 (约翰福音 20:26) 事实上耶稣曾下过阴间，『…我(耶稣)曾死过，现在又活了，直活到永永远远并且拿著死亡和阴间的钥匙。』(启示录 1:18) 又『耶稣已经进入天堂，在神的右边，…』(彼得前书 3:22) 耶稣复活后的身体是灵体，祂的灵体是可以在人间，阴间，和天堂自由活动的。我们似乎是可以扩展这看见，而假设灵体在同样维度的空间活动是没有限制的，也就是说扩展这叙述成为逻辑推导的公理。                

    基于这公理，下述的经文就可以告诉我们至少有不包括时间的四度空间的存在。『亚伯拉罕(对在阴间的财主)说：『…在你我之间，有深渊限定，以致人要从这边过到你们那边是不能的；要从那边过到我们这边也是不能的。』(路加福音 16:25-26)   亚伯拉罕那时是在灵体中，因圣经是这样说，『他(耶稣)要按著那能叫万有归服自己的大能，将我们这卑贱的身体改变形状，和他自己荣耀的身体相似。』(腓立比书 3:21) 所以得救的人是都有一个灵体的。基于灵体在同样维度的空间活动是没有限制的公理，在同一个空间怎么会有深渊限制呢，必须在不同维度的空间中才行，也就是说至少有四度空间的存在，否则和公理不合。没有这个公理，我们是不可能用圣经的话语和逻辑而得到四度空间存在的结论的。           

    这样说法的问题是出在逻辑的公理上，我们实在不能只用一个例子就扩展成为公理，这是不合逻辑的。其实在只有三度空间的情况下，我们也很容易解释以上提到的路加福音 16:25-26 所说的深渊，只要亚伯拉罕和财主在不同的三度空间的遥远星球上，他们中间自然有深渊相隔。在这种情况下灵体仍可交通，圣经没有说亚伯拉罕是怎么和财主交通的，显然不是用言语。       

    简言之，我们不能在第一节中的起初，说是从地球上看，说不论宇宙是如何超出我们想像的浩翰，这些都只是我们所看到的一个天空的一部份，从地球上看有诸天，因为创世记  1:3  才会讲到所创造的现今世界的事。我们从第一节中，看到了神创造的大能。

(经文除了特别注明外，是基于和合本。)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到这网站后要按『对属灵生命的了解』。)  

               當保羅說，『聖經都是神所默示的，…』(提摩太後書 3:16)，那時還沒有新約的聖經，部份如啓示錄根本還沒開始寫，所以他當時的這句話是指舊約而言。但基督徒是活在信心裏面，相信新舊約都是神所默示的，因為聖經是神所默示的，相信神不是模梭兩可的神，所以相信「神藉著聖經告訴我們是一致的」，也因為聖經是神所默示的，所以我們「不把聖經的話打折扣」，換句話說，我們必須基於這兩者去看聖經。簡言之，我們在邏輯的推導中，如果把這兩者作為公理，且不強解聖經，就會發覺聖經是多麼的符合邏輯的原則。

     我們今天會用聖經的第一句話，起初神創造天地，來闡述這概念。對一個非基督徒而言，如果能假設這兩者的確是邏輯的公理，會用邏輯的推導得出同樣的結論。如果沒有假設這樣的公理是正確的，而只用邏輯的推導，就會得到不可知論的結論，不知道神是否存在。

     我們知道，聖經雖是不同的人寫的，因聖經是神所默示的，所以終極的作者只有一位，就是三位一體的神，也就是說基督徒必須生活在信心裏面，是在信心裏面如此的相信。因此查經的時候，我們必須把聖經作為一個整體來讀，新舊約必須彼此之間相互呼應的來讀。在這裏我們提到了神是三位一體的神，我們以後會詳細談這概念，現在就不多說了。

           首先，我們透過簡介創世記的前三章，看到為什麼神的旨意在這前三章都提到過，看邏輯就知道了。第二，我們來看聖經是怎麼說在沒有創造天地之前的情景，是神創造了時間和空間，並對不懂原文的人如我般，簡介了工具書彙編的安排和使用，使得有需要的時候，能查原文字的意義來讀經。第三，我們敍述了從人和從撒但的角度看，時間和空間是不同的，時間只能往前。從兩處經文，我們可以看到神能控制時間，所以從神的角度看，時間是一度空間，我們不是。最後我們討論了第一節提到的諸天及地，也說明了為什麼聖經是說，只存在符合事實的三度空間。

1. 神的旨意在創世記的前三章

           為什麼我們說神的旨意在創世記前三章呢？原因很簡單，因為亞當和夏娃在第三章結束時就被趕出了伊甸園，從第四章的第一節開始，就說到了被趕出伊甸園後的生活。從邏輯上來說，這是是很顯然的結論，如果祂的旨意達到了，亞當和夏娃没有吃生命樹上的果子，就會永遠活著，沒有死就不會有如現在般的救恩計劃了！所以神的旨意在創世記的前三章中說得相當清楚。

           在這裏，我們就簡單的介紹一下前三章都講了些什麼，然後一節一節的相當仔細看。先是從第一日所有的經文中，我們看到了「創造(H1254)」和「造(H6213)」這兩個字的不同，等會我們會看到括弧中的意義。透過「光」這個字，我們就可看見有先前世界的存在。從第二日到第七日相關的經文中，我們看到了「神說」是大有能力的，也看到了「各從其類」是神做事的一個原則，就是分別的原則，且知道魚和鳥是「創造」的，而動植物只是「造」的。到第七日，造(H6213)物的工作完畢了，並定了安息日為聖日。

           經文也敍述了亞當是按著神的形像和樣式創造的，而夏娃則是從已存在的亞當中造的。我們也注意到形像和樣式是兩個不同的字，雖然聖經沒有直說樣式是什麼，但形像講得很多，因為我們已有了耶穌無罪的樣式，但需要治死老我，讓內住聖靈的新人長大成人，模成耶穌的形像。

       經文也討論了亞當和夏娃在第六日時不順服神的墮落，並在當天被趕出了伊甸園。我們看到了撒但引誘夏娃時，是用對錯相雜的策略，人常常只看見對的部份就以錯的部份也是對的，要小心的分辨，其間也看到了夏娃為什麼會被引誘。從神給亞當的命令，『只是分別善惡樹上的果子，你不可吃，因為你吃的日子必定死。』(創世記 2:17) 我們從其中和新舊約中就能看到，人死時，是靈先離開，等魂離開身體後，人就死了，所以我們能看到，人有靈魂體三部份，就是所謂的三分法，是聖經所說的。

        雖然神對他們的不順服的懲罰很清楚，但祂是有憐憫有恩典的神，那時就以預言的方式開始了救恩的計劃，然後才把他們趕出伊甸園，原因就像經文所說的，『耶和華神說：「那人已經與我們相似，能知道善惡。現在恐怕他伸手又摘生命樹的果子吃，就永遠活着。」』(創世記 3:22) 我們以後會看到，犯了不順服神的罪，而又永遠活著時，是一件多麼可怕的事情。

2. 沒有創造天地之前

           在沒有創造天地之前，既沒有時間，也沒有空間，三位一體的神就已存在，是同尊同榮的，是以愛為聯結的，就如耶穌自己所說的，『…創立世界以前，你已經愛我了。』(約翰福音 17:24) 所以，在創世記 1:1 說，『起初神 (H430, 複數) 創造 (H1254, 單數) 天(H8064, 複數) 地(H776, 單數) 。』的起初，是指神創立世界以前的起初，所以是神創造了時間和空間，因為不把聖經的話打折扣，我們可以看到，創造 (H1254) 這個字是指無中生有的創造。請注意，在第一節中，我們已經看到神是多位一體的神的概念，因為在這句子中，主詞用的是複數，而動詞則是用單數，至於為什麼是三，要等到以後我們詳談時才會清楚。

              在這裏，對不知道彙編(Strong’s Concordance)系統的人，我們要稍做解釋，就是聖經的每一個字基本上都有一個相應數目的編號。譬如神在此處的編號為H430，因舊約大部份是用希伯來文(Hebrew)寫的，只有極少的部份是用亞蘭文，所以編號都是以H為開頭。新約都是用希臘文(Greek)寫的，所以編號都是以G為開頭。譬如這句經文，『我愛(G25, 動詞)你們，正如父愛(G25)我一樣，你們要常在我的愛(G26, 名詞)裏。』(約翰福音 15:9) 請注意，不同的詞類雖然意義相同，但會有不同的編號。

           這樣的安排使彙編可以很容易找到同一編號的所有經文，看這些經文及其上下文後，我們基本上就可以知道這字在聖經中怎麼使用，但有時要看它在聖經中如何使用來看它的意思。譬如說，如果一個字只出現一次，我們只能看它在聖經中如何使用來看它的意思，而不能只看彙編中基於字根的字典。

3. 時間和空間

              我們生活在三度空間中，時間只能往前，撒但和我們相同，時間只能往前，這點經文說得很清楚，『所以諸天和住在其中的，你們都快樂吧！只是地與海有禍了，因為魔鬼(撒但)知道自己的時候不多，就氣忿忿地下到你們那裏去了。』(啓示錄 12:12) 如果牠的時間能夠往後，就不會有知道自己時候不多的事情。撒但可以做比我們多的事情，但時間只能往前是和我們一樣。

              神和我們不同，是在四度空間中，因時間對祂來說是一度空間，和其他的空間沒有任何的不同。也就是說，我們在三度空間中，如果沒有阻攔，可以自由的從一點到另一點，且可以自由的選擇原點作為我們描述點的標準。而在時間的這一度上，我們就只能往前，而祂可以做我們在其他三度空間能做的事情。在聖經上有兩處地方說到祂的確能控制時間，也就是選擇原點。祂既然能控制原點的選擇，自然也能在時間軸上前後移動，所以耶穌在道成肉身的時間中會說，『…我實實在在地告訴你們：還沒有亞伯拉罕就有了我。』(約翰福音 8:58)

     有人可能會說，神是能活在除時間之外的四度或高於四度的空間，但聖經是說祂也在這世界上活在除時間之外的三度空間裏。神本是「使無變為有」的這樣創立了世界，然後自己限制自己遵守這規則，不再「使無變為有」，因為創世的工作已在第七日完成了。其實在新約中就可看到這點，因為即使是像五餅二魚的神蹟，也是要從五餅二魚開始，不是「使無變為有」。事實上，没有人到過除時間之外的這樣四度或更高度的空間，所以這樣的空間只在數學中存在。祂不會說謊，我們要相信聖經怎麼說，謊言不是祂創造的，因撒但是謊言之父，經文說得很清楚，『…魔鬼(撒但)…說謊是出於自己，因他本來是說謊的，也是說謊這樣的空間之人的父。』(約翰福音 8:44)

              關於兩處地方提到祂能控制時間，一是『當耶和華將亞摩利人交付以色列人的日子，約書亞就禱告耶和華，在以色列人眼前說：「日頭啊，你要停在基遍；月亮啊，你要止在亞雅崙谷。」於是日頭停留，月亮止住，直等國民向敵人報仇。 這事豈不是寫在雅煞珥書上嗎？ 日頭在天當中停住，不急速下落，約有一日之久。』(約書亞記 10:12-13) 另外一處是在『希西家問以賽亞說：「耶和華必醫治我，到第三日，我能上耶和華的殿，有甚麼兆頭呢？」以賽亞說：「耶和華必成就他所說的，這是他給你的兆頭：你要日影向前進十度呢？是要往後退十度呢？」希西家回答說：「日影向前進十度容易，我要日影往後退十度。」先知以賽亞求告耶和華，耶和華就使亞哈斯的日晷向前進的日影，往後退了十度。』(列王紀下 20:8-11) 所以神的確是能控制時間的。

4. 諸天及地、和三度空間

          『起初神創造天(H8064, 複數)地(H776, 單數)。…』(創世記 1:1) 地是單數，所以只有一個地，就是指地球。但天是複數，是指諸天，這究竟是指什麼意思呢？我們就先給一個錯誤但好像是很合理的解釋，然後和大家分享聖經究竟是在說什麼！

           首先，我們可以從下述經文中看到，耶穌復活後的身體在地上活動是沒有限制的，物質的門顯然不能限制祂。譬如經文說，『過了八日，門徒又在屋裏，多馬也和他們同在。門都關了。耶穌來站在當中說：「願你們平安！」』 (約翰福音 20:26) 事實上耶穌曾下過陰間，『…我(耶穌)曾死過，現在又活了，直活到永永遠遠並且拿着死亡和陰間的鑰匙。』(啓示錄 1:18) 又『耶穌已經進入天堂，在神的右邊，…』(彼得前書 3:22) 耶穌復活後的身體是靈體，祂的靈體是可以在人間，陰間，和天堂自由活動的。我們似乎是可以擴展這看見，而假設靈體在同樣維度的空間活動是沒有限制的，也就是說擴展這敍述成為邏輯推導的公理。

                基於這公理，下述的經文就可以告訴我們至少有不包括時間的四度空間的存在。『亞伯拉罕(對在陰間的財主)說：『…在你我之間，有深淵限定，以致人要從這邊過到你們那邊是不能的；要從那邊過到我們這邊也是不能的。』(路加福音 16:25-26)   亞伯拉罕那時是在靈體中，因聖經是這樣說，『他(耶穌)要按着那能叫萬有歸服自己的大能，將我們這卑賤的身體改變形狀，和他自己榮耀的身體相似。』(腓立比書 3:21) 所以得救的人是都有一個靈體的。基於靈體在同樣維度的空間活動是沒有限制的公理，在同一個空間怎麼會有深淵限制呢，必須在不同維度的空間中才行，也就是說至少有四度空間的存在，否則和公理不合。沒有這個公理，我們是不可能用聖經的話語和邏輯而得到四度空間存在的結論的。

           這樣說法的問題是出在邏輯的公理上，我們實在不能只用一個例子就擴展成為公理，這是不合邏輯的。其實在只有三度空間的情況下，我們也很容易解釋以上提到的路加福音 16:25-26 所說的深淵，只要亞伯拉罕和財主在不同的三度空間的遙遠星球上，他們中間自然有深淵相隔。在這種情況下靈體仍可交通，聖經沒有說亞伯拉罕是怎麼和財主交通的，顯然不是用言語。

       簡言之，我們不能在第一節中的起初，說是從地球上看，說不論宇宙是如何超出我們想像的浩翰，這些都只是我們所看到的一個天空的一部份，從地球上看有諸天，因為創世記  1:3  才會講到所創造的現今世界的事。我們從第一節中，看到了神創造的大能。

(經文除了特別註明外，是基於和合本。)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

    首先我们来看看耶稣在提比哩亚海边显现的情景，看到祂是如何开他们的眼睛使他们能认识祂复活后的灵体，虽然这灵体不受物质的限制，但是和正常人一样可吃食物。第二，在这次显现时，耶稣问了彼得三次你爱我吗，按照圣经意思是很清楚的，但却成为一个有争议性的话题，我们会讲述其真谛，并讨论ー些不同的看法。最后我们叙述了彼得如何死的预言，和读经不可随便划等号的原因。

1. 耶稣复活后在提比哩亚海边向门徒的第三次显现        

   『这些事以后，耶稣在提比哩亚海边又向门徒显现。他怎样显现记在下面：有西门彼得和称为低土马的多马，并加利利的迦拿人拿但业，还有西庇太的两个儿子，又有两个门徒，都在一处。西门彼得对他们说：「我打鱼去。」他们说：「我们也和你同去。」他们就出去，上了船，那一夜并没有打著甚么。天将亮的时候，耶稣站在岸上，门徒却不知道是耶稣。耶稣就对他们说：「小子！你们有吃的没有？」 他们回答说：「没有！」耶稣说：「你们把网撒在船的右边，就必得著。」他们便撒下网去，竟拉不上来了，因为鱼甚多。耶稣所爱的那门徒对彼得说：「是主！」那时西门彼得赤著身子，一听见是主，就束上一件外衣，跳在海里。其余的门徒离岸不远，约有二百肘，就在小船上把那网鱼拉过来。他们上了岸，就看见那里有炭火，上面有鱼，又有饼。耶稣对他们说：「把刚才打的鱼拿几条来。」西门彼得就去，把网拉到岸上，那网满了大鱼，共一百五十三条。鱼虽这样多，网却没有破。耶稣说：「你们来吃早饭。」门徒中没有一个敢问他：「你是谁？」因为知道是主。耶稣就来拿饼和鱼给他们。耶稣从死里复活以后向门徒显现，这是第三次。』(约翰福音 21:1-14)        

    和这次的显现有份的人是：五个使徒 – 彼得、多马、拿但业、雅各、约翰，加上两个门徒，所以他们至少有职业的渔夫在里面，但那一夜的忙碌并没有打著甚么，直到耶稣告诉他们网要撒在船的右边。        

    我们看到耶稣站在岸上，门徒却不知道是耶稣，所以耶稣的灵体是不一样的，要祂主动的愿意让人看见是祂，人才看得见是祂。在去以马忤斯的两门徒身上，那时是用擘饼开他们的眼睛(参路加福音 24:13-31)，而这次是用和以前在革尼撒勒湖边发生类似的事情开了他们的眼睛，因那时也是这样类似的按著耶稣所说的去做，就圈住许多鱼，网险些裂开，就使他们撇下所有的，跟从了耶稣。(参路加福音 5:1-11) 所以约翰就立刻意识到是主，而彼得一听见是主，就立刻采取了行动，其余的门徒就忙著去拉鱼。我们以前分享过，「立刻」是非常重要，一但知道是主的旨意，就要立刻去做，我们在这里就不多说了。        

    虽然这边只记载，『耶稣说：「你们来吃早饭。」…』(约翰福音 21:12) 和说到『他们吃完了早饭，…』(约翰福音 21:15) 但这他们应是包括了耶稣自己，因祂要他们相信是祂复活了，虽然耶稣的灵体不受物质的限制，但是和正常人一样可吃食物。路加福音就很清楚的记载了这点，『耶稣说：「你们为甚么愁烦？为甚么心里起疑念呢？你们看我的手，我的脚，就知道实在是我了。摸我看看！魂无骨无肉，你们看，我是有的。」说了这话，就把手和脚给他们看。他们正喜得不敢信，并且希奇，耶稣就说：「你们这里有甚么吃的没有？」他们便给他一片烧鱼，他接过来，在他们面前吃了。』(路加福音 24:38-43) 所以耶稣的灵体是和正常人一样可吃食物的。     

    在这里我们还看到一件事情，虽然耶稣告诉他们可以摸祂去证实的确是祂，但他们看见就信了，没说要模祂才信，只说了: 他们正喜得不敢信，并且希奇。这和『2138 复活及灵体、和多马没摸主就信 – 约(20)1-31』中的『5. 多马没摸耶稣就信了和约翰福音是为得生命而写』是同样的原因，在其中说到只要看见就信了，像耶稣说得一样。

2. 耶稣问彼得三次你爱我吗的真谛     

    『他们吃完了早饭，耶稣对西门彼得说：「约翰的儿子西门，你爱(G25, agapao, 神的爱, 动词)我比这些更深吗？」 彼得说：「主啊，是的，你知道我爱(G5368, phileo, 人间的爱)你。」 耶稣对他说：「你喂养(G1006)我的小羊。」耶稣第二次又对他说：「约翰的儿子西门，你爱(G25)我吗？」 彼得说：「主啊，是的，你知道我爱(G5368)你。」 耶稣说：「你牧养(G4156)我的羊。」第三次对他说：「约翰的儿子西门，你爱(G5368)我吗？」 彼得因为耶稣第三次对他说「你爱(G5368)我吗」，就忧愁，对耶稣说：「主啊，你是无所不知的，你知道我爱(G5368)你。」 耶稣说：「你喂养(G1006)我的羊。」』(约翰福音 21:15-17)        

    我们以前在 9/20/20 的油管(YouTube)上分享过这话题，但那时并没有放在网上，这次的讨论是基于那时的专题查经，加以重组及扩展。从这些经文中，我们看到有时非看原文不可，譬如，在希腊文中用不同的字把不同的爱分别出来，而中文和英文的翻译就一概用爱这个字。对不懂原文的人如我般，可以像我一样的使用工具书如汇编(Strong’s Concordance)看原文，在汇编里，很容易的找出含有某个字所有的经文，看那些经文可以比较准确看到那字在圣经中是如何使用，这样有时会看到翻译的错误，而有准确的看见。        

    我们首先来看看为彼得为什么三次都用人间的爱来回答耶稣，他不是已有内住的圣灵吗？因为耶稣在复活后，『…向他们吹一口气，说：「你们受圣灵。」』(约翰福音 20:22) 耶稣不会撒谎，彼得那时已有圣灵才对，尤其是『…因为所赐给我们的圣灵将神的爱(G26, 名词)浇灌在我们心里。』(罗马书 5:5) 他那时应该已知道什么是神的爱才对，怎么只知道人间的爱呢? 这情况类似于「从一信就有内住的圣灵」，但不能立刻达到标杆而模成耶稣的形像 (参罗马书 8:29)，因为在开始时只是种子，需要时间去长大。同样的，彼得那时所得的是种子，要到耶稣复活后的第一个五旬节圣灵降临时才彰显出来 (参使徒行传 2:1-11)，所以他那时只能用人间的爱来回答。     

    在这里我们要强调一点，圣经并没有直接说，彼得为什么三次都用人间的爱来回答耶稣，但我们可以用逻辑如上的推导出原因，这就像圣经没有用过三位一体这个辞，但圣经绝对有这概念。在相信「神借著圣经告诉我们是一致的」和「不把圣经的话打折扣」的原则下，我们会发觉圣经的话语是多么的符合逻辑的原则。        

    第二要看的是，耶稣为什么前两次用神的爱问，到第三次用人间的爱来问彼得。有人就说，这不是耶稣降低了标准去配合彼得的回答吗？这是错误的想法，因为耶稣从未降低过标准。又有人说，耶稣是因为彼得曾经三次不认主(参马太福音 26:69-75)，祂要使彼得重新站稳，因祂曾说，『…我已经为你祈求，叫你不至于失了信心。你回头以后，要坚固你的弟兄。』(路加福音 22:32) 所以祂问了彼得三次，好像很合理，但圣经从来就没有这么说，这只是从人的角度看事情，是人的猜测。        

    那么圣经究竟是怎么说呢？我们就把耶稣的话放在一起看。在神的爱中，可以喂养(G1006)小羊，和牧养(G4156)羊，在人间的爱中，只能喂养(G1006)羊，我们也看到了小羊是要喂养的，『惟独长大成人的，才能吃干粮，…』(希伯来书 5:14) 我们也看到了彼得对牧养的回应，『务要牧养(G4156)在你们中间神的群羊，按著神旨意照管他们；不是出于勉强，乃是出于甘心；也不是因为贪财，乃是出于乐意；也不是辖制所托付你们的，乃是作群羊的榜样。』(彼得前书 5:2-3) 彼得是长老，他有负担牧养神的群羊，作他们的榜样，是对的榜样，不是错的榜样。

3. 彼得如何死的预言和读经不可随便划等号       

    『我实实在在地告诉你：你年少的时候，自己束上带子，随意往来；但年老的时候，你要伸出手来，别人要把你束上，带你到不愿意去的地方。」耶稣说这话，是指著彼得要怎样死，荣耀神。说了这话，就对他说：「你跟从我吧！」彼得转过来，看见耶稣所爱的那门徒跟著，就是在晚饭的时候，靠著耶稣胸膛说「主啊，卖你的是谁」的那门徒。彼得看见他，就问耶稣说：「主啊，这人将来如何？」耶稣对他说：「我若要他等到我来的时候，与你何干？你跟从我吧！」于是这话传在弟兄中间，说那门徒不死；其实耶稣不是说他不死，乃是说：「我若要他等到我来的时候，与你何干？」为这些事作见证，并且记载这些事的就是这门徒。我们也知道他的见证是真的。耶稣所行的事还有许多，若是一一地都写出来，我想，所写的书就是世界也容不下了。』(约翰福音 21:18-25)       

    在这些经文的前面，很清楚的描述了彼得会如何死去荣耀神的预言，当彼得很好奇约翰的结局如何时，耶稣告诉他不要好奇去管别人的闲事，管好去「跟从我」自己的事。       

    最后我们看到读经不可随便划等号，基督徒相信新旧约都是神所默示的，所以从圣经的角度看事情就是从神的角度看事情，也就是说，从圣经的角度看是从神的角度看的充分条件。但因神是无限而圣经的字句有限，无限的不可能等于有限的，这里就明说了，不是所有的事情都记载了。也就是说，从圣经的角度看不是从神的角度看的必要条件，也就是说从神的角度看事情是大于而不等于从圣经的角度看事情。而要两个叙述相等，必须是充分和必要条件，所以从圣经的角度看和从神的角度看是不能划等号的。圣经有太多只有充分或必要条件成立的叙述，我们就不多说了。所以读经时要非常小心，不要一不小心就在不该划等号的地方划了等号，这样会创造一个不是圣经所讲的神！

(经文除了特别注明外，是基于和合本。)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到这网站后要按『对属灵生命的了解』。)  

       首先我們來看看耶穌在提比哩亞海邊顯現的情景，看到祂是如何開他們的眼睛使他們能認識祂復活後的靈體，雖然這靈體不受物質的限制，但是和正常人一樣可吃食物。第二，在這次顯現時，耶穌問了彼得三次你愛我嗎，按照聖經意思是很清楚的，但卻成為一個有爭議性的話題，我們會講述其真諦，並討論ー些不同的看法。最後我們敍述了彼得如何死的預言，和讀經不可隨便劃等號的原因。

1. 耶穌復活後在提比哩亞海邊向門徒的第三次顯現

         『這些事以後，耶穌在提比哩亞海邊又向門徒顯現。他怎樣顯現記在下面：有西門彼得和稱為低土馬的多馬，並加利利的迦拿人拿但業，還有西庇太的兩個兒子，又有兩個門徒，都在一處。西門彼得對他們說：「我打魚去。」他們說：「我們也和你同去。」他們就出去，上了船，那一夜並沒有打着甚麼。天將亮的時候，耶穌站在岸上，門徒卻不知道是耶穌。耶穌就對他們說：「小子！你們有吃的沒有？」 他們回答說：「沒有！」耶穌說：「你們把網撒在船的右邊，就必得着。」他們便撒下網去，竟拉不上來了，因為魚甚多。耶穌所愛的那門徒對彼得說：「是主！」那時西門彼得赤着身子，一聽見是主，就束上一件外衣，跳在海裏。其餘的門徒離岸不遠，約有二百肘，就在小船上把那網魚拉過來。他們上了岸，就看見那裏有炭火，上面有魚，又有餅。耶穌對他們說：「把剛才打的魚拿幾條來。」西門彼得就去，把網拉到岸上，那網滿了大魚，共一百五十三條。魚雖這樣多，網卻沒有破。耶穌說：「你們來吃早飯。」門徒中沒有一個敢問他：「你是誰？」因為知道是主。耶穌就來拿餅和魚給他們。耶穌從死裏復活以後向門徒顯現，這是第三次。』(約翰福音 21:1-14)

        和這次的顯現有份的人是：五個使徒 – 彼得、多馬、拿但業、雅各、約翰，加上兩個門徒，所以他們至少有職業的漁夫在裏面，但那一夜的忙碌並沒有打着甚麼，直到耶穌告訴他們網要撒在船的右邊。

        我們看到耶穌站在岸上，門徒卻不知道是耶穌，所以耶穌的靈體是不一樣的，要祂主動的願意讓人看見是祂，人才看得見是祂。在去以馬忤斯的兩門徒身上，那時是用擘餅開他們的眼睛(參路加福音 24:13-31)，而這次是用和以前在革尼撒勒湖邊發生類似的事情開了他們的眼睛，因那時也是這樣類似的按著耶穌所說的去做，就圈住許多魚，網險些裂開，就使他們撇下所有的，跟從了耶穌。(參路加福音 5:1-11) 所以約翰就立刻意識到是主，而彼得一聽見是主，就立刻採取了行動，其餘的門徒就忙著去拉魚。我們以前分享過，「立刻」是非常重要，一但知道是主的旨意，就要立刻去做，我們在這裏就不多說了。

        雖然這邊只記載，『耶穌說：「你們來吃早飯。」…』(約翰福音 21:12) 和說到『他們吃完了早飯，…』(約翰福音 21:15) 但這他們應是包括了耶穌自己，因祂要他們相信是祂復活了，雖然耶穌的靈體不受物質的限制，但是和正常人一樣可吃食物。路加福音就很清楚的記載了這點，『耶穌說：「你們為甚麼愁煩？為甚麼心裏起疑念呢？你們看我的手，我的腳，就知道實在是我了。摸我看看！魂無骨無肉，你們看，我是有的。」說了這話，就把手和腳給他們看。他們正喜得不敢信，並且希奇，耶穌就說：「你們這裏有甚麼吃的沒有？」他們便給他一片燒魚，他接過來，在他們面前吃了。』(路加福音 24:38-43) 所以耶穌的靈體是和正常人一樣可吃食物的。

     在這裏我們還看到一件事情，雖然耶穌告訴他們可以摸祂去証實的確是祂，但他們看見就信了，沒說要模祂才信，只說了: 他們正喜得不敢信，並且希奇。這和『2138 復活及靈體、和多馬沒摸主就信 – 約(20)1-31』中的『5. 多馬沒摸耶穌就信了和約翰福音是為得生命而寫』是同樣的原因，在其中說到只要看見就信了，像耶穌說得一樣。

2. 耶穌問彼得三次你愛我嗎的真諦

       『他們吃完了早飯，耶穌對西門彼得說：「約翰的兒子西門，你愛(G25, agapao, 神的愛, 動詞)我比這些更深嗎？」 彼得說：「主啊，是的，你知道我愛(G5368, phileo, 人間的愛)你。」 耶穌對他說：「你餵養(G1006)我的小羊。」耶穌第二次又對他說：「約翰的兒子西門，你愛(G25)我嗎？」 彼得說：「主啊，是的，你知道我愛(G5368)你。」 耶穌說：「你牧養(G4156)我的羊。」第三次對他說：「約翰的兒子西門，你愛(G5368)我嗎？」 彼得因為耶穌第三次對他說「你愛(G5368)我嗎」，就憂愁，對耶穌說：「主啊，你是無所不知的，你知道我愛(G5368)你。」 耶穌說：「你餵養(G1006)我的羊。」』(約翰福音 21:15-17)

        我們以前在 9/20/20 的油管(YouTube)上分享過這話題，但那時並沒有放在網上，這次的討論是基於那時的專題查經，加以重組及擴展。從這些經文中，我們看到有時非看原文不可，譬如，在希臘文中用不同的字把不同的愛分別出來，而中文和英文的翻譯就一概用愛這個字。對不懂原文的人如我般，可以像我一樣的使用工具書如彙編(Strong’s Concordance)看原文，在彙編裏，很容易的找出含有某個字所有的經文，看那些經文可以比較準確看到那字在聖經中是如何使用，這樣有時會看到翻譯的錯誤，而有準確的看見。

        我們首先來看看為彼得為什麼三次都用人間的愛來回答耶穌，他不是已有內住的聖靈嗎？因為耶穌在復活後，『…向他們吹一口氣，說：「你們受聖靈。」』(約翰福音 20:22) 耶穌不會撒謊，彼得那時已有聖靈才對，尤其是『…因為所賜給我們的聖靈將神的愛(G26, 名詞)澆灌在我們心裏。』(羅馬書 5:5) 他那時應該已知道什麼是神的愛才對，怎麼只知道人間的愛呢? 這情況類似於「從一信就有內住的聖靈」，但不能立刻達到標桿而模成耶穌的形像 (參羅馬書 8:29)，因為在開始時只是種子，需要時間去長大。同樣的，彼得那時所得的是種子，要到耶穌復活後的第一個五旬節聖靈降臨時才彰顯出來 (參使徒行傳 2:1-11)，所以他那時只能用人間的愛來回答。

     在這裏我們要強調一點，聖經並沒有直接說，彼得為什麼三次都用人間的愛來回答耶穌，但我們可以用邏輯如上的推導出原因，這就像聖經沒有用過三位一體這個辭，但聖經絕對有這概念。在相信「神藉著聖經告訴我們是一致的」和「不把聖經的話打折扣」的原則下，我們會發覺聖經的話語是多麼的符合邏輯的原則。

        第二要看的是，耶穌為什麼前兩次用神的愛問，到第三次用人間的愛來問彼得。有人就說，這不是耶穌降低了標準去配合彼得的回答嗎？這是錯誤的想法，因為耶穌從未降低過標準。又有人說，耶穌是因為彼得曾經三次不認主(參馬太福音 26:69-75)，祂要使彼得重新站穩，因祂曾説，『…我已經為你祈求，叫你不至於失了信心。你回頭以後，要堅固你的弟兄。』(路加福音 22:32) 所以祂問了彼得三次，好像很合理，但聖經從來就沒有這麼說，這只是從人的角度看事情，是人的猜測。

        那麼聖經究竟是怎麼說呢？我們就把耶穌的話放在一起看。在神的愛中，可以餵養(G1006)小羊，和牧養(G4156)羊，在人間的愛中，只能餵養(G1006)羊，我們也看到了小羊是要餵養的，『惟獨長大成人的，才能吃乾糧，…』(希伯來書 5:14) 我們也看到了彼得對牧養的回應，『務要牧養(G4156)在你們中間神的羣羊，按着神旨意照管他們；不是出於勉強，乃是出於甘心；也不是因為貪財，乃是出於樂意；也不是轄制所託付你們的，乃是作羣羊的榜樣。』(彼得前書 5:2-3) 彼得是長老，他有負擔牧養神的羣羊，作他們的榜樣，是對的榜樣，不是錯的榜樣。

3. 彼得如何死的預言和讀經不可隨便劃等號

       『我實實在在地告訴你：你年少的時候，自己束上帶子，隨意往來；但年老的時候，你要伸出手來，別人要把你束上，帶你到不願意去的地方。」耶穌說這話，是指着彼得要怎樣死，榮耀神。說了這話，就對他說：「你跟從我吧！」彼得轉過來，看見耶穌所愛的那門徒跟着，就是在晚飯的時候，靠着耶穌胸膛說「主啊，賣你的是誰」的那門徒。彼得看見他，就問耶穌說：「主啊，這人將來如何？」耶穌對他說：「我若要他等到我來的時候，與你何干？你跟從我吧！」於是這話傳在弟兄中間，說那門徒不死；其實耶穌不是說他不死，乃是說：「我若要他等到我來的時候，與你何干？」為這些事作見證，並且記載這些事的就是這門徒。我們也知道他的見證是真的。耶穌所行的事還有許多，若是一一地都寫出來，我想，所寫的書就是世界也容不下了。』(約翰福音 21:18-25)

       在這些經文的前面，很清楚的描述了彼得會如何死去榮耀神的預言，當彼得很好奇約翰的結局如何時，耶穌告訴他不要好奇去管別人的閒事，管好去「跟從我」自己的事。

       最後我們看到讀經不可随便劃等號，基督徒相信新舊約都是神所默示的，所以從聖經的角度看事情就是從神的角度看事情，也就是說，從聖經的角度看是從神的角度看的充分條件。但因神是無限而聖經的字句有限，無限的不可能等於有限的，這裏就明說了，不是所有的事情都記載了。也就是說，從聖經的角度看不是從神的角度看的必要條件，也就是說從神的角度看事情是大於而不等於從聖經的角度看事情。而要兩個敍述相等，必須是充分和必要條件，所以從聖經的角度看和從神的角度看是不能劃等號的。聖經有太多只有充分或必要條件成立的敍述，我們就不多說了。所以讀經時要非常小心，不要一不小心就在不該劃等號的地方劃了等號，這樣會創造一個不是聖經所講的神！

(經文除了特別註明外，是基於和合本。)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

First, let us look at the scene of Jesus appearing by the Sea of ​​Tiberias and see how He opened their eyes so that they could know His resurrected spirit body. Although this spirit body was not restricted by matter, it could eat food like normal people. Second, during this appearance, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” The meaning is very clear according to the Bible, but it has become a controversial topic. We will talk about its true meaning from Jesus’ viewpoint and discuss some different views. Finally, we described the prophecy of how Peter would die and why the Bible verses cannot be equated casually.

1. Jesus’ third appearance to His disciples after His resurrection at the Sea of ​​Tiberias

“After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish. So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.” Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.”(John 21:1-14)

Those involved in this appearance were the five apostles – Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, and John, plus two disciples with unknown names, so they had at least professional fishermen among them, but they caught nothing that night until Jesus told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat. We emphasize that the names of two disciples are unknown since the Bible thinks their names aren’t important so they are not recorded.

We saw Jesus standing on the shore, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus’ spiritual body was different. He had to actively let people see that it was Him, and only then could people see it was Him. In the case of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, their eyes were opened by breaking bread (see Luke 24:13-31), and this time their eyes were opened by something similar to what happened before at the Lake of Gennesaret. Because they did what Jesus said at that time, they caught a lot of fish, and the net was about to break, so they left everything and followed Jesus. (See Luke 5:1-11) So John immediately realized that it was the Lord, and when Peter heard that it was the Lord, he immediately took action, and the other disciples were busy pulling in the fish. We have shared before that “immediately” is very important. Once we know it is the Lord’s will, we must do it immediately. We will not elaborate on it here.

Although it is only recorded here, “Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” …”(John 21:12) and “So when they had finished breakfast, …”(John 21:15), but “they” should include Jesus Himself, because He wanted them to believe that it was He who was resurrected. Although Jesus’ spirit body was not restricted by matter, it could eat food like normal people. The Gospel of Luke records this very clearly, “And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.”(Luke 24:38-43) Therefore, Jesus’ spirit body can eat food like a normal person.

Here we can also see one thing. Although Jesus told them that they could touch Him to confirm that it was indeed Him, they believed when they saw Him. The Bible does not say that they had to touch Him before they would believe. It is only said: While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement. This is the same reason as “5. Thomas believed in Jesus without probing Him and the Gospel of John was written for having life” in “1138 Resurrection and Spirit, and Thomas without probing Lord – John(20)1-31,” which only says that “Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? …”(John 20:29)

2. The true meaning of Jesus asking Peter three times: “Do you love me?”

“So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love (G25, agapao, God’s love, verb) Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love (G5368, phileo, human love) You.” He said to him, “Tend (G1006) My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (G25) Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love (G5368) You.” He said to him, “Shepherd (G4156) My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (G5368) Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love (G5368) Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love (G5368) You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend (G1006) My sheep.””(John 21:15-17)

We have previously shared this topic on YouTube on 9/20/20, but it was not posted online at that time. This discussion is based on the topicwise Bible study at that time, and has been reorganized and expanded. From these scriptures, we see that sometimes we have to look at the original text. For example, in Greek, different words are used to distinguish different kinds of love, while the Chinese and English translations all use the word love. For people like me who do not understand the original text, you can use reference books such as the Strong’s Concordance to read the original text. In the Concordance, it is easy to find all the scriptures containing a certain word. By reading those scriptures, you can see more accurately how the word is used in the Bible. This way, you can sometimes see translation errors and have an accurate view.

Let us first look at why Peter answered Jesus three times with human love. Didn’t he already have the Holy Spirit living in him? Because after Jesus’ resurrection, “…He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.””(John 20:22) Jesus would not lie, Peter must have already had the Holy Spirit at that time, especially “…because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”(Romans 5:5) He should have known what God’s love was at that time, so how could he only knew human love? This situation is similar to “from the moment of believing, the Holy Spirit dwells in us”, but we cannot immediately reach the standard and be conformed to the image of Jesus (see Romans 8:29), because at the beginning it is only a seed and it takes time to grow. Likewise, what Peter received at that time was a seed, which would not be manifested until the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection (see Acts 2:1-11), so he could only respond with human love at that time.

Here we have to emphasize that the Bible does not directly tell us why Peter answered Jesus three times with human love, but we can use the logic above to deduce the reason. This is just like the Bible has never used the term Trinity, but the Bible has this concept. Under the principle of believing that “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent” and “do not discount the words of the Bible”, we will find how the words of the Bible are in line with logical principles.

The second thing to look at is why Jesus asked Peter using God’s love the first two times and used human love the third time. Some people said, isn’t this Jesus lowering the standard to match Peter’s answer? This is a wrong idea because Jesus never lowered His standards. Others say that Jesus came to Peter because Peter had denied Him three times (see Matthew 26:69-75), and He wanted to help Peter stand firm again, because He once said, “but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”(Luke 22:32) So He asked Peter three times, which seems reasonable, but the Bible never says this. This is just looking at things from a human perspective and is human speculation.

So what does the Bible say? Let us look at Jesus’ words together. In God’s love, we can tend (G1006) the lambs and shepherd (G4156) the sheep. In human love, we can only tend (G1006) the sheep. We also see that the lambs need to be tended and fed, “But solid food is for the mature, …”(Hebrews 5:14) We also see Peter’s response to shepherding, “shepherd (G4156) the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”(1 Peter 5:2-3) Peter is an elder. He has the burden to shepherd God’s flock and be an example to them, a right example, not a wrong example.

3. The prophecy of how Peter would die and Bible verses cannot be equated casually 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”(John 21:18-25)

In the beginning of these verses, there was a clear prophecy about how Peter would die to glorify God. When Peter was curious about John’s end, Jesus told him not to be curious and meddle in other people’s affairs, but to mind his own business of “following me.”

Finally, we see that Bible verses cannot be equated casually. Christians believe that both the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God, so looking at things from the perspective of the Bible is looking at things from God’s perspective. In other words, looking at things from the perspective of the Bible is a sufficient condition for looking at things from God’s perspective. But because God is infinite and the words of the Bible are finite, the infinite cannot be equal to the finite, and it is clearly stated here that not everything is recorded in the Bible. In other words, seeing things from the perspective of the Bible is not a necessary condition for seeing things from the perspective of God, which means that seeing things from the perspective of God is greater than, but not equal to, seeing things from the perspective of the Bible. For two statements to be equal, there must be sufficient and necessary conditions, so the Bible’s perspective and God’s perspective cannot be equated. The Bible contains too many statements that are only true under sufficient or necessary conditions, thus we will not go into detail. So be very careful when reading the Bible, and don’t accidentally draw an equal sign where it shouldn’t be drawn, as this will create a God that is not the God described in the Bible!

(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)