Recover the old paths through Pocket Companion Series by Andrew Murray, and present a voice on spiritual understanding about life. 經由慕安得烈著的口袋伴侶系列來恢復古道, 和對生命的瞭解提出一個聲音。
First of all, we see that we, who are finite, can stumble, and although we should act according to whether or not we edify people, we should be careful not to make this mistake. If we see that we are weak and make mistakes, how can we not forgive people, just as our heavenly Father forgave us, and if people repent, they will be forgiven indefinitely. Secondly, we see that our faith is really small because we cannot do what a mustard seed’s worth of faith can do. If we can truly realize our position, our faith will increase. Finally, we can learn from Jesus’ healing of ten lepers. The only one who returned to glorify God was the Gentile and we can see that not all of us will be grateful and come back to praise God after being healed. And when we look at Jesus’ statement that your faith has saved you, we can see that this sickness is sin related.
1. Stumbling over others and forgiveness
“He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.””(Luke 17:1-4)
Human beings are finite and inevitably make mistakes. The mistake of stumbling over others is inevitable, but how serious it is! Be careful not to make such mistakes. Since they are inevitable, how can they be minimized? We can do as Paul said, “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.”(1 Corinthians 10:23) With edification as the starting point, there is much less chance of stumbling over others. Think of yourself as a person who can make mistakes, and thus forgive others who can make mistakes and offend you. If a person dies without remorse, you can’t really forgive him, but forgiveness is always good for you, and it will bring you out of your bitterness. When we look at the scripture that says to rebuke him, it means that at least this person is willing to talk to you, and if you meet a person who doesn’t talk to you, you don’t even have the opportunity to do so. Even in this case, you still have to forgive this person, and it’s always good for you, just as I said before. Forgive in all circumstances.
How many times do we have to forgive? “Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”(Matthew 18:21-22) By linking these two verses together, we are basically saying that people should always be given the opportunity to repent. The New Testament is very clear, isn’t it? “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) After the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), it says, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” (Matthew 6:14-15) The Heavenly Father does not say how many times He will forgive us, but from a human point of view, it is almost impossible to forgive a human being seventy-seven times. Therefore, we are not talking about the law, which is impossible to do, but rather, we need to have such a life, and we will naturally do it. How can we be conformed to the image of Jesus if we do not forgive people their trespasses? (cf. Romans 8:29)
2. Confidence-boosting
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you. “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’””(Luke 17:5-10)
Another time a similar relationship between faith and the mustard seed is mentioned is in this verse, “And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”(Matthew 17:20) I remember the first time I encountered the talk about the mustard seed, I was really unconvinced. Is my faith so small that I am not even as good as the smallest seed, the mustard seed? Now I realize that it is true, and apparently I can’t move a mulberry tree or a mountain.
Let’s look at how Jesus answered the apostles’ question regarding how to increase our faith. First of all, He pointed out that they were men of little faith, that they did not even have the faith of a mustard seed at that time, i.e., He wanted them to realize the reality of the situation. They were men of little faith, and although they had been with Jesus for a long time. This was evidenced by the fact that before He was crucified, “And they all left Him and fled.”(Mark 14:50) As the result, “…standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. …and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, …”(John 19:25-26) It was not until they actually saw Jesus rise from the dead and were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost that the apostles were “…with great power …were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, …”(Acts 4:33) It is also clear from the subsequent development that they did not care about their own lives for the sake of the gospel.
Then He used the parable of the Master’s servant, where it says, “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’””(Luke 17:10) Nowadays some people may think of servants differently, but that is exactly what the role of a servant is at that time. It is only when one realizes his actual situation as the servant that one can increase his faith!
So what is our actual situation? It is to realize that God is infinite and man is finite, and that life can only come from Him, as the Scripture says, “I 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) If He does not open our eyes, how can we really see? As an example in Numbers 22:31, “Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; …” Balaam couldn’t see the truth without his eyes opened by God. As another example, “Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”(2 Kings 6:17) Without God opening the servant’s eyes, there was no way for him to see the horses and chariots.
There are quite a few verses that talk about His absolute sovereignty, so let’s look at what Isaiah, who I couldn’t understand the description before, said, “Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?”(Isaiah 42:19) That is to say, if God does not take the initiative to open the ears of His servant, he will be deaf! We must recognize and truly know that without the Lord opening our eyes, we would be blind. This is why Jesus said to the Pharisees, “…If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”(John 9:40-41) Like the Pharisees, we all have physical eyes that can see, and it is not easy to admit to ourselves that we truly know that our spiritual eyes must be opened by God!
3. Leprosy cure
“While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.””(Luke 17:11-19)
This was not the first time that Jesus healed lepers, but this time there were ten of them, and we know from the scriptures where they were approximately. We also see that only one Gentile out of the ten returned to glorify God and bowed down at Jesus’ feet to thank Him. We see that not all people who are healed return to praise God with gratitude. Jesus specifically said that this man was a Gentile, so logically, even though the Bible doesn’t say that there were Jews in the midst of the healing, there should have been Jews. Just as the Bible does not say that these ten men had faith, we can see it in their behavior. Jesus asked them to show their bodies to the priests, and when they spoke with Jesus, they were not cleansed because it is said, “…as they were going, they were cleansed.”(Luke 17:14) If you look at the fact that Jesus’ request was for them to go to see the priests, and we know in general that the Jews were involved with priests, and on the other hand, the Gentile had basically no part in priests. Thus, this can be used as another hint that there were Jews among the ten. And we see that this Gentile had faith and a good conscience, and only he came back to thank Jesus.
If we look at what Jesus said, “…your faith has made you well.”(Luke 17:19), we can see that the sickness was sin related. Although the New Testament records that the disciples were able to perform many miracles, it does not record that anyone other than Jesus was able to cure leprosy. Referring to the Old Testament, such as Leviticus 13, we can see that leprosy is quite special. As we know today, some leprosy is contagious, but some is not, and there are quite a number of scriptures that talk about leprosy, so I won’t go into that. Here we see that in the healing of the lepers, “…you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…”(Matthew 9:6) Only He had the authority to forgive sins at that time. It is impossible for us today to have Jesus to forgive our sins, but His name represents Him, and so it is,”…repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”(Luke 24:47)
(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)
In this short article we discuss two potentially controversial topics that arise from the passages on divorce and Lazarus the beggar. The former is quite different from the common view, and the latter brings up the issue of the non-existence of four dimensional space in faith using this scripture. First, we see the scripture that says we cannot serve two masters and why it is not good to be greedy for money. And the kingdom of heaven is to be entered with forcedly effort. We shouldn’t be of little faith. We also see that prayer has priority, and that there is a reference to a mind and prayer that will be accepted. We also discuss briefly one of David’s prayer in Psalm 51 why we say that he is not only repent before God but also before men. Secondly, we see from the divorce and remarriage that one of the principles of God’s work is to distinguish between the general situation and the special case. And we have given other examples to illustrate this point, and see what Jesus Himself said. Finally, when we look at the incident between Lazarus the beggar and the rich man, we can see that we cannot use the fact that there is a great chasm fixed between Abraham and the rich man to say that there is a four-dimensional space (not including time). If four-dimensional space exists, it will create a contradiction in addition to a conflict with faith.
1. Cannot serve two masters
““No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.”(Luke 16:13-17)
We see that Jesus knew the hearts of the Pharisees, and knew that they coveted money, “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”(1 Timothy 6:9-10) Covetousness of money is really bad. This is not to say that there is something wrong with money per se, but rather that we should not be greedy for money, and we should look at where it comes from and how it is used. Someone testified that there was a sister who inherited a lot of money, and she wanted to give it all away, but she testified that God didn’t tell her to do that, but to leave it behind, and she used the money and the interest to support a lot of missionary organizations. Look at Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, weren’t they all rich because of God’s blessings?
It is clear that God hates what considered as the honorable things of men, such as money, fame, and good works on surface. It must come from the heart as Paul did, “They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do.”(Galatians 2:10) We also see that the Law (the true meaning of the Law) cannot be abrogated, as Jesus did in His earthly life. The law is good as the scripture says, “So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”(Romans 7:12) But “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”(Romans 3:20) So Paul would say, “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.”(Romans 3:31) The law is naturally fulfilled by “Do not quench the Spirit.”(1 Thessalonians 5:19)
We also see that the kingdom of heaven requires effort (G971) to enter as translated in the Chinese Union Bible. The word (G971) appears only twice in the Bible, and the other time it is unanimously stated, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence (G971), and violent men take it by force.”(Matthew 11:12) Thus this effort does not mean effort to do good deeds in general. If we look at the original text or the English text, it is very clear that the kingdom of heaven will be entered by those who suffer violence (G971), and those who become violent (G973) by force (G726). This refers to the spiritual warfare, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”(Ephesians 2:1-2) This was the case before we were baptized without faith, for from Adam and Eve onwards, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”(Romans 3:23) When we were baptized by faith, “…He (God) rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”(Colossians 1:13-14)
From that time on, “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”(Ephesians 6:12-13) As we mentioned before, the armor, except for the sword of the Holy Spirit, are all defensive weapons. Therefore, God wants us to stand firm first, and the best time to attack is when the Holy Spirit leads us to attack, and not to think that we can defeat Satan by our own strength. How can such a battle be peaceful if it is fought with strength?
In the Gospel of Matthew, it says, ““No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”(Matthew 6:24-34)
Obviously, this scripture is mainly about worldly things. If we serve God and know that He will take care of everything, why should we worry? There are many testimonies that speak to this, so we will not go into that. These verses also tell us to prioritize our prayers, not to be men of little faith, but to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, as in the Lord’s Prayer. We notice in this verse, “Give us this day our daily bread.”(Matthew 6:11) Before this verse it is all about spiritual things, after this verse it is all about worldly things, and the Bible is very clear, “And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’””(Luke 4:4) We should indeed be thankful every day for the spiritual provision and the worldly food. This verse also explains the reason for not worrying about tomorrow.
Finally, we should mention that such a heart and prayer will be accepted, “Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die:Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.”(Proverbs 30:7-9) Let’s take a look at one of David’s prayers. Psalm 51 is a psalm that David wrote after he had gone in to Bathsheba. We can see from this psalm that David repented completely before God. Someone told me that no one noticed that this was a song that was delivered to the director of the opera, and it was sung by a lot of people. He did not hide his sin and repented in front of people.
2. Divorce and remarry
“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.”(Luke 16:18)
The Gospel according to Matthew also says, “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”(Matthew 5:31-32) The Old Testament further states boldly, “For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.””(Malachi 2:16) Described in this way, it seems that the teaching that Christians should never divorce is absolutely correct.
To answer this question, we need to look at what the Bible says. First of all, we see that “He (the Lord) made known His ways to Moses, …”(Psalm 103:7) We are to be like Moses in knowing His ways, so what does this passage mean from a Biblical perspective? Simply put, the issue is essentially the same as whether or not we should be baptized. When it comes to baptism, as we have shared before, we should be baptized in general. This is required by the Great Commission (cf. Matthew 28:18-20), and Jesus is our example (cf. Matthew 3:13-17). However, we can be without baptism under special circumstances as the criminal case indicates（cf. Luke 23:39-43) We need to look at the Bible to clearly distinguish between general and special cases, and in special cases we should ask if we are in the same situation.
Let’s look at the example of Rahab the prostitute (Joshua 2:1-22). She was a prostitute and a liar, but what does the Bible say about her! “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.”(Hebrews 11:31) So God values her quite differently from man. Rahab was praised for her faith, not for being a prostitute, not for laying down her life to lie for God, and we see that she is even in Jesus’ family tree (Matthew 1:5). In fact, we can see from this that she did not want to be a prostitute. The Bible does not say why she had to be a prostitute, so it is useless to guess. Does God want every man to lie and every woman to be a prostitute? Definitely not! This is a special case. God has absolute sovereignty, and He sees people’s hearts differently from what the world sees. There are many more examples of this, so I won’t go into them!
Lastly, let’s look at what Jesus said about this issue, “Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.””(Matthew 19:3-6) The first part of this passage is about the general situation of marriage, which cannot be divorced, and we can see this because He then says basically the same thing, “They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.””(Matthew 19:7-9)
In fact, the latter part of this passage mentions the special circumstances that “…What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”(Matthew 19:6) The special case does not mean to open the door or an excuse for divorce and remarriage. Under these special circumstances, we have to ask, “Is this marriage really a marriage that God has joined together?” For example, if both the husband and wife are non-Christians to start with, I dare not say that the marriage is definitely a marriage of that God has joined rather than man’s own choice. Therefore, the teaching that Christians should never get divorced is not absolutely correct, but it depends on the general situation or the special case. It is like someone saying, “I don’t have to go to church, as long as I believe,” but that is not what the Bible says. Just be very aware that the enemy, Satan, would love to see a marriage broken up, and we must be very careful to discern that, so that we don’t fall for the enemy’s schemes.
3. The matter of the beggar Lazarus
“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, 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.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”(Luke 16:19-31)
The Bible is inspired by God. Let us not discount the words of the Bible, but look at the fruits in faith, for we know that “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?”(Matthew 7:16) This paragraph describes the life of Lazarus. The fruit of Lazarus was that he was in Abraham’s bosom, the Bible does not say why, so it is impossible to guess. The life of the rich man was that he had already enjoyed the blessings of the world, and the fruit of his life was that he went down to the Hades to suffer, not to die like a lamp going out, as the Chinese saying goes. This does not mean that everyone who is rich will go down to Hades. For example, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were rich in the world because of God’s blessings, and they definitely did not go down to Hades. We can also see that the rich man at least thought of his brothers, but thought that with the testimony of the resurrection from the dead, his brothers would believe? Is that so? Not everyone believes in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead because of this account.
We have also seen Abraham’s reaction to the idea that there is a chasm between him and the rich man. Some people think that the Hades and Abraham’s spirit body were not in the same dimension, so there are at least four dimensions of space (not counting time). However, this requires the assumption that the spirit body can move freely in the same dimension. We cannot make such an assumption (axiom) just because the resurrected Jesus was unrestricted in the human world and went down to the Hades and up to the Heavens, which is illogical. Also, if four dimensions existed, some of the words of the Bible would be easy to explain and there would be no need to have faith that the Bible says so! And its existence is contrary to the logic of three dimensional space, in which we live.
To see this, we know that it would be impossible for God to create a rock in three dimensions that He could not lift, and we will use this as an example to illustrate one point. For those of you who are not familiar with the mathematical concept of space, we can see this with the analogy between one-dimensional space and two-dimensional space. If a rectangle in two-dimensional space intersects with one-dimensional space, what you see in one-dimensional space is the line segment that intersects this rectangle and one-dimensional space as shown in Fig. 1. However, it can also be seen from Fig. 1 that the orientation of the rectangles in two-dimensional space is different, which can produce the same line segment in one-dimensional space. That is, in two-dimensional space we lift the rectangle, while in one-dimensional space the line segment does not move and is not lifted up. If and when four-dimensional space exists, and the relationship between three-dimensional space and four-dimensional space is the same as this, we can see that there is a four-dimensional stone, which God has actually lifted, while in three-dimensional space the rock does not move and is not lifted. This is in contradiction to three dimensional logic.
Fig. 1: Same line segments, but the rectangle is not unique
I’ll conclude with a short testimony about four-dimensional space. I am now preparing a booklet, “God’s Will in Genesis 1-3”, and I thought its predecessor was logically sound, so I sent it out to be read. After a while, I didn’t expect the Holy Spirit to tell me in my mind that I was wrong, and I couldn’t figure out where the logic was wrong, and then I suddenly realized that I was wrong from the very beginning. In the beginning it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens (heaven, H8064, plural) and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Since heaven is plural, it should be the heavens as translated. Before I thought that the heavens were viewed from the earth, and I could easily explain the heavens in terms of the existence of the four dimensions under the assumption that the spirit body is free to move in the same dimension. But this is wrong, because from Genesis 1:3 we begin to talk about the creation of the present world, and the heavens are mentioned in the first verse, which refers to the heavens in the beginning when God created time and space, which means that each planet had its own heaven in the beginning. That is, the fact that the heavens mentioned in the first verse makes us to see why the Bible says that the four dimensional space doesn’t exist in faith, which is only briefly mentioned here, and will be discussed in detail in the Appendix of this booklet. Indeed, Holy Spirit knows the Bible best. If He wants, He can initialize the correction through revelation as Paul prayed, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”(Ephesians 1:17)
(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)
Let us first look at the parable of the prodigal son. First, let us look at the younger son. Before his father was alive, he asked for a share of the property, took his share and went away to squander, suffered hardships, and finally repented and returned to his father. Just look at the father’s reaction and you will know that the father is ready to rejoice at the younger son’s conversion. Isn’t this the relationship between Heavenly Father and us? Everyone in the world has sinned and fell short of the glory of God. We will not be better than the younger son, but the Father is always ready for us to repent, believe and be baptized, and at the same time see us suffering and let us face our own decisions . Second, let’s look at the elder son. He felt unfair when he saw what happened to the younger son. From the verses, we can only see that he boasted because he obeyed the law and did not disobey his father’s orders. But he forgot his father’s compassion and judged his brothers. Finally, let’s look at the lesson of the unjust steward. What is required of the steward is loyalty. Obviously, this person is not worthy of being a steward. It can be seen that the master disagrees with what he did, but he said that he was indeed wise in doing things on earth. We should focus on the things in heaven, and make good use of the money on earth. The result of being faithful in small things is that others dare to entrust you with real money.
1. The Parable of the Prodigal Son
“And He said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.”(Luke 15:11-24)
This is what Jesus so said, and according to the consistency in the Bible, He was speaking about salvation. Let us first look at the younger son who is the prodigal son. After dividing the family property, he took away everything and wasted money, and because of this, he was poor and suffered a lot, and finally repented and we went back to his father. Doesn’t this refer to us? In Romans 3:23, it is said clearly, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So let us not think that we are much better than the prodigal son! Without the grace of God, the salvation of Jesus, we who are stained by sin can only be worthy to die and pay the wages of sin. This is clearly stated in the scriptures, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Romans 6:23) As said, ““Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”(Matthew 3:2) So repentance is very important. All revivals I know begin with repentance.
It is said in Romans 3:24, “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” It is a free justification. We can see this from the father’s reaction to his repentance. Even if he was far away, the father couldn’t wait to run to welcome him. This means that the father always waits for him. If you don’t see this, then this fine robe is for him, otherwise how could it fit? The size of the ring at that time was fixed, how could it be worn on his hand? How can shoes fit? The father still prepared all this for the lost little son, and hoped for such a day. The joy of the father is that the younger son is dead and resurrected, lost and found. Isn’t that how we believe in the Lord? “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”(Matthew 18:14) He “…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”(1 Timothy 2:4) Not wanting any to perish. And “…there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents …”(Luke 15:7)
Let’s take a look at this father again. Before the father died, the youngest son asked for a share of the property. It really disrespects the father at all, so some people may question whether the father spoils the younger son too much? If it is about the father on earth, it may be true, because he could not agree, but he agreed! The situation would be completely different if the father represented the Heavenly Father. He knew that His children would suffer, but endured the pain for them to face their true selves. People often strengthen what is in line with their own wishes and think it is good, and forget some really good things. If they do not take up their own cross and suffer, they will often think that what is in line with their own mind is good like a prodigal son. , and forget the potential crisis caused by one’s own mind. Heavenly Father is indeed ready to wait for His children to repent and turn to Him. Not every sinner will repent, but one sinner will repent and He’ll rejoice!
2. The Brother of the Prodigal Son
“Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”(Luke 15:25-32)
The condition of the elder son was very bad. He was very disobedient in this event, since he was angry and refused to go in, apparently saying that he kept the law and never disobeyed his father’s command. But he really forgot that the father who is with love is also gracious and mercy. He rejoiced due to resurrection of the thought death son. For him, the younger is lost and regained. The elder son cannot issue from his heart what he does, who cannot rejoice with his father, and we know “…from it flow the springs of life.”(Proverbs 4:23) According to the law, everything his father owned was his, but “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.””(Galatians 3:11-12) “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.”(James 2:10) “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”(Galatians 3:24) The elder son judged the younger son, and the younger son was indeed bad, but the younger son not only “regretted” what he had done, but actually “reformed” and returned to the his father’s side, he was resurrected for his father. Let us not judge others. We know “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”(Romans 14:4)
Let us look at it from the perspective of the father again. From these scriptures, he intends for his sons to inherit the inheritance. Look at the elder son first, “And he (the father) said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.”(Luke 15:31) So this is clear! Looking at the younger son who was lost and found again, some people say that his father prepared a ring representing authority for him. Obviously, his father recognized him as the son who could receive the inheritance. Isn’t this the same as us? We believed and were baptized to be adopted sons of God, inheriting the inheritance that “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”(Colossians 2:9)
3. Lessons from the Unrighteous Steward
“Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager (steward), and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?”(Luke 16:1-12)
The steward obviously did what he was accused of, because such a wise man in the world did not defend himself, and in the end he was dismissed because he did something unrighteous. This is very reasonable, because “In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.”(1 Corinthians 4:2) Looking at what the steward did after he was dismissed and before he left, we can also see that he was really incessant. Anyway, it was not his own property, so he wasted the owner’s property. The master praised the unrighteous steward for his cleverness. Indeed, he was more clever than the Son of Light. The master did not say that he was right, but only said that he was smart. So the master just tells a fact. Later, it brought out the need to use money properly, because if you don’t bring it with you when you are born, you don’t take it with you when dead. You must consider what can last forever. You must be faithful in small things, faithful in other people’s things, or no one will dare to entrust you things. The verse says, “And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?”(Luke 16:12) We are adopted sons of God and supposed to inherent our own things. If we aren’t faithful, there is no reason to give our inheritance. In the New Testament era, “Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”(1 Corinthians 4:1) Therefore, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”(1 Peter 4:10)
(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)
First of all, let’s look at what the banquet is a metaphor for. While we still have the opportunity to enter the kingdom of heaven, we must make the right choice. Justification by faith is only the beginning of a Christian’s life, and we must embark on the road to sanctification. Be ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb. Second, we talk about how to be a disciple. We must know what we can give, be ready to bear the cross, and believe that the Lord’s arrangement is for our benefit. Finally, we see that the kingdom of heaven is actively seeking the lost, and that repentance is the first step, and how God rejoices when sinners repent. Although the Lord is actively seeking, we still have to lead by example and work together with God in the Great Commission. When we believed and were baptized, God had already transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. Therefore, we are already in Christ and on the way to sanctification. We must not sin and remain in Christ. Even if we cannot avoid sin, we know, “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)
1. To prepare a banquet
“And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!””(Luke 14:12-15)
This man understood correctly, Jesus did use parables to talk about the feast of the kingdom of heaven, we will know this when we look at Jesus’ response in later verses. Treating guests in the human world is indeed usually in both ways. This passage does not mean not to invite acquaintances. It is unreasonable to say so, but to invest in the kingdom of heaven, and don’t just think of asking for returns in the world, sort of like giving alms, ““So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”(Matthew 6:2-4)
Jesus continued to use the parable of a banquet, “But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’””(Luke 14:16-24)
The Bible often speaks of the kingdom of heaven with banquets. For example, it is clearly stated here, “Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.”(Matthew 22:1-10)
These verses and the previous scriptures are basically talking about the same thing. We see that the guests who were prepared before only focus on their own affairs. In the end they have no part in the banquet, and we also see that the qualifications to be invited are quite low. If we use these scriptures as an analogy to the requirements in the New Testament, it means that salvation is originally prepared for everyone, and as long as you believe, you can be justified. Furthermore, it can be seen that it was the Israelites who were originally invited, and “…What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened.”(Romans 11:7) A small number of Jews like Paul got it. Also because of this, “…But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, …”(Romans 11:11) Therefore, the plan of salvation has a sequence, from the elect Jews to the Gentiles, just like “Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’””(Acts 13:46-47) For salvation, the threshold for salvation is set quite low, as long as one can believe. The scriptures clearly say, “for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”(Romans 10:10)
But we also see the Gospel of Matthew going on to say, ““But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.””(Matthew 22:11-14) At that time, people had to wear dresses at the banquet. Obviously, those people came on the road, and it was unlikely that they would wear dresses on the road. Because the man had nothing to say, so it indicated that the man could wear his dress. The only possibility is that the king prepared them for the banquet, but the man chose not to wear it, which is improper. Therefore, believing and being justified is only the beginning of being a Christian. To live a life of “separation and sanctification”, which everyone can live, it is clearly stated in the New Testament, “because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””(1 Peter 1:16) Although holiness cannot be achieved overnight, we must enter the narrow gate and walk on the road to holiness, and don’t become the one not be chosen. Please note that the scriptures do not say that there is only one person without a garment. Using the New Testament as an analogy, the garment refers to justification by faith and everyone has the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us on the way to the sanctification.
In the last book of Revelation of the Bible, we also see the ultimate wedding feast of the Lamb, “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride (the Church), the wife of the Lamb (the Lord Jesus Christ).” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”(Revelation 21:9-10) What we want to emphasize is that the New Jerusalem is the only church in God’s eyes, that is, a group of people gathered in His name, and the physical location of that group has nothing to do with it, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”(Matthew 18:20) Paul knew this very clearly, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”(Galatians 3:26-27) We know that Jesus is the only begotten son of the Father, so we are all sons of God, which means legal adopted sons! The scripture says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”(Romans 8:29) He is indeed the firstborn among many brethren.
2. How to be a disciple?
“Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.””(Luke 14:25-35)
Here it doesn’t say not to love your parents, etc., but to say that loving the Lord is more important than loving all these. It is not easy to be a disciple. We must know what we can give, but sometimes, even if we are willing to make peace with others, they may not be willing, and our estimates may not be completely correct. The cross doesn’t refer to asking for trouble, but is usually related to suffering. The growth of life is often accompanied by the suffering arranged or allowed by God (like Job). Basically no one is willing to take the initiative to bear the cross, but the verse says clearly that to be a disciple must be ready to bear the cross. This scripture does not mean that before believing in the Lord, one should estimate to the extent that one can fully bear one’s own cross. If so, why bothers believing because no one can reach the full extent beforehand. But we should have the mind that when the Lord calls, we are ready to give up everything like James and John did at that time, “Going on from there He (Jesus) saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”(Matthew 4:21-22) This is really not easy. I know it is very difficult for me to do so.
We must believe that the Lord’s arrangement is for our good, because “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, …”(Romans 8:28) As for the salt that loses its flavor and is thrown out, probably only the rock salt that is used directly will be like this, and it is impossible to make salty rock salty again that has lost its taste. Finally, we really need to have ears that can hear. Not only here, but to the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation, all said, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”(as in Revelation 3:22)
3. The kingdom of heaven is actively looking for lost sheep and lost money
“Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.””(Luke 15:1-2) Indeed, the Pharisees and scribes judged others as sinners, but they did not expect all persons, including themselves, needs salvation, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”(Romans 3:23)
The sin mentioned in the Bible refers to disobedience to God. To prove this, we first look at the scriptures, “…through one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, …”(Romans 5:12) This is because of Adam’s disobedience. So disobedience means sin. Conversely, to prove that sin means disobedience to God, we can look at its logical equivalent, that obedience to God means no sin. God has absolute sovereignty, and obedience to God is absolutely not sin, so the conclusion is that sin equals disobedience to God. The verse says, “When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.”(Genesis 5:3) Thus, Seth was born with sin since Adam was contaminated by sin at that time. We are all descendants of Adam. Similar to heredity, we also carry sin from birth. We are sinners because we carry sin, not because we commit sins. Don’t put the cart before the horse. Speaking of sin, we know that children can tell lies without being taught. With the born sin, how cannot people be not inherently evil and do people fall short of the glory of God?
There are two parables in the following verses. The first one is: “So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”(Luke 15:3-7) Note that this man is actively seeking. It seems that whether we know it or not, that a person will become a true Christian is the work of the Holy Spirit Who actively seeks. We have also heard such testimonies.
Then it talks about the second parable of losing money, “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”(Luke 15:8-10)
These two parables are talking about the same thing, that is, the kingdom of heaven is actively looking for the lost, hoping that sinners will repent, and seeing God’s joy because of sinners’ repentance. Although the Lord is actively seeking, we still have to work together with God in the Great Commission (cf. Matthew 28:18-20). We must set an example, let others see our good deeds, and be willing to be Christians. Therefore, in the Great Commission, all nations can be made disciples of the Lord.
Repentance is very important, it is the first step, just like “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.””(Acts 2:38) So true repentance must be followed by action. Jesus also made it very clear, “…Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”(Matthew 4:17) When believing and being baptized, God has “…rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”(Colossians 1:13-14) So we are already in Christ and on the way to sanctification, we must not sin and stay in Christ. Even if we cannot avoid sin, we also know, “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)
(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)
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