First let us take a look at the Greek word G4145 “πνεῦμα” with transliteration “pneuma” in Strong’s Concordance. In the English translation, it can be translated as the Holy Spirit with a big letter “Spirit” or as an ordinary spirit like my spirit started with a small letter “spirit”. Therefore, this causes arguments for some verses. In one controversial verse, this word appears twice. We’ll discuss why the first appearance should be translated as “Spirit”, and the second appearance as “spirit”. We then testify through this verse that revelation is needed when studying the Bible. At the same time, we talk about the fact that not every supernatural event comes from the Holy Spirit from both the New Testament and the Old Testament.

Let us first describe the verse that caused the problem. In John 4:21-24, “Jesus said to her (the Samaritan woman), “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. …God is spirit (G4151), and those who worship Him must worship in spirit (G4151) and truth.”” 

As said earlier, there is only one word G4151 in Greek, and thus no distinguishing between the words “Spirit” and “spirit”. In this case, there are four possibilities in English translation since the same word appears twice in the last verse. As a matter of fact, if you check on the web, you can find in different translations all four possibilities [1]. This is a case when which one is correct cannot be told by surrounding verses. We must tell from the consistency of the Bible. We’ll examine which one should be correct according to the consistency of the Bible.

Secondly, we know that the Holy Spirit is a pure spirit, and cannot be seen by our physical eyes according to our experience. The Bible says so too. Why? In John 14:16-17, it says, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” The Helper is the Holy Spirit, who cannot be seen apparently by physical eyes in the verses.

Based on this, we can see God the father isn’t a spirit by the following verses in Exodus 33:19-23, it says, “And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”…But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” …Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”” Why? Because Moses can see Him with the price to die. Therefore, he only saw His back. Nevertheless, a pure spirit like the Holy Spirit cannot be seen.

From the consistency of the Bible, we can say that God is the Holy Spirit due to the Trinity. Thus, we cannot say that God is spirit or a spirit. The first appearance of G4151 should be translated as “God is Spirit.”

Thirdly, let us explain why the second appearance should be translated by the lower case “spirit”. The first fact is that we can worship at any time. This fact alone is sufficient to show that the second appearance cannot be translated as “Spirit” since the Holy Spirit cannot be controlled by us. We cannot put the cart before the horse if we want to understand the Bible!

Then, why my spirit? After we are saved, we all have a new spirit as Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” 

The Bible says clearly in the New Testament and the Old Testament that a human consists of three parts – spirit, soul, and body [2]. The old spirit died when Adam disobeyed and thus sin entered the world. We need a new spirit. The new spirit is the only place in us not contaminated by sin. Hence, the inside abiding Holy Spirit can reside here. Although the Bible doesn’t say where the new spirit is, we can worship the abiding Holy Spirit, one of Trinity, anytime in the new spirit. Thus the verse in John 4:24 should be translated as “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

In Ephesians 1:17, 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.” Thus, we often say that revelation is needed in Bible study. This is real. Let me testify through this verse about what happened. When trying to search if the Bible says that the spirit cannot be seen by physical eyes, this verse suddenly appeared in my mind, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17) This cannot be proven since it appears in the mind just like any other testimony involving God’s words in the mind. We have to believe the witness who doesn’t lie. As a matter of fact, we live in our daily life in various beliefs.

Even though I have read John 14:16-17 many times, I wasn’t aware of the way to use it as described earlier. Without the spirit of revelation leading me, I didn’t see it even though it was in front of me. Is it not this way with so many verses in the Bible study? This also let me suddenly become aware of this example of the fact Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

In particular, one has to be aware of the fact that not every supernatural event comes from the Holy Spirit. The Bible clearly says in 1 John 4:2-3, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.” And “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)

Now we conclude our sharing with an example from the Old Testament, which says again that not every supernatural event comes from the Holy Spirit. In Job 4:12-21, it says, “”Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear received a whisper of it. “Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made all my bones shake. “Then a spirit passed by my face; The hair of my flesh bristled up. “It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice: ‘Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? ‘He puts no trust even in His servants; And against His angels He charges error. ‘How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth! ‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unobserved, they perish forever. ‘Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, yet without wisdom.'” 

We mentioned before that the Holy Spirit doesn’t make the hair of his flesh bristled up, etc. When we examine closely what the voice said, it used the same style as when Satan seduced Eva, where the sentences mixed right and wrong. Is not it a work from an evil spirit?  

Some related knowledges

[1] Please go to the web site “https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/John%204:24” to get different translations. Among them are the following with four possible combinations.

KJV, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

NASB, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

NIV, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

NABRE, “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.”

[2] That human consists of three part is discussed in detail on our web site

      “a-christian-voice.com.” under “On spiritual understanding about life’ entitled “1012 The first appearance of Jesus after resurrection.”  In its example on Ecclesiastes 3:21, there is a detailed discussion why both the Old Testaments and the New Testaments say so. Here, we can see logically one more time on this fact.

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

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

     我们先复习一下耶稣道成肉身是要我们得更丰盛的生命。也說到了圣经不会记载所有的事情，这从约翰福音如何选材料就可看见。接著我们谈一下耶稣受洗后水变成酒的第一个神蹟是本质的改变，說到了我们要相信，如果我们愿意，圣经应许我们，絕对可以在基督內有著从內到外的更丰盛的生命改变。第三，我们看到了祂的来临怎样应验了一个以赛亚的预言，报告神悅纳人的禧年。最后我们借著一个例子看应该怎麼用逻辑在经文中正確的使用，借著另一个例子看怎麼会错误的使用。然后我们說明為什麼彼得有资格說经文不可强解。

     圣经很明顯的說，耶稣因為愛而道成了肉身，成就了救恩 [1]。我们看见了道成肉身的目的是『因為神差他的儿子降世，不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因他得救。 』(约翰福音 3:17) 且要使生命得的更丰盛 [2]。

     圣经是神所默示的 [3]，是基督徒行事的絕对标准，但我们也在约翰福音 20:30-31 中看到了圣经沒有记錄所有的事情，及其是如何选择材料的。『耶稣在门徒面前另外行了许多神蹟，沒有记在这书上。但记这些事，要叫你们信耶稣是基督，是神的儿子，並且叫你们信了他，就可以因他的名得生命。 』

     我们就谈谈耶稣行的第一个神蹟。首先我们看看耶稣為什麼行神蹟？『耶稣就对他(儿子快要死的大臣)說：「若不看见神蹟奇事，你们总是不信。」』 (约翰福音 4:48) 祂的使徒保罗也行神蹟，证明祂的恩道是非常实际的 [4]。

     在约翰福音 2:1說：『第三日，在加利利的迦拿有娶亲的筵席，耶稣的母亲在那里。』我们知道在迦拿的婚筵中，祂行了第一个神蹟，因為圣经明写了：『这是耶稣所行的头一件神蹟，是在加利利的迦拿行的…』 (约翰福音 2:11)

     我们再看看祂行了什麼神蹟。『酒用尽了，耶稣的母亲对他說：「他们沒有酒了。」…他母亲对用人說：「他告诉你们甚麼，你们就做甚麼。」…管筵席的尝了那水变的酒，並不知道是哪里来的，只有舀水的用人知道。管筵席的便叫新郎来，对他說：「人都是先摆上好酒，等客喝足了，才摆上次的；你倒把好酒留到如今！」』 (约翰福音 2:1-10)

     水变成酒是本质上的改变，我们要相信，基督徒愿意如此，也可在基督內有著从內到外的生命本质的.改变。我们看到了我们已在他愛子的国里 [5]，在信神的人，在基督內这是絕对可以成就的 [6]。只是『弟兄们，你们要谨慎，免得你们中间或有人存着不信的恶心，把永生神离棄了。』 (希伯来书 3:12)

     谈到应验以赛亚的预言，我们先看到神的灵在耶稣身上，因『耶稣回答說：「…我与父原為一。」』 (约翰福音 10:25-30) 而『神所差来的，就說神的话，因為神赐圣灵给他，是沒有限量的。 』(约翰福音 3:34) 所以『有人把先知以赛亚的书交给他，他就打开，找到一处写着說：「主的灵在我身上，因為他用膏膏我，叫我传福音给贫穷的人；差遣我报告被掳的得释放，瞎眼的得看见，叫那受压制的得自由，报告神悅纳人的禧年。」』(路加福音 4:17-19)

     我们再看以赛亚书 61:1-3 如何說: 『主耶和华的灵在我身上，因為耶和华用膏膏我，叫我传好信息给谦卑的人，差遣我医好伤心的人，报告被掳的得释放，被囚的出监牢；报告耶和华的恩年，和我们神报仇的日子…』很这些经文里，我们不只是看到了以赛亚的预言成就了，我们更看了圣经的一致性，因為『因為神差他的儿子降世，不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因他得救。 』(约翰福音 3:17) 所以不会包括『和我们神报仇的日子』这一句话。

     最后我们来看看逻辑在查考圣经中应如何应用。逻辑本身沒问题，只是工具，出问题的是人的逻辑，我们定义人的逻辑是指什麼。首先我们看看逻辑用对的一个例子，就是圣经沒有明說耶稣先受洗才行神蹟的，但从圣经的话语和逻辑知道这是对的。

     我们看到在经文中說，『约翰又作见证說：「我曾看见圣灵彷彿鸽子从天降下，住在他的身上。我先前不认识他，只是那差我来用水施洗的，对我說：『你看见圣灵降下来，住在谁的身上，谁就是用圣灵施洗的。』我看见了，就证明这是神的儿子。」』 (约翰福音 1:32-34) 接著我们可以问，施洗约翰是什麼时候看见圣灵降下来呢？是耶稣受洗的时候如马太福音 3:13-16 所說：『当下，耶稣从加利利来到约旦河，见了约翰，要受他的洗。…耶稣受了洗，随即从水里上来。天忽然為他开了，他就看见神的灵彷彿鸽子降下，落在他身上。』

     在约翰福音 2:1 說：『第三日，在加利利的迦拿有娶亲的筵席，耶稣的母亲在那里。』 第三日这是在受洗之后，而『这是耶稣所行的头一件神蹟，是在加利利的迦拿行的…』 (约翰福音 2:11) 所以耶稣是在受洗后才行神蹟。

     所以人的逻辑在这里是指假设不在圣经里而用逻辑去推导，我们就舉这样的一个例子。如果算一算创世记里發生的时间，会發觉马土撒拉死的那一天正是洪水来的那一天。於是有人說马土撒拉一死洪水就来，另一个說马土撒拉被洪水淹死。因為圣经沒說那一个是真的，我们不会得到那一个是对的结论的！

     有人說在一次文字的辩论中，一个人說我有原文，另一个我有文原，我不记得他们在辩论什麼，但自己的假设不同，用同样的逻辑工具会达到不同的结论的！这实在是我不能懂的！就是說有原文的人，应该知道原文的文法有时不能百分之百的決定话语的意思。說有文原的人真能百分之百的確定是真正的(不在圣经里面的)文原吗？可以在讨论中表示自己的意见，為什麼要辩论不造就人呢？其实圣经常常用造就人作為标准我们是否该說一件事情 [7]。我们真该试著从神的角度看事情！虽然我们不是神，不能在所有的事情上都如此，至少圣经是神所默示的，我们在照著圣经这点上，至少是从神的角度看事情！只是我發觉自己真是說时容易做时难！真的很容易从人的角度看事情，坚持己见。真的要靠圣灵的力量！

     有人也许会說，有人这样說，有人那样說，我们到底该何去何从？很明顯的，我不能回答这问题，但我相信神是信实的，我在圣经中看到祂会从不同的角度看同一件事情，但祂絕不是模稜两可的，是人出了问题。

     我们看看圣经怎麼說？彼得說得很清楚圣经的话不可强解：『並且要以我主长久忍耐為得救的因由，就如我们所亲愛的兄弟保罗，照着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、不坚固的人強解，如強解別的经书一样，就自取沉沦。』 (彼得后书 3:15-16) 而彼得是耶稣亲自开了他的心窍的，能明白圣经的。彼得要我们不要强解圣经。『於是耶稣开他们的心窍，使他们能明白圣经。』(路加福音 24:45) 我们大概很少问，神到底要告诉我们什麼？从这个角度问，查经会有很多不同的看见的。

一些相关的经文

[1] 『道成了肉身，住在我们中间，充充满满地有恩典，有真理…』 (约翰福音 1:14)『…耶稣知道各样的事已经成了，…就說：「成了！」便低下头，将灵魂交付神了。』 (约翰福音 19:28-30)

[2] 『…我来了，是要叫羊得生命，並且得的更丰盛。』 (约翰福音 10:10)

[3] 『圣经都是神所默示的，…』 (提摩太后书 3:16) 虽然新约在保罗这样說的时候並沒有完成，如启示錄还沒开始写，但基督徒相信整本圣经都是神所默示的。

[4] 『二人(保罗和巴拿巴)在那里住了多日，倚靠主放胆讲道，主借他们的手施行神蹟奇事，证明他的恩道。』 (使徒行传 14:3)

[5] 『他救了我们脫离黑暗的权势，把我们迁到他愛子的国里；我们在愛子里得蒙救赎，罪过得以赦免。』 (歌罗西书 1:13-14)

 [6] 『耶稣对他說：「你若能信，在信的人，凡事都能。」』 (马可福音 9:23)『耶稣看着他们說：「在人这是不能的，在神凡事都能！」』(马太福音 19:26)『我知道怎样处卑贱，也知道怎样处丰富，或饱足、或飢饿、或有余、或缺乏，随事随在，我都得了秘诀。我靠着那加给我力量的，凡事都能做。』 (腓立比书 4:12-13)

[7] 在和合本中有许多造就的话，其中至少有这些。『凡事都可行，但不都有益处。凡事都可行，但不都造就人。』 (哥林多前书 10:23) 『…但知识是叫人自高自大，惟有愛心能造就人。 』(哥林多前书 8:1) 『…凡事都当造就人。』 (哥林多前书 14:26) 『…这权柄原是為造就人，並不是為败坏人。』 (哥林多后书 13:10) 『污秽的言语，一句不可出口，只要随事說造就人的好话，叫听见的人得益处。』 (以弗所书 4:29)

(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』。)

    我們先複習一下耶穌道成肉身是要我們得更豐盛的生命。也說到了聖經不會記載所有的事情，這從約翰福音如何選材料就可看見。接著我們談一下耶穌受洗後水變成酒的第一個神蹟是本質的改變，說到了我們要相信，如果我們願意，聖經應許我們，絕對可以在基督內有著從內到外的更豐盛的生命改變。第三，我們看到了祂的來臨怎樣應驗了一個以賽亞的預言，報告神悅納人的禧年。最後我們藉著一個例子看應該怎麼用邏輯在經文中正確的使用，藉著另一個例子看怎麼會錯誤的使用。然後我們說明為什麼彼得有資格說經文不可强解。

    聖經很明顯的說，耶穌因為愛而道成了肉身，成就了救恩 [1]。我們看見了道成肉身的目的是『因為神差他的兒子降世，不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因他得救。 』(約翰福音 3:17) 且要使生命得的更豐盛 [2]。

    聖經是神所默示的 [3]，是基督徒行事的絕對標準，但我們也在約翰福音 20:30-31 中看到了聖經沒有記錄所有的事情，及其是如何選擇材料的。『耶穌在門徒面前另外行了許多神蹟，沒有記在這書上。但記這些事，要叫你們信耶穌是基督，是神的兒子，並且叫你們信了他，就可以因他的名得生命。 』

    我們就談談耶穌行的第一個神蹟。首先我們看看耶穌為什麼行神蹟？『耶穌就對他(兒子快要死的大臣)說：「若不看見神蹟奇事，你們總是不信。」』 (約翰福音 4:48) 祂的使徒保羅也行神蹟，證明祂的恩道是非常實際的 [4]。

    在約翰福音 2:1說：『第三日，在加利利的迦拿有娶親的筵席，耶穌的母親在那裏。』我們知道在迦拿的婚筵中，祂行了第一個神蹟，因為聖經明寫了：『這是耶穌所行的頭一件神蹟，是在加利利的迦拿行的…』 (約翰福音 2:11)

    我們再看看祂行了什麼神蹟。『酒用盡了，耶穌的母親對他說：「他們沒有酒了。」…他母親對用人說：「他告訴你們甚麼，你們就做甚麼。」…管筵席的嘗了那水變的酒，並不知道是哪裏來的，只有舀水的用人知道。管筵席的便叫新郎來，對他說：「人都是先擺上好酒，等客喝足了，才擺上次的；你倒把好酒留到如今！」』 (約翰福音 2:1-10)

    水變成酒是本質上的改變，我們要相信，基督徒願意如此，也可在基督內有著從內到外的生命本質的.改變。我們看到了我們已在他愛子的國裏 [5]，在信神的人，在基督內這是絕對可以成就的 [6]。只是『弟兄們，你們要謹慎，免得你們中間或有人存着不信的惡心，把永生神離棄了。』 (希伯來書 3:12)

    談到應驗以賽亞的預言，我們先看到神的靈在耶穌身上，因『耶穌回答說：「…我與父原為一。」』 (約翰福音 10:25-30) 而『神所差來的，就說神的話，因為神賜聖靈給他，是沒有限量的。 』(約翰福音 3:34) 所以『有人把先知以賽亞的書交給他，他就打開，找到一處寫着說：「主的靈在我身上，因為他用膏膏我，叫我傳福音給貧窮的人；差遣我報告被擄的得釋放，瞎眼的得看見，叫那受壓制的得自由，報告神悅納人的禧年。」』(路加福音 4:17-19)

    我們再看以賽亞書 61:1-3 如何說: 『主耶和華的靈在我身上，因為耶和華用膏膏我，叫我傳好信息給謙卑的人，差遣我醫好傷心的人，報告被擄的得釋放，被囚的出監牢；報告耶和華的恩年，和我們神報仇的日子…』很這些經文裏，我們不只是看到了以賽亞的預言成就了，我們更看了聖經的一致性，因為『因為神差他的兒子降世，不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因他得救。 』(約翰福音 3:17) 所以不會包括『和我們神報仇的日子』這一句話。

    最後我們來看看邏輯在查考聖經中應如何應用。邏輯本身沒問題，只是工具，出問題的是人的邏輯，我們定義人的邏輯是指什麼。首先我們看看邏輯用對的一個例子，就是聖經沒有明說耶穌先受洗才行神蹟的，但從聖經的話語和邏輯知道這是對的。

    我們看到在經文中說，『約翰又作見證說：「我曾看見聖靈彷彿鴿子從天降下，住在他的身上。我先前不認識他，只是那差我來用水施洗的，對我說：『你看見聖靈降下來，住在誰的身上，誰就是用聖靈施洗的。』我看見了，就證明這是神的兒子。」』 (約翰福音 1:32-34) 接著我們可以問，施洗約翰是什麼時候看見聖靈降下來呢？是耶穌受洗的時候如馬太福音 3:13-16 所說：『當下，耶穌從加利利來到約旦河，見了約翰，要受他的洗。…耶穌受了洗，隨即從水裏上來。天忽然為他開了，他就看見神的靈彷彿鴿子降下，落在他身上。』

    在約翰福音 2:1 說：『第三日，在加利利的迦拿有娶親的筵席，耶穌的母親在那裏。』 第三日這是在受洗之後，而『這是耶穌所行的頭一件神蹟，是在加利利的迦拿行的…』 (約翰福音 2:11) 所以耶穌是在受洗後才行神蹟。

    所以人的邏輯在這裏是指假設不在聖經裏而用邏輯去推導，我們就舉這樣的一個例子。如果算一算創世記裏發生的時間，會發覺馬土撒拉死的那一天正是洪水來的那一天。於是有人說馬土撒拉一死洪水就來，另一個說馬土撒拉被洪水淹死。因為聖經沒說那一個是真的，我們不會得到那一個是對的結論的！

    有人說在一次文字的辯論中，一個人說我有原文，另一個我有文原，我不記得他們在辯論什麼，但自己的假設不同，用同樣的邏輯工具會達到不同的結論的！這實在是我不能懂的！就是說有原文的人，應該知道原文的文法有時不能百分之百的決定話語的意思。說有文原的人真能百分之百的確定是真正的(不在聖經裏面的)文原嗎？可以在討論中表示自己的意見，為什麼要辯論不造就人呢？其實聖經常常用造就人作為標準我們是否該說一件事情 [7]。我們真該試著從神的角度看事情！雖然我們不是神，不能在所有的事情上都如此，至少聖經是神所默示的，我們在照著聖經這點上，至少是從神的角度看事情！只是我發覺自己真是說時容易做時難！真的很容易從人的角度看事情，堅持己見。真的要靠聖靈的力量！

    有人也許會說，有人這樣說，有人那樣說，我們到底該何去何從？很明顯的，我不能回答這問題，但我相信神是信實的，我在聖經中看到祂會從不同的角度看同一件事情，但祂絕不是模稜兩可的，是人出了問題。

    我們看看聖經怎麼說？彼得說得很清楚聖經的話不可强解：『並且要以我主長久忍耐為得救的因由，就如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，如強解別的經書一樣，就自取沉淪。』 (彼得後書 3:15-16) 而彼得是耶穌親自開了他的心竅的，能明白聖經的。彼得要我們不要强解聖經。『於是耶穌開他們的心竅，使他們能明白聖經。』(路加福音 24:45) 我們大概很少問，神到底要告訴我們什麼？從這個角度問，查經會有很多不同的看見的。

一些相關的經文

[1] 『道成了肉身，住在我們中間，充充滿滿地有恩典，有真理…』 (約翰福音 1:14)『…耶穌知道各樣的事已經成了，…就說：「成了！」便低下頭，將靈魂交付神了。』 (約翰福音 19:28-30)

[2] 『…我來了，是要叫羊得生命，並且得的更豐盛。』 (約翰福音 10:10)

[3] 『聖經都是神所默示的，…』 (提摩太後書 3:16) 雖然新約在保羅這樣說的時候並沒有完成，如啓示錄還沒開始寫，但基督徒相信整本聖經都是神所默示的。

[4] 『二人(保羅和巴拿巴)在那裏住了多日，倚靠主放膽講道，主藉他們的手施行神蹟奇事，證明他的恩道。』 (使徒行傳 14:3)

[5] 『他救了我們脫離黑暗的權勢，把我們遷到他愛子的國裏；我們在愛子裏得蒙救贖，罪過得以赦免。』 (歌羅西書 1:13-14)

[6] 『耶穌對他說：「你若能信，在信的人，凡事都能。」』 (馬可福音 9:23)『耶穌看着他們說：「在人這是不能的，在神凡事都能！」』(馬太福音 19:26)『我知道怎樣處卑賤，也知道怎樣處豐富，或飽足、或飢餓、或有餘、或缺乏，隨事隨在，我都得了秘訣。我靠着那加給我力量的，凡事都能做。』 (腓立比書 4:12-13)

[7] 在和合本中有許多造就的話，其中至少有這些。『凡事都可行，但不都有益處。凡事都可行，但不都造就人。』 (哥林多前書 10:23) 『…但知識是叫人自高自大，惟有愛心能造就人。 』(哥林多前書 8:1) 『…凡事都當造就人。』 (哥林多前書 14:26) 『…這權柄原是為造就人，並不是為敗壞人。』 (哥林多後書 13:10) 『污穢的言語，一句不可出口，只要隨事說造就人的好話，叫聽見的人得益處。』(以弗所書 4:29)

(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 first review that Jesus the Word became flesh. He came in order for us to get an abundant life. We also mention here that the Bible doesn’t record everything according to how Gospel John chose its materials. Secondly, we talk about His first miracle of water becoming wine, which is the change in essence. As Christians, we should believe that under the condition that we are willing, the Bible promises us that we can absolutely do such an inside out change to obtain an abundant life.  Thirdly, we can see how His coming is the fulfillment of one prophecy of Isaiah, proclaiming the favorable year of the Lord. Finally, we through an example show how logics can be used correctly in the Bible study. By another example, we illustrate how logics can be wrongly used in such a study. We then explain why Apostle Peter is qualified to say that we shouldn’t distort the Scriptures. 

The Bible clearly says that Jesus became flesh, and His coming completed the salvation [1]. We see that the purpose is said clearly in John 3:17, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” Furthermore, we also get an abundant life [2].

The Bible is inspired by God [3], which is the absolute standard for Christians. But we can see also in John 20:30-31 that the Bible doesn’t record everything, and how it chose the materials, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

Let us now talk about His first miracle. Before that, let see why He performed miracles.  In John 4:48, it says, “So Jesus said to him (a royal official whose son was sick to the point of death), “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”” His Apostle Paul also performed miracles to testify the word of His grace [4].

 In John 2:1, it says, “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.” We know that it is where He performed the first miracle since the Bible says so in John 2:11, “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, …”

Let now take a look what He did, which is stated in John 2:3-10 “When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” …His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” …When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.””    

Water becoming wine is the change in essence. If we as Christians believe that under the condition that we are willing, we can absolutely do such an inside out change to obtain an abundant life in Christ. We see that we had transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son [5]. For whoever believes in God, one can absolutely achieve such a change [6]. Just be careful as Hebrews 3:12 says, “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.” We must have faith.

Talking about the fulfillment of one prophecy of Isaiah, let us first be sure that the Spirit of God was in Jesus, since John 10:25-30 says, “Jesus answered them, ” …I and the Father are one.”” And in John 3:34, it says, “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.” Therefore, in Luke 4:17-19, it says, “And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.””

We now see how Isaiah says in Isaiah 61:1-3, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; …” From these verses, we can not only see the fulfillment of this prophecy, but also an example of the consistency of the Bible, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:17) Therefore, that Jesus said didn’t include the words of “And the day of vengeance of our God.”

Finally, let us take look at how logics should be used in the Bible study correctly. Logics itself is just a tool, which has no problem in it. The problem comes so called human logics which will be defined later when describing logics used incorrectly in the Bible study. 

First, let us give a correct example regarding how to use it correctly. That is, the Bible doesn’t say explicitly that Jesus performed miracles only after he was baptized. From verses and logics, we know that the statement is correct. Why? In John 1:32-34, it says, “John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”” We can then ask when John the Baptist saw that Jesus was baptized in Holy Spirit? It is the time stated in Matthew 3:13-16, “Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. … After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him.”

In John 2:1, it says, “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.” The third day is after Jesus was baptized, and “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, …”  (John 2:11) So, we know that Jesus performed miracles only after He was baptized.

Therefore, here in the Bible study we define the human logics is to use logics with hypothesis outside what the Bible states. Let us give one example to illustrate this. If you compute the timelines from Genesis 5, you’ll find that the day Methuselah died is the same day when flood came. Thus, someone said that the flood came immediately after he died. The other one said that he was killed in the flood. Which one is correct? We cannot get right conclusion through debate since the Bible doesn’t say one way or the other. We cannot simply assume what happened in events described in the Bible.

Someone says that this happened in one debate written in articles. One person said that I knew the original languages the Bible was written. The other one said that what I knew was from revelation. This is indeed what I don’t understand. Who knows the original languages should also know that the meaning of words sometimes cannot be decided uniquely, with a hundred percent. Can who said from revelation be a hundred percent sure about any of hypothesis outside the Bible? One can express one’s opinions in a discussion without any thinking to enforce one’s thought, which one cannot do so anyway due to free will. Why debate? Debating is not something which edifies people. Actually, the Bible often uses the edification as a way to decide if we should say something or not [7]. We should learn to think in the aspect of God. Although we are not God and it is impossible to think in the aspect of God in all things. But the Bible is inspired by God, we can at least follow the teaching of the Bible, which is indeed in the aspect of God. However, I find that it is easy to say but hard to do. It is so easy to view things in the aspect of human to insist own opinions. Really, we have to count on the power of Holy Spirit.  

Maybe one would say, what should we follow since one person may say so and the other different? Apparently, I can’t answer this question. But we believe that God is faithful. From the Bible, I can see that He sometimes views things from different angles for the same event. But He never is ambiguous. It is the human who causes the problems. We can see this from what the Bible says. Apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 3:15-16 that we should not distort the Scriptures, “and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also 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.” He is qualified to say so since in Luke 24:45, it says, “Then He (Jesus) opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” Indeed, Jesus Himself made Peter among others to understand the Scriptures. Probably, we don’t ask what God wants to tell us often enough as the examples shown in “1012 The first appearance of Jesus after resurrection.” To study the Bible in this aspect, we can have different but correct viewpoints.

Some related verses

[1] John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, …” John 19:28-30, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, … He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

[2] John 10:10, “…I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

[3] 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God …” Although the New Testament didn’t finish at the time Paul written so, Christians believe that the whole Bible is inspired by God. For example, Book Revelation had not yet started when Paul wrote so.

[4] Acts 14:3, “Therefore they (Paul and Barnabas) spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands.”

[5] Colossians 1:13-14, “For He 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.”

[6] Mark 9:23,”And Jesus said to him, ” ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”” Matthew 19:26, “And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”” Philippians 4:12-13, “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

[7] In the Bible, there are quite a few verses talking about edification. Among them are these.  1 Corinthians 10:23, “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.”  1 Corinthians 8:1, “…Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.” 1 Corinthians 14:26, “…Let all things be done for edification.” 2 Corinthians 13:10, “For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present I need not use severity, in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up (H3619, edification) and not for tearing down.” Ephesians 4:29, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”

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

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

     我们先谈到耶稣钉十字架的必要性。在其中，我们只讲到耶稣在十字架上說的三件事和祂為什麼会这样說，接著讲的是剩下的四件。第三我们提到了祂复活四十天所做的事，和最后描述祂的升天和再来。

     首先，我们看到了亚当因不顺服而让罪进入了这世界 [1]，他的后裔有他的形像和样式 [2]。耶稣是从圣灵感孕 [3]，无罪开始，且从未犯罪 [4]。取代的概念是从以前提过的创世记时的皮衣就有 [5]，经亚伯拉罕献以撒 [6]，及今日的耶稣取代我们，就如同哥林多后书 5:21所說，『神使那无罪的，替我们成為罪，好叫我们在他里面成為神的义。』祂的寶血如约翰一书 1:7 所說，『我们若在光明中行，如同神在光明中，就彼此相交，他儿子耶稣的血也洗淨我们一切的罪。』

     我们都是有罪的 [7] 。因為罪的工价仍是死 [8]，耶稣必须钉十字代替我们受死。我们必须要在基督里让耶稣代替我们，因此圣经很清楚的說，要模成耶稣的形像。(参罗马书 8:29) 我们来看看耶稣钉在十字架上的形像是什麼？首先在路加福音 23:33-34 中，『…当下耶稣說：「父啊，赦免他们！因為他们所做的，他们不晓得。」…』祂在十字架上，仍然為祂的仇敌祷告！

     在马太福音 26:36-39中，我们看到了祂顺服至死，『耶稣同门徒来到…客西马尼，他就…俯伏在地祷告說：「我父啊，倘若可行，求你叫这杯离开我；然而，不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思。」』祂的死就成就了救恩，如祂在十字架上所說，『…耶稣知道各样的事已经成了，為要使经上的话应验，就說：「我渴了。」…耶稣尝了那醋，就說：「成了！」便低下头，将灵魂交付神了。』(约翰福音 19:28-30)

     我们再看看祂在十字架上讲的其余的话。首先在约翰福音 19:25-27中，『…耶稣见母亲和他所愛的那门徒站在(十字架)旁边，就对他母亲說：「母亲，看，你的儿子！」又对那门徒說：「看，你的母亲！」从此那门徒就接她到自己家里去了。』耶稣不是只顾念属灵的事，也顾念我们在世上该做的。常常在世上，我们会遭遇不是自找苦吃的苦难，我们应该注意到这样的苦难可能是化粧的祝福，如確定是受撒但的差役的攻击，应该高兴，因為还值得被攻击(可参约伯记)，且神会保守我们 [9]。

     在马太福音 27:46，『约在申初，耶稣大声喊着說：「以利！以利！拉马撒巴各大尼？」就是說：「我的神！我的神！為甚麼离棄我？」』当耶稣背负全世界的罪时，父神不能不掩面不看。

     在路加福音 23:45-46說，『日头变黑了。殿里的幔子从当中裂為两半。耶稣大声喊着說：「父啊！我将我的灵魂(spirit)交在你手里。」說了这话，气就断了。』注意在原文和英文中只是說『灵』。在这里，我们再一次看到救恩的成就，『弟兄们，我们既因耶稣的血，得以坦然进入至圣所，是借着他给我们开了一條又新又活的路，从幔子经过，这幔子就是他的身体。』(希伯来书 10:19-20)

     最后在祂左边和右边，有两个强盜与祂同钉十字架，『耶稣对他(其中一个犯人)說：「我实在告诉你：今日你要同我在乐园里了。」』 (路加福音 23:39-43) 在这里，我们看到了那个犯人有信心的行為，『那同钉的两个犯人，有一个讥诮他，說：「你不是基督吗？可以救自己和我们吧！」那一个就应声责备他，說：「你既是一样受刑的，还不怕神吗？」』(路加福音 23:39-40) 从这经文中，我们看到了这犯人相信耶稣是神的信心。他接著說：『我们是应该的，因我们所受的与我们所做的相称，但这个人沒有做过一件不好的事。」就說：「耶稣啊，你得国降临的时候，求你记念我！」』(路加福音 23:41-42) 他有信心的行為，在信心里面祈求耶稣。从这些经文，我们也看到了基督徒死后会到乐园的。

     我们再看看祂在复活这四十天做了些什麼？在使徒行传 1:1-5 說得很清楚，『提阿非罗啊，我已经作了前书(路加福音)，论到耶稣开头一切所行所教训的，直到他借着圣灵吩咐所拣选的使徒，以后被接上升的日子為止。他受害之后，用许多的凭據将自己活活地顯给使徒看，四十天之久向他们顯现，讲說神国的事。耶稣和他们聚集的时候，嘱咐他们說：「不要离开耶路撒冷，要等候父所应许的，就是你们听见我說过的。约翰是用水施洗，但不多几日，你们要受圣灵的洗。」』

     所以路加福音在讲耶稣所行所教训的，我们也看到了祂应许圣灵的来临，只是需要等候。等候不只是当时的信徒所需要的，我们现在也需要等候神，和祂预定的时间来临。在后书使徒行传中，我们看到了圣灵的降临及其引导。

     关於耶稣的升天，有两处的经文。『耶稣领他们到伯大尼的对面，就舉手给他们祝福。正祝福的时候，他就离开他们，被带到天上去了。』 (路加福音 24:50-51) 另一处在使徒行传 1:6-9 說得比较详细，『他们聚集的时候，问耶稣說：「主啊，你复兴以色列国就在这时候吗？」耶稣对他们說：「父凭着自己的权柄所定的时候、日期，不是你们可以知道的。但圣灵降临在你们身上，你们就必得着能力；並要在耶路撒冷、犹太全地和撒马利亚，直到地极，作我的见证。」說了这话，他们正看的时候，他就被取上升，有一朵雲彩把他接去，便看不见他了。』

     祂应许会再来。『我若去為你们预备了地方，就必再来接你们到我那里去；我在哪里，叫你们也在那里。』 (约翰福音 14:3) 至於祂如何再来？使徒行传 1:10-11 說得很清楚，祂如何去，也要怎麼来：『当他往上去，他们定睛望天的时候，忽然有两个人身穿白衣，站在旁边，說：「加利利人哪，你们為甚麼站着望天呢？这离开你们被接升天的耶稣，你们见他怎样往天上去，他还要怎样来。」』

一些相关的经文

[1] 这就如罪是从一人入了世界，死又是从罪来的，於是死就临到眾人，因為眾人都犯了罪。(罗马书 5:12)

[2] 亚当活到一百三十岁，生了一个儿子，形像样式和自己相似，就给他起名叫塞特。(创世记 5:3)

[3] 耶稣基督降生的事记在下面：他母亲马利亚已经许配了约瑟，还沒有迎娶，马利亚就从圣灵怀了孕。(马太福音 1:18)

 [4] 因我们的大祭司並非不能体恤我们的软弱，他也曾凡事受过试探，与我们一样，只是他沒有犯罪。(希伯来书 4:15)

 [5] 耶和华神為亚当和他妻子用皮子做衣服，给他们穿。(创世记 3:21)

[6] 亚伯拉罕舉目观看，不料，有一隻公羊，两角扣在稠密的小树中，亚伯拉罕就取了那隻公羊来，献為燔祭，代替他的儿子。(创世记 22:13)

[7] 因為世人都犯了罪，亏缺了神的荣耀；(罗马书 3:23)

[8] 因為罪的工价乃是死，惟有神的恩赐，在我们的主基督耶稣里，乃是永生。(罗马书 6:23)

[9] 「我将这些事告诉你们，是要叫你们在我里面有平安。在世上你们有苦难，但你们可以放心，我已经胜了世界。」(约翰福音 16:33)

(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』。)

    我們先談到耶穌釘十字架的必要性。在其中，我們只講到耶穌在十字架上說的三件事和祂為什麼會這樣說，接著講的是剩下的四件。第三我們提到了祂復活四十天所做的事，和最後描述祂的升天和再來。

    首先，我們看到了亞當因不順服而讓罪進入了這世界 [1]，他的後裔有他的形像和樣式 [2]。耶穌是從聖靈感孕 [3]，無罪開始，且從未犯罪 [4]。取代的概念是從以前提過的創世記時的皮衣就有 [5]，經亞伯拉罕獻以撒 [6]，及今日的耶穌取代我們，就如同哥林多後書 5:21所說，『神使那無罪的，替我們成為罪，好叫我們在他裏面成為神的義。』祂的寶血如約翰一書 1:7 所說，『我們若在光明中行，如同神在光明中，就彼此相交，他兒子耶穌的血也洗淨我們一切的罪。』

    我們都是有罪的 [7] 。因為罪的工價仍是死 [8]，耶穌必須釘十字代替我們受死。我們必須要在基督裏讓耶穌代替我們，因此聖經很清楚的說，要模成耶穌的形像。(參羅馬書 8:29) 我們來看看耶穌釘在十字架上的形像是什麼？首先在路加福音 23:33-34 中，『…當下耶穌說：「父啊，赦免他們！因為他們所做的，他們不曉得。」…』祂在十字架上，仍然為祂的仇敵禱告！

    在馬太福音 26:36-39中，我們看到了祂順服至死，『耶穌同門徒來到…客西馬尼，他就…俯伏在地禱告說：「我父啊，倘若可行，求你叫這杯離開我；然而，不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思。」』祂的死就成就了救恩，如祂在十字架上所說，『…耶穌知道各樣的事已經成了，為要使經上的話應驗，就說：「我渴了。」…耶穌嘗了那醋，就說：「成了！」便低下頭，將靈魂交付神了。』(約翰福音 19:28-30)

    我們再看看祂在十字架上講的其餘的話。首先在約翰福音 19:25-27中，『…耶穌見母親和他所愛的那門徒站在(十字架)旁邊，就對他母親說：「母親，看，你的兒子！」又對那門徒說：「看，你的母親！」從此那門徒就接她到自己家裏去了。』耶穌不是只顧念屬靈的事，也顧念我們在世上該做的。常常在世上，我們會遭遇不是自找苦吃的苦難，我們應該注意到這樣的苦難可能是化粧的祝福，如確定是受撒但的差役的攻擊，應該高興，因為還值得被攻擊(可參約伯記)，且神會保守我們 [9]。

    在馬太福音 27:46，『約在申初，耶穌大聲喊着說：「以利！以利！拉馬撒巴各大尼？」就是說：「我的神！我的神！為甚麼離棄我？」』當耶穌背負全世界的罪時，父神不能不掩面不看。

    在路加福音 23:45-46說，『日頭變黑了。殿裏的幔子從當中裂為兩半。耶穌大聲喊着說：「父啊！我將我的靈魂(spirit)交在你手裏。」說了這話，氣就斷了。』注意在原文和英文中只是說『靈』。在這裏，我們再一次看到救恩的成就，『弟兄們，我們既因耶穌的血，得以坦然進入至聖所，是藉着他給我們開了一條又新又活的路，從幔子經過，這幔子就是他的身體。』(希伯來書 10:19-20)

    最後在祂左邊和右邊，有兩個强盜與祂同釘十字架，『耶穌對他(其中一個犯人)說：「我實在告訴你：今日你要同我在樂園裏了。」』 (路加福音 23:39-43) 在這裏，我們看到了那個犯人有信心的行為，『那同釘的兩個犯人，有一個譏誚他，說：「你不是基督嗎？可以救自己和我們吧！」那一個就應聲責備他，說：「你既是一樣受刑的，還不怕神嗎？」』(路加福音 23:39-40) 從這經文中，我們看到了這犯人相信耶穌是神的信心。他接著說：『我們是應該的，因我們所受的與我們所做的相稱，但這個人沒有做過一件不好的事。」就說：「耶穌啊，你得國降臨的時候，求你記念我！」』(路加福音 23:41-42) 他有信心的行為，在信心裏面祈求耶穌。從這些經文，我們也看到了基督徒死後會到樂園的。

    我們再看看祂在復活這四十天做了些什麼？在使徒行傳 1:1-5 說得很清楚，『提阿非羅啊，我已經作了前書(路加福音)，論到耶穌開頭一切所行所教訓的，直到他藉着聖靈吩咐所揀選的使徒，以後被接上升的日子為止。他受害之後，用許多的憑據將自己活活地顯給使徒看，四十天之久向他們顯現，講說神國的事。耶穌和他們聚集的時候，囑咐他們說：「不要離開耶路撒冷，要等候父所應許的，就是你們聽見我說過的。約翰是用水施洗，但不多幾日，你們要受聖靈的洗。」』

    所以路加福音在講耶穌所行所教訓的，我們也看到了祂應許聖靈的來臨，只是需要等候。等候不只是當時的信徒所需要的，我們現在也需要等候神，和祂預定的時間來臨。在後書使徒行傳中，我們看到了聖靈的降臨及其引導。

    關於耶穌的升天，有兩處的經文。『耶穌領他們到伯大尼的對面，就舉手給他們祝福。正祝福的時候，他就離開他們，被帶到天上去了。』 (路加福音 24:50-51) 另一處在使徒行傳 1:6-9 說得比較詳細，『他們聚集的時候，問耶穌說：「主啊，你復興以色列國就在這時候嗎？」耶穌對他們說：「父憑着自己的權柄所定的時候、日期，不是你們可以知道的。但聖靈降臨在你們身上，你們就必得着能力；並要在耶路撒冷、猶太全地和撒馬利亞，直到地極，作我的見證。」說了這話，他們正看的時候，他就被取上升，有一朵雲彩把他接去，便看不見他了。』

    祂應許會再來。『我若去為你們預備了地方，就必再來接你們到我那裏去；我在哪裏，叫你們也在那裏。』 (約翰福音 14:3) 至於祂如何再來？使徒行傳 1:10-11 說得很清楚，祂如何去，也要怎麼來：『當他往上去，他們定睛望天的時候，忽然有兩個人身穿白衣，站在旁邊，說：「加利利人哪，你們為甚麼站着望天呢？這離開你們被接升天的耶穌，你們見他怎樣往天上去，他還要怎樣來。」』

一些相關的經文

[1] 這就如罪是從一人入了世界，死又是從罪來的，於是死就臨到眾人，因為眾人都犯了罪。(羅馬書 5:12)

[2] 亞當活到一百三十歲，生了一個兒子，形像樣式和自己相似，就給他起名叫塞特。(創世記 5:3)

[3] 耶穌基督降生的事記在下面：他母親馬利亞已經許配了約瑟，還沒有迎娶，馬利亞就從聖靈懷了孕。(馬太福音 1:18)

[4] 因我們的大祭司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)

[5] 耶和華神為亞當和他妻子用皮子做衣服，給他們穿。(創世記 3:21)

[6] 亞伯拉罕舉目觀看，不料，有一隻公羊，兩角扣在稠密的小樹中，亞伯拉罕就取了那隻公羊來，獻為燔祭，代替他的兒子。(創世記 22:13)

[7] 因為世人都犯了罪，虧缺了神的榮耀；(羅馬書 3:23)

[8] 因為罪的工價乃是死，惟有神的恩賜，在我們的主基督耶穌裏，乃是永生。(羅馬書 6:23)

[9] 「我將這些事告訴你們，是要叫你們在我裏面有平安。在世上你們有苦難，但你們可以放心，我已經勝了世界。」(約翰福音 16:33)

(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』。)

We will first talk about the necessity of Jesus’ crucifixion. In it, we will talk about three events when Jesus was nailed in the cross and why He mentioned them. Next, we complete what happened on the cross by mentioning another four events. Thirdly, we mention what Jesus did in those forty days after His resurrection. Finally, we talk about His ascending and His promise of coming again.

First, we see that Adam made sin enter the world due to disobedience [1]. His offspring then have his image and likeness [2]. Jesus is born from the Holy Spirit [3], so He started with no sin and never committed sins [4]. The concept of substitution starts with garments of skin in Genesis [5], continued with the event of the offering of Isaac from Abraham [6], and nowadays is the Jesus’ substitution for us just like what said in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” His precious blood can then clean our sins as stated in 1 John 1:7, “but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

We are all sinners [7]. The wages of sin is death [8]. Jesus must be crucified to die for us, we have to be in Jesus for him to substitute for us. Therefore, the Bible says clearly that we have to be conformed to the image of Jesus [9]. Let us then take a look at what the image is when He was nailed in the cross. First in Luke 23:33-34, it says, “When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, … But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” …” Although He was crucified, He still prayed for His enemies even in the cross.

In Matthew 26:36-39, we can see that He is willing to obey God even to death. It says, “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”” His death completed the salvation just like what said in the cross, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” …Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” (John 19:28-30)

Now let us take a look at what else He said when on the cross. In John 19:25-27, it says, “…But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, …When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.” Jesus cares about not only spiritual things, but also about what we should do in this world. Often in this world, we encounter mishaps not by our own arrangements, but such mishaps may be blessings in disguise. If we are sure that these are the results due to the attacks from the fallen angels of Satan, we should be cheerful. Why? Because we are worthwhile to have such attacks. Sort of like what Job encountered described in Book Job. Furthermore, we know that God will protect us when needed [10].

In Matthew 27:46, it says, “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”” With Jesus bore all sins of humankind, from the past, the present, and the future, how can God not forsake Him?

In Luke 23:45-46, it says, “because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.” Notice that He committed His spirit only to the Father. Here we see that salvation was completed once again as the veil was torn physically so we can now enter the Holy of Holy directly. In Hebrews 10:19-20, it says clearly, “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.”

Final statement on this topic described in Luke 23:39-43. Earlier we can see that there are two criminals crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. In Luke 23:43, it says, “And He (Jesus) said to him (one of the criminals), “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”” Here in some verses, we can see that the criminal acted out of faith. Why? In Luke 23:39-41, it says, “One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”” We can see from the verses that he believes that Jesus is God. And he was taking action by saying, “…”Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”” (Luke 23:42) We can also see that Christians go to Paradise after death.

Let us talk about what Jesus did after resurrection and before ascending. In Acts 1:1-5, it says, “The first account I composed (Gospel Luke), Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”” 

Therefore, Gospel Luke talks about what Jesus did and taught, and we can also see His promise about the coming of Holy Spirit requiring waiting. Waiting is needed not only for those days, but also that we need to wait upon the God and His appointed time. In the Book of Acts, we indeed saw the coming of Holy Spirit and His guidance.

Regarding His ascending, there are two places that talk about it. In Luke 24:50-51, it says, “And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.” Another place is in Acts 1:6-9, which described in more detail, it says, “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” 

He promised that He would come again in John 14:3, which says, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” In terms of how He comes again, it says clearly in Acts 1:10-11 “And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.””

Some related verses

[1] Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”

[2] Genesis 5:3, “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.”

[3] Matthew 1:18, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.”

[4] Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

[5] Genesis 3:21, “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.”

[6] Genesis 22:13, “Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.” 

[7] Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

[8] Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

[9] Romans 8:29, “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.”

[10] 1 Corinthians 10:13, “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.” John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

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

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

     我们在这里只是指出一些我们沒有谈到过的顯现的一些重点和相关的话题。首先我们看路加福音提到了、因不信而离开耶路撒冷到以马忤斯的二门徒 [1]。 虽然耶稣『…从摩西和眾先知起，凡经上所指着自己的话都给他们讲解明白了。』 (路加福音 24:27) ，他们起初仍然认不出祂，所以复活后的身体是很不一样的，必须要祂擘饻开他们的眼睛才能使他们看见 [2]。最终，耶稣沒和这二门徒同住，因祂忽然不见了。我们也再次看见了复活后的身体会是很不一样的。

     那时只有十一使徒，因加略人犹大已卖主。在那十一使徒中彼得先遇见了主 [3]。接著耶稣就証明复活后的身体不是魂，也能吃东西，是真的复活了，且有著不受如门等限制的更好身体 [4]。

於是耶稣开他们的心窍，使他们能明白圣经，…又对他们說：「…你们就是这些事的见证。我要将我父所应许的降在你们身上，你们要在城里等候，直到你们领受从上头来的能力。」 (路加福音 24:45-49) 所以要想明白圣经，是要耶稣开心窍的，耶稣已升到天上，我们现在不可能被祂开心窍，但我们有內住的圣灵，以启示开我们的心窍，带领我们读经。等候不只是当时的需要，我们现在也需要等候神和祂的时间。当时他们是祂的见証，我们现在的生活也应该是祂的见証。

     接著我们看到了多马八日后才见到主。『过了八日，门徒又在屋里，多马也和他们同在。门都关了。耶稣来站在当中說：「愿你们平安！」 』(约翰福音 20:26) 从这经文，我们再次注意到复活的身体很不一样，不被门所限制。

     那时耶稣『就对多马說：「伸过你的指头来，摸我的手；伸出你的手来，探入我的肋旁。不要疑惑，总要信！」多马說：「我的主，我的神！」耶稣对他說：「你因看见了我才信，那沒有看见就信的有福了！」』 (约翰福音 20:27-29) 在这里沒有說多马是否照他的话做？『…多马卻說：「我非看见他手上的钉痕，用指头探入那钉痕，又用手探入他的肋旁，我总不信。」』 (约翰福音 20:25) 重要的是祂說了：『我的主，我的神！』我们沒有看见耶稣就信了的人，都是有福的。

     另一次顯现是彼得等七人去打鱼时，他们虽是职业渔夫卻沒打到鱼，耶稣就教他们何处去撒网，正如祂所說的就得到了大量的鱼 [5]。且又再次顯示了祂的身体和他们一样是可以吃的 [6]。祂问彼得三次你愛我吗也是在这次 [7]。

     最后我们看一看保罗所知道的顯现。在哥林多前书 15:3-4 中他說，『我当日所领受又传给你们的，第一，就是基督照圣经所說，為我们的罪死了，而且埋葬了，又照圣经所說，第三天复活了。』 他所知道复活后的顯现是在哥林多前书 15:5-8，『並且顯给矶法看，然后顯给十二使徒看，后来一时顯给五百多弟兄看，其中一大半到如今还在，卻也有已经睡了的。以后顯给雅各看，再顯给眾使徒看，末了，也顯给我看，我如同未到產期而生的人一般。 』这里的雅各应不是使徒雅各，因他很早被杀死，通常說是指耶稣的弟兄雅各 [8]。

     保罗写这经文时已有十二使徒了！『(在五旬节前) 那时，有许多人聚会，约有一百二十名，彼得就在弟兄中间站起来，…就是从约翰施洗起，直到主离开我们被接上升的日子為止，必须从那常与我们作伴的人中，立一位与我们同作耶稣复活的见证。」…於是眾人為他们搖签，搖出马提亚来，他就和十一个使徒同列。』 (使徒行传 1:15-26) 所以马提亚不是耶稣亲自选的。

     在启示錄 21:14中說，『城牆有十二根基，根基上有羔羊十二使徒的名字。』保罗见了大光，是耶稣复活后选的使徒，这里說的是羔羊十二使徒，保罗应是其中之一。

一些相关的经文和知识

[1] 『正当那日，门徒中有两个人往一个村子去；这村子名叫以马忤斯，离耶路撒冷约有二十五里。 』(路加福音 24:13)『他们就立时起身，回耶路撒冷去，…』 (路加福音 24:33) 『二人中有一个名叫革流巴的回答說：「你在耶路撒冷作客，还不知道这几天在那里所出的事吗？」…再者，我们中间有几个妇女使我们惊奇，她们清早到了墳墓那里，不见他的身体，就回来告诉我们，說看见了天使顯现，說他活了。』 (路加福音 24:18-23)『耶稣对他们說：「无知的人哪，先知所說的一切话，你们的心信得太迟钝了。基督这样受害，又进入他的荣耀，岂不是应当的吗？」』 (路加福音 24:25-26)

[2] 日将近他们所去的村子，耶稣好像还要往前行，他们卻強留他，…耶稣就进去，要同他们住下。到了坐席的时候，耶稣拿起饻来，祝谢了，擘开，递给他们。他们的眼睛明亮了，这才认出他来。忽然耶稣不见了。 (路加福音 24:28-31)

[3]  他们(去以马忤斯的二门徒)就立时起身，回耶路撒冷去，正遇见十一个使徒和他们的同人聚集在一处，說：「主果然复活，已经现给西门看了。」(路加福音 24:33-34)

[4] 正說这话的时候，耶稣亲自站在他们当中，…耶稣說：「…你们看我的手，我的腳，就知道实在是我了。摸我看看！魂无骨无肉，你们看，我是有的。」說了这话，就把手和腳给他们看。…他们便给他一片烧鱼，他接过来，在他们面前吃了。 (路加福音 24:36-43)

[5] 『西门彼得对他们(六人)說：「我打鱼去。」他们說：「我们也和你同去。」他们就出去，上了船，那一夜並沒有打着甚麼。『 (约翰福音 21:3)『耶稣說：「你们把网撒在船的右边，就必得着。」他们便撒下网去，竟拉不上来了，因為鱼甚多。』 (约翰福音 21:6)『西门彼得就去，把网拉到岸上，那网满了大鱼，共一百五十三條。鱼虽这样多，网卻沒有破。』 (约翰福音 21:11)

[6] 耶稣說：「你们来吃早饭。」门徒中沒有一个敢问他：「你是谁？」因為知道是主。耶稣就来拿饻和鱼给他们。 (约翰福音 21:12-13)

[7] 我们在以前详细的谈了耶稣问彼得三次你愛我吗，从耶稣的话中，我们得到了相当不同的结论。详情请见约十七分鐘的视频。 https://youtu.be/gBnDs9LVAA0

[8] 『那时，希律王下手苦害教会中几个人，用刀杀了约翰的哥哥雅各。』 (使徒行传 12:1-2) 『这不是木匠的儿子(耶稣)吗？他母亲不是叫马利亚吗？他弟兄们不是叫雅各、约西、西门、犹大吗？ 』(马太福音 13:55)

(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』。)

    我們在這裏只是指出一些我們沒有談到過的顯現的一些重點和相關的話題。首先我們看路加福音提到了、因不信而離開耶路撒冷到以馬忤斯的二門徒 [1]。 雖然耶穌『…從摩西和眾先知起，凡經上所指着自己的話都給他們講解明白了。』 (路加福音 24:27) ，他們起初仍然認不出祂，所以復活後的身體是很不一樣的，必須要祂擘餅開他們的眼睛才能使他們看見 [2]。最終，耶穌沒和這二門徒同住，因祂忽然不見了。我們也再次看見了復活後的身體會是很不一樣的。

    那時只有十一使徒，因加略人猶大已賣主。在那十一使徒中彼得先遇見了主 [3]。接著耶穌就証明復活後的身體不是魂，也能吃東西，是真的復活了，且有著不受如門等限制的更好身體 [4]。

    於是耶穌開他們的心竅，使他們能明白聖經，…又對他們說：「…你們就是這些事的見證。我要將我父所應許的降在你們身上，你們要在城裏等候，直到你們領受從上頭來的能力。」 (路加福音 24:45-49)  所以要想明白聖經，是要耶穌開心竅的，耶穌已升到天上，我們現在不可能被祂開心竅，但我們有內住的聖靈，以啓示開我們的心竅，帶領我們讀經。等候不只是當時的需要，我們現在也需要等候神和祂的時間。當時他們是祂的見証，我們現在的生活也應該是祂的見証。

    接著我們看到了多馬八日後才見到主。『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) 從這經文，我們再次注意到復活的身體很不一樣，不被門所限制。

    那時耶穌『就對多馬說：「伸過你的指頭來，摸我的手；伸出你的手來，探入我的肋旁。不要疑惑，總要信！」多馬說：「我的主，我的神！」耶穌對他說：「你因看見了我才信，那沒有看見就信的有福了！」』 (約翰福音 20:27-29) 在這裏沒有說多馬是否照他的話做？『…多馬卻說：「我非看見他手上的釘痕，用指頭探入那釘痕，又用手探入他的肋旁，我總不信。」』 (約翰福音 20:25) 重要的是祂說了：『我的主，我的神！』我們沒有看見耶穌就信了的人，都是有福的。

    另一次顯現是彼得等七人去打魚時，他們雖是職業漁夫卻沒打到魚，耶穌就教他們何處去撒網，正如祂所說的就得到了大量的魚 [5]。且又再次顯示了祂的身體和他們一樣是可以吃的 [6]。祂問彼得三次你愛我嗎也是在這次 [7]。

    最後我們看一看保羅所知道的顯現。在哥林多前書 15:3-4 中他說，『我當日所領受又傳給你們的，第一，就是基督照聖經所說，為我們的罪死了，而且埋葬了，又照聖經所說，第三天復活了。』 他所知道復活後的顯現是在哥林多前書 15:5-8，『並且顯給磯法看，然後顯給十二使徒看，後來一時顯給五百多弟兄看，其中一大半到如今還在，卻也有已經睡了的。以後顯給雅各看，再顯給眾使徒看，末了，也顯給我看，我如同未到產期而生的人一般。 』這裏的雅各應不是使徒雅各，因他很早被殺死，通常說是指耶穌的弟兄雅各 [8]。

    保羅寫這經文時已有十二使徒了！『(在五旬節前) 那時，有許多人聚會，約有一百二十名，彼得就在弟兄中間站起來，…就是從約翰施洗起，直到主離開我們被接上升的日子為止，必須從那常與我們作伴的人中，立一位與我們同作耶穌復活的見證。」…於是眾人為他們搖籤，搖出馬提亞來，他就和十一個使徒同列。』 (使徒行傳 1:15-26) 所以馬提亞不是耶穌親自選的。  

    在啓示錄 21:14中說，『城牆有十二根基，根基上有羔羊十二使徒的名字。』保羅見了大光，是耶穌復活後選的使徒，這裏說的是羔羊十二使徒，保羅應是其中之一。

一些相關的經文和知識

[1]  『正當那日，門徒中有兩個人往一個村子去；這村子名叫以馬忤斯，離耶路撒冷約有二十五里。 』(路加福音 24:13)『他們就立時起身，回耶路撒冷去，…』 (路加福音 24:33) 『二人中有一個名叫革流巴的回答說：「你在耶路撒冷作客，還不知道這幾天在那裏所出的事嗎？」…再者，我們中間有幾個婦女使我們驚奇，她們清早到了墳墓那裏，不見他的身體，就回來告訴我們，說看見了天使顯現，說他活了。』 (路加福音 24:18-23)『耶穌對他們說：「無知的人哪，先知所說的一切話，你們的心信得太遲鈍了。基督這樣受害，又進入他的榮耀，豈不是應當的嗎？」』 (路加福音 24:25-26)

[2] 日將近他們所去的村子，耶穌好像還要往前行，他們卻強留他，…耶穌就進去，要同他們住下。到了坐席的時候，耶穌拿起餅來，祝謝了，擘開，遞給他們。他們的眼睛明亮了，這才認出他來。忽然耶穌不見了。 (路加福音 24:28-31)

[3]  他們(去以馬忤斯的二門徒)就立時起身，回耶路撒冷去，正遇見十一個使徒和他們的同人聚集在一處，說：「主果然復活，已經現給西門看了。」(路加福音 24:33-34)

[4] 正說這話的時候，耶穌親自站在他們當中，…耶穌說：「…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。…他們便給他一片燒魚，他接過來，在他們面前吃了。 (路加福音 24:36-43)

[5] 『西門彼得對他們(六人)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。『 (約翰福音 21:3)『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。』 (約翰福音 21:6)『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。』 (約翰福音 21:11)

[6] 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。 (約翰福音 21:12-13)

[7] 我們在以前詳細的談了耶穌問彼得三次你愛我嗎，從耶穌的話中，我們得到了相當不同的結論。詳情請見約十七分鐘的視頻。 https://youtu.be/gBnDs9LVAA0

[8] 『那時，希律王下手苦害教會中幾個人，用刀殺了約翰的哥哥雅各。』 (使徒行傳 12:1-2) 『這不是木匠的兒子(耶穌)嗎？他母親不是叫馬利亞嗎？他弟兄們不是叫雅各、約西、西門、猶大嗎？ 』(馬太福音 13:55)

(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』。)

Here we point out some points and related issues we have not talked about in the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection. First, Gospel Luke mentions the two disciples who went to the village called Emmaus [1]. They left Jerusalem because they didn’t believe what was told to them about the resurrection. Although Jesus “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:27) They still didn’t recognize Him. It took Jesus to breaking bread to open their eyes to recognize Him [2]. Therefore, we can see that although the body after resurrection looks the same, but yet it is very different. Although they planned to abide together with Jesus, they didn’t since He suddenly disappeared. We again see the body after resurrection is very different with extra abilities

At that time, there were only eleven apostles since Judas Iscariot betrayed Him. (Ref. Matthew 10:4) Among those eleven apostles, Peter is the one Jesus appeared to first [3].` He then verified that He was not a spirit but indeed resurrected and had a better body which was not restricted by things like doors [4].

“Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “…You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”” (Luke 24:45-49) Therefore, if one wants to understand the Bible, the person really needs Jesus to open his mind. Nowadays, Jesus is in heaven and it is impossible to have Him to open our mind. But we do have Holy Spirit abiding inside us who can open our minds through revelation, and lead us to study the Bible. Waiting is needed not only at that time, but also nowadays to wait upon God and His appointed time. At that time, they were His witnesses. We need to be His witnesses through our life nowadays. 

Next, we see in John 20:26 that Jesus appeared to Thomas with others after eight days. “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.”” Again, we observe that the body after resurrection is very different. Here the Bible doesn’t say if Thomas indeed did what was said in John 20:25, which says, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” The important thing is about what he said in John 20:28, “My Lord and my God!” We are indeed blessed since we believe even though we didn’t have a chance to see Jesus as said in John 20:29.

Another appearance was when Peter with six others went to fish. They are professionals, but didn’t get anything. When they followed the words of Jesus and casted the net accordingly, they got a lot of fish [5]. He again showed them that His resurrection was genuine, and His body could eat just like them [6]. He asked Peter three times if Peter loved Him described in this occasion too [7].

Finally, let us take a look about what Paul said about the appearances. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, he said, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” What he knows about the appearances after resurrection is described in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8. It says, “and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.” The James mentioned here should not be the apostle James since he was killed very early, and some people thinks that James is the brother of the Lord [8].

Some related verses and knowledge

[1] Luke 24:13, “And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.” Luke 24:33, “And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, …” Luke 24:18-23, “One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” …But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.” Luke 24:25-26, “And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?””

[2] Luke 24:28-31, “And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, …So He went in to stay with them. When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.”

[3] Luke 24:33-34, “And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.””

[4] Luke 24:36-43, “While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst …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….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.”

[5] John 21:3, “Simon Peter said to them(six others), “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.” John 21:6, “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.” John 21:11, “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.”

[6] John 21:12-13, “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.”

[7] We discussed before in details what conclusion we could get from the words of Jesus, which is different from some others opinions. It is a video in Chinese about 17 minutes. For people who understand the Chinese, they can find in YouTube. https://youtu.be/gBnDs9LVAA0

[8] Acts 12:1-2, “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.” Matthew 13:55, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?”

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

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

The Bible’s record of the first appearance of Jesus is apparently inconsistent. Because we firmly believe that the Bible is inspired by God, we then ask what God wants us to know by these apparent inconsistencies. Besides the example of his first appearance, we use three more examples to illustrate this observation. The first example is in Psalms 8:5, where we can see that we need to use the verse in the New Testament to explain what described in the Old Testament. The second example is in Ecclesiastes 3:21, where we can see that the culture of Hebrew is not always correct. We can also see that both the New Testament and the Old Testament say consistently that human consists of three parts – spirit, soul, and body. The third example is related to Romans 11:24, where we see that God emphasizes on life.

First, let us take a look at three verses. In John 20:1, it says, “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.” Matthew 28:1 states, “Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.” In Mark 16:1-2, it says, “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.” People then ask the question regarding how many persons came to the grave.

Because we firmly believe the verse in 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God …”, we therefore ask the question about what God wants us to know. In web address 1, you can see that the author points out what he thinks about where the apparent inconsistencies are [1]. Then in web address 2, the same author tries to explain what happens to resolve inconsistencies [2]. Apparently from his text, he also points out in his explanation that there are things which aren’t said in the Bible and are human logical conclusions.

In the past, I tried to use the same method to explain the consistency of the Bible, and thought that the same event should be described in the same way from different angles. Nowadays, I firmly believe that the Bible is inspired by God and God doesn’t make mistakes. Therefore, we really want to ask what God wants us to understand by these apparent inconsistencies. 

Using the first appearance of Jesus after resurrection as an example, what God wants us to know is clear. It was declared that Jesus is the Son of God by resurrection as said in Romans 1:4, “who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.” The important fact is that Jesus resurrected. In terms of how many people showed up in the grave, it is not important.

As a matter of fact, things not important sometimes are not even mentioned in the Bible. For example, we talked about Methuselah at chapter 5 in Genesis before. If you calculate the timeline, you’ll find out that the flood came at the same day when Methuselah died. The Bible doesn’t say that he was drowned by the flood or when he died then the flood came immediately. When the Bible doesn’t say things explicitly, we cannot be one hundred percent for sure. If one insists, it often leads to arguments and we cannot edify others. Although we are humans and it is impossible to know God’s will every time since He is infinite and we are finite, we need to at least try to look at things in the aspect of God. We’ll use three examples to illustrate what the Bible wants to tell us in different cases.

In Psalms 8:5, “Yet You have made him a little lower than God (H430), And You crown him with glory and majesty!” But in Hebrews 2:7, it says, “You have made him for a little while lower than the angels (G32); You have crowned him with glory and honor, And have appointed him over the works of Your hands.” Both translations in English are correct by the original languages as given in the Strong’s numbers. God is definitely above everything, so the Old Testament description doesn’t give any information. I believe that God wants to use the apparent inconsistency to tell us that we need to use the verse in the New Testament to explain what described in the Old Testament caused by human errors.

In Ecclesiastes 3:21, it says, “Who knows that the breath (H7307) of man ascends upward and the breath (H7307) of the beast descends downward to the earth?” The word H7307 is the spirit. Spirit is used to communicate with God, and we know the beast has no spirit but soul and body. We never heard that there were any animals except humans that can worship God. As a matter of fact, we can see in Genesis 2:7 that only man has the breath of life, “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” The others were made by God’s word such as in Genesis 1:24, “Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.” God wants to tell us that there is no distinction between spirit and soul in Hebrew. This is not consistent with what the New Testament in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “…and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Hebrews 4:12, it says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” So, human consists of three parts – spirit, soul, and body. Apparently, the Hebrew culture is not all correct; otherwise, they will not nail the glorious Jesus to the cross and don’t recognize Him even nowadays. And they need not what did in Luke 24:45, “Then He (Jesus) opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” Furthermore, they would know the purpose of studying 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)

In this example, we can actually see that both the New Testament and the Old Testament say consistently that spirit and soul can be divided. Why do we say that? In Genesis 2:16-17, it says, “The Lord God commanded the man (Adam), 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 that you eat from it you will surely die.”” We know that Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But Adam still lived “…one hundred and thirty years, …” (Genesis 5:3) God doesn’t lie. So, we know that his spirit died. In this case, his soul still had lived with his body for quite a while. From here, we can see that spirit and soul are divided. One is dead, and the other one lives meanwhile.

The final example is related to this verse. “For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?” (Romans 11:24) If one looks at the knowledge of horticulture, one will say that a good branch has to be grafted in order to get good fruits. So, there are people thinking that this verse is not correct. Just think about that the Bible is inspired by God and God must have such knowledge, we may ask what then God wants to tell us. We already talked about the purpose of studying the Bible is to have life. Let us take a look at another verse. In John 15:4-5, it says, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” God’s emphasis is to have life. Therefore, the verse in Romans 11:24 is talking about life. We can also see that God cares about the rich root as stated in Romans 11:17-18, the rich root of life. “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.”

References

[1[ Web address 1: http://blog.adw.org/2011/04/making-sense-of-the-resurrection-accounts-are-there-discrepancies/.

[2] Web address 2: http://blog.adw.org/2011/04/a-chronological-sequence-of-the-resurrection-events/#:~:text=A%20Chronological%20Sequence%20of%20the%20Resurrection%20Events%201,of%20the%20forty%20days.%20…%208%20VIII.%20.

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

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

     圣经上记载耶稣复活后的第一次顯现，有著很明顯不合的地方，因為我们深信圣经都是神所默示，因此我们要问，神借著这些不合的地方究竟要告诉我们什麼？除了第一次顯现的例子外，我们另外舉了三个不同的例子来說明这点。在第一个诗篇 8:6 的例子中，我们看到了『要用新约解释旧约』。在第二个传道书 3:21 的例子中，我们看到了希伯来人的文化不一定全对，並看到了『新约和旧约的一致性』。第三个例子是和罗马书 11:24 有关，我们看到『神看重的是生命』。

     首先，我们看三个地方的经文。『七日的第一日清早，天还黑的时候，抹大拉的马利亚来到墳墓那里，看见石头从墳墓挪开了。』(约翰福音 20:1) 『安息日将尽，七日的头一日，天快亮的时候，抹大拉的马利亚和那个马利亚来看墳墓。』(马太福音 28:1) 『过了安息日，抹大拉的马利亚和雅各的母亲马利亚並撒罗米，买了香膏要去膏耶稣的身体。七日的第一日清早，出太阳的时候，她们来到墳墓那里。』 (马可福音 16:1-2) 我们会问，到底有几个人到墳墓那里？

     因為我们深信，『圣经都是神所默示的，…』(提摩太后书 3:16)，所以我们必须从『神要告诉我们什麼』的角度去读圣经。如果你习惯英文的话，可以在网址一看到作者认為那些是在耶稣顯现中不合的地方 [1]。然后在网址二，同一个作者试著去解释和调合这些地方 [2]。很清楚的，作者指出了有一些是人的逻辑而圣经並沒有这样說。

     在过去我也会试著用这作者的方法去解释圣经的一致性，认為每一件事情，圣经所记载的应该完全相同，最多是从不同的角度看同一件事情。现在，因我深信新旧约都是神所默示的和神不会犯错，因此我们要问，如果有明顯不合的地方，神到底要用这些地方告诉我们什麼？

     以耶稣复活后第一次顯现作例子。很顯然的，神要告诉我们的是，耶稣复活了，以大能顯明是神的儿子。『按圣善的灵說，因从死里复活，以大能顯明是神的儿子。』(罗马书 1:4) 所以重要的事实是耶稣复活了，至於有几个人到了墳墓的详情，实在是不重要。

     不重要的事，有时圣经连提都不提。例如我们以前谈过玛土撒拉的事 [3]。如果你看圣经的记载就知道，玛土撒拉死的那一天，也就是洪水来的那一天！至於是不是玛土撒拉一死洪水就来，或者是玛土撒拉被洪水淹死，圣经沒說。我们不能百分之百確定圣经沒說的事，常常会引起公說公有理，婆說婆有理的爭论，不会造就人。虽然我们是人，不可能每一件事都能从神的角度看，至少我们要试著了解圣经要告诉我们什麼？以下舉三个这样的例子。

     在诗篇 8:5，『你叫他比天使(H430)(或译: 神)微小一点，並赐他荣耀尊贵為冠冕。』在诗篇中，天使是如在汇编中所說用的 H4397，而这字 H430 是指神，因此应翻译為神。我们再看新约如何在希伯来书 2:7 引用这经文，『你叫他比天使(G32)微小一点，赐他荣耀、尊贵為冠冕，並将你手所造的都派他管理。』在新约中，天使是用的 G32，所以这是正確的。因此『要用新约解释旧约』，更正旧约中人的用字错误。

     接著看传道书 3:21，『谁知道人的灵(spirit)是往上升，兽的魂(spirit)是下入地呢？』两者原文和英文都是用灵这个字！灵是用来和神交通的，我们知道兽是沒有灵的，也不曾听說过、除了人以外还有其他动物会敬拜神。其实在创世记說得很清楚，只有人有神的生气，其余的是由神的话造的。所以神要告诉我们的是：在希伯来文中，灵和魂是不分的。这和新约所讲的不同，因為人有灵、魂、和体三部份。『…又愿你们的灵与魂与身子得蒙保守，…』 (帖撒罗尼迦前书 5:23) 『…甚至魂与灵、骨节与骨髓，都能刺入、剖开，…』 (希伯来书 4:12) 希伯来人的文化顯然不是全对，要不就不会把荣耀的主钉十字架了！而现在仍不接受耶稣為主。需要『…耶稣开他们的心窍，使他们能明白圣经。』 (路加福音 24:45) 而且不知道查考圣经的目的是要得生命。『你们查考圣经，因你们以為內中有永生；给我(耶稣)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)

     在这个例子中，我们其实也可以看见新约和旧约一致說灵和魂是分开的。為什麼这样說呢？在旧约中，『耶和华神吩咐他(亚当)說：「园中各样树上的果子，你可以随意吃，只是分別善恶树上的果子，你不可吃，因為你吃的日子必定死。」』 (创世记 2:16-17) 我们知道亚当吃了这果子，而仍然『亚当活到一百三十岁，…』 (创世记 5:3) 神不說谎，所以我们知道是他的灵死了。在这种情況下，魂仍然存活，可见旧约一开始就說灵和魂是分开的，可以一个死而另一个存活。

     最后的例子和这经文有关。『你是从那天生的野橄榄上砍下来的，尚且逆着性得接在好橄榄上，何況这本树的枝子要接在本树上呢！』 (罗马书 11:24) 如果从园艺的知识来看，要想结好果子，必须接上好枝子，所以会有人认為这经文是不对的。只要想到圣经是神所默示的，就可以知道神不会不知道这麼簡单的园艺知识，那麼神究竟要告诉我们什麼呢？我们已看到耶稣說读经的目的是要得生命，所以我们从另一经文看。在约翰福音 15:4-5 中說， 『你们要常在我里面，我也常在你们里面。枝子若不常在葡萄树上，自己就不能结果子；你们若不常在我里面，也是这样。我是葡萄树，你们是枝子。常在我里面的，我也常在他里面，这人就多结果子。因為离了我，你们就不能做甚麼。』所以这是指生命。神所看重的是那肥汁，生命的肥汁如下列经文所示。『若有几根枝子被折下来，你这野橄榄得接在其中，一同得着橄榄根的肥汁，你就不可向旧枝子夸口；若是夸口，当知道不是你托着根，乃是根托着你。』 (罗马书 11:17-18)

一些相关的知识

[1] 网址一: http://blog.adw.org/2011/04/making-sense-of-the-resurrection-accounts-are-there-discrepancies/.

[2] 网址二: http://blog.adw.org/2011/04/a-chronological-sequence-of-the-resurrection-events/#:~:text=A%20Chronological%20Sequence%20of%20the%20Resurrection%20Events%201,of%20the%20forty%20days.%20…%208%20VIII.%20.

[3] 200809 读经要从神的角度看的簡介: https://youtu.be/dpiRYGhtoTs.

(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』。)

    聖經上記載耶穌復活後的第一次顯現，有著很明顯不合的地方，因為我們深信聖經都是神所默示，因此我們要問，神藉著這些不合的地方究竟要告訴我們什麼？除了第一次顯現的例子外，我們另外舉了三個不同的例子來說明這點。在第一個詩篇 8:6 的例子中，我們看到了『要用新約解釋舊約』。在第二個傳道書 3:21 的例子中，我們看到了希伯來人的文化不一定全對，並看到了『新約和舊約的一致性』。第三個例子是和羅馬書 11:24 有關，我們看到『神看重的是生命』。

    首先，我們看三個地方的經文。『七日的第一日清早，天還黑的時候，抹大拉的馬利亞來到墳墓那裏，看見石頭從墳墓挪開了。』(約翰福音 20:1) 『安息日將盡，七日的頭一日，天快亮的時候，抹大拉的馬利亞和那個馬利亞來看墳墓。』(馬太福音 28:1) 『過了安息日，抹大拉的馬利亞和雅各的母親馬利亞並撒羅米，買了香膏要去膏耶穌的身體。七日的第一日清早，出太陽的時候，她們來到墳墓那裏。』 (馬可福音 16:1-2) 我們會問，到底有幾個人到墳墓那裏？

    因為我們深信，『聖經都是神所默示的，…』(提摩太後書 3:16)，所以我們必須從『神要告訴我們什麼』的角度去讀聖經。如果你習慣英文的話，可以在網址一看到作者認為那些是在耶穌顯現中不合的地方 [1]。然後在網址二，同一個作者試著去解釋和調合這些地方 [2]。很清楚的，作者指出了有一些是人的邏輯而聖經並沒有這樣說。

    在過去我也會試著用這作者的方法去解釋聖經的一致性，認為每一件事情，聖經所記載的應該完全相同，最多是從不同的角度看同一件事情。現在，因我深信新舊約都是神所默示的和神不會犯錯，因此我們要問，如果有明顯不合的地方，神到底要用這些地方告訴我們什麼？

    以耶穌復活後第一次顯現作例子。很顯然的，神要告訴我們的是，耶穌復活了，以大能顯明是神的兒子。『按聖善的靈說，因從死裏復活，以大能顯明是神的兒子。』(羅馬書 1:4) 所以重要的事實是耶穌復活了，至於有幾個人到了墳墓的詳情，實在是不重要。

    不重要的事，有時聖經連提都不提。例如我們以前談過瑪土撒拉的事 [3]。如果你看聖經的記載就知道，瑪土撒拉死的那一天，也就是洪水來的那一天！至於是不是瑪土撒拉一死洪水就來，或者是瑪土撒拉被洪水淹死，聖經沒說。我們不能百分之百確定聖經沒說的事，常常會引起公說公有理，婆說婆有理的爭論，不會造就人。雖然我們是人，不可能每一件事都能從神的角度看，至少我們要試著瞭解聖經要告訴我們什麼？以下舉三個這樣的例子。

    在詩篇 8:5，『你叫他比天使(H430)(或譯: 神)微小一點，並賜他榮耀尊貴為冠冕。』在詩篇中，天使是如在彙編中所說用的 H4397，而這字 H430 是指神，因此應翻譯為神。我們再看新約如何在希伯來書 2:7 引用這經文，『你叫他比天使(G32)微小一點，賜他榮耀、尊貴為冠冕，並將你手所造的都派他管理。』在新約中，天使是用的 G32，所以這是正確的。因此『要用新約解釋舊約』，更正舊約中人的用字錯誤。

    接著看傳道書 3:21，『誰知道人的靈(spirit)是往上升，獸的魂(spirit)是下入地呢？』兩者原文和英文都是用靈這個字！靈是用來和神交通的，我們知道獸是沒有靈的，也不曾聽說過、除了人以外還有其他動物會敬拜神。其實在創世記說得很清楚，只有人有神的生氣，其餘的是由神的話造的。所以神要告訴我們的是：在希伯來文中，靈和魂是不分的。這和新約所講的不同，因為人有靈、魂、和體三部份。『…又願你們的靈與魂與身子得蒙保守，…』 (帖撒羅尼迦前書 5:23) 『…甚至魂與靈、骨節與骨髓，都能刺入、剖開，…』 (希伯來書 4:12) 希伯來人的文化顯然不是全對，要不就不會把榮耀的主釘十字架了！而現在仍不接受耶穌為主。需要『…耶穌開他們的心竅，使他們能明白聖經。』 (路加福音 24:45) 而且不知道查考聖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(耶穌)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)

    在這個例子中，我們其實也可以看見新約和舊約一致說靈和魂是分開的。為什麼這樣說呢？在舊約中，『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，因為你吃的日子必定死。」』 (創世記 2:16-17) 我們知道亞當吃了這果子，而仍然『亞當活到一百三十歲，…』 (創世記 5:3) 神不說謊，所以我們知道是他的靈死了。在這種情況下，魂仍然存活，可見舊約一開始就說靈和魂是分開的，可以一個死而另一個存活。

    最後的例子和這經文有關。『你是從那天生的野橄欖上砍下來的，尚且逆着性得接在好橄欖上，何況這本樹的枝子要接在本樹上呢！』 (羅馬書 11:24) 如果從園藝的知識來看，要想結好果子，必須接上好枝子，所以會有人認為這經文是不對的。只要想到聖經是神所默示的，就可以知道神不會不知道這麼簡單的園藝知識，那麼神究竟要告訴我們什麼呢？我們已看到耶穌說讀經的目的是要得生命，所以我們從另一經文看。在約翰福音 15:4-5 中說， 『你們要常在我裏面，我也常在你們裏面。枝子若不常在葡萄樹上，自己就不能結果子；你們若不常在我裏面，也是這樣。我是葡萄樹，你們是枝子。常在我裏面的，我也常在他裏面，這人就多結果子。因為離了我，你們就不能做甚麼。』所以這是指生命。神所看重的是那肥汁，生命的肥汁如下列經文所示。『若有幾根枝子被折下來，你這野橄欖得接在其中，一同得着橄欖根的肥汁，你就不可向舊枝子誇口；若是誇口，當知道不是你托着根，乃是根托着你。』 (羅馬書 11:17-18)

一些相關的知識

[1] 網址一: http://blog.adw.org/2011/04/making-sense-of-the-resurrection-accounts-are-there-discrepancies/.

[2] 網址二: http://blog.adw.org/2011/04/a-chronological-sequence-of-the-resurrection-events/#:~:text=A%20Chronological%20Sequence%20of%20the%20Resurrection%20Events%201,of%20the%20forty%20days.%20…%208%20VIII.%20.

[3] 200809 讀經要從神的角度看的簡介: https://youtu.be/dpiRYGhtoTs.

(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』。)

     圣经說到耶稣的诞生用了相当大的篇幅，說到祂是因童女马利亚被圣灵感孕而诞生於伯利恆。因為摩西的律法，上耶路撒冷时遇见了西面和亚拿。提到了几位东方的博士见到祂的星来朝拜祂，然后就跳到了十二岁的逾越节祂在耶路撒冷發生的事。

     我们先在路加福音 1:24-27 看到了伊利沙伯怀施洗约翰，和天使向马利亚顯现时间上的关系：『…伊利沙伯怀了孕，就隐藏了五个月，…到了第六个月，天使加百列奉神的差遣往加利利的一座城去，这城名叫拿撒勒，到一个童女那里，是已经许配大衞家的一个人，名叫约瑟，童女的名字叫马利亚。』

     然后在马太福音 1:18-21看到耶稣因童女马利亚被圣灵感孕：『…还沒有迎娶，马利亚就从圣灵怀了孕。她丈夫约瑟是个义人，不愿意明明地羞辱她，想要暗暗地把她休了。正思念这事的时候，有主的使者向他梦中顯现，說：「大衞的子孙约瑟，不要怕，只管娶过你的妻子马利亚来，因她所怀的孕是从圣灵来的。她将要生一个儿子，你要给他起名叫耶稣，因他要将自己的百姓从罪恶里救出来。」』

     接著在路加福音 1:39-45 我们就看到了马利亚立刻起身去証实所听到的事情，她到了伊利沙伯家中並见其被圣灵充满且祝福她：『那时候马利亚起身，急忙往山地里去，…进了撒迦利亚的家，问伊利沙伯安。伊利沙伯一听马利亚问安，所怀的胎就在腹里跳动。伊利沙伯且被圣灵充满，高声喊着說：「你在妇女中是有福的！你所怀的胎也是有福的！我主的母到我这里来，这是从哪里得的呢？因為你问安的声音一入我耳，我腹里的胎就欢喜跳动。这相信的女子是有福的！因為主对她所說的话都要应验。」』

     『马利亚和伊利沙伯同住，约有三个月，就回家去了。』 (路加福音 1:56)

     第二，我们看看耶稣為什麼虽是君王，卻从一开始就诞生在马槽里。这在路加福音 2:1-7 讲得很清楚：『当那些日子，凯撒亚古士督有旨意下来，叫天下人民都报名上冊。…眾人各归各城，报名上冊。约瑟也从加利利的拿撒勒城上犹太去，到了大衞的城，名叫伯利恆。因他本是大衞一族一家的人，要和他所聘之妻马利亚一同报名上冊。那时马利亚的身孕已经重了。他们在那里的时候，马利亚的產期到了，就生了头胎的儿子，用布包起来，放在马槽里，因為客店里沒有地方。』沒有报名上册的事，祂不可能诞生在伯利恆，这裡的就符合了旧约的一个预言。

     我们可看到祂不平常的诞生。那时，『在伯利恆之野地里有牧羊的人，夜间按着更次看守羊羣。有主的使者站在他们旁边，…那天使对他们說：「不要惧怕！我报给你们大喜的信息，是关乎万民的。因今天在大衞的城里，為你们生了救主，就是主基督。你们要看见一个婴孩，包着布，臥在马槽里，那就是记号了。」』 (路加福音 2:8-12)  『忽然，有一大隊天兵同那天使讚美神說：「在至高之处荣耀归与神！在地上平安归与他所喜悅的人！」』 (路加福音 2:13-14) 接著牧羊的人就去了伯利恆証实了这件事。也『…因所听见所看见的一切事，正如天使向他们所說的，就归荣耀与神，讚美他。』 (路加福音 2:20) 『满了八天，就给孩子行割礼，与他起名叫耶稣，这就是沒有成胎以前，天使所起的名。』 (路加福音 2:21)

     第三，约瑟『按摩西律法满了洁淨的日子，他们带着孩子上耶路撒冷去，要把他献与主。』 (路加福音 2:22) 这时他们遇见了西面：『…这人又公义又虔诚…又有圣灵在他身上。…他受了圣灵的感动，进入圣殿，正遇见(and)耶稣的父母抱着孩子进来，要照律法的规矩办理。』 (路加福音 2:25-27) 於是『西面就…称颂神說：「主啊！…我的眼睛已经看见你的救恩，…是照亮外邦人的光，又是你民以色列的荣耀。」孩子的父母因这论耶稣的话就希奇。』 (路加福音 2:28-33)

     『又有女先知，名叫亚拿，… 现在已经八十四岁，並不离开圣殿，禁食祈求，昼夜事奉神。正当那时(in that instant)，她进前来称谢神，将孩子的事对一切盼望耶路撒冷得救赎的人讲說。』 (路加福音 2:36-38)

     请注意，当和合本的翻译用『正』这个字时，要特別留心！因神常用『恰巧』来工作如路得记所提的，但不是說、『恰巧』就是神的工作。

     第四是說到『几位』博士看见耶稣的星就来朝拜祂：『当希律王的时候，耶稣生在犹太的伯利恆。有几个博士从东方来到耶路撒冷，說：「那生下来作犹太人之王的在哪里？我们在东方看见他的星，特来拜他。」』 (马太福音 2:1-2) 他们找到了小孩，因『…在东方所看见的那星，忽然在他们前头行，直行到小孩子的地方，就在上头停住了。』 (马太福音 2:9)    

     他们(博士)去后，有主的使者向约瑟梦中顯现，說：「起来！带着小孩子同他母亲逃往埃及，住在那里，等我吩咐你，因為希律必寻找小孩子，要除灭他。」约瑟就起来，夜间带着小孩子和他母亲往埃及去，住在那里，直到希律死了。这是要应验主借先知所說的话，說：「我从埃及召出我的儿子来。」』 (马太福音 2:13-15) 一方面我们看到了预言因此被应验，另方面我们看到约瑟知道神要他做什麼他立刻就去做，要不然就可能太迟了！因『博士因為在梦中被主指示，不要回去见希律，就从別的路回本地去了。』 (马太福音 2:12) 『希律见自己被博士愚弄，就大大發怒，差人将伯利恆城里並四境所有的男孩，照着他向博士仔细查问的时候，凡两岁以里的，都杀尽了。』 (马太福音 2:16)

     最后我们谈一谈耶稣十二岁时逾越节所發生的事。我们看到了『孩子渐渐长大，強健起来，充满智慧，又有神的恩在他身上。』 (路加福音 2:40) 在路加福音 2:43-49 记载：『守满了节期，他们回去，孩童耶稣仍旧在耶路撒冷。他的父母並不知道，…过了三天，就遇见他在殿里，坐在教师中间，一面听，一面问。凡听见他的，都希奇他的聪明和他的应对。他父母看见就很希奇。他母亲对他說：「我儿，為甚麼向我们这样行呢？看哪，你父亲和我伤心来找你！」耶稣說：「為甚麼找我呢？岂不知我应当以我父的事為念吗？」』 所以至少在十二岁的时候，耶稣就很清楚祂是谁。

(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』。)