Literature

The church life carries a very weighty, solid being. It is not hyper or momentary, like worldly or religious trends. It is real; it is visible. It is proved and perfected. The church life requires something lived out, involving real “doing” and “being.”

Since the time of Adam, as recorded in Genesis 5, death has been part of human history (v. 5). And yet, it was not God’s original intention that Adam should die. Through the fall, sin brought in death to the generations of man: “Therefore just as through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin, death; and thus death passed on to all men because all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12).

Eve fell because she was independent, separating herself from Jehovah and from Adam. On the surface, Eve may look innocent and naive, having been deceived by Satan. But at the moment the serpent said to her, “Did God really say…?” she made her own decision outside of her source and covering, seeking to make herself wise (Gen. 3:1-6).

The church life requires a core sense — a fellowship, or a way of understanding among the saints and across generations that is linked by this pure, innermost sense of life. When Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he was in prison, and he says in 1:8 that he longed after them all.

When God revealed Himself to Moses as the great “I AM,” it was not in Moses’ victory. Actually, Moses was quite weak and resistant to God’s command; at each turn, he looked at himself rather than at God, doubting if what God had asked could be done.

The ear plays a critical role in the human body. The ear is not just what we see on the surface; it extends deep into our head toward the brain, and is crucial to many different functions of the human body. For example, if there are blockages or damages in the inner parts of the ear, a person can lose his sense of balance — even lose his ability to walk.

Jesus Lord, I come to meet my Savior / Though a criminal, I trust in Thee! / When Thou comest into Thine own kingdom, / By Thy side, O Lord remember me. / On the cross, I met my great Redeemer! / Who has shed His lifeblood for me! / To my spirit, turn and hear Thy whisper: / “You shall be with Me in Paradise.”

Throughout the Bible and until today, God has sanctified and sent His chosen ones to carry forth the message of His purpose and salvation. Although we are all born sinful, wretched, and blind, we have been saved out of our fallen condition, being reborn and begotten of God, and brought out of old creation and into new creation.

At the end of Genesis chapter nine, God sets a bow in the sky as a sign of his covenant with Noah. This covenant ties God the Creator with His redeemed people in a newly redeemed world.