God Created Living Creatures with the Right to Choose
Greetings! Let us continue with Genesis Chapter 2. Can anyone recall what we discussed last time? Last time, we addressed a rather significant topic: everything God created has life and is alive. This highlights the importance of being alive. Being alive and having life are of utmost importance. If you search online for Bible studies on Genesis, what you find may differ from what I am sharing. Over the years, I have not been particularly satisfied with the Genesis Bible studies found online. Eventually, I decided to create my own. It turns out that there is a wealth of spiritual knowledge hidden within, that God created things with life and that are alive.
Last time, we covered the fourth point. The first point was an introduction; the second, everything with life needs rest; the third, God created seeds; and the fourth, God created living beings with a spirit. Let's continue with the fifth point: as long as something has life and is alive, it has the right to choose. Humans have the right to choose; they are not puppets. This is the most beautiful aspect of everything God created. Our pets, which are alive and have life, are also not puppets. You will notice that they move around freely, exhibiting something wonderful and free. Would you rather be a puppet or a living person? You have the right to choose. Why mention this right to choose? Because among the things God created, there is something truly miraculous: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
This is quite interesting. When I lead Bible studies, I often find Christians to be a bit odd: Why did God create the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil? Why? It's as if they are more capable than God. Today, when we say God, we are referring to this one God. Some might say: If God had not created this, none of these things would have happened. However, this is God's grand plan. If you do not understand this as God's grand plan, you might immediately judge God, thinking that God did not do well and should have done things differently.
Although I am not God, my understanding of many things comes from detailed examination. I do not particularly appreciate irresponsible learning attitudes. We must cultivate a learning attitude, and a rigorous learning attitude is closely related to how we conduct ourselves. God created the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil to tell us that we are living beings with the right to choose. We can choose life or death. God does not choose for you; you choose for yourself. Some people live to 50 years old without understanding why they have lived the way they have, but it is all due to their own decisions. Or you might say that you were deceived by demons, but demons did not force you with knives or guns. Everything is the result of your own choices, step by step. You must take responsibility for your choices.
Some might cry out: God, why is this happening? Why is it so unfair? But even Yang Bailao had Yang Bailao's fate (Yang Bailao is a metaphor for the typical group of older generation farmers who were not yet awakened under the long-term exploitation of the feudal landlord class. Yang Bailao is a representative of the older generation of farmers, who are hardworking, honest, and kind. He was a tenant farmer of the landlord Huang Shiren, renting six acres of land from the Huang family, and owing the landlord rent every year that he could never pay off; he borrowed money from the Huang family, but this debt, which rolled like a donkey, could never be cleared. Because he could not pay the rent or repay the debt, Yang Bailao had to leave home to avoid debt as the New Year approached. He secretly returned home late on New Year's Eve, bringing three things for the New Year: two pounds of white flour, a red headband, and two door gods).
Sometimes, things appear unfair, but upon closer examination, everyone in this generation has the right to choose. Different choices lead to different destinies. This is truly miraculous! If you know or have carefully studied Yang Bailao, you will understand why he lived the way he did. Later, we concluded that the pitiful often have hateful aspects. Although many of the people I have served were not Yang Bailao, they might have been Li Bailao, Guo Bailao, or Zhang Bailao... I have served many pitiful people!
Later, I discovered that these people's minds were very dirty, always making the wrong choices. They lacked a rigorous learning attitude and did not want to understand things clearly. Such people cannot improve. If people did a little research and understanding before making choices, they would not be deceived. Some people are swindled out of a million dollars and still ask God why He didn't stop them. However, these things are strange. They made their own decisions, so why blame God? God gives you the right to choose. One path leads to death, and the other leads to life. It depends on what you choose. Your choice determines your fate.
Let's start cultivating a rigorous learning habit. I have noticed that many people like to grasp only the surface and think that others are doing the same. How can they think that way? I am still pondering: What does management mean? As one grows, one discovers that there are still many things one does not understand. Why is it difficult to deceive me? Deceiving me requires some skill. There is a skit called "H忽悠" (Hu You, meaning to deceive), performed by Zhao Benshan, about selling crutches. How can you sell crutches to someone who is perfectly healthy? Yet, he manages to sell them. Later, he deceived for too long and too much. Someone even started a hotline to prevent being "忽悠" (deceived).
Why is it a bit difficult to "忽悠" (deceive) me? Because I want to understand everything clearly. Even if it costs me some tuition, it doesn't matter. The most important thing is to learn to choose and never choose wrongly. I think our church needs this "anti-忽悠" (deception) hotline, and I seem quite suitable to run it. I make choices based on understanding the laws of how things develop. Many people are often "忽悠" (deceived) today. Can you learn not to be "忽悠" (deceived)? Can you figure out how to choose and establish a logic for making choices?
I think Adam was too weak back then. If it were me, I would have known from the start that the fruit of that tree could not be eaten. I would have put up a red warning line around the tree, like a construction site, reminding myself, "Do not approach danger!" This is like when I am helping someone install air conditioning, I would definitely put up a warning line like that. I would not be like Adam, waiting to be "忽悠" (deceived) by Eve. She would not be able to "忽悠" (deceive) me. Thus, it is evident that God created humans with the right to choose. If people often make the wrong choices in life, that is their fate!
I often ponder how to make brothers and sisters smarter, so they are not easily "忽悠" (deceived) and their minds do not turn to mush. Because an irresponsible person is easily "忽悠" (deceived). A few days ago, one of our sisters was being "忽悠" (deceived) and was about to wire tens of thousands of dollars to someone when the police called her and told her not to send any more money to that account! But she was still planning to add more. What kind of mind is that? I suspect that many of us will be "忽悠" (deceived) by P2P or blockchain schemes. I often have to act like the police and persuade people: Stop it! Stop it! I persuaded one sister to quickly withdraw her money to test it out. She said that she couldn't, and in the end, she didn't get a penny back. I just think, what kind of mind is that!
Recently, I watched a short video where a wife went to the police, and the police told her to operate her phone and click to withdraw the money to test it out. She nervously said that she couldn't withdraw it, or she would lose money. Her husband, standing next to her, thought, what kind of mind is that, being "忽悠" (deceived) and not even realizing it. If you are also "忽悠" (deceived), then you deserve it because sending your money away with the click of a button is your own choice. Who told you to have that kind of mind, always being irresponsible in your studies and work? That is why Chinese Mingding Destiny wants to do everything possible to help brothers and sisters solve the problem of not being smart.
Another sister, whose mind didn't work well, learned to cooperate with me after being "忽悠" (deceived). I had to kick, drag, and pull her out of that state. As a result, she went from a mid-life crisis in her 40s, with no job, no money, and unable to do anything except eat, to living a good life, earning twenty thousand dollars a month. People should not think that greed can make them money. Doing practical things is what really makes money.
Another sister in our group is a lawyer. One day, the province where she lived suddenly required every lawyer to do live streaming, and she immediately became number one. Because we had been pushing her to do live streaming two years ago, she now has a huge online following, so she immediately became number one. She wanted to treat me to a bowl of noodles. I don't care about the noodles that cost a few dozen dollars. What makes me happy is that this person is finally alive!
And our "anti-忽悠" (deception) hotline is finally bearing fruit! In fact, people walk their own paths, either this way or that way. Our "anti-忽悠" (deception) hotline is to let people know that they have the right to choose. So, if you want to be happy in life, follow me in this line of work and run the "anti-忽悠" (deception) hotline, leading other brothers and sisters to learn to make the right choices!
Many years ago, I noticed that Christians become foolish as they believe, which made me very upset. Fortunately, Chinese Mingding Destiny has solved this type of problem. If you want to discuss with me why God created the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it is because this is God's wisdom and God's work, so that you can be trained to learn to live like a living person and learn to make the right choices. To achieve this goal, God does not care how many people choose the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, nor does He care how many people die. Even if a thousand, six thousand, or ten thousand die, God does not care much about it, as long as a few people finally choose correctly, God is happy.
Therefore, I hope that our brothers and sisters can follow me in serving people, so that they can come out of ignorance and inability to choose. Although we have created the "anti-忽悠" (deception) hotline, people must still have a rigorous attitude, learn to study, and have the right learning spirit, and then never ask questions like why God created the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I not only learn to have such a rigorous attitude, but I also do everything like this. I just want to understand things clearly, to understand everything. "I don't release the eagle until I see the rabbit," meaning I won't take concrete action until a clear goal appears, so it is still difficult for people to "忽悠" (deceive) me.
One day I received such a call. As soon as I answered, the other party said: "I am from customs." I said: "What's the matter?" "You have a package with contraband. Please come to XXX place to assist in the investigation." I replied: "I am also in this line of work. I am also going to call XXX. We are colleagues." The other party was immediately deflated. Some people's minds don't work well. Why don't they work well? Because they don't want to understand anything. Now everyone can understand why we teach everyone to learn programming, mainly to teach everyone to think.
I have many ways to do this. Usually, I sit there pondering how to manage people and train people. People must live clearly. God said that you cannot eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and you will surely die when you eat it. People should figure this out clearly. Before we understand, should we put up a warning line first and fence off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? No matter what Eve is, bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, the fruit of this tree cannot be eaten. As for eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and surely dying, whether the fruit is an apple or a pear, as long as God says this fruit cannot be eaten, no matter what fruit it is, eating it will kill you.
You have the right to choose, so you need to study the choices you make. I like to ponder. I work fast because I like to ponder how to work. My mother works fast because she is used to it, but when I make noodles, dumplings, etc., my skills and speed are no less than hers. She is very surprised why I do it so fast, because I don't usually do much work at home. In fact, I don't really do it, but I use my brain to ponder how to do it. When others do it, I watch from the side, and then I ponder how to do it, and then I gesture, and soon I will be able to do it.
Management is the Responsibility of the Living
Some people start to not care about anything after they are in their forties, retire, and do nothing but eat, drink, and wait for death. I said eat, drink, and wait for death, and some people are not happy when they hear it. Eating, drinking, and waiting for death is indeed not the work that living people should do. The Chinese description of this is very interesting, "干活" (gan huo, work), "活着" (huo zhe, living). If you don't "干活" (work), how can you "活着" (live)? I like to "干活" (work). I secretly made a decision in my heart that if I don't die today, I will "干活" (work). What is that work specifically? I summarized it, all work is management.
Often some seventy-year-olds retire and start eating, drinking, and waiting for death. That won't do. If you come to Chinese Mingding Destiny, I must make you alive, and making people alive in work makes them alive. If you can't do physical work, then do some non-physical work, like writing ministry. If you can't type, it doesn't matter, you will learn it. If a person can't work, then they are dead. I was pondering that management is the right of the living. Later I figured it out, management is work, and work is management.
What exactly is management? I often deny myself. Our Genesis Bible study is already the sixth edition of Chinese Mingding Destiny. Why are there so many versions? Because I always feel that I have not done it right. I think this management is very interesting. I always feel that I have not gotten this management to the fundamental principle.
Later, I asked myself, if I turn a male cat into a female cat, and a female cat into a male cat, is that something that people do? It doesn't seem like something that people do. This is not renewal. This thing is not done right, because it violates the original laws of things. Later, I carefully pondered, and my understanding of management was upgraded. Perhaps in the future I will deny this understanding of myself, so you must follow my version update.
God's Mingding Destiny for Adam and Eve was management. The unexpected example I just gave you is to make you understand that changing cats is not management. True management is managing according to the original laws of things, and the result of management is to be fruitful and multiply. For example, if this is a cat, you should manage it according to the laws of cats; if this is a pig, you should manage it according to the laws of pigs. Here I mean that you should manage yourself according to the laws of the kind of person you are. When I found this answer, I suddenly felt relaxed.
It's too much effort for me to argue with you all day long, trying to transform you into another person. Your neck is like a spring. I twist this spring with this wrench, and it bounces back and hurts myself. Now I have reformed and will manage you according to your original laws. This is like forcing a cow to drink water when it doesn't want to, which is useless. I serve according to people's thirst. When I understand this matter of management, shepherding is done according to the original laws of people.
This is a cat, that is a dog, manage according to the laws of this species, and there is no need to change the cat into a dog. It doesn't matter if the cat is not like a dog, the dog is not like a cat, or the pig is not like a person. I will manage according to its original laws. Later, I gradually began to understand that the most important responsibility of a teacher is not to transmit knowledge as we think, but to encourage students according to their situation so that they can learn. External causes can only be effective because of internal causes! That is, teachers should encourage students, and business management is also to encourage employees.
The writing ministry is to let him be encouraged and thirst to go up. Some brothers and sisters have been doing writing transcription for a year and can go up a level to train the people below, that is, they can manage. You may not have the opportunity to manage in a company, but you can play a role in the church. In the past, my management knowledge was learned in the church, and later I was promoted in the workplace before I could manage people. When I managed, I found that management in the church was very good. You don't have to pay people and they still work. You have to have some ability to do that. If you can get people to work without paying them, can't you get them to work better in a company by paying them?
This is a completely different level of management. Managing the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth are different management methods. Later, Adam and Eve were managed by the serpent, which was caused by not having good brains. People often want to compete with me, but they can't beat me. If I sit in this position to manage, I cannot be managed in reverse. Management is very important, authority cannot be reversed, and the manager's mind must be very clear. The so-called "a thousand soldiers are easy to get, but a general is hard to find" and "if the commander is incompetent, the army will be exhausted." The manager has a heavy responsibility and needs to learn, explore the essence and laws of things, and lead the team forward.
Let's all be more careful from now on. Some time ago, I met a sister who, in her previous church, the pastor received the son-in-law of a celebrity. After this person came, he bullied the pastor, and our sister stood up to protect the pastor. You can tell that the pastor's brain doesn't work well. Being bullied often means being managed. Not having a good brain means not having an extra eye, but having an extra eye. Pastors need to know that they are fighting with ghosts, and ghosts use people to mess with you.
Management is the responsibility of the living. You must like to work. If you don't work much, your brain won't work well. Today you are cheated by P2P, tomorrow you are cheated by Q2Q, and the day after tomorrow S2S will come out to cheat you. Anyone can "忽悠" (deceive) you. How can you live like this? You ask God why this is happening, and God may say, "Who told you not to manage well?" Today, if you want to manage, there are many management positions in the church. If you want to learn, I can create one management position after another for you. For example, if you can't manage three people, I'll give you two. If that doesn't work, you can train one. Be a class leader of 003, lead one student, and you will become smart as you manage. When you manage people, your brain will be like mine, thinking of ways all day long. When you think about it, you will have ideas, and when you try it, it will work. I have a lot of ideas, and that's how I came up with them.
Managing people is managing according to what is inside people, so that they are encouraged. Managing things is to grasp the essence of the matter. I just feel that there is not enough time, because there are still many things I don't understand that need to be studied and managed. Recently, I have made time to mainly manage how people learn. I am thinking that the children among us can become top students, and the people who work can become pillars in the company. We are not competing for time. It is not our choice to change 996 to 007 if it doesn't work (996 is from 9 am to 9 pm, working 6 days a week. 007 is from 0 am to 0 am, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week).
My management method is very simple. We compete for efficiency, creativity, and innovation. The work that used to take 10 hours can now be done in 5 hours, or even 1 hour. Like this, students will definitely become top students, and who can beat you in the professional field? Besides the Lord's Day, we have other things, it doesn't matter, we compete for results. Because we have grasped the essence of things. Whether it is marketing or product design, we do it better than others, because you are a person who can learn and grasp the essence. This is all trained by our Chinese Mingding Destiny!
“Follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)
When I see you, you don't have to treat me to a big meal. I will be very happy to eat a bowl of noodles for 20 yuan. What I am after is not that bowl of noodles, but the person who buys that bowl of noodles. "Fishers of men"! Management is to grasp the essence of things, not to go against nature. If you are a teacher, encourage students; if you are a manager, encourage employees, so that employees love to work. When I used to work, I often pondered while sitting in my chair: How can I make employees willing to work? How can this problem be solved? When I was there, they worked hard, but when I left, they slacked off. That won't do.
Later, I came up with this method: I took a newspaper with two positions, one with a monthly salary of 20,000 and the other with a monthly salary of 50,000. The employee's current monthly salary was only 7,000. I asked him if he would like to get the 20,000 position, and of course he would. I encouraged him to work hard and promised him that I would give him good projects in the future, so that he could write them in his resume, and then I would attach a letter of recommendation, so that he could get such a high-paying position. In addition, if there are good opportunities outside, I also promised to introduce him. In this way, he was very active, because messing around would not improve his value. Later, I only had to advise everyone not to get too tired. Once people work for themselves, they are always motivated.
Everything Alive Needs a Partner
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)
Everything that has life needs a partner. This is God's most wonderful creation. Flower pollination involves "pistils and stamens." In all kinds of living things, God wanted to create a partner to help man. God looked at the birds of the air and the beasts of the field, and they were not good enough. So God took a rib from Adam and created woman. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. This is a great mystery: When God created, Adam said that Eve was "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh," so she was called woman, but in the end, she became a thorn in his side. Many people think that God's creation failed, and that husband and wife become "enemies" as they live together. In fact, God's creation did not fail. God's creation foreshadows Christ and the Church. Man became a living being with a spirit, and the Church only becomes alive when it has the Spirit. God's Spirit fills the body of Jesus Christ, which is the Church. The Bible says: Jesus is the head, and the Church is His body.
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:22-32)
Paul is referring to the relationship between Christ and the Church, not the little things in our marriages. Some time ago, a brother came to me because he had been cuckolded. He was very troubled and almost ruined himself. I said, what do you care about those things? The first couple God created didn't work out well. How could the later ones work out well? Adam and Eve, created by God, could not achieve unity and become one. Can today's couples become one? My point is, if you can live well in your marriage, then live well. If you can't, don't take it too seriously. One thing needs to be emphasized: Christ and the Church must be united.
If the Church is dead and not filled with the Spirit of God, that would be troublesome. Why are many people who are not healed outside healed when they come among us? Because the Spirit of God is among us, and we strive to be united with Christ. This is God's will. Genesis refers to this. You can gradually understand the theological system of the Apostle Paul. His theological system does not refer to the affairs of earthly couples.
Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” (1 Corinthians 7:1)
Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they were not mourning; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— (1 Corinthians 7:27-33)
This is Paul's theological system. Fortunately, Paul said these words. So you should know that Genesis Chapter 2 speaks of Christ and the Church. That is why Chinese Mingding Destiny places so much emphasis on building a Church filled with God's glory, with the Spirit of God present, because this is God's will. The first marriage God created was a failed marriage, and there were not many successful marriages after that. Today, you need to know that in order to be fruitful and multiply, you must be united with Christ. Being fruitful and multiplying does not refer to physical children, but to heavenly children. To manage is to manage these.
Everything God created has life, everything is alive, but man chose the path of death. Today, if we want to be alive, we must have the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God must dwell in the Church, and the Church must be united with Christ Jesus. Those who are barren and do not bear children have more children than those who are pregnant and bear children. This is the meaning. Let's review Chapter 2: The first point is that everything God created has life, everything is alive. Analyzing further, rest, seed, having a spirit, choice, management, partner, each point is explained clearly, but I hope that in a few years when we read Genesis Chapter 2 again, we will have an upgraded version.
May God bless everyone!
Genesis Chapter 2 Scripture
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2:2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
2:4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
2:5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground,
2:6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground—
2:7 then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
2:8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
2:9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
2:10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.
2:11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.
2:12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)
2:13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.
2:14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
2:19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
2:20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
2:21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh.
2:22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
2:23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”
2:24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
2:25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.