The Gospel: Good News

The Bible uses spiritual words to explain spiritual matters, a concept often overlooked.

When it comes to the Christian faith, we often think it's about morality. Many believe that all faiths are good because they teach people to do good. However, the Bible describes spiritual things. A person's life is all about spiritual matters, such as physical health. Many don't think health is spiritual, but rather a matter of the body. In fact, issues concerning physical health, finances, and relationships, everything a person encounters in life, are spiritual matters. Work, life, and family are all spiritual matters. Using spiritual words to explain spiritual matters is a foundational concept. Without this concept, we can easily become confused. Some feel that going to church is spiritual, while work is secular, but this is not the case. Using spiritual words to explain spiritual matters means that everything is spiritual.

I have met many church leaders who promote strange ideas, thinking that being capable at work means loving the world. One sister's husband was very successful in real estate, and the brothers and sisters in their church said she loved the world because she was very capable at work. The church people labeled her as loving the world. Should we oppose people being diligent at work? I think being diligent at work is very important. Whether one is diligent, capable, and competent at work is important for a person's prosperity. In the past, in Chinese churches, many would promote the idea that financial poverty is because a person is very spiritual. When one is spiritual to a certain extent, poverty is a result of that spirituality. Spiritual people should be poor, so many believe poverty is a good thing and spread the gospel of poverty everywhere.

But when we look at Deuteronomy 28:1-14, we find that a person's life is related to blessings. Therefore, the blessings that come from diligently obeying God's word are directly related to the things of life. I have never seen the Bible say that poverty is a blessing, sickness is a blessing, that diligently obeying God's word will result in cancer, or that diligently obeying God's word will result in poverty. On the contrary, what we see is that if you diligently obey God's word, you will be above and not beneath, the head and not the tail. You will have money to lend to others but never borrow from them. Therefore, how we view the idea that being spiritual necessarily means being poor is a key to our faith life.

When we share the gospel, what kind of gospel should we share? Do you say, Come, believe in the Lord with me? And when they ask, Why should I believe in the Lord? Do you say, Believe in the Lord and carry the cross? People might say that carrying a big backpack is heavy enough, why would I want to carry a cross? This way of sharing the gospel does not sound like good news. But the gospel we believe in is indeed good news. If we cannot share a gospel of good news, who will understand that it is good news? Over the years, I have been constantly studying the Bible carefully, constantly exploring, and have found that the Bible does not say that spiritual people must be poor, or that sickness is a blessing in disguise.

Then why does the Bible talk about carrying the cross? Because we humans have an attribute called fleshly habits. People don't live well and live entangled because they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, are self-righteous, and cater to the flesh. The cross is the best tool for dealing with the flesh. By dealing with fleshly habits through the cross, we can enter into blessings and live more prosperously. Therefore, we must know what kind of gospel we believe in. This gospel is about restoring the glory of God's image in us while we are alive.

Sharing the gospel must be clear. When people ask, Why should I believe in the Lord with you? You must answer clearly: Believing in the Lord can bring healing, can allow you to live prosperously, can deal with fleshly habits, and restore the glory of God's image... A clear answer sounds reliable, but if you say that believing in the Lord will make you live more painfully and heavily, it is very unreliable.

We must think about whether the gospel we share is in accordance with the Bible. In my constant exploration and understanding, I have found that many concepts that people preach do not conform to the Bible. For example, some people say, Come believe in the Lord with me. If you believe in the Lord, you will be saved, and after you die, you will go to heaven. In Paul's epistles, there is no extensive discussion about going to heaven. For example, when Jesus was nailed to the cross, he said to the thief next to him, Today you will be with me in paradise. Then someone said, This is such a good thing, committing sins and enjoying life for a lifetime, and then being hung on the cross and finally going to heaven, how wonderful! This thief committed crimes and did bad things for a lifetime, but still went to heaven. I pondered this sentence and felt something was strange. Is being a thief for a lifetime enjoyable? I don't think so. Living in the world without living out the image of God, but just before death, God gave him grace to enter paradise.

If a person can be above and not beneath, the head and not the tail, and everything they do with their hands is blessed, and they live happily, joyfully, and with destiny in the world, and can free many people from bondage, what a wonderful thing that is! Why wait until you breathe your last breath to go to heaven? Some say that the thief was lucky because there was a Jesus next to him when he was nailed to the cross. But if you live like a thief all day long, do you think it is enjoyable? Being a thief means that life and death are a matter of minutes. What if there is suddenly no chance? What if it is too late to repent in the last minute?

Therefore, we must know that the God we believe in is the God of the living, and our God is the God of the living, not just going to heaven after death, but living out the glorious image of God while we are alive. If you listen to what I say, you will find that believing in the Lord is very practical, and it will integrate into every aspect of our lives. Everyone should begin to ponder whether what I say is in accordance with the Bible.

And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:13)

We must know that God is the God of the living. Some Pharisees discussed with Jesus: a person who married many times and then died and went to heaven, they asked Jesus, who is his wife? Jesus replied to him with a word: God is the God of the living. Our God is the God of the living. Reading Deuteronomy 28:1-14 will reveal that our God did not write that if you diligently obey God's words, you can go to heaven. What is said is all about the things of our life.

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods to serve them. (Deuteronomy 28:1-14)

The gospel is the gospel of the living, how wonderful! Living like a ghost, and then being able to go to heaven after death, I think such a gospel is a bit dubious. In the future, if someone says to you, Come, believe in the Lord! Being baptized means being saved, and after being saved, you will go to heaven after death, this is really a bit dubious, don't blindly believe it.

I have seen some pastors, and I really haven't seen the glorious image of God in them. Of course, I don't dare say that I have it, but I am striving for it with all my might. The Bible says that we are made in the image of God, but after man fell, he lost the image of God. Jesus Christ came to restore the glorious image that God created us with. So brothers and sisters, know that we believe in the Lord not to go to heaven after death, but to restore the glorious image of God while we are alive. Restoring the glorious image of God is more important.

Living like a ghost, can you go to heaven after death? I think it's a bit dubious. Striving to be like God while alive, and then going to heaven after death, this is more important. We must know that the importance of eternal life does not begin after death, but begins when we enter into eternal life while we are alive. Curses and blessings have no effect on the dead, and diligently obeying God's words has no effect on the dead. We must know that when people die, they cannot do anything anymore. We must know that living on earth is a very spiritual thing, and victory in the spiritual world will bring prosperity on earth.

A person must be a person who lives in the spirit. If the spirit dies, the person dies. Why do people not live well or happily? Because their spirit is not happy, their spirit is dead. If the spirit dies, they become a carnal person, and a carnal person cannot live well. Then why is diligently obeying God's words blessed? Because that is a spiritual thing. The Bible uses spiritual words to speak of spiritual things. Our life in the world is inherently spiritual. Victory in the spirit will lead to prosperity in the world, and the key to victory in the spirit is to diligently obey God's words.

Our God knows very well how people can live well. If people live according to God's words, they can definitely live well. God knows very well what people need, and also knows very well how people can live prosperously and live well. If people diligently obey God's words, our God will help you. Our God is the God who created the universe, and He will help you, bless you, make you above all nations, make you the head and not the tail, and make you on top and not on the bottom, then who can stop you?

Many things in this world are very spiritual, including money. Many people earn money and feel dazed, as if the money came from a strong wind. Sometimes they don't even believe how they got the money. Similarly, when they become poor, their money is also taken away as if by a strong wind. People often don't know what they did right to become rich. Similarly, they can't explain what they did wrong to become poor. Therefore, pursuing promotion and wealth has become the reason why many people worship idols.

Many people know that money comes and goes like a strong wind, and they can't decide anything themselves. They seem to know that money is related to the spiritual realm. But they don't know how the spiritual realm operates, nor do they know that worshiping idols is worshiping the demons in the spiritual realm, not God, the highest authority in the spiritual realm. They work hard and desperately to make money, but they don't necessarily live well. Seeing so many spiritual things, what should we do? The Bible describes the things of the spiritual realm clearly, letting us know that the things of the spiritual realm determine the things on earth. If you want to live well, you must arrange these spiritual things in order of priority.

Our diligently obeying God's word does not mean that we do not do our jobs well, but just being diligent at work cannot solve all our problems. If we trust God well and live and work according to God's word, then you will definitely be blessed in your work, body, finances, and relationships. Therefore, people must diligently obey God's word while they are alive.

Blessings Are All Within Mingding Destiny

To diligently keep and obey God's word is a marvelous design of God. Within this design, God has ordained both curses and blessings. To diligently keep and obey God's word is to receive blessings, while failing to do so invites curses. Why is our theological concept called Mingding Destiny? Because the Book of Genesis clearly reveals a concept: Blessings are within Mingding Destiny; outside of Mingding Destiny, there are no blessings. Abraham yearned to be a blessing to all nations and peoples on earth, and God elevated him above all nations because, in this world, the greater blesses the lesser, not the lesser the greater. Therefore, Abraham, being above all nations, became a blessing to all nations. Being above all nations is undoubtedly a good thing. God speaks, and it is done; God understands that man needs Mingding Destiny to live.

What is Mingding Destiny? Mingding Destiny is why one lives. Some live for work, some for family, and some for love, only to end up in tragedies like Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, or Romeo and Juliet. Clearly, those who live solely for these things do not live well. In fact, worldly tragedies are related to curses. God understands that man needs Mingding Destiny and knows how man can live well. Therefore, God has written in the Bible how man can live well, but few believe God's word.

I hope everyone can understand through what I say that the Bible speaks of spiritual matters. How then shall we read the Bible? We must grasp the essence behind these spiritual matters, that is, the essence of living, so that we can live prosperously and experience great transformation in our lives. If a person has problems, it must be because he has violated God's word. To solve problems, one must return to the root of the problem. The root of healing and deliverance is whether one diligently keeps and obeys God's word.

Regarding God's word, failure to diligently keep and obey it invites curses, while diligently keeping and obeying it brings blessings. A person's health, financial situation, relationships, work situation, life situation, and family situation are all spiritual matters, and there is a proper order of priority among them. This order is closely related to whether a person is blessed. When you arrange their priorities correctly, then you are blessed in all aspects.

Recently, I attended a gathering where someone asked: What if work is never-ending and always conflicts with church Bible studies and gatherings? The pastor replied: Just keep working and attend gatherings after work. I disagree with this answer. Can one ever finish a lifetime of work? If you wait until you finish work to go to church, perhaps you will only have time to go to church on the day your life ends.

God has already told us how to live prosperously, which is to prioritize spiritual matters and God's affairs throughout our lives, rather than prioritizing work and family. Stop believing in the concept of going to heaven or hell after death. We must use spiritual words to explain spiritual matters and speak of things related to living, preaching the gospel of the living. If people believe in the Lord in this way, many things become simple and easy to understand.

One pastor said: Nine hundred and ninety-nine out of a thousand people go to hell, and only one goes to heaven. A brother asked me what I thought of this statement. I said I have never been to heaven or hell. Isn't it nonsense to draw such a conclusion without ever having been there? The brother continued to ask me: Is it that nine hundred and ninety-nine out of a thousand people go to hell and one goes to heaven, or do we go to heaven or hell after death? Actually, whether we go to hell or heaven doesn't matter; what matters is how we live when we are alive because we cannot know what happens after death.

The Bible speaks of the affairs of the living. When people are alive, they must live out the glorious image of God. This is the gospel we believe in. The gospel we believe in is not about going to heaven or hell after death; we are concerned about whether we can live out the glorious image of God when we are alive.

Strive to Live Out God's Glorious Image

Some time ago, I met a group of middle-aged women. Their children were grown, and they were not young themselves. One of them said: I was saved in 2012. Another said: I was saved in 2006. They thanked the Lord that they could go to heaven after death. I looked at them and could not see God's glorious image on them. I sighed, will they go to heaven like this? May God have mercy!

That brother asked me: How many out of nine hundred and ninety-nine people go to heaven, and how many go to hell? I replied: If people are like God when they are alive, then they will go to God when they leave this world; if they are like demons when they are alive, then they will return to the realm of demons when they die. I said, there’s probably nothing wrong with saying it this way. He said: Hmm, it seems right to say it this way!

We must strive to live out God's glorious image. This is what we should care about most when we are alive because the most important thing about living is to live out God's glorious image while alive. When we have this concept, we will diligently keep and obey God's word and arrange spiritual truths in the order of priority. It's not that we don't work or live when we become spiritual people. I think our concept is good; we turn people into normal people instead of turning them into living deities who do not eat the food of the world. There was a time when cults were rampant, saying that the Lord Jesus was coming, and everyone went to the mountains to wait, and in the end, they all became corpses, committing collective suicide, like the poison gas attack in the Tokyo subway. This is clearly a cult.

When we believe in the Lord and preach the gospel, we want to shape everyone into someone who can live out God's glorious image in work and in life, becoming a blessing to all nations and peoples on earth. Work hard and live well. We do not live for work, nor do we live for life. We live for God, and we live to live out God's glorious image. When we take up our cross, we nail all the evil desires of our flesh to this cross, and we nail all the things inside us that distinguish good from evil and are self-righteous to the cross so that we can live out the glorious and noble image of God. This is the gospel of our redemption.

To all those who have problems with their bodies, finances, and relationships, I have good news for you: you can be completely transformed through God. Because God cares about how we live when we are alive on earth, He wants us to be above and not below, the head and not the tail; He wants us to live with God-like health; He wants us all to be under the name of Jehovah, and all nations will fear us when they see us. We will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field. When the enemy comes to attack us from one direction, they will flee in seven directions. In everything we do in the world, the blessings ordained by Jehovah will come upon us. This is a wonderful thing.

Use Spiritual Words to Explain Spiritual Matters

When we read the entire Bible, we will find that what is said is closely related to human life. The things of human life are spiritual matters, but we have priorities, and we must not get them reversed. For example, going to church, what's wrong with sitting in church? But it is merely a religious act. The most fundamental thing is to act according to God's word. Attending gatherings is important, but if you only attend gatherings and do nothing else, you are a religious fanatic. If a society has a group of such religious fanatics, how can this society move forward?

We must begin to be spiritual people because only spiritual people are those who are with God. Believing in the Lord is not about going to heaven after death, but about living out God's glorious image while alive. This is good news, and no one is unwilling to hear such good news. Therefore, when we preach the gospel today, we are not preaching an extra burden, but we will gain the freedom to be released so that we can live prosperously and live out God's glorious image, using spiritual words to explain spiritual matters.

May God bless everyone!