Taking the Way of Enjoying Christ As the Tree of Life
Message Two
The Two Trees and the Two Principles of Living
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Gen. 2:9 And out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, as well as the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of it you shall not eat; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Word of Appetizer
What are the two principles of living? What are the principles of our Christian life?
The two trees in Genesis 2:9—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—represent two principles of living; The two trees show that a Christian can live according to two different principles—the principle of right and wrong or the principle of life.
Our Christian life is based on an inner life, not an outward standard of right and wrong; our principle of living is inward instead of outward. Christian living is based on the inner life.The principle of our living is not one that differentiates between good and evil; we must come before God to determine what is of life and what is of death.
Spiritual Burden
If we would live according to the principle of life, we need to discern the spirit from the soul and know the spirit; when we follow our spirit, we follow the Lord Himself, because the Lord is in our spirit. The best way to discern a matter—the secret of discernment—is to discern according to life or death; we must learn to discern, to differentiate, matters by life and death, rejecting any speaking that deprives us of the enjoyment of Christ as our life supply but receiving the genuine ministry of the Lord, which always strengthens us in the enjoyment of Christ as our life supply.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The two trees in Genesis 2:9—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—represent two principles of living.
Our Christian life is based on an inner life, not an outward standard of right and wrong; our principle of living is inward instead of outward.
If we would live according to the principle of life, we need to discern the spirit from the soul and know the spirit.
In order to live according to the principle of life, we need to follow the inner sense of life.
If we would live according to the principle of life, and we will discern matters not according to right and wrong but according to life and death.
The Experience of Life
Rom. 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.
The sense of life on the negative side is the feeling of death; the sense of life on the positive side is the feeling of life and peace, with a consciousness of strength, satisfaction, rest, brightness, and comfort. The function of the sense of life is to make us know whether we are living in the natural life or in the divine life and whether we are living in the flesh or in the Spirit.
Practice and Application
If we would live according to the principle of life, we need to discern the spirit from the soul and know the spirit. If we desire to know the Lord in a practical way and experience Him in our daily life, we must learn to discern our spirit; we need to deny our soul-life, our self.
In order to live according to the principle of life, we need to follow the inner sense of life. We need to pray ourselves into the sense of life and live under its controlling, guiding, and directing element day by day. we must learn to discern, to differentiate, matters by life and death, rejecting any speaking that deprives us of the enjoyment of Christ as our life supply but receiving the genuine ministry of the Lord, which always strengthens us in the enjoyment of Christ as our life supply.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Man can live according to the principle of right and wrong or according to the principle of life (Gen. 2:9)
(Please illustrate that the two trees in Genesis 2 represent two principles of living.)
T2 He who eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil shall surely die, while he who eats of the tree of life shall live (Gen. 2:9, 17)
(Please illustrate that what does it mean when a person lives according to right and wrong? What does it mean when a person lives according to life.)
Day 2
T1 Choosing good and rejecting evil is not what the Christian faith is all about (Gen. 2:9, 17)
(Please illustrate that what is the principle of right and wrong.)
T2 God has not given us an outward standard but the life inside us (Gen. 2:9, 17)
(Please illustrate that the Christian faith is life. It is not a matter of asking whether something is right or wrong.)
Day 3
T1 The standard of Christian living deals not only with evil things but also with good and right things (Rom. 8:2, 6)
(Please illustrate with experiences that many things are right but the divine standard pronounces them wrong because they lack the divine life.)
T2 Christian living is based on the inner life, not right and wrong (Rom. 8:6, 10-11; 1 John 5:13)
(Please illustrate with experiences that Whatever increases the inner life is right, and whatever decreases the inner life is wrong.)
Day 4
T1 The Lord today is the Spirit living within our spirit (2 Cor. 3:17; Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17)
(Please illustrate that the Lord who is the Spirit is living, dwelling, working, moving, and acting in our spirit according to the above verses.)
T2 When we follow our spirit, we follow the Lord Himself (2 Tim. 4:22)
(Please illustrate that the Lord is not in our mind, emotion, or will but in our spirit.)
Day 5
T1 The sense of life and the feeling of death (Rom. 8:6)
(Please illustrate with examples of how the sense of life on the negative side as well as on the positive side.)
T2 The source of the sense of life is the divine life (Eph. 4:18-19)
(Please illustrate with experiences that how we know whether we are living in the natural life or in the divine life.)
Day 6
T1 The Bible as a whole is a development of the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9, 17)
(Please illustrate that the tree of life is simple, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, on the contrary, is complicated and also complicating.)
T2 Paul associates the Judaizers with Satan (2 Cor. 11:2-3, 13-14)
(Why is what was happening in Corinth was a repetition of what took place in the garden of Eden.)
