When a person is born on this earth, the person is born in the flesh and contains a body and soul. Every person is born of the (损坏的) seed of Adam and is born in a fallen state. Everyone is born as a sinner and belongs to the adulterous and sinful generation of the old man (旧造). 圣经对老人有什么说法? What did Jesus say about the nature and the works of the old man?
老头是谁 (旧造)?
看哪, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me (诗篇 51:5)
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; 人子也必因他蒙羞, when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels (标记 8:38)
But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: 因为他们对他来说是愚蠢的: 他也不可能认识他们, 因为他们在属灵上有辨识力 (1 哥林多前书 2:14)
The old man is not born again, but is still a 罪人 and lives in a fallen state. The old man belongs to the adulterous and sinful generation and is carnal.
The sinful flesh reigns in the old man, whereby the old man walks after the flesh (身体和灵魂) and is led by his or her senses, 将要, 肉体的心思, 情怀, 情绪, 欲望, 欲望, ETC。.
Since the old man is carnal and sense ruled, the old man operates in (from) the visible realm (自然境界).
The old man is unspiritual and can’t see nor comprehend the spiritual realm nor understand the things of the Spirit.
老人的精神已经死了 (under the authority of the death). 所以, the old man is separated from God.
What does the bible say about the old man (旧造)?
In the Old Testamen and the four gospels of the New Testament (马修, 标记, 卢克, 和约翰), we read about the generation of the old man, who is carnal and lives after the flesh. The people were sense-ruled and led by their will, 肉体的心思, 欲望, 和欲望.
Although there were some exceptions and the Holy Spirit came upon the prophets, priests and other elects of God, the people were unrenewed and remained the old creation, whose spirit is dead.
是因为, Jesus came to the earth, to restore the position of the fallen man and reconcile the old man back to God.
通过耶稣’ sacrifce and His redemptive work, God created through- and in Jesus Christ a new creation; 一个新人 (另请阅读: 在基督里复活的生命是什么意思?).
The new man is not born of the corrupted seed of man, but is born of 水 and Spirit.
When you believe in Jesus Christ and you become again in Him (生于水和灵), you become a new creation (new man).
如果你已经成为一个新的创造物, you can’t compare yourself to the old creation, whom you were before your repentance and before you became born again. This means that you can’t compare yourself to any person, who lived in the Old Testament and the four gospels, including the disciples, before they were were 重生.
The only Person, who lived in the Old Covenant, you can compare yourself with is Jesus Christ, Who is the Firstborn of the new creation; 生于水和灵. 耶稣向我们展示了, how to live as the new creation on earth. (另请阅读: 整个受造物都是在耶稣基督里创造的).
Why is the Bible difficult to read and understand?
有很多基督徒, who find the Bible boring and difficult to read. They don’t understand and comprehend the Bible and say that the Bible contradicts itself. Although the world becomes smarter every day, it seems like Christians become dumber every day.
The higher the IQ of people, the more difficult the Bible becomes. Because the people don’t understand the Bible anymore, they need 新的圣经翻译 that are easier to read.
Why do Christians don’t understand the Bible or interpret the Bible in a wrong manner? Why do Christians need easier Bible translations?
The answer to this question is quite simple. They are not truly born again and have not become spiritual.
They are still the old man, who is carnal and lives in darkness. The mind of the old man is darkened. Therefore the old man is not able to understand nor comprehend the words and the spiritual things of God and His Kingdom.
The words of Jesus are spirit and life
The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, 他们就是生命 (约翰 6:63)
耶稣说, that His words are spirit and life. If your spirit has not been raised from the dead, you will not be able to understand the Bible. You shall not be able to live after the Word and the will of God. No matter how hard you try.
If someone says, that the Bible is difficult to understand and/or that the Bible contradicts itself, then in most cases the person is not born again (生于水和灵). The person tries to understand and comprehend the Bible with his carnal mind (his own intellect), but that won’t work.
That’s why in the Old Covenant, the people of God always needed scribes, 牧师, 先知, ETC. to reveal the will of God and translate to them the spiritual things of the Kingdom of God.
耶稣回答对他说, 确实, 确实, 我对你说, 除非一个人重生, 他看不见神的国度 (约翰 3:3)
God’s people were not able to understand the spiritual things, because they had a vail before their eyes, ears, 和介意 (哦. 标记 8:17-18, 约翰 12:40, 2 哥林多前书 3:14). This vail will only be taken away, when someone becomes born again in Jesus Christ and becomes a 新创作; 一个新人, who is born of water and Spirit.
Jesus spoke in parables to the old man
The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: 因为他们对他来说是愚蠢的: 他也不可能认识他们, 因为他们在属灵上有辨识力 (1 哥林多前书 2:14)
Jesus walked in the flesh after the Spirit. He revealed the things of God and the Kingdom of God to the people by the means of parables. 为什么? Because the spirit of the old man is dead, whereby the old man is is unspiritual and not able to see nor comprehend the spiritual Kingdom of God.
Therefore Jesus ‘translated’ from the Spirit (the spiritual things of the unseen realm) to the flesh (earthly things of the visible realm).
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand (马修 13:13)
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, 说, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world (马修 13:34-35)
Jesus spoke only in parables to the people, 谁属于以色列家, because Jesus knew, that if He spoke directly to the people about the Kingdom of God they wouldn’t be able to understand His words.
Only when Jesus opened the understanding of His disciples, they were able to understand the Scriptures.
Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures (卢克 24:45).
The amount of head knowledge doesn’t prove if a person is born again
因为体贴肉体的就是死; 但有灵性的思考才是生命与平安. 因为体贴肉体的思想就是与神为敌: 因为它不受上帝律法的约束, 确实两者都不能. 所以属肉体的人不能得神的喜悦 (罗马书 8:6-8)
这里有很多人, who have a lot of head knowledge about the Bible and know the Scriptures by heart. Some people went to a Bible college or Theological Seminary and earned a degree and have a lot of head knowledge about the Bible. But many of them (神学家, 牧师, 别处, ETC. ) are still the unregenerated old man, whose spirit is dead.
While they do possess a lot of head knowledge (soulish knowledge), they lack heart knowledge. They do know the letter, but they don’t know the Word; 耶稣基督.
They know the written letter and know about God, but they are not born of God and don’t belong to the Kingdom of God and don’t have an experiential relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, 和圣灵, Who abides in the new man.
Knowledge about the Bible shall not save any person nor change any person. A person will not be able to please God with a lot of head knowledge about the Bible. Because everything that is done out of the flesh, in this case, the carnal mind (灵魂), can’t please God.
The flesh can’t please God
那儿有人, who have been raised in a Christian family and have been a Christian all of their lives. They’re friendly and go to church. They read their Bible, pray, tithe, give alms to the poor, do charity works, care for the sick and elderly and maybe even volunteer at the church, but stay the carnal man; the unchanged old man.
They think that by doing these ‘good works’ and by going to church, they serve God and are saved. But doing these things, don’t save anyone. They don’t give anyone access to the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life.
There are a lot of unbelievers, who are friendly and humanistic and do charity works and maybe even give more to charity organizations than Christians, 但他们没有得救.
The only way to 永生 and to enter the Kingdom of God is through Jesus Christ, by His blood.
耶稣回答, 确实, 确实, 我对你说, 人若不是从水和圣灵生的, 他不能进入神的国 (约翰 3:5)
唯有通过耶稣基督, by His blood and by becoming born again, by water (洗礼) and Spirit (受圣灵的洗礼) you will become a new creation and receive eternal life.
As long as the spirit of a person has not been raised from the dead, a person remains the old creation; the old man and is not saved.
What did Jesus say about the old man?
When Jesus walked upon this earth, Jesus walked among the generation of the natural fallen man.
Jesus wasn’t surrounded by new creations but old creations. What did Jesus say about the old man and the generation of the old creation, who is born of the seed of Adam?
The old man always wants a sign of God
The generation of Adam; 那个老人, always wants a sign from God to get some kind of confirmation or approval about a matter. But what does Jesus say about a sign?
An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign (马修 12:39, 16:4)
And Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? (标记 8:12)
And when the people were gathered thick together, Jesus began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign (卢克 11:29)
The devil works in the flesh and also works through signs and wonders. When a person asks for a sign, the devil is more than willing to give a sign to the person. 时间
his way the devil can deceive a person and cause the person to do his will instead of God’s will. (另请阅读: ‘上帝的意志 vs 魔鬼的意志').
有很多基督徒, who make decisions on the basis of a sign, a word, a feeling, a revelation, a dream, ETC。, instead of making a decision on the basis of the Word of God.
How many Christians made a wrong commitment on the basis of a so-called sign of God?
有很多基督徒, who married an unbeliever on the basis of a so-called sign of God? This so-called sign of God would have given them permission to marry an unbeliever. But during their marriage, they found out that the unbeliever wasn’t the right partner for them. And now they are having a hard time and live in sorrow and misery. Or they even made their mistake worse, by getting a divorce, which is not the will of God. (另请阅读: ‘May a Christian divorce?).
The new man knows the will of the father
那些, who are born again and belong to the generation of the new creation don’t need a sign. Because they know the will of the Father, through His Word and Holy Spirit. They discern the spirits and have knowledge of good and evil.
They’re born of God and have the nature of God and walk after the Spirit and the Word. They are constantly led by the Spirit in all wisdom and truth.
Therefore it is important after you become born again in Christ, 自 更新你的想法 with the Word of God and do the Word of God, so that you grow up into the sonship of God. Train your spiritual senses, so that you will be able to discern what is from God and what isn’t.
The old man is led by a feeling
The old man makes decisions based on feelings and emotions. 所以, the old man always needs some kind of feeling to be led or to do something. The old man assumes that this feeling is the Holy Spirit. Without this ‘feeling’, the old man will not do anything. But when you are led by a feeling, you are led by your flesh and not by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a feeling, but a Person.
但是新人, who is the new creation, knows that the Holy Spirit abides in him or her and acts without being led by feelings or emotions. Because the new man knows the will of God and knows that feelings and emotions belong to the flesh and can be deceiving.
The new creation knows, that as long as he or she walks after the Word and the Spirit in obedience to the words of God that (s)he shall be continuously led by the Holy Spirit. As long as the new creation walks and acts according to the Word, the Holy Spirit shall empower the words and actions.
Jesus wasn’t led by feelings and didn’t need ‘a feeling’ before He acted. Feelings are part of the flesh. Jesus knew that if He would be led by His feelings, He would walk according to what His flesh tells Him. But Jesus knew the will of His Father and only did what His Father told Him to do.
Jesus walked after the Spirit. When He was moved, He was moved in the Spirit. 尤其, when He saw the multitudes wondering about like sheep without a shepherd. A fallen generation, who have no clue and are full of unbelief.
The old man is surprised when a miracle takes place
When a miracle takes place, many times the old man can hardly believe it. But the new man is not surprised but will expect it. 以便, Jesus is exalted and the Father glorified.
The old man wants to prove the authority of the Bible through science
The old man wants to prove the authority and liability of the Bible by science. But if the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes scientifically proved, how can you walk in faith? Because if you walk according to the visible, it’s no longer walking by faith .(另请阅读: 圣经和科学可以并存吗?).
If scientists prove the Biblical truth through science then faith is no longer faith. 除此之外, it proves that people rely on science, which is human knowledge, and have more faith in science than faith in God and His Word.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report (希伯来书 11:1)
上帝, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were (罗马书 4:17)
Only by faith you can walk after the Spirit and call those things which are not, 就好像他们是. That’s faith!
The old man is afraid and worries
Therefore I say unto you, 不考虑你的生活, 你们要吃什么, 或者你们应该喝什么; 还没有为你的身体, 你们要穿什么. 生命不比肉更重要吗？, 和身体比衣服? 因此, 如果神如此给田野的草穿上衣服, 今天是, 明天被扔进烤箱, 他岂不更给你穿吗？, 你们这些小信者啊? (马修 6:25, 30)
Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? (马修 8:26)
The old man is afraid and worries about the daily affairs. The daily affairs controle his life. And so the old man worries about the circumstances, 家庭, 孩子, 未来, work, 财政, 健康, things happening in the world, ETC。, and carries daily this heavy burden. (另请阅读: 渡过难关的两种方法).
The old man doubts and can’t walk by faith
The old man belongs to the faithless generation (unbelieving generation), and doubts. That’s why the old man is not able to walk in faith.
Jesus called His disciples ‘you of little faith’, after His disciples witnessed twice the feeling of the multitude.
第一次, they witnessed that 5000 (妇女和儿童未计算在内) were fed. They even helped Jesus distributing the bread and the fish to the multitudes. (另请阅读: Did you know that the feeding of the multitude not only occurred in the New Testament?)
The second time, they witnessed how Jesus fed 4000 男人 (妇女和儿童未计算在内) with only seven loaves of bread and some fishes.
但有一天, when the disciples forgot to bring bread, they didn’t think about these two miraculous occasions. 不, instead they worried about the fact, that they didn’t bring bread with them. But Jesus reminded them and said:
O you of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? (马修 16:8-10)
Another example is the story about the father, who brought his son to Jesus. His son had a dumb spirit. But the disciples of Jesus were not able to cast this dumb spirit out of the boy and deliver him. Jesus said to them:
O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? (标记 9:19)
The old man can’t understand the creation
通过信仰，我们明白世界是由上帝的话语构建的, 因此，可见的事物并不是由确实出现的事物构成的 (希伯来书 11:3)
Only by faith, you’ll be able to believe that God created the heavens and the earth and all there is within. By faith you will understand the creation.
That’s why many people, who are still the old man (the natural man) are not able to understand the creation. Instead they believe in the big bang theory and evolution, which is foolishness to God. (另请阅读: Did God create the heaven and the earth in six days or…).
The old man doesn’t know the will of God
When your fathers tempted me, proved Me, and saw My works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, 并且说, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known My ways. So I sware in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest (希伯来书 3:9-11)
老人的精神已经死了. The old man doesn’t have the Holy Spirit of God and doesn’t walk after the Spirit and the Word in the will of God. But the old man is carnal and walks after the flesh and is controlled by his senses, 情绪, feelings and thoughts, ETC.
The old man doesn’t’ know the will of God or rejects the will of God, because the will of God always strive against the will, lusts and desires of the flesh ((哦. 罗马书 8:1-14, 加拉太书 5:13-26).
God had done so many signs and wonders during the exodus of His people and their stay in the wilderness. But despite the many miracles His people didn’t trust Him.
God revealed His nature and will by given His laws to Moses. Through the Law, God made His will known to His people, but the people refused to submit to the Law.
They were rebellious against God and instead of submitting to His will and walk in obedience to His words, they did their own will and walked in the lusts and desires of their carnal heart.
But the new man walks after the Spirit and the Word in the will of God and establish the law. 因为 他的法则; 他的意志, is written upon the new heart of the new creation.
God has revealed the things, which God has prepared for them that love Him, by His Spirit
但正如它所写的, 眼睛没见过, 耳朵也听不到, 都没有进入人心, 神为爱他的人所预备的. 但神已经通过他的灵向我们揭示了它们: for the Spirit searches all things, 是的, 神深奥的事 (1 哥林多前书 2:9-10)
Before you became born again in Christ, you weren’t able to see, nor understand the Kingdom of God. Your mind was darkened and the thoughts and will of God were unsearchable.
But by faith in Jesus Christ and regeneration in Christ and the resurrection of your spirit from the dead and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, you have become spiritual and have His nature.
The old man feeds his flesh, the new man feeds his spirit
You have God’s nature and by the renewing of your mind with the Word of God, 这 神的思想 become your thoughts. His will becomes your will and His way becomes your way.
The more you feed your spirit and renew your mind and apply His words in your life, the faster you grow up into a mature son of God. The faster you grow up into a mature son of God the sooner you shall walk as Jesus walked upon this earth, Who was and is the reflection of God.
But as long as you keep feeding your flesh, instead of your spirit and your mind remain carnal, you shall stay a baby and walk after your flesh. The thoughts and the will of God remain unsearchable, because you don’t know God and don’t get to know God through the Word. Because of that you shall live with an 想象中的耶稣, whom you have created in your mind.
所以, it’s time to 推迟 the old man and 穿上新人 and walk in obedience to God in His will on earth.
“成为地球之盐”
