從現在開始, 那個人交出了他對地球的統治權, 上帝賜給人類的, 透過罪孽走向魔鬼, 魔鬼在地上建立了他的王國. 從那一刻開始, the devil and sin and death reigned on earth. The nature and law of the devil ruled in the flesh of man and the law of sin and death came into being. The earth was no longer blessed but became cursed. 人的精神死了, 和肉體; 靈魂, 和身體, became subject to the devil. The devil became the father and god over all flesh that would be born into his kingdom. The law that represents the devil’s kingdom is the law of sin and death. What is the law of sin and death? Let’s have a look at the revealing truth about the law of sin and death.
The law of sin and death reigns over every person
每個人, that would be born on this earth, would automatically be bound and subjected to sin and death and the law of sin and death. The law of the devil, which represents his will, is present and reigns in every flesh (另請閱讀: ‘上帝的意志 vs 魔鬼的意志').
由於事實, that the spirit of man died, the moment that man sinned, man only had the ability to live after the flesh.
男人已經成為一個活著的靈魂, and the soul would dictate man what the do. The soul and body would be bound to the devil and his law. The evil rebellious nature of the devil was present in the flesh of the carnal man. Because man lived after the flesh and was led by his sinful nature, man would live after the law of the devil and establish the law of sin and death.
Transferred from the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of darkness
When God created the heaven and the earth, 他的王國; the spiritual Kingdom of God reigned upon the earth. God created man with a spirit, 靈魂, 和身體. Adam’s spirit reigned in his life. His soul and body were subjected to his spirit.
Before Adam rebelled and became disobedient to the commandment of God and sinned, the spiritual law of righteousness and life, reigned on the earth. The law of righteousness and life represents the will of God and belongs to the Kingdom of God.
But when Adam, who was appointed by God to represent His Kingdom upon the earth, listened to the voice of the devil and became disobedient to the commandment of God and His Kingdom, his spirit, who reigned in his life, died.
When Adam’s spirit died, he was transferred in the spiritual realm, from the Kingdom of God to the kingdom of darkness.
Man had freely chosen to listen to and believe the words of the devil, 而不是上帝. Man chose to become 忤 to the words of God and do the will of the devil instead of the will of God.
As I discussed in the previous blogpost ‘The will of God vs the will of the devil’, the devil rebels against every word of God. That’s why the will of the devil is the exact opposite of the will of God.
The will of God represents the law of righteousness and life. The will of the devil represents the law of sin and death.
罪與死的法則
The law of sin and death contains the following commandments:
- You shall love the devil and all there is within the world above all. You shall serve him and obey him
- You shall have gods before you and you shall bow down to them
- 你必犯淫亂
- You shall hate God and use His name in vain
- You shall commit adultery
- You shall be unfaithful
- 你會說謊
- You shall murder
- You shall rebel against your parents and not honor them
- You shall covet
- You shall be jealous
- 你不會原諒
- You shall….
This law represents the will of the devil and belongs to the kingdom of darkness. 當你在肉之後生活, you shall be bound to this law of sin and death and you shall walk in sin. When you live after this law in sin, your final destination shall be death. 因為罪的工價就是死亡.
因為罪的工價就是死亡; 但神的恩賜是透過我們的主耶穌基督而獲得永生 (羅馬書 6:23)
God chose a people and set them apart
God chose a people and set them apart from other people, from the other nations. God led His people out of Egypt and redeemed them from slavery and the rulership of Pharaoh. 多年來, God’s people were oppressed by Pharaoh and lived in slavery. His will had become their will and they had adopted the pagan rituals, 習慣, and culture of Egypt.
But God’s Kingdom was another Kingdom and God’s will wasn’t equal to the will of the devil, which reigned in the evil carnal nature of man.
God didn’t want His people to be bound to the devil and the works of his kingdom. Because God couldn’t have fellowship with sin; the works of the flesh and darkness. God’s people had to be cleansed and purified. Their minds had to be renewed with the will of God.
God made His will known by His law
That’s why God revealed His will and His Kingdom known to His people, 將祂的律法賜給他們. 因為事實, that man was carnal and God Spirit, God ‘translated’ His will and made His spiritual Kingdom visible to man, 通過給他們 他的誡命. 神想要與人建立關係, but since the carnal man was not righteous but a sinner and God couldn’t have communion with sin, 他給了他們 the sacrificial laws. The offerings would make a temporary atonement for the sins of man.
罪與死的法則, which belongs to the kingdom of darkness, reigned from the moment that Adam sinned, 在地球上. 從那一刻起, the devil had spiritual dominion over man and the earth.
But God had set His people apart from the world. He revealed His Kingdom and His will, 給他們法律.
因為他們是屬肉體的而不是屬靈的, God revealed to them the spiritual truth. By giving His law to His carnal people, 罪惡和死亡的律法, that belonged to the kingdom of the devil was revealed.
The flesh of the carnal man, which is subject to the law of sin and death, 說: “thou shall steal, thou shall commit fornication, thou shall covet, thou shall lie, thou shall be jealous etc”. But God represented His Kingdom and therefore God said: “thou shall not steal, thou shall not commit fornication, thou shall not lie, thou shall not covet, etc”
Sin became revealed by the law
那我們該說什麼? 律法是罪嗎? 上帝禁止. 不, 我不知道罪, 但根據法律: 因為我不知道慾望, 除了法律規定, 你不可貪圖 (羅馬書 7:7)
聖靈的律法, which belongs to the Kingdom of God is the exact opposite of the law of sin and death, which belongs to the kingdom of darkness. When God gave the law of Moses, God revealed sin.
Sin was no longer hidden but was revealed by the law. God didn’t force anyone to be obedient to His law. He had given and still has given everyone a free will.
Every person will make his/her own choices in life. But…God did reveal to them, what would happen if a person decided to not love God above all and to disobey His law, which represented His will but rather chose to serve the devil and his law of sin and death.
Why the death penalty?
上帝給了他的子民, who belonged to His Kingdom, 他的誡命. But as soon as someone rebelled and didn’t want to submit to His will and obey Him, God had to deal according to the law of sin and death, which the person had chosen to obey.
When a person obeyed the law of sin and death, the person also received the wages for following this law.
The punishment depended upon the sin the person committed. Because there was sin unto death and sin not unto death.
But when a person intentionally sinned and had chosen to obey the law of sin and death, the person got the wages for following this law, 這就是死亡.
The person had to be removed from His people and was given to the person’s lord and master: 死亡.
That was the punishment for everyone, who became 忤 to the law of God; 公義和生命定律, and became obedient to the law of sin and death.
The law of sin and death reigns as long as the old man lives
從現在開始, that you are born on this earth, the spiritual law of sin and death reigns in your body (肉). Your flesh is corrupted by the sinful nature; 魔鬼的本質. That means that your sinful nature, which is present in your flesh, serves and is obedient to the law of sin and death. There is only one way to be redeemed from the law of sin and death, and that is through the process of regeneration.
Only when your flesh dies in Jesus Christ, you will be redeemed from your sinful nature and from the law of sin and death, that rules in your flesh. From the moment you die in Jesus Christ, you will be redeemed and set free from this law, that leads you to eternal death.
因為生命聖靈的律在基督耶穌裡釋放了我，使我脫離了罪和死的律 (羅馬書 8:2)
It is just like a marriage between a husband and a wife. They are bound to each other as long as they both shall live on this earth. By the law, the woman is bound to her husband, during her life on this earth.
When her husband dies, the woman is released from the law that bound her to her husband. But when she commits adultery, while her husband is still alive and marries someone else, she will be an adulterer. Only when one of them dies, the bonds of marriage are destroyed and the law that bounds them together will be annulled. Therefore when the law is annulled, the other person will be free and not bound by the law anymore (羅馬書 7:2-3)
Dying in Jesus Christ
It is the same with everyone, 相信耶穌基督的人. When you repent and accept Jesus as your Saviour and make Him Lord over your life, you lay down your own life; 這 古老的肉體創造, 在他裡面.
當你在水中受洗時, in the natural realm you symbolically lay down your flesh, 但是在精神領域, your flesh dies.
Therefore you will no longer be bound to the law of sin and death, that reigns in your flesh.
The law of sin and death has no longer authority over you, but you are redeemed from this law.
通過聖靈的洗禮, your spirit will be raised from the dead.
從那一刻起, your spirit lives, 和公義和生命定律, 這是聖靈的律法, that belongs to the Kingdom of God, will reign in your life.
Jesus represented the law of the Spirit
然後，我們是否通過信仰使法律無效? 上帝禁止: 是的, 我們建立法律 (羅馬書 3:31)
Jesus represented the law of the Spirit, 屬於上帝王國, 在地球上. 這就是為什麼耶穌說: “You shall….” Jesus spoke out of the law of the Spirit. 耶穌知道, that the law of Moses represented the will of God and His Kingdom. He knew that this law was given to God’s carnal people, who were only able to live after the flesh.
But because Jesus didn’t walk after the flesh, 但在聖靈之後, He wasn’t ruled by His flesh. Jesus didn’t think: “I shall not be jealous, I shall not covet, I shall not….”
The nature of God dwelled by the Holy Spirit in Jesus. Jesus knew the law of the Spirit and the Kingdom of God and therefore He walked according to this law.
跟隨聖靈而行, Jesus obeyed and fulfilled the law, that God had given to Moses.
Jesus didn’t give in to the 魔鬼的誘惑 in His flesh.
他知道, that as soon as He would give in to the 情慾和慾望 of His flesh, He would automatically obey the law of sin and death and walk in the commandments of the devil. If Jesus would have done that, He would be transferred from the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of the devil, 就像亞當一樣. If He would have obeyed the flesh, He would become disobedient to God and would make the devil His father and would belong to the kingdom of darkness.
你不知道嗎, 你們把自己當作僕人來服從, 你們是他的僕人，你們要服從他; 是否犯了至於死的罪, 或順從正義? (羅馬書 6:16)
God’s work of redemption in Jesus Christ
Jesus knew the difference between the two spiritual kingdoms and the two laws, that belonged to these kingdoms. By His deeds and His walk, Jesus made the choice to Whom He wanted to belong to: 他的父親; the God of the heavens and the earth, 或魔鬼; 這世界的神.
跟隨聖靈而行, 耶穌始終順服他的天父. He represented and brought the Kingdom of God upon this earth. Because of His 服從, He could fulfill the work of redemption 的 舊造.
只有通過耶穌基督, when you die and be resurrected in Him, it is possible to be redeemed from the bonds of sin, that lead to eternal death. Only when you become 重生 and when your flesh dies in Him, you will be redeemed from the law of sin and death.
經過 垂死 在耶穌基督里, you will be transferred 來自黑暗王國; the kingdom of this world into the Kingdom of God. By walking after the Spirit in Jesus Christ; 這個單字, 您應自動 履行上帝的律法, which represents His Kingdom and you shall be able to stay loyal and obedient to Him.
‘成為地球之鹽’
