Life demands dependence

There are so many good points in message 13 of Life-Study of Genesis. Below are just a few. To read its entirety, please visit http://ministrybook s.org/life- studies.cfm

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God created man with freedom of choice. Only a small man forces people to accept his opinion. God did not place man in front of Him exclusively, thus compelling man to choose Him. He placed man before two trees, confronting him with a choice.

The tree of life was a symbol, signifying God as the proper source. John 1:4 says, "In Him was life," and John 15:5 tells us that the Lord Jesus is a vine tree. If we put these two verses together, we will realize that Jesus, the embodiment of God, is the tree of life.

At the beginning of the Bible we find death and life, and at the end of the Bible we again see death and life. Death begins with the tree of knowledge of good and evil and ends with the lake of fire. Life begins with the tree of life and ends at the New Jerusalem.

The principle of the tree of life is dependence. knowledge creates independence, but life demands dependence. When God called Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldees, He did not give Abraham a map or directions, because His intention was that Abraham had to live and move continually in His presence. God's presence was the map. God's presence was the direction, the leading, and the guidance.

All Christian wives know the verse in Ephesians 5 which tells them to submit to their own husbands. All Christian husbands know the verse which tells them to love their wives. Nevertheless, wives and husbands fail to fulfill the requirements of these verses because they take Ephesians 5 as the tree of knowledge, not as the tree of life. Husbands and wives, you should not live according to the tree of knowledge. You must live by the tree of life. As a wife you should say, "Lord, I don't know how to submit to my husband. Lord, even if I do know, I cannot do it. I will forget about it, Lord. I won't use my effort or energy to fulfill this requirement. Lord Jesus, I simply stay in Your presence. I want to abide in You and enjoy You twenty-four hours a day." If you do this, submission spontaneously will flow out of your inner being. It will be the overflow of your enjoyment of Christ as your inner life. This is dependence on the tree of life.