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In this book we shall cover one central point — the kernel of the Bible. The Bible is a book of life. As a book of life, the Bible has a kernel, and within this kernel there is the life germ. One day I visited a very large farm. While I was there, I saw many things: mountains, soil, trees, and many types of plants. On the trees I saw fruit. This fruit had skin, meat, and seeds. Inside the shell of the seeds there was the kernel. Apart from that kernel there was no life germ. Everything in this environment — the heavens, the earth, the mountains, the valleys, the soil, the farm, the trees, the plants, the fruit, and the shell — was just for the kernel. If there had been no kernel, everything else would have been meaningless.
The Bible, composed of sixty-six books, includes many things. For instance, there is a great deal of history recorded in the Bible. In the Bible we see the record of creation and the history of mankind, the Gentile nations, Israel, and the church. Eventually, the Bible unfolds the ultimate consummation of all these things.
The Bible also contains many doctrines. These doctrines make up what is commonly called theology. Theology teaches us all about God. It tells us what God is, what He can do, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will be doing. Along with theology there is also the matter of religion, which tells us how to maintain a good relationship with God, how to worship God, how to serve God, how to love God, and how to do all for God.
In addition, the Bible also contains many ethical teachings. It speaks of love, kindness, patience, endurance, and humility. The Bible tells us that a man should love his wife and that a wife should submit to her husband. The Bible also says that children should honor their parents and that parents should take proper care of their children. It also contains ethical teachings about being good neighbors.
Are the history, doctrines, and ethics found in the Bible the kernel of the Bible? No, they definitely are not. You may be familiar with all the history, doctrine, religious teachings, and ethical instructions found in the Bible and still not know what the kernel is. Hence, it is absolutely crucial and vital that we see this kernel.
By considering the members of our physical body, we can appreciate how significant the kernel is. Although your right arm is very useful, you could still live if it were amputated. The same would be true if you lost your eyes. Although you would no longer be able to see, you would still have your life because the kernel within you would not have been damaged. The kernel in our physical body, of course, is our heart. If a person’s heart were taken away from him, he obviously could not live. Outwardly he would still be complete, having all his limbs and the other members of his body, but the life within him would be gone. By this we see that neither the arms nor the eyes are as crucial as the heart, because the heart is the kernel of our physical body.
I am sorry to say that many Christians know the Bible, but they have never seen the kernel of the Bible. Instead, they have merely touched the outward aspects of the Bible, such as the record of creation; the history of mankind, the Gentiles, Israel, and the church; and all the doctrines and ethical teachings. Many know theology, perhaps even possessing a doctor’s degree in theology, but they have never touched the kernel of the Bible. They may also know a great many teachings regarding religion, the worship of God, and the way to serve God and to love Him, but this does not mean that they have ever seen the kernel hidden within the Scriptures. Therefore, it is imperative to find out what the kernel of the Bible is.
Is the Bible a book of history? We must admit that the Bible is the best history book. If you major in history in college but do not read the Bible, then you do not have an adequate knowledge of history. No other book besides the Bible tells us of the origin of the first generation of mankind. Hence, the Bible, a true history book, is the basis of all history. However, the history contained in the Bible is not the kernel of the Bible.
What about the teachings in the Bible? Certainly there is no other book that contains more teachings than the Bible does. The one word God covers hundreds of teachings. Because there are so many teachings in the Bible, we cannot deny that the Bible is a book of teaching. If you say that the Bible is not a book of teaching, you are heretical, for the Bible itself says that it is profitable for teaching (2 Tim. 3:16). However, although the Bible is a book of teaching, teaching is not the kernel of the Bible.
The same is true regarding the ethical teachings in the Bible. When I was young, I studied the ethical teachings of Confucius. Because I had been born into Christianity, I also read the Bible and compared it with the teachings of Confucius. The ethics in the Bible are superior to the ethics of Confucius. No book on earth has better ethical teachings than the Bible. If you would know how to behave yourself as a wife, a husband, a child, a father, a mother, or a neighbor, you must read the Bible, an outstanding book of ethics. But no matter how excellent the ethical teachings in the Bible are, ethics is not the kernel of the Bible.
In order to know what the kernel of the Bible is, we need to consider Ephesians 1:9. This verse says, “Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself.” This verse speaks of the mystery of God’s will. God’s eternal will has a mystery. A mystery is something that cannot be understood, for anything that is easy to understand is not mysterious. If you were to ask the angels what the mystery of God’s will is, they would answer that they do not know. They are simply our servants, and they do not know what the will of God is, much less the mystery of God’s will. Since the angels do not know what the mystery of God’s will is, we must consult Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians. In chapter 1 of this Epistle Paul indicates that if we would know the mystery of God’s will, we need a spirit of revelation (v. 17). The mystery of God’s will is revealed to our spirit. Therefore, instead of overly exercising your mentality in this matter, you should exercise your spirit to pray and ask the Lord to show you the mystery of His will. We all need to say, “O Lord, show me the mystery of Your will. For this, I need a spirit of revelation. Lord, I don’t just want to know — I want to see. I thank You that You have given me a good mind, but my mind is not adequate to know the mystery of Your will. O Lord, reveal this matter to me.” If you pray like this, the Lord will surely answer your prayer.
In Greek, Ephesians 3:9-11 speaks of the mystery of God’s economy. This word economy is rather troublesome, for its meaning in the Bible is different from its meaning in present usage. The economy in the Bible is not a matter of finance; it is a matter of God’s administration, God’s arrangement, and God’s dispensation. This economy of God also has a mystery. Furthermore, God’s economy is related to His eternal purpose. Hence, it is important to know three things: the mystery of God’s will, the mystery of God’s economy, and God’s eternal purpose. If we know these three matters, then we shall know what the kernel of the Bible is. The kernel of the Bible is the mystery of God’s will, the mystery of God’s economy, and the eternal purpose of God.
Ephesians 5:32 reveals that the kernel of the Bible is Christ and the church. According to this verse, Christ and the church are a great mystery. This great mystery is the kernel of the Bible. Taking Christ and the church out of the Bible would be like removing a man’s heart from his body. However, although Christ and the church are so crucial, this kernel is very hidden.
In the first three chapters of Genesis, Jesus Christ is not mentioned by name. Apparently, there is no reference to Christ in this portion of the Word. However, actually, Christ is found in these chapters. The light in Genesis 1 denotes Christ, but this is not the crucial aspect of Christ hidden in this chapter. There is something hidden in this chapter referring to Christ, and that is the image of God spoken of in verse 26. In this verse God said, “Let Us make man in Our image.” Verse 27 says, “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him.” Verse 26 speaks of “Our image,” and 27, of “His own image.” In whose image was man created, and who is the image of God? Colossians 1:15 says that Christ is “the image of the invisible God,” and 2 Corinthians 4:4 speaks of “Christ, who is the image of God.” Although the word Christ is not found in Genesis 1, we do have the word image. If we have the revelation, we can see that the image of God mentioned in Genesis 1:26 is Christ. Man was made in the image of God, and the fact that the image of God is Christ indicates that man was made according to Christ.
Man was made in the image of Christ just as a glove is made in the image of a hand. A glove is made in the image of the hand for the purpose of containing the hand. In like manner, man was made according to Christ for the purpose of containing Christ. Thus, we see a hidden aspect of Christ in Genesis 1:26. Writing the word Christ above the word image in this chapter will help you realize that man was made in the form of Christ and according to Christ. However, this image is merely the outward form; we have not yet come to the matter of inward life.
The inward life is found in Genesis 2, where we see the word life (v. 9). After God created man, He placed him in a garden. In the center of this garden there was the tree of life. God’s intention in putting man before the tree of life was that man would receive the divine life. Who is this divine life? The answer is in Colossians 3:4, which says that Christ is our life. Therefore, Christ is both God’s image and our life. We were made according to Christ so that we might contain Christ, and Christ is destined to be our life. If we do not have Christ, we do not have the divine life (1 John 5:11-12). Although we may have the outward form of the image of God, without Christ we do not have the inward life. Therefore, we need Christ to be our inward life.
Christ is also found in Genesis 3. Verse 15 says, “I will put enmity / Between you and the woman / And between your seed and her seed; / He will bruise you on the head, / But you will bruise him on the heel.” In this verse we see a wonderful title of Christ — the seed of the woman. God created man and placed him in front of the tree of life, but man fell. The subtle serpent entered in to damage man. Thus, God intervened to exercise His judgment, mainly upon the serpent. God told the serpent that the seed of the woman would bruise his head. This meant that someone would come to destroy Satan. The seed of the woman who came to destroy Satan is Christ. Hence, in the first three chapters of Genesis, we have Christ as the image of God, as our life, and as the One who destroys Satan. How wonderful! This is the kernel of the first three chapters of Genesis. If we do not have Christ in these chapters, we do not have the kernel. Rather, we merely have the record of creation, of the garden of Eden, and of the fall of man.
Although we have Christ as the image of God, as our life, and as the One who destroys Satan, we do not have the church in the first three chapters of Genesis. Genesis, of course, has not only three chapters but fifty chapters. In chapters 2 and 3 we have Adam, and in chapters 4 through 50 we have seven important persons: Abel, Enosh, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with Joseph. These people together are a type of the church.
In Adam we see God’s purpose and man’s fall. In Abel we see the return of the fallen man to God (4:4). Man fell in Adam, but he came back to God in Abel. Hallelujah for this return! With Enosh we have the beginning of calling upon the name of the Lord (v. 26). Some Christians do not agree with the matter of calling upon the Lord. However, this practice began with the third generation of mankind. The name Enosh in Hebrew means “frail, mortal man.” Man is fragile and easily broken. After fallen man returned to God, he realized that he was weak, frail, and mortal. When he realized this, he began to call on the name of the Lord that he might receive help, supply, strength, and nourishment. Thus, in Abel we see man coming back to God, and in Enosh we see man realizing his weakness and beginning to call on the Lord for help. Undoubtedly, by calling upon the name of the Lord, man received the supply from God.
In Enoch we see a man who walked with God (5:22). Enoch, the man who walked with God and lived by God, was eventually raptured to God (v. 24). Please pay attention to the sequence here: with Abel man returned to God, with Enosh man called on the name of the Lord, and then with Enoch man walked with God. After Enoch we have Noah, in whom we see God’s reign. Noah represented God in ruling over the world. At the time of Noah the man who had returned to God also had dominion over all the earth. Man had not only returned to God, received help from God, and walked with God; he also reigned over the earth for God. However, like Adam, the descendants of Noah also fell, even to the point that God gave up the created race.
After it became necessary for God to give up the created race, He came in to call one man, Abraham, out of the fallen race and to establish him as the head of the called race (11:27—12:3). In the case of Abraham we see that he, the called one, was justified by God through faith (15:6). Isaac inherited from Abraham all the blessings through faith. In Jacob we see both transformation and reigning. In Abraham we have justification; in Isaac, the enjoyment of the inherited blessing; and in Jacob, a transformed person possessing the element needed to reign over the earth. Jacob eventually reigned over Egypt through his son Joseph, who represents the reigning aspect of Jacob’s life. In Jacob we see a transformed, mature person who ruled over the entire earth. This is the fulfillment of God’s will to have a heavenly ruling on earth. All this put together is a shadow, a type, of the church.
In the first three chapters of Genesis we have Christ as the image of God, as our life, and as the One who destroys Satan. In the following forty-seven chapters we see a shadow, a type, of the church, composed of the saints from Abel through Jacob with Joseph. All these people are the composition of the church. Whatever we see in each of these men is an aspect of the church. The church must be composed of people who have returned to God, who call upon the name of the Lord to receive help, who walk in the presence of God and live by Him, who have dominion over the earth, who have been justified by faith, who inherit all the blessings by faith, and who are transformed and matured to possess power to reign on earth. This is the church.
Therefore, both Christ and the church are hidden in the book of Genesis. In the first three chapters of this book we see Christ, and in the last forty-seven chapters we see the church. Christ is God’s image, our life, and the One who destroyed Satan. This Christ brings forth and produces the church, the composition of so many persons. Therefore, the kernel of the book of Genesis is Christ and the church.
Now we see not only the tree, the fruit, the skin, the meat, and the shell of the book of Genesis; we also see the kernel. It took many years for me to see the kernel in this book, but Christ and the church are both hidden here. Who can deny that the kernel of Genesis is Christ and the church? Because this kernel is so hidden, we need a spiritual x-ray in order to see it. Without such an x-ray we cannot find Christ and the church in Genesis. But now we have seen that Christ and the church are the kernel hidden within the fifty chapters of this book.
Are you an Abel? I can strongly testify that, as one who has returned to God, I am an Abel. More than fifty years ago, I was far away from God. But one day I turned around and came back to Him. At that time I became an Abel. Are you still walking away from God, or have you returned to Him? Hallelujah, we have returned! We are not Cains; we are Abels.
Are you also an Enosh, one who calls on the name of the Lord? Throughout the more than fifty years of my Christian life, I have been calling on the Lord for help. Many times I called on the Lord to help me with my temper because I was not able to deal with it. At other times I called on Him because I could not bear certain troubles. Realizing that I was weak and fragile, I said, “O Lord Jesus, help me.” I am sorry to say that some Christians do not agree with this matter of calling on the name of the Lord. In times of peace they do not call on Him. However, in times of trouble they spontaneously call, “O Lord!” There is not one Christian who has never called on the name of the Lord. Why should we wait for trouble to come before we call on the Lord? Why not call on His name day by day? If you have never tried this in a daily way, I would ask you to try it now. There is no need to pray in the old way, saying, “Lord, I need You. My temper is uncontrollable, and my wife is difficult. I need Your help, Lord.” Instead of praying this way, say, “O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus!” Some say that this calling is too noisy. Although I agree that sometimes we should not be too loud and that we should not disturb others, we can still call upon the Lord in a subdued way.
Lamentations 3:55 and 56 indicate that to call on the name of the Lord is to breathe. Verse 55 says, “I called upon Your name, O Jehovah, / From the lowest pit.” The writer here was in a very low state, even in the lowest pit, when he called upon the Lord. Then verse 56 says, “You have heard my voice; do not hide / Your ear at my breathing, at my cry.” This indicates that our calling on the Lord is our breathing. There is no need to call with a loud voice. We can call on Him in the way of breathing Him in. This matter of calling on the name of the Lord began with Enosh, the third generation of mankind. Like Enosh, we all need to be those who call on the name of the Lord. The more we call on Him, the more help we shall receive from Him.
We should not only be an Abel and an Enosh but also an Enoch walking with God. Although we all are Abels who have returned to God, I wonder if we all are Enochs who walk with Him day by day. Enoch walked with God by calling on the name of the Lord. If we would walk with God today, we also need to call on Him. As you are about to lose your temper, you should say, “Lord, I am walking with You, and I am about to lose my temper.” If you say this, you will find it very difficult to lose your temper. The more you walk with God, the more difficult it will be to lose your temper.
We also should be a Noah, not only walking with God and preparing salvation for ourselves and others but also reigning for God. As Noahs, we enjoy God’s full salvation with God’s dominion over the earth as the issue.
In addition to being Abels, Enoshes, Enochs, and Noahs, we also should be Abrahams, Isaacs, and Jacobs. Certainly, like Abraham, we have been justified. Furthermore, like Isaac, we should daily enjoy our inheritance and be under God’s blessing. Perhaps you may say that you do not want to be a Jacob, for Jacob was a supplanter, a heel holder, one who deceived nearly everybody. Although you may not desire to be such a person, do not forget that Jacob was eventually transformed into Israel, the prince of God. We all shall be transformed Jacobs. Many can say that they have called on the name of the Lord, but not many can say that they have been transformed. However, we have returned to the Lord, we are calling on Him, we are walking with Him, and we are preparing salvation for ourselves and others so that we may reign for God. At the same time, we are in the process of transformation.
The issue of the process of transformation through which Jacob passed was the twelve tribes that formed the house of Israel. The house of Israel is a full type of the church. In the Old Testament there was the house of Israel, and in the New Testament there is the church as God’s house. Thus, the house of Israel was a type of the church as God’s house. The house of Israel came out of Abel, Enosh, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Today we are in the Lord’s recovery. The Lord’s recovery is mainly the recovery of Christ as our life and of the church as our living. However, although many Christians talk about the church, they do not have the practical church life. They have the doctrine of the church, but they do not have the practicality of the church. One reason for this is that they have not seen that the church is the issue of these significant persons in the book of Genesis. In order to have the proper church life we need to be an Abel, an Enosh, an Enoch, a Noah, an Abraham, an Isaac, and a Jacob. We must not only return to God but also undergo the process of transformation. It is in this way that we have the twelve tribes, the components of the house of God.
We all need to pray, “Lord, grant me a clear vision of the kernel of the Bible. Cause me to see Christ and the church. I do not want to see Christ in a doctrinal way but in the way of experience, and, Lord, I also need to see the practical church life so that I may be a part of the real house of Israel today.” We all need to pray this prayer. If we do, the vision will come to us, and we shall see that the Bible is a book of Christ as life and of the church as our living. Then we shall know the kernel of the Bible. I look to the Lord that we all may see this vision. We all should say, “I must have the experience of Christ and of the practical church life! I don’t care for theology. I want to see Christ as my life, and I want to see the church as my daily living.” This is the kernel of the Bible.
In the following chapters we shall continue with Exodus and other books of the Old Testament and New Testament. In all these books we shall see the kernel of the Bible, Christ and the church.
