2026/0622

253. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: Spontaneity and Knowledge

As we discussed in the previous issue, the Lord God formed a realm of spirit within human memory from "dust from the ground" (Gen 2:7), and arranged for "God's spontaneity (the breath of life)" and "human knowledge" to be connected within that realm of spirit through "the Word (the tree of life)." When God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (1:26), "our image" refers to the fact that God is the one and only God, whilst "our likeness" refers to the fact that God is spirit and is in the Trinitarian relationship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Humankind was perfected as a being endowed with these two divine characteristics. God not only endowed humankind with these qualities but also desired to draw them into the Trinitarian relationship that is God Himself. Thus, in Genesis chapter 1, the Creator is referred to as "God," emphasising that the work of creation, accomplished through the Triune relationship, is the work of the one true God; whereas in chapter 2, the term "the Lord God" is used to denote the Father and the Son, emphasising how humanity enters into the relationship of the Triune God and works in collaboration with the Holy Spirit.

In Genesis, the phrase "every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food"—as written in the passage, "And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Gen 2:9)—represents the New Testament for us believers. To "eat" it signifies reading it aloud and listening to it; the phrase "every tree" indicates that it applies to all people. Anyone can become a branch of the vine connected to the Word. In the Book of Revelation, it reads that the author, obeying the angel's command to "Take it and eat" (Rev 10:9), "took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter" (10:10).

As the New Testament is far shorter than the Old Testament, it is easy simply to read and hear; yet the living Word, once it reaches the innermost depths of people, purifies them through the truth and causes them to feel as though they are taking bitter medicine. However, this in turn directs each believer towards the Holy Spirit, enabling them to undergo the same training as the "man" at the beginning of Genesis, who was to "till it and keep it" (Gen 2:15). "It" refers, just as it did for the first "man,"to the believer's memory. The author of Revelation is subsequently commanded to prophesy once more. Whilst he was accompanied by an angel in the world of the prophetic book, we, like the first "man" in Genesis, work in collaboration with the Holy Spirit. In this way, we proclaim the Gospel. Genesis describes how the first "man" worked in collaboration with the Holy Spirit as follows:

"So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name" (Gen 2:19). Created by the Lord God as the one and only man, the first "man"—whose "God's spontaneity (breath of life)" and "human knowledge" were connected in his realm of spirit through "the Word (the tree of life)"—was cooperating with the Holy Spirit. So, when he called every living creature, "that was its name." We believers, too, just like the first "man," can cooperate with the Holy Spirit—who is sent in the name of Jesus—with a deep affinity, when "God's spontaneity (the breath of life)" and "human knowledge" are connected in the realm of spirit within us through "the Word (the tree of life)."

As we examined previously, the Garden of Eden described in Genesis—where "A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers" (Gen 2:10)—represents human memory. The memory is the domain where the Holy Spirit works, as Jesus said: "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (Jn 14:26). Humans have been granted knowledge—likened to the river flowing forth through the work of the Holy Spirit to water the Garden (memory). And within the first of the four rivers branching from it—the reproductive function bestowed by God's command, "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen 1:28)—spontaneity is inherent. That is because their reproductive function carries the mission to pass on all the information of the individual to their offspring, ensuring the survival of their species.

Animals are also bestowed with knowledge, but they are designed so that they entrust themselves to the workings of their reproductive functions and thus bring their lives to an end. On the other hand, "human knowledge," which connects to "God's spontaneity (the breath of life)" in the realm of spirit, performs a series of works in collaboration with the Holy Spirit, whilst also connecting to the physical spontaneity inherent in the reproductive functions. When the Lord God divided "man" into male and female and brought the "woman" to the "man," he said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" (Gen 2:23). These words of the "man" show that he was in the situation described above. The reproductive functions they had been endowed with (cf. 2:24) were functioning normally at that time (cf. 2:25). In this situation, the serious problem that arose for the two of them stemmed from the "human information" that manifested itself between them, who are now plural.

However, the emergence of "human information" is not, in itself, the problem. The problem is that "human knowledge," by assimilating "human information" without discerning it, gives rise to illusions and fiction. These create a virtual reality, and the "human knowledge" of those who remain within it loses its connection with "the Word (the tree of life)," becoming unable to maintain the realm of spirit. Ultimately, to avoid this danger, "human knowledge" clings to the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil," which the Lord God made to grow alongside the "tree of life" at the centre of human memory, and makes it its refuge. Jesus sternly admonished the disciples, to whom He had conferred the priesthood of the New Covenant: "If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned" (Jn 15:6).

Maria K. M.