Study questions

Life-Study of Genesis

1. Genesis—The General Sketch and Central Thought

  1. What is the Bible and how should we come to it?
  2. What is the general sketch, the central thought, and the contents of Genesis (i.e., the contents related to God's original creation)?

2. Satan's Rebellion and Corruption

  1. Explain the origin of Satan and his rebellion with its cause, purpose, and process.
  2. What was the result of Satan's rebellion? Explain how we know that the earth becoming "waste and emptiness" was not a part of God's original creation but the result of God's judgment.

3. God's Restoration and Further Creation (1) — Process

  1. How may we say that Genesis 1:2b–2:3 does not refer to God's original creation but to God's restoration? Explain how the brooding of the Spirit of God is related to our experience of life.
  2. Explain how the Word of God, the light, the separations of light from darkness, the waters under from those above the expanse, and the earth from the waters are requirements for generating life.

4. God's Restoration and Further Creation (2) — Process

  1. How does the generating of the three levels of plant life on the third day correspond to our Christian experience and why do we need the light-bearers on the fourth day for more life?
  2. How do the living creatures in the water and air correspond to our life experience? How does the higher life with the higher cosnciousness relate to our Christian life?

5. The Fourth Day Lights (A Parenthesis)

  1. What are the fourth-day lights?
  2. What are the functions of the fourth-day lights? Explain the significance of them being for signs, for seasons, for days, and for years.

6. God's Restoration and Further Creation (3) — Purpose

  1. How do we see the Triune God in the creation of man? What is the significance of man as the center being generated last?
  2. What is the main purpose of God's restoration and further creation? What is the difference between the image of God and the likeness of God?

7. God's Restoration and Further Creation (4) — Purpose

  1. What are the nine items of life mentioned in Genesis 1 and what is the two-fold purpose of God's restoration and further creation?
  2. What is the sphere and intention of God's dominion in Genesis 1:26?

8. God's Restoration and Further Creation (5) — Ultimate Consummation

  1. What is the ultimate consummation of God's restoration and further creation?
  2. Use three of the eighteen cases to illustrate how image and dominion go together. According to the further word, how can we shine with the glory of God?

9. God's Restoration and Further Creation (6) — Ultimate Consummation

  1. Explain how God's image and dominion are the qualification for God's blessing and how the blessing is the fruit-bearing.
  2. What is the reason God could rest in Genesis 1:2-3? Explain how this rest is a seed which progresses from a foretaste to a fulfillment and to a consummation.

10. God's Procedures to Fulfill His Purpose (1)

  1. Explain how God's life is the means for man to express God in His image and represent Him with His authority.
  2. What is the first step of God's procedure in fulfilling His purpose? Describe the way in which God created man with three parts.

11. God's Procedures to Fulfill His Purpose (2)

  1. What was the second step God took to fulfill His purpose? What is the significance of God placing man in front of the tree of life?
  2. What is the significance of a river flowing out of Eden and becoming four heads?

12. Transformation for Building in the Flow of Life

  1. Explain how the revelation of the precious materials sown in Genesis 2:10-12 develops throughout the Bible and is harvested in Revelation 21 and 22. How does this relate to transformation?
  2. What are the significances of each of the three precious materials in Genesis 2:10-12 and what is the issue of experiencing them?

13. The Two Trees (1)

  1. What is the significance, content, nature, result, and principle of the tree of life?
  2. What is the significance, content, nature, and result of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?

14. The Two Trees (2)

  1. What is the principle of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Show how the two principles of the two trees are the two lines that we may be on.
  2. Explain how the triangular situation of Adam before the two trees (i.e., between man, God, and Satan) relates to our experience today.

15. The Line of Life throughout the Scriptures

  1. What were the characteristics of the first nine people (or groups of people) who were on the line of life?
  2. What were the characteristics of the last ten people (or groups of people) who were on the line of life?

16. The Line of Knowledge throughout the Scriptures

  1. Explain how each of those on the line of knowledge in the Old Testament was independent from God.
  2. Trace the line of knowledge throughout the New Testament showing from these cases the lessons we should learn.

17. To Work God into Man as Life

  1. What are the two main things that Genesis 1 and 2 unveil and what was the third step God took to fulfill His purpose?
  2. What was the process God took to produce a complement for Himself? What was the result?

18. The First Fall of Man

  1. What was the cause of the first fall of man?
  2. What was the process and result of the first fall of man? How were the three parts of man's being involved and affected?

19. God's Dealing with Man's First Fall (1)

  1. What was God's way of dealing with the first fall of man?
  2. What are the contents, the center, and the fulfillment of God's promise to fallen man in Genesis 3:15?

20. The Serpent, the Woman, and the Seed of the Woman

  1. How does the revelation of the serpent develop from Genesis 3 to Revelation 20? Specifically address the subjective aspect of the serpent getting into man as referred to in John 3:14.
  2. Who is the woman and the seed of the woman, and what is the harvest of the serpent, the woman, and the seed of the woman?

21. God's Dealing with Man's First Fall (2)

  1. Describe the discipline of man by suffering, the purpose of and kinds of sufferings ordained by God for woman and man, and the anticipated redemption of man in Genesis 3:20-21.
  2. What were the reason, the means, and the time limit of the closing of the way to the tree of life?

22. The Second Fall of Man (1)

  1. Describe the background of the second fall of man by explaining how Adam, Eve, and Abel believed the gospel in the context of Genesis 3 and 4. How may we apply the living of Abel to ourselves?
  2. What was the second fall of man? Describe the cause and process of this second fall.

23. Cain and Abel

  1. Describe the working and living of Cain as they relate to the two trees, two sources, and two lines found throughout the Bible.
  2. Describe the working and living of Abel as they relate to the two trees, two sources, and two lines found throughout the Bible.

24. The Second Fall of Man (2)

  1. What four items are the result of man's second fall?
  2. What was the reason, process, and issue of Cain producing a culture without God and how has this developed into the contemporary culture of today?

25. The Second Fall of Man (3)

  1. What is the way to escape from man's second fall?
  2. What is the definition, purpose, and way to call on the Lord?

26. The Way to Escape the Ultimate Issue of Man's Fall

  1. What is the spiritual significance of Genesis 5 as a record of the living and begetting of the saved people?
  2. What is the ultimate issue of man's fall and the way to escape it? Explain how Enoch's walking with God establishes the principle of rapture (i.e., walking with God is our going upward).

27. The Third Fall of Man

  1. What were the two causes of the third fall of man and who were the sons of God in Genesis 6:2? Refer to Job 1:6 in your answer.
  2. What was the issue of man's fall and why did God determine to flood the human race and condemn them all to death? How does such a condition prefigure the present age?

28. The Way of Salvation from Man's Third Fall (1)

  1. What is the first aspect of the way of salvation from the third fall? Explain how Noah's finding grace enabled him to walk with God.
  2. What is the second aspect of the way of salvation from the third fall? How can we be today's Noah?

29. The Life and Work that Changed the Age

  1. Based on Noah, describe the life that changed the age, including the five godly ways he inherited, as well as his further revelation and practice of it.
  2. Describe, based on Noah, the work that changed the age.

30. The Way of Salvation from Man's Third Fall (2)

  1. Explain the significance of the dimensions and size of the ark involving the numbers three and five showing how they relate to God's building throughout the Bible.
  2. What is the significance of the three stories of the ark, the one window, and the one door and the covering of pitch? Explain how the ark is a type of Christ both individually and corporately.

31. Saved through Water

  1. Explain what it means to be saved through water in the context of Noah's generation. Describe how God's judgment is a two-fold salvation for the children of Israel.
  2. How does our baptism into the judging death of Christ saves us from the world condemned by God? Trace the major types of baptism as they relate to our death with Christ throughout the Bible.

32. Life in Resurrection (1)

  1. What are the six main points of the living of Noah and the people with him portraying a life in resurrection as a shadow of the church? More specifically, what did the resurrected people do after they came out of the ark?
  2. What does it mean that these eight persons, typifying the church life, were living under God's covenant? What is the significance of the rainbow that God set in the cloud?

33. Life in Resurrection (2)

  1. What was the cause of the failure of God's deputy authority and how does our response to such failure by God's authority bring us either curse or blessing?
  2. How did Japheth and Shem receive the blessing and what is the significance of their being blessed in relation to the New Testament?

34. Life in Resurrection (3)

  1. Why were God's covenanted people originally one and why were they eventually divided? Explain how different goals in the church life bring in division.
  2. Explain what the seed of division issues in and how it develops and is harvested in Revelation 17 and 18? In what way are we today's Noahs and Abrahams in the context of the book of Genesis?

35. Life in Resurrection (4)

  1. How is God's deputy authority a shadow of the kingdom in Genesis 9? Explain the progression and issue of human government before and after the flood.
  2. Explain how the church being the reality of the kingdom today brings in the manifestation of the kingdom in the next age with God's overcomers.

36. The Fourth Fall of Man

  1. What were the two factors of the cause of the fourth fall of man? Explain the progression of man's fall from God's presence to being under Satan's instigation, and from not using his spirit to being fallen to the uttermost.
  2. What were the five steps of the process of man's fourth fall and its two results? What do we have in the church life that preserves us from living in this fall?

37. The Significance of God's Calling

  1. What are the three sections of Genesis and how does Satan's work afford God the opportunity to display His wisdom?
  2. What is the significance of God's calling and how is it seen in the called ones—in Abraham, in Isaac, in Jacob, and in the believers?

38. The Background and Origin of God's Calling and the Experience of the Called

  1. Describe the background of God's calling and the origin of Abraham's experience of being called.
  2. How does the experience of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob give us a clear portrait of the complete experience of the corporate called one? How do their experiences relate to our experience of the Triune God and His salvation?

39. The Motive and Strength of Being Called

  1. What were the three aspects of the motive and strength to accept God's calling? What is the difference between a true and false Christian? Relate God's calling and appearing to your experience.
  2. What were the contents of God's promise to Abraham? Explain how God's promise to Abraham implies God's eternal purpose and how the contents of God's purpose, promise, gospel, and fulfillment are the same.

40. The Progress in Answering God's Calling

  1. What were the seven stages of the progress in Abraham's answering God's calling? Why did God need to repeat His calling?
  2. From God's point of view, what does it mean to be saved? Refer to Abraham's journey into the good land of Canaan. What did Abraham do when he reached God's goal?

41. Living by Faith

  1. What is the strength for living by faith? What is the significance of living by faith as seen in Abraham's three altars?
  2. What is the spiritual significance of Abraham's tent? Make sure to mention how the Bible ends with a tent.

42. The Trial of the Called

  1. In what way was the famine a trial to test Abraham's living by faith? What lesson should we, like Abraham, learn from this trial?
  2. Explain how the lesson Abraham learned in the first trial enabled him to prevail in the second trial of striving with the brother.

43. The Victory of the Called

  1. What were the steps of Lot's defeat and the factors of Abraham's victory?
  2. Who was Melchizedek and how was Abraham's victory related to him? How may we also gain the victory today?

44. Knowing Grace for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose—The Seed and the Land

  1. How did Abraham's experience of God, beginning with Genesis 15, turn from something outward to something inward? What kind of faith was it that was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness?
  2. Describe the two things required for the fulfillment of God's purpose in Abraham's day. How do they apply to our experience of Christ today?

45. Knowing Grace for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose—God's Covenant with Abraham

  1. Describe how God confirmed His promise to Abraham by making a covenant with him through Christ. Specifically, explain what is the significance of the offerings used in making the covenant.
  2. What is the meaning of God asking Abraham to offer the sacrifices in Genesis 15:10? What does this indicate regarding the way for us to practice the church life?

46. Knowing Grace for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose—The Allegory of the Two Women

  1. In the allegory of the two women found in Genesis 16, what do the two women signify and what is the sequence of the two covenants which they represent? Use Galatians 4:23-25 in your answer.
  2. What is the produce by the effort of the flesh with the law and the produce by the promise of grace? How should we apply these two means to our Christian life and work today?

47. Knowing Grace for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose—God's Covenant Confirmed with Circumcision

  1. Explain why Abraham lost God's presence for thirteen years and what it means to walk before the all-sufficient God and to be perfect.
  2. What is the significance of the changing of the names of Abraham and Sarah and how is this related to circumcision?

48. Knowing Grace for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose—The Unveiling of the Divine Title and the Changing of the Human Names for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose

  1. How is the unveiling of the divine title, El-Shaddai, related to the fulfillment of God's purpose?
  2. How do the changing of the names of Abraham and Sarah relate to the fulfillment of God's purpose in the church life today?

49. Knowing Grace for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose—Circumcision for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose

  1. Why is there the need of circumcision for the fulfillment of God's purpose?
  2. What is the significance of circumcision and how does this relate to the meaning of baptism? Refer to Colossians 2:11-13 in your answer.

50. Living in Fellowship with God—Communion with God on a Human Level

  1. Describe the four major sections of Abraham's experience of God in Genesis 11—24 and how God appeared to Abraham in each section. In which of these four sections are you?
  2. What were the four conditions or aspects of Abraham's fellowship with God on the human level? Be sure to include the two matters of God's revelation to Abraham in your answer.

51. Living in Fellowship with God—a Glorious Intercession

  1. Describe the first three basic principles of intercession found in Genesis 18.
  2. Describe the last four basic principles of intercession found in Genesis 18.

52. Living in Fellowship with God—a Defeated Righteous Man

  1. What were the first five conditions of Lot as a defeated righteous man? What lessons should we learn from these conditions in order to lay a good foundation for our Christian life?
  2. What additional lessons should we learn from the remaining eight items in the history of a defeated righteous man? In particular, how should we be warned concerning the matter of drifting into Sodom and the corrupting of the children?

53. Living in Fellowship with God—a Pillar of Salt

  1. How does our heeding of the Lord's warning to His disciples in Luke 17 to "remember Lot's wife" (v. 32) relate to our being prepared for the Lord's coming?
  2. What is the significance of becoming a pillar of salt?

54. Living in Fellowship with God—the Seed by Incest

  1. How did Lot's leaving God's witness and testimony become the seed both of division and of today's Christian free groups?
  2. How do we see God's far-reaching and unsearchable mercy related to the case of Ruth?

55. Living in Fellowship with God—the Hidden Weakness and a Shameful Intercession

  1. What was Abraham's hidden weakness and how did God preserve him by His sovereign care?
  2. What was Abraham's shameful intercession? Explain how our interceding for others does not depend on our condition but on our standing.

56. Living in Fellowship with God—the Birth and Growth of Isaac

  1. What is the spiritual significance of the birth and growth of Isaac and the casting out of Hagar and Ishmael?
  2. Explain how the two wells represent two kinds of living and relate to the two sources and two results of the two persons—Isaac and Ishmael.

57. Living in Fellowship with God—the Offering of Isaac (1)

  1. In what way does the testing of Abraham regarding the offering of Isaac correspond with our own experience of Christ?
  2. In what way does Genesis 22 show us Abraham's obedience of faith?

58. Living in Fellowship with God—the Offering of Isaac (2)

  1. How is Isaac a type of Christ as seen in this message and the preceding one?
  2. After offering Isaac, how was Abraham blessed by God? How does this blessing correspond to the spiritual New Testament blessing?

59. Living in Fellowship with God—the Death and Burial of Sarah

  1. What is the significance of the burial place of Sarah, the cave of Machpelah, being in Hebron?
  2. How should we apply Abraham's suffering and his testimony to our own spiritual experience?

60. Living in Fellowship with God—the Marriage of Isaac a Practical Living in Oneness with the Lord

  1. What is the purpose of the marriage in Genesis 24? How can we see Abraham's practical living in oneness with the Lord?
  2. How can we see a practical living in oneness with the Lord in the record of Abraham's oldest servant and in the record of Rebekah?

61. Living in Fellowship with God—the Marriage of Isaac a Type of Christ Marrying the Church

  1. What four main persons do we see in Genesis 24 and how do they relate to the subject of the New Testament? What is the Father's plan?
  2. What four ways does the Spirit function to carry out the Father's plan? How do we see the church's corresponding response to each function from Rebekah's experience in Genesis 24?

62. Having No Maturity in Life

  1. Why must we say that Abraham was one who had no maturity in life? How do we see a lack of transformation in Abraham's life?
  2. Briefly explain the different experiences of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that make them a triune person, a complete person, in the experience of life. How do we see the Triune God in each of these persons?

63. Inheriting Grace

  1. What aspect of the Christian life can we see from the experience of Isaac? Why must we first have Abraham's experience before Isaac's experience?
  2. What is grace? Briefly mention six aspects of Isaac's life that show his life was a record of the experience of grace.

64. Resting and Enjoying

  1. What aspect of the Christian life do we see from the life of Isaac? How may we apply this to our life experience?
  2. Describe the six experiences of Isaac's resting and enjoying life. Why is it important to take care of the proper place for our enjoyment?

65. Having Natural Weakness as Abraham and Living in the Natural Life as Jacob

  1. Explain how Isaac was a model of a grace-enjoying person even though he was natural.
  2. How do we see natural weakness and the living of a natural life in the example of Isaac? How did these two matters affect his family?

66. Being Chosen

  1. Outline the complete experience of life as seen in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob plus Joseph. How do we see the beginning and the ending of the experience of God in the example of Jacob?
  2. Related to the experience of Jacob, what are ten conditions related to God's selection? Give verses to confirm each point.

67. Being Dealt with (1)

  1. Why is the record of Jacob's life the longest of any person in the book of Genesis? In what ways did God use Jacob's family to deal with him?
  2. How do we see God's sovereignty in the arrangements of Jacob's life and in fulfilling the purpose of His selection? As God's chosen people, what is our birthright and how can we preserve it?

68. Being Dealt with (2)

  1. What is the significance of Jacob's dream? What is the significance of its location and timing?
  2. How does the ladder in Jacob's dream typify Christ? Practically, how do we come to Bethel?

69. Being Dealt with (3)

  1. Give a bird's-eye view of the process of transformation from Genesis 1 and 2 to Revelation 21. Specifically develop the significance of the stone introduced in Genesis 28.
  2. What is the relationship between God's dealings and God's promises? What was Jacob's reaction to his dream?

70. Being Dealt with (4)

  1. What was God's intention when He led Jacob to Rachel and Laban?
  2. How did Jacob's experiences with his wives and children help to further transform him?

71. Being Dealt with (5)

  1. Describe how Laban "squeezed" Jacob. Why did Jacob need these experiences?
  2. What was Jacob's response to the squeezing? Why was Jacob's response unnecessary?

72. Being Dealt with (6)

  1. What four items did Jacob see in his dream?
  2. What do these four items signify?

73. Being Dealt with (7)

  1. What does Jacob's mistake in fleeing from Laban show us about our own mistakes?
  2. What does Laban's treatment of Jacob show us about our environment and the people around us?

74. Being Dealt with (8)

  1. How did Jacob's response to seeing two camps of angels reveal that he still trusted in himself?
  2. What should we learn from Jacob's experience with Esau?

75. Being Broken

  1. Why did the Lord wrestle with Jacob as a man?
  2. What is the significance of the Lord's touching Jacob's thigh?

76. After Breaking

  1. Why was Jacob's living in Shechem short of God's standard?
  2. Why did Jacob still need God's dealing while he was at Shechem?

77. A Bird's-eye View of God's Building in the Scriptures

  1. Describe the bird's-eye view of God's building in the Old Testament.
  2. Describe the bird's-eye view of God's building in the New Testament.

78. Being Transformed (1)

  1. What was Jacob's response to God's word in Genesis 35:2-7?
  2. What is the significance of changing the garments in Genesis 35:2?

79. Being Transformed (2)

  1. When Jacob built an altar in Bethel, what was the significance of his calling it "El-Bethel"? What four things did God do there?
  2. What was Jacob's reaction to God's promise in verse 11 and what do these responses signify?

80. Being Transformed (3)

  1. What is the crucial and radical turn that we see in Genesis 35?
  2. Why is the altar at El-Bethel the highest altar?

81. Being Transformed (4)

  1. For what purpose was God revealed in Genesis 25 as the all-sufficient One? Show how Genesis 17 and 35 correspond.
  2. Why was God's promise not given in Padan-aram, Succoth, or Shechem, but only in Bethel? How does such a vision related to the church life uplift our Christian experience?

82. Being Transformed (5)

  1. Describe the development of the seed of the pillar of the temple for the building of the church and in the New Jerusalem.
  2. How can we become pillars today? Explain how the Christ on whom we rest, the Christ within us, is constituted into a pillar.

83. Being Transformed (6)

  1. What is the significance of the pillar in Solomon's temple being of brass? How can you apply this to your own experience?
  2. What is the significance of the pillar being eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits round? How do the two capitals and surrounding items apply to your experience of responsibility in the church life?

84. Being Transformed (7)

  1. What is the significance of the two bowls of two capitals being on the top of the two pillars measured at two cubits high?
  2. Why were there four hundred pomegranates on the two networks? What is the significance of the ninety-six pomegranates (out of the one hundred on each row) being exposed to the air and the remaining four being hidden?

85. The Builder of the Pillars—the Skillful Hiram (1)

  1. What is the significance of Hiram's mother being of the daughters of Dan and Hiram's father being from Tyre?
  2. Why must the "Tyrian father" die and the "Danite mother" be widowed? Give an example of this from your experience.

86. The Builder of the Pillars—the Skillful Hiram (2)

  1. Explaim Hiram's mysterious transfer to the tribe of Naphtali. What does it mean practically that the "Tyrian father" must die? Apply this to your experience.
  2. What does it mean for the "Danite mother" to remain a widow, and what is a practical prayer to apply this point? Why did Hiram as a transformed Naphtalite need to be fetched out of Tyre to Jerusalem?

87. Being Transformed (8)

  1. How do we see the matter of transformation in the first aspect of becoming a pillar in the New Testament? What is the crucial matter here?
  2. How is transformation indicated in keeping the word of the Lord and not denying His name?

88. The Way to Be Perfected as a Pillar

  1. How does being perfected as pillars for the Lord's move relate to being in today's Bethel and in the ministry that is responsible for the one flow?
  2. What is the secret to being perfected to be a strong pillar for the Lord's move? Explain how this relates to feasting on the positive things and not being occupied with the negative things.

89. Being Transformed (9)

  1. What is the definition of the drink offering and what is the significance of Jacob pouring the drink offering upon the pillar?
  2. How may we become such a drink offering, and what is the drink offering for?

90. Being Transformed (10)

  1. What is the significance of the death of Rachel? What does Rachel represent and how does this dealing bring forth Christ?
  2. What is the significance of the defilement of Jacob's concubine and what are two issues following Jacob's deeper and more personal dealings?

91. The Three Paillars and the One Tower in Jacob's Life

  1. Describe the three sections of Jacob's life as seen in the testimony of the three pillars. What does the pillar on the way to Bethlehem mean in our experience today?
  2. What does the tower of Eder signify? What warning does it give us?

92. The Process of Maturity (1)

  1. How do we see the fulfillment of Genesis 1:26 in the life of Jacob?
  2. How did God make Jacob mature? What does it mean to be mature?

93. The Process of Maturity (2)

  1. How is maturity different from transformation?
  2. Why did God have to "empty" Jacob? What did this accomplish?

94. The Manifestation of Maturity (1)

  1. Explain why Jacob's heart became numb and his spirit revived.
  2. What were the six signs of Jacob's maturity? What was the strongest sign of Jacob's maturity, and what did this indicate about him?

95. Blessing

  1. What are the principle and the meaning of blessing?
  2. What does Jacob's crossing of the hands to bless Joseph's children signify?

96. The Shiftings of the Birthright in the Scripture

  1. What are the five cases of the birthright being shifted in the Scriptures?
  2. Why did Israel lose the birthright? What does the birthright give us today?

97. The Manifestation of Maturity (2)

  1. What are the four requirements of prophesying with blessing?
  2. What kind of person should we be to prophesy with blessing?

98. The Manifestation of Maturity (3)

  1. How is Reuben's loss of the birthright a warning to us?
  2. What does Levi's receiving the priesthood show us about our disposition? Explain how the scattering of Levi became a blessing.

99. The Manifestation of Maturity (4)

  1. What was Jacob's blessing of Judah? What does this show us concerning Christ? Explain what it means to bind our donkey to the vine.
  2. What was Jacob's blessing of Zebulun and Issachar?

100. The Spiritual Significance of the Blessing Prophesied Concerning Judah, Zebulun, and Issachar (1)

  1. From Jacob's blessing concerning Judah, how do we see the three main truths concerning Christ in the New Testament? Where are the seeds of these truths seen in Genesis?
  2. What are the three aspects of rest in the enjoyment of Christ's riches in life?

101. The Spiritual Significance of the Blessing Prophesied Concerning Judah, Zebulun, and Issachar (2)

  1. How are we able to interpret the prophecy concerning Zebulun to signify the preaching of the gospel?
  2. How do the four aspects of Jacob's blessing of Issachar apply to the church life? Explain the significance of Issachar being likened to a donkey couching between (rather than in) the sheepfolds.

102. The Manifestation of Maturity (5)

  1. Describe how Dan transitioned from a young lion to a horned snake. What is the present day application of this point? What was the result of Dan's actions both historically and in their future application?
  2. What does it mean to "execute the justice of the Lord" in the prophecy concerning Gad, and how can this be applied to us today?

103. The Spiritual Significance of Dan, Gad, Asher, and Naphtali

  1. Explain how the sequence of the blessings of the first four groups of tribes corresponds to church history and to our experience.
  2. Define "apostasy" as signified by the prophecy concerning Dan. Describe the recovery from apostasy as seen in the prophecy concerning Gad.

104. The Manifestation of Maturity (6)

  1. What is the significance of Joseph being referred to as "a son of a fruitful tree by a fountain whose branches run over the wall"?
  2. How does the prophecy concerning Benjamin reveal that we become God's dwelling place?

105. The Spiritual Significance of Joseph and Benjamin (1)

  1. What does it mean that Benjamin was a "tearing wolf" and how does this apply to us today?
  2. What is the key to our fruitfulness and victory according to Genesis 49:24?

106. The Spiritual Significance of Joseph and Benjamin (2)

  1. Jacob's prophecy regarding his twelve sons ends with a blessing that includes ten items. List the first eight items of blessing.
  2. What is the significance of the "precious fruits brought forth by the sun" in Deuteronomy 33:14? Describe how we can enjoy these fruits. What is the proper way to experience the "precious things of the earth and its fullness" in Deuteronomy 33:16?

107. The Spiritual Significance of Joseph and Benjamin (3)

  1. Describe the significance of the ninth blessing in Genesis 49:25—the blessings of the breasts and of the womb—especially as compared to the first eight blessings.
  2. What is the consummation of universal blessing in Genesis 49, and how can we participate in its reality?

108. The Ultimate Consummation of God's Operation in the Bible

  1. What determines whether a person or thing is new or old? How can we have a foretaste of the blessing of newness today?
  2. Explain how the tabernacle of God is with men both individually and corporately.

109. The Manifestation of Maturity (7)

  1. What is the signficance of Jacob's request for Joseph to put his hand under Jacob's thigh?
  2. What was the manner of Jacob's burial, and what does it signify?

110. The Reigning Aspect of the Matured Israel (1)

  1. Describe the relationship between Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Joseph as it relates to our Christian experience. How does the aspect of Joseph as a type of Christ fit into this experience?
  2. What was Joseph's view of his brothers, and how does this eternal heavenly view affect our experience of life? Relate Joseph's dream of the sheaves of life to Balaam's prophecy in Numbers 23:21.

111. Joseph's Living Corresponding with His Vision

  1. In what way did Joseph's vision cause him to live as a sheaf of life?
  2. In what way did Joseph's vision cause him to live as a star of light? What was the result of such a living under the heavenly vision?

112. The Reigning Aspect of the Matured Israel (2)

  1. In what way are Joseph's betrayal and imprisonment types of Christ? How do these experiences apply to our experience of life?
  2. What is the secret of our enjoyment of our "imprisonment," that is, the secret of what we should do during our period of "imprisonment"?

113. The Reigning Aspect of the Matured Israel (3)

  1. How is Joseph a type of Christ in being raised from the prison of death? Apply the significance of Joseph receiving glory and gifts—the ring, the garments, and the gold chain—to our experience.
  2. How does Joseph's name, Zaphenath-paneah, meaning a revealer of secrets, a sustainer of life, and savior of the world, typify Christ? How does Asenath, Joseph's wife, typify the church?

114. The Secret of Joseph's Release and Exaltation

  1. What three things were accomplished by Joseph's speaking by faith? Apply them to our life experience in the Lord.
  2. How does Joseph's life as a life of dreams apply to our experience in the church life?

115. The Reigning Aspect of the Matured Israel (4)

  1. What are the first four aspects related to the recognition of Christ by the children of Israel revealed in Genesis 41:56—42:38? Where possible, apply this to our experience in the church life.
  2. What are the second four aspects related to the recognition of Christ by the children of Israel revealed in Genesis 41:56—42:38? Explain how Christ's showing love to Israel is because He needs them and similarly how the Lord needs us.

116. Joseph's Dealing with His Brothers

  1. In Genesis 42 what are four items in the line of Joseph's personal life that are on the line of life? How do these items help us to know the way of life?
  2. How is the record of Joseph's life a revelation of the rulership of the Spirit? Apply this revelation to our leadership and shepherding of the saints.

117. The Reigning Aspect of the Matured Israel (5)

  1. What are four additional items of Joseph as a type of Christ that portray the relationship between Christ and the nation of Israel?
  2. How does the story of Joseph's being recognized by his borthers relate to our experience of knowing the Lord today?

118. The Reigning Aspect of the Matured Israel (6)

  1. What four additional aspects of Joseph as a type of Christ do we see in this message?
  2. Concerning the line of life, how do we see Joseph's maturity in life manifested in the control of his temper and his emotion? How do we apply this to our own experience?

119. The Reigning Aspect of the Matured Israel (7)

  1. What two further aspects of Joseph as a type of Christ do we see in this message?
  2. How are Joseph's self-denial and life of restriction under God's sovereign hand the key to the practice of the kingdom life?

120. The Reigning Aspect of the Matured Israel (8)

  1. How does Joseph's reign typify four things that Christ will do in the millennium? How was Joseph able to have such a supply of life to feed others, and how should we apply this principle to our living?
  2. What are the four kinds of prices that the people had to pay to purchase the supply from Joseph's storehouse? How does the last payment, the ultimate price, bring us into the top portion as a picture of the millennium?