Living in the Image of God, The Gospel

Binary Categorization at Judgment—Good or Evil

Living in the Image of God M07S07

This bible study discusses Christ binary categorization of a person based on performing or declining their individual responsibilities in human interactions and relationships. He categorizes as “good” (righteous) a person that he judges as “those who have done what is good.” In contrast, he categorizes as “evil” a person that he judges as “those who have done what is evil.” God will grant eternal life to every person that he judges as good but will condemn every person he judges as evil. Christ declares the categorization in an interaction documented in John 5:28–29. In another teaching, he tells the Parable of the Faithful and Wise Servant (Mathew 24:45–51) to explain that people that perform their individual responsibilities in human interactions are categorized good. The others are evil. In yet other teachings, he refers to the categories as “righteous” for the good and evil for the others. There is no middle category.

The study discusses Christ declaration of the categorization of people as good or evil (John 5:28–29) and his teaching in the Parable of the Faithful and Wise Servant (Mathew 24:45–51), where he explains the basis for the categorization. In other related teaching, he refers to the “good” category as righteous. Please see our previous study under M03S21, Righteous or Wicked in Parable of the Weeds.

Christ made the declaration as part of his response to Jews that had begun to persecute him based on their understanding that he was breaking the Sabbath (because he healed a blind man on the Sabbath) and that he called himself the Son of God: “For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” [John 5:18].

In a different interaction (Mathew 24:45–51), he tells the Parable of Faithful and Wise Servant to explain the basis for the categorization. There he describes the human relationship with God in terms of an interaction between a hypothetical master and one of his servants. In the parable, Christ describes the master’s judgment of the servant based on performing his responsibilities to the other servants while the master was away. The master judged the servant as “faithful and wise” if he performed his responsibilities to the other servants. In contrast, the master would judge the servant as “wicked” if he declined his responsibilities to the other servants.

In the Parable of Faithful and Wise Servant, the master represents God and the servant represents any person (any individual regarding his or her relationship with God). The other servants represent other people in human interactions with the subject person. Christ uses the relationship between the subject person and other people to model human relationship with God, whereby God places every person to represent him among other people—to be for the others what God would be for them if he lived with us in human form. Therefore, the parable describes human relationship with God regarding individual responsibilities in human interactions and relationships. Please see more discussion of individual responsibilities under M04S01 through M04S21.

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Living in the Image of God, The Gospel

The Art and Practice of Conversation Based on Jesus and Samaritan Woman

Living in the Image of God M07S05

An interaction between Jesus and a Samaritan woman illustrates how to hold a sustained, engaging, and fruitful conversation even with a person you are meeting for the first time. The bible account (John 4:1–26) starts with the two strangers meeting by Jacob’s well. Jesus was sitting by the well to rest from a tiring journey. The woman came to fetch water. We discuss their interaction to illustrate several points about holding a conversation toward understanding the art and practice of conversation.

We learn the following based on the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

  • Initiate a conversation with a simple subject likely to be familiar to either party.
  • The other party (receiving party) has to respond to keep the conversation alive. A conversation works like a tennis game. Having received the ball in your court, you have to play it back to the other court to continue the game.
  • Each response should address the previous contribution and add related information, generally increasing in complexity as the conversation proceeds.
  • Be responsive and respectful, even if you have to steer the conversation away from a subject.
  • However, be open to every subject in order to expand the conversation.
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Living in the Image of God, The Gospel

Believing in God and Living by the Truth of God

Living in the Image of God M07S03

The bible at John 3:16–21 describes two interdependent conditions for human relationship with God. The first is believing in God, salvation, and eternal life; through Jesus Christ the Son. The second is Living by the Truth of God, that is, Living according to God’s purpose for human interactions and relationships. The two conditions are interdependent and interwoven: believing in God calls for commitment to Living by the Truth of God, which, in turn, requires believing in God. The first condition defines the requirement for receiving the gift of God. The second defines commitment to using the gift of God toward accomplishing his purpose. This bible study discusses Christ teaching that God judges every person based on performance in the second condition. He uses the first condition to provide resources needed for the second; then, he judges every person based on their performance in the second, i.e., using the gift of God towards fulfilling God’s purpose for human interactions and relationships.

The bible study is anchored on John 3:16–21, which describes two interdependent conditions for human relationship with God. The first is believing in God, salvation, and eternal life; through Jesus Christ the Son: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” [John 3:16]. The second is Living by the Truth of God, that is, Living according to God’s purpose for human interactions and relationships: “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God” [John 3:21].

The two conditions are interdependent and interwoven: believing in God calls for commitment to Living by the Truth of God, which, in turn, requires believing in God. The first condition (believing in God) defines requirements for accessing resources that God provides to enable a person perform the second condition (Living by the Truth of God).

Christ teaching conveys a message that God judges every person based on their performance in the second condition—toward fulfilling God’s purpose for human interactions and relationships. We discuss his teaching regarding the requirement for receiving eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Also, we discuss his teaching regarding God’s binary categorization of people as righteous or wicked based on having shown themselves fit or unfit for his purpose in human interactions and relationships. Christ describes the categorization using the Parable of the Net, Parable of the Weeds, and Parable of the Sheep and the Goat.

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Living in the Image of God, The Gospel

Source and Use of Authority

Living in the Image of God M07S02

Christ interactions with Jews in Jerusalem regarding the basis for his authority provide a model for every person in an authority position. Always be prepared to explain the basis for your authority and ensure that your use of the authority is consistent with the basis and directed at making positive impact. In the event, Jesus used his authority to disperse people that used the temple courts for commercial purpose. Some Jews were not pleased and challenged him “to prove your authority to do all this,” like asking who are you that we should take this from you. We discuss his response as conveying a message that a person in authority position should always be prepared to explain the basis for his or her authority.

We discuss an event of Christ interactions with Jews in Jerusalem, to understand that a holder of authority regarding any aspect of human interactions should always be prepared to explain the basis for his or her authority and ensure that their use of the authority is consistent with the basis and directed at making positive impact. Jesus used his authority to disperse people that used the temple courts for commercial purpose. Some Jews were not pleased and challenged him “to prove your authority to do all this” [John 2:18]. His response conveys a message that you should always understand the source of your authority and be prepared to explain to those that could be affected by how you use it.

In the event in Jerusalem, Jesus noticed people misusing the temple courts and provided tough leadership to redirect them: “In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money” [John 2:14]. He used a whip to drive them away, scattered their wares and money, and scolded them for turning the house of God into a marketplace: “So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables” [John 2:15]. Some Jews challenged him to explain his authority. We discuss his response as conveying a message that a holder of authority should always be prepared to explain the basis for the authority.

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Living in the Image of God, The Gospel

Explicit and Inexplicit Parental Instruction and Request

Living in the Image of God M07S01

This bible study discusses interactions at the event of Jesus changing water into wine (John 2:1–12), to recognize and appreciate a child’s capability to understand an inexplicit parental request and a parent’s capability to understand a child’s inexplicit response to a parental request. The study begins a series on the Gospel according to John. At this event, the mother of Jesus asked him to recognize that the wine was finished, thus conveying an inexplicit request that he should do something about the wine supply. Jesus responded but did not explicitly agree or decline to do something. His mother recognized the manner of his response and advised the servants to be attentive and do whatever Jesus asked them to do.

The Banking Blessings Ministry 2026 program year will focus on understanding messages of human interactions and relationships contained in the Gospel according to John. The study begins with interactions at the event of Jesus changing water into wine, which illustrate an inexplicit request by Jesus’ mother Mary. Jesus recognized a need based on the parent’s information and provided an inexplicit response that conveyed to his mother a promise to consider doing something to alleviate the need.

As we discuss in a previous study under “Receiving Message from God through Parent”, God may alert a child to an opportunity by prompting the child’s parent to pass the information as parental instruction, advice, or request. The information could be delivered as part of normal parent-child interaction with neither the parent nor child recognizing at the time that the information contains a message from God to the child. The child will receive the message and progress toward the opportunity if he/she has a habit of listening to the parent with intent to understand and implement the parent’s information.

Two famous examples from the bible describe how a simple parental request sent a child to a mission of historical significance. In both cases, the parental request was explicit and the child understood the details and transitioned into the intended mission because of seeking to implement the parental instruction details. In one example, Jacob (also known as Israel) requested Joseph to go check on his brothers in the wilderness and report back. In the other example, Jessee requested David to go check on his brothers in the battlefield. Each child understood the instruction and was intent on completing the instruction. Seeking to complete the instruction put them in position to transition to the mission that God transmitted through the instruction.

The study is important to guide our understanding of a key parental responsibility in Family Training: i.e., training a child to understand parental instructions, advice, or requests. The parent should guide the child to listen to the parent with intent to understand and implement the parent’s information. Also, the parent should listen to the child’s feedback to be sure they understand the objective of a parent’s instruction, advice, or request.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Wealth, Treasures, and Compassion

Living in the Image of God M06S10

This bible study discusses Christ teaching regarding wealth, treasures, and compassion; to cap this year’s study series on using “what the Lord has given us” to provide for “needs that he will show us.” Christ gives the teaching in responding to the same question in two separate events. In each event, he was asked what an individual must do to inherit eternal life. In one event, Christ responds with the Parable of Good Samaritan. In the other event, he responds with the analogy of the “rich versus the kingdom of God.” We discuss the two responses to understand that they are the same. Although, the specific information that Jesus provides in each response is different, the responses convey exactly the same message: apply the wealth that God has given you to provide for needs that he will show you and he will grant you eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

This bible study ends the series on “what the Lord has given us;” with a discussion of Christ teaching regarding compassion, God’s purpose for personal wealth, and the role of compassion and wealth in human interactions and relationships. He provides the teaching as a response to the same question in two events. In one event, a teacher of the Law asked what a person must do to inherit eternal life [Luke 10:25]: “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” Jesus responds with the Parable of Good Samaritan. In another event, the same question was posed by an ordinary citizen [Matthew 19:16]: “Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’” Jesus responds with the analogy of “the rich versus the kingdom of God.”

We discuss the two responses to understand that they provide the same message. The two responses convey a message regarding compassion, God’s purpose for wealth, and the role of compassion and wealth in human interactions and relationships: apply the wealth that God has given you to provide for needs that he will show you and he will grant you eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

Program Note

The 2025 program year of the Banking Blessings Ministry ends with this bible study session. We will take a break to prepare for the 2026 program year, which we pray will start during the last week of February. Thank you for participating with us this year. We look forward to welcoming you and many others to the program next year.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Assessing Capability to Intervene

Living in the Image of God M06S09

We discuss Christ disciples feeding a crowd of thousands in the wilderness as an example in assessing capability to provide goods or service to address a need. The disciples recognized a need and cared about feeding a large crowd that had come to see Jesus. They assessed their capabilities and realized their resources would be overextended. They consulted with Jesus, in his dual role as their human leader and as God. They presented him with the problem and a proposed solution. Jesus challenged them to feed the crowd and provided a miracle, using the disciples’ human effort as channel for the miracle, by multiplying food that they provided, in a way beyond human imagination. To assess your capabilities regarding a need: evaluate your personal resources, provide opportunities for others to contribute, and include their potential contributions in the assessment. Focus on what you can humanly do, because God may use your human effort as channel for a miracle.

When you recognize a need that calls for your intervention and you are interested in doing what you can to alleviate the need, start by understanding the need and assessing your capabilities to intervene. Your capabilities include what you can raise from your personal resources and contributions from others. Although you consult with God in prayer continually and have faith of his potential intervention with miracle, you should not include miracles in assessing your capabilities.

The disciples did not count on miracles when they assessed that their resources would be overextended by feeding the crowd: “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” [Mark 6:37]. Based on their assessment, they presented their leader with a proposed solution: “Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” [Mark 6:36].

Jesus asked them to show what they could do, which they presented as a few loaves of bread and fish [Mark 6:38]: “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.” He blessed and multiplied the bread and fish to more than needed to feed the crowd, illustrating that God would often use your human effort as channel for miracles.

Therefore, to commit to doing what you can to alleviate a need, understand the need and assess your capabilities, counting what you can personally provide and what you can raise from contributions by others. However, count only your human capabilities. Do not include miracles, because only God will determine if and when to intervene with miracles.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Managing Personal Wealth—Christ Teaching in Sermon on the Mount

Living in the Image of God M06S08

The series on “what the Lord has given us” takes us this month to a Christ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount on managing personal wealth. God blesses individuals with personal wealth to be applied towards providing for needs that he will show them. Christ addresses personal wealth in the Sermon on the Mount through the teaching of “Treasures on Earth or In Heaven.” The teaching describes two alternatives for managing personal wealth. One alternative is to divert your wealth to building treasures on earth and risk losing all to circumstances you cannot control. The other alternative is to apply the wealth to provide for needs that God will show you and earn blessing as you do. Your earned blessings accumulate for your benefit and cannot be lost. The teaching leads to understanding the relationship between wealth and treasure and understanding blessing as a permanent promise of God.

This bible study discusses Christ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount regarding the management of personal wealth. He presents two alternatives: In one alternative, you divert your personal wealth to building treasures on earth and risk losing all to circumstances you cannot control: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” [Matthew 6:19]. In the other alternative, you use your personal wealth as God intended, to provide for needs that he will show you. You earn blessings as you do and the blessings you earn accumulate for your benefit and cannot be lost [Matthew 6:20]: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

The teaching conveys an understanding of the relationships between wealth and treasure. We will learn that owner’s intent is the primary feature that distinguishes wealth from treasure. God gives wealth but the owner (an individual person) can decide to divert the wealth to treasure by changing his/her intent regarding the wealth. Second, the teaching conveys an understanding of blessing as a permanent promise of God. You earn blessing when you use your personal wealth as God intended. The blessing you earn accumulates for your benefit and cannot be taken away or destroyed. As we discuss in previous studies (e.g., M02S06, Accumulation of Blessing; M02S07, Blessing Does Not Seek Perfection): blessing and punishment are parallel promises of God, may coexist for a person, do not trade-off against each other, and will be fulfilled separately by God’s schedule as if for different people. One exception is that God can forgive a promise of punishment if the recipient repents and asks for forgiveness.

Additionally, we discuss Paul’s message in a letter to Timothy: his message of banking blessing by using what the Lord has given you to provide for needs that he will show you (1 Timothy 6:17–19).

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Sermon on the Mount Teaching Regarding What the Lord Has Given Us

Living in the Image of God M06S07

In this bible study, we discuss Christ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount regarding “what the Lord has given us.” He provides the eye-for-eye teaching, love-your-enemies teaching, and a teaching on the motivation for assistance. He conveys a message through the teachings that God is pleased when you attend to a need that he has shown you, irrespective of your previous experience regarding the needy. Whether the needy is a friend or an enemy, God expects you to attend to the need with a pure motivation to alleviate the need.

We discuss Christ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount on using “what the Lord has given us” that you control to attend to needs that he will show you, irrespective of whether the need is for a friend or an enemy. We examine the eye-for-eye teaching (Matthew 5:38–42), love-your-enemies teaching (Matthew 5:43–48), and a teaching regarding the motivation for assistance (Matthew 6:1–4). The teachings provide a message that when God calls your attention to a need around you, he expects you to focus on recognizing and understanding the need and committing to doing what you can to alleviate the need. Respond to the need with a pure motivation to alleviate the need, even if the needy is your enemy.

A call for assistance by a friend will likely appeal to your goodwill and generosity. In contrast, an enemy’s call for assistance could be based on a claim of coercive authority over you. Christ teaching is that you should recognize the call for assistance and focus on doing what you can to alleviate the need. He used several examples to illustrate you should focus on the need and not whether the needy is a friend or enemy. In one example, he uses a law that existed at the time that a Roman soldier could ask any Jew to carry his [the soldier’s] gear for one mile. Christ said you should respond by carrying the gear for two miles: “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles” [Matthew 5:41]. That is, you recognize the soldier’s order as a call for assistance and respond by providing more than he had authority to compel from you.

Your only motivation for attending to a need should be that you care and seek to alleviate the need. Do not allow other motivation to influence the assistance you provide or how you provide it. For example, if you are influenced by a motivation to receive human recognition or accolade, then the recognition or accolade you seek is your reward even if not received. God is pleased when you assist others only because you care and seek to alleviate the need. Any other motivation does not please God.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Understanding Communal Purpose of Individual Blessing

Living in the Image of God M06S06

We learn from the life of Joseph (the 11th son of Israel) that understanding the communal purpose of individual blessing may entail lengthy and at times complicated human interactions with careful attention to the living experience of others. Joseph was blessed that he could bless his extended family. From a lowly position in his family in Canaan, he progressed to a position of highest executive authority in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He performed his responsibilities and accomplished the direct goals of his position. However, he did not know the purpose of his position and power in relation to his extended family in Canaan, until his brothers arrived in Egypt to buy food. Through lengthy and complicated interactions with them, he later understood that his individual blessing was a means to a great purpose for his extended family. He used his position in Egypt and good relationship with Pharaoh to protect his family (the young nation of Israel) from a severe and lengthy famine that ravaged the world. The events convey a message that understanding the communal purpose of your individual blessing would require human interactions with others, including sensitivity to needs of others; compassion; and a discerning mind to recognize when and how to intervene in events around you.

This bible study uses the life of Joseph (the 11th son of Israel) to learn that understanding the communal purpose of individual blessing may entail lengthy and at times complicated human interactions with careful attention to the living experience of others. Interactions with other people provide opportunities to understand them better, understand their needs and what you could do to alleviate the needs, and recognize when and how to intervene as determined by your capabilities and assessment of their capability to receive and positively utilize any favors extended to them.

The bible account of Joseph from his childhood in Canaan through the relocation of his extended family to Egypt tells of his incidental rise from a lowly position in his family in Canaan, through a position of highest executive authority in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He was appointed to the position to run a program of grain collection and preservation during a period of abundance, and distribution during a following period of severe famine. The appointment was based on his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams regarding a seven-year period of abundance followed by a seven-year period of severe famine. He performed his responsibilities and accomplished the direct goals of his position. He had great power and personal wealth in Egypt but did not know the purpose of his position and power in relation to his extended family in Canaan, until his brothers arrived in Egypt to buy food.

Through lengthy and complicated interactions with them, he later understood their need and what he could do to alleviate the need. He understood how to harness his individual blessing to benefit his extended family. He used his position in Egypt and good relationship with Pharaoh to protect his family (the young nation of Israel) from the famine. The bible declares his understanding as follows [Genesis 45:4–7]: “Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.’”

The life of Joseph and his interactions with his brothers in Egypt convey a message that understanding the communal purpose of your individual blessing could entail lengthy and at times complicated human interactions with others. The interactions would require sensitivity to needs around you; compassion, that is seeking to do something to alleviate the suffering of others; and a discerning mind to recognize those that could be relied upon to utilize positively the blessing extended to them, in order to prioritize to reach those more likely to advance the fulfillment of God’s purpose.

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