创二9　 耶和华神使各样的树从地里长出来，可以悦人的眼目，也好作食物；园子当中有生命树，还有善恶知识树。

　　 17 只是善恶知识树上的果子，你不可吃，因为你吃的日子必定死。

　　神创造人之后，……要人活着是靠着神，像人活着是借着粮食一样。“因我们生活、行动、存留都在于祂。”〔徒十七28〕……生命树和善恶知识树，乃是一种寓言，在这里就是给我们看见，人有两种不同的粮食：人所以能够活着，或者是借着生命，或者是借着善恶知识，或者说是借着分别是非。创世记二章的两棵树，有许多人已经读过；但是，我们所注意的是，这两棵树摆在这里，是要给我们看见，人活在世界上，特别是基督徒活在世界上，是凭着两种不同的原则而生活：人活着，也许是凭着是非，也许是凭着生命。有的人作基督徒，他生活的原则是以是非为定准；有的人作基督徒，他生活的原则是以生命为定准（倪柝声文集第三辑第十册，一八五至一八六页）。

　　Gen. 2:9 And out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, as well as the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

　　17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of it you shall not eat; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

　　After God created man…God wanted man to depend on Him for his living in the same way that he was dependent upon food for his living. “For in Him we live and move and are” (Acts 17:28)…The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil are a kind of parable. They show us that man has two different kinds of food and can live either by life or by the knowledge of good and evil, that is, the knowledge of right and wrong. Many people have read about the two trees in Genesis 2, but we would like to emphasize that the two trees were put there to show us that man, especially a Christian, can live on earth according to two different principles. Man can live according to the principle of right and wrong or according to the principle of life. Some Christians take the principle of right and wrong as the standard for their living, while other Christians take the principle of life as their standard for living. (CWWN, vol. 56, “Two Principles of Living,” pp. 418-419)

　　什么叫作一个人凭着是非来活着，什么叫作一个人凭着生命来活着？有许多人，在他的生活里，只有善恶知识树。有许多人，在他的生活里，有生命树。有的人在他的生活里两种都有。但是，神的话是告诉我们，吃善恶知识树的必定死，吃生命树的必定活。神也给我们看见，凡人借着善恶知识树来活着的，要失去他的地位；人如果要在神面前一直继续活着，他就必须知道什么叫作吃生命树的果子。

　　在这里，我愿意在这两个之外，再加上一个生活的原则，那一个生活的原则叫作罪恶。你能够说，全世界的人，今天他生活的原则最少有三个：人或是凭着罪恶来活着，人或是凭着是非来活着，人或是凭着生命来活着。

　　这是什么意思？意思很简单。有许多人活在世界上，是随着肉体邪情的私欲。他们本是可怒的儿女，受今世风俗的捆绑，随着心中运行的邪灵来行事为人；他们生活的原则，是凭着罪恶来活着（弗二1~3）。这个，今天……我不提。我相信许多人在我们中间已经脱离了罪恶的原则。在罪恶的原则之外，就是我们今天……所要看的，这两棵树所代表的两个生活的原则。人作基督徒之后，有的人是凭着是非来活着，有的人是凭着生命来活着。

　　我讲到这一个问题的时候，我有一个假定，就是说，你们已经脱离了罪恶的原则，你们已经在神面前走前面的路。你们如果看，就能够看见，有的人他生活的原则，是凭着是非，是凭着善恶。请你记得，是非的原则，善恶的原则，不是基督徒的信仰。基督徒的信仰是讲生命，不是讲标准；基督徒的信仰是讲生命，不是讲善恶；基督徒的信仰是讲生命，不是讲是非。今天……有许多少年的弟兄，有许多少年的姊妹，当你接受主耶稣之后，得着新的生命之后，我告诉你，你里面有顶希奇的一件事，就是：多了一个生命的原则。但是，你如果不知道，你就会把那个生命的原则摆在一边，而起首学习跟从是非的原则（倪柝声文集第三辑第十册，一八六至一八七页）。

　　参读：神圣的经纶，第四至五章。

　　What does it mean when a person lives according to right and wrong? What does it mean when a person lives according to life? Many people only have the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in their lives. Other people have the tree of life in their lives. Some have both trees. The Word of God tells us, however, that he who eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil shall surely die, while he who eats of the tree of life shall live. God also shows us that whoever lives by the knowledge of good and evil will lose his position before God. If man wants to constantly live before God, then he must know what it means to eat the fruit of the tree of life.

　　Here, I would like to add another principle for living: the principle of sin. You could say that everyone in the world can live according to at least three principles: they can live by sin, or they can live by right and wrong, or they can live by life.

　　What does this mean? It is very simple. Many people live on earth by following the lusts of their flesh. They are sons of wrath who are bound by the fashions of the world. They live and act according to the operation of the evil spirits in their hearts. Their principle for living is that they live by sin (Eph. 2:1-3)… I do not want to speak about this principle. I believe that many among us have already left the principle of sin. What we will consider this morning is apart from the principle of sin. These two trees represent two principles of living. After becoming Christians, some people live by the principle of right and wrong, while others live by the principle of life.

　　In speaking about this matter, I am making the assumption that we have already left the principle of sin and are walking before God. If we would consider a little, we would see that some people live according to the principle of right and wrong or good and evil. Please remember that the principle of right and wrong, the principle of good and evil, is not Christianity. Christianity is a matter of life, not of being according to a standard. Christianity speaks of life, not of good and evil. Christianity teaches life, not right and wrong. There are many young brothers and sisters here this morning. I would like to tell you that after you received the Lord Jesus and gained a new life, you gained something marvelous inwardly. You obtained another principle of living. But if you do not know about it, you will set the principle of life aside and begin to follow the principle of right and wrong. (CWWN, vol. 56, “Two Principles of Living,” pp. 419-420)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “The Divine Economy,” chs. 4-5