{"id":17038,"date":"2025-06-11T15:08:50","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T06:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/?post_type=manga&p=17038"},"modified":"2025-06-12T14:24:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T05:24:00","slug":"my-uchi-soto-lesson-5-manga","status":"publish","type":"manga","link":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/manga\/my-uchi-soto-lesson-5-manga\/","title":{"rendered":"Part 5: Grace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Doc:<\/strong> Hello everyone! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

G\u014d:<\/strong> I\u2019ll take that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino:<\/strong> Hey! That\u2019s my chocolate!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>You guys are looking well again today. Let\u2019s go ahead and get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of the worst person you know. What do you think they deserve?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya: <\/strong>Yeah, I would say terrorists that kill indiscriminately are pretty bad people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc:<\/strong> Okay, so what do you think people like terrorists or Hitler deserve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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G\u014d: <\/strong>I hope they go to hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino: I want them to be punished for what they did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What comes to mind when you hear the word \u201cgrace\u201d (megumi<\/em>)?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>I don\u2019t know, like, things that are given to us outside of our control or power? Like rain or sunshine?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

G\u014d: <\/strong>Yeah, people in Japan talk about \u201cmegumi<\/em> rain\u201d or \u201cthe megumi<\/em> of the earth\u201d, don\u2019t they? These expressions are all about crops and harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya:<\/strong> I feel like the love we receive from our families is also maybe what megumi<\/em> means. We say that some people are \u201cgraced\u201d with a happy home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doc: <\/strong>Right. Well the theme of today\u2019s conversation is \u201cgrace\u201d. Let\u2019s look at what the Bible says about grace. You remember how last time we read about the first humans, Adam and Eve, and how they sinned against God? This is commonly referred to as \u201cthe fall\u201d. We learned that the Bible understands sin in terms of relationship to God and his words or commands, and whether we respect them or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

G\u014d: <\/strong>Yes, the main point was that sin, rather than being about individual actions, is a problem of the heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc:<\/strong> Right! A heart that rejects God\u2019s authority and wants to decide for itself what is good and what is evil: that\u2019s <\/em>the essence of sin. We saw that \u201cknowing good and evil\u201d means determining what\u2019s right and what\u2019s wrong. According to the Bible, this is now the human default, and it is the root cause of what\u2019s wrong with humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doc: <\/strong>It would have been just for God to punish sin with immediate death. The Bible says that \u201cthe wages of sin is death\u201d. But did Adam and Eve die right then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>No, they didn\u2019t die. But they were thrown out of paradise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>Yes, after eating the fruit of the tree they would no longer \u201clive forever\u201d, although they didn\u2019t immediately die either, right? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doc: <\/strong>But while they may not have died physically, when they were cast out of the uchi<\/em> fellowship of paradise they did have a kind of spiritual death. They remained alive, sustained of course by God, but from now on, life would be different for them from how it was before the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya: <\/strong>Last time, we also saw God\u2019s kindness to them after they sinned, when he cut off their access to the tree of life, so that they might not always live in a condition of rebellion against him and under his judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>You remember well! And you\u2019re right…even though through this story we see that humans are unworthy to receive such kindness. I\u2019d like to look now at our Bible passage for today, because here too we see God\u2019s undeserved kindness to human beings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doc: <\/strong>G\u014d, would you please read Genesis 3:14-21 for us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Lord God said to the serpent,
\u201cBecause you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.\u201d
To the woman he said,
\u201cI will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
    but he shall rule over you.\u201d
And to Adam he said,
\u201cBecause you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
    \u2018You shall not eat of it,\u2019
cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man called his wife\u2019s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.<\/p>\nOld Testament, Genesis 3:14-21<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Doc: <\/strong>Thank you. Something I want you to notice from this passage is that the name, \u201cEve\u201d, sounds like the Hebrew word for life-giver.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What hints of God\u2019s undeserved favor to the man and woman can you find here?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>Hmm, I guess God giving them animal skins for clothing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>Yes, that\u2019s good. We didn\u2019t read this part of the Bible together, but at the end of Genesis chapter 2, before Adam and Eve sinned, it says, \u201cAnd the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.\u201d Then, immediately after Adam and Eve sin in chapter 3 verse 7, it says, \u201cThen the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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G\u014d: <\/strong>Animal skins are quite a step up from leaves!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>No mistake! These weren\u2019t just loincloths, but were much closer to actual clothing. Quite the step up, as you said! But the question is, where did these garments of skins come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya: <\/strong>Animal skins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>Okay. And these skinned animals: what do you think happened to them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>Well, I mean, they died, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doc: <\/strong>Exactly. The first death in the Bible is that of these skinned animals. Up until now, only plants had been given as food. I mentioned it a moment ago, but do you remember that the Bible says, \u201cthe wages of sin is death\u201d? And that God said, \u201cbut of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die\u201d? But instead here we see that animals die instead of Adam and Eve, and their sins are covered by this sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from the undeserved favor of these animal skins, is there any more grace on display here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya: <\/strong>Eve\u2019s name?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>Her name?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yoshiya: <\/strong>I mean, God said to them, \u201cyou shall surely die\u201d, but Adam gave his wife a name that sounds like the word for life-giver<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>That\u2019s good. Yes, it goes as far to say she will bear children, indicating that life will continue on from her. This is also undeserved favor. Anything else?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>You mean there\u2019s more?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

G\u014d: <\/strong>What about verse 15?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>Verse 15?? You\u2019ll have to explain that one to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>It says, \u201cI will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.\u201d These are God\u2019s words to the serpent. So who is the \u201cI\u201d in this sentence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>Okay. And the \u201cyou\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Iino: <\/strong>The serpent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>Exactly. The enmity between the offspring of the woman, and the offspring of the serpent is going to continue. At this point, the first humans are not dead, but evil isn\u2019t destroyed either, and so it\u2019s going to spread through the world. Now, we need to think about the Hebrew word for \u201coffspring\u201d used here. It\u2019s comparable to words like sheep<\/em> or fish<\/em> in English, in that it is used for both singular and plural nouns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya: <\/strong>So when it says, \u201che shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel\u201d, is it specifically pointing to one <\/em>of the woman\u2019s offspring?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>You got it. It is this \u201che\u201d that will bruise the head of the serpent. \u201cHe\u201d will deliver the fatal blow. But, we see that \u201che\u201d will also get hurt, right? It says the serpent will bruise his heel. This is a foretelling that one of the woman\u2019s descendants is going to defeat evil, but he is going to suffer for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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G\u014d: <\/strong>I remember this. What do you call it, again?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>This is known as the \u201cprotoevangelium\u201d or original gospel. This is the first place in the Bible that the gospel is announced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What questions remain about the relationship between God\u2019s justice and his mercy?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Iino:<\/strong> Adam and Eve were forgiven because of God\u2019s mercy, right? Well, I think it\u2019s fine that they were forgiven by an animal sacrifice, but Hitler? If he were forgiven just because an animal died that wouldn\u2019t be justice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yoshiya: <\/strong>I think that most people want forgiveness for the sins they have committed, but often look at the sins of others and demand justice and punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>I think you\u2019re right about that. The word \u201cgrace\u201d is used in the Bible with a range of meanings. But one of the most important meanings is \u201cunmerited favor\u201d. Adam and Eve were saved by grace. Now, later on in the Bible, we read God\u2019s \u201cself-introduction\u201d. Yoshiya, could you read Exodus 34:6-7 for us, please?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe Lord<\/strong>, the Lord<\/strong>, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.\u201d <\/p>\nOld Testament, Exodus 34:6-7<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>\u201cThe Lord<\/strong>\u201d in all capital letters here is referring to the God of the Bible. In the original Hebrew text, God\u2019s name means, \u201cI am\u201d. God\u2019s personal name is very mysterious, wouldn\u2019t you say?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there anything surprising to you about God\u2019s self-introduction?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

G\u014d: <\/strong>This passage says, \u201cForgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty\u201d… It sounds like God is a bit contradictory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya:<\/strong> Yeah, but it says that grace is to a thousand generations even though punishment is only to the third and the fourth generation. No matter how you look at it, God\u2019s grace seems much greater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doc: <\/strong>Exactly. God is merciful and gracious. How his grace and judgement can coexist is quite the puzzle. But when we enter into the New Testament, we\u2019re given the answer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you feel about the idea of God forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>It makes me think of God\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya: <\/strong>Forgiveness is no easy thing, is it? Japanese feudal lord Oda Nobunaga was the exact opposite of \u201cbeing merciful and gracious, slow to anger\u201d. In fact, he\u2019s famous for his temper. Lately, I\u2019ve been reading a historical novel. It\u2019s crazy what Nobunaga did back then out of anger; making people commit hara-kiri<\/em>, or killing them himself. He couldn\u2019t forgive. In fact, he was powerless<\/em> to forgive. I reckon that a God who forgives people must be a truly powerful God, and actually Oda Nobunaga, supposedly the most powerful man of his day, was powerless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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G\u014d:<\/strong> In forgiveness, the one forgiving is the one making the sacrifice, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>You\u2019ve hit the nail on the head! Back in the Bible verse, \u201ciniquity and transgression and sin\u201d are pretty much synonyms. Even so, there are slight distinctions among them. I\u2019ll explain using this pencil I have right here. Imagine God held this pencil and said, \u201cthis pencil is straight\u201d. In this case, the straight pencil represents God\u2019s law. \u201cIniquity\u201d is to bend the pencil, \u201ctransgression\u201d is to snap it in two, and \u201csin\u201d is to throw away the pencil and live as if it \u2013 God\u2019s law \u2013 never existed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How do you feel about the idea that God might forgive your sin?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

G\u014d: <\/strong>Thankful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>Me too, very thankful indeed. God gave Adam and Eve the hope of life, by clothing their nakedness in sacrificial garments, and by the promise of a descendent of Eve who would crush the serpent\u2019s head. God committed to a future solution to the problem of sin, according to his grace. Next time, we\u2019ll see how this promise has been fulfilled in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
The ESV Bible<\/em>. Crossway, 2001, www.esv.org\/.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"class_list":["post-17038","manga","type-manga","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manga\/17038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manga"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/manga"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}