晨興聖言-基督徒的生活(W2-6)

第二週 • 週六

w02d06-ch

晨興餧養

羅十一17  …你這野橄欖得在其中接上去，一同有分於橄欖根的肥汁。

　　　24  你是…逆着性得接在栽種的橄欖樹上，何況這些天然的枝子，豈不更要接在自己的橄欖樹上麼？

 

照着神所命定的自然律，不是貧賤的生命影響豐富的生命，乃是豐富的生命影響貧賤的生命。事實上，豐富的生命會吞滅貧賤生命的一切缺點，因而變化貧賤的生命。同樣的原則，我們接枝到基督裏面的時候，基督就吞滅我們的缺點，但並沒有消除我們自己的生命。相反的，祂吞滅我們的缺點時，就將我們的人性拔高。祂將我們的心思、意志、情感和一切的美德全拔高了。

但願我們都對這事實有深刻的印象：基督徒的生命不是一件替換的事，乃是一件接枝的事。較低的生命，就是我們屬人的生命，接枝到較高的生命，就是神聖的生命裏面。較高生命吞滅了較低生命的缺點和輭弱…就使較低的生命豐富、拔高並變化。何等的美妙！…根據神的啟示，並根據我們的經歷，我們看見今天我們基督徒有一個奇妙的接枝生命（羅馬書生命讀經，七八三、七八七頁）。

信息選讀

接枝的生命…不是替換的生命。壞枝沒有把它可憐的生命交出去，以得着所接上之樹更豐富的生命。不！枝子仍保有它同樣素質的特徵，但因着接在較好的生命上，枝子的生命就被拔高並變化。

接枝的結果是甚麼？較好之樹的肥汁供應被接上的枝子，一切消極的成分就被除去。然後那枝子原有的功能就得恢復並加強。果子仍和接枝以前一樣，但問題的因素已經被勝過。我們是神接到基督裏的問題枝子。祂生命的肥汁進入我們裏面，帶走我們裏面一切可憐的元素。祂將神所給我們原初的功能拔高了，加強了，並且加上了豐富。然後自然而然我們全人就被浸透並變化，而結出美妙的果子。

羅馬書不是說到交換的生命或算的方法〔參六11〕。這接枝的生命，意思是無論我們缺少甚麼，只要我們被接在主耶穌這珍木上，祂超特的生命就要進入我們裏面（李常受文集一九七九年第一冊，三八一至三八二頁）。

優越的生命能吞滅低劣生命的缺點和短處。這就是說，神聖的生命能吞滅我們屬人生命的缺點和短處。這是可能的，因為在基督的生命裏有祂釘十字架的殺死能力。請記住：基督的生命已經經過了成為肉體、人性生活、釘十字架和復活的過程，如今祂的生命包含了這一切的成分。我們可以用抗生素來說明。抗生素怎樣殺死病菌，照樣，基督生命中殺死的元素，也了結我們裏面消極的東西。

我們可能寧願放棄我們屬人的生命，而以基督的生命來取代。我們可能覺得，我們的生命滿了『細菌』，所以喜歡用神聖的生命來取代。這可能是我們的方法，但卻不是神經綸的路。神的路乃是讓基督的生命吞滅我們裏面一切的缺點、短處和『細菌』。我們越告訴主耶穌，我們愛祂，願意與祂成為一，我們就越經歷這屬靈抗生素殺死的能力。

在基督的生命裏有一切我們所需要的元素。在祂的生命裏有殺死的元素，也有滋養的元素。你可能對你的性情感到失望，但是基督的生命會殺死你性情裏消極的元素；然後，基督不是把你的性情廢去，乃是拔高且使用你的性情（羅馬書生命讀經，七八五頁）。

參讀：李常受文集一九六八年第一冊，洛杉磯各種信息記錄，第八章。

WEEK 2—DAY 6

Morning Nourishment

Rom. 11:17 …You, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among [the branches] and became a fellow partaker of the root of fatness of the olive tree.

             24 For if you…were grafted contrary to nature into the cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree!

According to the natural law ordained by God, it is not the poor life that affects the richer life but the richer life that affects the poor life. In fact, the rich life will swallow up all the defects of the poor life and thus transform the poor life. In the same principle, when we are grafted into Christ, Christ swallows up our defects, but He does not eliminate our own life. On the contrary, as He swallows up our defects, He uplifts our humanity. He uplifts our mind, will, emotion, and all our virtues.

May we all be impressed with the fact that the Christian life is not a matter of exchange but a matter of grafting. A lower life, our human life, is grafted into a higher life, the divine life. The higher life swallows up the defects…of [and] enriches, uplifts, and transforms the lower life. How marvelous!…According to God’s revelation and according to our experience, we see that as Christians today, we have a wonderful grafted life. (Life-study of Romans, 2nd ed., pp. 639, 642-643)

Today’s Reading

This grafted life…is not an exchanged life. The inferior branch has not given up its poor life in order to get the richer life of the tree to which it is grafted. No. The branch still retains its same essential characteristics, but its life is uplifted and transformed by being grafted to the better life.

What are the results of the grafting? When the fatness of the better tree supplies the grafted branch, all the negative things are taken away. Then the original function of that branch is restored and strengthened. The fruit is still what it was before the grafting, but the problem factors have been overcome. We are the problem branches that God has grafted to Christ. The fatness of His life comes into us, carrying away all the poor elements in us. He uplifts the original function that God had for us,  strengthening and enriching it. Then naturally and spontaneously, our whole being is saturated and transformed, and a marvelous fruit comes forth.

Romans is not talking about an exchanged life or a reckoning method [cf. 6:11]. This grafted life means that whatever lack we have, as long as we are grafted into the precious tree of the Lord Jesus, His excellent life will come into us. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 1, “Life Messages, Volume 2,” pp. 285-286)

The divine life will swallow up the defects and shortages of our human life. This is possible because in Christ’s life there is the killing power of His crucifixion. Remember, Christ’s life has been processed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. Now His life includes all these ingredients. We may use antibiotics as an illustration of this. Just as antibiotics kill disease germs, so the killing element in the life of Christ terminates the negative things in us.

We may prefer simply to yield up our human life and have it be replaced with Christ’s life. We may feel that our life is full of “germs” and would therefore like it replaced by the divine life. This may be our way, but it is not God’s way in His economy. His way is for Christ’s life to swallow up all the defects, shortages, and “germs” within us. The more we tell the Lord Jesus that we love Him and that we want to be one with Him, the more we will experience the killing power in the spiritual antibiotics.

All the elements we need are available in Christ’s life. In His life there is the killing element as well as the nourishing element. You may be discouraged about your disposition. But Christ’s life will kill the negative element in your disposition, and then, instead of casting your disposition away, He will uplift it and use it. (Life-study of Romans, 2nd ed., p. 641)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1968, vol. 1, pp. 47-49