晨興聖言-活在神國的實際裏(W4-綱要)

第四週　國度的操練為著召會的建造

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讀經：太十六16∼18，21∼28

【週　一】

壹　馬太十六章啟示召會建造的路，也啟示這建造的仇敵：

一　基督，活神的兒子，要在祂自己這磐石上，並以彼得這樣經過變化的人為石頭，建造召會—16∼18節。

二　陰間的門，就是撒但黑暗的權勢或能力，攻擊召會，要攔阻主建造召會—18節。

三　主要建造召會，就必須經過死並進入復活—21節：

1　召會是藉著基督的死與復活產生的—約十二24。

2　建造召會的路，乃是藉著釘死和復活—參林後四10∼12，加二20。

3　惟有藉著釘死而在復活的範圍裏，召會纔存在並得著建造—創二21∼22，參弗四15∼16。

四　彼得憑好心責勸主，想要阻止主去耶路撒冷釘十字架—太十六22：

1　攔阻主建造召會的不是彼得，乃是從陰間的一個門（就是從彼得的己這個門）出來的撒但—23節。

2　撒但乃是從己、心思和魂生命這幾個主要的門出來，攻擊並破壞召會—23∼26節。

【週　二】

貳　召會的建造，在於運用三把鑰匙關上陰間的門—24∼26節：

一　我們需要學習運用否認己這把鑰匙—24節：

1　肉體乃是被罪這撒但的性情所敗壞之受造的身體；（羅六12，14，七8，11，17，20；）己是受造的魂加上屬撒但的心思，也就是撒但的心思。

2　當撒但的心思、思想注射到人的魂裏，人的魂就成了己，就是撒但的具體表現—創三1∼6，太十六22∼23：

ａ　夏娃把善惡知識樹的果子喫進她身體裏以前，撒但的思想、心思就已經注射到她的魂裏。

ｂ　夏娃的心思被撒但的思想所毒化之後，她的情感就被挑動；接著，她運用意志作了決定，要喫知識樹上的果子。

ｃ　到這時候，她魂的每一部分—心思、情感和意志—都被毒化了。

ｄ　己是魂生命的具體表現，魂生命又藉著心思發表出來；因此，己、魂生命和心思乃是三而一的。

ｅ　這三者背後乃是撒但，他操縱己，為要破壞召會—23節。

【週　三】

3　己就是那向神宣告獨立的魂：

ａ　主不看重我們所作的，乃看重我們倚靠祂—七21∼23，參書九14。

ｂ　基督身體的仇敵就是己；因著己是獨立的，所以己是基督身體建造最大的難處，最大的攔阻和反對。

ｃ　我們不僅要倚靠神，也要倚靠身體，倚靠弟兄姊妹—出十七11∼13，徒九25，林後十一33。

ｄ　主和身體乃是一；因此，我們若倚靠身體，也就倚靠主，我們若向身體獨立，我們向著主就自然而然是獨立的。

ｅ　當我們倚靠時，己就消失，我們就沒有己，而有主的同在，並且滿了平安。

ｆ　只有當己的生命藉著十字架完全被對付，我們纔能摸著基督身體的實際而認識身體。

【週　四】

4　以下是己的一些表顯（見詩歌六二八首，第五、六節）：

ａ　野心、驕傲與自高—太二十20∼28，彼前五5，羅十二3，民十二1∼10，十六1∼3，腓二3∼4。

ｂ　自義、自是，以及暴露、批評和定罪別人—太九10∼13，路十八9∼14，彼前四8，約三17，八11，路六37，太七1∼5。

ｃ　內顧自己與輕看自己—歌二8∼9，林前十二15∼16。

ｄ　當我們在己裏，就會被召會、帶領的人或聖徒得罪—太六14∼15，十八21∼35，可十一25∼26，西三13。

ｅ　失望與灰心—參羅八28∼29，林後四1。

ｆ　自愛、保留自己、自私自利、以及自憐—太十三5，20∼21。

ｇ　發怨言與起爭論—出十六1∼9，腓二14。

ｈ　基於天然口味和偏愛的天然感情（友誼）—太十二46∼50，腓二2下，林前十二25。

ｉ　固執己見與持異議—約十一21，23∼28，39，徒十五35∼39，參林前七25，40。

ｊ　當我們在己裏，我們就是個人主義與獨立的—十六12。

5　我們若運用否認己的鑰匙來鎖住己，我們就不可能被得罪；不被得罪的人有福了—參路二三34，徒七60：

ａ　假如我們會被得罪，就證明我們滿了己。

ｂ　如果我的己被鎖住了，就無論你對我作甚麼，或者怎樣對待我，我都不會被得罪—路二三34，徒七60。

6　我們需要學習，在各種情況中運用否認己的鑰匙來鎖住己：

ａ　不管遇到順境或逆境，不管弟兄們是愛我們或恨我們，我們都必須鎖住己—林後十二15。

ｂ　假如己被鎖住，召會就會得著建造。

【週　五】

二　我們需要學習運用背十字架這把鑰匙—太十六24：

1　背起十字架意思就是接受神的旨意；十字架就是神的旨意—二六39，約十八11：

ａ　主耶穌不是像犯人一樣，被逼去釘十字架；祂乃是心甘情願去的，因為十字架是神的旨意—太二六39。

ｂ　主耶穌願意釘十字架，使生命能藉著祂的死釋放出來，好產生並建造召會—約十二24。

ｃ　十字架對主來說是極大的受苦，但祂不在乎這種受苦，乃在乎完成神的定旨—來十二2，西一24。

2　『就當…背起他的十字架』（太十六24）的意思是，我們不是被迫背十字架，乃是甘願背十字架：

ａ　我們的丈夫、妻子、和兒女是神的旨意，因此是我們的十字架。

ｂ　獨一的召會是神的旨意，在召會中每一位弟兄和姊妹也是神的旨意；因此，背十字架就是背負召會，並背負所有的聖徒，使我們有真正的一—約十七21∼23，弗四3，13，林前一10，腓二2。

3　我們不僅需要背起我們的十字架，也要背著我們的十字架，也就是留在十字架上，天天把我們的舊人留在十字架的了結裏—路十四27，羅六6，加二20，腓三10，林前十五31：

ａ　我們已經藉著主的釘十字架接受了神聖的生命；現今我們要在這生命裏得著建造，就需要甘願並快樂的背起十字架。

ｂ　我們不該顧到我們的口味、感受或感覺；相反的，我們只該顧到神的旨意，就是要有真正的一—約十七21∼23，弗四3，13，林前一10，腓二2。

【週　六】

三　我們需要學習運用喪失魂生命這把鑰匙—太十六25：

1　救魂生命，就是讓魂得著享受，而取悅己；喪失魂生命，就是使魂失去享受：

ａ　神乃是將人創造成一個需要享受的魂。（創二7。）

ｂ　接受神到人的靈裏並藉著魂彰顯神，應該是人的喜樂和娛樂—參尼八10，羅十四17。

ｃ　主耶穌在今世喪失魂的享受，使祂在來世可以得著祂的魂生命；（約十11，賽五三12；）我們也必須如此行。（約十二24∼26。）

ｄ　我們若在今世救我們的魂生命，就要在來世喪失魂生命，但我們若在今世喪失魂生命，就要在來世得著魂生命—太十六25。

ｅ　我們需要愛主耶穌，恨惡並否認我們的魂生命，雖至於死也不愛自己的魂生命—林前十六22，二9，路十四26，九23，啟十二11。

2　我們若願意為主、為召會、並為眾聖徒的緣故，喪失我們現今一切屬魂的享受，別人就要得我們的餧養，並藉著我們得建造；這不是受苦，乃是喜樂—來十二2。

3　在國度實現時得著國度賞賜，得以分享王治理全地的喜樂，乃在於我們今世是救自己的魂生命或喪失自己的魂生命—太十六25∼28，二五21，23。

Week Four

The Exercise of the Kingdom for the Building Up of the Church

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Scripture Reading: Matt. 16:16-18, 21-28

§ Day 1

I. Matthew 16 reveals the way to build up the church and also reveals the enemy of the building:

A. Christ, the Son of the living God, builds the church on Himself as the rock, with stones such as Peter, a transformed person—vv. 16-18.

B. The gates of Hades, Satan's authority or power of darkness, attack the church to frustrate the Lord from building up the church—v. 18.

C. In order to build the church, the Lord had to pass through death and enter into resurrection—v. 21:

1. The church was produced through Christ's death and resurrection—John 12:24.

2. The way to build up the church is to be crucified and resurrected—cf. 2 Cor. 4:10-12;

Gal. 2:20.

3. The church exists and is built up only in the realm of resurrection through crucifixion—

Gen. 2:21-22; cf. Eph. 4:15-16.

D. Peter, with a good heart, rebuked the Lord and tried to prevent the Lord from going to Jerusalem to be crucified—Matt. 16:22:

1. It was not Peter but Satan who came out through one of the gates of Hades, the gate of

Peter's self, to try to frustrate the Lord from building up the church—v. 23.

2. The self, the mind, and the soul-life are the main gates through which Satan comes forth to attack and damage the church—vv. 23-26.

§ Day 2

II. The building up of the church depends on the shutting up of the gates of Hades through the exercise of three keys—vv. 24-26:

A. We need to learn to exercise the key of denying the self—v. 24:

1. The flesh is the created body corrupted by sin, the nature of Satan (Rom. 6:12, 14; 7:8, 11, 17, 20); the self is the created soul plus the satanic mind, the mind of  Satan.

2. When the mind, the thought, of Satan was injected into the human soul, the human soul

became the self, the embodiment of Satan—Gen. 3:1-6; Matt. 16:22-23:

a. Before Eve took the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil into her body,

the thought, the mind, of Satan was injected into her soul.

b. After Eve's mind was poisoned by Satan's thought, her emotion was aroused, and then her will was exercised to make a decision to eat of the fruit of the tree of

knowledge.

c. By this time every part of the soul—the mind, the emotion, and the will—had been

poisoned.

d. The self is the embodiment of the soul-life, which is expressed through the mind; thus,

the self, the soul-life, and the mind are three-in-one.

e. Behind these three is Satan, who manipulates the self in order to damage the church—v.

23.

§ Day 3

3. The self is the soul declaring independence from God:

a. The Lord does not have regard for what we do; rather, He has regard for our dependence on Him—7:21-23; cf. Josh. 9:14.

b. The enemy of the Body is the self; because the self is something independent, the self is the greatest problem, the greatest frustration and opposition, to the building up of the Body.

c. We should depend not only on God but also on the Body, on the brothers and sisters—

Exo. 17:11-13; Acts 9:25; 2 Cor. 11:33.

d. The Lord and the Body are one; hence, if we are dependent on the Body, we are also

dependent on the Lord, and if we are independent of the Body, we are spontaneously

independent of the Lord.

e. When we are dependent, the self is gone, and instead of the self, we have the Lord's

presence and are full of peace.

f. Only when the self-life has been utterly dealt with by the cross are we able to touch the

reality of the Body of Christ and come to know the Body.

§ Day 4

4. The following are some expressions of the self (see Hymns, #866, stanzas 5 and 6):

a. With the self there are ambition, pride, and self-exaltation—Matt. 20:20-28; 1 Pet. 5:5;

Rom. 12:3; Num. 12:1-10; 16:1-3; Phil. 2:3-4.

b. With the self there are self-righteousness, self-justification, and exposing, criticizing,

and condemning others—Matt. 9:10-13; Luke 18:9-14; 1 Pet. 4:8; John 3:17; 8:11;

Luke 6:37; Matt. 7:1-5.

c. With the self there are introspection and self-despising—S. S. 2:8-9; 1 Cor. 12:15-16.

d. When we are in the self, we can be offended by the church, the leading ones, or the saints—Matt. 6:14-15; 18:21-35; Mark 11:25-26; Col. 3:13.

e. With the self there are disappointment and discouragement—cf. Rom. 8:28-29; 2 Cor. 4:1.

f. With the self there are self-love, self-preservation, self-seeking, and self-pity—Matt. 13:5, 20-21.

g. With the self there are murmurings and reasonings—Exo. 16:1-9; Phil. 2:14.

h. With the self there is natural affection (friendship) based on natural taste and preference—Matt. 12:46-50; Phil. 2:2b; 1 Cor. 12:25.

i. With the self there are the matters of being opinionated and dissenting—John 11:21, 23-28, 39; Acts 15:35-39; cf. 1 Cor. 7:25, 40.

j. When we are in the self, we are individualistic and independent—16:12.

5. If we exercise the key of denying the self to lock up the self, it is impossible for us to be offended; blessed are those who are not offended—cf. Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60:

a. If we can be offended, it is proof that we are full of self.

b. If my self has been locked up, I will not be offended no matter what you do to me or how you treat me—Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60.

6. We need to learn to exercise the key of denying the self to lock up the self in every

situation:

a. Whether a situation is for us or against us, whether the brothers love us or hate us, we

must lock up the self—2 Cor. 12:15.

b. If the self is locked up, the church will be built up.

§ Day 5

B. We need to learn to exercise the key of taking up the cross—Matt. 16:24:

1. To take up the cross simply means to take up the will of God; the cross is God's will—

26:39; John 18:11:

a. The Lord Jesus was not forced to go to the cross like a criminal; He was willing to go

because the cross was God's will—Matt. 26:39.

b. The Lord Jesus was willing to be crucified so that through His death, His life might be

released to produce and build up the church—John 12:24.

c. The cross was a great suffering to the Lord, but He cared not for the suffering but for the fulfillment of God's purpose—Heb. 12:2; Col. 1:24.

2. Let him…take up his cross (Matt. 16:24) means that we are not forced to bear the cross

but that we willingly take it up:

a. Our husband, wife, and children are God's will and are therefore our cross.

b. The one church is God's will, and every brother and sister in the church is God's will; thus, to bear the cross is to bear the church and to bear all the saints so that we would have the genuine oneness—John 17:21-23; Eph. 4:3, 13; 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 2:2.

3. We need not only to take up our cross but also to carry our cross, that is, to remain on the cross, keeping our old man under the termination of the cross day by day—Luke

14:27; Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10; 1 Cor. 15:31:

a. We have received the divine life through the Lord's crucifixion; now, in order to be built up in this life, we need to willingly and happily take up the cross.

b. We should not care for our taste, feeling, or consciousness; rather, we should care only

for God's will, which is that we would have the genuine oneness—John 17:21-23; Eph. 4:3, 13; 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 2:2.

§ Day 6

C. We need to learn to exercise the key of losing the soul-life—Matt. 16:25:

1. To save the soul-life is to please the self by allowing the soul to have its enjoyment; to

lose the soul-life is to lose the enjoyment of the soul:

a. God created man as a soul (Gen. 2:7) with the need for enjoyment.

b. Receiving God into man's spirit and expressing God through the soul should be man's

joy and amusement—cf. Neh. 8:10; Rom. 14:17.

c. The Lord Jesus lost the enjoyment of His soul in this age so that He might find His soul-life in the coming age (John 10:11; Isa. 53:12); we must do the same (John 12:24-26).

d. If we save our soul-life in this age, we will lose it in the coming age, but if we lose our

soul-life in this age, we will find it in the coming age—Matt. 16:25.

e. We need to love the Lord Jesus and to hate and deny our soul-life, not loving our soullife

even unto death—1 Cor. 16:22; 2:9; Luke 14:26; 9:23; Rev. 12:11.

2. If we are willing to lose all our present soulish enjoyment for the Lord's sake, for the sake of the church, and for the sake of all the saints, others will be nourished by us and will be built up through us; this is not a suffering but a joy—Heb. 12:2.

3. The kingdom reward of sharing the King's joy in ruling over the earth in the manifestation of the kingdom depends upon whether we save our soul-life in this age or lose it—Matt. 16:25-28; 25:21, 23.