晨興聖言-經歷、享受並彰顯基督(W23-3)

第二十三週.週三

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晨興餧養

弗五2 『也要在愛裏行事為人,正如基督愛我們,為我們捨了自己,作供物和祭物獻與神,成為馨香之氣。』

     8 『你們從前是黑暗,但如今在主裏面乃是光,行事為人就要像光的兒女。』

保羅在以弗所五章二節發出了…一個命令:『也要在愛裏行事為人。』恩典與實際(真理)怎樣是四章十七至三十二節基本的元素,愛與光(五8913)照樣是五章一至三十三節使徒勸勉的基本元素。恩典是愛的發表,愛是恩典的源頭。真理是光的啟示,光是真理的根源。神是愛,也是光。(約壹四8,一5。)當神在主耶穌身上得彰顯並被啟示時,祂的愛就成了恩典,祂的光就成了真理。我們在主裏面接受了作恩典的神,並實化了作真理的神之後,就來到祂這裏享受祂的愛和光。愛和光,比恩典和真理更深。因此,使徒首先以恩典和真理,然後以愛和光,作為他勸勉的基本元素。這含示他要我們日常的行事為人長得更深,從外面的元素長到裏面的元素。(以弗所書生命讀經,五一○頁。)

信息選讀

愛是神內在的本質,光是神外顯的元素。神內在的愛是可感覺的,神外顯的光是可看見的。我們在愛裏的行事為人,該由神愛的本質和光的元素二者所構成。這該是我們行事為人內在的源頭,這比恩典和真理更深。

保羅囑咐我們要在愛裏行事為人,正如基督愛我們,『為我們捨了自己,作供物和祭物獻與神,成為馨香之氣。』(弗五2。)在以弗所四章三十二節,使徒擺出神作我們日常生活的模型。在這裏,他陳明基督作我們生活的榜樣。那裏是神在基督裏作我們的模型,因為那一段是以彰顯在耶穌生活中神的恩典和實際(真理)為基本的元素。按照三十二節,我們要饒恕人,正如神在基督裏饒恕了我們一樣。這意思是說,神就是饒恕的模型。但在五章這裏是基督自己作我們的榜樣,因為這一段是以基督對我們所顯出的愛,(225,)以及基督所照在我們身上的光,(14,)為基本的元素。在這裏,那愛我們,為我們捨了自己的基督,乃是在愛裏行事為人的榜樣。

保羅說,基督『愛我們,為我們捨了自己,作供物和祭物獻與神,成為馨香之氣』。在聖經裏,供物和祭物之間有所不同。供物是為著與神交通,祭物是為著得贖脫罪。基督為我們捨了自己,作供物使我們與神有交通,也作祭物贖我們脫離罪。…基督愛我們,為我們捨了自己。這雖是為我們,卻是獻與神的馨香之氣。我們照祂的榜樣在愛裏行事為人,不該僅是為別人,也該是獻與神的馨香之氣。

保羅在以弗所五章八節說,『你們從前是黑暗,但如今在主裏面乃是光,行事為人就要像光的兒女。』我們從前不僅是黑暗的,並且就是黑暗本身。如今我們不僅是光的兒女,並且就是光本身。(太五14。)光就是神,照樣,黑暗就是撒但。我們從前是黑暗,因為那時我們與撒但是一;現今我們是光,因為我們在主裏與神是一。…神是光,所以我們這些神的兒女,也是光的兒女。我們如今在主裏面既是光,行事為人就要像光的兒女。〔弗五8。〕

以弗所五章十節說,『要驗證何為主所喜悅的。』這句話與八節有關。我們行事為人不該愚昧、盲目或無知,乃要像光的兒女,驗證何為主所喜悅的。(以弗所書生命讀經,五一○至五一一、五一四、五一七頁。)

參讀:以弗所書生命讀經,第五十篇。

WEEK 23 — DAY 3

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Morning Nourishment

Eph. 5:2 And walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.

          8 For you were once darkness but are now light in the Lord; walk as children of light.

In Ephesians 5:2 Paul issues [a] commandment: “Walk in love.” As grace and reality (truth) are the basic elements in 4:17-32, so love (5:2, 25) and light (vv. 8, 9, 13) are the basic elements in the apostle’s exhortation in 5:1-33. Grace is the expression of love, and love is the source of grace. Truth is the revelation of light, and light is the origin of truth. God is love and light (1 John 4:8; 1:5). When God is expressed and revealed in the Lord Jesus, His love becomes grace and His light becomes truth. After we have, in the Lord Jesus, received God as grace and realized Him as truth, we come to Him and enjoy His love and light. Love and light are deeper than grace and truth. Hence, the apostle first took grace and truth as the basic elements for his exhortation, and then love and light. This implies that he wanted our daily walk to grow deeper, to progress from the outward elements to the inward. (Life-study of
Ephesians, pp. 409-410)

Todays Reading

Love is the inner substance of God, whereas light is the expressed element of God. It is possible to sense the love of God inwardly, and it is possible to see the light of God shining out. Our walk in love should be constituted of both the loving substance and the shining element of God. These should be the inner source of our walk. They are deeper than grace and truth.

Paul commands us to walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and “gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor” (Eph. 5:2). In 4:32 the apostle presented God as the pattern of our daily walk. Here he set forth Christ as the example for our living. There it is God in Christ as our pattern, since in that section God’s grace and reality (truth) expressed in the life of Jesus are taken as the basic elements. According to 4:32, we are to forgive others as God in Christ has forgiven us. This means that God is the pattern of forgiveness. But in chapter 5 Christ Himself is our example, since in this section love expressed by Christ to us (vv. 2, 25) and light shined by Christ upon us (v. 14) are taken as the basic elements. Here Christ, who loved us and gave Himself up for us, is the example of walking in love.

Paul says that Christ “gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor” [v. 2]. In the Bible there is a difference between an offering and a sacrifice. An offering is for fellowship with God, whereas a sacrifice is for redemption from sin. Christ gave Himself up for us as both an offering, that we might have fellowship with God, and a sacrifice, that He might redeem us from sin. In loving us, Christ gave Himself up for us. This was for us, but it was a sweet-smelling savor to God. In following His example, our walk in love should not be only something for others but also a sweet-smelling savor to God.

In verse 8 Paul says, “For you were once darkness but are now light in the Lord; walk as children of light.” We were once not only dark but darkness itself. Now we are not only the children of light but light itself (Matt. 5:14). As light is God, so darkness is Satan. We were darkness because we were one with Satan. Now we are light because we are one with God in the Lord. As God is light, so we, the children of God, are also the children of light. Because we are now light in the Lord, we should walk as children of light [Eph. 5:8].

Ephesians 5:10 says, “Proving what is well pleasing to the Lord.” This phrase is related to verse 8. We should not walk foolishly or blindly or ignorantly. Rather, we should walk as children of light, proving what is well pleasing to the Lord. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 410-411, 413, 415)

Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 50

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