晨興聖言-羅馬書五至八章...(W1-1)

第一週．週一

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晨興餧養

創二９　『耶和華神使各樣的樹從地裏長出來，可以悅人的眼目，也好作食物；園子當中有生命樹，還有善惡知識樹。』

羅五１　『若因一人的過犯，死就藉著這一人作了王，那些受洋溢之恩，並洋溢之義恩賜的，就更要藉著耶穌基督一人，在生命中作王了。』

我們可稱羅馬五至八章為聖經的核仁，其中有兩個關鍵辭重複使用，就是生命與死亡。在創世記二章，生命由生命樹代表，死亡由善惡知識樹代表。（9。）善惡知識樹的結果，實際上不是知識，乃是死亡。所以，我們可稱這兩棵樹為生命樹與死亡樹。…與這棵〔死亡樹〕有關的有三件事：善、惡、知識。我們都寶貴善和知識，但不喜歡惡。我們認為善與惡是兩個不同類別的東西。然而，聖經裏對善與惡的觀念不是這樣；聖經將善與惡放在同一類。…照著創世記二章，善和知識與惡相題並論。它們屬於一個家庭，乃是一同作工以帶進死亡的三『姊妹』；死亡當然與生命相對。（羅馬書生命讀經，五一三頁。）

信息選讀

見於創世記的項目，多半是在聖經別處得著發展的屬靈真理的種子，我們不該忽略它們。創世記二章有生命的種子與死亡的種子。但在啟示錄末了，我們看見這些種子的終極完成。死，最後的仇敵，被扔在火湖裏。（二十14。）生命在新耶路撒冷裏洋溢，因為在那裏我們看見生命水的河，有生命樹長在其中。（二二1～2。）新耶路撒冷從中心到圓周是生命的城。撒在聖經開頭的生命的種子，終極完成於生命的收成；而死亡的種子終極完成於死亡的收成。因為生命與死亡的種子在全本聖經裏生長，我們就能在聖經裏追溯生命線與死亡線。

創世記二章有一個三角關係，牽涉到神、人和撒但。在這章裏，人面臨兩個源頭：神這生命的源頭，與撒但這死亡的源頭。羅馬五至八章有這三角關係的繼續。至終，這三角關係會有兩個終極的結果。消極的事物要隨著死亡被掃進火湖裏，但積極的事物要隨著那些蒙了救贖的人流進活水的城裏。今天我們都朝著這終極總結前進，信徒向著新耶路撒冷，不信者向著火湖。許多基督徒在每天的經歷中，一腳在生命線上，另一腳在死亡線上。另有的基督徒則在二者之間游移不定。可能昨天你在死亡線上，但今天因著主的憐憫和恩典，你又在生命線上。

神的經綸不是善或惡、對或錯的事。不僅如此，神的經綸不是倫常的事。照著倫常的標準，我們該為善，不該作惡。然而，神的經綸全然是生命或死亡的事。在生命裏就是活出神，在死亡裏就是活出撒但。我們乃是戰場，神與撒但之間的宇宙戰爭，就在我們裏面猛烈進行。這戰爭的結果，乃斷定於我們將心思置於何處。我們若將心思置於己，因而與靈隔絕，撒但就得著地位。但我們若留在靈裏，並將心思置於靈，神就得著勝利。

我們必須靠著內住的靈，治死舊人的行為。這樣作就是活著。〔八13。〕讓我們為這點禱告，實行這點，並養成留在靈裏的習慣。我們越養成這習慣，就越要活著，且會離死亡越遠。（羅馬書生命讀經，五一四、五二三至五二四頁。）

參讀：羅馬書生命讀經，第三十三、三十八、五十篇。

WEEK 1 — DAY 1

Morning Nourishment

Gen. 2:9 …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.

Rom. 5:17 …By the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

In Romans 5 through 8, which we may call the kernel of the Bible, two key words are used repeatedly. These words are life and death. In Genesis 2 life is represented by the tree of life, and death, by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (v. 9). The issue of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is actually death, not knowledge. Therefore, we may call these trees the tree of life and the tree of death…There are three related things concerning this tree [of death]—knowledge, good, and evil. Although we all appreciate knowledge and good, we do not like evil. We consider good and evil to be in two distinct categories. The concept of good and evil in the Bible, however, is different; the Bible puts both good and evil in the same category…According to Genesis 2, knowledge and good are put together with evil. Belonging to one family, they are three “sisters” who work together to bring forth death, which is, of course, the opposite of life. (Life-study of Romans, p. 423)

Todays Reading

Most of the items found in Genesis are seeds of spiritual truths developed elsewhere in the Bible, and we should not neglect them. In Genesis 2 we have the seed of life and the seed of death. But at the end of the book of Revelation, we see the consummation of these seeds. Death, the last enemy, is cast into the lake of fire (20:14). Life abounds in the New Jerusalem, for there we see the river of water of life with the tree of life growing in it (22:1-2). From center to circumference, the New Jerusalem is a city of life. The seed of life sown in the beginning of the Bible consummates in the harvest of life, and the seed of death consummates in the harvest of death. Because the seeds of life and of death grow throughout the Bible, we can trace in the Bible both the line of life and the line of death.

In Genesis 2 there is a triangular situation involving God, man, and Satan. In this chapter man faces two sources: God as the source of life and Satan as the source of death. In Romans 5 through 8 there is the continuation of this triangular situation. Eventually, this triangular situation will result in a twofold consummation. The negative things will, along with death, be swept into the lake of fire, but the positive things will, with those who have been redeemed, flow into the city of living water. Today we are all heading toward this ultimate consummation—the believers to the New Jerusalem and the unbelievers to the lake of fire. In their everyday experience many Christians have one foot on the line of life and the other on the line of death. Other Christians vacillate between the two. Perhaps yesterday you were on the line of death, but today, by the Lord’s mercy and grace, you are once again on the line of life.

God’s economy is not a matter of good or evil, right or wrong. Moreover, it is not a matter of ethics. According to ethical standards, we should do good and not evil. God’s economy, however, is altogether a matter of life or death. To be in life is to live out God, and to be in death is to live out Satan. We are a battlefield, and the universal battle between God and Satan is raging within us. The outcome of this battle is determined by where we set our mind. If we set our mind on the self and thereby are cut off from the spirit, Satan gains ground. But if we stay in the spirit and set our mind on the spirit, God gains the victory.

By the indwelling Spirit we must put to death the deeds of the old person. To do this is to live. Let us pray about this, practice it, and develop the habit of staying in the spirit. The more we develop this habit, the more living we will be and the further we will be from death. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 424,
431)

Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msgs. 33, 38, 50