晨興聖言-羅馬書五至八章...(W1-4)

第一週.週四

w1d4-ch

晨興餧養

腓三3  『真受割禮的,乃是我們這憑神的靈事奉,在基督耶穌裏誇口,不信靠肉體的。』

弗六18 『時時在靈裏禱告,並盡力堅持,在這事上儆醒,且為眾聖徒祈求。』

肉體在此是要幫助我們,並迫使我們轉向靈。我們不該失望。我們雖有肉體,但我們也必須說,『讚美主!我也有靈。』…一面,我們恨惡肉體;另一面,我們為著『有幫助的肉體』讚美主。…從我發現肉體是無望的那一天起,我恐懼戰兢,作每件事都仰望主並轉向靈。我警覺的說,『主,你必須進來。你必須保守我在你的看顧之中,在靈的範圍裏;否則,我若稍不留意,就在肉體裏。』

我們都需要從肉體轉向靈。我們需要領悟肉體是無望的,而且肉體在此是與我們有益的。它總是時刻幫助我們並迫使我們轉向靈,信靠主,不再信靠肉體。(腓三3。)(李常受文集一九七五至一九七六年第一冊,二○九至二一○頁。)

信息選讀

我們都必須看見,按法理說,肉體已經了結,因為基督在十字架上對付了它,然而因著父的智慧,肉體仍留在我們身上。無論我們高興或不高興,肉體都幫助我們轉向靈裏的基督,並使我們不再信靠肉體。…我們要時時儆醒,轉向我們的靈。主不在意我們是否得勝,祂只在意一件事—我們得著基督。因著我們害怕肉體,我們就轉向靈並得著基督。(李常受文集一九七五至一九七六年第一冊,二三一頁。)

我們都必須認真尋求作王勝過罪、死和撒但。然而,我們也許竭力要在生命中作王勝過這三個仇敵,但我們所經歷的卻是失敗多於成功。不要失望。只要你愛主並尋求祂,祂甚至會使用你的失敗,將祂自己更多作到你裏面。…我們的失敗逼我們到主面前,並且使我們迫切進入靈裏。至終,藉著這樣迫切轉向靈,我們就會完全被主浸透。沒有罪惡、醜陋的肉體所給的幫助,我們就不會那麼迫切要得著主,或讓祂作到我們裏面。

我們的目標是聖別、屬靈或得勝;但神的目標是要將祂自己作到我們裏面。…通常在我們的光景可憐時,祂更有機會在我們裏面作祂所渴望作的。我們的情形和光景頂好時,我們也許就向主內裏的工作關閉了。我不是鼓勵你要在可憐的情形或在屬靈低落的景況裏。但我能向你保證,當你在這樣的光景或景況裏,神能更多將祂自己作到你裏面,過於你光景好的時候。這是因為我們在困難的情形裏,就更向主敞開,更願意轉向祂,並且更願意讓祂將自己作到我們裏面。

因為罪、死、撒但在我們的肉體裏舉行不斷的聚集,我們眾人至終深受其擾,甚至厭惡肉體。但神是主宰一切的。我們若尋求祂,甚至肉體罪惡的組合品也會幫助我們得著主。因為我們常常失敗,我們就被逼到靈裏,這樣,我們就更多得著那靈。這不是得勝的事;這是得著那靈的事。(羅馬書生命讀經,六三二至六三三頁。)

參讀:生命樹與善惡樹的異象,第五、一至四篇;以賽亞書生命讀經,第二十九篇。

WEEK 1 — DAY 4


Morning Nourishment

Phil. 3:3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.

Eph. 6:18 By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.

The flesh is here helping us and forcing us to turn to the spirit. We should not be disappointed. We have the flesh, but we also have to say, “Praise the Lord! I also have the spirit.” On the one hand, we hate our flesh, but on the other hand, we praise the Lord for the “helping flesh.”…From the day I discovered that my flesh was a hopeless case, I was fearful and trembling, looking to the Lord and turning to the spirit in doing everything. I was on the alert to say, “Lord, You have to come in. You have to keep me in Your care. You have to keep me in the realm of the spirit; otherwise, if I am a little careless, I will be in the flesh.”

We all need to turn from the flesh to the spirit. We need to realize that the flesh is a hopeless case and that it is here for our good. It is here helping us and forcing us all the time, moment by moment, to turn to the spirit, to trust in the Lord, and to no longer have any confidence in our flesh (Phil. 3:3). (CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 1, “The Flesh and the Spirit,” pp. 155-156)

Todays Reading

We all have to see that judicially the flesh is over because it was dealt with by Christ on the cross, but it still remains with us because of our Father’s wisdom. Whether we are happy or unhappy, the flesh helps us to turn to Christ in the spirit and have no more confidence in the flesh…We must be alert all the time to turn to our spirit. The Lord does not care for whether or not we have a victory. The Lord cares for only one thing—that we gain Christ. Because we are afraid of the flesh, we turn to our spirit and gain Christ. (CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 1, “The Flesh and the Spirit,” p. 171)

We all must earnestly seek to reign over sin, death, and Satan. However, although we may try diligently to reign in life over these three enemies, we will experience more failure than success. Do not be disappointed. As long as you love the Lord and seek Him, He will use even your failures to work more of Himself into you…Our failures press us to the Lord and make us desperate to get into the spirit. Eventually, by turning to the spirit in such a desperate way, we will be fully saturated with the Lord. Without the help rendered by the sinful, ugly flesh, we would not be as desperate to gain the Lord or to have Him wrought into us.

Our goal is holiness or spirituality or victory. But God’s goal is to work Himself into us…Often He has a greater opportunity to do [this] when our condition is pitiful. When our situation and condition are excellent, we may be closed to the Lord’s inward working. I do not encourage you to be in a poor situation or to be in a low state spiritually. But I can assure you that when you are in such a condition or state, God will be able to work more of Himself into you than when your condition is good. The reason for this is that when we are in a difficult situation, we are more open to the Lord, more willing to turn to Him, and more willing to allow Him to work Himself into us.

Because sin, death, and Satan are conducting a continuous meeting in our flesh, we all eventually become extremely troubled and even disgusted with the flesh. But God is sovereign. If we seek Him, even the sinful compound of the flesh will become a help to us in gaining the Lord. Because we fail so often, we are pressed into the spirit, and in this way we gain more of the Spirit. This is not a matter of victory; it is a matter of gaining the Spirit. (Lifestudy of Romans, pp. 521-522)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1958, vol. 1, “The Vision of the Tree of Life and Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,” chs. 5, 1—4; Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 29

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