晨興聖言-羅馬書五至八章...(W3-6)

第三週.週六

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晨興餧養

徒二38   『彼得對他們說,你們要悔改,各人要靠耶穌基督的名受浸,叫你們的罪得赦,就必領受所賜的聖靈。』

林前十二13 『…我們不拘是猶太人或希利尼人,是為奴的或自主的,都已經在一位靈裏受浸,成了一個身體,且都得以喝一位靈。』

論到受浸,新約啟示我們已經浸入父、子、聖靈的名裏,(太二八19,)浸入基督裏,(加三27,)浸入基督的死裏,(羅六3,)並且浸入基督的身體裏。(林前十二13。)我們需要操練我們的全人,好對這樣奇妙的受浸有正確的認識。…這樣的浸,就是浸入神聖的名裏、浸入活的人位裏、浸入有功效的死裏、並且浸入活的生機體裏,這就把信徒放在一個地位上,使他們能經歷與基督生機的聯結。(加拉太書生命讀經,二二○至二二一頁。)

信息選讀

每當我們要為人施浸,我們應當給他們一篇豐富而鮮活的信息,論到受浸的意義。…我們絕不該以儀文的方式為信徒施浸,把施浸當作一種僅僅照著聖經把人浸到水裏的行為。…人若聽見論到受浸意義的豐富話語,並且有了聽信仰,他們就會渴望受浸。然後,我們為他們施浸時,應當運用信心,看見我們不僅將他們浸到水裏,更是將他們浸到屬靈的實際裏。我們將他們浸到水裏,就是將他們浸到三一神這包羅萬有的靈裏面。當人浸入三一神時,他就進入一種能彀變化他全人的生機聯結裏。藉著我們與三一神生機的聯結,我們就與三一神是一,三一神也與我們是一。

穿上基督〔加三27〕就是把基督當作衣服穿在我們身上。一面,我們在受浸時浸入了基督;另一面,我們在受浸時也穿上了基督。基督那活的靈乃是生命的水。因此,浸入基督乃是浸入作為那靈的基督裏。人浸入基督裏面時,自然而然就穿上基督作他的衣服。這意思是說,受浸的人既浸入了基督,並穿上了基督,就與基督成為一。

倘若基督不是賜生命的靈,我們就無法浸入基督裏。…我們要浸入基督裏,基督就必須是圍繞我們的紐瑪(pneuma),空氣,那靈。…我們不可能浸入一位只在諸天之上的基督。但我們可以浸入那是紐瑪、是那靈的基督。林前十二章十三節證實這事,那裏告訴我們,我們在一位靈裏受浸,成了一個身體。 這裏的靈乃是包羅萬有、經過過程的三一神。我們已在這靈裏,就是在經過過程的三一神裏受浸,成了一個身體。所以,我們若要浸到這一個神聖的實際裏,基督就必須是賜生命的靈。每當我們為別人施浸時,我們應當告訴他們,三一神成了經過過程、賜生命的靈,就在他們的周圍,他們需要受浸,浸到這神聖人位的實際裏。

保羅在加拉太三章末了,用浸入基督以及穿上基督的話作總結,這是很有意義的。…我們不該關心有否說方言,我們只該關心有否浸入基督,並且穿上基督。我們應當關心我們有否與基督成為一。我可以很強的作見證,我已經浸入了基督,如今穿上祂作我的衣服、我的遮蓋。我充分確信,我與祂是一,祂與我也是一。我有神聖的生命,我在神聖的人位裏,神聖的人位也與我是一。(加拉太書生命讀經,二二四至二二六頁。)

參讀:新約總論,第一百二十三篇。

WEEK 3 — DAY 6

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Morning Nourishment

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, Repent and each one of you be baptized upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor. 12:13 …In one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.

Concerning baptism, the New Testament reveals that we have been baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19), into Christ (Gal. 3:27), into the death of Christ (Rom. 6:3), and into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). We need to exercise our entire being in order to have a proper understanding of such a wonderful baptism…Such a baptism, a baptism into the divine name, a living person, an effective death, and a living organism, puts the believers into a position where they can experience an organic union with Christ. (Life-study of Galatians, p. 177)

Todays Reading

Whenever we are about to baptize people, we should give them a rich, living message on the meaning of baptism…We should never baptize believers in a ritualistic way, regarding baptism as a mere act of putting people into the water according to the Bible…If people hear a rich word on the meaning of baptism and have the hearing of faith, they will earnestly desire to be baptized. Then, as we baptize them, we should exercise our faith to realize that we are not only baptizing them into the water but baptizing them into a spiritual reality. As we immerse them into the water, we immerse them into the Triune God as the all-inclusive Spirit. When a person is baptized into the Triune God, he enters into an organic union, which is able to transform his whole being. By means of our organic union with the Triune God, we are one with the Triune God, and the Triune God is one with us.

To put on Christ [Gal. 3:27] is to clothe ourselves with Christ, to put on Christ as a garment. On the one hand, in baptism we are immersed into Christ; on the other hand, in baptism we put on Christ. Christ, the living Spirit, is the water of life. Hence, to be baptized into Christ is to be immersed into Him as the Spirit. When a person is immersed into Christ, he automatically puts on Christ as his clothing. This means that the baptized one has become one with Christ, having been immersed into Him and having become clothed with Him.

If Christ were not the life-giving Spirit, there would be no way for us to be baptized into Christ…For us to be baptized into Christ, Christ must be the pneuma, the air, the Spirit all around us…We cannot be baptized into a Christ who is only in the heavens. But we can be baptized into the Christ who is the pneuma, the Spirit. This is proved by 1 Corinthians 12:13, where we are told that in one Spirit we were baptized into one Body. The Spirit here is the allinclusive, processed Triune God. In the Spirit, the processed Triune God, we have been baptized into one Body. Therefore, for us to be baptized into such a divine reality, Christ must be the life-giving Spirit. Whenever we baptize others, we should tell them that the Triune God as the processed life-giving Spirit is all around them and that they need to be baptized, immersed, into the reality of this divine person.

It is significant that at the end of chapter 3 of Galatians Paul concludes with a word about being baptized into Christ and putting on Christ…We should not be concerned with whether or not we have spoken in tongues but with whether or not we have been baptized into Christ and have put on Christ. Our concern should be that we have become one with Christ. I can testify strongly that I have been baptized into Christ and that I am wearing Him as my clothing, my covering. I have the full assurance that I am one with Him and that He is one with me. I have the divine life, I am in the divine person, and the divine person is one with me. (Life-study of Galatians, pp. 180-181)

Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 123

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