晨興聖言-經歷、享受並彰顯基督(四)(W39-2)

第三十九週.週二

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晨興餧養

啟一9   『我約翰,就是你們的弟兄,和你們在耶穌的患難、國度、忍耐裏一同有分的,為神的話和耶穌的見證,曾在那名叫拔摩的海島上。』

徒十四22 『…我們進入神的國,必須經歷許多患難。』

『在耶穌裏』是形容患難、國度和忍耐;〔啟一9;〕我們要特別注意這辭。…按照〔主〕一生經過的事實,祂的名字耶穌,就指明祂是多受痛苦、常經憂患的人。(賽五三3。)…〔我們〕若說我們是有分於『在耶穌裏』的患難、國度和忍耐,意思就是我們跟從拿撒勒人耶穌時,我們是在受苦,在受逼迫。…啟示錄是為著那些『在耶穌裏』受患難之苦的人。這就是說,那些等候主耶穌回來的人,必定是那些在耶穌裏受患難之苦的人。(啟示錄生命讀經,七四至七五頁。)

信息選讀

因為我們不肯和宗教合作,所以宗教就逼迫我們。今天我們所受的逼迫,乃是在耶穌裏的逼迫。祂現今是和祂的跟隨者一同忍受逼迫。(徒九4~5。)…當大數的掃羅到大馬色去,要捉拿那些呼求耶穌之名的人時,在途中主耶穌把他打倒在地上,說,『掃羅,掃羅,你為甚麼逼迫我?』(4。)掃羅說,『主阿,你是誰?』耶穌回答說,『我就是你所逼迫的耶穌。』(5。)…主耶穌認為掃羅是在逼迫祂,因為在那時,祂是在司提反、彼得、約翰、以及祂所有別的肢體裏面,與他們是一。今天也是一樣,當熱心宗教的人逼迫我們時,他們實際上是在逼迫耶穌,因為耶穌是在我們裏面,並與我們是一。…我們是在耶穌的患難裏一同有分。

我們若在耶穌的患難裏一同有分,也就在國度裏一同有分。有分於在耶穌裏的逼迫,就是有分於國度。…正確的說來,召會就是國度。〔參太十六18~19。〕羅馬十四章十七節也證明,我們在召會裏,就是在國度裏。所以正確的召會生活就是國度生活。…神聖的生命把我們帶進神聖的國裏。約翰三章五節所說,我們重生進去的國度,就是約翰在啟示錄一章九節所說的那個國度。…我們重生進到國度裏之後,應當一直留在裏面。…你若留在國度裏,生活在其中,就絕不會與丈夫、妻子、或別人吵架了。就是仇敵挑撥你爭吵,屬天國度的管治也會約束你。

約翰在啟示錄一章九節還說,他是在耶穌的忍耐裏一同有分的。為著患難和國度,我們需要忍耐。好多聖徒,連我們在主恢復裏的人在內,都缺少忍耐。有人從他們的親戚、朋友、鄰居那裏遭受逼迫,但最終他們的忍耐用盡了。他們只能抵擋逼迫一段時間,但因缺少忍耐,不能支持長久。主耶穌在地上的時候,忍受了逼迫,(來十二2~3,)今天仍在忍受人的反對和凌辱。

我們住在基督裏,就有分於祂的忍耐,且有忍耐以忍受痛苦和反對。連主的話也稱為忍耐的話。(啟三10。)今天全世界都在反對祂,拒絕祂,但祂並不反擊,只單單的忍受。我們現在與祂交通,並住在祂裏面,我們就有分於祂的忍耐。我們是跟隨祂的人,就當存心忍耐,跟著祂走同一個路徑。(來十二1。)這樣,我們也能忍受逼迫、謠言、拒絕、反對。這是強有力的證明,我們乃是等候主回來的人。(啟示錄生命讀經,七八、八○至八二、八四至八五頁。)

參讀:啟示錄生命讀經,第六、九篇;倪柝聲文輯第二輯第十八冊,第五十一篇。

WEEK 39 — DAY 2

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Morning Nourishment

Rev. 1:9 I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Acts 14:22 …Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God.

The phrase in Jesus governs the words tribulation, kingdom, and endurance [Rev. 1:9], and we must pay close attention to it…According to the facts of His life, His name, Jesus, denotes a suffering person, a man of sorrows (Isa. 53:3)…When we say that we are fellow partakers of the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance “in Jesus,” this means that we are suffering and are being persecuted as we follow Jesus the Nazarene…The book of Revelation is for those who are suffering tribulation “in Jesus.” This means that those who are waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus must be people who suffer tribulation in Jesus. (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 57-58)

Today’s Reading

Because we do not cooperate with religion, it persecutes us. The persecution that we are suffering today is the persecution in Jesus. He is now suffering persecution with His followers (Acts 9:4-5)…When Saul of Tarsus was traveling to Damascus with the intention of arresting all those who called on the name of Jesus, the Lord Jesus knocked him down to the earth, saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (v. 4). When Saul said, “Who are You, Lord?” Jesus answered, “I am Jesus, whom you persecute” (v. 5)… According to the Lord Jesus, Saul was persecuting Him, because, at that time, He was in Stephen, Peter, John, and all His other members and was one with them. The same is true today. When the religious people persecute us, they are actually persecuting Jesus because Jesus is in us and is one with us…We are fellow partakers of tribulation in Jesus.

If we are fellow partakers in the tribulation in Jesus, then we are fellow partakers in the kingdom. To partake of the persecution in Jesus is to partake of the kingdom. In a proper sense, the church is the kingdom [cf. Matt. 16:18-19]. Romans 14:17 also indicates that we in the church are in the kingdom. The proper church life is the kingdom life. The divine life brings us into the divine kingdom. The kingdom into which we are reborn in John 3:5 is the very kingdom mentioned by John in Revelation 1:9…After we have been reborn into the kingdom, we should remain in it…If you remain in the kingdom and live in it, you will never fight with your husband, your wife, or anyone else. Although the enemy may tempt you to fight, the ruling of the heavenly kingdom will restrain you.

In Revelation 1:9 John also said that he was a fellow partaker in the endurance in Jesus. For both the tribulation and the kingdom we need endurance. Many saints, even among us in the Lord’s recovery, lack endurance. Some have suffered persecution from their relatives, friends, and neighbors, but eventually, they exhausted their supply of endurance. While they were able to withstand the persecution for a certain time, they lacked the endurance to bear it for a longer time. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He endured persecution (Heb. 12:2-3), and He is still enduring men’s opposition and reproach today.

When we abide in Christ, we partake of His endurance and have the endurance to bear suffering and opposition. The Lord’s word is even called the word of endurance (Rev. 3:10). Today the whole world is opposing and rejecting Him, but He does not fight back. He simply endures it all. Now as we have fellowship with Him and abide in Him, we partake of His endurance. As His followers, we must follow Him on the same pathway with endurance (Heb. 12:1). In this way we also can endure persecution, rumors, rejection, and opposition. This is a strong proof that we are those who are waiting for the Lord’s coming back. (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 60-65)

Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msgs. 6, 9; CWWN, vol. 38, “General Messages,” ch. 52

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