晨興聖言-挪亞、但以理和約伯...(W4-4)
第四週 • 週四
晨興餧養
約一4 生命在祂裏面,這生命就是人的光。
十五1 我是真葡萄樹,我父是栽培的人。
在〔伊甸園〕裏,最重要的東西就是樹。聖經中對於樹的觀念是很重要的。聖經無論在開頭或結尾,當它提到人的時候,也提到樹。人究竟要得生命或死亡,要永遠活着或滅亡,全看人如何對待樹(參創二16~17,三1~3、22、24,結四七12,啟二二2、14、19)。所以樹的觀念對人的定命是絕對重要的。…創世記二章九節說,各樣的樹好作食物。請注意,聖經不是說各樣的樹好出產材料,因為創世記的觀念不是人的勞苦和成就,因此沒有提到製造的原料。二章的觀念完全集中於生命。因此這章說,各樣的樹好作食物;因為食物與生命有關。沒有食物,我們就不能活。食物維持我們的生命,並使我們飽足(創世記生命讀經,一七二至一七三頁)。
信息選讀
生命樹是在園子當中。我們研讀創世記二章的記載,可以看到,除了善惡知識樹以外,就只題生命樹,別的樹都沒有題。…這顯示生命樹是中心。
生命樹是宇宙的中心。按照神的定旨,地是宇宙的中心,伊甸園是地的中心,而生命樹又是伊甸園的中心。我們必須認識,整個宇宙是以生命樹為中心:無論對神或對人,沒有別的比這樹更中心,更重要。你看見人在園子當中,站在生命樹跟前,這是非常有意義的。
這樹使人能接受神作生命。…聖經接下去的各卷書都啟示神是生命。因此,園子當中的生命樹,指明神要以食物的方式作我們的生命。根據約翰福音,有一天,神在肉體裏而來(一1、14)。生命在祂裏面(4)。創世記二章中由生命樹所顯示的生命,就是在耶穌裏成為肉體的生命。耶穌就是在肉體裏的神。主耶穌告訴我們,祂自己就是生命(約十四6)。再者,約翰十五章告訴我們,基督是樹,是葡萄樹〔5〕。一面祂是樹,一面祂是生命。當我們把約翰福音這幾部分放在一起,我們看見耶穌就是生命樹。主耶穌說,祂是生命的糧,意思就是說,祂來到我們這裏是以食物的形態作生命樹。
讓我提個問題:生命樹有多高?如果你這樣問我,我要答說,它不比我高。…如果生命樹長得很高,它的果子就採不到了。亞當和夏娃沒有梯子或別的工具採摘樹上的果子。因此我相信,生命樹不會太高。…耶穌是全能的神,乃是至高的,但當祂來作我們的食物,祂是低微的。祂是一塊餅,甚至是桌子下的碎渣(太十五21~27)。耶穌以食物的形態來作我們的生命,祂不高,也不大。祂是小的、低的。我們所喫的任何東西,都必須比我們小,否則我們就喫不下去。即使食物比我們大,還得切成小片,纔喫得下。因此,主耶穌以食物的形態來作我們的生命。祂說,『我就是生命的糧』〔約六48〕,又說,『那喫我的人,也要因我活着。』〔57〕神在子裏是生命樹,好作食物。我們天天可以喫祂,從祂得餧養。
生命樹豫表將生命分賜給人,叫人喜悅滿足的基督(參約十五1,出十五25)。基督分賜神聖的生命到我們裏面,叫我們喜悅滿足。我們許多人都能見證這個。我們能說,『阿利路亞!耶穌已將生命分賜給我。祂每時每刻都使我滿足。』這就是生命樹(創世記生命讀經,一七四至一七六頁)。
參讀:創世記生命讀經, 第十一篇。
WEEK 4 — DAY 4
Morning Nourishment
John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
15:1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman.
The
most important item in the garden is the trees. In the Scriptures the
concept concerning the tree is crucial. When the Scripture mentions man,
both in the beginning and at the end, it also mentions the tree.
Whether man will have life or will die, will live eternally or will
perish, all depends on how man deals with the tree (cf. Gen. 2:16-17;
3:1-3, 22, 24; Ezek. 47:12; Rev. 22:2, 14, 19). The concept of the tree
is absolutely vital to man’s destiny. Genesis 2:9 says that the trees
were good for food. Notice that the Bible does not say that the trees
were good for producing materials, for the concept of Genesis is not
that of human labor or achievement. Thus, no manufacturing materials are
mentioned. The concept of Genesis 2 is fully focused on life. Thus, it
says that the trees were good for food because food is related to life.
Without food we cannot live. Food maintains our life and satisfies us.
(Lifestudy of Genesis, pp. 139-140)
Today’s Reading
The
tree of life was in the middle of the garden. If we study the record of
Genesis 2, we will realize that, apart from the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, no tree is mentioned by name except the tree of
life…This shows that the tree of life was the center.
The
tree of life is the center of the universe. According to the purpose of
God, the earth is the center of the universe, the garden of Eden is the
center of the earth, and the tree of life is the center of the garden
of Eden. We must realize that the whole universe is centered on this
tree of life: nothing is more central and crucial to both God and man
than this tree. It is very meaningful to see man in the garden standing
before the tree of life.
This
tree enables man to receive God as life…The following books of the
Bible reveal that God is life. Therefore, the tree of life in the garden
was the indicator that God intends to be our life in the form of food.
One day, according to the Gospel of John, God came in the flesh (1:1,
14). In Him was life (v. 4). The life displayed by the tree of life in
Genesis 2 was the life incarnated in Jesus, God in the flesh. Jesus told
us that He Himself is life (John 14:6). Furthermore, John 15 tells us
that Christ is a tree, the vine tree. On the one hand, He is a tree; on
the other hand, He is life. When we put together all these portions from
John, we see that Jesus is the tree of life. Jesus said that He is the
bread of life, meaning that He has come to us as the tree of life in the
form of food.
Let
me ask you a question: how tall was the tree of life? If you turn the
question to me, I will answer that it was not taller than I…If the tree
of life had been of a great height, its fruit would have been out of
reach. Adam and Eve had no ladder or other instrument to use in plucking
the fruit of this tree. Therefore, I believe that the tree of life was
not very tall. As the almighty God, Jesus is high, but when He came to
us as food, He was lowly. He was a loaf of bread. He was even the crumbs
under the table (Matt. 15:21-27). The very Jesus who came to us as life
in the form of food was not tall and great; He was small and lowly.
Anything we eat must be smaller than we are; if it is not, we cannot
take it into us. Even if our food is larger than we are, it must be cut
into pieces small enough to eat. Thus, Jesus came to us as life in the
form of food. He said, “I am the bread of life,” and, “He who eats Me,
he also shall live because of Me.” God in the Son is the tree of life, which is good for food. Day after day we can feed on Him. We can eat Him.
The
tree of life typifies Christ who imparts life to man and who pleases
and satisfies man (cf. John 15:1; Exo. 15:25). Christ imparts divine
life into us, pleases us, and satisfies us. Many of us can testify of
this. We can say, “Hallelujah! Jesus has imparted life to me. He
satisfies me all the time.” This is the tree of life. (Life-study of
Genesis, pp. 140- 141)
Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msg. 11
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