晨興聖言-話語的職事...(W2-2)

第二週 • 週二

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晨興餧養

加二20　   我已經與基督同釘十字架；現在活着的，不再是我，乃是基督在我裏面活着；並且我如今在肉身裏所活的生命，是我在神兒子的信裏，與祂聯結所活的，祂是愛我，為我捨了自己。

　五24　   但那屬基督耶穌的人，是已經把肉體連肉體的邪情私欲，都釘了十字架。

 

哥林多人雖然已經得救，局部的與神和好，但是他們仍活在肉體裏，也就是活在魂裏，活在外面的人、天然的所是裏。肉體、天然人的幔子仍然使他們與神有阻隔。這意思是說，他們天然的人是阻隔的幔子。因此，他們需要第二步的和好。保羅在林後五章…在哥林多人身上作工，要把肉體的幔子割開，將他們天然的生命釘十字架，銷毀他們外面的人。使徒保羅在哥林多前後書所作的，乃是要將肉體這層阻隔的幔子割斷，使哥林多信徒能進入至聖所（哥林多後書生命讀經，三八○頁）。

信息選讀

在聖所裏有那靈的祝福、燈臺與香壇。但在聖所裏沒有神直接的同在。我們若要得着神自己，就必須進一步的和好，進到至聖所裏。我們必須接受和好的第二步，而被帶進神的面光中。…這和好不僅帶我們從罪裏出來，也帶我們從肉體、天然的人、天然的所是裏出來。這樣我們就被帶來歸向神，與神成為一。

使徒們不僅受託付完成和好的工作，和好的職事，他們也與神同工，把人帶進神裏面。他們知道，憑着自己他們無法把任何人帶進神裏面。他們沒有這種能力，這種性能。他們需要與神同工。

為神作工和與神同工，其中有重大的分別。甚至在我們的為人生活中，與一個人同工和僅僅為那人作工也是不同的。…一個妻子可能很願意為丈夫煮飯，但她不一定願意與丈夫一同煮。…在為主作工時，可能也有同樣的情形。我們常常喜歡為主作工，但不願意與祂一同作工。…我們若這樣作工，便不能使別人與主和好而進到主裏面。由於我們在作工的時候，自己並沒有實際的在主裏面，我們就不能使人與主和好而進到主裏面。我們惟有藉着與主同工，纔能使別人與主和好而進到祂裏面。

與神同工，意即我們是在祂裏面。當我們在祂裏面時，我們纔能把人帶到祂裏面。惟有在神裏面的人，纔能把人帶到神裏面。你若不在祂裏面，你就必定不能把任何人帶到祂裏面。我們與神有多親近，乃是我們工作果效的度量。我們若遠離神，就無法帶人親近祂。…我們若與神是一，那麼，我們就能把人帶到我們所在的地方。因此，我們若要把人帶到主裏面，我們自己就必須先在祂裏面。我們越在祂裏面，就越能使人與主和好而進到主裏面。但願我們對這件事有深刻的印象！

保羅在林後六章二節…說，『因為祂說，「在悅納的時候，我應允了你；在拯救的日子，我濟助了你。」看哪，現在正是最可蒙悅納的時候；看哪，現在正是拯救的日子。』悅納的時候，指我們與神和好、蒙祂悅納的時候。照上下文，這節的拯救是指和好。和好實際上就是完全得救。

保羅在五章說到和好，在六章說到拯救。因此，六章二節所題到的拯救，實際上是指和好。惟有當我們這些信徒，就是在基督裏得救的人，完全與神和好，我們纔完全得救。若不到這個程度，我們只有局部的得救，還沒有完全的得救（哥林多後書生命讀經，三八○至三八一、四○三至四○六頁）。

參讀：哥林多後書生命讀經，第四十篇。

WEEK 2 — DAY 2

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Morning Nourishment

Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

       5:24 But they who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts.

Although the Corinthians had been saved and reconciled to God halfway, they still lived in the flesh; that is, they lived in the soul, the outer man, the natural being. The veil of the flesh, of the natural man, still separated them from God. This means that their natural being was a separating veil. Therefore, they needed the second step of reconciliation. In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul was working… on the Corinthians to cut the veil of the flesh asunder, to crucify their natural life, to consume their outer man. What the apostle Paul was doing in 1 and 2 Corinthians was to cleave the separating veil of the flesh so that the believers at Corinth could enter into the Holy of Holies. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, p. 320)

Today's Reading

In the Holy Place are the blessings of the Spirit, the lampstand, and the incense altar. But in the Holy Place there is not the direct presence of God. In order to have God Himself, we must be reconciled further and come into the Holy of Holies. We must take the second step of reconciliation to be brought into the presence of God…This reconciliation brings us not only out of sin but also out of the flesh, the natural man, the natural being. Then we are brought to God and become one with Him.

Not only were the apostles commissioned with the work, the ministry, of reconciliation, but in bringing others into God, they worked together with God. They knew that by themselves they could not bring anyone into God. They did not have this ability, this capacity. They needed to do this work with God.

There is an important difference between working for God and working with Him. Even in our human living, working with another person is different from simply working for that person…A wife may enjoy cooking for her husband; however, she may not like to cook a meal with her husband…The same may be true of working for the Lord. Often we like to work for the Lord, but we do not want to work with Him…If we work in this way, we will not be able to reconcile others into the Lord. Because we are not in the Lord ourselves in a practical way in our work, we cannot reconcile anyone else into the Lord. Only by working with the Lord can we reconcile others into Him.

To work together with God means that we are in Him. When we are in Him, we can bring others into Him. Only a person who is in God can bring others into God. If you are not in Him, you certainly cannot bring anyone else into Him. Our closeness to God is the measure of the result of our work. If we are far away from God, we cannot bring others close to Him…If we are those who are one with God, then we can bring others to the very place where we are. Therefore, if we want to bring others into the Lord, we must first be in Him ourselves. The more we are in Him, the more we can reconcile others into Him. May this matter be deeply impressed upon us!

In 2 Corinthians 6:2 Paul goes on to say, “For He says, ‘In an acceptable time I listened to you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ Behold, now is the well-acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” The phrase well-acceptable time refers to the time of our being reconciled to God, when He well accepts us. Salvation in this verse, according to the context, refers to reconciliation. Reconciliation actually is full salvation.

In chapter 5 Paul speaks of reconciliation, and in chapter 6, of salvation. Hence, the salvation mentioned in 6:2 actually refers to reconciliation. Only when we the believers, the saved ones in Christ, have been fully reconciled to God are we fully saved. Until then, we are only partially saved; we have not yet been saved in full. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 320-321, 340-342)

Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 40