晨興聖言-話語的職事...(W3-5)

第三週 週五

W03-d5-ch

晨興餧養

林前十二14 身體原不是一個肢體,乃是許多肢體。

徒十三1   在安提阿當地的召會中,有幾位申言者和教師…。

 

宇宙召會就是所有地方召會的總和。…你若把地方召會一個一個都減掉了,就沒有宇宙召會了。…把一切的地方召會加起來,所得的總和,就是宇宙召會。這宇宙召會,就是基督的身體(弗一22~23)。

在新約的時候,神是要在每一個地方都設立召會,以表顯祂永遠的心意。神是要每一個地方召會,各自在她們所在的地方,代表基督的身體,為基督作見證。每一個地方召會,都是宇宙召會在那個地方上的出現。所以,在耶路撒冷的召會(徒八1),在安提阿的召會(十三1),在哥林多的召會(林前一2),或在任何地方的召會,都是宇宙召會的一部分。在每一個地方的召會,都是宇宙召會在那個地方的一點出現。…每一個地方召會,都是宇宙召會在那一個時候,在那一個地方,所顯出的一部分(李常受文集一九五七年第二冊,二○一至二○二頁)。

信息選讀

宇宙召會的性質和原則,就是地方召會的性質和原則。整個的宇宙召會,性質怎樣是屬神的,各地的地方召會,性質也照樣都是屬神的。所以,宇宙召會稱作『神的召會』(林前十32),地方召會也稱作『神的召會』(一2)。

召會在宇宙中如何是惟一的,在各地方上也如何都是惟一的。召會的原則就是一。在宇宙中是一,在地方上也是一。若是在臺北這一個地方上,有了兩個以上的召會,那就是有了毛病。正如在臺北這一個地方,若有了兩個以上的市政府,也定規是出了問題。在一個地方,只能有一個召會,不能有兩個以上的召會。

地方召會是宇宙召會的雛形。…宇宙召會是彰顯基督的,地方召會也是彰顯基督的,不過小型一點就是了。每一個地方召會,都是宇宙召會的一個代表,在她所在的地方,代表宇宙召會,活出基督的身體所該有的生活,以彰顯基督(李常受文集一九五七年第二冊,二○三至二○四頁)。

如果我們堅持地方召會自治的觀念,認為一封寫給任一地方召會的書信只屬於那個地方,這就是說沒有一封書信是要給我們這個時代的信徒。換言之,這意味着整本聖經都不是為着我們的。這完全不切實際。

在以弗所一章十七節,保羅禱告求父賜給信徒『智慧和啟示的靈』,指明信徒也需要看見他所看見的異象,尤其是關於基督身體的異象(三3~4)。當我們在美國各地區的地方召會中勞苦作工,我們不是僅僅建造眾地方召會;我們的工作是要建造基督的身體。

倪柝聲弟兄在他的職事裏所強調的中心事項之一是基督的身體。他解釋說,人偏好不受規範、不顧身體的感覺來建造召會,因而不作身體的工作。許多人建立這樣的召會成為他們的小王國。我們要在倪弟兄所強調之事的光中,考量我們的工作。…要作正確的工,我們必須有真理的基礎(李常受文集一九九一至一九九二年第二冊,一六一、一六三頁)。

參讀:李常受文集一九八三年第一冊,成全聖徒傳揚福音、陳明真理、供應生命並照着靈而行,以擔負耶穌的見證,第四章。

WEEK 3 — DAY 5

W03-d5-en

Morning Nourishment

1 Cor. 12:14 For the body is not one member but many.

Acts 13:1 Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers…

The universal church is the sum total of all the local churches…If we subtract all the local churches one after the other, there would be no universal church…When we add up all the local churches, the total is the universal church. This universal church is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23).

In the New Testament age God wants to establish the church in every place to express His eternal intention. God’s desire is that every local church would represent the Body of Christ to testify on behalf of Christ in their respective localities. Therefore, every local church is the expression of the universal church in that locality. Therefore, the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), the church in Antioch (13:1), the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), and the church in any other locality are part of the universal church. The church in a locality is a small expression of the universal church in a particular locality… Every local church is part of the expression of the universal church at a particular time in a given locality. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “The Testimony and the Ground of the Church,” p. 153)

Todays Reading

The nature and principle of the universal church are the nature and principle of the local church. Just as the nature of the entire universal church is of God, the nature of the local church in every locality is also of God. Therefore, the universal church is called “the church of God” (1 Cor. 10:32), and the local church is also called “the church of God” (1:2).

Just as the church is uniquely one in the universe, it is also uniquely one in each locality. The principle of the church is oneness. In the universe the church is one, and in each locality the church is also one. If there are two or more churches in Taipei, there is a problem, just as there would be a problem if there were two or more city administrations in Taipei. In one locality there can be only one church, not two or more churches.

The local church is a miniature of the universal church…The universal church expresses Christ, and the local church also expresses Christ, except on a smaller scale. Every local church is a representative of the universal church, representing the universal church in its locality by living out the proper life of the Body of Christ and thus expressing Christ. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “The Testimony and the Ground of the Church,” p. 154)

If we hold on to the thought that the local churches are autonomous, considering that an Epistle written to any one locality belongs only to that locality, this would mean that no Epistle is intended for the believers in our time. In other words, it would mean that the entire Bible is not for us. This is altogether impractical.

In Ephesians 1:17 Paul prayed that the Father would give the believers “a spirit of wisdom and revelation,” indicating that the believers also need to see the vision that he saw, especially concerning the Body of Christ (3:3-4). As we labor in the local churches in the various regions of the United States, we are not merely building up the local churches; our work is to build up the Body of Christ.

One of the central items that Brother Watchman Nee stressed in his ministry was the Body of Christ. He explained that instead of doing the work of the Body, people prefer to build up churches without any kind of regulation or consciousness of the Body. Many establish such churches as their small empires. We need to consider our work in light of Brother Nee’s emphasis…In order to do a proper work, we must have the base of the truth. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, pp. 122-123)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1983, vol. 1, “Perfecting the Saints to Preach the Gospel, Present the Truth, Minister Life, and Walk according to the Spirit in Order to Bear the Testimony of Jesus,” ch. 4

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