晨興聖言-極其需要新的復興(W04-4)

 

第四週 • 週四

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晨興餧養

羅十四17  因為神的國不在於喫喝,乃在於公義、和平、並聖靈中的喜樂。

太六33   但你們要先尋求祂的國和祂的義,這一切就都要加給你們了。

 

我們對待自己必須公義,對待別人必須和平,並且在神面前必須有喜樂〔羅十四17〕。如果我們缺少這三件中的任何一件,這就是說,我們乃是錯的。這指明我們沒有活在諸天之國的實際裏。多年前我以為所有的基督徒都是美好的,但現在我知道,許多基督徒非常自私,他們不在諸天的管治之下。他們沒有嚴格對待自己,好使他們是義的;他們與別人沒有和平;並且他們沒有在神面前喜樂並與神一同喜樂。你若是在諸天的管治之下,就會按照公義對待你自己,會與人保持和平,並且會在神面前喜樂並與神一同喜樂。這就是屬天的管治,屬天的行政,這也就是諸天之國的實際(李常受文集一九七二年第二冊,五九四頁)。

信息選讀

主耶穌告訴我們要禱告說,『願你的國來臨。』(太六10)但國度不會按照許多基督徒所以為的方式來臨。就一面的意義說,國度已經來臨;然而就另一面意義說,國度正在來臨。…從祂將自己撒在人性的土裏時,基督的國就來臨了。生長的過程要繼續直到完全收割的時候,那時基督的國就要完全實現。

國度是甚麼?國度就是基督撒進我們裏面,在我們裏面生長,在我們裏面成熟,而達到收割的時候。國度不是僅僅一個時代或一個範圍,國度乃是基督在祂一切行動裏作我們生命的總和。

動物的國度乃是所有動物的生命,連同其一切活動的總和。鳥在飛翔,猴子爬樹,烏龜游水。…照樣,基督的國度乃是基督作我們的生命,連同祂一切活動的總和。我們都有基督在我們裏面作生命,我們也在基督裏有許多活動。這就是基督的國度。最近我觀看、觀察並享受眾肢體在聚會中許多的活動;你也許說那是召會的聚會,我同意,但那也是基督的國度,連同祂的生命和活動。

神來成為肉體,成了人。神的願望乃是要進到人裏面。當我們呼求主耶穌的名,祂就進到我們裏面作生命。從那時起,神就在我們裏面生長。神在我們裏面生長,意思是祂在我們裏面擴展。神越生長,就越擴展,並且在我們裏面佔有越多的地位。祂佔有越多的地位,就越掌權。國度是神在我們裏面,藉着生命內裏的生長,而有神聖的掌權。神的國就是神作我們的生命,在我們裏面擴展,在我們裏面佔有地位,並且治理我們全人。

撒但以人的身體作他的住處,但主耶穌以人的靈作祂的住處。神在祂的主宰權柄裏,為祂自己保全了人的靈。雖然人的靈受邪惡身體和敗壞心思的影響,到一個地步,是已經死了,但我們無法從聖經看見任何提示,說到撒但已經進到人的靈裏。當我們悔改相信主耶穌,祂立刻就進到我們的靈裏。仇敵盡力將人的靈這事向基督徒隱藏起來。聖經清楚的告訴我們,主耶穌基督與我們的靈同在(提後四22)。從我們的靈,祂正在我們裏面生長並擴展,在我們全人裏佔有更多的地位。藉着在我們裏面佔有更多的地位,祂實際地在我們裏面作王掌權。這是主耶穌內裏的掌權(李常受文集一九七二年第二冊,三一至三二、八四、八六頁)。

參讀:國度,第四十七至四十八章。

WEEK 4 — DAY 4

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Morning Nourishment

Rom. 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Matt. 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

In dealing with ourselves we must be righteous; with others we must have peace; before God we must have joy [Rom. 14:17]. If we are lacking any one of these three things, it means that we are wrong. It indicates that we are not living in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. Many years ago I thought that all Christians were wonderful, but now I realize that many Christians are very selfish. They are not under the control of the heavens. They are not strict in dealing with themselves so that they may be righteous, they do not have the full peace with others, and they do not have joy before God and with God. If you are under the control of the heavens, you will deal with yourself according to righteousness, you will keep peace with others, and you will be joyful before and with God. This is the heavenly ruling, the heavenly government, and it is the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” p. 462)

Today’s Reading

The Lord Jesus told us to pray, “Your kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10). But the kingdom will not come in the way many Christians think. In a sense, the kingdom has come already. In another sense, however, the kingdom is coming… From the day He sowed Himself into the human earth, the Christ kingdom began to come. The growth process will continue until the time of the full harvest, at which time there will be the full manifestation of the Christ kingdom.

What is the kingdom? The kingdom is simply Christ sown into us, growing in us, maturing in us, and reaching the time of harvest. The kingdom is not merely a dispensation or a sphere. It is the totality of Christ being life to us in all His activities.

The animal kingdom is the totality of all animal life with all its activities. Birds are flying, monkeys are climbing, and turtles are swimming in the water…Likewise, the kingdom of Christ is the totality of Christ being life to us with all His activities. We all have Christ within us as life, and we have many activities in Christ. This is the kingdom of Christ. Recently, I was watching, observing, and enjoying so many activities of the members in the meeting. You may say that was a church meeting. I agree, but that was also the kingdom of Christ with His life and activities.

God was incarnated as a man. God’s desire is to come into man. When we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, He comes into us as life. From that point on, God grows within us. God’s growth in us means that He is spreading within us. The more God grows, the more He spreads, and the more ground He occupies within us. The more ground He occupies, the more He reigns. The kingdom is God’s divine reign in us through the inward growth of life. The kingdom of God is God being life to us, spreading in us, occupying the ground in us, and reigning over our whole being.

Satan takes the human body as his dwelling place, but the Lord Jesus takes the human spirit as His dwelling place. God in His sovereignty has preserved the human spirit for Himself. Although the human spirit has been influenced by the evil body and the corrupt mentality to the point that it has been deadened, we can find no hint in the Bible that Satan has ever entered into the human spirit. When we repent and believe in the Lord Jesus, He immediately comes into our spirit. The enemy tries his best to hide this matter of the human spirit from Christians. The Bible tells us clearly that the Lord Jesus Christ is with our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). From our spirit He is growing and spreading within us, taking possession of more ground in our being. By occupying more ground within us, He actually reigns within us. This is the inward reigning of the Lord Jesus. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” pp. 25-26, 67-69)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” chs. 47—48

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