晨興聖言-信徒(一)-(W07-4)
第七週 • 週四
晨興餧養
約十二24~26 我實實在在的告訴你們,一粒麥子不落在地裏死了,仍舊是一粒;若是死了,就結出許多子粒來。愛惜自己魂生命的,就喪失魂生命;在這世上恨惡自己魂生命的,就要保守魂生命歸入永遠的生命。若有人服事我,就當跟從我;我在那裏,服事我的人也要在那裏。若有人服事我,我父必尊重他。
信徒也由許多麥粒所象徵。約翰十二章二十四節…『許多子粒』一辭,指許多麥粒,乃是那一粒麥子的繁增。…在二十四節,主耶穌清楚的說到,祂自己,就是成為肉體的神,是那落在地裏死了的獨一麥粒。信徒是許多麥粒,由基督這一粒麥子所產生。
這許多麥粒是藉着基督的死與復活產生的。在主耶穌十字架的工作裏,祂是一粒麥子落在地裏死了,好釋放出神聖的生命來。神聖的生命在耶穌裏面,正如生命局限在一粒麥子裏面。因為生命隱藏在子粒中,所以外殼必須破裂,使內裏的生命得着釋放。基督包羅萬有的死,釋放了那在祂裏面的神聖生命。祂是一粒麥子死了,釋放出神聖的生命,且點活神所救贖的人,好產生許多子粒(新約總論第五冊,一三四至一三五頁)。
信息選讀
藉着基督的死與復活所產生的許多麥粒,是為着形成一個餅—基督的身體。許多子粒產生了以後,需要被壓碎,磨成粉,並在一個餅裏調和在一起,好獻給神。這餅就是召會,基督的身體。…(林前十17)。我們從祂所產生、所分受的基督,把我們構成祂的一個身體(新約總論第五冊,一三六頁)。
我們若愛神,祂會使萬有互相效力,叫我們得益處。…這益處…就是要我們模成祂長子的形像(羅八29)。…〔神〕用萬有把我們模成基督的形像。有些人可能在他們天然的人裏是良善、溫柔和忠信的。他們即使沒有重生或變化,也是很好的人。這樣,神怎能將祂自己作到這樣的人裏面?對這樣的人並對我們眾人,神必須把我們放在某些環境裏,來破碎我們。神的願望乃是要我們被破碎,好叫祂能將自己作到我們裏面。
保羅乃是被一種稱為復活大能的奧祕東西模成基督的死。除非藉着復活的大能,沒有一個人能模成基督的死。在我們裏面有一個隱藏、奧祕、大能的東西,稱為復活。最後我們就學會,無論錢財或來或去,無論兒女或來或走,神仍然存留。神是我們的分;祂不是我們外面的分,乃是我們裏面的分,作我們的構成。神已經將祂自己構成在我們裏面,也正在將祂自己構成到我們裏面。至終,神用萬有來將祂自己作成我們獨一的分。
我們的錢財、兒女、職業、學位,都不是我們的分。惟有神是我們的分。…我們可能有我們想要達到的目標,說我們必須講實際;但事實上,我們是把這些目標看作我們的分。這就是為甚麼多年以來,神來把我們天然的生命一層一層的『剝掉』。我在神逐漸的『剝除』之下幾乎七十年了。我今天很快樂,因為我天然的生命大部分已經被剝掉了。神用萬有來『剝掉』我們天然的生命。神甚至用召會生活中所有的弟兄和姊妹來完成這個剝除。…有一天會來到,那時我們會有大而嚴重的剝除。然後我們就要被破碎(李常受文集一九九一至一九九二年第二冊,六五○、六五六至六五七頁)。
參讀:基督徒的生活,第十五章。
WEEK 7 — DAY 4
Morning Nourishment
John 12:24-26 Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his soul-life loses it; and he who hates his soul-life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there also My servant will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
The believers are also symbolized by many grains of wheat…The expression “much fruit” [in John 12:24] refers to many grains of wheat as the multiplication of the one grain. In verse 24 the Lord Jesus clearly refers to Himself, God incarnate, as the unique grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies. The believers as many grains of wheat are produced out of Christ as the one grain.
The
many grains of wheat are produced through the death and resurrection of
Christ. In His work on the cross the Lord Jesus died as a grain of
wheat falling into death for the release of the divine life. The divine
life was in Jesus, just as life is confined in a grain of wheat. Because
the life is concealed in the grain, the shell must be broken so that
the inward life may be released. Christ’s all-inclusive death released
the divine life that was within Him. As a grain of wheat, He died to
release the divine life and to enliven God’s redeemed ones in order to
produce many grains. (The
Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1176-1177)
Todays Reading
The many grains of wheat produced through Christ’s death and resurrection are for the formation of one bread—the Body of Christ. After the many grains have been produced, they need to be crushed, ground into flour, and blended together in a loaf to be offered to God. This loaf is the church, the Body of Christ…(1 Cor. 10:17). The Christ out of whom we have been produced and of whom we partake constitutes us into His one Body. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 1178)
If we love God, He will cause all things to work together for our good… The good is for us to be conformed to the image of His firstborn Son (Rom. 8:29). [God] uses all things to conform us to the image of Christ. Some persons may be nice, gentle, and faithful in their natural man. They would be good persons even apart from being regenerated or transformed. Then what can God do to work Himself into such persons? With such persons and with all of us, God must put us into certain circumstances to break us. God’s desire is for us to be broken so that He can work Himself into us.
Paul was a person who was conformed to the death of Christ by something mysterious called the power of resurrection. No one can be conformed to the death of Christ except by the resurrection power. There is something within us hidden, mysterious, and dynamic called resurrection. Eventually, we will learn that whether money comes or money goes, whether children come or children go, God remains. God is our portion. He is not our portion outwardly but our portion inwardly in the way of constitution. God has constituted and is constituting Himself into our being. Eventually, God uses all things to make Himself our unique portion.
Our money, our children, our job, and our degree are not our portion. Only God is our portion…We may have our own goals that we desire to reach, saying that we need to be practical. But actually, these goals are our portion. This is why God comes to “peel off” our natural life layer by layer throughout the years. I have been under God’s gradual “peeling” for almost seventy years. I am happy today because much of my natural life has been peeled off. God uses all things to “peel off” our natural life. God even uses all the brothers and sisters in the church life to accomplish this peeling… The day will come when we will have a great and serious peeling off. Then we will be broken. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, “The Christian Life,” pp. 486, 490-491)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, “The Christian Life,” ch. 15
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