晨興聖言-信徒(一)-(W10-2)

第十週 • 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,為我舍了自己。

太十六24 於是耶穌對門徒說,若有人要跟從我,就當否認己,背起他的十字架,並跟從我。


基督的死是一個模子,把我們模成這模子的形狀,就像把麵團放在蛋糕模子裏,模成其形狀一樣。神已經把我們擺進基督之死的模子裏,一天過一天神用這模子,把我們模成這死(羅六3~4)。我們應當模成這模子的形狀,就是向我們人的生命死,而活神的生命。我們若治死我們天然的生命,就會感覺我們裏面有另一個生命,就是神聖的生命;這生命會得着釋放,這樣,我們在經歷中就會模成基督的死(約十10,約壹五11~12)。在基督之死的模子裏,天然的人消殺了,舊人釘死了,己廢掉了(林後四16,羅六6,太十六24)。我們若讓環境將我們壓到這模子裏,我們日常的生活就會模成基督之死的形狀(羅八28~29)。

模成基督的死,乃是認識並經歷基督,和祂復活的大能,以及同祂受苦之交通的條件。模成基督的死,是經歷基督的基礎(新約總論第十二冊,三五至三六頁)。

信息選讀

我們若非模成基督的死,就不能模成基督的形像。基督的死是模子,我們在其中模成祂的形像,就是神長子的形像。當我們經歷變化和模成的過程,我們就模成基督的死。

基督的死終其一生都在進行。祂一面活着,一面也在死。…祂對門徒說到祂的受苦和十字架的死時,他們無耳可聽。一天又一天,基督向着舊造死,為要在新造裏過生活。

模成基督的死,該是我們信徒每天的經歷。我們天然的生命越被治死,我們裏面神聖的生命就越得釋放。然後在我們的經歷中,我們就會模成基督的死。

十字架〔太十六24〕不僅是受苦;十字架主要是治死。十字架殺死並了結罪犯。基督是先背十字架,然後釘十字架。當祂背十字架的時候,祂一直是在治死之下,而不在受苦之下。今天我們這些在基督裏的信徒,是先與祂同釘十字架,然後背十字架。對我們來說,背十字架乃是留在基督之死的治死裏,以了結我們的己、天然生命和舊人。

我們要背十字架,就需要領悟我們已經釘十字架。我們已經與基督一同在十字架上被殺死,我們自己的生命、天然的生命、舊人和我們的全人,都已經被殺死。如今我們必須留在殺死之下。這就是背十字架的意義。

背十字架的意思是在我們身上帶着基督的死,並且讓基督的死不斷的在我們身上作工,為要治死我們的己。背十字架也是留在基督的死裏。基督的死乃是我們的定命,也是我們的目的。我們若要變化並模成長子基督的形像,就需要留在祂的死裏,以祂的死為我們的居所。因此,背十字架的意義就是使我們自己與釘十字架的基督聯合,並與祂一同留在祂的死裏。我們若不留在基督的死裏,就是撇棄祂的十字架;若留在祂的死裏,就是背十字架。這就是模成基督的死(真理課程三級卷三,五八至六一頁)。

參讀:真理課程三級卷三,第四十五課。

WEEK 10 — 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.

Matt. 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

Christ’s death is a mold to which we are conformed in much the same way that dough is put into a cake mold and conformed to it. God has put us into the mold of Christ’s death, and day by day God is molding us to conform us to this death (Rom. 6:3-4). We should be conformed to such a mold by our dying to our human life to live the divine life. If we put to death our natural life, we will have the consciousness that we have another life, the divine life, within us; this life will be released, and then in our experience we will be conformed to Christ’s death (John 10:10; 1 John 5:11-12). In the mold of Christ’s death, the natural life is killed, the old man is crucified, and the self is nullified (2 Cor. 4:16; Rom. 6:6; Matt. 16:24). If we allow our circumstances to press us into this mold, our daily life will be molded into the form of Christ’s death (Rom. 8:28-29).

Being conformed to the death of Christ is the condition for knowing and experiencing Him, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. Being conformed to the death of Christ is the base of the experience of Christ. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3508)

Todays Reading

Unless we are conformed to Christ’s death, we cannot be conformed to the image of Christ. Christ’s death is the mold in which we are being conformed to His image, the image of the firstborn Son of God. As we experience the process of transformation and conformation, we are being conformed to the death of Christ.

The death of Christ was present in Him throughout His whole life. As He was living, He was also dying…When He told His disciples that He would suffer and be crucified, they had no ears to hear. Day after day Christ died to the old creation so that He might live in the new creation.

Being conformed to Christ’s death should be our daily experience as believers. The more our natural life is put to death, the more the divine life in us will be released. Then in our experience we will be conformed to Christ’s death.

The cross [Matt. 16:24] is not merely a suffering; it is primarily a killing. It kills and terminates the criminal. Christ bore the cross and then was crucified. As He was bearing the cross, He was under a killing rather than a suffering. The believers in Christ are crucified with Him and then bear the cross. Bearing the cross means to remain in the killing of the death of Christ for the terminating of our self, natural life, and old man.

For us to bear the cross, we must realize that we have already been crucified. We have been crucified together with Christ on the cross; our own life, the natural life, the old man, and our entire being have been killed. Now we must remain under the killing. This is the meaning of bearing the cross.

The meaning of bearing the cross is that we bear about in our body the death of Christ, allowing the death of Christ to work continuously on us for the putting to death of our self. To bear the cross is also to remain in the death of Christ. The death of Christ is our destiny and our goal. If we want to be transformed and conformed to the image of Christ the Firstborn, we need to remain in His death, taking His death as our dwelling place. Hence, the meaning of bearing the cross is to join ourselves to the crucified Christ and remain with Him in His death. If we do not remain in Christ’s death, we are forsaking His cross; if we remain in His death, we are bearing the cross. This is to be conformed to the death of Christ. (Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 3, pp. 51-53)

Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 3, lsn. 45

 

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