第四週■週六

晨興餧養

w04d06-ch

路十四27『凡不背着自己十字架跟從我的，也不能作我的門徒。』

利十四9『第七天，他要再剃去所有的毛髮，把頭髮、鬍鬚、眉毛、並全身的毛都剃了；又要洗衣服，用水洗身，就潔淨了。』

十字架的目的不是叫人受苦，乃是將人了結。在基督裏的信徒，已經與祂同釘十字架（被了結—加二20，羅六6）。他們藉信與祂有生機的聯結以後，就當留在十字架上，將他們的舊人一直留在十字架的了結裏（參羅六3，西二20 ～ 21）。…基督是先背十字架，後釘十字架（約十九17 ～ 18）。但在基督裏的信徒是先釘十字架，後背十字架，使他們留在舊人的了結裏，因而經歷並享受基督作他們的生命和生命的供應（聖經恢復本，路十四27 註1）。

因着主死而復活，人就復活了、得釋放了，也就是蒙恩得救了。從這時候開始，就要潔除一切的污穢，也就是對付自己裏外一切的難處。

衣服是掛在人身上的東西，在聖經裏是指着我們一切的行事爲人，與生活行動說的。所以，洗衣服〔參利十四8 ～ 9〕就是指着把生活中一切不妥當、不正確的行爲，都對付乾淨。這就包括…了結已往、對付罪、對付世界、與對付良心，那些頭二層裏的生命經歷（李常受文集一九五三年第三册，四九七頁）。

信息選讀

毛髮都是人本身所長出來的東西，所以是指着我們本身的難處說的。因此，剃毛髮〔利十四9〕，就是指着對付我們本身的難處，也就是十字架對付我們這個人的工作。人經過十字架的對付，全人纔能得着實際的潔淨。但這個對付，不是一次就可以的，必須一再的有對付纔能徹底。…這繼續而有的對付，不只徹底，並且仔細多了，不單是籠統的剃毛髮，還要認清那裏是頭髮，那裏是鬍鬚，或是眉毛，或是全身其他的毛，都要分別一一對付，剃除淨盡。

這些毛髮在聖經中都有它豫表的意思。頭髮是指人的榮耀，鬍鬚是指人的尊貴，眉毛是指人的美麗，全身的毛是指人天然的能力。每一個人都有他所誇耀、所顯揚的地方。有人自誇他的出身，有人自誇他的學問，有人自誇他的美德，也有人自誇他的熱心愛主。每一個人都能在自己身上找出一些可誇的地方，引以爲榮，而顯揚在人的面前；這就是他的頭髮。人也都自居尊貴。有的人自居他的地位，或自居他的身家，或自居他的屬靈，總覺得自己比別人高超；這就是他的鬍鬚。同時在人身上還有一些天然的美麗，就是天然的長處和優點。這些不是神的救恩所帶給人的，乃是人生來就有的；這就是人的眉毛。最後，人還滿有天然的能力、辦法、主張，以爲能爲主作這個，能爲主作那個，覺得甚麼都能。這就是說，人全身還有很長的毛沒有剃掉。凡這些，都不是我們從身外所受的玷污，而是我們本身與生俱來的難處。從身外所受的那些玷污，只要用水洗就可以了，但我們本身的這些難處，卻必須用刀來剃，也就是用十字架來對付纔可以（李常受文集一九五三年第三册，四九七至四九九頁）。

參讀： 出埃及記生命讀經， 第一百五十八、一百六十四篇。

WEEK 4 — DAY 6

Morning Nourishment

w04d06-en 

Luke 14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

Lev. 14:9 And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair; he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

The aim of the cross is not suffering but the termination of the person. The believers in Christ have been crucified (terminated) with Him (Gal.2:20; Rom. 6:6). After being organically united with Him through faith, they should remain on the cross, keeping their old man under the termination of the cross (cf. Rom. 6:3; Col. 2:20-21)…Christ first carried the cross and then was crucified (John 19:17-18). But the believers in Him are first crucified and then carry the cross that they may remain in the termination of their old man, thus experiencing and enjoying Christ as their life and life supply. (Luke 14:27, footnote 1)

When a person is resurrected and liberated through the death and resurrection of the Lord, he is saved. From this time forth, he must cleanse away all his filthiness, dealing with both his inward and outward difficulties.

Clothing, which is something put upon the human body, typifies our living, deeds, and actions. Therefore, the washing of the clothes [cf. Lev. 14:8] indicates dealing with all improper and wrong deeds in our lives. This includes…the clearance of the past and the dealing with sin, the world, and the conscience, which belong to the first two stages of the experience of life. (CWWL, 1953, vol. 3, “The Experience of Life,” p. 363)

Today’s Reading

The hair, which is something grown out from a man’s body, signifies the difficulties within ourselves. Therefore, shaving the hair [Lev. 14:9] means dealing with the difficulties of our own self. This is the work of the cross in dealing with our being. After one passes through the dealing of the cross, his whole being is cleansed in a practical way. This kind of dealing is not once for all; it must be repeated again and again to become thorough…This continuous dealing is not only thorough but detailed; that is, it is not only the shaving of the hair in general, but it also differentiates between the hair of the head, the beard, and the eyebrows, and the hair of the whole body. These areas must be dealt with one by one, and eventually the whole body completely shaved.

In the Bible each of the different kinds of hair has its own significance. The hair of the head signifies the glory of man, the beard represents the honor of man, the eyebrows speak of the beauty of man, and the hair of the whole body denotes the natural strength of man. Everyone has his boasts in certain areas. Some boast of their ancestry, some of their education, some of their virtues, some of their zeal in their love for the Lord. Almost everyone can find an area in which to boast, to glorify himself, and to make a display before man. This is typified by the hair of the head. Moreover, people esteem themselves honorable with regard to their position, their family background, or even their spirituality; they always have a superior feeling that they are above others. This is their beard. At the same time, men also have some natural beauty, that is, some naturally good and strong points, which did not issue from the experience of God’s salvation but from natural birth. This is the eyebrows of man. Finally, as human beings, we are full of natural strength, natural methods and opinions, thinking that we can do this or that for the Lord and that we are capable of doing all things. This means that we still have very long hair all over our body; we have not been shaved. All these are not outward contaminations but problems of our natural birth. The outward contaminations need only to be washed with water; however, our own natural problems must be shaved with a razor, which means that they must be dealt with by the cross. (CWWL, 1953, vol. 3, “The Experience of Life,” pp. 363-364)

Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msgs. 158, 164