第十二週■週三

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晨興餧養

啓二一2『我又看見聖城新耶路撒冷由神那裏從天而降，豫備好了，就如新婦妝飾整齊，等候丈夫。』

十九7『我們要喜樂歡騰，將榮耀歸與祂；因爲羔羊婚娶的時候到了，新婦也自己豫備好了。』

新耶路撒冷是一個新婦，指明她不是一座物質的城，乃是一個團體的人位。對基督，她是新婦，爲叫祂得滿足。（聖經恢復本，啓二一2 註3。）

聖經的主題乃是宇宙對耦的神聖羅曼史；男方是神自己，女方是神所揀選並救贖的人。（創二21 ～24，賽五四5，耶二2，三14，三一32，結二三5，何二7，19，太九15，約三29。）在新舊兩約，神將祂的選民比作自己的配偶（賽五四6，耶三1，結十六8，何二19，林後十一2，弗五31 ～ 32）和居所。（出二九45 ～ 46，民五3，結四三7，9，詩六八18，林前三16 ～ 17，六19，林後六16，提前三15。）配偶是在愛裏使神得着滿足。作基督新婦的新耶路撒冷，是出自她的『丈夫』基督，而成爲祂的配偶，正如夏娃是出自她的丈夫亞當，而成爲亞當的配偶。（創二21 ～ 24。）（新約總論第十四册，二九六頁。）

信息選讀

在召會時代，我們許配給基督；（林後十一2；）婚娶之日將是千年國時代；（啓十九7；）婚姻生活將是在新耶路撒冷裏，直到永遠。（二一2，9 ～ 10。）

按其人性說，新耶路撒冷是羔羊—救贖之神—的人性妻子，有神的生命和性情。（2，9。）這屬人的妻子能與神聖的人位成爲婚配，因爲她有神聖的生命和性情。這使她有資格與救贖的神相配。…因爲她是屬人的，她就能成爲救贖之神的人性妻子。因爲她是神聖的，她就能與祂這神聖的人位成爲婚配。…按其神性說，新耶路撒冷是蒙神救贖之選民的神性丈夫（救贖之神在祂終極完成的具體化身基督裏，有人的生命和性情）。妻子是屬人的，丈夫是神聖的。屬人的妻子能與神聖的人位成爲婚配，因爲她有神聖人位的性情和生命。同一個實體是丈夫又是妻子，因爲新耶路撒冷是神聖的，神聖的神乃是其構成的一部分。…新耶路撒冷按其人性是妻子，按其神性乃是丈夫。但作爲神聖的丈夫，新耶路撒冷有屬人的生命和性情。在其人性和神性裏，新耶路撒冷乃是一對配偶，妻子和丈夫。

基督與作祂妻子的新耶路撒冷將是宇宙的對耦，直到永遠。〔二二17。〕那是經過過程並終極完成之三一神總和的那靈，與那些如今已完全成熟、作祂新婦的信徒成爲一。（二一2，9 ～ 10。）經過過程並終極完成之三一神的終極完成，與蒙神重生、變化、並榮化之子民的終極完成，要成爲宇宙的對耦，彰顯三一神，直到永遠。（11，23。）…基督不可能娶一座物質的城作祂的妻子。這有力的證明，新耶路撒冷不是一座物質的城。…新耶路撒冷作爲基督的新婦，不僅是要完成，並且是要裝飾的。（19。）今天我們需要以父神作其純金基礎、子神作其珍珠門、並靈神作其寶石牆，裝飾並完成新耶路撒冷。新耶路撒冷乃是用純金、珍珠、寶石，就是用三一神作元素裝飾的。這是終極完成的神聖三一，將祂自己構成到我們裏面，使我們成爲金、珍珠和寶石，好叫祂得着擴大，作祂永遠的彰顯，就是新耶路撒冷。（新約總論第十四册，二九七至二九九頁。）

參讀：約翰福音結晶讀經，第十四篇。

WEEK 12 — DAY 3

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Morning Nourishment

Rev. 21:2 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

19:7 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.

The New Jerusalem is a bride, indicating that she is not a material city but a corporate person. To Christ she is a bride for His satisfaction. (Rev. 21:2, footnote 3)

The subject of the Bible is a divine romance of a universal couple; the male is God Himself, and the female is God’s chosen and redeemed people (Gen. 2:21-24; Isa. 54:5; Jer. 2:2; 3:14; 31:32; Ezek. 23:5; Hosea 2:7, 19; Matt. 9:15; John 3:29). In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, God likens His chosen people to a spouse (Isa. 54:6; Jer. 3:1; Ezek. 16:8; Hosea 2:19; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:31-32) and a dwelling place for Himself (Exo. 29:45-46; Num. 5:3; Ezek. 43:7, 9; Psa. 68:18; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Tim. 3:15). The spouse is for His satisfaction in love. As the bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem comes out of Christ, her Husband, and becomes His counterpart, just as Eve came out of Adam, her husband, and became his counterpart (Gen. 2:21-24). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4363)

Todays Reading

In the church age we are betrothed to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2). The wedding day will be the age of the millennial kingdom (Rev. 19:7). The marriage life will be in the New Jerusalem for eternity (21:2, 9-10).

According to its humanity, the New Jerusalem is the human wife (with the divine life and nature) of the Lamb, the redeeming God (vv. 2, 9). This human wife can marry a divine person because she has the divine life and nature. This qualifies her to match the redeeming God…Because she is human, she can be the redeeming God’s human wife. Because she is divine, she can marry Him, a divine person. According to its divinity, the New Jerusalem is the divine Husband (the redeeming God in His consummated embodiment, Christ, with the human life and nature) of God’s redeemed elect. The wife is human, and the Husband is divine. A human wife can marry a divine person because she has the divine person’s nature and life. The same entity can be both a husband and a wife because the New Jerusalem is divine. The divine God is a part of its constituent…The New Jerusalem is the wife according to its humanity and the Husband according to its divinity. But as the divine Husband, the New Jerusalem has the human life and nature. In its humanity and in its divinity it is a couple, a wife and a husband.

Christ and the New Jerusalem as His wife will be a universal couple for eternity [22:17]. The Spirit, who is the totality of the processed and consummated Triune God, becomes one with the believers, who are now fully matured to be the bride (21:2, 9-10). The consummation of the processed and consummated Triune God and the consummation of His regenerated, transformed, and glorified people will be a universal couple expressing the Triune God for eternity (vv. 11, 23). It is impossible for Christ to marry a physical city as His wife. This is a strong proof that the New Jerusalem is not a physical city…The New Jerusalem as the bride of Christ needs to be not only consummated but also adorned (v. 19). Today we need to adorn and consummate the New Jerusalem with God the Father as its golden base, God the Son as its pearl gates, and God the Spirit as its wall of precious stones. The New Jerusalem is adorned with pure gold, pearl, and precious stones, that is, with the Triune God as the elements. This is the consummated Divine Trinity constituting Himself into our being to make us gold, pearl, and precious stones so that He may have an enlargement for His eternal expression, the New Jerusalem. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4363-4365)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” ch. 14