第五篇

在神的家中當怎樣行—操練自己以至於敬虔

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詩歌：382

讀經：提前三15 上、16 上，四7 下～ 8，六3，提後一7，四22，多一1

【週一】

壹 『我將這些事寫給你，…你也可以知道在神的家中當怎樣行』—提前三14 ～ 15 上：

一 保羅所服事給提摩太的，完全是關於在召會中當怎樣行—一3 ～ 5、18 ～ 19。

二 我們在召會中行事爲人的路，乃是藉着成爲愛慕神話語的人—三15 上，參約六63、68。

三 我們要知道在召會生活中當怎樣行，就必須遵循這兩個管治原則：尊重基督的元首權柄，以及擔負真理—西二19，弗四15。

四 我們要在神的家—召會—中有正確的行事爲人，就需要顧到健康的教訓—提後四3 ～ 4。

五 我們必須在我們的靈裏生活行動，使神能在召會中顯明爲活的神—約四23 ～ 24，林前六17，提前三15 ～ 16。

【週二、週三】

貳 『大哉！敬虔的奧祕！這是眾所公認的』—16 節上：

一 『敬虔』這個重要的辭在提摩太前後書中使用了九次—提前二2，三16，四7 ～ 8，六3、5 ～6、11，提後三5。

二 敬虔是個奧祕，因爲又真又活，卻不可見—提前三16 上，六11。

三 對真理完全的認識乃是合乎敬虔的—多一1。

四 神永遠經綸的真理，實際，是合乎敬虔的，敬虔就是神顯現於人—1 節，提前三16 上。

五 敬虔乃是像神，與神相像，彰顯神—西一15，三10。

六 敬虔並非僅僅外面的事；提前三章十六節的『顯現』這辭，指明敬虔是裏面的生命連同外面的彰顯。

七 我們這些在基督裏的信徒該追求敬虔；追求敬虔乃是過一種顯明神的日常生活—六11。

八 爲要使神顯現於肉體，我們整個生活都需要彰顯敬虔—約壹三2，二28。

九 神的經綸是神進入我們裏面，而敬虔是神從我們而出—提前一4，三16 上：

1 基督徒的生活就是神進神出—約四14，七29。

2 因爲敬虔是神的彰顯，基督徒的生活該是在凡事上彰顯神並帶有神樣式的生活—來一3，林後三18。

3 提前二章二節說，我們需要十分敬虔的過平靜安寧的生活；我們在各處並在一切事上，卽便是小事，都需要十分敬虔的過生活。

4 我們的召會生活、日常生活和家庭生活，就是神終日進進出出—林後十三14，三18。

十 活神的召會是敬虔終極的奧祕，因爲正當的召會生活乃是神在肉體的團體顯現—提前三15 ～16，西一15。

【週四】

叁 『操練自己以至於敬虔』—提前四7 下：

一 我們在召會生活中行事爲人的路，就是操練自己以至於敬虔—三15 上，四7 下，二2。

二 我們都必須操練我們的靈，因爲神的奧祕乃是在於我們的靈—弗一9，三3 ～ 4、9，五32，西一26 ～ 27，二2，提後四22。

三 我們基督徒的生活是敬虔的生活，來自於神將祂自己分賜到我們裏面；這在於我們的靈得着完全的操練—林後十三14，提後四22，門25。

四 我們需要建立起運用靈的習慣—提前四7 下，林前六17，弗二22：

1 來自神的分賜的敬虔生活，在於操練我們的靈—提前四7 下，約四23 ～ 24。

2 我們若不剛強的操練我們的靈，與主合作，神就無法將祂自己分賜到我們裏面—林後十三14，林前六17，羅八4、9。

五 『操練』這辭含示勉強—提前四7 下：

1 操練總是一件勉強的事。

2 每當我們在艱難的光景中，我們必須勉強自己操練我們的靈—參羅八28。

3 我們基督徒若要剛強並在主裏長大，就必須勉強自己用我們的靈—提後四22，啓一10，四2，十七3，二一10，羅八16。

【週五】

六 操練我們的靈，乃是將我們的心思置於靈—6節，瑪二15 ～ 16：

1 當我們將心思置於靈，我們就有內裏生命平安的感覺，就是剛強、飽足、安息、釋放、活潑、滋潤、明亮和舒適的感覺。

2 當我們將心思置於肉體，我們就有內裏死的感覺，就是輭弱、虛空、不適、不安、下沉、枯乾、黑暗和痛苦的感覺。

3 我們基督徒的生活不是按照對錯的標準，乃是照着靈，並且我們憑着內裏生命平安的感覺認識靈—羅八6、16，九1，林後十三14。

七 操練我們的靈，乃是辨明我們的靈與魂—來四12：

1 我們應當一直保持警覺，辨明並拒絕一切不是出於靈，而是出於魂，出於己的事—太十六25，參路九25。

2 我們必須一直保持我們的靈與魂分開—來四12，帖前五23。

3 仇敵的計謀總是要使我們的靈一直與我們的魂攙雜在一起。

4 我們的一切所是、所有並所作，都必須在靈裏；神之於我們的一切，都是在我們的靈裏—提後四22。

【週六】

八 爲要證明操練以至於敬虔就是操練我們的靈，我們必須讀提摩太後書；在那裏保羅說，神賜給我們的，乃是能力、愛並清明自守的靈；這樣的靈乃是帶着剛強的意志、愛的情感並清明自守的心思—一7：

1 提後一章七節裏的『靈』，指我們由聖靈重生並內住之人的靈—約三6，羅八16。

2 將神的恩賜如火挑旺起來，與我們重生的靈有關—提後一6。

3 『能力』說到我們的意志，『愛』說到我們的情感，『清明自守』說到我們的心思—7 節。

九 操練自己以至於敬虔，就是操練我們的靈，在日常生活中活基督，以建造召會作基督的身體—提前四7 下，弗二20 ～ 22，四12、16，林前十四4、12。

Message Five

How to Conduct Ourselves in the House of God— Exercising Ourselves unto Godliness

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Hymns: 501

Scripture Reading: 1 Tim. 3:15a, 16a; 4:7b-8; 6:3; 2 Tim. 1:7; 4:22; Titus 1:1

§ Day 1

I. "I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God"—1 Tim. 3:15a:

A. What Paul ministered to Timothy was entirely concerning how to conduct himself in the church—1:3-5, 18-19.

B. The way to conduct ourselves in the church is by becoming one who loves the Word of God—3:15a; cf. John 6:63, 68.

C. Respecting the headship of Christ and bearing the truth are two governing principles that we must follow in order to know how to conduct ourselves in the church life—Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:15.

D. In order to properly conduct ourselves in the house of God, the church, we need to take care of the healthy teaching—2 Tim. 4:3-4.

E. We must live and act in our spirit so that in the church God can be manifested as the living God—John 4:23-24; 1 Cor. 6:17; 1 Tim. 3:15-16.

§ Day 2 & Day 3

II. "Confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness"—v. 16a:

A. The important word godliness is used nine times in 1 and 2 Timothy—1 Tim. 2:2; 3:16; 4:7-8; 6:3, 5-6,11; 2 Tim. 3:5.

B. Godliness is a mystery because it is real and living yet invisible—1 Tim.
3:16a; 6:11.

C. The full knowledge of the truth is according to godliness—Titus 1:1.

D. The truth, the reality, of Gods eternal economy is according to godliness, which is God manifested in man—v. 1; 1 Tim. 3:16a.

E. Godliness is godlikeness, being like God, expressing God—Col. 1:15; 3:10.

F. Godliness is not merely an outward matter; the word manifested in 1 Timothy 3:16 indicates that godliness is an inward life with an outward expression.

G. As believers in Christ, we should pursue godliness; to pursue godliness is to live a daily life that manifests God—6:11.

H. In order for God to be manifested in the flesh, godliness needs to be expressed in our whole living—1 John 3:2; 2:28.

I. Gods economy is God coming into us, and godliness is God going out of us—1 Tim. 1:4; 3:16a:

1. The Christian life is simply God coming in and God going out—John 4:14; 7:29.

2. Because godliness is the expression of God, the Christian life should be a life that expresses God and bears Gods likeness in all things—Heb. 1:3; 2 Cor. 3:18.

3. First Timothy 2:2 says that we need to lead a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness; even in small things, we need to lead a life in all godliness, everywhere  and in everything.

4. Our church life, our daily life, and our family life are simply God coming in and God going out all day—2 Cor. 13:14; 3:18.

J. The church of the living God is the ultimate mystery of godliness because the proper church life is the corporate manifestation of God in the flesh—1 Tim. 3:15-16; Col. 1:15.

§ Day 4

III. "Exercise yourself unto godliness"—1 Tim. 4:7b:

A. The way to conduct ourselves in the church life is to exercise ourselves unto godliness—3:15a; 4:7b; 2:2.

B. We all have to exercise our spirit because the mystery of God is with our spirit—Eph. 1:9; 3:3-4, 9; 5:32; Col. 1:26-27; 2:2; 2 Tim. 4:22.

C. Our Christian life is a life of godliness, which comes out of Gods dispensing of Himself into us; this depends upon our spirit being fully exercised—2 Cor. 13:14; 2 Tim. 4:22; Philem. 25.

D. We need to build up the habit of exercising our spirit—1 Tim. 4:7b; 1 Cor. 6:17; Eph. 2:22:

1. A godly life issuing from Gods dispensing depends upon the exercise of our spirit—1 Tim. 4:7b; John 4:23-24.

2. If we do not exercise our spirit strongly to cooperate with the Lord, God cannot dispense Himself into us—2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Cor. 6:17; Rom. 8:4, 9.

E. The word exercise implies forcing—1 Tim. 4:7b:

1. To exercise is always a forced matter.

2. Whenever we are in a hard situation, we have to force ourselves to exercise our  spirit—cf. Rom. 8:28.

3. If we Christians want to be strong and grow in the Lord, we must force ourselves to use our spirit—2 Tim. 4:22; Rev. 1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10; Rom. 8:16.

§ Day 5

F. To exercise our spirit is to set our mind on the spirit—v. 6; Mal. 2:15-16:

1. When we set our mind on the spirit, we have the inner sense of life and peace, the sense of strength, satisfaction, rest, release, liveliness, watering, brightness, and comfort.

2. When we set our mind on the flesh, we have the inner sense of death, the sense of weakness, emptiness, uneasiness, restlessness, depression, dryness, darkness, and pain.

3. Our Christian life is not according to the standard of right and wrong but according to the spirit, and we know the spirit by the inner sense of life and peace—Rom. 8:6,16; 9:1; 2 Cor. 13:14.

G. To exercise our spirit is to discern our spirit from our soul—Heb. 4:12:

1. We should always be on the alert to discern and deny anything that is not of the spirit but of the soul, the self—Matt. 16:25; cf. Luke 9:25.

2. All the time we need to keep our spirit separate from our soul—Heb. 4:12; 1 Thes. 5:23.

3. The enemys strategy is always to mix our spirit with our soul.

4. Whatever we are, whatever we have, and whatever we do must be in the spirit; everything that God is to us is in our spirit—2 Tim. 4:22.
§ Day 6

H. In order to prove that the exercise unto godliness is the exercise of the spirit, we need to go to 2 Timothy, where Paul says that God has given us a spirit that is strong, loving, and sober; such a spirit is with a strong will, a loving emotion, and a sober mind—1:7:

1. The word spirit in 2 Timothy 1:7 denotes our human spirit, regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit—John 3:6; Rom. 8:16.

2. To fan into flame the gift of God is related to our regenerated spirit—2 Tim. 1:6.

3. Of power refers to our will, of love to our emotion, and of sobermindedness to our mind—v. 7.

I. To exercise ourselves unto godliness is to exercise our spirit to live Christ in our daily life for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ—1 Tim. 4:7b; Eph. 2:20-22; 4:12, 16; 1 Cor. 14:4, 12.