第五週■週一

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晨興餧養

提前三15『倘若我躭延，你也可以知道在神的家中當怎樣行；這家就是活神的召會，真理的柱石和根基。』

西二19『…持定元首；本於祂，全身藉着節和筋，得了豐富的供應，並結合一起，就以神的增長而長大。』

保羅所服事給提摩太的，完全是關於在墮落的時期，在召會中當怎樣行。關於在神的家中當怎樣行，…〔以下是其中〕兩個點。首先，…我們必須尊重基督的元首權柄。無論我們是甚麼、作甚麼、說甚麼，都該在一種靈裏，就是尊重基督的元首權柄。尊重基督的元首權柄會保護我們，在召會生活中免於許多錯誤。…今天基督教的主要問題，就是不顧基督的元首權柄。…第二件事乃是，全召會都是真理的柱石和根基。（提前三15。）不只領頭的人，乃是召會中每一個肢體都應該實行真理，認識真理，使我們能成爲柱石，在這個黑暗的世代中擔負神的真理。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。（李常受文集一九七八年第二册，八五四至八五五頁。）

信息選讀

我們要在神的家—召會—中有正確的行事爲人，也需要顧到健康的教訓。提後四章三至四節說，『因爲時候要到，那時人必容不下健康的教訓，反而耳朵發癢，隨着自己的情慾，給自己堆積起教師來；並且轉耳離棄真理，偏向虛構無稽之事。』用『容』（tolerate）這個字是指忍受某種苦難。對某些人而言，健康的教訓成了他們必須忍受的事物。…〔他們〕可能比較喜歡聽那些能搔他們發癢耳朵的教訓。我們在召會中的行事爲人，不該照着我們發癢的耳朵，反而需要照着健康的教訓。

一種教訓是令人厭煩或是幫人搔癢並不重要；我們需要思考的乃是，到底這是不是健康的教訓？…召會中的教訓必須是健康的。爲着我們在召會生活中的行事爲人，只聽健康的教訓是另一個管治原則。保羅在三卷提字書裏，七次用到『健康的教訓』、『健康的話』、『健康話語』、和『健康言語』這些辭。（提前一10，六3，提後一13，四3，多一9，二1，8。）他知道當召會生活墮落時，人會厭煩健康的教訓，偏好那些能搔他們發癢耳朵的教訓。…我們的行事爲人不該照着意見、好惡，而需要按着健康的教訓。我們應該接受並應用任何在屬靈上健康的教訓，拒絕任何不健康的教訓。正確的教訓不在於合乎我們的口味，而在於是否健康。

保羅在提前一章三至四節寫道：『我往馬其頓去的時候，曾勸你仍住在以弗所，好囑咐那幾個人，不可教導與神的經綸不同的事，也不可注意虛構無稽之事，和無窮的家譜；這等事只引起辯論，對於神在信仰裏的經綸並無助益。』我們不該教導任何與神的經綸不同的事。『經綸』（economy）這個辭是一個英語化的希臘辭，表示一種安排，管家職分，或是爲着分賜的一種行政。按照新約的啓示，神有一個經綸，要將祂自己在基督裏分賜到祂所揀選的人裏面，而產生召會，就是基督的身體。（李常受文集一九七八年第二册，八六○至八六一、八五五頁。）

參讀：基督徒生活與召會生活極重要的原則，第八章；完成神永遠定旨的生活，第二章。

WEEK 5 — DAY 1

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Morning Nourishment

1 Tim. 3:15 But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.

Col. 2:19 And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.

What Paul ministered to Timothy was entirely concerning how to conduct himself in the church in a time of degradation...Two points concerning how to conduct ourselves in the house of God [are], first,...we must respect the headship of Christ. Whatever we are, do, and say should be in a spirit that respects the headship of Christ. Respecting the headship of Christ safeguards us from many kinds of mistakes in the church life...The main problem with Christianity today is that it disregards the headship of Christ...The second matter...is that the entire church is the pillar and base of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). Not the leading ones only but every member in the church should practice to know the truth so that we can be a pillar to bear God’s truth in this dark age. Respecting the headship of Christ and bearing the truth are two governing principles we must follow in order to know how to conduct ourselves in the church life. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 2, “Crucial Principles for the Christian Life and the Church Life,” p. 625)

Today’s Reading

In order to properly conduct ourselves in the house of God, the church, we also need to take care of the healthy teaching. Second Timothy 4:3-4 says, “The time will come when they will not tolerate the healthy teaching; but according to their own lusts they will heap up to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they will turn away their ear from the truth and will be turned aside to myths.” The word tolerate is used to indicate enduring some kind of suffering. To some the healthy teaching becomes something that must be tolerated...Such ones may prefer to hear teachings that will tickle their itching ears. We need to conduct ourselves in the church not according to our itching ears but according to the healthy teaching.

Whether a teaching is boring or tickling does not mean anything; we need to consider only whether or not it is a healthy teaching...The teaching in the churches must be healthy. Heeding only healthy teaching is another governing principle for our conduct in the church life. Paul used the terms healthy teaching, healthy words, and healthy speech seven times in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus (1 Tim. 1:10; 6:3; 2 Tim. 1:13; 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1, 8). He knew that when the church life is in degradation, people will be bored of the healthy teaching and will prefer to have their ears tickled...We need to conduct ourselves not according to our opinion or our likes or dislikes but according to the healthy teaching. We should receive and apply any teaching that is spiritually healthy, and we need to reject any teaching that is not healthy. The proper teaching is not a matter of our taste but a matter of what is healthy.

In 1 Timothy 1:3-4 Paul wrote, “Even as I exhorted you, when I was going into Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.” We should not teach anything that is different from God’s economy. The word economy is an anglicized Greek word, denoting a dispensation, a stewardship, or an administration to dispense something. According to the revelation of the New Testament, God has an economy to dispense Himself in Christ into His chosen people to produce the church, the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 2, “Crucial Principles for the Christian Life and the Church Life,” pp. 629-630, 625-626)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1978, vol. 2, “Crucial Principles for the Christian Life and the Church Life,” ch. 8; CWWL, 1963, vol. 2, “The Living That Fulfills God’s Eternal Purpose,” ch. 2