第七週■週一

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晨興餧養

提前一16『然而，我所以蒙了憐憫，是要叫耶穌基督在我這罪魁身上，顯示祂一切的恆忍，給後來信靠祂得永遠生命的人作榜樣。』

腓一21『因爲在我，活着就是基督，死了就有益處。』

在風暴的海上，主不僅使保羅成了與他同船之人的主人，（徒二七24，）也使保羅成了他們生命的保證人和安慰者。（22，25。））…在他漫長、不幸且受監禁的航程中，主保守使徒在祂的超越裏，使他能活出一種生活，遠超憂慮的境域。這種生活是全然尊貴，有人性美德的最高標準，彰顯最高超的神聖屬性，與多年前主在地上所過的生活相似。這是耶穌在祂被神性所豐富的人性裏，再次活在地上！這是從前活在福音書裏那奇妙、超絕、奧祕的神人，藉着祂許多肢體中的一個，在使徒行傳裏繼續活着！這是成爲肉體、釘死十架、復活、被神高舉之基督的活見證人！保羅在他的航程裏活基督，並顯大基督。（腓一20 ～ 21。）（聖經恢復本，徒二八9 註1。）

信息選讀

當主耶穌〔首次〕向保羅顯現時，他給保羅託付，選定他作執事和見證人。…執事是爲着職事，見證人是爲着見證。職事主要的與工作有關，與執事的所作有關；見證與人有關，與見證人的所是有關。

在行傳二十六章十六節，主耶穌對保羅說，『我向你顯現，正是要選定你作執事和見證人，將你所看見我的事，和我將要顯現給你的事，見證出來。』這裏『你所看見我的事』，以及『我將要顯現給你的事』，含『你在這些事中曾看見我』，並『我要在這些事中向你顯現』的意思。在這裏保羅乃是說，主選定他作執事和見證人，爲要將主已經啓示保羅的事，和主將要啓示他的事，見證出來。雖然保羅的意思是這樣，但他不是這樣來陳明這事。這一節乃是說，保羅在一些事中曾看見過主，主也要在一些事中向他顯現。

十六節指明，保羅並非領受一些事的啓示而沒有看見基督；反之，他乃是在所領受的事中看見基督。換句話說，凡基督向保羅啓示的事，莫不是以祂自己作那些事的內容。這就是保羅要將他所看見主的事見證出來的原因。在保羅所看見的一切異象中，他看見了基督。不僅如此，他也要將主所要顯現給他的事，見證出來。這裏主似乎對保羅說，『在你將要領受的一切異象和啓示中，我都要向你顯現。』這指明如果我們只看見異象和啓示，而沒有看見主，那我們所看見的就是虛空。

我們不贊成僅僅用神學的方式來研讀聖經。這樣研讀聖經的人，可能學習了神學，但他們沒有看見基督。研讀聖經來學習神學，與研讀聖經爲要看見基督大不相同。

當保羅在往大馬色去的路上，基督向他啓示了一些事，而保羅在那些事中看見了基督。主指明祂要向保羅啓示更多的事，在那些事中，主自己也要向他顯現。所以，保羅所看見的不僅是事情本身，更是基督在這一切事中向他顯現了。

在我們從主領受的任何亮光中，我們都必須看見基督。凡我們所看見的，不論是光照、異象或啓示，都必須有基督向我們顯現。…如果我們研讀聖經，獲得聖經知識而沒有看見基督，那知識就是虛空的。我們都需要學習在所啓示我們的事中看見基督。（使徒行傳生命讀經，六八一至六八四頁。）

參讀：使徒行傳生命讀經，第二十六、六十八篇；腓立比書生命讀經，第二十一篇。

WEEK 7 — DAY 1

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Morning Nourishment

1 Tim. 1:16 But because of this I was shown mercy, that in me, the foremost, Jesus Christ might display all His long-suffering for a pattern to those who are to believe on Him unto eternal life.

Phil. 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

On the sea in the storm, the Lord had made the apostle [Paul] not only the owner of his fellow voyagers (Acts 27:24) but also their life-guarantor and comforter (vv. 22, 25)...All during the apostle’s long and unfortunate imprisonment-voyage, the Lord kept the apostle in His ascendancy and enabled him to live a life far beyond the realm of anxiety. This life was fully dignified, with the highest standard of human virtues expressing the most excellent divine attributes, a life that resembled the one that the Lord Himself had lived on the earth years before. This was Jesus living again on the earth in His divinely enriched humanity! This was the wonderful, excellent, and mysterious God-man, who lived in the Gospels, continuing to live in the Acts through one of His many members! This was a living witness of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and God-exalted Christ! Paul in his voyage lived and magnified Christ (Phil. 1:20-21). (Acts 28:9, footnote 1)

Today’s Reading

When the Lord Jesus [first] appeared to Paul, He commissioned him, appointing him as a minister and a witness...A minister is for the ministry; a witness is for the testimony. The ministry is related mainly to the work, to what a minister does. A testimony is related to the person, to what a witness is.

In Acts 26:16 the Lord Jesus said to Paul, “I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a minister and a witness both of the things in which you have seen Me and of the things in which I will appear to you.” Notice that here the phrase in which is used twice. Here Paul was saying that the Lord had  ppointed him as a minister and a witness of the things He revealed to Paul and of the things He would reveal to him. Although this was Paul’s meaning, this was not the way he presented the matter. Rather, this verse speaks of the things in which Paul had seen the Lord and of the things in which the Lord would yet appear to him.

Acts 26:16 indicates that Paul did not receive the revelation of things without seeing Christ. Instead, he received the things in which he saw Christ. In other words, Christ did not reveal things to Paul without Himself as the content of those things. This is the reason that Paul would be a witness of the things in which he had seen the Lord. In all the visions that Paul saw, he saw Christ. Furthermore, he would be a witness of the things in which the Lord was yet to appear to him. Here the Lord seemed to be saying to Paul, “In all the visions and revelations you will receive, I will appear to you.” This indicates that if we only see visions and revelations and do not see the Lord, then what we see is vanity.

We do not agree with studying the Bible merely in a theological way. Those who study the Bible in this way may learn theology, but they do not see Christ. There is a great difference between studying the Bible to learn theology and studying the Bible in order to see Christ.

As Paul was on the way to Damascus, Christ revealed certain things to him, and in those things Paul saw Christ. The Lord indicated that He would reveal more things to Paul, and in those things the Lord Himself would appear to him. Therefore, what Paul saw was not merely the things themselves but Christ as the One appearing in all these things.

In any light we receive of the Lord, we must see Christ. Christ must appear to us...in the way of enlightenment, vision, or revelation...If we study the Bible and gain knowledge of the Scriptures without seeing Christ, that knowledge is vanity. We all need to learn to see Christ in the things that are revealed to us. (Life-study of Acts, second edition, pp. 578-581)

Further Reading: Life-study of Acts, msgs. 26, 68; Life-study of Philippians, msg. 21