第八週■週三

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晨興餧養

彼前二5『〔你們〕也就像活石，被建造成爲屬靈的殿…。』

弗二21『在祂裏面，全房聯結一起，長成在主裏的聖殿。』

照着保羅在提前三章十五節裏的話，召會是神的家。家，原文也可譯作家人。…神的家人，神的家庭就是神的家。家與家人是指同一樣東西—由信徒組成的會集。（弗二19，來三6。）這家是活神的居所，其實際是在我們的靈裏。（弗二22。）我們必須在我們的靈裏生活行動，使神能在這家中顯明爲活的神。（提摩太前書生命讀經，六七頁。）

信息選讀

召會作神的家， 乃是神的居所。以弗所二章二十二節說，『你們也在祂裏面同被建造，成爲神在靈裏的居所。』…保羅是說在以弗所這地方的聖徒在基督裏同被建造，成爲神的居所。

召會，神在地上的居所，是神能得着安息並寄託的所在。神在這居所裏生活行動，以成就祂的意願並滿足祂心裏的渴望。

因着召會是神的居所，神就在其中得着彰顯。…你是怎樣的人，就藉你的家得着顯明。…在神的家，祂的居所裏，神自己在地上得着彰顯。這就是爲甚麼提前三章十六節啓示，召會是神顯現於肉體。…神要在召會中實行祂新約的經綸，說出祂的渴望，並彰顯祂的榮耀。凡祂所是、所作、並祂所要達到的，都要在作祂居所的召會裏顯明並彰顯出來。

以弗所二章二十二節告訴我們，神的居所是在信徒的靈裏。在此保羅說我們『同被建造，成爲神在靈裏的居所』。這裏的靈是指信徒有神的聖靈內住重生之人的靈。神的靈是居住者，不是居所；居所是信徒的靈。神的靈住在我們重生的靈裏。因此，神的居所是在我們的靈裏，我們的靈是神居住的所在。

我們都要清楚看見神的居所乃是在我們的靈裏，不是在我們的心或心思裏。看見我們有靈，並且神住在我們重生的靈裏，這是很要緊的。如果我們不知道如何運用靈，就不可能明白任何有關神家的事，因爲這家（神的居所）乃是在信徒的靈裏。

彼前二章五節…裏『屬靈的』，指明神的生命生活並長大（2）的性能。神的殿主要的是藉神的生命得以維繫，因此是屬靈的殿。

我們是基督裏的信徒，需要長大並變化，爲着建造神屬靈的殿。神在信徒身上的目標，是要得着屬靈的石頭所建造的殿；不是分開、離散的石頭，甚至也不是僅僅聚在一起的一堆石頭，乃是彼此建造起來的石頭。因此，靠着神話語中滋養的奶，（2 ～3，）而從基督得餧養，不僅是爲着生命長大，更是爲着建造。長大是爲着建造。雖然話奶是經由心思滋養魂的，最終卻滋養我們的靈，使我們屬靈而不屬魂，適合於爲神建造屬靈的殿。

以弗所二章二十一節…裏的『殿』原文指聖所，全殿的內部。因爲神的建築是活的，所以是在長大，長成聖殿。召會作神的家，其真實的建造，乃是藉着信徒在生命裏的長大。不僅如此，神的家作神的殿，卽神的聖所，全部的建築都是在主基督裏。（新約總論第七册，二一二至二一五頁。）

參讀：提摩太前書生命讀經，第六篇。

WEEK 8 — DAY 3

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Morning Nourishment

1 Pet. 2:5 You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house...

Eph. 2:21 In whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.

According to Paul’s word in 1 Timothy 3:15, the church is the house of God. The Greek word rendered “house” may also be translated “household.”...The household, the family, of God is the house of God. The house and the household are one thing—the assembly that is composed of the believers (Eph. 2:19; Heb. 3:6). The reality of this house as the dwelling place of the living God is in our spirit (Eph. 2:22). We must live and act in our spirit so that in this house God can be manifested as the living God. (Life-study of 1 Timothy, second edition, p. 55)

Today’s Reading

As the house of God, the church is the dwelling place of God. Ephesians 2:22 says, “In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.”...Paul is saying that the local saints, the saints in Ephesus, were being built together in Christ into a dwelling place of God.

The church, the dwelling place of God on earth, is the place in which God can have His rest and put His trust. In this dwelling place God lives and moves to accomplish His will and satisfy the desire of His heart.

Because the church is God’s dwelling place, the church is where God expresses
Himself...The kind of person you are is expressed by your house...In His house, His
dwelling place, God expresses Himself on earth. This is the reason 1 Timothy 3:16
reveals that the church is God’s manifestation in the flesh...He wants to practice His New Testament economy, speak forth His desire, and manifest His glory in the church. All that He is, all that He is doing, and all that He wants to obtain are to be
manifested, expressed, in the church as His dwelling place.

Ephesians 2:22 tells us that God’s dwelling place is in the believers’ spirit. Here Paul says that we are “being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” This refers to the believers’ regenerated human spirit indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is the Dweller, not the dwelling place. The dwelling place is in the believers’ spirit. God’s Spirit dwells in our regenerated spirit. Therefore, the dwelling place of God is in our spirit. Our spirit is the place of God’s habitation.

We all need to see clearly that God’s dwelling place is in our spirit, not in our heart or in our mind. Realizing that we have a spirit and that God dwells in our regenerated spirit is crucial. If we do not know how to exercise our spirit, it will be impossible for us to understand anything concerning God’s house, because this house, the dwelling place of God, is in the believers’ spirit.

The word spiritual [in 1 Peter 2:5] denotes the qualification of the divine life that lives and grows (v. 2). The house of God subsists mainly by the divine life; hence, it is a spiritual house.

As believers in Christ, we need to grow and be transformed for the building up of God’s spiritual house. God’s goal in the believers is to have a house built up with spiritual stones, not separated and scattered stones, not even a pile of stones merely gathered together, but stones built up with one another. Hence, feeding on Christ by the nourishing milk in the word of God (vv. 2-3) is not only for growing in life but also for building up. Growing is for building up. Although the nourishing milk of the word is for the soul through the mind, it eventually nourishes our spirit, making us not soulish but spiritual, suitable for building up a spiritual house for God.

The Greek word translated “temple” [in Ephesians 2:21] denotes the sanctuary, the inner part of the temple. Because God’s building is a living one, it is growing...into a holy temple. The actual building of the church as the house of God is by the growth in life of the believers. Furthermore, the entire building of God’s house as His temple, His sanctuary, is in Christ the Lord. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2229-2231)

Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Timothy, msg. 6