第八週■週四

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晨興餧養

約十四6『耶穌說，我就是道路、實際、生命…。』

 十七17『求你用真理聖別他們，你的話就是真理。』

在提後二章十九節保羅宣告：『…神堅固的根基立住了，上面有這印記說，主認識屬於祂的人。又說，凡稱呼主名的人，總要離開不義。』…這裏的根基並非指基督是召會的根基，乃指召會是真理的根基。〔參15，18，25。〕這與『真理的根基』相符，這根基托住真理，（提前三15，）特別是基督復活的真理。（徒四33。）

召會乃是在基督裏用神聖的生命建造的。這生命是不能毀壞、不能征服的，（來七16，徒二24，）並能抵擋來自任何源頭的致死敗落。因此，召會是神堅固的根基，永遠立住，抵擋一切的異端。無論怎樣的異端進來，或毒瘡如何擴大蔓衍，這堅固的根基已經立住了。（提摩太後書生命讀經，三八至三九頁。）

信息選讀

主的恢復主要是基於四個支柱：第一是真理，第二是生命，第三是召會，第四是福音。基督教所以落下去，就是因爲失去了真理，缺少了生命。聖經告訴我們，主自己就是真理，主自己也是生命。主耶穌在約翰十四章六節說，『我就是道路、實際、生命。』這裏的實際就是真理。換句話說，主說祂自己是生命和真理。

真理和生命，二者都是主自己，但各有不同的講究。其中的分別在於，真理是外在的解釋、說明；生命是我們裏面、內在的內容。主在我們裏面作我們的生命，這個經歷需要一個說明，這說明就是真理。如果我們照着這個說明接受主，我們就得着生命。因此，我們若要經歷並享受主作生命，就必須認識真理。從另一面來說，主作生命，乃是包藏在主作爲真理裏。所以我們若對主的真理不清楚、不明白、不認識，就無法享受主作我們的生命。因這緣故，我們必須花彀多的工夫學習真理。

主沒有把我們留在黑暗中，今天祂的真理，都在…聖經裏面。我們必須領悟，這一本聖經乃是一本生命的書；聖經所以是生命的書，在於其內容全是真理。凡經歷過的基督徒都承認，沒有一個人不認識聖經，不懂得聖經中的真理，而能享受主作生命。…我們若要得着並享受主作生命，就必須來到聖經跟前，得着其中的真理。聖經裏所有的真理，都是我們屬靈生命的糧食。…聖經所有的知識，都是真理，而這些真理都包藏着生命。我們讀聖經，如果只研讀字面，而不深究其內在的真理，就得不着生命。所以每一個讀聖經的人，都必須透過聖經的字面，纔能看見字面裏所帶給人的真理。…生命讀經的出版，就是爲着幫助我們進到聖經字句的深處。…凡好好研讀過生命讀經的人，都有相當的經歷；因爲生命讀經把他們帶到聖經的真理中，使他們從其中得着真實生命的供應。

今天主的恢復，就是恢復真理和生命。我們都知道，基督教所以落下去，就是因爲失去了真理和生命，結果許多人的辦法和世界的組織就都產生了。這些都不是主所要的。主不要組織，也不要人的辦法；主乃是要祂的召會認識祂是真理，接受並享受祂作生命。召會裏一切的內容，都必須是基督作真理、作生命，而從我們裏面長出來的。（李常受文集一九八四年第五册，五四三至五四五頁。）

參讀：讀出聖經的本色與中心，第二至三篇。

WEEK 8 — DAY 4

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Morning Nourishment

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life...

      17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

In 2 Timothy 2:19 Paul declares, “...The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, The Lord knows those who are His, and, Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.”...The foundation here does not refer to Christ as the foundation of the church but to the church as the foundation of the truth [cf. vv. 15, 18, 25]. This corresponds with the base of the truth, which holds the truth (1 Tim. 3:15), especially the truth of the resurrection of Christ (Acts 4:33).

The church is built with the divine life in Christ, a life that is indestructible, unconquerable (Heb. 7:16; Acts 2:24), and able to withstand decline into death from any source. Hence, the church is the firm foundation of God that stands forever against any heresy. No matter what kind of heresies may come in or how extensively the gangrene may spread, this firm foundation stands. (Lifestudy of 2 Timothy, second edition, pp. 31-32)

Today’s Reading

The Lord’s recovery is mainly founded upon four pillars: the truth, life, the church, and the gospel. The reason Christianity is degraded is that it has lost the truth and is short of life. The Bible tells us that the Lord Himself is the truth and the life. In John 14:6 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the way and the reality and the life.” In this verse the reality is the truth. Thus, the Lord said that He Himself is the life and the truth.

Both the truth and the life are the Lord Himself, but they are two different aspects of what He is. The difference is that the truth is an outward definition and explanation, and life is the inward and intrinsic content. The Lord is in us as our life, but the experience of life needs an explanation. This explanation is the truth. If we receive the Lord according to this explanation, we have life. Hence, in order to experience and enjoy the Lord as life, we must know the truth. The experience of the Lord as life is contained in the Lord as the truth. If we are not clear about the truth and do not understand or know the truth, we will have no way to enjoy the Lord as our life. For this reason we must spend an adequate amount of time to learn the truth.

The Lord has not left us in darkness. Today all His truths are contained in the Bible...We must realize that the Bible is a book of life. The reason the Bible is a book of life is that its entire content is truth. All experienced Christians confess that no one can enjoy Christ as life if he does not know the Bible or understand the truth in the Bible...We must come to the Bible to receive the truth that is in it if we want to receive and enjoy the Lord as life. All the truths in the Bible are food for our spiritual life. All the knowledge contained in the Bible is in fact truth, and in this truth, life is concealed. When we read the Bible, if we study only the letter but not the intrinsic truth within, we will not receive life. Hence, every Bible reader has to see the truth that is conveyed through the letter of the Word. Once we see the truth, we will spontaneously touch life. The Life-studies have been published to help us enter into the depths of the letter of the Word...The Life-studies bring us into the biblical truths, from which we may receive the genuine life supply.

Today the Lord’s recovery is a recovery of the truth and of life. We all know that the decline of Christianity is due to the fact that it has lost both the truth and life. This loss of the truth and life eventually produced many human methods and worldly organizations, which are not what the Lord wants. The Lord does not want any organization or human method. Instead, He wants His church to know Him as the truth and to receive and enjoy Him as life. The entire content of the church must be the growth of Christ in us as truth and life. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 5, “Truth, Life, the Church, and the Gospel—the Four Great Pillars in the Lord’s Recovery,” pp. 415-416)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1958, vol. 1, “Reading the Bible to See Its True Meaning and Central Thought,” chs. 2-3