第二週■週二

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晨興餧養

羅十四17『因爲神的國不在於喫喝，乃在於公義、和平、並聖靈中的喜樂。』

加五22『但那靈的果子，就是愛、喜樂、和平、恆忍、恩慈、良善、信實。』

羅馬十四章十七節說，神的國，就是召會生活的實際，乃是聖靈中的喜樂。帖前一章六節告訴我們，信徒『在大患難之中，帶着聖靈的喜樂，領受了主的話』。不僅如此，加拉太五章二十二節指明，喜樂是聖靈的果子。

所有的人都需要喜樂。身爲基督徒，我們被神的愛和神聖的生命充滿時，就有喜樂。愛來自生命，喜樂來自愛。神的靈是神聖生命、神聖之愛、和神聖喜樂的靈。…所以，我們可以有聖靈中的喜樂，就是那靈的喜樂。…我們若在那靈裏，就會因神喜樂，並讚美祂。（新約總論第四册，五二至五三頁。）

信息選讀

今天我們在召會中所過的得勝生活，就是國度的生活，乃是以聖靈中的喜樂配着公義、和平所構成的。我們如果對人、對神都是義的、對的，我們和人和神的關係，必定是和平的，也就能在聖靈裏喜樂。這證明我們是活在神國的實際中，受神的管治，而過實際的召會生活。主耶穌在馬太五、六、七章頒佈諸天之國的憲法，描述諸天之國子民的性質，（五1 ～ 12，）就結束在『應當喜樂歡騰，因爲你們在諸天之上的賞賜是大的』。（12。）這也說出喜樂乃是我們活在國度實際中的明證。

我們要喜樂，不是等到稱心的事臨到，使我們喜樂。住在我們裏面的主乃是我們喜樂的原因，在我們裏面運行的聖靈是我們常常喜樂的推動。我們若活在三一神的交通裏，經歷並享受那靈，就必得着那靈所帶給我們的喜樂。（真理課程二級卷四，六六至六七頁。）

我們必須從神的話語裏看出一件甜美的事，就是神之於我們，不只是相近的，並且神是把祂自己給了我們，來作我們的享受。這給我們看見，神和我們那個關係，那個親密，到了何等的地步。

神的兒女來讀詩篇的時候，多是喜歡第二十三篇。難得有一個基督徒不知道『耶和華是我的牧者』。但是實在說來，神對於我們，不光是一位牧養帶領我們的牧者，也不光是一位看顧保守我們的牧人，神對於我們，比牧者…還要親密多了。祂如果光是一個牧者，祂就只能在我們的外面照顧我們，只能在我們的外面牧養我們，祂不能進到我們裏面來作我們的一部分，也不能進到我們裏面來變作我們自己。但是聖經卻給我們看見，神能把祂自己放到我們裏面來，給我們享受；祂能進到我們的裏面來，作我們的生命，作我們的力量，作我們的食糧，作我們永活的水，作我們裏面每一部分的需要。在神裏面稍微有一點經歷的人都知道，神是如何的能給我們來享受。我們不單能在環境中享受神的安排，神的豫備，我們還能在心和靈裏享受神作我們各樣的供應。

無論我們靈、魂、體任何一部分的需要，神都能在我們的裏面來應付。神能在我們的靈裏應付我們靈的需要，神也能在我們的魂裏應付我們魂，或說心理的需要，神也能在我們身體中應付我們身體的需要。雖然這一位神是無形無狀的，是我們摸不着、看不見的，但是有經歷的人都能作見證，我們能在靈裏享受神，我們也能在魂裏享受神，我們還能在身體上享受神。這是何等榮耀的福分！（李常受文集一九五八年第一册，四九六至四九七頁。）

參讀：真理課程二級卷四，第四十三課。

WEEK 2 — DAY 2

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Morning Nourishment

Rom. 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Gal. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

Romans 14:17 says that the kingdom of God, which is the reality of the church life, is joy in the Holy Spirit. First Thessalonians 1:6 tells us that the believers “received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit.” Furthermore, Galatians 5:22 indicates that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

All people need joy. As Christians, we have joy when we are filled with the love of God and the divine life. Love comes from life, and joy comes from love. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of the divine life, the divine love, and the divine joy…Therefore, we may have joy in the Holy Spirit, a joy that is of the Spirit…If we are in the Spirit, we shall be joyful with God and praise Him. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 894-895)

Today’s Reading

The overcoming life that we live in the church today is the kingdom life, which is constituted of the joy of the Holy Spirit with righteousness and peace. If we are righteous and right toward others and toward God, we will have a peaceful relationship with others and with God. Thus, we will have joy in the Holy Spirit, proving that we are living in the reality of God’s kingdom and are under God’s rule and thereby have the practical church life. In Matthew 5, 6, and 7, in the decree of  the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens, concerning the portrayal of the nature of the people of the kingdom of the heavens (5:1-12), the Lord Jesus concluded with this word: “Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens.” This tells us that joy is an evidence of our living in the reality of the kingdom.

We need to rejoice, but it does not mean that we wait for some pleasant things to happen for us to rejoice. The indwelling Lord is the cause of our rejoicing, and the Holy Spirit who moves within us is the motivation of our constant rejoicing. If we live in the fellowship of the Triune God and experience and enjoy the Spirit, we will have the joy that is brought to us by the Spirit. (Truth Lessons—Level Two, vol. 4, pp. 60-61)

A sweet thought recorded in the Word of God is that God is not only near us but that He has even given Himself to us to be our enjoyment. This shows the intimate relationship God has with us.

Psalm 23 is a favorite psalm among God’s children; hence, it is difficult to find a Christian who does not know the words the Lord is my Shepherd. God, however, is not merely a Shepherd who leads us, protects us, and cares for us. God is more intimate than a shepherd. If He were merely a shepherd, He could care for us and shepherd us only in an outward way; He would be unable to enter into us to become a part of us. He could not become us. However, the Bible shows that God gives Himself to us for our enjoyment and works Himself into us. He can enter into us to be our life, our strength, our food, and our living water. He can meet the need of every part of our being. Those who have experienced God know that He is truly our enjoyment. We can enjoy God in His sovereign arrangements and provisions, and we can enjoy Him as the varied supply to our inward being.

When God is within us, He can supply the needs of our spirit, soul, and body. God can satisfy the needs of our spirit by supplying us from within our spirit. He can satisfy the needs of our soul, or our psyche, from within our soul. He can also satisfy the needs of our body by supplying us in our body. Although our God is invisible, untouchable, and intangible, those who have experienced God can testify that they enjoy Him in their spirit, in their soul, and even in their body. What a glorious blessing this is! (CWWL, 1958, vol. 1, “How to Enjoy God and How to Practice the Enjoyment of God,” pp. 365-366)

Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Two, vol. 4, lsn. 43