第二週■週六

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晨興餧養

彼前一8『你們雖然沒有見過祂，卻是愛祂，如今雖不得看見，卻因信入祂而歡騰，有說不出來、滿有榮光的喜樂。』

腓四11『…我已經學會了，無論在甚麼景況，都可以知足。』

今天主與我們同在，（太二八20）是隱藏、遮蔽的。祂的回來將是祂的顯現，那時，祂要公開被眾人看見。…我們沒有見過主耶穌，卻是愛祂，如今雖不得看見，卻是信入祂。…我們沒有見過祂，卻是愛祂，這是因着信，因着那藉聽見活的話而注入到我們裏面的信。（加三2。）

按照彼前一章八節，信徒『歡騰，有說不出來、滿有榮光的喜樂』。…這喜樂乃是浸沒在主這榮光裏，因此這喜樂滿了主的彰顯。這喜樂也是說不出來的喜樂，是過於我們所能發表的喜樂。…藉着信入主並愛主，我們就有了大喜樂。基督徒正常的光景乃是『歡騰，有說不出來、滿有榮光的喜樂』。（新約總論第十三册，一九二頁。）

信息選讀

羅馬十四章十七節說，『因爲神的國不在於喫喝，乃在於公義、和平、並聖靈中的喜樂。』公義是向着我們自己，和平是向着別人，而聖靈中的喜樂乃是向着神。我們需要在靈中喜樂。一個基督徒該是個喜樂的人，但這並不表示我們的境遇會是很美好的；實際上，這可能表示我們是在『火窰』裏，就如但以理的三個朋友一樣。（但三19 ～ 20，23，25。）他們是在烈火的窰裏，但他們仍然喜樂。我們的環境與境遇也許是可憐的，但我們自己仍需要喜樂。如果我們與神之間沒有喜樂，我們就是錯的；如果我們與神是對的，卽使我們在受苦，總會有喜樂。當使徒保羅和西拉被下在監裏，他們的處境極其惡劣，但他們仍然喜樂。（徒十六23 ～ 25。）在他們的感覺中，他們並不是在監牢裏，他們乃是在神裏面。對他們而言，監牢不過是神的代表，而他們是在神裏面。（弗四1。）因此，他們是喜樂的。

當我們在靈裏火熱並在聖靈中喜樂，我們就享受神，在生命中作王，在生命的新樣中生活行動，並在靈的新樣裏服事。我們的事奉不會給人一種老舊的感覺；相反的，…我們會給別人一種新鮮和新樣的感覺。…我們要嶄新並新鮮，就需要將我們的心思置於靈，在靈裏並照着靈而行，靈裏火熱，並在聖靈中喜樂。這樣我們就能在神裏面誇耀，享受祂作我們的分。我們就自然而然的在生命中作王，在生命的新樣中生活行動，並在靈的新樣裏服事。…〔羅馬十二至十六章〕所題到的，就成了我們在靈中所享受的事物。當我們在火熱和喜樂的靈裏享受神，我們就得着這一切。（李常受文集一九六六年第二册，三五九至三六○頁。）

今天，年長的聖徒所以生氣蓬勃，就因爲他們裏面有永遠的生命。…尤其在聚會中，我們看見許多年長的聖徒都是笑臉迎人，生氣蓬勃。他們乃是『誠於中，形於外』，裏頭有一個生命，是個不老的生命；這個生命在他們裏面，顯出來就是喜樂，因爲我們的主是喜樂的主。按外面的環境來說，也許沒有甚麼可樂的，但住在我們裏面的主就是我們的喜樂。我們唱詩時喜樂，作見證更是喜樂；我們越開口，就越喜樂，甚至只要說聲『阿們』，或『阿利路亞』，我們的臉就放光、放開了，也就喜樂了。（李常受文集一九八七年第三册，三二頁。）

參讀：彼得前書生命讀經，第六篇。

WEEK 2 — DAY 6

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Morning Nourishment

1 Pet. 1:8 Whom having not seen, you love; into whom though not seeing Him at present, yet believing, you exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.

Phil. 4:11…I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be content.

The Lord is with us today (Matt. 28:20) but in a hidden, veiled way. His coming back will be His revelation, when He will be seen openly by all. Although we have never seen the Lord Jesus, we love Him. At present we cannot see Him, yet we believe in Him…We love Him whom we have not seen because of believing, that is, because of the faith that has been infused into us through our hearing of the living word (Gal. 3:2).

According to 1 Peter 1:8, the believers “exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.”…This joy is immersed in the Lord as glory; thus, it is full of the expression of the Lord. This joy is also unspeakable; it is a joy that is beyond our ability to utter…By believing into the Lord and loving Him, we obtain great joy. The normal condition of a Christian is to “exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.” (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp.3854-3855)

Today’s Reading

Romans 14:17 says, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Righteousness is toward ourselves, peace is toward others, and joy is toward God in the Holy Spirit. We need to be joyful in the spirit. A Christian must be a joyful person. This does not mean that our circumstances will be wonderful. It may actually mean that we are in a “furnace,” like the three friends of Daniel (Dan. 3:19-20, 25). They were in the blazing furnace, but they were still joyful. Our surroundings and circumstances may be miserable, but we ourselves must be joyful. If between us and God there is no joy, we are wrong. If we are right with God, there will always be joy, even if we are suffering. When the apostles Paul and Silas were put into prison, their surroundings were terrible, but they were joyful (Acts 16:23-25). To their feeling they were not in the jail but in God. To them, the jail was simply the representative of God, and they were in Him (Eph. 4:1). Therefore, they were joyful.

When we are burning in our spirit and joyful in the Holy Spirit, we enjoy God, reign as kings in life, walk in newness of life, and serve in newness of spirit. In our service we will not give people a feeling of oldness. Rather,…we will always give others a feeling of freshness and newness. Our being new and fresh requires that we walk in the spirit and according to the spirit, set our mind on our spirit, be burning in spirit, and be joyful in the Holy Spirit. In this way we will boast in God and enjoy Him as our portion. We will spontaneously reign in life as kings, walk in newness of life, and serve in newness of spirit…All the matters mentioned in…Romans 12 through 16, are the things we will enjoy in our spirit. When we enjoy God in a burning and joyful spirit, we have all these matters. (CWWL, 1966, vol. 2, “The Divine Spirit with the Human Spirit in the Epistles,” pp. 273-274)

Today the reason some of the elderly saints are so lively is that they have the eternal life in them…In particular, we see many elderly saints in the meetings who welcome people with smiles and are full of vigor. What is real in them is manifested outwardly. They have a life in them that is a never-aging life. When this life is expressed in them, it becomes joy, because our Lord is the Lord of joy. There may be nothing in the outward environment to make us joyful, but the Lord who lives in us is our joy. We are joyful when we sing, and we are even more joyful when we testify for the Lord. The more we open our mouths, the more joyful we are. Even by saying Amen or Hallelujah, our faces become glowing, shining, and full of joy. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 3, “Being Up to Date for the Rebuilding of the Temple,” p. 30)

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