第四週•週二

w04d02-ch

晨興餧養

申八7『因爲耶和華你神領你進入美地，那地有川，有泉，有源，從谷中和山上流出水來。』

詩三六8 ～ 9『…你也必叫他們喝你樂河的水。因爲在你那裏，有生命的源頭…。』

   四六4『有一道河，這河的支流，使神的城快樂…。』

迦南美地，是包羅萬有的基督完滿、完整、終結的豫表；基督乃是三一神的具體化身，（西二9，）實化爲包羅萬有賜生命的靈，（林前十五45，…）作神子民分得的產業，成爲他們的享受。…申命記八章七至九節中美地的豐富，豫表基督那追測不盡之豐富的不同方面，（弗三8，）在祂的靈裏作祂信徒全備的供應。（腓一19。）川、泉、源表徵基督是湧流的靈，（約四14，七37 ～ 39，啓二二1，）谷和山表徵各種不同的環境，我們可在其中經歷基督作湧流的靈。（參林後六8 ～ 10。）（聖經恢復本，申八7 註1。）

信息選讀

那坐在寶座上救贖的神…將祂自己分賜到所有蒙祂救贖的人裏面，…是藉着從寶座流出來的河…，這河稱爲『生命水的河』。〔啓二二1。〕這河就如創世記二章十至十四節，詩篇四十六篇四節，以西結四十七章五至九節的河所豫表的，是表徵在其流中生命的豐盛。這是一道河，流遍聖城的四方，就像創世記二章十至十四節的一條河分爲四道。這一道河連同其豐富，在我們…所有不同的經歷中，成了許多道河，如約翰七章三十八節所指明的。

生命水象徵神在基督裏成爲那靈，將自己流進祂所救贖的人裏面，作他們的生命和生命的供應。這是從裂開磐石流出的水（出十七6，民二十11）所豫表的，也是從主耶穌被扎的肋旁流出的水（約十九34）所象徵的。〔在啓示錄二十二章一節，〕生命水成了一道河，從神和羔羊的寶座流出來，供應並浸透整個新耶路撒冷，所以這城充滿神聖的生命，在神生命的榮耀中彰顯祂。

照着創世記二章十節，一條河至終成爲四道，到達地的四方。在舊約裏有許多經文說到這條河。…以西結四十七章說，從殿的門檻下流出來的水成了『可洑的水，不可𧼮的河』。（5。）同章九節說，『這河所到之處，凡滋生有生命的動物都必生活。』

新約裏也題到這條河。林前十章四節論到以色列人和他們在曠野飄流的事，說，『也都喝了一樣的靈水；所喝的是出於隨行的靈磐石，那磐石就是基督。』以色列人因着口渴發怨言的時候，神吩咐摩西擊打磐石，就有水從磐石流出來給百姓喝。（出十七1 ～ 6。）摩西如此作，耶和華就『使水從磐石湧出，叫水如江河流下』。（詩七八16。）從被擊打的磐石流出來的水豫表賜生命的靈。在約翰福音裏，主耶穌說到這靈。在四章十節，主對撒瑪利亞的婦人指明，祂是賜活水者；並且在十四節祂說，『我所賜的水，要在他裏面成爲泉源，直湧入永遠的生命。』不僅如此，在七章三十七、三十八節…我們看見，一條河成了許多道江河。活水的江河乃指生命多方面的流出。（參羅十五30，帖前一6，帖後二13，加五22 ～ 23，…羅八2。）（啓示錄生命讀經，八六一至八六三頁。）

參讀：包羅萬有的基督，第四章。

WEEK 4 — DAY 2

Morning Nourishment

Deut. 8:7 For Jehovah your God is bringing you to a good land, a land of waterbrooks, of springs and of fountains, flowing forth in valleys and in mountains.

Psa. 36:8-9 …You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life…

       46:4 There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God…

The good land, the land of Canaan, is a full, complete, and consummate type of the all-inclusive Christ, who is the embodiment of the Triune God (Col. 2:9) realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45…), as the inheritance allotted to God’s people for their enjoyment…The riches of the good land in Deuteronomy 8:7-9 typify the unsearchable riches of Christ in different aspects (Eph. 3:8) as the bountiful supply to His believers in His Spirit (Phil. 1:19). The waterbrooks, springs, and fountains signify Christ as the flowing Spirit (John 4:14; 7:37-39; Rev. 22:1), and the valleys and mountains signify the different kinds of environments in which we may experience Christ as the flowing Spirit (cf. 2 Cor. 6:8-10). (Deut. 8:7, footnote 1)

Today’s Reading

The redeeming God sitting on the throne dispenses Himself into all His redeemed…by means of the river proceeding out of the throne…This river is called “a river of water of life” [Rev. 22:1]. The river, typified by the rivers in Genesis 2:10-14, Psalm 46:4, and Ezekiel 47:5-9, signifies the abundance of life in its flow. It is one river, flowing to the four corners of the holy city, like the one river in Genesis 2:10-14, which divided and became four branches. As indicated in John 7:38, this one river with its riches becomes many rivers in our experience.

The water of life is a symbol of God in Christ as the Spirit flowing Himself into His redeemed people to be their life and life supply. It is typified by the water that came out of the riven rock (Exo. 17:6; Num. 20:11) and is symbolized by the water that flowed out of the pierced side of the Lord Jesus (John 19:34). In Revelation 22:1, the water of life becomes a river, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb to supply and saturate the entire New Jerusalem. Thus, this city is filled with the divine life that it may express God in His glory of life.

According to Genesis 2:10, the one river [that went out of Eden] eventually became four branches reaching the four directions of the earth. There are many other references to this river in the Old Testament…In Ezekiel 47 the water that issued out from under the threshold of the house became “enough water to swim in, a river that could not be crossed” (v. 5). Verse 9 of the same chapter says that “everything shall live wherever the river comes.”

This river is also mentioned in the New Testament. Speaking of the children of Israel and their wandering in the wilderness, 1 Corinthians 10:4 says, “All drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.” When the children of Israel murmured because of their thirst, God told Moses to strike the rock, and water would come out of it for the people to drink (Exo. 17:1-6). Moses did so, and the Lord “brought forth streams from the rock and made water run down like rivers” (Psa. 78:16). The water that came out of the smitten rock
was a type of the life-giving Spirit. The Lord Jesus spoke of this Spirit in the Gospel of John. In John 4:10 the Lord indicated to the Samaritan woman that He was the Giver of living water, and in verse 14 He said, “…The water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.” Moreover, in John 7:37 and 38…we see that the one river becomes many rivers. The rivers of living water are the many flows of the different aspects of life (cf. Rom. 15:30; 1 Thes. 1:6; 2 Thes. 2:13; Gal. 5:22-23), originating from the one unique river of water of life (Rev. 22:1), which is God’s Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). (Life-study of Revelation, 2nd edition, pp. 722-723)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” ch. 4