第二週•週一

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晨興餧養

提後四 7『那美好的仗我已經打過了，當跑的賽程我已經跑盡了，當守的信仰我已經守住了。』

來十二 1『所以，我們旣有這許多的見證人，如同雲彩圍着我們，就當脫去各樣的重擔，和容易纏累我們的罪，憑着忍耐奔那擺在我們前頭的賽程。』

我們…要藉着奔跑賽程，經歷經過過程之三一神的分賜。基督徒的生活，乃是一場賽跑。我們信徒是賽跑的人〔來十二 1〕。…保羅在林前九章二十四節也說，『豈不知在場上賽跑的都跑，但得獎賞的只有一人？你們應當這樣跑，好叫你們得着獎賞。』…我們必須奔跑，並且必須跑得成功，以得着獎賞作爲激勵的賞賜。林前九章啓示，基督徒的賽程包含傳揚福音，傳揚福音就是將基督分賜到人裏面。我們藉着將基督分賜到那些接受我們傳講的人裏面，而奔跑基督徒的賽程。…我們傳揚福音，就是奔跑賽程。在主耶穌來時，我們要得着賞賜、獎賞，就是得着特別的享受（真理課程四級卷三，四八頁）。

信息選讀

我們所奔跑的賽程，實際上就是基督自己。主耶穌說，『我就是道路。』（約十四 6）賽程就是道路、路程。因爲基督是道路，祂也就是賽程。我們所走的道路，就是我們所奔跑的賽程。…基督是我們的道路，但我們不該只把這道路當作道路，乃該把這道路當作賽程來奔跑。我們不該花時間考慮或觀望，站着不動或緩緩而行。我們需要奔跑賽程，直到能像保羅在提後四章七節宣告的：『當跑的賽程我已經跑盡了。』保羅被主得着後，就開始奔跑屬天的賽程，並且不停的奔跑（林前九 24 ～ 26，腓三 12 ～ 14），直到跑完這賽程（徒二十 24）。末了他終於得勝的宣告說，他已跑盡當跑的賽程，並且他要從主得着賞賜，就是公義的冠冕（提後四 8）。

我們爲奔跑賽程所贏得的獎賞，乃是不能壞的華冠（林前九 25），作爲激勵的賞賜。這賞賜要在主回來時，在基督的審判臺前（林後五 10），按我們的行爲賜給我們（太十六 27，啓二二 12，林前四 5），並要在要來的國度裏給我們享受（太二五 21、23）。這獎賞不是指一般的救恩（弗二 8，林前三 15），乃是指特別的賞賜（來十 35，林前三 14）。永遠的救恩是藉着信，與我們的行爲無關（弗二 8 ～ 9），而賞賜是爲着我們得救之後的行爲（工作）（林前三 8、14）。我們在基督裏的信徒，都已藉信接受了祂的救恩，…但我們將來能否得主的賞賜，乃在於我們如何奔跑賽程。

在林前九章，保羅正在場上奔跑；在他晚期的一封書信—腓立比書—裏，他還在奔跑（三 14）；直到提後四章六至八節，他奔跑到了最後一刻，纔有把握會在主顯現時得着祂的賞賜。在這賞賜的光中，保羅囑咐我們要跑這場賽跑，使我們能得不能壞的華冠。

我們若要奔跑基督徒的賽程，必須脫去各樣不必要的重量，各樣重負…。此外，我們還需要脫去『容易纏累我們的罪』〔來十二 1〕。這裏的罪，主要的是指纏累我們，使我們不能奔跑賽程的事。重擔是外面的，而罪是裏面的，二者都阻撓我們奔跑賽程。

我們在基督徒的賽程中必會遭到許多的反對；因此，要奔跑這賽程，我們必須憑着忍耐忍受反對（來十二 1 下），絕不疲倦灰心（3）（真理課程四級卷三，四八至五一頁）。

參讀：真理課程四級卷三，第四十四課。

WEEK 2 — DAY 1

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Morning Nourishment

2 Tim. 4:7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith.

Heb. 12:1 Therefore let us also, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, put away every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and run with endurance the race which is set before us.

The believers…experience the dispensing of the processed Triune God by running the course of the race. The Christian life is a race, and we are runners [Heb. 12:1]…Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that those who run on a racecourse all run, but one receives the prize? Run in this way, that you may lay hold.”…We must not only run, but run successfully in order to obtain the prize, which is a reward as an incentive to us. First Corinthians 9 reveals that the Christian course involves preaching the gospel. To preach the gospel is to dispense Christ into others. By dispensing Christ into those who are receptive to our preaching, we run the Christian course… When we preach the gospel, we are running the course. However, to receive a reward, a prize, at the coming of the Lord Jesus is to have a particular
enjoyment. (Truth Lessons—Level Four, vol. 3, pp. 41-42)

Today’s Reading

The race we are running is actually Christ Himself. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the way” (John 14:6). A race is a way, a course. Christ is the race because He is the way. The way we are walking is the race we are running… Although Christ is our way, we should not take this way simply as a way; rather, we should take the way as a race to run. We should not take the time to consider, look around, stand still, or walk slowly. We need to run the race until we can declare, like Paul did in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have finished the course.” Paul began to run the course of the heavenly race after he was taken possession of by the Lord, and he continued to run (1 Cor. 9:24-26; Phil. 3:12-14) until he finished the course (Acts 20:24). Then at the end he triumphantly proclaimed, “I have finished the course.” He also proclaimed that he would receive from the Lord a reward—the crown of righteousness(2 Tim. 4:8).

The prize that the believers win for running the race is an incorruptible crown (1 Cor. 9:25), which is a reward as an incentive. This reward will be given to us according to our works at the Lord’s coming back (Matt. 16:27; Rev. 22:12; 1 Cor. 4:5). It will be decided at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10) and enjoyed in the coming kingdom (Matt. 25:21, 23). This prize is not salvation in a common sense (Eph. 2:8; 1 Cor. 3:15) but a reward in a special sense (Heb. 10:35; 1 Cor. 3:14). Eternal salvation is by faith, having nothing to do with our work (Eph. 2:8-9), whereas the reward is for our work after we are saved (1 Cor. 3:8, 14). As believers in Christ, we have all received His salvation through faith…But whether we will be rewarded by the Lord depends on how we run the race.

In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul was running the race. In Philippians, one of his last Epistles, he was still running (3:14). It was not until the last moment of his running, in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, that Paul had the assurance that he would be rewarded by the Lord at His coming. With this reward in view, Paul charges us to run the race so that we may obtain an incorruptible crown.

If we would run the Christian race, we need to put off every unnecessary weight, every encumbering burden…In addition, we also need to put off “the sin which so easily entangles us” [Heb. 12:1]. Here the sin refers mainly to the thing that entangles us, hindering us from running the race. The encumbrances are outward, but the sin is inward, both of which frustrate us in running the race.

There is much opposition to the Christian race; therefore, in order to run this race, the believers must suffer opposition with endurance and never grow weary or faint in our souls (vv. 1, 3). (Truth Lessons—Level Four, vol. 3, pp. 42-44)

Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Four, vol. 3, lsn. 44