第三週•週一

w03d01-ch

晨興餧養

弗四 13『直到我們眾人都達到了信仰上並對神兒子之完全認識上的一，達到了長成的人，達到了基督豐滿之身材的度量。』

提前一 19『持守信心和無虧的良心；有人丟棄這些，就在信仰上猶如船破。』

在新約裏，『信（或信仰）』（faith）一辭至少有兩個意義。第一個意義是主觀的意義。主觀的『信』與我們相信的行爲有關。…有在主裏的信（faith inthe Lord）就是相信主（believe in the Lord）。『信仰』的第二個意義是客觀的意義。客觀的信仰是指我們所相信的對象，也就是我們所相信的事物。…新約滿了信仰客觀方面的經文。猶大書三節說，『親愛的，我盡心竭力要寫信給你們，論到我們共享之救恩的時候，就不得不寫信勸你們，要爲那一次永遠交付聖徒的信仰竭力爭辯。』提後四章七節說，『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。』這兩節經文所題到的信仰，不是相信的行動，乃是客觀的信仰，指我們所相信的事。同樣的，以弗所四章十三節裏『信仰上…的一』這辭所題到的信仰，也是客觀的信仰（李常受文集一九六四年第一册，七七四至七七五頁）。

信息選讀

信仰的項目只是與我們救恩有關的項目—換句話說，只是與基督的身位和工作有關的項目，包括基督是神的兒子，由童女所生，爲救贖我們而死，第三天復活，升天，並且作爲那靈降下。…我們是否相信水浸、災後被提或任何其他這類的事，並不影響我們的救恩。只要我們相信以上所題的基要項目，我們就得救了。我們若不相信這些項目，就失喪了。與我們救恩有關的這些基要項目，構成了信仰。所有其餘的點都不是信仰的一部分，只是道理的教訓（李常受文集一九六四年第一册，七七六至七七七頁）。

『持守信心』〔提前一 19〕的信心一辭，指我們信的行動；因此，它指明主觀的信心。…當我們來到主的話面前，並藉着話，憑着那靈被神注入時，這信心就在我們裏面興起。主觀的信心在我們裏面運行，使我們與三一神之間產生生機的聯結。在這聯結裏，我們接受神聖的生命和性情，成爲神的眾子和基督身體（新人）的許多肢體，作三一神團體的彰顯，直到永遠。我們必須憑着這種信心打那美好的仗，不是憑着努力遵守律法。…隨着信心，我們也需要無虧的良心（徒二四 16）。無虧的良心是基督徒信仰和生活的保護。信心和無虧的良心是並行的。…在受攪擾的地方召會中，要打那美好的仗，對抗不同的教訓，無虧的良心同着信心，乃是必需的。

有人丟棄信心和無虧的良心，『就在信仰上猶如船破。』〔提前一 19〕這給我們看見丟棄信心和無虧良心的嚴重性。持守信心和無虧的良心，是我們基督徒信仰和生活的保護。船破這辭含示，基督徒生活與召會生活，好像船隻航行在風暴的海上，需要信心和無虧良心的保護。…保羅在十九節說到主觀的信心，就是我們信的行動；也說到客觀的信仰，就是我們相信的事物。保羅說到在信仰上猶如船破的人，是想到客觀的信仰，就是照着神新約經綸之完整福音的內容（提摩太前書生命讀經，二六至二八頁）。

參讀：提摩太前書生命讀經，第一至二篇；李常受文集一九六四年第一册，在一的立場上站立並盡功用，第六章；帖撒羅尼迦前書生命讀經，第十四篇。

WEEK 3 — DAY 1

Morning Nourishment

Eph. 4:13 Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

1 Tim. 1:19 Holding faith and a good conscience, concerning which some, thrusting these away, have become shipwrecked regarding the faith.

The word faith in the New Testament has at least two meanings. The first meaning is the subjective meaning. Subjective faith has to do with our action of believing…To have faith in the Lord is to believe in the Lord. The second meaning of faith is the objective meaning. The objective faith refers to the object of our believing, that is, to the things in which we believe… The New Testament is full of references to faith’s objective aspect. Jude 3 says, “Beloved, while using all diligence to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you and exhort you to earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.” Second Timothy 4:7 says, “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith.” The faith mentioned in both of these verses is not faith as a believing action but the objective faith, denoting the things in which we believe. Likewise, the faith mentioned in the phrase the oneness of the faith in Ephesians 4:13 is the objective faith. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, pp. 589-590)

Today’s Reading

The items of the faith are only those items that are related to our salvation—in other words, only those items that relate to Christ’s person and work. They include Christ being the Son of God, His being born of a human virgin, His dying a redemptive death for us, His rising on the third day, His ascension, and His descending as the Spirit…Whether or not we believe in baptism by immersion, post-tribulation rapture, or any other such matter does not affect our salvation. As long as we believe in the basic items mentioned above, we are saved. If we do not believe in these items, we are lost. These basic items that have to do with our salvation constitute the faith. All the rest of the points are not part of the faith. Rather, they are doctrinal teachings. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, pp. 590-591)

The word faith in the expression holding faith [1 Tim. 1:19] refers to our believing act; hence, it denotes subjective faith…This faith rises up in us when we come to the Word and are infused with God through the Word and by the Spirit. The subjective faith moves within us to bring about an organic union between us and the Triune God. In this union we receive the divine life and nature to become God’s many sons and the many members of the Body of Christ, the new man, to be the corporate expression of the Triune God for eternity. We must war the good warfare by this kind of faith, not by trying to keep the law. Along with faith, we also need a good conscience, a cons cience without offense (Acts 24:16). A good conscience is a safeguard of Christian faith and life. Faith and a good conscience go together…A good conscience accompanying faith is needed for warring the good warfare against the
different teachings in a troubled local church.

By thrusting away faith and a good conscience, some “have become shipwrecked regarding the faith” [1 Tim. 1:19]. This shows us the seriousness of thrusting away faith and a good conscience. To hold faith and a good conscience is a safeguard for our Christian faith and life. The word shipwrecked implies that the Christian life and the church life are like a ship sailing on a stormy sea, needing to be safeguarded by faith and a good conscience…In this verse Paul speaks both of subjective faith, our act of believing, and of objective faith, those things in which we believe. In speaking
of those who are shipwrecked regarding the faith, Paul has in mind the objective faith, the contents of the complete gospel according to God’s New Testament economy. (Life-study of 1 Timothy, 2nd ed., pp. 21-22)

Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Timothy, msgs. 1-2; CWWL, 1964, vol.1, pp. 589-595; Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msg. 14