第三週•週二

w03d02-ch

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。』

提前六12『你要爲信仰打那美好的仗，持定永遠的生命；你已蒙召進入這永遠的生命，也在許多見證人面前，作了美好的承認。』

正確的基督徒生活是三重的：爲着神國的利益，打那美好的仗，抵擋撒但及其黑暗的國度（提前六12）；爲着照神永遠的定旨完成神的經綸，奔跑賽程（來十二1）；爲着在神的經綸裏有分於神聖的豐富，守住信仰（提前三9）。在此，保羅爲我們立了充分的榜樣。

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），爲要跑完這賽程（徒二十24）。現今他終於得勝的宣告說，當跑的賽程他已經跑盡了。爲此，他要從主得着賞賜，就是公義的冠冕（提後四8）。…保羅能見證，當守的信仰他已經守住了。…守住信仰，就是守住整個神新約的經綸，就是關於基督是神的具體化身也是神的奧祕，以及召會是基督的身體也是基督的奧祕之信仰（提摩太後書生命讀經，七三頁）。

信息選讀

保羅在提後四章七節不是說他已經守住各種道理，而是說他已經守住信仰。保羅能包容各種作法，也能放棄一切道理，但他絕不會放棄信仰；反之，他持守信仰直到路終（李常受文集一九六四年第三册，四五至四六頁）。

保羅說他守住信仰，不是守住道理。在新約裏，『信』字…首先…是指我們相信的行動或能力；信是相信聖經，相信神，並相信基督的行動或能力。這是我們的信，主觀的信。信也有另一個意義，指我們所相信的事物。這是客觀的信仰。我們說到信仰上的一，信仰是客觀的，是我們所相信的事物，不是相信的行動，相信的能力。我們必須爲這信仰爭戰。倘若任何人說（如摩登派所說的），基督只是人，不是神的兒子，我絕不會與他握手。他是敵基督者之一（約壹四3，約貳10 ～ 11）。我絕不會承認這樣的人是我的弟兄。然而，因主的恩典和憐憫，我不在意某人是贊成灑水施浸或浸水施浸。只要他相信，只要他有這信仰，他就是我的弟兄（李常受文集一九七一年第四册，一九九頁）。

〔關於〕正確基督徒信仰〔的〕主要項目，…有些人可能不同意『一城一會』這一點，但我們要作正確的基督徒，必須相信召會在宇宙中是一，在地方上也是一。召會作爲基督的身體，在宇宙中是一；地方召會作爲基督身體的彰顯，在地方上也是一。但這並不是說，在基督裏的真信徒若不同意一城一會，就不得救。他仍是得救的，不過還有所缺欠—不是爲着得救，乃是爲着過正當的召會生活。

信仰是召會生活的專特，這是非常特別、專特的事。…如果我們要爲着甚麼事爭戰，必須是爲這個爭戰。我們不需要爲別的事爭戰；我們必須爲這樣的信仰打那美好的仗（提前六12）。我們必須爲這樣的信仰竭力爭辯（猶3）；我們必須教導並傳講這樣的信仰（李常受文集一九七一年第三册，五三九至五四○頁）。

參讀：提摩太後書生命讀經，第七篇；享受基督的豐富以建造召會作基督的身體，第十四章。

WEEK 3 — DAY 2

Morning Nourishment

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

1 Tim. 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith; lay hold on the eternal life, to which you were called and have confessed the good confession before many witnesses.

A proper Christian life has three aspects. It involves fighting the good fight, or “struggling the good struggle,” against Satan and his kingdom of darkness for the interests of God’s kingdom (1 Tim. 6:12), running the course for the carrying out of God’s economy according to His eternal purpose (Heb. 12:1), and keeping the faith for participation in the divine riches in God’s economy (1 Tim. 3:9). In this Paul set up an adequate pattern for us.

Paul began to run the heavenly race after the Lord took possession of him, and he continually ran (1 Cor. 9:24-26; Phil. 3:12-14) that he might finish it (Acts 20:24). Now at the end he triumphantly proclaimed, “I have finished the course” [2 Tim. 4:7]. For this he will receive from the Lord a reward—the crown of righteousness (v. 8). Paul could testify that he had kept the faith… To keep the faith is to keep the entire New Testament economy of God—the faith concerning Christ as the embodiment of God and the mystery of God and the church as the Body of Christ and the mystery of Christ. (Life-study of 2 Timothy, 2nd ed., pp. 59-60)

Today’s Reading

Paul does not say that he had kept various doctrines but that he had “kept the faith” [2 Tim. 4:7]. Paul was a man who could tolerate any kind of practice and could give up any doctrine, but he could never give up the faith. Rather, he kept the faith to the end. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 3, p. 38)

Paul said that he kept the faith, not the doctrine. In the New Testament the word faith…[first] refers to our believing action or ability. It is the action or ability to believe in the Bible, in God, and in Christ. This is our faith, the subjective faith. Faith also has another meaning, referring to the things in which we believe. This is the objective faith. When we speak of the oneness of the faith, faith is objective, the things in which we believe, not the believing action, the believing ability. We have to fight for this faith. If anyone would say, as the modernists do, that Christ is only a man and not the Son of God, I would never shake hands with him. He is one of the antichrists (1 John 4:3; 2 John 10-11). I would never recognize such a one as my brother. By the Lord’s grace and mercy, however, I do not care whether someone is for baptism by sprinkling or by immersion. As long as he believes, as long as he has this faith, he is my brother. (CWWL, 1971, vol. 4, “Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ,” p. 144)

[Regarding the] main items of the proper Christian faith,…some may disagree with the point concerning one city, one church, but as a proper Christian we have to believe that the church is both universally one and locally one. As the Body of Christ, the church is universally one; as the expression of the Body of Christ, a local church is locally one. This does not mean, however, that a real believer in Christ who does not agree with one city, one church is not saved. He or she is saved, but there is something lacking, not for salvation but for the proper church life.

The faith is the speciality of the church life. This is something very specific, very special…If we are going to fight for something, we have to fight for this. There is no need for us to fight for other things. We have to fight the good fight of such a faith (1 Tim. 6:12). We have to contend for such a faith (Jude 3). We have to teach and preach such a faith. (CWWL, 1971, vol. 3, “The Speciality, Generality, and Practicality of the Church Life,” p. 419)

Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Timothy, msg. 7; CWWL, 1971, vol. 4, “Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ,” ch. 14