第三週•週三

w03d03-ch

晨興餧養

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。』

        19『爲着將來，替自己積存美好的根基作寶藏，叫他們持定那真實的生命。』

爲信仰打仗，意思是爲神新約的經綸打仗。尤其是爲基督是神的具體化身，並爲召會是基督的身體打仗。…提前六章十二節…永遠的生命卽神聖的生命，神非受造的生命，這生命是永遠的。永遠的，指神聖生命的性質，過於指其時間的因素。我們在基督徒的生活中，特別在基督徒的工作中，要爲信仰打那美好的仗，就需要持定神的生命，而不信靠我們人的生命。因此，三卷提字書再三的強調永遠的生命（提前一16，六19，提後一1、10，多一2，三7）。要完成提摩太前書所說神對召會的經綸，對抗提摩太後書所說召會敗落的趨勢，並維持提多書所說召會中良好的秩序，這生命乃是必要的基本條件（提摩太前書生命讀經，一二一至一二二頁）。

信息選讀

我們已經蒙召進入神永遠的生命。我們原是從人天然的生命而生，但我們在基督裏蒙神呼召時，就由神永遠的生命重生了。…美好的承認〔提前六12〕指美好的信仰，就是基督徒所信的全部福音。…美好的承認…是我們眾人都該作的。

提前六章十一至十二節幾乎是整本新約的奇妙摘要。屬神的人該追求公義、敬虔、信、愛、忍耐和溫柔；他該爲神新約的經綸打仗，並持定永遠的生命。這一切事乃是新約基本的方面。…今天我們爲信仰打那美好的仗。這就是說，我們必須爲基督是神的具體化身，並爲召會是基督的身體打仗。不僅如此，我們不可僅僅打客觀的仗，而必須藉着持定永遠的生命，打主觀的仗。我們不該離開這生命作甚麼。我們對自己的丈夫、妻子和兒女說話，不該憑着天然的生命，而該憑着永遠的生命。甚至在買一雙鞋的事上，我們也該照着我們已蒙召進入的永遠生命而活。作爲今日的提摩太，我們必須持定永遠的生命。

在提前六章十二節保羅特別說，我們已蒙召進入永遠的生命。新約裏沒有別卷書說到『你已蒙召進入這永遠的生命』。…你領悟你已蒙召進入永遠的生命麼？這永遠的生命主要的不是指將來的福分。蒙召進入永遠的生命不是說，我們已蒙召享受天上的福分。永遠的生命該是我們今天的生命，爲着我們當前日常生活的生命。藉着我們第一次出生，肉身的出生，我們得着亞當的生命。但因爲我們已蒙召進入永遠的生命，就不該再活亞當的生命，天然的生命。不錯，我們必須真正有人性，甚至有耶穌的人性，但不是在我們天然生命裏的人性。反之，我們必須憑永遠的生命過爲人的生活。我們已蒙召進入這生命，現今我們需要活這生命。

我對蒙召進入永遠的生命，有很深的負擔。我特別關切那些被岔離我們蒙召所進入的永遠生命，且被其他事物霸佔的親愛聖徒。我們蒙召單單進入永遠的生命。這生命，神聖的生命，實際上就是三一神自己。我們已蒙召進入永遠的生命，現今我們需要持定這生命，活這生命，並照着這生命爲人（提摩太前書生命讀經，一二二至一二四頁）。

參讀：提摩太前書生命讀經，第十二篇。

WEEK 3 — DAY 3

Morning Nourishment

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

   19 Laying away for themselves a good foundation as a treasure for the future, that they may lay hold on that which is really life.

To fight for the faith means to fight for God’s New Testament economy. In particular, it is to fight for Christ as the embodiment of God and for the church as the Body of Christ. The eternal life in 1 Timothy 6:12 is the divine life, the uncreated life of God, which is eternal. Eternal denotes the nature more than the time element of the divine life. To fight the good fight of the faith in the Christian life, and especially in the Christian ministry, we need to lay hold on this divine life and not trust in our human life. Hence, in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, the eternal life is stressed again and again (1 Tim. 1:16; 6:19; 2 Tim. 1:1, 10; Titus 1:2; 3:7). To carry out God’s economy
concerning the church, as seen in 1 Timothy, to confront the process of the church’s decline, as seen in 2 Timothy, and to maintain good order in the church life, as seen in Titus, this life is a prerequisite. (Life-study of 1 Timothy, 2nd ed., p. 101)

Today’s Reading

We have been called into the eternal life of God. We were born of the human natural life, but we were reborn of the divine eternal life when we were called by God in Christ. The good confession [1 Tim. 6:12] refers to the good faith, the full gospel that Christians believe…We all should confess such a good confession.

First Timothy 6:11 and 12 are a marvelous summary of nearly the whole New Testament. A man of God should pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and meekness; he should fight for God’s New Testament economy and lay hold on eternal life. All these matters are essential aspects of the New Testament…We today must fight the good fight of the faith. This means that we must fight for Christ as the embodiment of God and for the church as the Body of Christ. Furthermore, we must not merely fight objectively but fight subjectively, by laying hold on eternal life. We should not do anything apart from this life. We should speak to our husband or wife and to our children not by the natural life but by the eternal life. Even in the
matter of buying a pair of shoes, we should live according to the eternal life to which we have been called. As today’s Timothys, we need to lay hold on eternal life.

In 1 Timothy 6:12 Paul specifically says that we have been called to eternal life. No other book in the New Testament speaks of “the eternal life, to which you were called.”…Do you realize that you have been called to eternal life? This eternal life does not mainly refer to blessings in the future. To be called to eternal life does not mean that we have been called to enjoy blessings in heaven. Eternal life should be our life today, a life for our present daily living. By our first birth, the physical birth, we received the adamic life. But because we have been called to eternal life, we should
no longer live the adamic life, the natural life. Yes, we must be truly human, even Jesusly human, but not in our natural life. On the contrary, we need to live a human life by the eternal life. We have been called to this life, and now we need to live it.

I am deeply burdened concerning this matter of being called to the eternal life. I am especially concerned for those dear saints who have been distracted from the eternal life to which we have been called and who have become preoccupied with other things. We have been called uniquely to eternal life. This life, the divine life, is actually the Triune God Himself. Having been called to eternal life, we now should lay hold on this life, live this life, and have our whole being according to this life. (Life-study of 1 Timothy, 2nd ed., pp. 101-102)

Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Timothy, msg. 12