第二週   神按祂自己的定旨召了我們

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詩歌：769

讀經：提後一9，羅八28 ～ 29，弗三9 ～ 11，西一9，啓四11，太七21

【週一】

壹 保羅在提後一章九節說，『神救了我們，以聖召召了我們，不是按我們的行爲，乃是按祂自己的定旨』：

一 神不僅救我們來享受祂的福，更以聖召（爲着特定目標的呼召）召我們，爲要完成祂的定旨—9 節，羅八28。

二 蒙神呼召就是分別出來歸於祂的定旨—弗一11，三11，提後一9，三10。

三 提後一章九節的定旨，乃是神按祂旨意所定的計畫，要把我們放在基督裏，使我們與祂成爲一，有分於祂的生命和地位，好成爲祂的見證。

四 神按祂自己的定旨拯救我們並呼召我們，現今祂的定旨應當成爲我們的目的—羅八28，提後一9，三10。

五 我們需要從神的眼光來看救恩；神救恩的目的乃是要祂所創造並救贖的人得着兒子的名分，有祂兒子的生命，模成祂兒子的形像，使祂兒子能在許多弟兄中作長子—約壹五11 ～ 12，羅八29。

六 得救乃是使我們從沒有意義的人生中蒙拯救：

1 神的福音把我們從沒有意義的人生，救到宇宙的意義裏—啓四11。

2 人爲神所創造，有重大的意義和目的；（創一26 ～28；）可惜人墮落了，失去人生的意義。

3 因着神的救恩，祂拯救我們，把我們帶回我們原初的目的，就是宇宙的意義裏—羅八28，提後一9。

【週二】

貳 神永遠的定旨是要將祂自己分賜到祂所揀選並救贖的人裏面，使他們在生命和性情上與祂一式一樣，只是無分於神格，使祂得着擴大並擴展的彰顯—弗一5，9，22 ～ 23，三9 ～ 11：

一 約伯記留給我們一個雙重的問題，關於神創造人以及神對付祂選民的目的—一1，十13，十三3 ～ 4：

1 對這個問題，答案乃是神永遠的經綸，就是神永遠的目的同祂心頭的願望，要將祂自己在祂神聖的三一裏，作爲父在子裏藉着那靈，分賜到祂所揀選的人裏面，作他們的生命和性情，使他們成爲與祂一樣，作祂的豐滿，就是祂的彰顯—創一26，提前一3 ～ 4，弗一22 ～ 23，三9，19。

2 神對付愛祂的人，甚至使他們受損失，目的乃是要使他們最完滿的得着祂，使祂能藉着他們得以彰顯，以成就祂造人的永遠目的—羅八28 ～ 29，林後四16，參耶四八11。

二 神創造萬有（包括人），祂的心意是要人與神調和，以產生召會作基督的身體，好終極完成新耶路撒冷作祂榮耀的彰顯—亞十二1，啓四11，十九7，二一2。

三 神永遠的定旨，照着祂的心願，是要得着召會成爲基督生機的身體，以顯明祂萬般的智慧—弗一9 ～ 11，22 ～ 23，三9 ～ 11。

【週三】

四 召會作爲基督的身體，乃是神用來完成祂定旨並解決所有問題的惟一憑藉—參創一26：

1 召會要在神聖的兒子名分裏，有父的生命和性情，作父神的彰顯，就是祂的榮耀—弗一4 ～ 5，約十七22 ～ 24。

2 召會是神最大的誇耀，要使執政和掌權的天使得知祂萬般的智慧，好羞辱並擊敗仇敵，以帶進祂的國—弗三10，羅十六20。

3 召會要將萬有在基督裏歸一於一個元首之下，這是藉着基督將祂自己作到我們裏面，成爲生命和光—弗一10，22 ～ 23。

叁 我們要過爲着完成神永遠定旨的生活，就必須認識並實行神的旨意—西一9，太七21：

一 神是一位有定旨的神，有祂自己喜悅的旨意；祂爲自己的旨意，創造了萬有，好成就並完成祂的定旨—啓四11，弗三9 ～ 11，西一9：

1 神的旨意就是祂心頭的願望，就是祂要與人調和，並完成祂永遠的定旨—弗一5，9，22，五17。

2 神的旨意是要爲基督得着一個身體，作祂的豐滿，就是祂的彰顯—羅十二2，5，弗一5，9，11，22 ～ 23。

【週四】

二 我們需要充分認識神的旨意—西一9：

1 歌羅西書中神的旨意，是指神永遠定旨的意願，神關於基督之經綸的意願—弗一5，9，11。

2 充分認識神的旨意，就是對神的計畫有啓示，使我們知道神在宇宙中計畫要作的是甚麼—啓四11：

a 神的計畫，乃是要使基督在神聖的經綸裏成爲一切—太十七5，西一15 ～ 18，三10 ～ 11。

b 對神計畫的啓示會爲我們開路，使我們對基督有更多的經歷—二16 ～ 17，三4，15 ～ 16。

3 神在我們身上的旨意，乃是要我們認識包羅萬有的基督，經歷祂，並以祂作我們的生命而活祂—一9，15 ～ 18，三4。

4 行事爲人配得過主，乃是充分認識神旨意的結果；我們在這種配得過主的行事爲人裏乃是活基督—一10，腓一19 ～ 21 上。

三 我們若要在來世進入諸天之國的實現，就必須在今世實行我們父的旨意—太七21 ～ 22，六10，十二50，啓四11，羅十二2，弗一5，9，11，五17，西一9，四12。

【週五】

四 『不是每一個對我說，主阿，主阿的人，都能進諸天的國，惟獨實行我諸天之上父旨意的人，纔能進去』—太七21：

1 呼求主彀叫我們得救，但要進諸天的國，還需要實行天父的旨意—羅十13，十二2，太十二50，弗五17，西一9。

2 進諸天的國，旣然還要實行天父的旨意，就顯然與藉着重生進神的國不同—約三3，5：

a 進神的國是藉着神聖生命的出生—一12 ～ 13，三5 ～ 6。

b 進諸天的國是藉着神聖生命的生活—太七21，十二50。

3 主耶穌斥責那些在祂的名裏豫言過，趕鬼過，並行過許多異能的人，因爲他們這些『行不法的人』作那些事，是出於他們自己，不是因順服神的旨意而作—七23。

【週六】

4 我們要實行父的旨意，就必須進窄門，走狹路—13 ～ 14 節：

a 窄門把舊人、己、肉體、人的觀念、世界同其榮耀，都摒除在外；只有合乎神旨意的，纔能進去。

b 當我們走在狹路上，我們就受到一種奧祕、看不見、內在的管治所約束，並且活在這管治之下。

5 凡實行父旨意的，就是主耶穌的親人—十二50：

a 基督這位屬天的君王，總是降服於父的旨意，接受神的旨意作祂的分，不抵抗任何事—十一28 ～30，二六39。

b 凡實行父旨意的，就是幫助主耶穌的弟兄，同情祂的姊妹，以及柔和慈愛的母親。

6 國度子民需要禱告，願父的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上；這就是將諸天的國帶到地上—六10。

Week Two

God Calling Us according to His Own Purpose

Hymns: 971

Scripture Reading: 2 Tim. 1:9; Rom. 8:28-29; Eph. 3:9-11; Col. 1:9; Rev. 4:11; Matt. 7:21

§ Day 1

I. In 2 Timothy 1:9 Paul says that God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose”:

A. God has not only saved us to enjoy His blessing but also called us with a holy calling, a calling for a particular cause, to fulfill His purpose—v. 9; Rom. 8:28.

B. To be called by God is to be separated unto His purpose—Eph. 1:11; 3:11; 2 Tim. 1:9; 3:10.

C. The purpose in 2 Timothy 1:9 is God’s plan according to His will to place us into Christ, making us one with Him to share His life and position so that we may be His testimony.

D. God saved us and called us according to His own purpose, and now His purpose should become our purpose—Rom. 8:28; 2 Tim. 1:9; 3:10.

E. We need to view salvation from God’s perspective; the purpose of God’s salvation is for His created and redeemed ones to have the sonship, that is, to have the life of the Son and be conformed to the image of His Son so that the Son would be the Firstborn among many brothers—1 John 5:11- 12; Rom. 8:29.

F. Salvation involves our being saved from a human life that is meaningless:

1. The gospel saves us out of the human life that is without meaning into the meaning of the universe—Rev. 4:11.

2. God created a man who had great meaning and purpose (Gen. 1:26-28), but man fell, and the meaning of human life was lost.

3. With His salvation, God rescues us and brings us back to our original purpose, which is the meaning of the universe—Rom. 8:28; 2 Tim. 1:9.

§ Day 2

II. God’s eternal purpose is to dispense Himself into His chosen and redeemed people to make them the same as He is in life and nature but not in the Godhead for His enlarged and expanded expression—Eph. 1:5, 9, 22-23; 3:9-11:

A. The book of Job leaves us with a twofold question concerning the purpose of God in creating man and in dealing with His chosen people—1:1; 10:13; 13:3-4:

1. The answer to this question is the economy of God, which is God’s eternal intention with His heart’s desire to dispense Himself in His Divine Trinity as the Father in the Son by the Spirit into His chosen people to be their life and nature so that they may become the same as He is for His fullness, His expression—Gen. 1:26; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:9, 19.

2. God’s purpose in dealing with His lovers, even in the way of loss, is that they may gain Him to the fullest extent, in order that He might be expressed through them for the fullness of His eternal purpose in His creation of man— Rom. 8:28-29; 2 Cor. 4:16; cf. Jer. 48:11.

B. God’s intention in the creation of all things, including man, was that man would be mingled with God to produce the church as the Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem for His glorious expression—Zech. 12:1; Rev. 4:11; 19:7; 21:2.

C. God’s eternal purpose, according to the desire of His heart, is to have the church to be the organic Body of Christ for the manifestation of His multifarious wisdom—Eph. 1:9-11, 22-23; 3:9-11.

§ Day 3

D. The church as the Body of Christ is the unique means used by God to fulfill His purpose and settle all His problems—cf. Gen. 1:26:

1. The church is for the expression, the glory, of God the Father in the divine sonship with the Father’s life and nature—Eph. 1:4-5; John 17:22-24.

2. The church is God’s greatest boast in making known to the angelic rulers and authorities His multifarious wisdom for the shame and defeat of the enemy to bring in His kingdom—Eph. 3:10; Rom. 16:20.

3. The church is for the heading up of all things in Christ through the working of Himself into us as life and light—Eph. 1:10, 22-23.

III. In order to live a life for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, we must know and do the will of God—Col. 1:9;
Matt. 7:21:

A. God is a God of purpose, having a will of His own pleasure, and He created all things for His will so that He might accomplish and fulfill His purpose —Rev. 4:11; Eph. 3:9-11; Col. 1:9:

1. God’s will is His heart’s desire, His mingling with man, and the fulfillment of His eternal purpose—Eph. 1:5, 9, 22; 5:17.

2. The will of God is to obtain a Body for Christ to be His fullness, His expression—Rom. 12:2, 5; Eph. 1:5, 9, 11, 22-23.

§ Day 4

B. We need to be filled with the full knowledge of God’s will—Col. 1:9:

1. God’s will in Colossians is His will regarding His eternal purpose, regarding His economy concerning Christ—Eph. 1:5, 9, 11.

2. To have the full knowledge of God’s will is to have the revelation of God’s plan so that we may know what God plans to do in the universe—Rev. 4:11:

a. God’s plan is to make Christ everything in the divine economy—Matt. 17:5; Col. 1:15-18; 3:10-11.

b. The revelation of God’s plan opens the way for us to have more experience of Christ—2:16-17; 3:4, 15-16.

3. The will of God for us is that we know the all-inclusive Christ, experience Him, and live Him as our life—1:9, 15-18; 3:4.

4. Walking worthily of the Lord issues from having the full knowledge of God’s will; such a walk is a walk in which we live Christ—1:10; Phil. 1:19-21a.

C. If we would enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the coming age, we must do the will of our Father in this age—Matt. 7:21-22; 6:10; 12:50; Rev. 4:11; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 1:5, 9, 11; 5:17; Col. 1:9; 4:12.

§ Day 5

D. “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but he who does the will of My Father who is in the heavens”—Matt. 7:21:

1. To call on the Lord suffices for us to be saved, but to enter into the kingdom of the heavens, we also need to do the will of the heavenly Father—Rom. 10:13; 12:2; Matt. 12:50; Eph. 5:17; Col. 1:9.

2. Since entering into the kingdom of the heavens requires doing the will of the heavenly Father, it is clearly different from entering the kingdom of God through regeneration—John 3:3, 5:

a. The entrance into the kingdom of God is through being born of the divine life—1:12-13; 3:5-6.

b. The entrance into the kingdom of the heavens is through the living of the divine life—Matt. 7:21; 12:50.

3. The Lord Jesus rebuked those who prophesied, cast out demons, and did works of power in His name because, as “workers of lawlessness,” they did these things out of themselves, not out of the obedience to God’s will—7:23.

§ Day 6

4. In order to do the will of the Father, we need to enter in through the narrow gate and walk on the constricted way—vv. 13-14:

a. The narrow gate excludes the old man, the self, the flesh, the human concept, and the world with all its glory; only that which corresponds with God’s will can enter in.

b. As we walk on the constricted way, we are restricted by a mysterious, invisible, inward control, and we live under this control.

5. Whoever does the will of the Father is a relative of the Lord Jesus—12:50:

a. Christ, the heavenly King, always submitted to the Father’s will, taking the Father’s will as His portion and not resisting anything—11:28-30; 26:39.

b. Whoever does the will of the Father is a brother who helps the Lord Jesus, a sister who sympathizes with Him, and a mother who tenderly loves Him.

6. The kingdom people need to pray for the Father’s will to be done on earth as in the heavens; this is to bring the kingdom of the heavens to the earth—6:10.