第二週■週一

w02d01-ch

晨興餧養

提後一9『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和恩典…。』

弗一11『我們旣在祂裏面，照着那位按祂意願所決議的，行作萬事者的定旨，蒙了豫定，也就在祂裏面成了所選定的基業。』

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〔提後一9〕。這裏的定旨，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（新約總論第一册，二二九頁）。

信息選讀

神所創造的這個宇宙，是有其意義的。…福音首先是把宇宙的意義給我們。福音不僅是主耶穌釘十字架，爲我們流血，受死。整本聖經…從創世記一章直到啓示錄二十二章，都是論到福音的信息。

神的福音給我們看見，神把我們從沒有意義的人生，救到宇宙的意義裏。…得救…所包含的…其中一項重要意義，就是使我們從沒有意義的人生中蒙拯救。…我們原來爲神所創造，是有意義的。可惜我們墮落了，從這個意義裏墮落、失落了，也就是從我們的本位離開了。現在神把我們拯救回來，使我們又回到了本位。我們落下去時，就失去了意義；但我們一得救，蒙神拯救回來，就被救回到這個宇宙的意義裏。

我們可以從以下經節找出〔宇宙的意義〕。首先是以弗所一章四至五節：『就如祂在創立世界以前，在基督裏揀選了我們，使我們在愛裏，在祂面前，成爲聖別、沒有瑕疵；按着祂意願所喜悅的，豫定了我們，藉着耶穌基督得兒子的名分，歸於祂自己。』再者，創世記一章二十六至二十八節：『神說，我們要按着我們的形像，照着我們的樣式造人，使他們管理…。神就按着自己的形像創造人，乃是按着神的形像創造他；創造他們有男有女。神就賜福給他們；又對他們說，要繁衍增多，徧滿地面，並制伏這地，也要管理…。』接着，羅馬八章二十九至三十節說，『因爲神所豫知的人，祂也豫定他們模成神兒子的形像，使祂兒子在許多弟兄中作長子。祂所豫定的人，又召他們來；所召來的人，又稱他們爲義；所稱爲義的人，又叫他們得榮耀。』

還沒有創造天地，時間還沒有開始之前，神就有了這個喜悅。神根據這個喜悅和愛好，定了一個計畫。神計畫要有一個宇宙，在這個宇宙中有天有地，並且有形形色色、千千萬萬的生物。不僅如此，神還計畫創造人。神造人的目的，是要人能彰顯祂、代表祂，作祂的彰顯者和代表者。所以，神是按着自己的形像，照着自己的樣式造人。宇宙中的天地萬物，都是照着神的旨意所創造的。

你若去問天文學家，他們會告訴你，從地球到宇宙的中心，不知道比地球到月球遠了多少千萬倍。宇宙之大，不是人的頭腦所能完全理解的。神太偉大了，祂所造的萬物又是何其的廣闊、繁多，不可勝數。然而，聖經卻清清楚楚的告訴我們，這宇宙的意義，就是神要在宇宙中得着一班人，作祂的彰顯者與代表者（李常受文集一九七一年第一册，一八九至一九二頁）。

參讀：新約總論，第十九、一百八十九篇；提摩太後書生命讀經，第一篇。

WEEK 2 — DAY 1

Morning Nourishment

2 Tim. 1:9 Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace…

Eph. 1:11 In whom also we were designated as an inheritance, having been predestinated according to the purpose of the One who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

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 [2 Tim. 1:9]. The purpose here 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. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 198)

Todays Reading

This universe was created by God and has a meaning that is related to the gospel…The gospel unveils the meaning of the universe. The gospel is not simply that the Lord Jesus was crucified to shed His blood and die for us. The entire Bible, from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22,…is a gospel message.

The gospel of God saves us out of a human life that is without meaning into the meaning of the universe. Salvation involves being saved from a human life that otherwise would be meaningless…God created a man who had great meaning and purpose. Regrettably, man fell, and the meaning of his life was lost. This means that man lost his original purpose. With His salvation, God rescues us and brings us back to our original purpose. When man fell, he lost the meaning of his existence, but now that we are saved by God, we have been brought back to our purpose, which is the meaning of the universe.

We can find the meaning of the universe in the following verses. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, “Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” Genesis 1:26-28 says, “God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion…And God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion…” Next, Romans 8:29-30 says, “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; and those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

Before the creation of heaven and earth and even before time began, God had a good pleasure. According to this good pleasure, this delight, God designed a plan. God planned the universe with the heavens, the earth, and a large variety and number of organisms. Not only so, God also planned to create man. God’s purpose in creating man was for man to express God and represent Him, that is, for man to be His expression and His representation. Hence, God created man in His image and according to His likeness. The heavens and the earth and all the things in the universe were created according to God’s will.

Astronomers say that the distance from the earth to the center of our galaxy is at least sixty-four million times farther than the distance between the earth and the moon. The vastness of the universe cannot be fully comprehended by the human mind. God is too great. The things that He created are too vast and too numerous to count. Nevertheless, the Bible clearly tells us that the meaning of the universe is related to God’s desire to gain a group of people to be His expression and representation. (CWWL, 1971, vol. 1, “The Meaning of Human Life and a Proper Consecration,” pp. 137-139)

Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 19, 189; Lifestudy of 2 Timothy, msg. 1