第三週■週三

w03d03-ch

晨興餧養

提後二3 ～ 4『你要和我同受苦難，好像基督耶穌的精兵。凡當兵的，不讓今生的事務纏身，好叫那招他入伍的人喜悅。』

林前十四8『若吹無定的號聲，誰能豫備打仗？』

使徒認爲他們的職事乃是爲着基督的爭戰，正如民數記四章二十三、三十、三十五節，把祭司的事奉看作服役，爭戰。每當我們將基督供應別人，就發覺自己是在爭戰。因此，我們不但該是將美好的託付交託別人的教師，也該是爲着神的權益爭戰的精兵。

〔提後二章四節〕裏的今生，原文指今世肉身的生命。我們要爲着主在地上的權益打那美好的仗（四7），就必須清除一切屬地的纏累。我們竭力將基督供應別人時，我們物質、肉身的生命不該纏累我們。…一面，祭司的事奉是對神的服事；另一面，是對神仇敵的爭戰。祭司抬見證的櫃時，他們必須豫備好與可能攻擊這見證的人爭戰（提摩太後書生命讀經，二八頁）。

信息選讀

關於〔林前十四章六至九節裏〕說方言的事，…使徒保羅…〔在八節〕插進『打仗』一辭。…打仗的軍隊需要士氣，就是爭戰的同心協力。爲了維持這種士氣，甚至對最小問題的一些異議也必須消殺。那一點點的異議談話若不消殺，士氣就會消滅，…軍隊必然會打敗仗。…主的職事就像吹號叫軍隊前去打仗一樣（民十9，士七18）。主的職事是爭戰的事（聖經恢復本，提後二3 與註1）。

我們所作的事，比地上的任何戰爭都更嚴肅。我們是在與神的仇敵撒但爭戰。召會是神的軍隊。…以弗所書論到基督的身體—召會。這卷書告訴我們，基督的身體—召會—是那在萬有中充滿萬有者的豐滿（一22 ～ 23）。這卷書也告訴我們，召會乃是在十字架上，在基督裏面所創造的新人（二15 ～ 16）。不僅如此，召會也是神的國、神的親人（19）和基督的妻子，祂的配偶（五24 ～ 25）。至終保羅在以弗所書告訴我們，具有這樣非凡地位的召會—基督的身體—乃是與神的仇敵爭戰的戰士。基督的所是和基督的所作，該作爲神軍裝的各方面來使用並應用。我們必須佩戴基督作我們的胸甲（六14），作我們的盾牌（16）。我們必須用基督束我們的腰（14），也必須將基督當作一雙鞋穿上，好站住爭戰（15）。召會不僅僅是一班被聚集在一起的人。召會乃是宇宙、神聖的軍隊，在宇宙中爲着神，與祂的仇敵爭戰（李常受文集一九八六年第一册，一六○至一六一頁）。

我們是拿細耳人，必須禁絕屬地的享樂，一直在主的主權之下，並且學習與死亡爭戰。死亡無所不在，社會上充滿了死亡的病菌。這些病菌甚至也在召會生活中，因此我們需要天天、時時禱告，與死亡，就是神最後的仇敵爭戰（林前十五26）。…我們不該以爲拿細耳人不是爲着爭戰。拿細耳人被數點是爲着神軍隊的編組。他們非常警覺，對於和死亡的爭戰充滿了感覺。在每個召會裏，都需要對死亡有感覺，有知覺，這樣我們就能與死亡爭戰（民數記生命讀經，七一頁）。

參讀：長老訓練第七册，第六章；民數記生命讀經，第九至十篇。

WEEK 3 — DAY 3

Morning Nourishment

2 Tim. 2:3-4 Suffer evil with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please the one who enlisted him.

1 Cor. 14:8 For also if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?

The apostle considered their ministry a warfare for Christ, just as the priestly service was considered a military service, a warfare, in Numbers 4:23, 30, 35 (lit.). Whenever we minister Christ to others, we find ourselves in a battle. Hence, we should not only be teachers committing the deposit to others, but we should also be soldiers fighting for God’s interests.

The word for life [2 Tim. 2:4] in Greek is bios, denoting the physical life in this age. To fight a good fight (4:7) for the Lord’s interests on this earth, we must clear away all earthly entanglements. The matters of our material, physical life should not entangle us as we are endeavoring to minister Christ to others…On the one hand, the priestly service is a ministry to God; on the other hand, it is a warfare against God’s enemies. As the priests were bearing the Ark of the Testimony, they had to be prepared to fight against those who might attack this testimony. (Life-study of 2 Timothy, 2nd ed., p. 23)

Todays Reading

Concerning the matter of speaking in tongues [in 1 Corinthians 14:6-9],…the apostle Paul inserts verse 8 with the word battle in it…An army that is fighting a battle needs the morale, a fighting unity. In order to maintain this morale, even a little dissension concerning the smallest matter has to be killed. If that little dissenting talk is not killed, the morale will be annulled,…and surely the army will lose the fight, the battle…The Lord’s ministry is like the sounding of the trumpet for the army to go on to war (Num. 10:9; Judg. 7:18). The Lord’s ministry is a matter of a battle (2 Tim. 2:3, footnote 1).

We are doing something more serious than any battle on this earth. We are fighting against God’s enemy, Satan. The church is God’s army…Ephesians is a book on the Body of Christ, the church. It tells us that the Body of Christ, the church, is the fullness of the One who fills all in all (1:22-23). It also tells us that this church is the new man created in Christ on the cross (2:15- 16). Furthermore, this church is the kingdom of God, the household of the very God (v. 19), and the wife of Christ, His counterpart (5:24-25). Paul eventually tells us in Ephesians that the church, the Body of Christ, with such a tremendous status, is a warrior to fight against God’s enemy. Whatever Christ is and whatever Christ has done should be used and applied as aspects of the armor of God. We have to wear Christ as our breastplate (6:14) and as
our shield (v. 16). We have to have our loins girded with Christ (v. 14), and we have to wear Christ as a pair of shoes for our standing to fight the battle (v. 15). The church is not a mere group of people collected together. The church is a universal and divine army fighting for God in the universe against His enemy. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” pp. 130-131)

As Nazarites we must abstain from earthly pleasure, remain under the headship of the Lord, and learn to fight against death. Death is everywhere. Society is filled with the germs of death. Because these germs are even in the church life, we need to pray daily, hourly, fighting against death, the last enemy of God (1 Cor. 15:26). We should not think that the Nazarites are not for fighting. The Nazarites are numbered for the formation of God’s army. They are very vigilant, full of feeling for the war against death. In every church there is the need of the sense, the consciousness, of death so that we may fight against it. (Life-study of Numbers, pp. 64-65)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1986, vol.1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” ch. 6; Life-study of Numbers, msgs. 9-10