第六週■週四

w06d04-ch

晨興餧養

約三 16『神愛世人，甚至將祂的獨生子賜給他們…。』

羅十六 20『平安的神快要將撒但踐踏在你們的腳下。願我們主耶穌的恩，與你們同在。』

神聖的愛是神素質的性質。因此，愛是神素質的屬性。約翰三章十六節告訴我們：『神愛世人，甚至將祂的獨生子賜給他們。』約壹四章九節說，『神差祂的獨生子到世上來，使我們藉着祂得生並活着，在此神的愛就向我們顯明了。』世上，指墮落的人類所在的地方，與提前一章十五節者同。

約壹四章十節接着說，『不是我們愛神，乃是神愛我們，差祂的兒子，爲我們的罪作了平息的祭物，在此就是愛了。』『此』字指上述的事實：不是我們愛神，乃是神愛我們，差祂的兒子，爲我們的罪作了平息的祭物。在這事實裏，有神高超、高貴的愛。神聖的愛這神素質的屬性，主要是彰顯在差祂的兒子救贖我們，並將神的生命分賜到我們裏面，使我們成爲祂的兒女（新約總論第一册，八九至九○頁）。

信息選讀

以弗所二章四節說，『神富於憐憫，因祂愛我們的大愛。』愛的對象應該是在可愛的光景裏，但憐憫的對象總是在可憐的光景裏。因此，神的憐憫比祂的愛達到得更遠。神愛我們，因爲我們是祂揀選的對象；然而我們因着墮落變得極爲可憐，甚至死在過犯並罪之中，所以我們需要神的憐憫。因着祂的大愛，神是富於憐憫的，把我們從可憐的地位，救到適合祂愛的光景。神高貴的愛這素質的屬性，需要祂憐憫的屬性，好叫祂能在我們墮落生命的深坑中臨到我們。

因爲神是靈也是愛，我們越在祂的分賜之下，我們就越有愛。事實上，神的性質越分賜到我們裏面，我們就越成爲愛。…藉着神將祂自己分賜到我們裏面，由於這位是愛的神構成的工作，我們就成爲愛。作神素質之性質的愛分賜到我們裏面，我們就會在愛裏對別人反應。

神的另一個屬性是平安（和平）。新約說到…平安的神〔羅十六 20〕…〔以及〕神的平安〔腓四7〕…。神的平安實際上就是平安的神自己，藉着我們禱告與祂交通，注入我們裏面，抗拒苦惱，化解罣慮（約十六 33）。平安的神在基督耶穌裏，在我們的心懷意念前守衞。…神的平安與平安的神乃是一。…我們所享受真實的平安就是神自己。享受平安之神的路，乃是藉着禱告與祂有交通。

在帖前五章二十三節…我們看見，和平的神是那聖別人的，祂的聖別帶來和平。

在我們的經歷中，平安是恩典所產生的光景，出於我們對父神的享受。我們享受神作恩典，就在滿了安息與滿足的光景中。…平安的本質是神自己，平安的光景是出於我們享受神作恩典。…平安是恩典的結果，這事實由保羅在以弗所一章二節和其他書信問候聖徒的方式所指明：『願恩典與平安，從神我們的父，並主耶穌基督歸與你們。』這平安由享受神作恩典所產生，也是我們在基督裏所享受之神的一個屬性（新約總論第一册，九 ○、八五、一二三至一二四頁）。

參讀：新約總論，第九至十篇。

WEEK 6 — DAY 4

Morning Nourishment

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…

Rom. 16:20 Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

The divine love…is the nature of God’s essence. Thus, it is an essential attribute of God…First John 4:9 says, “In this the love of God was manifested among us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might have life and live through Him.” As in 1 Timothy 1:15, the “world” refers to fallen mankind, whom God so loved that, by making them alive through His Son with His own life, they might become His children. In this the love of God has been manifested.

First John 4:10 goes on to say, “Herein is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins.” The word herein refers to the following fact: not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins. In this fact is the higher and nobler love of God. The divine love as God’s essential attribute is mainly expressed in sending His Son to redeem us and impart God’s life into us that we may become His children. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 75)

Todays Reading
Ephesians 2:4 says, “God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.” The object of love should be in a lovable condition, but the object of mercy is always in a pitiful situation. Hence, God’s mercy reaches further than His love. God loves us because we are the object of His selection. But we became pitiful by our fall, even dead in our offenses and sins; therefore, we need God’s mercy. Because of His great love, God is rich in mercy to save

us from our wretched position to a condition that is suitable for His love. The nobler love of God as His essential attribute needs His attribute of mercy to reach us in the deep pit of our fallen life.

Because God is love as well as Spirit, the more we are under His dispensing, the more love we have. Actually, the more God’s nature is dispensed into us, the more we become love…Through God’s dispensing of Himself into us, we become love in the sense of being constituted of God as love. When love as the nature of God’s essence is dispensed into us, we shall react to others in love.

Another attribute of God is peace. The New Testament speaks about both the peace of God [Phil. 4:7] and the God of peace [Rom. 16:20]…The peace of God is actually God as peace, infused into us through our fellowship with Him by prayer, as the counterpoise of troubles and the antidote to anxiety (John 16:33). The God of peace mounts guard over our hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus. The peace of God and the God of peace are one…The genuine peace we enjoy is God Himself. The way to enjoy the God of peace is by praying to have fellowship with Him.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:23…we see that the God of peace is the Sanctifier. His sanctification brings in peace.

In our experience peace is a condition that results from grace, that issues from the enjoyment of God our Father. When we enjoy God as grace, we are in a condition that is full of rest and satisfaction. This is peace…The substance of grace is God Himself, and the condition of peace is that which issues out of our enjoyment of God as grace. We all can testify of the peace we have when we enjoy God as grace. The fact that peace is the issue of grace is indicated by the way Paul greets the saints in Ephesians 1:2 and in other Epistles: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” This peace results from the enjoyment of God as grace which is also an attribute of the God whom we enjoy in Christ. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 75-76, 70, 105-106)

Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 9-10