第七週■週四

w07d04-ch

晨興餧養

約一14『話成了肉體，支搭帳幕在我們中間，豐豐滿滿的有恩典，有實際。我們也見過祂的榮耀，正是從父而來獨生子的榮耀。』

提前一14『並且我們主的恩是格外增多，使我在基督耶穌裏有信，又有愛。』

如果沒有神的恩典，我們沒有人能在基督裏有信和愛。我們能相信並且愛我們從來沒有看見過的耶穌，這乃是奇蹟。我們卽使受到威脅和逼迫，以致殉道，仍然不能否認我們相信耶穌並且愛祂。這乃是格外增多之恩典的結果。一個罪人相信基督並且繼續愛祂，這不是一件小事。許多聰慧的人，都被主格外增多的恩典說服、征服，至終被抓住了。達祕八十多歲時，有一天在旅舘過夜；睡前他說，『主耶穌，我愛你。』這故事幾乎使我落淚。…愛耶穌乃是一個奇蹟，愛耶穌乃是格外增多之恩典的神蹟。

主那格外增多的恩典，叫使徒保羅在基督裏有信，又有愛，使他得着大能並超絕的救恩，而得以成爲最大的使徒之一（提前一14）。按照保羅在新約裏的歷史，他原是大數的掃羅，一個很強、很有知識並且反對耶穌的人。有一天他從反對轉變成相信並愛耶穌。這是因爲主的恩典格外增多的臨到他，使他成爲使徒。…使徒乃是由主格外增多的恩典所產生的（李常受文集一九九四至一九九七年第一册，五五一頁）。

信息選讀

恩典的增多有兩方面：就是在基督耶穌裏有信，又有愛〔提前一14〕。保羅曾是大數的掃羅，原先與基督耶穌無分無關；他甚至對主滿了仇恨。但有一天他從主領受了憐憫和恩典，不只相信了耶穌，並且還愛祂。…這是極大的憐憫，也是真實的恩典。只相信主耶穌是不彀的，我們也必須愛祂。我確信我們都曾感謝神，因着祂的憐憫和恩典，使我們相信主耶穌。但我們曾否禱告說，『父阿，我何等感謝你，因着你的恩，我能愛主耶穌』？我們不僅需要信，我們也需要愛。

整卷約翰福音給我們看見這兩件事。我們在這卷福音書的頭一部分，讀到主耶穌（祂就是神自己）乃是太初就有的話。然後有一天祂成了肉體，成了一個人，住在我們中間，豐豐滿滿的有恩典，有實際。…在約翰福音裏最重要的一個動詞乃是『信』。話成了肉體，我們必須信入祂。信的意思就是接受。一章十二節說，『凡接受祂的，就是信入祂名的人，祂就賜他們權柄，成爲神的兒女。』我們是藉着接受而信，也藉着信而接受。我們信神所給的，並且藉着信接受祂所給的。

但還不止於此。在約翰福音，主說過信之後，又要我們愛祂。祂告訴我們：『愛我的必蒙我父愛他，我也要愛他，並且要親自向他顯現。…人若愛我，就必遵守我的話，我父也必愛他，並且我們要到他那裏去，同他安排住處。』（十四21、23）在這裏，主耶穌不是說『信我的』。信主是一回事，愛主是另一回事。信是接受，但愛是享受你所接受的。所以在最後一章，主三次問彼得說，『你愛我…麼？』藉此，主給彼得看見，他旣接受了主，就必須學習藉着愛主而享受主（李常受文集一九七二年第一册，三○三至三○四頁）。

參讀：雅歌中所描繪的生命與建造，第二章；歌中的歌，一三八至一四一頁。

WEEK 7 — DAY 4

Morning Nourishment

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

1 Tim. 1:14 And the grace of our Lord superabounded with faith and love in Christ Jesus.

If there were no grace of God, none of us could have faith and love in Christ. It is a wonder that we can believe in Jesus and love Him whom we have never seen. If we were threatened and persecuted unto martyrdom, we still could not deny that we believe in Jesus and love Him. This is a result of superabounding grace. It is not a small thing for a sinner to believe in Christ and to continue in loving Him. Many clever and wise people have been convinced, subdued, and eventually caught by the Lord’s superabounding grace. One day when John Nelson Darby was over eighty years old, he stayed overnight in a hotel. Before going to sleep, he said, “Lord Jesus, I still love You.” This story nearly brought me to tears…To love Jesus is a wonder. To love Jesus is a miracle of the superabounding grace.

The Lord’s grace superabounded with faith and love in Christ to the apostle Paul for his dynamic and excellent salvation that he might be one of the greatest apostles (1 Tim. 1:14). According to Paul’s history in the New Testament, he was Saul of Tarsus, a strong and very knowledgeable person opposing Jesus. One day he changed from opposing to believing and loving. This was because the grace of the Lord superabounded to him to make him an apostle…An apostle is produced by the superabounding grace of the Lord. (CWWL, 1994- 1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” p. 436)

Todays Reading

Grace is abundant in two aspects: in faith and in love in Christ Jesus [1 Tim. 1:14]. Originally, Paul as Saul of Tarsus had nothing to do with Jesus Christ. He was even full of hatred toward the Lord. But one day he received mercy and grace from the Lord not only to believe in Jesus but also to love Him…This is the greatest mercy, and this is real grace. It is not enough just to believe in the Lord Jesus. We also must love Him. I am sure that we have all thanked God for His mercy and grace which have caused us to believe in the Lord Jesus. But have we ever prayed, “O Father, how I thank You that by Your grace I love the Lord Jesus”? Not only do we need faith but also love.

The entire Gospel of John shows us these two things. In the first part of the Gospel, we read that the Lord Jesus, who was God Himself, was the Word in the beginning. Then one day He became incarnated as a man to tabernacle among us, full of grace and reality…One of the most important verbs in the Gospel of John is believe. The Word became flesh, and we must believe in Him. To believe simply means to receive. John 1:12 says, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name.” We believe by receiving, and we receive by believing. We believe what God has given, and by believing we receive what He gives.

But this is not all. In the Gospel of John, after speaking of believing, the Lord Jesus appealed for our love. He told us, “He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him” (14:21, 23). In these verses the Lord Jesus did not say, “He who believes in Me.” To believe in the Lord is one thing, but to love Him is another. To believe is to receive, but to love is to enjoy what you have received. So in the last chapter of John’s Gospel, the Lord asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” By this, the Lord was showing Peter that, as one who had received Him, he must learn to enjoy Him by loving Him. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 1, “Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs,” pp. 231-232)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1972, vol. 1, “Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs,” ch. 2; CWWN, vol. 23, “The Song of Songs,” sec. 6