第一週 · 週六

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📖晨興餧養

太九17 『也沒有人把新酒裝在舊皮袋裏；不然，皮袋脹裂，酒瀉出來，皮袋也就壞了。人乃是把新酒裝在新皮袋裏，兩樣就都得保全。』

林前十二12 『就如身體是一個，卻有許多肢體，而且身體上一切的肢體雖多，仍是一個身體，基督也是這樣。』

馬太九章十七節…新酒的『新』，原文指『在時間上是新的、新近的、新有的』。這裏的新酒，象徵基督是新生命，滿有活力，激人振奮。新酒就是基督激勵人的生命。神聖的生命被比喻為那有激勵之力量的酒。我們接受祂的生命，這生命就終日在我們裏面作工，激動我們，振奮我們。這新酒加強我們，加力給我們，使我們十分快活。

主說，我們不該把新酒裝在舊皮袋裏。舊皮袋象徵宗教的作法，就如舊宗教的法利賽人，以及新宗教的約翰門徒，所持守的禁食。一切的宗教都是舊皮袋（馬太福音生命讀經，三八二至三八三頁）。

📖信息選讀

新酒需要皮袋、容器。新酒滿了發酵的力量，你若把新酒裝在舊皮袋裏，新酒發酵的力量就會將舊皮袋脹裂。任何宗教的作法都是舊皮袋。

馬太九章十七節…新皮袋的『新』，原文指『在性質、品質和樣式上是新的；不習慣的、未使用的』；因此是新的。新皮袋象徵地方召會的召會生活，是新酒的容器，這新酒乃是基督自己那使人振奮的生命。國度的子民是建造在召會中（十六18），召會又是藉着他們所活在其中的地方召會得着彰顯（十八15~20）。他們是蒙了重生的人，構成基督的身體，成為召會（羅十二5，弗一22~23）。這基督的身體乃是祂的豐滿，也稱為『那基督』（林前十二12，直譯），就是團體的基督。個人的基督是新酒，乃是裏面使人振奮的生命；團體的基督是新皮袋，乃是外面盛裝新酒的容器。對國度子民，問題不在於禁食或其他宗教的作法，乃在於以基督為內容的召會生活。

我們看見新皮袋乃是召會生活。召會實際上就是基督的擴大。個人的基督是我們裏面的酒。這個人的基督擴大成為團體的基督時，那就是召會。這團體的基督就是皮袋、容器，要盛裝個人基督作我們的酒。…在〔林前十二章十二節〕，我們不僅讀到肢體組合在一起就是一個身體，也讀到這身體就是基督。…從實際方面說，基督如何是身體呢？祂是身體，因為這身體是由許多充滿基督的肢體所組成的。基督在你裏面，基督在我裏面，基督也在我們每一個人裏面。我們裏面都有基督。在林前一章保羅說，基督不是分開的〔13〕。在你裏面的基督與在我裏面的基督是一，在我們裏面的基督與在所有其他基督徒裏面的基督也是一。因此，基督乃是由許多被祂充滿的肢體所組成的身體。這就是新皮袋—盛裝基督這新酒的召會生活。

召會充滿了基督，並且由基督所構成。…享受召會生活的人就是召會人。在召會人中間，新衣服、新酒和新皮袋全都恢復了。我們有團體的基督作我們的召會生活。…召會乃是神終極的目標。我們達到召會，就在神定旨的終極完成裏（馬太福音生命讀經，三八四至三九○頁）。

參讀：馬太福音生命讀經，第二十八篇。

WEEK 1 — DAY 6

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Morning Nourishment

Matt. 9:17 Neither do they put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.

1 Cor. 12:12 For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ.

The Greek word translated “new” in Matthew 9:17 is neos, which means “new in time, recent, newly possessed.” The new wine here signifies Christ as the new life, full of vigor, stirring people to excitement. The new wine is Christ’s cheering life. The divine life is likened to wine that has cheering strength. When we receive His life, it works within us all day long to stir us up and to excite us. This new wine strengthens us, energizes us, and makes us very happy.

The Lord said that we should not put new wine into old wineskins. The old wineskins signify religious practices, such as the fasting maintained by the Pharisees, who were of the old religion, and by the disciples of John, who were of the new religion. All religions are old wineskins. (Life-study of Matthew, 2nd ed., pp. 323-324)

Today’s Reading

The new wine needs a wineskin, a container. Because the new wine is filled with fermenting power, if you put it into an old wineskin, the fermenting power of the new wine will burst the old wineskin. Any religious practice is an old wineskin.

The Greek word for fresh [in Matthew 9:17] is kainos, which means “new in nature, quality, or form; unaccustomed, unused”; hence, fresh. The fresh wineskins signify the church life in the local churches as the container of the new wine, which is Christ Himself as the exciting life. The kingdom people are built into the church (16:18), and the church is expressed through the local churches in which the kingdom people live (18:15- 20). They are regenerated persons who constitute the Body of Christ and
become the church (Rom. 12:5; Eph. 1:22-23). The Body of Christ as His fullness is also called “the Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12), referring to the corporate Christ. The individual Christ is the new wine, the inward exciting life, and the corporate Christ is the fresh wineskin, the outward container that holds the new wine. With the kingdom people it is not a matter of fasting or of any other religious practice but a matter of the church life with Christ as their content.

We see then that the new wineskin is the church life. The church is actually the enlargement of Christ. The individual Christ is our wine within us. When this individual Christ is enlarged into a corporate Christ, that is the church. This corporate Christ is the wineskin, the container, to contain the individual Christ as our wine. We read in 1 Corinthians 12:12 not only that the members composed together are the one Body but that this Body is Christ…How, speaking in a practical way, is Christ the Body? He is the Body because the Body is composed of so many members who are filled with Christ. Christ is in you, Christ is in me, and Christ is in every one of us. We all have Christ within. In 1 Corinthians 1 Paul says that Christ is not divided. The Christ in you is one with the Christ in me, and the Christ in us is one with the Christ in all other Christians. Therefore, Christ is the Body composed of so many members who are filled with Him. This is the new wineskin, which is the church life to contain Christ as the new wine.

The church is filled with Christ and constituted with Christ…Those who enjoy the church life are the church people. Among the church people the new garment, the new wine, and the new wineskin have all been recovered. We have Christ in a corporate way as our church life…The church is God’s ultimate goal. When we arrive at the church, we are in the ultimate consummation of God’s purpose. (Life-study of Matthew, 2nd ed., pp. 324-329)

Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 28