第三週 · 週一

w03d01-ch

📖晨興餧養

太二八18 『耶穌…對他們說，天上地上所有的權柄，都賜給我了。』

弗一20 『就是祂在基督身上所運行的，使祂從死人中復活，叫祂在諸天界裏，坐在自己的右邊。』

林後十三10 『所以我…寫這些事，…照着主所賜給我的權柄，…這權柄是為着建造人，並不是為着拆毀人。』

神的右邊，就是基督因神超越的大能所坐之處，是有最高權柄，最尊貴之處（聖經恢復本，弗一20註4）。

屬靈的權柄不是作官，乃是生命裏的事。當我們說長老們有權柄時，我們不可忘記，權柄不是作官。任何事成了官派的，就不再屬乎生命。…既然權柄不是作官，就沒有階級或地位。不是作官，就沒有地位。…我們應當再查考聖經，看看有沒有經文明指或暗示神賦予長老權柄。讓我們看希伯來十三章十七節：『你們要信從那些帶領你們的，且要服從；因他們為你們的魂儆醒，好像要交帳的人；你們要使他們歡樂地作這事，不至歎息；若歎息，就與你們無益了。』我們也許問：『新約這一節豈不是說，召會中的肢體必須信從那些帶領他們的人麼？信從一辭豈不指明有一種權柄麼？』然而，這一節是告訴我們要信從那些帶領我們的，而不是信從那些轄管我們的。我們信從他們的帶領，不是信從他們的權柄（李常受文集一九八四年第二冊，五六六至五六八頁）。

📖信息選讀

那裏有基督之外的東西，那裏就沒有權柄。你可以有好東西，而沒有權柄；你可以得人的稱讚，而沒有權柄；你可以在那裏很溫和，而沒有權柄；你可以在那裏熱心比較工作的果效，但你沒有權柄。權柄是在召會中的，而召會乃是託在基督身上。這意思是，召會是建造在基督身上的，基督自己乃是建造召會的材料。…在我們裏頭有多少基督的成分，在我們身上也就有多少的權柄（李常受文集一九五六年第一冊，三四頁）。

主在神性裏為神的獨生子，已經有管理萬有的權柄；然而，祂在人性裏為人子，作屬天之國的王，天上地上所有的權柄是在祂復活之後賜給祂的。

照着約翰的記載，主復活以後，在一個門都關了的屋子裏與門徒相見（約二十19）。門徒因怕猶太人，都甚戰兢。因為他們需要藉着生命得加強，主就以生命臨到他們，向他們吹氣，並告訴他們要受聖氣（22）。…照着馬太，主囑咐門徒到加利利的山上。當然，祂是在白晝，而不是在晚上，在那座山上與他們相見。此外，當祂在山上與他們相見時，沒有向他們吹氣，並告訴他們要受聖氣。祂乃是說，『天上地上所有的權柄，都賜給我了。』〔太二八18〕在馬太福音，不是吹氣的問題，乃是權柄的問題。約翰所關心的是生命，生命需要氣息。但馬太所關心的是國度，國度需要權柄。約翰福音啟示出我們需要生命，以照顧小羊並餧養主的羊羣。但在馬太二十八章沒有說到餧養小羊。在馬太福音，主吩咐門徒使萬民作主的門徒（二八19），使萬民成為國度的一部分。這需要權柄。因此，在約翰福音，復活是生命、能力、氣息以及牧養的事。然而，在馬太福音，復活是公義、權柄並使萬民作主門徒的事（馬太福音生命讀經，九一四至九一五頁）。

參讀：馬太福音生命讀經，第七十二篇。

WEEK 3 — DAY 1

Morning Nourishment

Matt. 28:18 …Jesus…spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Eph. 1:20 Which He caused to operate in Christ in raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies.

2 Cor. 13:10 Therefore I write these things…according to the authority which the Lord has given me for building up and not for overthrowing. God’s right hand, where Christ was seated by the surpassingly great power of God, is the most honorable place, the place with supreme authority. (Eph. 1:20, footnote 3)

Spiritual authority does not mean anything official but something in life. When we say that the elders have authority, we must not forget that the authority is not official. When anything becomes official, it is no longer something of life…Since the authority is not official, there is no rank or position. Anything that is not official is not positional. We should reexamine the Bible to see if any verse indicates or even hints that the elders have been assigned with authority. Let us look at Hebrews 13:17: “Obey the ones leading you and submit to them, for they watch over yo will render an account, that they may do this with joy and not groaning; for this would be unprofitable to you.” We may ask, “Doesn’t the New Testament say in this verse that the members in the church have to obey those who lead them? Doesn’t the word obey indicate that there is a certain kind of authority?” This verse, however, tells us to obey the ones leading us, not ruling us. We obey their leading, not their authority. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 4: Other Crucial Matters concerning the Practice of the Lord’s Recovery,” pp. 440-442)

Today’s Reading
When there are elements outside of Christ that are present in us, there is no authority. We may have good things, gain the praises of others, be gentle and mild, and even be zealous in our work yet have no authority. Authority is in the church, and the church is upheld by Christ. In other words, the church is built upon Christ, and Christ Himself is the material for the building of the church…The amount of the element of Christ in us determines the amount of authority we have. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 1, “The Church as the Body of Christ,” p. 22)

In His divinity as the only begotten Son of God, the Lord had authority over all. However, in His humanity as the Son of Man and the King of the heavenly kingdom, all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him after His resurrection.

According to John’s record, after His resurrection the Lord met with His disciples in a room where the doors had been shut (20:19). The disciples were frightened, being afraid of the Jews. Because they needed to be strengthened by life, the Lord came to them as life, breathed upon them, and told them to receive the holy breath (v. 22)…According to Matthew, the Lord charged the disciples to go to a mountain in Galilee. Surely He met with them on that mountain during the day, not during the night. Furthermore, when He met with them on the mountain, He did not breathe upon them and tell them to receive the holy breath. Instead, He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” In Matthew it is not a matter of breath but a matter of authority. John’s concern was for life, and life requires breath. But Matthew’s concern was for the kingdom, and the kingdom requires authority. The Gospel of John reveals that we need life to care for the little lambs and to feed the
Lord’s flock. But in Matthew 28 there is no word about feeding the lambs. In Matthew the Lord commanded the disciples to disciple all the nations (v. 19) in order to make all the nations part of the kingdom. This requires authority. Therefore, in John resurrection is a matter of life, power, breath, and shepherding. However, in Matthew it is a matter of righteousness, authority, and discipling the nations. (Life-study of Matthew, 2nd ed., pp. 786-787)

Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 72