第六週 · 週一

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📖晨興餧養

約一1 『太初有話，話與神同在，話就是神。』

    51 『又對他說，我實實在在的告訴你們，你們將要看見天開了，神的使者上去下來在人子身上。』

在約翰福音裏的第一個結晶，神的話，是指神的獨生子基督（一18），作神的解釋、說明和彰顯。…約翰揭示基督是那偉大的『我是』，是自有永有的（出三14~15，約八24、28、58）。在基督之外的一切，都是虛空的虛空。惟有祂是實際，就是那『我是』，那是一切者。…基督是永遠的，無始無終的一位（來七3）。

約翰一章是整卷約翰福音的引言，主要強調的乃是基督是神的話—那奧祕且看不見之神的解釋、說明和彰顯；其中說到基督在宇宙歷史中五件最大的事上（李常受文集一九九四至一九九七年第四冊，四二二頁）。

📖信息選讀

約翰一章一節指已過的永遠，因為『太初』表明已過的永遠。五十一節指將來的永遠，因為當主告訴拿但業，他要看見天開了，神的使者上去下來在人子身上，祂不是說到現在，而是說到將來的永遠。如果我們將這兩段的永遠擺在一起，我們就有了整個的永遠。

在已過的永遠裏，基督是話，與神同在，並且就是神。在已過的永遠裏，祂只是神，只有神性。因為話尚未成為肉體，祂還不是一個人，還沒有人性。…在將來的永遠裏，基督不只是神，還是人。祂將不只是神子，還是人子。…在已過的永遠裏，祂是神，僅僅是神性的，沒有人性。然而在將來的永遠裏，祂是神又是人，是神子又是人子，是神性的又是人性的，有神性又有人性。祂將有兩種性情，兩種素質和兩種本質—神性和人性。

這位在已過的永遠裏沒有人性的神，如何能在將來的永遠裏有人性作祂的居所？…在永遠的這兩段之間有時間的橋樑。在已過的永遠裏，神計畫並且定意，但祂並沒有作甚麼。在將來的永遠裏，神也不會作甚麼。…祂只要享受祂所完成的工作。在已過的永遠裏，祂計畫；在將來的永遠裏，祂要享受。每一件神所需要完成的事，祂要在時間的橋樑上完成。神駕着祂經綸之車，從永遠的第一段，經過了時間的橋樑，進入永遠的後一段。藉着駕駛祂的車越過時間的橋樑，所有必需的工作就完成了。一旦神從已過的永遠，行過時間的橋樑，進入將來的永遠，祂就要宣告說，『成了！』（約翰福音生命讀經，六一至六二、六五頁）

我們可以用五個辭，來記住這五件歷史的大事：創造、成肉體、羔羊、那靈和梯子。約翰一章開始於基督是話，結束於祂是梯子。基督是話，藉着創造、成為肉體、成為羔羊、成為那靈並成為梯子而說話。要立起梯子，就需要有基礎；基督作屬天的梯子，其基礎乃是神的家—伯特利。伯特利的實際就是召會，然後是基督的身體，和新耶路撒冷。

在這五件宇宙的歷史事件上，神的話基督—作為：（一）在創造時的創造者；（二）在成為肉體時的人；（三）在救贖時的羔羊；（四）在變化時的那靈；（五）在把地聯於天時的梯子—解釋、說明並彰顯那看不見的神（李常受文集一九九四至一九九七年第四冊，四二五至四二六頁）。

參讀：約翰福音生命讀經，第一至二篇。

WEEK 6 — DAY 1

Morning Nourishment

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

        51 And He said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, You shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.

The Word of God, the first crystal in the Gospel of John, refers to Christ, the only begotten Son of God (1:18), as the definition, explanation, and expression of God. John unveils Christ as the great I Am, self-existing and ever-existing (Exo. 3:14-15; John 8:24, 28, 58). Everything other than Christ is vanity of vanities. Only He is the reality, the I Am, the One who is…Christ is the One who is eternal, without beginning or ending (Heb. 7:3).

John 1 is the introduction to the whole Gospel of John, and the main stress of this introduction is that Christ is the Word of God—the definition, explanation, and expression of the mysterious and invisible God. It refers to Christ in the five greatest events in the history of the universe. (CWWL, 1994- 1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” pp. 335-336)

Today’s Reading

John 1:1 refers to eternity in the past, for the beginning denotes eternity in the past. Verse 51 refers to eternity in the future, for when the Lord told Nathanael that he would see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man, He was not speaking about the present but about eternity in the future. If we put together these two sections of eternity, we have the whole of eternity.

In eternity past Christ, as the Word, was with God and was God. In eternity past He was only God and only had divinity. Since the Word had not yet been incarnated, He was not a man and had no humanity. In eternity future Christ will not only be God but also man. He will not only be the Son of God but also the Son of Man…In eternity past He was God, solely and merely divine, having no humanity. However, in eternity future He will be God and man, the Son of God and the Son of Man, both divine and human, having divinity as well as humanity. He will have two natures, two essences, and two substances— divinity and humanity.

How can God, who had no humanity in eternity past, have humanity in eternity future as His dwelling place?…Between these two sections of eternity is the bridge of time. In eternity past God planned and purposed, but He did not do anything. In eternity future God will not do anything…He will simply enjoy His finished work. In eternity past He planned, and in eternity future He will enjoy. Everything that God needs to accomplish He accomplishes on the bridge of time. God is “driving the car” of His economy from the first section of eternity, through the bridge of time, into the last section of eternity. By driving His car across the bridge of time, all the necessary work is completed. Once God has traveled from eternity past, through the bridge of
time, and into eternity future, He will declare, “Finished!” (Life-study of John, 2nd ed., pp. 55-56, 58)

We can remember these five great historical events with five words: creation, incarnation, Lamb, Spirit, and ladder. John 1 begins with Christ as the Word and ends with Him as the ladder. Christ as the Word speaks through the creation, through the incarnation, through His becoming the Lamb, through His becoming the Spirit, and through His being the ladder. In order to have a ladder, there is the need of a base, and the base for Christ to be the heavenly ladder is the house of God, Bethel. The reality of Bethel is the church and then the Body of Christ and the New Jerusalem.

In all these five universal, historical events, Christ, the Word of God— as (1) the Creator in creation, (2) the man in incarnation, (3) the Lamb in redemption, (4) the Spirit in transformation, (5) the ladder in joining earth to heaven—defines, explains, and expresses the invisible God. (CWWL, 1994- 1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” pp. 337-338)

Further Reading: Life-study of John, msgs. 1—2