第七週 · 週三

w07d03-ch

📖晨興餧養

約六51 『我是從天上降下來的活糧，人若喫這糧，就必永遠活着。我所要賜的糧，就是我的肉，為世人的生命所賜的。』

    53 『耶穌說，我實實在在的告訴你們，你們若不喫人子的肉，不喝人子的血，就沒有生命在你們裏面。』

對我們來說，作神的工就是喫基督，接受祂，因祂活着。…每天我們必須喫基督，好叫我們因基督活着。…今天的問題不是作工，乃是生活。你是過怎樣的生活？你滿意於你所過的生活麼？你若不喫喝基督，你根本沒有生命。你若沒有生命，你怎能活着？…神聖的觀念不是為神作工，乃是接受基督作我們的食物和飲料。藉着喫喝基督，我們就被基督充滿。然後我們纔能正確的為神而活（約翰福音生命讀經，二二七至二二八頁）。

📖信息選讀

作為逾越節的羔羊，基督為着救贖我們流出祂的血，使神越過我們（出十二12~13）。在約翰六章五十三節…主說到祂的血，這是救贖所必需的（十九34，來九22，太二六28，彼前一18~19，羅三25）。

當逾越節的時候，羊羔的血要塗在門框上；然而，主耶穌在約翰六章五十三節卻說到喝祂的血。喝表示接受。因此，喝祂的血就是接受血。…喫喝的意義就是將某物接受到我們這人裏面。因此，喫主的肉，喝主的血，就是將主的肉和血接受到我們裏面。喫就是將食物接受到我們裏面，並生機的吸收到我們體內。喫主耶穌就是將祂接受到我們裏面，為重生的新人以生命的方式所吸收。喝也是同樣的原則。

在五十四至五十五節主耶穌繼續說，『喫我肉喝我血的人，就有永遠的生命，在末日我要叫他復活。我的肉是真正的食物，我的血是真正的飲料。』這裏肉和血是分開題的。血和肉分開是指明死。因此，主在這裏清楚指明祂的死，也就是祂的被殺。祂為我們舍了身體，流了血，使我們得着永遠的生命。喫祂的肉，就是憑信接受祂為我們舍了身體所作成的一切。喝祂的血，就是憑信接受祂為我們流血所完成的一切。這樣喫祂的肉、喝祂的血，就是藉相信祂在十字架上為我們所作成的，好在祂的救贖裏，接受祂作生命和生命的供應。我們把五十四節與四十七節相比，就能看見，喫主的肉，喝主的血，等於相信祂，因為信或信入，就是接受（一12）。…在六章五十六節主耶穌繼續說，『喫我肉喝我血的人，就住在我裏面，我也住在他裏面。』『我也住在他裏面』，指明主必須復活，纔能住在我們裏面，作我們的生命和生命的供應。

作為逾越節的羔羊，基督不僅為着救贖我們而流血；祂也將祂的生命分賜到我們裏面，作我們的滋養。主耶穌在五十一節論到這點說，『我是從天上降下來的活糧，人若喫這糧，就必永遠活着。我所要賜的糧，就是我的肉，為世人的生命所賜的。』…糧屬於植物生命，只為着餧養；肉屬於動物生命，不僅為着餧養，也為着救贖。人墮落以前，主是生命樹（創二9），只為着餧養人。人墮落到罪中之後，主就成了羔羊（約一29），不僅為着餧養人，也為着救贖人（出十二4、7~8）。主耶穌在約翰六章五十一節下半告訴我們，祂的肉是『為世人的生命』所賜的。主舍了祂的身體，就是祂的肉，為我們死，好叫我們得着生命（新約總論第九冊，一三九至一四一頁）。

參讀：約翰福音生命讀經，第十六篇。

WEEK 7 — DAY 3

Morning Nourishment

John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread which I will give is My flesh, given for the life of the world. 53 Jesus therefore said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within yourselves.

For us, the work of God is nothing other than eating Christ, receiving Him, and living by Him…Daily we must eat Christ in order to live by Christ… Today’s problem is not work but life. What kind of life do you live? Are you satisfied with the life you are living? If you do not eat and drink of Christ, you simply do not have life. If you do not have life, how can you live?…The divine thought is not to work for God but to take Christ as our food and drink [cf. John 6:51, 53]. By eating and drinking of Christ, we will be filled with Christ. Then we can properly live for God. (Life-study of John, 2nd ed., pp. 193-194)

Today’s Reading

As the Passover Lamb, Christ shed His blood for our redemption that God may pass over us (Exo. 12:12-13). In John 6:53…the Lord spoke of His blood, which is necessary for redemption (19:34; Heb. 9:22; Matt. 26:28; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rom. 3:25).

At the time of the Passover, the blood of the lamb was applied to the doorpost. Yet, in John 6:53 the Lord Jesus spoke about drinking His blood. To drink means to receive. Hence, to drink the blood is to receive it…The significance of eating and drinking is to receive something into our being. To eat the Lord’s flesh and to drink His blood, therefore, is to receive the Lord’s flesh and blood into our being. To eat is to take food into us to be assimilated into our body organically. To eat the Lord Jesus is to receive Him into us to be assimilated by the regenerated new man in the way of life. The principle is the same with drinking.

In verses 54 and 55 the Lord Jesus continued, saying, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up in the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.” Here flesh and blood are mentioned separately. The separation of blood and flesh indicates death. Here the Lord Jesus clearly indicated His death, that is, His being slain. He gave His body and shed His blood for us that we may have eternal life. To eat His flesh is to receive by faith all that He did in giving His body for us. To drink His blood is to receive by faith all that He accomplished in shedding His blood for us. To eat His flesh and drink His blood is to receive Him, in His redemption, as life and the life supply by believing in what He did for us on the cross. By comparing verses 54 and 47 we see that to eat the Lord’s flesh and drink His blood is to believe in Him, because to believe into is to receive (1:12). In John 6:56 the Lord Jesus went on to say, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him.” The words I in him indicate that the Lord Jesus had to be resurrected so that He could abide in us as our life and life supply.

As the Passover Lamb Christ not only shed His blood for our redemption; He also imparts His life into us for our nourishment. Concerning this, in verse 51 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread which I will give is My flesh, given for the life of the world.”…Bread is of the vegetable life and is only for feeding; flesh is of the animal life and is not only for feeding but also for redeeming. Before the fall of man, the Lord was the tree of life (Gen. 2:9), which is only for feeding man. After man fell into sin, the Lord became the Lamb (John 1:29), which is not only for feeding man but also for redeeming him (Exo. 12:4, 7-8). In John 6:51b the Lord Jesus tells us that His flesh would be given “for the life of the world.” The Lord gave His body, that is, His flesh, dying for us that we might have life. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2872-2873)

Further Reading: Life-study of John, msg. 16