第七週．週六

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晨興餧養

西一１５『愛子是那不能看見之神的像，是一切受造之物的首生者。』

１８『祂也是召會身體的頭；祂是元始，是從死人中復活的首生者，使祂可以在萬有中居首位。』

基督是那居首位與包羅萬有者，是神的中心與普及。歌羅西書啟示基督是居首位的，祂在凡事上居首位。在首先的創造和新造中，基督都居首位。［一15，18。］…基督在新造中居首位，意思是說，祂是在復活裏的頭一位。祂在創造與復活中，都是第一位。這意思是說，祂在舊造的宇宙和新造的召會中，都居第一位。宇宙乃是召會存在的環境，召會的存在是作基督的身體，以完滿的彰顯基督。…祂在凡事上都是第一位。（歌羅西書生命讀經，四八頁。）

信息選讀

歌羅西一章十九節說，『因為一切的豐滿，樂意居住在祂裏面。』這節所說的豐滿究竟是甚麼？許多人會回答說，這是神格的豐滿。雖然這樣回答沒有錯，但保羅在此卻沒有用『神格的』或『神的』這些辭來形容豐滿這辭。他只說，一切的豐滿喜歡、樂意居住在基督裏面。在這個宇宙中有一個東西叫作豐滿，這豐滿樂意居住在居首位、包羅萬有的基督裏面。

十九節的豐滿，不是指神所是的豐富，乃是指那些豐富的彰顯。不論在受造之物中，或在召會裏，神豐富之所是的一切彰顯，都居住在基督裏面。一切受造之物，以及整個召會，都充滿了這位作神豐富之彰顯的基督。這樣的豐滿，樂意如此。這是基督所喜悅的。

十九節之後的幾節裏，有好幾個人稱代名詞（中文譯為『自己』），指出這豐滿是一個人位。這指明這豐滿乃是神的彰顯，甚至就是神自己。在這豐滿裏，子乃是居首位的，因為一切的豐滿樂意居住在祂裏面。因此，祂必須在環境中並在召會裏居首位。祂是居首位者。

祂也是包羅萬有者。基督是宇宙中一切正面事物的實際。我們若認識聖經和神的經綸，我們就領會，基督就是諸天、地、太陽、生命、光、星辰、樹木、花、水、空氣和食物。物質的東西，乃是祂之於我們所是的一幅圖畫。不僅如此，基督也是一切神聖的屬性，諸如能力、聖別、公義、恩慈和愛。祂也是人性的美德，諸如謙卑、忍耐。再者，祂是召會和召會的各肢體，祂是神的建造以及這建造中的每一塊石頭。這意思是說，基督是你，也是我。

有些人曲解我們的話，錯誤的指控我們教導泛神論。泛神論是屬撒但的信仰，將神與宇宙混為一談。這是屬鬼魔的，我們毫無保留的將之棄絕。但根據聖經的啟示，我們必須見證，基督那包羅萬有者，乃是一切正面事物的實際。當我們說到基督是你也是我時，我們不是說，我們是神或我們將要變成神。照樣，當我們說基督是真正的食物（見約六55）時，我們不是說物質的食物是神。這種觀念不僅是荒謬的，也是屬撒但的。

基督是包羅萬有者，祂是神的中心與普及。…祂是輪軸，也是輪輞。換句話說，基督乃是一切。我再說，這不是泛神論。…基督的確是中心和圓周，就是神經綸的中心和普及。在神的經綸裏，基督乃是一切。…在歌羅西的聖徒轉向宗教和哲學乃是錯誤的。這樣的事與神的經綸是相對的。在神的經綸裏，只有基督有地位；基督乃是一切，又在一切之內。（歌羅西書生命讀經，四九至五一頁。）

參讀：歌羅西書生命讀經，第五篇；國度，第一至三、五十章。

WEEK 7 — DAY 6

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Morning Nourishment

Col. 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation.

         18 And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things.

Christ is the preeminent and all-inclusive One, the centrality and universality of God…Colossians reveals that Christ is preeminent, that He has the first place in everything, both in the first creation and in the new creation…[1:15, 18]… For Christ to be preeminent in the new creation means that He is the first in resurrection. He is the first both in creation and in resurrection. This means that He is the first in the old creation, the universe, and in the new creation, the church. The universe is the environment in which the church exists as the Body of Christ to express Christ in full…He is first in everything. (Life-study of Colossians, p. 41)

Today’s Reading

Colossians 1:19 says, “For in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.” What is the fullness spoken of in this verse? Many would answer that it is the fullness of the Godhead. Although this is correct, here Paul does not modify the word fullness by a phrase such as of the Godhead or of God. He simply says that all the fullness was pleased, was happy, to dwell in Christ. There is something in this universe known as the fullness, and this fullness is pleased to dwell in the preeminent, all-inclusive Christ.

In 1:19 fullness does not denote the riches of what God is, but the expression of those riches. All the expression of the rich being of God, both in creation and in the church, dwells in Christ. All creation and all the church are filled with Christ as such an expression of God’s riches. Such a fullness is pleased with this. This is pleasant to Christ.

Many of the personal pronouns in the verses following 1:19 refer to the fullness as a person. This indicates that the fullness is the expression of God, even God Himself. In this fullness the Son is preeminent, for all the fullness is pleased to dwell in Him. Therefore, He must have the first place in the environment and in the church. He is the preeminent One.

He is also the all-inclusive One. Christ is the reality of all the positive things in the universe. If we know the Bible and God’s economy, we will realize that Christ is the heavens, the earth, the sun, life, light, the star, trees, flowers, water, air, and food. The material things are pictures of what He is to us. Furthermore, Christ is all the divine attributes, such as power, holiness, righteousness, kindness, and love. He is also the human virtues such as humility and patience. Moreover, He is the church and every member of the church, God’s building and every stone in the building. This means that Christ is you and me.

Some twist our words and falsely accuse us of teaching pantheism. Pantheism is the satanic belief that identifies God with the universe. This is devilish, and we repudiate it without reservation. But according to the revelation of the Bible, we must testify that Christ, the all-inclusive One, is the reality of all positive things. When we say that Christ is you and me, we do not mean that we are God or that we will ever become God. Likewise, when we say that Christ is the real food (see John 6:55), we do not mean that physical food is God. Such a concept is not only absurd but also satanic.

As the all-inclusive One, Christ is the centrality and universality of God …He is the hub and also the rim. In other words, Christ is all. Again I say that this is not pantheism. Christ truly is the center and the circumference, the centrality and universality of God’s economy. In God’s economy Christ is everything. The saints in Colossae were wrong in turning to religion and philosophy. Such things are against God’s economy, where there is room only for Christ, the One who is all and in all. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 41-43)

Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msg. 5; CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” chs. 1—3, 50