第八週．週一

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晨興餧養

可一１５『時期滿了，神的國已經臨近了。你們要悔改，相信福音。』

四２６『耶穌又說，神的國是這樣，如同人把種子撒在地上。』

在馬可四章有福音的種子，或者說有福音作種子。照三節來看，主教訓的時候，就是在撒種。這撒種就是奴僕救主傳揚神的福音，帶進神的國。（一14∼15。）這與四章二十六節一樣，乃是撒出奴僕救主所說之話中生命的種子，指明祂福音的服事，是要將神的生命撒在祂所服事的人裏面。這生命的長大是按照受服事之人的光景；光景不同，結果就不同，就如這比喻所描繪的。（1∼20。）

主耶穌把種子撒到人心裏。馬可四章與馬太十三章，把人的心比作土壤。我們的心是田地、土壤，主耶穌把祂自己當作生命的種子，就是福音的種子撒在其中。在撒種的比喻裏，主耶穌是撒種的，也是撒出去的種子。主這位撒種者，把祂自己當作生命的種子，藉着祂的話撒出去。（馬可福音生命讀經，一四四至一四五頁。）

信息選讀

當主撒下神國的種子時，祂把自己撒到門徒裏面。然後，這國度的種子三年半之久在門徒裏面經過發展的過程。結果五旬節那天來到時，神的國就在門徒中間。從主來傳福音到五旬節那天，還不到四年。那是一段撒在『土裏』的種子生長的時間。這粒種子繼續生長、發展，直到五旬節那天；那時國度很明顯的與彼得和一百二十個人同在。

神的國與人的國極其不同。人的國是組織的事；神的國不是組織的事，完全是生命的事。…神的國是甚麼？神的國實際上乃是神人耶穌基督，作為種子撒到相信祂的人裏面。這種子撒到他們裏面以後，就在他們裏面生長，最後發展成為國度。…這個…國度…會使所有主的信徒都達到目標。…這個目標就是神的國得以完全發展。

為要把這件事講得清楚，我要借用『基因』這個生物學名詞。那撒到我們裏面，在人性裏的三一神，乃是國度的基因。我們知道，若沒有人的基因，就不可能有人的生命。我們的出生、生命、存留，都來自基因。現在我們必須看見，在人性裏的三一神已經撒到我們裏面，成了國度的基因。讚美主，這基因在我們裏面！至終，這基因會產生國度。…首先，國度是福音的結果，然後是福音的目標；在結果與目標之間有召會。你知道召會是甚麼？召會乃是國度的基因所產生之結果的延續。

這位撒到我們裏面的乃是國度的基因，就是在人性裏的三一神。這奇妙的一位就是我們的神、主、救主、救贖主、主人與生命。…一天過一天，國度的種子在我們裏面成長、發展。…也許我們許多事都忘記了，但我們應該牢記，這基因正在我們裏面。在人性裏的三一神作為生命的種子，已經撒到我們裏面，要生長、發展、並產生國度。這樣，國度就是福音的結果，也是福音的目標。在結果與目標之間有召會生活，作我們裏面奇妙基因之結果的延續。（馬可福音生命讀經，一四五至一四六、一五○至一五二頁。）

參讀：馬可福音生命讀經，第十四篇。

WEEK 8 — DAY 1

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Morning Nourishment

Mark 1:15 …The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Repent and believe in the gospel.

       4:26 And He said, So is the kingdom of God: as if a man cast seed on the earth.

In Mark 4 we have the seed of the gospel, or the gospel as a seed. According to 4:3, as the Lord was teaching, He was sowing. This sowing was the Slave- Savior’s proclaiming of the gospel of God, which brought in the kingdom of God (1:14-15). It was, as in 4:26, the sowing of this seed of life in the word spoken by the Slave-Savior. This indicates that His gospel service was to sow the divine life into the people whom He served. The growth of this life depends on the condition of the ones served, and its issue differs according to their various conditions, as portrayed in the parable of the sower (vv. 1-20).

The Lord Jesus sowed the seed into the human heart. In Mark 4 and Matthew 13 the human heart is likened to soil. Our heart is the field, the soil, into which the Lord Jesus has sown Himself as the seed of life, which is the seed of the gospel. In the parable of the sower, the Lord Jesus is both the Sower and the seed sown. As the Sower, the Lord sows Himself as the seed of life through His word. (Life-study of Mark, p. 122)

Today’s Reading

When the Lord sowed the seed of the kingdom of God, He sowed Himself into His disciples. Then this seed of the kingdom passed through a process of development within the disciples for three and a half years. As a result, when the day of Pentecost came, the kingdom of God was present with the disciples. The time from the Lord’s coming forth to proclaim the gospel until the day of Pentecost was less than four years. That was a period of time for the seed sown into the “earth” to grow. The seed continued to grow and develop until the day of Pentecost, when the kingdom was clearly present with Peter and the one hundred twenty.

The kingdom of God is very different from the kingdom of man. The kingdom of man is a matter of organization. The kingdom of God is not a matter of organization; rather, the kingdom of God is absolutely a matter of life. What is the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is actually the God-man, Jesus Christ, sown as a seed into His believers. After this seed has been sown into them, it will grow in them and eventually develop into a kingdom …This kingdom will bring us to the destination so that God’s goal may be reached …This goal is the full development of the kingdom of God.

In order to make this matter clear, I would like to borrow a term from biology. This term is the word gene. The Triune God in humanity sown into our being is the gene of the kingdom. We know that without human genes it is impossible to have human life. Our birth, our being, and our existence all came from a gene. Now we must see that the Triune God in humanity has been sown into us to be the gene of the kingdom. Praise the Lord that this gene is within us! Eventually, the kingdom will issue from this gene. First, the kingdom is the issue of the gospel, and then it is the goal of the gospel. Between the issue and the goal we have the church. Do you know what the church is? The church is the continuation of the issue of the gene of the kingdom.

The One who has been sown into us is the gene of the kingdom, the Triune God in humanity. This wonderful One is our God, Lord, Savior, Redeemer, Master, and life. Day by day the seed of the kingdom is growing and developing within us…We may forget many things, but we should all remember the gene that is within us. The Triune God in humanity has been sown into us as a seed of life to grow, develop, and issue in the kingdom. The kingdom, then, is the issue of the gospel and will be the goal of the gospel. Between the issue and goal we have the church life as the continuation of the
issue of the marvelous gene that is within us. (Life-study of Mark, pp. 123- 124, 126-128)

Further Reading: Life-study of Mark, msg. 14