第三週   彼得書信中的生命與建造

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詩歌：補125

讀經：彼前一8，二1 ～ 5，9，彼後一3 ～ 4

【週一】

壹 彼得書信和整本聖經的中心思想，乃是生命與建造—彼前一23，二2 ～ 5，彼後一3 ～ 4：

一 生命乃是三一神具體化身在基督裏，實化爲那靈，將祂自己分賜到我們裏面，給我們享受；建造乃是召會，就是基督的身體，神屬靈的殿，作神的擴大和擴展，使神得着團體的彰顯—創二8 ～ 9，22，太十六18，西二19，弗四16。

二 基督作爲生命的種子，乃是我們裏面生命的能力，這能力已將一切關於生命和敬虔的事賜給我們，好藉着生命的長大和發展，建造召會作生命的富餘和生命的彰顯—彼後一3 ～ 4，參徒三15，詩歌一五四首第四節。

【週二】

貳 神的目標是要得着用活石所建造之屬靈的殿—彼前二5：

一 作爲我們的生命，基督是不能壞的種子；爲着神的建造，祂是活石—一23，二4。

二 彼得在悔改信主時，主給他取了一個新名，就是彼得——石頭；（約一42；）當他得着關於基督的啓示之後，主進一步啓示祂是磐石—石頭；（太十六18；）這兩件事給彼得深刻的印象，就是基督和祂的信徒都是爲着神的建造的活石。（彼前二4 ～ 8，徒四11，賽二八16，亞四7。）

三 我們這些在基督裏的信徒，藉着重生和變化，已成爲活石，作基督的複製；我們原是用泥土造的，（羅九21，）但在重生時，得着了神聖生命的種子，而這種子在我們裏面長大，就把我們變化爲活石。（彼前二5。）

【週三】

叁 神的建造是活的，所以是在長大；召會這神的家真實的建造，乃是藉着信徒生命的長大—弗二21：

一 我們要爲着神的建造而在生命裏長大，就必須愛主，留意我們的靈，切切保守我們的心，而留在生命的路徑上—彼前一8，二2，5，三4，15，箴四18 ～ 23，申十12，可十二30。

二 我們若要基督的生命在我們裏面不受攔阻，就必須經歷十字架的破碎，就是基督在祂包羅萬有之靈，卽榮耀之靈裏的治死，使我們裏面的障礙能受對付並被除去，如下所述—彼前一11，四14，詩一三九23 ～ 24：

1 作基督徒的意思是不以基督之外的任何事物爲我們的目標；這事的障礙乃是不認識生命的道路，並且
不以基督爲我們的生命—太七13 ～ 14，腓三8 ～14，西三4，羅八28 ～ 29。

2 第二個障礙是假冒；人的屬靈不是以外貌來斷定，乃是以他如何對待基督來斷定—太六1 ～ 6，十五7 ～ 8，約五44，十二42 ～ 43，參書七21。

3 第三個障礙是悖逆；我們也許作事非常積極熱心，卻仍忽畧活的基督，而將祂監禁在我們裏面，並且不順從祂—利十四9，14 ～ 18，十一1 ～ 2，46 ～ 47，羅十六17，林前十五33。

4 第四個障礙是我們天然的幹才；我們身上的這些天然幹才若沒有破碎，就會成爲基督生命的難處—二14 ～ 15，三12，16 ～ 17，猶19，參利十1 ～ 2。

【週四】

三 我們要爲着神的建造而在生命裏長大，就必須『脫去一切的惡毒、和一切的詭詐、並僞善、嫉妒、以及一切毀謗的話』—彼前二1。

四 我們要爲着神的建造而在生命裏長大，就必須得着神純淨的話奶爲滋養—2 節：

1 這純淨的奶是在神的話裏傳輸出來，藉我們理性心思的領會，且由我們心思機能的吸收，滋養我們裏面的人—羅八6，參申十一18。

2 雖然話奶是經由心思滋養魂的，最終卻滋養我們的靈，使我們屬靈而不屬魂，適合於爲神建造屬靈的殿—參林前二15。

3 我們要享受話奶，在話裏嘗到神和祂的美善，就必須藉着各樣的禱告接受祂的話，並默想祂的話—彼前二3，弗六17 ～ 18，詩一一九15，23，48，78，99，148：

a 默想話乃是藉着仔細揣摩而品嘗、享受它—彼前二2 ～ 3，詩一一九103。

b 禱告、對自己說話和讚美主，也可包括在默想話中；默想話乃是『反芻』，就是藉着反覆思想來接受神的話—利十一3。

4 我們藉着享用基督作話中滋養的奶，得餧養而長大，達到完全的救恩，達到變化成熟而得榮；彼前二章二節的得救，是一件變化爲着神建造的事。

5 我們享受『奶基督』而得滋養，使我們被祂這『石頭基督』所變化，並被建造爲『身體基督』，作神屬靈的殿，成爲聖別的祭司體系—2 ～ 5 節，林前十二12 ～ 13。

【週五】

肆 聖別的祭司體系，也就是配搭的祭司團，乃是建造起來之屬靈的殿；神要得着一個屬靈的殿給祂居住，以及一個祭司團，一個團體的祭司體系，來事奉祂—彼前二5，出十九5 ～ 6：

一 我們『是蒙揀選的族類，是君尊的祭司體系，是聖別的國度，是買來作產業的子民』（彼前二9）—蒙揀選的族類，指我們是源於神的；君尊的祭司體系，指我們是事奉神的；聖別的國度，指我們是爲着神一同生活的團體；買來作產業的子民，指我們對神是寶貴的。

二 我們團體的祭司事奉，乃是宣揚那召我們出黑暗、入祂奇妙之光者的美德（9）作福音，使我們『藉着耶穌基督獻上神所悅納的屬靈祭物』；（5 下；）這些屬靈的祭物乃是：

1 基督作舊約豫表中一切祭物的實際，如燔祭、素祭、平安祭、贖罪祭、贖愆祭等—利一～五。

2 我們藉福音所救來作基督肢體的罪人—羅十五16。

3 我們的身體、讚美、並爲神所作的事—十二1，來十三15 ～ 16，腓四18。

【週六】

三 我們向着主的一切祭司事奉，都必須源自於祂這位『度量的神』，而不是源自於我們自己；我們的一切祭司事奉，都必須照着祂的引導和約束，讓祂的死在我們裏面運行，使祂復活的生命能藉着我們分賜給別人—林後十13，約十二24，二一15 ～ 22，撒下七18，25，27，路一37 ～ 38，詩歌六五○首。

Week Three

Life and Building in Peter’s Epistles

Hymns: 1242

Scripture Reading: 1 Pet. 1:8; 2:1-5, 9; 2 Pet. 1:3-4

§ Day 1

I. The central thought of Peters Epistles and of the entire Scripture is life and building—1 Pet. 1:23; 2:2-5; 2 Pet. 1:3-4:

A. Life is the Triune God embodied in Christ and realized as the Spirit dispensing Himself into us for our enjoyment, and building is the church, the Body of Christ, Gods spiritual house, as the enlargement and expansion of God for the corporate expression of God—Gen. 2:8-9, 22; Matt. 16:18; Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:16.

B. Christ as the seed of life is the power of life within us that has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness for the building up of the church as the rich surplus of life and the expression of life through the growth and development of life—2 Pet. 1:3-4; cf. Acts 3:15; Hymns, #203, stanza 4.

§ Day 2

II. Gods goal is to have a spiritual house built up with living stones—1 Pet. 2:5:

A. As life to us, Christ is the incorruptible seed; for Gods building, He is the living stone—1:23; 2:4.

B. At Peters conversion the Lord gave him a new name, Peter—a stone (John 1:42); when Peter received the revelation concerning Christ, the Lord revealed further that He was the rock—a stone (Matt. 16:18); by these two incidents Peter received the impression that both Christ and His believers are living stones for Gods building (1 Pet. 2:4-8; Acts 4:11; Isa. 28:16; Zech. 4:7).

C. We, the believers in Christ, are living stones as the duplication of Christ through regeneration and transformation; we were created of clay (Rom. 9:21), but at regeneration we received the seed of the divine life, which by its growing in us transforms us into living stones (1 Pet. 2:5).

§ Day 3

III. Since Gods building is living, it is growing; the actual building up of the church as the house of God is by the believers growth in life—Eph. 2:21:

A. In order to grow in life for Gods building, we must love the Lord, take heed to our spirit, and guard our heart with all vigilance to stay on the pathway of life—1 Pet. 1:8; 2:2, 5; 3:4, 15; Prov. 4:18-23; Deut. 10:12; Mark 12:30.

B. If we want Christs life to be unhindered in us, we must experience the breaking of the cross, the killing death of Christ in the all-inclusive Spirit of Christ as the Spirit of glory, so that the following obstacles within us can be dealt with and removed—1 Pet. 1:11; 4:14; Psa. 139:23-24:

1. Being a Christian means not taking anything other than Christ as our aim; the obstacle to this is not knowing the pathway of life and not taking Christ as our life—Matt. 7:13-14; Phil. 3:8-14; Col. 3:4; Rom. 8:28-29.

2. The second obstacle is hypocrisy; a persons spirituality is not determined by outward appearance but by how he takes care of Christ—Matt. 6:1-6; 15:7-8; John 5:44; 12:42-43; cf. Josh. 7:21.

3. The third obstacle is rebellion; we may be very active and zealous in doing things but still imprison and disobey the living Christ within us by ignoring Him—Lev. 14:9, 14-18; 11:1-2, 46-47; Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor. 15:33.

4. The fourth obstacle is our natural capabilities; if these natural capabilities remain unbroken in us, they will become a problem to Christs life—2:14-15; 3:12, 16-17; Jude 19; cf. Lev. 10:1-2.

§ Day 4

C. In order to grow in life for Gods building, we must put away "all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envyings and all evil speakings"—1 Pet. 2:1.

D. In order to grow in life for Gods building, we must be nourished with the guileless milk of Gods word—v. 2:

1. The guileless milk is conveyed in the word of God to nourish our inner man through the understanding of our rational mind and is assimilated by our mental faculties—Rom. 8:6; cf. Deut. 11:18.

2. Although the nourishing milk of the word is for the soul through the mind, it eventually nourishes the spirit, making us not soulish but spiritual, suitable for being built up as a spiritual house of God—cf. 1 Cor. 2:15.

3. In order to enjoy the milk of the word, to taste God with His goodness in the word, we must receive His word by means of all prayer and muse on His word—1 Pet. 2:3; Eph. 6:17-18; Psa. 119:15, 23, 48, 78, 99, 148:

a. To muse on the word is to taste and enjoy it through careful considering—1 Pet. 2:2-3; Psa. 119:103.

b. Prayer, speaking to oneself, and praising the Lord may also be included in musing on the word; to muse on the word is to "chew the cud," to receive the word of God through much reconsideration—Lev. 11:3.

4. By feeding on Christ as the nourishing milk in the word, we grow unto full salvation, unto maturity through transformation for glorification; salvation in 1 Peter 2:2 is a matter of transformation for Gods building.

5. We enjoy the "milk-Christ" to nourish us so that we may be transformed with Him as the "stone-Christ" and be built up as the "Body-Christ," as Gods spiritual house into a holy priesthood—vv. 2-5; 1 Cor. 12:12-13.

§ Day 5

IV. The holy priesthood, the coordinated body of priests, is the built-up spiritual house; God wants a spiritual house for His dwelling and a priestly body, a corporate priesthood, for His service—1 Pet. 2:5; Exo. 19:5-6:

A. We are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession" (1 Pet. 2:9)—chosen race denotes our descent from God; royal priesthood, our service to God; holy nation, our being a community for God; and people acquired for a possession, our preciousness to God.

B. Our corporate priestly service is to tell out as the gospel the virtues of the One who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (v. 9) so that we may "offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (v. 5b); these spiritual sacrifices are:

1. Christ as the reality of all the sacrifices of the Old Testament types, such as the burnt offering, meal offering, peace offering, sin offering, and trespass offering—Lev. 1—5.

2. The sinners saved by our gospel preaching, offered as members of Christ— Rom. 15:16.

3. Our body, our praises, and the things we do for God—12:1; Heb. 13:15-16; Phil. 4:18.

§ Day 6

C. All our priestly service to the Lord must originate from Him as "the God of measure" and not from ourselves; all our priestly service must be according to His leading and His limitation, as we allow His death to operate in us, so that His resurrection life can be imparted through us into others—2 Cor. 10:13; John 12:24; 21:15-22; 2 Sam. 7:18, 25, 27; Luke 1:37-38; Hymns, #907.