第三週■週五

w03d05-ch

晨興餧養

彼前二5『〔你們〕也…被建造成爲屬靈的殿，成爲聖別的祭司體系，藉着耶穌基督獻上神所悅納的屬靈祭物。』

        9『…你們是蒙揀選的族類，是君尊的祭司體系，是聖別的國度，是買來作產業的子民，要叫你們宣揚那召你們出黑暗、入祂奇妙之光者的美德。』

在彼前二章五節…屬靈的，指明神的生命生活並長大的性能；聖別的，指明神的性情分別並聖別的性能。神的殿主要的是藉神的生命得維繫，因此是屬靈的；祭司的體系主要的是藉神的性情得維繫，因此是聖別的。

配搭的祭司團就是建造起來的屬靈的殿。雖然彼得的兩封書信不是寫給召會的，他在彼前二章五節強調信徒的團體生活時，也未用到召會一辭，但他的確用『屬靈的殿』和『聖別的祭司體系』這些辭，以指明召會的生活。不是個人的屬靈生活，乃是團體的屬靈生活，纔能完成神的定旨，滿足祂的心意。神要得着一個屬靈的殿給祂居住，得着一個祭司團，一個祭司體系事奉祂。…這團體的事奉乃是出自屬靈生命三個要緊的階段：重生，（2 上，）靠基督的滋養長大，（2 下，）以及同被建造。（彼得前書生命讀經，一八四至一八五頁。）

信息選讀

屬靈的殿和聖別的祭司體系是同義辭。屬靈的殿是作神的居所，聖別的祭司體系是爲着事奉神。照着彼前二章五節，屬靈的殿建造成爲聖別的祭司體系，是爲着特別的功用。…這裏我們看見，耶穌基督是屬靈祭物藉以獻給神的管道。…不但如此，凡獻給神的必須是出於基督的東西。

信徒在新約時代，照着神經綸所獻的屬靈祭物乃是：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；）我們藉福音所救來作基督肢體的罪人；（羅十五16；）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。）

在彼前二章九節…族類、祭司體系、國度和子民都是集合名詞，指集體的信徒。作族類，信徒已經蒙揀選；作祭司體系，祭司團，我們是君尊的；作國度，我們是聖別的；作子民，我們是神的產業，是神特別買來並據有，作祂奇珍的產業。（多二14。）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。這些都有團體之意，因此我們需要建造在一起。

我們是蒙揀選的族類，起源於神。我們也是君尊的祭司體系。君尊，指我們祭司的身分是君尊的，就如麥基洗德所豫表我們的大祭司，君王基督的身分。（來七1 ～ 2，26，創十四18。）我們也是聖別的國度，和買來作產業的子民。聖別，指國度的性質。『買來作產業的子民』一辭的希臘原文，等於希伯來文的一種說法，…含示一種奇珍。…在提多書二章十四節，保羅說到『成爲獨特的子民』。這是一種取自舊約的說法，（申七6，十四2，二六18，）指神自己所特有的子民，作祂的奇珍，（出十九5—和合本之子民，原文意奇特的所有物，奇珍，）祂自己的產業。首先我們是蒙揀選的族類，然後是君尊的祭司體系，聖別的國度，和買來作產業的子民。作爲神的奇珍，我們是祂寶貴的子民。（彼得前書生命讀經，一八五至一八七頁。）

參讀：彼得前書生命讀經，第十七至十八篇。

WEEK 3 — DAY 5

Morning Nourishment

1 Pet. 2:5 You yourselves also…are being built up as a spiritual house into  a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

            9 …You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

In 1 Peter 2:5…spiritual denotes the capacity of the divine life to live and grow; holy, the capacity of the divine nature to separate and sanctify. The house of God subsists mainly by the divine life; hence, it is spiritual. The priesthood subsists mainly by the divine nature; hence, it is holy.

The coordinated body of priests is the built-up spiritual house. Although Peter did not address his two Epistles to the church or use the term church in verse 5 in stressing the corporate life of the believers, he did use the terms spiritual house and holy priesthood to indicate the church life. It is not the spiritual life lived in an individualistic way but the spiritual life lived in a corporate way that can fulfill God’s purpose and satisfy His desire. He wants a spiritual house for His dwelling, a priestly body, a priesthood, for His service…This service issues from the three vital steps in the spiritual life: being born anew (1 Pet. 1:2), growing in life by being nourished with Christ, and being built up with the believers. (Life-study of 1 Peter, pp. 154-
155)

Today’s Reading

Spiritual house and holy priesthood are synonymous terms. The spiritual house is for God’s dwelling, and the holy priesthood is for God’s service. According to 1 Peter 2:5, the building up of a spiritual house into a holy priesthood is for a particular function…Here we see that Jesus Christ is the channel through which the spiritual sacrifices are offered to God…Furthermore, what is offered to God must be something of Christ.

The spiritual sacrifices that the believers offer in the New Testament age according to God’s economy 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); and (3) our body, our praises, and the things that we do for God (Heb. 13:15-16; Phil. 4:18).

In 1 Peter 2:9…race, priesthood, nation, and people are all collective nouns, referring to the believers corporately. As a race, we, the believers, are chosen; as a priesthood, a body of priests, we are royal, kingly; as a nation, we are holy; as a people, we are God’s possession, a possession particularly acquired and owned by God as His treasure. Chosen race denotes our lineage 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. These are all in a corporate sense. Hence, we need to be built together.

As a chosen race, we have our source in God. We are also a royal priesthood. Royal denotes the status of our priesthood, which is kingly, like that of Christ the King, our High Priest, typified by Melchizedek (Heb. 7:1-2, 26; Gen. 14:18). We are also a holy nation and a people acquired for a possession. Holy denotes the nature of the nation. The Greek words rendered “a people acquired for a possession” are an equivalent to a Hebrew expression [that]…implies a particular treasure…In Titus 2:14 Paul speaks of “a particular people as His unique possession.”…This is an expression borrowed from the Old Testament (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18), and it denotes a people privately possessed by God as His unique, peculiar treasure (Exo. 19:5), His own possession. First, we are a chosen race, then a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people acquired for a possession. As God’s particular treasure, we are His people who are precious to Him. (Life-study of 1 Peter, pp. 155-156)

Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Peter, msgs. 17—18