第四週■週三

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晨興餧養

加四19『我的孩子們，我爲你們再受生產之苦，直等到基督成形在你們裏面。』

弗三17『使基督藉着信，安家在你們心裏，叫你們在愛裏生根立基。』

當保羅初次向加拉太人傳福音，使他們得着重生時，基督已經生在他們裏面，但還沒有成形在他們裏面。然後使徒爲他們再受生產之苦，使基督能成形在他們裏面。〔加四19。〕…他的傳揚是把基督，活神的兒子，生在信徒裏面。保羅的傳揚強調基督爲中心。按照加拉太書，基督已經啓示在我們裏面，（一16，）現今活在我們裏面，（二20，）還要成形在我們裏面。（四19。）使基督成形在我們裏面，就是使基督在我們裏面完全長大。基督先是在我們悔改信主時，生在我們裏面；然後是在我們基督徒的生活中，活在我們裏面；還要在我們成熟時，成形在我們裏面。

保羅說到基督成形在我們裏面的話，含示我們正被基督所構成。使基督成形在我們裏面是一件活的、生機的事。基督現今活在我們裏面，使我們能被祂生機的構成。祂要以祂自己構成我們這個人—我們的心思、情感和意志。祂要構成我們魂的每一部分，使我們這人的每一部分有祂的形狀，祂的形像。加拉太四章十九節的『成形』，與林後三章十八節的『形像』相呼應，那裏保羅告訴我們，我們漸漸變化成爲基督的形像。這形像是一種形狀。基督必須成形在我們裏面，使我們能藉着在祂的形像裏來彰顯祂。（新約總論第三册，六四至六五頁。）

信息選讀

新約啓示基督與我們這人有深切的關係。…基督帶着祂的元素住在我們裏面，乃是事實。祂這活的一位帶着祂的元素，正生機的作到我們裏面，把祂自己構成到我們這人裏面，使我們有祂的形狀，並彰顯祂的形像。保羅受生產之苦，使基督能這樣成形在信徒裏面。

那活在我們裏面並成形在我們裏面的基督，現今正安家在我們心裏。〔弗三17。〕…心是我們這人的中心。基督現今正在我們心裏安家，就是使自己定居。所以，基督不僅在我們裏面，也安家在我們裏面。

我們的心是由魂的各部分—心思、情感、意志，加上靈的主要部分—良心—組成的。這些是我們人內裏的各部分。藉着重生，基督進到我們的靈裏。（提後四22。）接着，我們該讓祂擴展到我們心的每一部分。我們的心是我們內裏各部分的總和，也是我們裏面之人的中心；所以，當基督安家在我們心裏，祂就掌管我們裏面的全人，並用祂自己供應、加強我們內裏的各部分。

基督渴望從我們的靈擴展到我們心的各部分。然而，我們也許未必願意讓祂擴展到我們的心思、情感、或意志裏。所以，保羅向父禱告，求祂藉着祂的靈，用大能使我們得以加強到裏面的人裏，使基督能安家在我們心裏。這指明藉着這樣得加強，我們就願意讓內住的基督擴展到我們這人的各部分，並掌管每一部分。這就是基督安家在我們心裏。

我們得救的時候，基督進到我們的靈裏。…我們得以加強到裏面的人裏，就開了門讓基督在我們裏面擴展，從我們的靈擴展到我們心思、情感、意志的每一部分。基督越在我們裏面擴展，祂就越定居在我們裏面，並安家在我們裏面。這就是說，祂佔有我們內裏之人的每一部分，據有這些部分，並用祂自己浸透這些部分。結果，我們就被基督充滿。（新約總論第三册，六六至六八頁。）

參讀：新約總論，第五十五篇。

WEEK 4 — DAY 3

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Morning Nourishment

Gal. 4:19 My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you.

Eph. 3:17 That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love.

Christ was born into the Galatian believers, but not formed in them when they were regenerated through Paul’s preaching the gospel to them the first time. The apostle then travailed again that Christ might be formed in them [Gal. 4:19]…His preaching was to bring forth Christ, the Son of the living God, in the believers. Paul’s preaching was emphatically Christ-centered. According to the book of Galatians, Christ has been revealed in us (1:16), He is now living in us (2:20), and He will be formed in us (4:19). To have Christ formed in us is to have Christ grown in us in full. First Christ was born into us at our conversion, now He lives in us in our Christian life, and He will be formed in us at our maturity.

Paul’s word about Christ being formed in us implies that we are being constituted of Christ. To have Christ formed in us is a living, organic matter. Christ is now living in us so that we may be constituted of Him organically. He intends to constitute our being—our mind, emotion, and will—of Himself. He will constitute every part of our soul so that we may have His form, His image, in every part of our being. The word formed in Galatians 4:19 corresponds to the word image in 2 Corinthians 3:18, where Paul tells us that we are being transformed into Christ’s image. This image is a form. Christ must be formed in us so that we may express Him by being in His image. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 590)

Today’s Reading

The New Testament reveals that Christ is deeply related to our being…It is a fact that Christ with His element dwells within us. As the living One, He with His element is working within us organically, constituting Himself into our being so that we may have His form and express His image. Paul travailed that Christ might be formed in the believers in this way.

The Christ who lives in us and who is being formed in us is now making His home in our hearts [Eph. 3:17]…The heart is the center of our being. In our hearts Christ is now making His home, that is, settling Himself. Therefore, Christ is not only in us, but He is making His home in us.

Our heart is composed of the three parts of our soul—the mind, the emotion, and the will—plus our conscience, the main part of our spirit. Through regeneration, Christ came into our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). Now we should allow Him to spread Himself into every part of our hearts. The heart is the totality of all our inward parts and the center of our inward being. Therefore, when Christ makes His home in our hearts, He controls our entire inward being and supplies and strengthens every inward part with Himself.

Christ desires to spread from our spirit to all the parts of our heart. We, however, may not always be willing for Him to spread into our mind, emotion, or will. Therefore, Paul prayed to the Father that He would strengthen us according to His power by His Spirit into our inner man so that Christ may make His home in our hearts. This indicates that by being strengthened in this way, we shall be willing to let the indwelling Christ spread into all the parts of our being and to take over each part. This is Christ making His home in our hearts.

When we were saved, Christ came into our spirit…As we are strengthened into the inner man, the door is opened for Christ to spread in us, to spread from our spirit to every part of our mind, emotion, and will. The more Christ spreads within us, the more He settles down in us and makes His home in us. This means that He occupies every part of our inner being, possessing all these parts and saturating them with Himself. As a result, we are filled with Christ. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 591-593)

Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 55