第二十六週．週四

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晨興餧養

腓二６　　　『祂本有神的形狀，不以自己與神同等為強奪之珍，緊持不放。』

約十四２８　『…我去，並且我正往你們這裏來。你們若愛我，因我往父那裏去，就必喜樂，因為父比我大。』

神的話告訴我們，主耶穌與父原是一。〔約十30。〕太初有話，像太初有神一樣。話就是神，這話創造天和地。神在太初有榮耀，乃是人不能親近的榮耀，這也就是子的榮耀。父和子是同等的、同能的、同有的、同時的。但在身位裏有父和子的分別，這不是基本性質的分別，乃是神格中的一種安排。所以聖經說，主不以自己與神同等為強奪之珍。（腓二6。）…主與神同等不是勉強的，不是插進去的，不是僭越的，因主本有神的形像。（倪柝聲文集第三輯第一冊，一五四至一五五頁。）

信息選讀

腓立比二章五至七節是一段，八至十一節又是一段。前段是論到基督的倒空自己，後段是論到基督的降卑自己。在此主有兩次降卑，即在神格裏倒空了自己，在人性裏降卑了自己。主到地上來，是把祂神格中的榮耀、能力、等級、形像都倒空了，以致當時那些沒有啟示的人都不認識祂，不承認祂是神，以為祂不過是人，是世上一個平常的人。主在神位之中自己揀選作子，服在父的權柄底下，所以主說，『父比我大。』（約十四28。）子的地位是主自己揀選的。在神格中滿了和諧，同等的神，樂意安排父作頭，子順服；父變作權柄的代表，子變作順服的代表。主要順服不簡單，主的順服比祂的創造天地還難，因為祂必須倒空一切神格的榮耀、能力等等，必先取了奴僕的形像，纔配得到順服的資格。所以順服是神的兒子創造的。

主來到地上，一面把權柄丟掉，一面把順服拿起來，存心要作奴僕，接受時間和空間的限制，作了一個人。不只到此，主又降卑自己，存心順服，神格中的順服是全宇宙中頂奇妙的事。因祂順服以至於死，且死在十字架上，是痛苦的死，是羞辱的死，結果神將祂升為至高。

由於主創造了順服，父就在神格裏作了基督的頭。權柄和順服是神設立的，是從太初就有的。…基督就是順服的原則，接受順服的就是接受基督的原則。所以充滿基督的人，也必定是充滿了順服。

今天人常問：『為甚麼要我順服？』或者問：『我是弟兄，你也是弟兄，我為甚麼要順服你？』其實人沒有資格這樣說…。基督就是代表順服，並且代表完全的順服，就如神的權柄是完全的一樣。今天有人以為認識權柄，卻沒有順服。（倪柝聲文集第三輯第一冊，一五五至一五六頁。）

參讀：權柄與順服，第五篇。

WEEK 26 — DAY 4

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Morning Nourishment

Phil. 2:6 Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped.

John 14:28 …I am going away and I am coming to you. If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

The Word of God tells us that the Lord Jesus and the Father are one [John 10:30]. In the beginning was the Word, just as in the beginning there was God. The Word was God, and this Word created the heavens and earth. With God in the beginning there was glory. It was an inapproachable glory, the glory of the Son. The Father and the Son are equal, equipotent, coexisting, and existing simultaneously. But there is a difference in person between the Father and the Son. It is not a distinction in intrinsic nature but in arrangement in the Godhead. The Bible says that the Lord did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped (Phil 2:6)…The Lord’s equality with God is not something that He assumed by force. It is not an assertion or a usurpation because the Lord had the image of God in the first place. (CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” p. 141)

Todays Reading

Philippians 2:5-7 forms one section, while verses 8-11 form another section. The first section is on Christ emptying Himself. The second section is on Christ humbling Himself. The Lord lowered Himself twice, first in emptying Himself in His deity, and then in humbling Himself in His humanity. When the Lord came down to earth, He emptied Himself of the glory, power, position, and image in His deity. As a result of His emptying, those without revelation did not recognize Him and would not acknowledge Him as God, considering Him merely as an ordinary man. In the Godhead the Lord voluntarily chose to be the Son, submitting Himself to the authority of the Father. Hence, He said that the Father was greater than He (John 14:28). The Son’s position was a voluntary choice of our Lord. In the Godhead there is full harmony. In the Godhead there is equality, yet it is happily arranged that the Father should be the Head and that the Son should submit. The Father became the representation of authority, and the Son became the representation of submission.

The Lord’s submission is not a simple matter. The Lord’s submission is more difficult than His creation of the heavens and the earth. In order to submit He had to empty Himself of all the glory, power, position, and image in His deity. He also had to take on the form of a slave. Only then could He receive the qualification of submission. Hence, submission is something created by the Son of God.

When the Lord came down to earth, He dropped authority on the one hand and picked up submission on the other hand. He set His heart to become a slave, to be restricted in time and space as a man. But this is not all. The Lord humbled Himself, becoming obedient. The obedience in the Godhead is the most wonderful thing in the whole universe. He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, a painful and shameful death. In the end, God exalted Him to the highest.

Because the Lord created submission, the Father became the Head to Christ in the Godhead. Both authority and submission were established by God…With Christ there is the principle of submission. Those who accept submission are accepting the principle of Christ. Hence, those who are filled with Christ will be filled with submission.

Today many ask, “Why do I have to submit?” They also ask, “Why do I have to submit to you? I am a brother, and you are a brother.” Actually, men do not have a right to say such things…Christ represents submission, a perfect submission, just as God’s authority is perfect authority. Today some think they know authority, but they do not know submission. (CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” pp. 141-143)

Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” ch. 5