第三十週．週六

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晨興餧養

弗一３～５　『我們主耶穌基督的神與父，是當受頌讚的，…祂在創立世界以前，在基督裏揀選了我們，…豫定了我們，藉著耶穌基督得兒子的名分…。』

           ７　『我們在這蒙愛者裏面，藉著祂的血，…得蒙救贖…。』

        １３　『你們…也在…祂裏面受了所應許的聖靈為印記。』

按照新約來看，父要得著許多的兒子，父所關心的是兒子的名分。為了要產生這些兒子，神一直在生兒子。對祂而言，兒子的數目不需要受限制。

父神有一個確定的…定旨〔和〕…計畫…。神的揀選和豫定都是根據祂的定旨。神首先揀選我們，然後豫定我們。這指明神是獨一的發起者和起始者。因此，召會在父神裏，含示召會乃是在神的定旨、計畫、揀選和豫定裏。

我們基督徒都只該有獨一的目的，就是我們父的定旨。我們也該有父的獨一計畫。這意思是說，發起者和起始者只該有一位，就是父。我們不該發起或起始甚麼事。

召會在主耶穌基督裏…是件大事。在基督裏就沒有罪、肉體、己、天然生命、舊造、死和撒但。我們若在基督裏，一切消極的事物就都被了結。…對於在基督裏的人來說，神以外的一切事物都已經了結了。（帖撒羅尼迦前書生命讀經，七三至七五頁。）

信息選讀

父是計畫並創始的那一位。…子神成就父神所定意、計畫、發起、起始的一切事。…靈神…既不是起始者，也不是成就者，乃是執行者。那靈不為自己作甚麼，也不單獨作甚麼。那靈乃是執行、推行父所計畫並起始，以及子所成就的。我們都必須看見，父所計畫的一切，以及子所成就的一切，現今都在那靈裏，也同著那靈。在我們的經歷裏，我們所接觸的那一位乃是那靈。這一位靈就是子，在子裏我們有父。因此我們可以說，父在子裏，子如今乃是賜生命的靈，住在我們裏面。…當我們照著靈而行，我們實際上乃是照著三一神而行。

那靈是經過過程之三一神的終極完成。那靈是三一神的應用，是三一神臨到我們。…經過過程的三一神如何能在我們的經歷中應用到我們身上？祂乃是作為賜生命的靈應用在我們身上。那靈不僅是神的靈和基督的靈；那靈就是神，就是基督。今天在我們的經歷中，三一神乃是那賜生命的靈。因此，當我們在父神和主耶穌基督裏，我們就是在那靈裏。因為帖前一章一節含示那靈是不言而喻的，所以我們說，召會乃是在三一神裏的。

三一神的啟示需要基督的成為肉體、主的人性生活，以及主的釘十字架和復活。基督復活以後，那靈來了。…這位三一神是經過過程的神。祂經過了成為肉體、人性生活、釘十字架和復活的過程。祂釘十字架成功了救贖，了結了舊造，毀壞了撒但和死亡。祂復活使新造有了新生的起頭。現今祂是賜生命的靈，就是三一神的終極完成。召會是在這樣一位三一神裏面。召會是在經過過程的三一神裏，而三一神乃是成了賜生命的靈，同著父和子的一位。（帖撒羅尼迦前書生命讀經，八○至八一、七二頁。）

參讀：帖撒羅尼迦前書生命讀經，第八篇。

WEEK 30 — DAY 6

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Morning Nourishment

Eph. 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who…chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…, predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ…

            7 In whom we have redemption through His blood…

          13 In whom you also…were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise.

According to the New Testament, the Father wants many sons. The Father’s concern is with sonship. In order to produce these sons, He has been begetting children. With Him, there need be no limit to the number of children.

God the Father has a definite purpose…and a plan. God’s selection and predestination are according to His purpose. First, He selected us and then predestinated us. This indicates that God is the unique Initiator and Originator. Thus, for the church to be in God the Father implies that the church is in God’s purpose, plan, selection, and predestination.

We Christians should all have the unique purpose, the purpose of our Father. We should also have the unique plan of the Father. This means that only one—the Father—should be the initiator and originator. We should not originate anything or initiate anything.

For the church to be in the Lord Jesus Christ…is a great matter…To be in Christ means that there is no sin, flesh, self, natural life, old creation, death, or Satan. If we are in Christ, everything negative has been terminated…For those who are in Christ, everything other than God has been terminated. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 61-62)

Todays Reading

The Father is the One who plans and originates…God the Son accomplishes everything that God the Father has purposed, planned, initiated, and originated… God the Spirit…is neither the originator nor the accomplisher—He is the Executor. The Spirit does not do anything for Himself or by Himself. Rather, He executes, carries out, what the Father has planned and originated and what the Son has accomplished. We all must see that everything the Father has planned and everything the Son has accomplished is now in the Spirit and with the Spirit. In our experience the One we contact is the Spirit. This Spirit is the Son, and in the Son we have the Father. For this reason we may say that the Father is in the Son and that the Son is now the life-giving Spirit dwelling in us…When we walk according to the Spirit, we are actually walking according to the Triune God. The Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God.

The Spirit is the application, the reaching to us, of the Triune God…How can the processed Triune God be applied to us in our experience? He is applied as the life-giving Spirit. The Spirit is not only the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ; He is the Spirit as God and as Christ. In our experience today, the Triune God is the very life-giving Spirit. Therefore, when we are in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, we are in the Spirit. Because the Spirit is implied and understood in 1 Thessalonians 1:1, we speak of the church being in the Triune God.

The revelation of the Triune God requires the incarnation of Christ, the Lord’s human living, and His crucifixion and resurrection. After the resurrection of Christ, we have the coming of the Spirit. This Triune God is the processed God. He has passed through the process of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. In crucifixion He accomplished redemption, the termination of the old creation, and the destruction of Satan and death. In resurrection He germinated the new creation. Now He is the life-giving Spirit as the ultimate consummation of the Triune God. The church is in such a Triune God. The church is in the processed Triune God, the One who has become the life-giving Spirit with the Father and the Son. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 66-67, 59)

Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msg. 8