第六週 • 週二

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晨興餧養

徒十三32~33　我們也傳福音給你們，就是那給祖宗的應許，神已經向我們這作兒女的完全應驗，叫耶穌復活了，正如詩篇第二篇上所記：『你是我的兒子，我今日生了你。』

〔基督〕是神的長子，是大衛那聖的，那可靠的。赦罪是藉這一位傳給人的，凡信祂的，就在一切事上得了稱義。

在行傳十三章三十二至三十三節，…我們…看見，基督作神的長子，乃是神向祖宗的應許，神藉着叫耶穌復活，向他們的兒女應驗這應許。…在復活裏，祂被神生為許多弟兄中的長子（羅八29）。祂從永遠就是神的獨生子（約一18，三16）。成為肉體以後，祂藉着復活，在人性裏被神生為長子（新約總論第九冊，二八○頁）。

信息選讀

保羅能在詩篇第二篇，『你是我的兒子，我今日生了你』（7）這話中，看見主的復活。保羅把『今日』一辭應用到主復活的日子。…人子耶穌藉着神使祂從死人中復活，生為神的兒子。所以，神使耶穌從死人中復活，乃是將祂生為神的長子。

主耶穌有兩次出生。首先，祂由馬利亞生為人子。然後，在三十三年半以後，祂被釘十字架、埋葬並從死人中復活。藉着復活，祂有了第二次的出生。作為人，祂在復活裏生為神的兒子。因此，在祂的第一次出生裏，祂是由馬利亞生為人的兒子；在祂的第二次出生裏，祂是在復活裏由神生為神的兒子。

按照新約，祂在兩方面是神的兒子。第一，祂是神的獨生子；第二，祂如今是神的長子。『獨生』一辭指明神只有一個兒子。約翰一章十八節和三章十六節說到神的獨生子。就永遠來說，基督是神的獨生子，這是祂永遠的身分。但是藉着復活，祂乃是人而生為神的長子。『長子』一辭指明神如今有許多兒子（來二10）。羅馬八章二十九節和希伯來一章六節都說到基督是長子。我們這些相信基督的人，是神許多的兒子，是主許多的弟兄，神長子的許多弟兄（羅八29）。

就神的獨生子而言，主是神聖生命的具體化身。約翰福音強調耶穌基督是神的兒子；作為神的兒子，祂乃是神聖生命的具體化身（一4）。藉着復活，基督成為神的長子，就是生命的分賜者，來為着生命的繁殖。首先祂是獨生子，是生命的具體化身；現今祂是長子，是為着生命的繁殖。藉着祂在復活裏成為神的長子，神聖的生命已經分賜到所有相信祂的人裏面，使具體化身在祂裏面的生命得以繁殖。

在行傳十三章…保羅不是傳講基督為神的獨生子，如約翰福音所作的；保羅在這裏乃是傳講基督為神的長子，為着繁殖。為這緣故，他傳講主耶穌的復活是祂第二次的出生。藉着祂第二次的出生，祂在復活裏的出生，基督成了神的長子，為着神聖生命的繁殖。

在行傳十三章三十四節保羅進一步說到基督的復活：『論到神叫祂從死人中復活，不再歸於朽壞，就這樣說：「我必將大衛那聖的，那可靠的，賜給你們。」』三十三至三十四節論到復活的基督。三十三節指明，基督的復活是祂第二次的出生，將祂生為神的長子（新約總論第九冊，二八○至二八二頁）。

參讀：新約總論，第二百九十三篇。

WEEK 6 — DAY 2

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Morning Nourishment

Acts 13:32-33 And we announce to you the gospel of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fully fulfilled this promise to us their children in raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, “You are My Son; this day have I begotten You.”

As the Firstborn of God, [Christ] is the holy and faithful things of David. Through such a One, forgiveness of sins is announced, and whoever believes in Him is justified from all things.

In Acts 13:32-33…we see that Christ as the Firstborn of God was promised to the fathers, and God fulfilled this promise to their children in raising up Jesus…He was begotten by God in His resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God among many brothers (Rom. 8:29). He was the only begotten Son of God from eternity (John 1:18; 3:16). After incarnation, through resurrection, He was begotten by God in His humanity to be God’s firstborn Son. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2993)

Todays Reading

Paul was able to see the Lord’s resurrection in the word in Psalm 2: “You are My Son; / Today I have begotten You” (v. 7). Paul applied the word today to the day of the Lord’s resurrection…Jesus, the Son of Man, was born to be the Son of God through being raised up from the dead. Therefore, God’s raising up of Jesus from the dead was His begetting of Him to be His firstborn Son.

The Lord Jesus had two births. First, He was born of Mary to be the Son of Man. Then thirty-three and a half years later He was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. Through resurrection He had a second birth, for as a man He was born in His resurrection to be the Son of God. Therefore, in His first birth He was born of Mary to be the Son of Man, and in His second birth He was born in resurrection to be the Son of God.

According to the New Testament, He is the Son of God in two aspects. First, He was God’s only begotten Son; second, He is now God’s firstborn Son. The words only begotten indicate that God has only one Son. John 1:18 and 3:16 speak of the only begotten Son of God. Eternally speaking, Christ is the only begotten Son of God. This is His eternal status. But through resurrection He, as a man, was born to be the firstborn Son of God. The word firstborn indicates that God now has many sons (Heb. 2:10)…We who believe in Christ are the many sons of God and the many brothers of the Lord, the many brothers of the firstborn Son of God (Rom. 8:29).

As the only begotten Son of God, the Lord is the embodiment of the divine life. The Gospel of John emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that as the Son of God He is the embodiment of the divine life (1:4). Through resurrection Christ became the firstborn Son of God as the life-dispenser for the propagation of life. First, He was the only begotten Son as the embodiment of life; now He is the firstborn Son for the propagation of life. Through His becoming the firstborn Son of God in resurrection, the divine life has been dispensed into all His believers to bring forth the propagation of the life that is embodied in Him.

In Acts 13 Paul was not preaching Christ as the only begotten Son of God, as the Gospel of John does. Rather, here Paul was preaching Christ as the firstborn Son of God for propagation. For this reason, he preached the resurrection of the Lord Jesus as His second birth. Through His second birth, His birth in resurrection, Christ became the firstborn Son of God for the propagation of the divine life.

In Acts 13:34 Paul speaks a further word regarding the resurrection of Christ: “As to His having raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to corruption, He spoke in this way, ‘I will give you the holy things of David, the faithful things.’” Verses 33 and 34 are concerned with the resurrected Christ. Verse 33 indicates that Christ’s resurrection was His second birth to bring Him forth as the firstborn Son of God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2993-2995)

Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 293