第九週 • 週一

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晨興餧養

林後三3  你們顯明是基督的信，由我們供職所寫的，不是用墨，乃是用活神的靈寫的…。

　　　6   祂使我們彀資格作新約的執事，這些執事不是屬於字句，乃是屬於靈，因為那字句殺死人，那靈卻叫人活。

　　　9   …那稱義的職事，就越發充盈着榮光了。

為着完成神新約經綸的那職事，乃是獨一無二的。…那獨一的職事，就是新約的職事。這職事將包羅萬有的神書寫到聖徒裏面；這位神在我們裏面就是那靈，彰顯在我們外面就是義。

那靈和義是新約職事寫到我們裏面之素質的兩方面。活的靈是裏面的，完全的義是外面的。

我們在眾地方召會裏的職事必須是書寫的職事。…教導不需要甚麼素質；然而，書寫的確需要一種素質，正如用筆書寫需要墨一樣。…我們要寫字，就必須有墨作書寫的素質。…同樣，我們必須有神聖的素質，纔能將這素質寫到眾聖徒裏面（哥林多後書生命讀經，二六九至二七○頁）。

信息選讀

保羅在林後三章八節說到那靈的職事，在九節說到義的職事。我們也許能領會甚麼是那靈的職事，但甚麼是義的職事？…我以為他所說義的職事就是稱義的職事，因為在這章聖經裏，定罪與稱義之間好像有一個對比，稱義是定罪的相反辭。但是保羅在這裏並不是說『稱義』，乃是說『義』。如果他說新約的職事是稱義的職事，我們就不難瞭解他的意思。…既然保羅在林後三章說，新約職事是義的職事，而不是說稱義的職事，我們就必須瞭解他的意思。新約的職事是那靈與義的職事，這肯定是非常有意義的。

我們經歷那靈在我們裏面生活並工作，結果我們就成為義的。我們裏面的人自然而然是透亮的，像水晶一樣純淨，並且我們能知道神的心。我們無須努力，立即就知道主的心思，並且清楚地領會祂的意願和工作。這樣，我們所作的，乃是照着主的心思和意願。這就是義。

許多基督徒有一種觀念，以為我們作錯事時，我們就與神不對了。這種義的觀念太膚淺了。即使我們沒有作錯甚麼事，我們與神可能仍是不對，因為我們也許不在主的心思和意願裏。…我們可能沒有照着主的心思，我們所作的也許不是祂的意願。只要我們不行神的意願，我們就是不對的。我們反倒把我們的生命，並主所給我們的一切，全浪費了。

你若得着賜生命之靈的灌注並浸透，你裏面的人就會透亮。你會明白主的心思，你也會知道甚麼是主的意願。你自自然然就會在祂的意願裏，行祂的意願。結果，你與祂就是對的。不僅如此，你會知道當怎樣待人，也會知道當怎樣處理財物。這樣，你就成為一個義的人，在大小事上都是對的，與神、與人、與自己都是對的。這是一個彰顯神的人，因為他的義就是神的形像，就是神彰顯出來（哥林多後書生命讀經，二八二至二八三、二八六至二八七頁）。

參讀：啟示錄生命讀經，第十五篇；哥林多後書生命讀經，第二十五至二十九篇。

WEEK 9 — DAY 1

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Morning Nourishment

2 Cor. 3:3 Since you are being manifested that you are a letter of Christ ministered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God…

            6 Who has also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

            9 …Much more the ministry of righteousness abounds with glory.

For the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy, the ministry is uniquely one…The unique ministry, which is the ministry of the new covenant,…inscribes the saints with the all-inclusive God, who is the Spirit within us and righteousness as our expression outwardly.

The Spirit and righteousness are the two aspects of the essence that is inscribed into us by the ministry of the new covenant. The living Spirit is the inward aspect, and the perfect righteousness is the outward aspect.

Our ministry in the local churches must be a ministry of inscribing… Teaching does not require any essence; however, inscribing does require an essence, just as writing with a pen requires ink…In order to write, we must have the ink as the writing essence…Likewise, we must have the divine essence in order to inscribe it into the being of the saints. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 225-226)

Todays Reading

In 2 Corinthians 3:8 Paul speaks of the ministry of the Spirit, and in verse 9, of the ministry of righteousness. We may understand what the ministry of the Spirit is, but what is the ministry of righteousness?…I thought that by the ministry of righteousness he meant the ministry of justification, since in this chapter there seems to be a comparison between condemnation and justification, which is the opposite of condemnation. But instead of justification, Paul here speaks of righteousness. If he had said that the new covenant ministry was a ministry of justification, it would be easy to understand his meaning…Since Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 says that the new covenant ministry is a ministry of righteousness, not a ministry of justification, we must try to understand his meaning. To be sure, it is a very significant matter that the ministry of the new covenant is a ministry of the Spirit and of righteousness.

As a result of experiencing the Spirit living and working within us, we become righteous. Spontaneously, our inner being is transparent, crystal clear, and we know the heart of God. Immediately, without effort, we know the mind of the Lord and have a clear understanding concerning His will and work. Then what we do is according to the Lord’s mind and will. This is righteousness.

Many Christians have the concept that when we do something wrong, we are not right with God. This concept of righteousness is too superficial. Even when we do not do anything wrong, we still may not be right with God, for our being may not be in the mind and will of the Lord…We may not be according to the Lord’s mind, and what we are doing may not be His will. As long as we are not doing God’s will, we are not right. Instead, we are wasting our lives and everything the Lord has given us.

If you are infused and saturated by the life-giving Spirit, your inner being will become transparent. Then you will know what is in the Lord’s mind. You will also understand what the will of the Lord is. Spontaneously, you will be in His will and do His will. As a result, you become right with Him. Moreover, you will realize how you should act toward others and even how you should deal with your material possessions. Then you will become a righteous person, one who is right in small things as well as in great things, one who is right with God, with others, and with himself. This is a person who expresses God, for his righteousness is the image of God, God expressed. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 236-237, 239-240)

Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msg. 15; Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msgs. 25—29