第十二週 • 週二

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晨興餧養

林後三18  但我們眾人既然以沒有帕子遮蔽的臉，好像鏡子觀看並返照主的榮光，就漸漸變化成為與祂同樣的形像，從榮耀到榮耀，乃是從主靈變化成的。

來六1　   所以，我們既離開了那論到基督之開端的話，就當竭力前進，達到完全、成熟…。

變化乃是在我們天然生命裏的改變，而成熟乃是我們被那改變我們的神聖生命所充滿。我們可能在天然的生命裏變化了，卻沒有被神聖的生命所充滿。創世記三十七至四十五章乃是雅各成熟過程的記載。…在這九章裏，有雅各一生中最後階段的對付。雅各在這裏所受的苦，深深摸着他個人的情感。在這幾章以後，雅各再沒有對付了。他完全成熟了，他被神聖生命所充滿，他有神的彰顯和神的管治權（創世記生命讀經，一四一一頁）。

信息選讀

關於新郎要來以及我們要等候祂的回來，第一個條件是生命。…我們等候基督來臨的資格是生命，因為基督的生命使我們成為祂的新婦。沒有基督作我們的生命，我們絕對無法成為祂新婦的一部分，作祂的配偶和擴增。我們要迎接新郎基督，所需要的不是基督第二次來的道理，乃是基督的生命。我們需要基督作我們的生命，並且需要讓這生命一直在我們裏面長大。

所有真基督徒都有基督作他們的生命（西三4），但許多人雖有基督，卻只是在起初的階段。這生命需要在我們裏面擴增，而這生命的擴增，就是在生命裏的長大。雅歌描繪愛主的人在生命裏逐漸長大，並且在生命裏被變化。雅歌裏的尋求者藉着在生命裏長大，從法老車上套的駿馬，一個階段接着一個階段的被變化，成為百合花、鴿子、煙柱、臥榻、華轎、冠冕以及產生基督各面豐富的園子（一9，二1、14，三6~7、9、11，四12，五1）。園子成為一座城作神的居所，向着神是美麗的，向着仇敵卻威武如展開旌旗的軍隊。至終這座城成為滿了光的天體和書拉密女（六4、10、13）。

『書拉密』這辭是『所羅門』的女性寫法，源自意『平安』之字根。在這卷書裏，所羅門是基督的豫表。用書拉密這名字，指明愛基督的人在基督生命的成熟裏，成了基督的複本、配偶，在生命、性情、彰顯和功用上（但不在神格上）與祂一樣，配得過祂，好與祂成為婚配（林後三18，羅八29）。基督作生命在尋求者裏面長大，並將她從拖拉法老車輛的野馬變化成美妙的書拉密女。要成就這樣的變化，不是憑着道理，只能憑着基督作生命的長大和擴增。這顯示生命同其長大和擴增，是為着主的回來。

認識基督是新郎，比認識祂是君王或審判者更親密並切身。作新郎的基督是我們的良人，祂來不是要審判我們，乃是要愛我們。基督要作新郎回來，得着祂的新婦。…書拉密女這位成熟的尋求者，是基督的擴增。…我們都需要被變化成為書拉密女，作基督的擴增，祂的複製。變化不是瞬間發生的，乃是逐漸的過程。因此，即使我們今天還不是書拉密女，只要我們留在那靈變化的工作之下，我們就會成為團體的書拉密女。…我們要彀資格等候主回來，就需要生命，包括在生命裏長大，被生命變化，以及生命的成熟。我們信徒有生命；然而，這生命需要一直在我們裏面擴增（李常受文集一九七二年第一冊，五三一至五三三頁）。

參讀：豫備主的回來，第四章；創世記生命讀經，第九十二至九十四、九十七至九十九篇。

WEEK 12 — DAY 2

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Morning Nourishment

2 Cor. 3:18 But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.

Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be brought on to maturity…

To be transformed is to be changed in our natural life, whereas to be matured is to be filled with the divine life that changes us. We may be transformed in our natural life yet not be filled with the divine life. Genesis 37 through 45 are a record of the process of Jacob’s maturity…In these chapters we have the dealings in the last stage of Jacob’s life. The sufferings he underwent here deeply touched his personal feelings. After these  hapters Jacob had no further dealings. Rather, he was fully matured, he was filled with the divine life, and he had the expression of God and the dominion of God. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 1176-1177)

Todays Reading

Regarding the coming of the Bridegroom and our awaiting His return, the first requirement is life…Christ’s coming is life because Christ’s life makes us His bride. Without having Christ as our life, we can never be a part of His bride as His counterpart and His increase. What we need in order to meet Christ as the Bridegroom is not the doctrine of Christ’s second coming but the life of Christ. We need Christ as our life, and we need this life to grow in us all the time.

All genuine believers have Christ as their life (Col. 3:4), but many have Him only in the initial stage. This life needs to increase in us, and the increase of this life is the growth in life. The Song of Songs portrays the gradual growth in life of the Lord’s lovers and their transformation in life. The seeker in Song of Songs is transformed stage by stage by the growth in life from a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots to a lily, a dove, pillars of smoke, a couch, a palanquin, a crown, and a garden that produces Christ in all His rich aspects (1:9; 2:1, 14; 3:6-7, 9, 11; 4:12; 5:1). The garden becomes a city as God’s dwelling place, which is beautiful toward God yet terrible as an army with banners toward the enemy. Eventually, the city becomes the heavenly bodies full of light and the Shulammite (6:4, 10, 13).

The word Shulammite is the feminine form of Solomon, derived from the root meaning “peace.” In this book Solomon is a type of Christ. The use of the name Shulammite indicates that in the maturity of Christ’s life the lover of Christ becomes His duplication, His counterpart, the same as He is in life, nature, expression, and function (but not in the Godhead) to match Him for their marriage (2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29). Christ as life grows in the seeker and transforms her from a wild horse that pulls Pharaoh’s chariot to the wonderful Shulammite. Such a transformation can be accomplished not by doctrine but only by the growth and increase of Christ as life. This shows that life with its growth and increase is for the Lord’s return.

To know Christ as the Bridegroom is more intimate and personal than to know Him as the King or the Judge. Christ as the Bridegroom is our Lover who comes not to judge us but to love us. Christ will return as the Bridegroom to obtain His bride…As the Shulammite, the mature seeker is the increase of Christ…We all need to be transformed into the Shulammite as the increase of Christ, His reproduction. Transformation is not an instantaneous occurrence but a gradual process. Thus, even though we may not be the Shulammite today, as long as we remain under the Spirit’s work of transformation, we will become the corporate Shulammite. In order to be qualified to wait for the Lord’s return, we need life, including the growth in life, the transformation by life, and the maturity of life. As believers, we have life; however, this life needs to increase within us all the time. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 1, “Preparing for the Lord’s Return,” pp. 401-402)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1972, vol. 1, “Preparing for the Lord’s Return,” pp. 399-404; Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 92—94, 97—99