第一週 使徒行傳的繼續—基督團體的繼續
讀經： 約五17，太十六18，弗四13~16，五25~27，啟十九7~9，徒九4~5，二八31
週 一
壹 使徒行傳的繼續乃是基督的繼續，以被成全的神人所過的團體生活作為基督身體的實際—二八31：
一 主說，『我父作工直到如今，我也作工』（約五17）；這表明自從撒但背叛和人墮落以來，神作工直到如今，並且主也作工。
二 使徒行傳是記載神的工作；在二十八章以後，還有許多神的器皿在作神的工作；神的工作正在繼續下去，沒有停在那裏。
三 神的工作還要一直往前去，一直到國度，一直到新天新地，神是一直往前進，絕不停止；我們如果知道並相信這事，就要讚美主；甚至到新耶路撒冷，祂的眾奴僕仍要作祭司事奉祂—啟二二3，參徒十三36上。
週 二
四 聖靈藉着基督的信徒傳揚基督，使基督得到繁殖、繁增並普及，這工作還沒有完畢，還需要繼續很長一段時間。
五 神的話一直擴長，越發繁增，為着基督的擴增—六7，十二24，十九20：
1 行傳六章七節的『擴長』指生命的長大，這指明神的話是生命的事，如同種子撒在人的心裏而長大，為着基督在我們裏面的擴增，就是神在我們裏面的長大—可四14，西二19。
2 行傳十二章二十四節的『繁增』指人數上基督的擴增；實際上，門徒的繁增在於話的擴長。
3 新的門徒『加添歸主』，成為基督的各部分，就是基督的肢體—五14，十一24，羅十五16。
六 這種使基督繁殖、繁增並普及的福音工作，乃是照着神新約的經綸，為神產生許多的兒子（八29），作基督的肢體，構成基督的身體（十二5），以完成神永遠的計畫，成全祂永遠的旨意；這是接在使徒行傳之後的二十一卷書信以及啟示錄所詳盡啟示的。
七 既然神所要得着的是一個團體、發光的器皿，也就是見證的器皿，祂的兒女就必須被帶到對基督身體的感覺裏，並學習過身體生活；否則，他們在神手裏就沒有用處，就絕不能達成神的目標—羅十二1~5，林前十二12，啟一10~12。
週 三
貳 聖經豫言基督在使徒行傳中的繼續：
一 以賽亞四十二章四節說，基督在地上設立神的公理，當這事完成了，祂就要再來；在地上設立公理，意思就是設立神的救恩，這救恩乃是神在基督身上公義審判的結果—見該節註3。
二 以賽亞五十三章十節豫言基督在祂復活裏的繼續—『祂必看見後裔，並且延長年日；耶和華所喜悅的事，必在祂手中亨通』：
1 這裏的後裔是團體的後裔，就是召會作基督的身體，由基督作那一粒麥子而死，並藉着祂繁增的復活所產生的許多子粒，就是所有的信徒所組成的（約十二24，彼前一3）；基督作耶和華的僕人，乃是復活的賜生命者，就是賜生命的靈（林前十五45，林後三6、17），
產生了一個後裔，以建造祂的身體作祂的延續，使耶和華喜悅，並使基督得滿足。
2 基督必『延長年日』，意指今天基督乃是藉着活在祂的信徒裏而延長祂的年日（加二20，見徒二八9註1）；祂的信徒作祂的身體，就是祂的延長。
3 神的喜悅（弗一5、9，腓二13）乃是要看見許多兒子，由祂而生，成為基督的肢體，構成召會作基督的身體，就是基督團體的彰顯。
三 以賽亞五十三章十一節說，基督『必看見自己〔直譯，祂的魂〕勞苦的果效，便心滿意足』；基督的魂勞苦的果效，含示一切在基督的復活裏，並藉着基督的復活，所產生的專案，作祂的繼續：
1 作為經過過程者，就是末後的亞當，基督成了賜生命的靈，作是靈之基督的實際，為要藉着分賜生命而繁殖—林前十五45，林後三17。
2 作為居首位者，就是在萬有中居首的一位，基督成了從死人中復活的首生者，使神的新造有新生的起頭，並使基督成為身體的頭—西一18，啟一5上。
3 作為神而人者，基督在祂的人性裏由神所生（徒十三33），成為神的長子，兼有神性和人性，作為模型，使許多兒子模成祂的形像（羅八29下）。
4 作為復活的生命（約十一25），基督重生了祂所有的信徒（彼前一3），使他們成為祂的弟兄，就是神許多的兒子（來二10~12，羅八29下，約二十17），他們是神家中的親人，成為神的國（弗二19，加六10），和神寶貴的基業（弗一11）。
5 作為一粒麥子，基督成了許多子粒（約十二24），這些子粒就是祂的擴增（三30），也是祂身體—一個餅、召會—的組成分子（林前十17，弗一22~23）。
6 藉着祂釋放生命的死，並用祂分賜生命的復活，基督產生了團體的後裔，作為祂的魂勞苦的果效；祂在祂的復活裏必看見這後裔，便心滿意足（賽五三10~11，參加三29）。
7 作為信徒的生命，復活的基督乃是新人的一切肢體，又在一切肢體之內—西三10~11。
四 彌迦書五章二節豫言到基督成肉體於伯利恒，並且『祂是從亙古，從太初而出』：
1 基督的出來，基督的顯現，乃是一件繼續不斷的事；在成為肉體時，祂開始出來；在成為肉體以後，祂繼續出來，經過人性生活、受死、復活、升天、終極完成之靈（就是基督自己的實際）的澆灌以及藉着福音的傳揚將祂擴展至整個居人之地；這些都是基督出來的重大步驟。
2 祂的出來並沒有停止，今天仍在繼續；基督的出來、顯現，要終極完成於祂同着得勝者，就是大能者（珥三11），回來擊敗敵基督，並將敵基督扔在火湖裏（啟十九19~20）的時候，就是撒但被扔在無底坑裏（二十2~3），以及基督設立祂的寶座作王掌權（太二五31、34、40）的時候；那時，祂的顯現就完全了。
週 四
五 這些舊約的豫言至終達到聖經中關於基督之繼續的最大豫言；在馬太十六章十八節主耶穌說，『我要把我的召會建造…』；甚至到今天，這仍是個未應驗的豫言：
1 關於召會建造的豫言，是由主在馬太十六章開始，並由使徒保羅在以弗所四章十三至十六節繼續；這豫言論到召會以專特的方式建造起來，今天仍未應驗。
2 這豫言也可視為基督新婦的豫備，至今尚未應驗（啟十九7~9，弗五25~27）；主關於建造召會以及豫備新婦之豫言的應驗，要把祂帶回來；現在就是主成全祂豫言的時候。
週 五
叄 使徒保羅是所有信徒—基督身體上之肢體—的榜樣，活基督以顯大基督，作祂的繼續—腓一19~21上，徒九4~5、15，二六18~19，提前一16：
一 保羅是基督的門徒，他看見基督，聽見基督，並照着那在耶穌身上是實際者學了基督—徒九1~19、25~27，二二14~15，弗四20~21。
二 保羅是基督所揀選的器皿，以盛裝祂，被祂充滿，並湧流祂作祂的豐滿—徒九15，林後四7，弗一22~23，三19。
三 保羅是一個禱告的人—徒九11，十三1~3，十四23，十六13、25，二十36，二一5，二二17，二八8，弗六18，西四2。
四 保羅倚靠身體，在身體裏、藉着身體並為着身體作一切事—徒九11、17~18、25~27，林前一1，十二14~27。
五 保羅實行呼求主名—徒九14、21，二二16，提後二22，羅十12~13，腓二9~11。
六 保羅憑包羅萬有之耶穌的靈（一個有充足力量忍受苦難之人的靈）而活，為着他傳講的職事，就是在人的生命裏，在人類中間為着人類之受苦的職事，以建造基督的身體—約七37~39，徒九16，十六7、22~34，腓三10，西一24，林後六4，十一23，來六19~20，十三13。
七 保羅活在他調和的靈（神的靈與他這人的靈調和成一靈）裏—徒十七16，十九21，羅八4、6、16，林前六17。
八 保羅在素質一面被喜樂的靈所充滿，為着他的生存；他也在經綸一面被能力的靈充溢，為着他的功用—徒十三9、52，弗五18。
九 保羅操練自己，常存無虧和清潔的良心—徒二三1，二四16，提前一19，三9。
十 保羅過一種生活，常常在主裏喜樂，不住的禱告，凡事感謝祂—徒十六25，二七35，腓四4，西三16，帖前五16~18。
十一 保羅與神聯合，並受神協助，在耶穌的名裏放膽講說福音，以擴展耶穌的見證，直到地極—徒九20、27，二六22~29，二八31，一8，帖前二2，參羅十五24、28。
十二 保羅在耶穌的人性裏顧惜聖徒，並在基督的神性裏，以神永遠經綸的一切真理餧養他們；在他的生活中展示主耶穌的話：施比受更為有福—徒二十18~38，帖前二1~12。
週 六
十三 保羅第四次盡職的行程（徒二七~二八）特別給我們看見他的生活—他活基督，顯大基督，在基督裏作一切事，並竭力追求基督，好給人看出他是在基督裏（腓一19~21上，三8~9、14，四13）：
1 在使徒漫長、不幸且受監禁的航程中，主保守使徒在祂的超越裏，使他能活出一種生活，遠超憂慮的境域；這種生活是全然尊貴，有人性美德的最高標準，彰顯最高超的神聖屬性—徒二八5~9。
2 這是耶穌在祂被神性所豐富的人性裏，再次活在地上！這是從前活在福音書裏那奇妙、超絕、奧祕的神人，藉着祂許多肢體中的一個，在使徒行傳裏繼續活着！這是成為肉體、釘死十架、復活、被神高舉之基督的活見證人！
肆 召會的終極結果乃是要來在永世裏的新耶路撒冷，作神完滿並永遠的彰顯；這該是今天我們跟隨使徒保羅的榜樣—『全然放膽宣揚神的國，並教導主耶穌基督的事，毫無阻礙』—一切福音傳揚的實際和目標—二八31。
Week One
The Continuation of the Book of Acts— the Corporate Continuation of Christ
Hymns: 242
Scripture Reading: John 5:17; Matt. 16:18; Eph. 4:13-16; 5:25-27; Rev. 19:7-9; Acts 9:4-5, 15; 28:31
§ Day 1
I. The continuation of the book of Acts is the continuation of Christ with the corporate living of the perfected God-men as the reality of the Body of Christ—28:31:
A. The Lord said, “My Father is working until now, and I also am working” (John 5:17); this shows that since the rebellion of Satan and the fall of man, God has been working until now, and the Lord also is working.
B. The book of Acts is a record of the work of God; after Acts 28 many of Gods vessels are still carrying on with His work; His work is continuing and has not stopped.
C. His work will go on until the kingdom and even until the new heaven and new earth; God is always advancing; He never stops; if we know this and believe in this, we will praise the Lord; even as the New Jerusalem, His slaves will serve Him as priests—Rev. 22:3; cf. Acts 13:36a.
§ Day 2
D. The work of the Holy Spirit in preaching Christ for His propagation, multiplication, and spread through the believers of Christ was not yet completed and needed to be continued for a long period of time.
E. The word of God is still growing and being multiplied for the increase of Christ—6:7; 12:24; 19:20:
1. Grew in Acts 6:7 refers to the growth in life, indicating that the word of God is a matter of life that grows as a seed sown into mans heart for the increase of Christ, the growth of God, within us—Mark 4:14; Col. 2:19.
2. Multiplied in Acts 12:24 refers to the increase of Christ in numbers; actually, the multiplication of the disciples depends on the growth of the word.
3. New disciples are “added to the Lord” to become the parts of Christ, the members of Christ—5:14; 11:24; Rom. 15:16.
F. Such an evangelistic work for Christs propagation, multiplication, and spread is according to Gods New Testament economy for the producing of many sons for God (8:29) that they might be the members of Christ to constitute His Body (12:5) for the carrying out of Gods eternal plan and the fulfillment of His eternal will; this is revealed in detail in the twentyone Epistles and the book of Revelation, which follow the book of Acts.
G. Since God is after a corporate, shining vessel, a vessel of testimony, His children must be brought to the awareness of the Body of Christ and learn to live the Body life; otherwise, they are useless in His hand and can never fulfill His goal—Rom. 12:1-5; 1 Cor. 12:12; Rev. 1:10-12.
§ Day 3
II. The continuation of Christ in the book of Acts is prophesied in the Bible:
A. Isaiah 42:4 says that Christ will come again when He finishes the establishing of Gods justice in the earth, which means to establish Gods salvation as the issue of Gods righteous judgment on Christ—see footnote 3.
B. Isaiah 53:10 prophesies about the continuation of Christ in His resurrection—“He will see a seed, He will extend His days, ⁄ And the pleasure of Jehovah will prosper in His hand”:
1. The seed here, a corporate seed, is the church as the Body of Christ, comprising all the believers produced as the many grains by the death of Christ as the one grain and by His reproductive resurrection (John 12:24; 1 Pet. 1:3); Christ as the Servant of Jehovah is the resurrected Life-giver, the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:6, 17), to produce a seed for the building up of His Body as His continuation for Jehovahs pleasure and for Christs satisfaction.
2. For Christ to “extend His days” means that today Christ is extending His days by living in His believers (Gal. 2:20; see footnote 1 on Acts 28:9); His believers as His Body are His extension.
3. The pleasure of God (Eph. 1:5, 9; Phil. 2:13) is to see many sons born of Him to become the members of Christ, who constitute the church as the Body of Christ, the corporate expression of Christ.
C. Isaiah 53:11 says that Christ “will see the fruit of the travail of His soul, ⁄ And He will be satisfied”; the fruit of the travail of Christs soul implies all the items produced in and through Christs resurrection as His continuation:
1. As the processed One, the last Adam, Christ became the life-giving Spirit as the reality of the pneumatic Christ for His propagation through lifeimparting— 1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17.
2. As the preeminent One, the One who has the first place in all things, Christ became the Firstborn from the dead for the germinating of Gods new creation and for Christ to be the Head of the Body—Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5a.
3. As the God-man, Christ was begotten of God in His humanity (Acts 13:33) to be the firstborn Son of God in both the divine and human natures, to be a model for conforming many sons to His image (Rom. 8:29b).
4. As the resurrection life (John 11:25), Christ regenerated all His believers (1 Pet. 1:3), making them His brothers and the many sons of God (Heb. 2:10- 12; Rom. 8:29b; John 20:17), who are the members of Gods household to be Gods kingdom (Eph. 2:19; Gal. 6:10) and Gods precious inheritance (Eph. 1:11).
5. As the one grain of wheat, Christ became the many grains (John 12:24), who are His increase (3:30) and the components of His Body, that is, the one bread, the church (1 Cor. 10:17; Eph. 1:22-23).
6. Through His life-releasing death and with His life-imparting resurrection, Christ produced a corporate seed as the issue of the travail of His soul, which seed He saw in His resurrection and was satisfied (Isa. 53:10-11; cf. Gal. 3:29).
7. As the life of the believers, the resurrected Christ is all the members and in all the members of the new man—Col. 3:10-11.
D. Micah 5:2 prophesies concerning the incarnation of Christ in Bethlehem, and that “His goings forth are from ancient times, ⁄ From the days of eternity”:
1. Christs going forth, His appearing, is a continuous matter; at the time of His incarnation He began to come forth; after His incarnation, He continued to go forth through His human living, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His outpouring of the consummated Spirit (who is the reality of Christ Himself), and His spreading through the preaching of the gospel to the whole inhabited earth; all of these are great steps in Christs going forth.
2. His going forth has not ceased but is continuing today; Christs going forth, His manifestation, will consummate when He comes back with the overcomers as the mighty ones (Joel 3:11) to defeat Antichrist and cast him into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:19-20), when Satan is cast into the abyss (20:2-3), and when Christ sets up His throne to reign as King (Matt. 25:31, 34, 40); at that time His appearing will be complete.
§ Day 4
E. These Old Testament prophecies culminate in the greatest prophecy in the Bible concerning the continuation of Christ; in Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus said, “I will build My church”; even today this prophecy still remains unfulfilled:
1. The prophecy on the building up of the church started by the Lord in Matthew 16 is continued by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:13-16, a prophecy concerning the building up of the church in a specific way that remains unfulfilled today.
2. This prophecy may also be seen as the preparation of Christs bride, which is still unfulfilled today (Rev. 19:7-9; Eph. 5:25-27); the fulfillment of the Lords prophecy concerning the building up of the church and the preparation of His bride will bring Him back; now is the time for the Lord to fulfill His prophecy.
§ Day 5
III. The apostle Paul, as a pattern to all the believers, the members of the Body of Christ, lived Christ for His magnification as His continuation—Phil. 1:19-21a; Acts 9:4-5, 15; 26:18-19; 1 Tim.
1:16:
A. Paul was a disciple of Christ—seeing Christ, hearing Christ, and learning Christ as the reality is in Jesus—Acts 9:1-19, 25-27; 22:14-15; Eph. 4:20-21.
B. Paul was a chosen vessel of Christ to contain Him, be filled with Him, and overflow with Him for His fullness—Acts 9:15; 2 Cor. 4:7; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:19.
C. Paul was a man of prayer—Acts 9:11; 13:1-3; 14:23; 16:13, 25; 20:36; 21:5; 22:17; 28:8; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2.
D. Paul depended on the Body, doing everything in the Body, through the Body, and for the Body—Acts 9:11, 17-18, 25-27; 1 Cor. 1:1; 12:14-27.
E. Paul practiced calling on the name of the Lord—Acts 9:14, 21; 22:16; 2 Tim. 2:22; Rom. 10:12-13; Phil. 2:9-11.
F. Paul lived by the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus (the Spirit of a man with abundant strength for suffering) for his preaching ministry, a ministry of suffering carried out among human beings and for human beings in the human life for the building up of the Body of Christ—John 7:37-39; Acts 9:16; 16:7, 22-34; Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; 2 Cor. 6:4; 11:23; Heb. 6:19-20; 13:13.
G. Paul lived in his mingled spirit (the divine Spirit mingled with his human spirit as one spirit)—Acts 17:16; 19:21; Rom. 8:4, 6, 16; 1 Cor. 6:17.
H. Paul was filled with the Spirit of joy, essentially for his existence, and with the Spirit of power, economically for his function—Acts 13:9, 52; Eph. 5:18.
I. Paul exercised himself to always have a good and pure conscience—Acts 23:1; 24:16; 1 Tim. 1:19; 3:9.
J. Paul lived a life of always rejoicing in the Lord, praying unceasingly, and thanking Him in everything—Acts 16:25; 27:35; Phil. 4:4; Col. 3:16; 1 Thes. 5:16-18.
K. Paul was allied with God and assisted by God to speak the gospel boldly in the name of Jesus to spread the testimony of Jesus unto the uttermost part of the earth—Acts 9:20, 27; 26:22-29; 28:31; 1:8; 1 Thes. 2:2; cf. Rom. 15:24, 28.
L. Paul cherished the saints in the humanity of Jesus and nourished them in the divinity of Christ with all the truths of Gods eternal economy, displaying in his living the word of the Lord Jesus that it is better to give than to receive—Acts 20:18-38; 1 Thes. 2:1-12.
§ Day 6
M. Pauls fourth ministry journey (Acts 27—28) shows in a particular way his life of living Christ, magnifying Christ, doing all things in Christ, and pursuing Christ in order to be found in Christ (Phil. 1:19-21a; 3:8-9, 14; 4:13):
1. All during the apostles long and unfortunate imprisonment-voyage, the Lord kept the apostle in His ascendancy and enabled him to live a life far beyond the realm of anxiety; this life was fully dignified, with the highest standard of human virtues expressing the most excellent divine attributes—Acts 28:5-9.
2. This was Jesus living again on the earth in His divinely enriched humanity! This was the wonderful, excellent, and mysterious God-man, who lived in the Gospels, continuing to live in the Acts through one of His many members! This was a living witness of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and Godexalted Christ!
IV. The ultimate issue of the church will be the New Jerusalem in eternity future as Gods full and eternal expression; this should be the reality and goal of all our gospel preaching today as we follow the pattern of the apostle Paul—“proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered”—28:31.
