第四週 新婦的美麗
詩歌：補305
讀經：羅六19，22，弗五25 ～ 27，啓十九7 ～ 9，帖前五23，歌八13 ～ 14
【週一】
壹 性情上聖化的過程是我們生機拯救的過程，使我們被美化，成爲基督美麗、聖別、並榮耀的新婦—帖前四3 上，彼前一15 ～16，弗一4 ～ 5，五25 ～ 27，帖前五23 ～24，羅六19，22：
一 以弗所五章二十五至二十七節啓示整個神完整的救恩，向我們陳明在三個階段裏的基督：
1 在已過，基督是救贖主，爲召會捨了自己，爲着我們法理的救贖—『作丈夫的，要愛你們的妻子，正如基督愛召會，爲召會捨了自己』—25 節。
2 現今，基督是賜生命的靈，正用祂的成分浸透召會，而在性情上聖化召會，使召會成爲祂的配偶；這是生機的拯救，就是新婦的美化並新婦的豫備—『好聖化召會，藉着話中之水的洗滌潔淨召會』—26 節。
3 將來，基督是新郎，要將召會獻給自己作配偶，好得着滿足—『祂好獻給自己，作榮耀的召會，沒有斑點、皺紋、或任何這類的病，好使她成爲聖別、沒有瑕疵』—這是我們的得榮，爲着新婦的獻上—27 節。
4 在已過，基督爲召會捨了自己；現今，祂正聖化召會；將來，祂要將召會獻給自己作配偶，好得着滿足；所以基督對召會的愛是爲着聖化召會，祂聖化召會是爲着將召會獻給自己，作榮耀的召會。
【週二】
二 新婦的美麗乃是來自那位作到召會裏面並從召會照耀出來的基督，好藉着召會得着彰顯—賽四三7，弗三21。
三 基督是祂餘剩之民的榮冠華冕—賽二八5：
1 冠像帽子或頭巾，而冕乃是冠上最華美榮耀的部分，就是頭帶—出二八36 ～ 39，二九6，賽六二3。
2 我們需要不斷在召會，就是主榮美的殿中瞻仰主的榮美，使我們被變化，從榮耀到榮耀，藉主得着華美，成爲祂美麗的新婦，有祂作我們的華冕—林後三18，啓十九7 ～ 9，賽二八5，詩二七4，賽六十1，7，9，13，19，六二3，啓二一11。
【週三、週四】
貳 主在恢復裏主要的工作乃是主真正的工作，爲要豫備我們作祂榮耀的新婦；沒有以弗所五章二十六節裏所說，不斷在性情上的聖化，新婦就無法豫備好，啓示錄十九章七至九節也就無法應驗：
一 召會藉着聖別的過程被美化，這是藉着基督作爲賜生命的靈，藉着祂話中之水的洗滌潔淨我們—弗五26 ～ 27：
1 這指明在基督的話裏有那靈作生命的水；祂對我們所說的話，就是靈，就是生命—約六63。
2 基督作爲賜生命的靈，是說話的靈；祂所說的一切就是洗滌我們的話；這不是指婁格斯（logos），常時的話，乃是指雷瑪（rhema），卽時的話，就是主現今對我們所說的話—太四4，約六63，啓二7，二二17 上，參賽六9 ～ 10，太十三14 ～ 15，徒二八25 ～ 31。
3 基督的說話就是那靈；祂的說話就是賜生命之靈的同在—約六63，弗六17。
4 內住的基督作爲賜生命的靈，常說卽時、現時、活的話，新陳代謝的洗去舊的，代之以新的，而產生內裏的變化。
二 藉着這樣洗滌的過程，我們就被基督浸透並美化，成爲祂聖別、美麗、彰顯神的新婦，就是沒有瑕疵或不完全之處的新婦—啓十九7，參歌六13，八13 ～ 14。
三 基督作爲賜生命的靈，藉着話中之水的洗滌潔淨召會，而聖化召會；照着神聖的觀念，這裏的『水』是指神湧流的生命，由湧流的水所象徵；（出十七6，林前十4，約七37 ～ 39，啓七17，二一6，二二1，17；）我們現今正在這洗滌的過程中，使召會能成爲聖別、沒有瑕疵。
四 以弗所五章二十六節裏『洗滌』的原文，直譯是『洗濯盆』；舊約的祭司用洗濯盆洗去他們屬地的污穢；（出三十18 ～ 21；）一天過一天，在早晨在晚間，我們都需要來就近聖經，藉着話中之水的洗濯盆而得潔淨。
五 保羅說到話帶着其洗滌的過程時，（弗五26，）原文是用『雷瑪』這辭；婁格斯是神記在聖經裏客觀一面的話；雷瑪是神在專特情況中向我們說出來的話。（可十四72，路一35 ～ 38，五5，二四1 ～ 8。）
六 雷瑪是對我們有切身、直接的啓示，要給我們看見應當對付的是甚麼，應當洗淨的是甚麼；（銅洗濯盆是一面能返照人、暴露人的鏡子—出三八8；）對於我們各人，要緊的乃是：神今天有沒有對我說祂的話？
七 有一件事我們一直寶貴的，就是主今天仍然向我們切身、直接的說話；在生命裏真實的長大在於我們從神直接領受話；惟有祂在我們裏面的說話纔有真實屬靈的價值—來三7 ～ 11，15，四7，詩九五7 ～ 8。
八 我們禱告的中心點，該是我們切慕有主的說話，這使我們能按照祂心頭的願望達成祂永遠經綸的目標，就是得着一個新婦作祂的配偶—啓二7，參撒上三1，21，摩三7。
九 實際說來，主的同在與祂的說話乃是一；每當祂說話時，我們就知道祂在我們裏面與我們同在；基督的說話就是賜生命之靈的同在。
十 內住的基督作爲賜生命的靈在我們裏面的說話，就是潔淨的水，把新的元素儲存到我們裏面，頂替我們本性和性情裏老舊的元素；這新陳代謝的潔淨，使人在生命裏有真正、內裏的改變，這就是在性情上聖化和變化的實際。
十一 我們必須被我們靈裏基督這賜生命、說話的靈所美化；藉着作賜生命之靈的主在我們裏面說話，我們漸漸成爲祂榮耀的召會—弗五26 ～ 27，啓二7。
【週五】
叁 以弗所五章二十七節啓示，作基督新婦的召會至終要成爲榮耀的召會，就是彰顯神的召會，『沒有斑點、皺紋、或任何這類的病，好使她成爲聖別、沒有瑕疵』：
一 我們惟一的美麗乃是基督從我們裏面照耀出來；基督在我們身上所珍賞的，乃是祂自己的彰顯—詩五十2，林後三15 ～ 18，參出二八2：
1 『你的眼必見王的華美』；（賽三三17 上；）『王就羨慕你的美貌』。（詩四五11 上。）
2 『我的佳偶阿，你美麗如得撒，秀美如耶路撒冷，威武如展開旌旗的軍隊』—歌六4。
二 新婦豫備好，意思是她穿『明亮潔淨的細麻衣』，這細麻衣就是『聖徒所行的義』；（啓十九8；）這細麻衣就是新婦的美麗。
三 在婚娶之日，新郎在意新婦的美麗，遠過於她的才幹；主耶穌，我們的神，所在意的，主要乃是從我們的人性所彰顯出祂自己的美麗；我們需要天天被基督美化，使我們得以豫備好獻給基督，作祂心愛的新婦。
四 每當我們花時間禱讀並默想主的話，（弗六17 ～18，詩一一九15，）在主的話裏瞻仰主的榮美，祂就成爲我們的榮美，我們就因着祂而成爲榮美的，成爲祂榮美的殿，好使祂也得榮美。（二七4，林後三18，賽六十7 下，9 下，13 下，19 下，21 下。）
五 以弗所五章二十六節裏話中之水的洗滌，主要的乃是對付斑點與皺紋；斑點是指屬於天然生命的東西，皺紋與老舊有關；只有生命的水纔能藉着生命的變化，新陳代謝的洗去這類的缺點。
六 成爲聖別乃是被基督浸透並變化；沒有瑕疵乃是沒有斑點、皺紋，沒有舊人天然生命的東西—參歌四7。
七 召會也沒有『任何這類的病』，這意思是，召會沒有『這樣或那樣的缺點』；神要把召會帶到一個地步，在任何方面都沒有話說—弗五27。
【週六】
肆 以弗所五章二十六至二十七節與雅歌八章十三至十四節相符；二者都啓示，我們是藉着主向我們的說話，得以豫備好，成爲祂榮耀的新婦，渴望祂第二次的來—『你這住在園中的，我的同伴都要聽你的聲音，求你使我也得聽見。我的良人哪，願你快來，如羚羊或小牡鹿在香草山上』：
一 在雅歌裏，愛基督的尋求者求祂這位住在作祂園子之信徒裏面的，使她同伴聽見祂聲音時，她也得聽見—八13，參四13 ～ 16，五1，六2：
1 這指明我們這些愛基督的人，爲我們的良人基督工作時，需要維持我們與祂的交通，一直聽祂—路十38 ～ 42。
2 我們的生命，乃是在乎主的話語；我們的工作，乃是在乎主的命令；（啓二7，撒上三9 ～ 10，參賽五十4 ～ 5，出二一6；）沒有主的話語，對於基督是我們的王，（賽六1，5，）我們的主，（林後五14 ～ 15，）我們的頭（西二19）和我們的丈夫，（林後十一2，）就沒有任何啓示、亮光、或親身的認識；信徒的一生，都繫於主的說話。（弗五26 ～ 27。）
二 作爲雅歌這卷詩意之書結束的禱告，基督的佳偶求她的良人在復活的大能（羚羊和小牡鹿）裏快快回來，設立那要充滿全地，祂甘甜美麗的國（香草山）—八14，啓十一15，但二35：
1 這樣的禱告描繪基督這位新郎和祂的佳偶新婦之間，在新婚之愛裏的聯結與交通；這正如約翰這位愛基督者的禱告（作爲聖經的結語）一樣，乃是啓示神關於祂神聖之愛裏基督與召會的永遠經綸—啓二二20。
2 『主耶穌阿，我願你來！』乃是聖經中最後的禱告；（啓二二20；）整本聖經結束於我們對主再來的渴望發表成爲禱告。
Week Four
The Beauty of the Bride
Hymns: 1159
Scripture Reading: Rom. 6:19, 22; Eph. 5:25-27; Rev. 19:7-9; 1 Thes. 5:23; S. S. 8:13-14
§ Day 1
I. The process of dispositional sanctification is the process of our organic salvation as our beautification to become the beautiful, holy, and glorious bride for Christ—1 Thes. 4:3a; 1 Pet. 1:15-16; Eph. 1:4-5; 5:25-27; 1 Thes. 5:23-24; Rom. 6:19, 22:
A. Ephesians 5:25-27 reveals the entirety of Gods complete salvation in presenting Christ to us in three stages:
1. In the past, Christ as the Redeemer gave Himself up for the church for our judicial redemption—“Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her”—v. 25.
2. In the present, Christ as the life-giving Spirit is dispositionally sanctifying the church by saturating her with His element so that she may be His counterpart; this is organic salvation as bride beautification and bride preparation—“That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word”—v. 26.
3. In the future, Christ as the Bridegroom will present the church to Himself as His counterpart for His satisfaction—“That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish”—this is our glorification for bride presentation—v. 27.
4. In the past, Christ gave Himself up for the church; in the present, He is sanctifying the church; and in the future, He will present the church to Himself as His counterpart for His satisfaction; therefore, His loving the church is to sanctify her, and His sanctifying the church is for His presenting the church to Himself glorious.
§ Day 2
B. The beauty of the bride comes from the very Christ who is wrought into the church and shining out from the church to be expressed through the church—Isa. 43:7; Eph. 3:21.
C. Christ is a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of His people—Isa. 28:5:
1. A crown is like a hat or turban, whereas the diadem is the headband as the most beautiful, glorious part of the crown—Exo. 28:36-39; 29:6; Isa. 62:3.
2. We need to continually behold the beauty of the Lord in the church as the house of His beauty so that we may be transformed from glory to glory, beautified by the Lord, to become His beautiful bride with Him as our diadem of beauty—2 Cor. 3:18; Rev. 19:7-9; Isa. 28:5; Psa. 27:4; Isa. 60:1, 7, 9, 13, 19; 62:3; Rev. 21:11.
§ Day 3 & Day 4
II. The Lords primary work in the recovery is His genuine work to prepare us to be His glorious bride; apart from the continual, dispositional sanctification spoken of in Ephesians 5:26, there is no way for the bride to be prepared and, hence, no way for Revelation 19:7-9 to be fulfilled:
A. The church is being beautified through the process of sanctification by Christ as the life-giving Spirit cleansing us by the washing of the water in His word—Eph. 5:26-27:
1. This indicates that in the word of Christ is the Spirit as the water of life; the words that He speaks to us are spirit and life—John 6:63.
2. As the life-giving Spirit, Christ is the speaking Spirit; whatever He speaks is the word that washes us; this does not refer to logos, the constant word, but to rhema, which denotes an instant word, the word that the Lord presently speaks to us—Matt. 4:4; John 6:63; Rev. 2:7; 22:17a; cf. Isa. 6:9-10; Matt. 13:14-15; Acts 28:25-31.
3. Christs speaking is the Spirit; His speaking is the very presence of the lifegiving Spirit—John 6:63; Eph. 6:17.
4. The indwelling Christ as the life-giving Spirit is always speaking an instant, present, living word to metabolically cleanse away the old and replace it with the new, causing an inward transformation.
B. Through such a washing process we are saturated with Christ and beautified by Christ to be His holy, beautiful, God-expressing bride, a bride without blemish or imperfection—Rev. 19:7; cf. S. S. 6:13; 8:13-14.
C. Christ as the life-giving Spirit sanctifies the church by cleansing her according to the washing of the water in the word; according to the divine concept, water here refers to the flowing life of God typified by flowing water (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; John 7:37-39; Rev. 7:17; 21:6; 22:1, 17); we are now in such a washing process in order that the church may be holy and without blemish.
D. The Greek word for washing in Ephesians 5:26 is literally laver; in the Old Testament the priests used the laver to wash away their earthly defilement (Exo. 30:18-21); day by day, morning and evening, we need to come to the Bible and be cleansed by the laver of the water in the word.
E. Paul uses the Greek word rhema when he speaks of the word with its washing process (Eph. 5:26); logos is Gods Word objectively recorded in the Bible; rhema is the word of God spoken to us on a specific occasion (Mark 14:72; Luke 1:35-38; 5:5; 24:1-8).
F. The rhema reveals something to us personally and directly; it shows us what we need to deal with and what we need to be cleansed from (the laver of bronze was a mirror that could reflect and expose—Exo. 38:8); the important thing for each one of us is this—is God speaking His word to me today?
G. One thing that we always treasure is that the Lord still speaks to us personally and directly today; true growth in life depends upon our receiving the word directly from God; only His speaking in us has true spiritual value—Heb. 3:7-11, 15; 4:7; Psa. 95:7-8.
H. The central point of our prayers should be our longing for the Lords speaking, which enables us to fulfill the goal of His eternal economy according to His hearts desire to have a bride as His counterpart—Rev. 2:7; cf. 1 Sam. 3:1, 21; Amos 3:7.
I. In a very practical sense, the Lords presence is one with His speaking; whenever He speaks, we realize His presence within us; Christs speaking is the very presence of the life-giving Spirit.
J. The speaking of the indwelling Christ as the life-giving Spirit within us is the cleansing water that deposits a new element into us to replace the old element in our nature and disposition; this metabolic cleansing causes a genuine and inward change in life, which is the reality of dispositional sanctification and transformation.
K. We must be beautified by Christ as the life-giving, speaking Spirit in our spirit; through the Lords speaking within us as the life-giving Spirit, we are becoming His glorious church—Eph. 5:26-27; Rev. 2:7.
§ Day 5
III. Ephesians 5:27 reveals that the church as the bride of Christ will eventually become a glorious church, a God-expressing church, “not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish”:
A. Our only beauty is the shining out of Christ from within us; what Christ appreciates within us is the expression of Himself—Psa. 50:2; 2 Cor. 3:15- 18; cf. Exo. 28:2:
1. “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty” (Isa. 33:17a); “the King will desire your beauty” (Psa. 45:11a).
2. “You are as beautiful, my love, as Tirzah, / As lovely as Jerusalem, / As terrible as an army with banners”—S. S. 6:4.
B. For the bride to be prepared means that she is clothed in “fine linen, bright and clean,” which is “the righteousnesses of the saints” (Rev. 19:8); this fine linen is the beauty of the bride.
C. On the day of his wedding, a bridegroom cares much more for the beauty of his bride than for her ability; the Lord Jesus, our God, cares primarily for the beauty of Himself expressed through our humanity; we need to be beautified by Christ day by day so that we can be prepared to be presented to Him as His lovely bride.
D. Whenever we take time to behold the beauty of the Lord in His word by pray-reading and musing upon His word (Eph. 6:17-18; Psa. 119:15), He becomes our beauty, and we are beautified by Him to become the house of His beauty so that He also may be beautified (27:4; 2 Cor. 3:18; Isa. 60:7b, 9b, 13b, 19b, 21b).
E. The washing of the water in the word in Ephesians 5:26 deals mainly with spots and wrinkles; spots refer to something of the natural life, and wrinkles are related to oldness; only the water of life can metabolically wash away such defects by the transformation of life.
F. To be holy is to be saturated with Christ and transformed by Christ, and to be without blemish is to be spotless and without wrinkle, having nothing of the natural life of our old man—cf. S. S. 4:7.
G. Also, the church will not have “any such things,” which means that she will not have “this or that kind of defect”; God will bring the church to the place where nothing can be said against her in any respect—Eph. 5:27.
§ Day 6
IV. Ephesians 5:26-27 matches Song of Songs 8:13-14; both reveal that it is by the Lords speaking to us that we are prepared to be His glorious bride with the desire for His second coming—“O you who dwell in the gardens, / My companions listen for your voice; / Let me hear it. / Make haste, my beloved, / And be like a gazelle or a young hart / Upon the mountains of spices”:
A. In Song of Songs the loving seeker of Christ asks Him who dwells in the believers as His gardens to let her hear His voice while her companions listen for His voice—8:13; cf. 4:13-16; 5:1; 6:2:
1. This indicates that in the work that we as the lovers of Christ do for Him as our Beloved, we need to maintain our fellowship with Him, always listening to Him—Luke 10:38-42.
2. Our lives depend on the Lords words, and our work depends on His commands (Rev. 2:7; 1 Sam. 3:9-10; cf. Isa. 50:4-5; Exo. 21:6); without the Lords words we will not have any revelation, light, or personal knowledge of Christ as our King (Isa. 6:1, 5), our Lord (2 Cor. 5:14-15), our Head (Col. 2:19), and our Husband (2 Cor. 11:2); the life of the believers hinges totally upon the Lords speaking (Eph. 5:26-27).
B. As the concluding prayer of this poetic book, the Song of Songs, the lover of Christ prays that her Beloved would make haste to come back in the power of His resurrection (gazelle and young hart) to set up His sweet and beautiful kingdom (mountains of spices), which will fill the whole earth—8:14; Rev. 11:15; Dan. 2:35:
1. Such a prayer portrays the union and communion between Christ as the Bridegroom and His lovers as the bride in their bridal love, in the way that the prayer of John, a lover of Christ, as the concluding word of the Holy Scriptures, reveals Gods eternal economy concerning Christ and the church in His divine love—Rev. 22:20.
2. “Come, Lord Jesus!” is the last prayer in the Bible (v. 20); the entire Bible concludes with the desire for the Lords coming expressed as a prayer.
