第一週 • 週六

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晨興餧養

加二20   我已經與基督同釘十字架；現在活着的，不再是我，乃是基督在我裏面活着；並且我如今在肉身裏所活的生命，是我在神兒子的信裏，與祂聯結所活的，祂是愛我，為我舍了自己。

在新約裏，信徒也稱為基督徒〔徒十一26，二六28〕。……在行傳十一章二十六節，『基督徒』是羞辱的名稱。在安提阿的門徒給人加上這樣羞辱的綽號，指明他們必定為主作了剛強的見證，使他們在不信的人眼中顯得不同且特別（新約總論第五冊，九九頁）。

信息選讀

『基督徒』這名稱也用在彼前四章十六節，這節指明他們是基督的依附者，受祂所受的辱駡。這節的上下文與有分於基督的苦難有關〔14上〕。…在基督的名裏，實際上就是在基督的人位裏，在基督自己裏，因為名指人位。信徒既已信入基督（約三15），浸入祂的名裏（徒十九5），就是浸入祂自己（加三27），他們就是在基督裏（林前一30），並且與祂是一（六17）。當他們在祂的名裏受辱駡，他們就與祂同受辱駡，有分於祂的苦難。彼得說到在基督的名裏受辱駡以後，在彼前四章十六節繼續說，信徒『若因是基督徒受苦，卻不要羞恥，倒要因着這名榮耀神』。

在彼得和保羅的時代，基督徒是羞辱的名稱，但今天這名稱該有正面的意義，指明他們是屬基督的人，與基督是一；他們不僅屬於祂，更因與祂生機的聯結，有祂的生命和性情，並且在日常生活中憑祂而活，甚至活祂。我們若因是這樣的人而受苦，就不該覺得羞恥，倒要憑聖別佳美的品行放膽承認，以顯大基督，在這名裏榮耀（彰顯）神。

當我們相信基督，我們與祂之間就發生了生機的聯結。藉着相信基督，我們信入祂，藉此與祂成為一靈（林前六17）。這就是我們所說生機的聯結一辭的意義。…我們與基督生機的聯結，也包含我們浸入基督（加三27）。神在祂經綸裏的心意，是要將我們放在基督裏面，並要基督進入我們裏面，活在我們裏面。所以，浸入基督，就是進入與三一神之具體化身的生機聯結裏。這能變化我們全人。…如今我們基督徒，就是屬基督並與祂是一的人，需要在日常生活中憑祂而活，甚至活祂。…我們若憑基督而活，仍然是在作一件事。活基督乃是說，基督是我們的生命（西三4）。我們活，祂就活。祂活，我們就活。

聖經裏的中心思想是：基督必須是我們的生命，我們必須活祂作我們的生活。作基督徒的目標是活基督。不僅如此，神在祂的經綸裏為我們所定的定命，乃是我們活基督。神的經綸是要將祂自己分賜到我們裏面，將自己作到我們裏面，使我們接受基督作我們的生命和生命的供應以活祂。神的願望是要我們活基督。…基督要作我們的生命、我們日常的行事為人和我們的一切。

在加拉太二章二十節保羅宣告：『基督在我裏面活着。』保羅不僅能說基督在他裏面活着，也能說在他，活着就是基督〔腓一21〕。一面，基督活在保羅裏面；另一面，保羅活基督。在裏面，基督是保羅的生命；在外面，基督是保羅的生活。保羅與基督因此同有一個生命，同過一個生活。基督的生命就是保羅的生命，保羅的生活就是基督的生活。基督與保羅，兩個活着如同一個。…我們與基督之間所發生的生機聯結，使我們與祂如此親近、親密，甚至與祂成為一靈〔林前六17〕（新約總論第五冊，一○○至一○四頁）。

參讀：生命的認識，第十四篇；腓立比書生命讀經，第二十九篇。

 WEEK 1 — DAY 6

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Morning Nourishment

Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

In the New Testament the believers are also designated as Christians [Acts 11:26; 26:28]…In 11:26 Christian is a term of reproach. That the disciples in Antioch were given such a nickname as a term of reproach indicates that they must have borne a strong testimony for the Lord, a testimony that made them distinct and peculiar in the eyes of the unbelievers. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1146-1147)

Todays Reading

The designation Christian is used again in 1 Peter 4:16, where it denotes those who are adherents of Christ, bearing His reproach. The context of this verse concerns sharing the sufferings of Christ [v. 14a]…”In the name of Christ” is actually in the person of Christ, in Christ Himself, because the name denotes the person. The believers, having believed into Christ (John 3:15) and having been baptized into His name (Acts 19:5), that is, into Himself (Gal. 3:27), are in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30) and one with Him (6:17). When they are reproached in His name, they are reproached with Him, sharing His sufferings. After speaking of being reproached in the name of Christ, Peter goes on to say in 1 Peter 4:16 that if a believer suffers “as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this name.”

Whereas in the time of Peter and Paul Christian was a term of reproach, today it should bear a positive significance, that is, a man of Christ, one who is one with Christ, not only belonging to Him but having His life and nature in an organic union with Him, and who is living by Him, even living Him, in his daily life. If we suffer for being such a person, we should not feel ashamed, but be bold to magnify Christ in our confession by our holy and excellent manner of life to glorify, express, God in this name.

When we believed in Christ, an organic union took place between us and Him. By believing in Christ, we believed into Him and thereby became one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). This is what we mean by the expression organic union. Our organic union with Christ also involves our being baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27). God’s intention in His economy is to put us into Him and to come into us and live in us. Therefore, to be baptized into Christ is to enter into an organic union with the embodiment of the Triune God, which is able to transform our whole being. Now as Christians, those who are of Christ and are one with Him, we need to live by Him, and even live Him, in our daily life…If we are living by Christ, we are still doing the living. To live Christ means that Christ is our life (Col. 3:4). When we live, He lives. When He lives, we live.

The central thought in the Bible is that Christ must be our life and that we must live Him as our living. The goal of being a Christian is to live Christ. Furthermore, the destiny God has ordained for us in His economy is that we live Christ. God’s economy is to dispense Himself into us and to work Himself into us that we may take Christ as our life and life supply in order to live Him. God’s desire is that we live Christ…Christ is to be our life, our daily walk, our everything. 

In Galatians 2:20 Paul declared, “Christ…lives in me.” Paul could say not only that Christ lived in him, but also that to him to live was Christ [Phil. 1:21]. On the one hand, Christ lived in Paul; on the other hand, Paul lived Christ. Inwardly Christ was Paul’s life, and outwardly Christ was Paul’s living. Paul and Christ thus had one life and one living. Christ’s life was Paul’s life, and Paul’s living was Christ’s living. The two, Christ and Paul, lived as one…The organic union that has taken place between us and Christ causes us to be so close and intimate with Him that we are even one spirit with Him [1 Cor. 6:17].
(The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1147-1150)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1953, vol. 3, “The Knowledge of Life,” ch. 14; Life-study of Philippians, msg. 29