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| 生命的長大(十二):靈里痛悔憂傷溫柔安靜 |
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生命的長大(十二):靈里痛悔憂傷溫柔安靜
賽五七15 …我必住在至高至聖的所在,也與靈里痛悔卑微的人同居,要使卑微之人
的靈甦醒,也使痛悔之人的心甦醒。
六六1~2 …天是我的座位,地是我的腳凳;你們要在哪裡為我建造殿宇?哪裡是我
安息的地方?…我所看顧的,就是靈里貧窮痛悔、因我話戰兢的人。
我們也需要溫柔安靜的靈。彼前三章四節說,我們心中隱藏的人是溫柔安靜的靈。
加拉太六章一節說,我們需要用溫柔的靈挽回墮落的弟兄。在林前四章二十一節保
羅問哥林多人,他們要他帶著刑杖或在溫柔的靈里,到他們那裡去。
新約中多次提起溫柔的美德。在馬太五章五節主說,『溫柔的人有福了,因為他們
必承受地土。』基於這節,我們可以查考新約里溫柔的真正意義。世界的路是抗爭、
奮鬥並擊敗別人,以得著一些產業,一些基業。
但聖經說,你若要承受甚麼,就必須溫柔。溫柔的意思是不抵抗世人的反對,甘心
忍受。無論情況如何,我們都該溫柔,不與別人相爭。溫柔的意思是不為自己爭。
我們需要溫柔安靜的靈。你若爭甚麼,就無法安靜;你能安靜惟一的路,就是不為
自己爭,或為自己尋求甚麼。
痛悔卑微的靈與憂傷的靈非常相近,以賽亞五十七章十五節和六十六章二節都指明
同樣的事,這二處指明甚至天也不是神樂於居住之地。神渴望與那有痛悔卑微之靈
的人同住。這不是小事。
我們若靈里痛悔卑微,我們就靈里憂傷,並且能享受神的同在。神就與我們同在,
甚至與我們同住。
我們的靈若驕傲,我們若保守自己完整、完美且完全,不願悔改並認罪,我們就會
失去主的同在。在某種意義上,照著我們的經歷,主的同在會離開我們。所以我們
需要卑微憂傷的痛悔之靈,就是悔改的靈,承認我們的罪惡。
我們若在這樣的靈里,主必與我們同在,並與我們同住。五十七章十五節和六十六
章二節是我們要向聖徒指出的美妙經文。
神不認為天或地是他的居所,也不認為以色列人為他所建物質的殿,是他安息的地
方。舊約里的帳幕和殿,只是神與以色列人聯結的象徵,神認為以色列人才是他真
正的殿。
神與以色列人聯結,與他們成為一個實體,這一個實體是屬靈的殿,神與以色列中
敬虔的人都住在其中。根據以賽亞六十六章二節和五十七章十五節,神所渴望得著
的住處,是一班可以讓他進入的人。
神要在宇宙中得著一個住處,是神與人的調和,在其中神被建造到人裡面,人被建
造到神裡面,使神與人,人與神,能成為相互的住處。在新約里,這個住處,這個
殿(家),是教會,就是神在信徒靈里的居所。
這個宇宙建造,這個宇宙的殿終極的顯出,就是新耶路撒冷。在這城裡,神在人里
面,以人作他的居所;人也在神裡面,以神作他的居所。
參讀:生命的基本功課,第十九課。
English Version
Isa. 57:15 ...I will dwell in the high and holy place, and with the contrite
and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the
heart of the contrite.
66:1-2 ...Heaven is My throne, and the earth the footstool for My feet.
Where then is the house that you will build for Me, and where is the
place of My rest?...To this kind of man will I look, to him who is poor
and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.
We also need a meek and quiet spirit. First Peter 3:4 says that the
hidden man of our heart is a meek and quiet spirit. Galatians 6:1 says that
we need to restore a fallen brother in a spirit of meekness. In 1 Corinthians
4:21 Paul asked the Corinthians if they wanted him to come to them with
a rod or in a spirit of meekness.
The New Testament mentions the virtue of meekness a number of times.
In Matthew 5:5 the Lord said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit
the earth.” Based upon this verse, we can look into the real meaning of
being meek in the New Testament. The world’s way is to fight, to strive,
and to defeat others to gain some possession, some inheritance. But the
Bible says that if you are going to inherit anything, you have to be meek.
To be meek means not to resist the world’s opposition but to suffer it willingly.
Regardless of the situation, we should be meek, not fighting against others.
Meekness means not fighting for yourself. We need a meek and quiet spirit.
If you fight for anything, you cannot be quiet. The only way that you can
be quiet is not to fight for yourself or seek anything for yourself. (Basic
Lessons on Life, p. 152)
A contrite and humble spirit is very close to a broken spirit. Isaiah
57:15 and 66:2 both indicate the same thing. They indicate that even heaven
is not a joyful place to God for His dwelling. God desires to dwell with
people who have a contrite and humble spirit. This is not a small thing.
If we are contrite and humble in our spirit, we are broken in our spirit,
and we can enjoy God’s presence. God is then with us and even dwells with
us. If our spirit is proud and we keep ourselves complete, perfect, and
whole, being unwilling to repent and confess, we will lose the Lord’s presence.
In a certain sense, according to our experience, the Lord’s presence would
leave us. So we need a contrite spirit, which is humble and broken, a repenting
spirit to confess our sinfulness. If we are in this kind of spirit, the
Lord will be with us and will dwell with us. Isaiah 57:15 and 66:2 are wonderful
verses to point out to the saints. (Basic Lessons on Life, pp. 151-152)
God did not consider either heaven or earth His dwelling place, nor
did He consider the physical house, the temple, built for Him by the children
of Israel the place of His rest. In the Old Testament both the tabernacle
and the temple were only symbols of God’s union with the children of Israel,
whom God considered His actual house (Heb. 3:6 and footnote). God was united
with the children of Israel and became one entity with them, and this one
entity was a spiritual house in which both God and the godly people in Israel
dwelt (Psa. 27:4; 84:10; 90:1; cf. 1 Pet. 2:5a). According to Isaiah 66:2
and 57:15, the dwelling place God desires to have is a group of people into
whom He can enter. God intends to have a dwelling place in the universe
that is the mingling of God and man, in which God is built into man and
man is built into God, so that God and man, man and God, can be a mutual
abode to each other (John14:2, 20, 23; 15:4; 1 John 4:13). In the New Testament this dwelling place,
this house, is the church, which is God’s habitation in the believers’ spirit
(Eph. 2:22 and footnote 4; 1 Tim. 3:15 and footnote 2). The ultimate manifestation
of this universal building, this universal house, is the New Jerusalem.
In this city God is in man, taking man as His dwelling place, and man is
in God, taking God as His habitation (Rev. 21:3, 22, and footnotes). (Isa. 66:1, footnote 1)
Further Reading: Basic Lessons on Life, lsn. 19
- 未完待續
生命的事奉(一):三十四要點及經文
生命的長大(十一):造清潔的心有正直的靈
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