生命的建造(三): 圣经的启示
启示录二一2 :" 我又看见圣城新耶路撒冷由神那里从天而降，豫备好了，就如新妇妆饰整齐，等候丈夫。"创二八17:" 他就惧怕，说，这地方何等可畏！这不是别的，乃是神的家，也是天的门。"
新耶路撒冷是神与人的调和，是神和人调在一起的东西。启示录告诉我们，新耶路撒冷由神那里从天而降，所以在新耶路撒冷里，满了天的成分，是完全属天的。
另一面，新耶路撒冷又是神住在人中间；并且这个新耶路撒冷，是个团体的人。所以，新耶路撒冷是天，是神，又是人。这乃是圣经的启示。神历世历代作工的最终结果，乃是要得着一个奥秘的东西，是天、神、人三合一调在一起的东西。
当新天新地新耶路撒冷，从天降到新地上时，这个三合一的东西就在地上了。天、神、人三者调成了一个，就是新耶路撒冷。
伯特利是在地上，却是联於天，所以雅各称之为天的门。当我们在地上的教会，神的家中时，我们能进入天的门，并且借着基督这天梯，能看见并经历天上的事。
希伯来四章十六节所说的宝座，毫无疑问，是指天上神的宝座。神的宝座，对全宇宙是掌权的宝座，但对我们信徒，却成了施恩的宝座，由至圣所里的遮罪盖施恩座所表徵。
当我们还活在地上时，怎能来到天上神和羔羊基督的宝座前？秘诀在於希伯来四章十二节所说我们的灵。那在天上坐在宝座上的基督，现今也在我们里面，就是在我们的灵里，这灵就是神居所的所在。
伯特利是神的家，神的居所，也是天的门；在那里基督是梯子，把地联於天，并把天带到地。我们的灵今天既是神居所的所在，这灵就是天的门，在这里基督是梯子，把我们在地上的人联於天，并把天带给我们。
因此，每当我们转到灵里，就能进入天的门，借着基督作天梯，摸着天上施恩的宝座。根据新约的整个启示，基督徒工作的独一目标该是新耶路撒冷，就是神永远经纶终极的目标。
今天在一般的基督徒当中，几乎没有人的目标是正确的。他们在那里追求属灵、圣洁、传福音救灵魂、设立神学院教导神学、圣经，但几乎没有人答覆说，他们所以作这些，目标是要终极完成新耶路撒冷。
教会的堕落，主要的是由於这个事实：几乎所有的基督工人都被岔开，以新耶路撒冷之外的许多事物为他们的目标。
因此，在教会的堕落下，我们要作一个得胜者答应主的呼召，就不仅需要胜过消极的事物，更需要胜过那些顶替新耶路撒冷为目标的积极事物。要成为得胜者，我们应当以神永远经纶的目标，就是新耶路撒冷，为独一无二且终极无比的目标。
参读：基督徒生命成熟的路，第四篇；如何作同工与长老，并如何履行同工与长老的义务，第三篇。
Rev. 21:2 "And I saw the holy
city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband."
Gen. 28:17 "And he was afraid and
said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and
this is the gate of heaven."
The New Jerusalem is a mingling of God
and man, something of God mingled with man. Revelation tells us that the New
Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God. This implies that the New
Jerusalem is filled with the element of heaven and is absolutely heavenly. On
the other hand, the New Jerusalem is God abiding among man. It is a corporate
man. Therefore, the New Jerusalem is something of heaven, God, and also man.
This is the revelation in the Bible....The ultimate issue of the work of God in
every age is to gain something mystical, that is, something of God, man, and
heaven mingled together.
When the new heaven and new earth with
the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven to the earth, this union of God,
heaven, and man will be on the earth....Heaven, God, and man will be mingled
into one as the New Jerusalem. (The Way for a Christian to Mature in Life, p.
51)
[Bethel] was a place on earth, but it
was joined to heaven; hence, Jacob called it the gate of heaven. While we are
in the church, the house of God, on earth, we can enter the gate of heaven, and
through Christ as the heavenly ladder we can see and experience the things of
heaven. (Gen. 28:17, footnote 1)
Undoubtedly, the throne mentioned in
Hebrews 4:12 is the throne of God, which is in heaven (Rev. 4:2). The throne of
God is the throne of authority toward all the universe (Dan. 7:9; Rev. 5:1).
But toward us, the believers, it becomes the throne of grace, signified by the
expiation cover (the mercy seat) within the Holy of Holies (Exo. 25:17,
21)....How can we come to the throne of God and the Lamb, Christ, in heaven
while we still live on earth? The secret is our spirit, referred to in Hebrews
4:12. The very Christ who is sitting on the throne in heaven (Rom. 8:34) is
also now in us (Rom. 8:10), that is, in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22), where the
habitation of God is (Eph. 2:22). At Bethel, the house of God, the habitation
of God, which is the gate of heaven, Christ is the ladder that joins earth to
heaven and brings heaven to earth (Gen. 28:12-17; John 1:51). Since today our
spirit is the place of God’s habitation, it is now the gate of heaven, where
Christ is the ladder that joins us, the people on earth, to heaven, and brings
heaven to us. Hence, whenever we turn to our spirit, we enter through the gate
of heaven and touch the throne of grace in heaven through Christ as the
heavenly ladder. (Heb. 4:16, footnote 1)
According to the entire revelation of
the New Testament, the unique goal of the Christian work should be the New
Jerusalem, which is the ultimate goal of God’s eternal economy....Today among
Christians in general, nearly no one has a proper goal. They pursue being
spiritual, being holy, preaching the gospel to win souls, and establishing
seminaries to teach theology and the Bible, yet hardly anyone can say that they
are doing these things with the goal of consummating the New Jerusalem.
The degradation of the church is
mainly due to the fact that nearly all Christian workers have been distracted
to take many things other than the New Jerusalem as their goal. Hence, under
the degradation of the church, to be overcomers answering the Lord’s call, we
need to overcome not only the negative things but even more the positive things
which replace the New Jerusalem as the goal....To be overcomers we should take
the goal of God’s eternal economy, the New Jerusalem, as our unique and
ultimate goal. (How to Be a Co-worker and an Elder and How to Fulfill Their
Obligations, pp. 49, 51-52)
Further Reading: The Way for a
Christian to Mature in Life, ch. 4; How to Be a Co-worker and an Elder and How
to Fulfill Their Obligations, ch. 3
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