生命的建造(三): 聖經的啟示
啟示錄二一2 :" 我又看見聖城新耶路撒冷由神那裡從天而降，豫備好了，就如新婦妝飾整齊，等候丈夫。"創二八17:" 他就懼怕，說，這地方何等可畏！這不是別的，乃是神的家，也是天的門。"
新耶路撒冷是神與人的調和，是神和人調在一起的東西。啟示錄告訴我們，新耶路撒冷由神那裡從天而降，所以在新耶路撒冷里，滿了天的成分，是完全屬天的。
另一面，新耶路撒冷又是神住在人中間；並且這個新耶路撒冷，是個團體的人。所以，新耶路撒冷是天，是神，又是人。這乃是聖經的啟示。神歷世歷代作工的最終結果，乃是要得着一個奧秘的東西，是天、神、人三合一調在一起的東西。
當新天新地新耶路撒冷，從天降到新地上時，這個三合一的東西就在地上了。天、神、人三者調成了一個，就是新耶路撒冷。
伯特利是在地上，卻是聯於天，所以雅各稱之為天的門。當我們在地上的教會，神的家中時，我們能進入天的門，並且借着基督這天梯，能看見並經歷天上的事。
希伯來四章十六節所說的寶座，毫無疑問，是指天上神的寶座。神的寶座，對全宇宙是掌權的寶座，但對我們信徒，卻成了施恩的寶座，由至聖所里的遮罪蓋施恩座所表徵。
當我們還活在地上時，怎能來到天上神和羔羊基督的寶座前？秘訣在於希伯來四章十二節所說我們的靈。那在天上坐在寶座上的基督，現今也在我們裡面，就是在我們的靈里，這靈就是神居所的所在。
伯特利是神的家，神的居所，也是天的門；在那裡基督是梯子，把地聯於天，並把天帶到地。我們的靈今天既是神居所的所在，這靈就是天的門，在這裡基督是梯子，把我們在地上的人聯於天，並把天帶給我們。
因此，每當我們轉到靈里，就能進入天的門，借着基督作天梯，摸着天上施恩的寶座。根據新約的整個啟示，基督徒工作的獨一目標該是新耶路撒冷，就是神永遠經綸終極的目標。
今天在一般的基督徒當中，幾乎沒有人的目標是正確的。他們在那裡追求屬靈、聖潔、傳福音救靈魂、設立神學院教導神學、聖經，但幾乎沒有人答覆說，他們所以作這些，目標是要終極完成新耶路撒冷。
教會的墮落，主要的是由於這個事實：幾乎所有的基督工人都被岔開，以新耶路撒冷之外的許多事物為他們的目標。
因此，在教會的墮落下，我們要作一個得勝者答應主的呼召，就不僅需要勝過消極的事物，更需要勝過那些頂替新耶路撒冷為目標的積極事物。要成為得勝者，我們應當以神永遠經綸的目標，就是新耶路撒冷，為獨一無二且終極無比的目標。
參讀：基督徒生命成熟的路，第四篇；如何作同工與長老，並如何履行同工與長老的義務，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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