保罗的完成职事(22):教会是活神的家

提前三 15『倘若我耽延，你也可以知道在神的家中当怎样行；这家就是活神的教会，
真理的柱石和根基。』弗二 19『这样，你们不再是外人和寄居的，乃是圣徒同国之
民，是神家里的亲人。』

神的家人（神的家庭）就是神的家。家与家人是指同一样东西─由信徒组成的会集
（弗二 19，来三 6）。这家是活神的居所，其实际是在我们的灵里（弗二 22）。我
们必须在我们的灵里生活行动，使神能在这家中显明为活的神。

活在教会里的活神，对教会必是主观的，不是客观的。在异教庙里的偶像是无生命
的。但神是活的，不仅在他活的殿，教会中活著，并且在其中活动、行动并工作。
因为他是活的，教会也就在他里面、凭他并同他活著。

活的神与活的教会，同活著、同行动、同工作。活的教会是活神的家和家人，因此
成了神在肉体的显现。

教会，活神的家，是活在父的名里和父的生命里，意即教会是活在父的实际里。神
的家是一个活的组成，由许多在父的生命和实际里的儿女所组成。这就是说那里有
神的家，那里就有父神同他的生命和实际。这与教会是基督的身体相同。

基督与他身体的肢体不是分开的，因为基督作身体的头，乃是住在众肢体里面。因
此，基督不该算作身体上分开的肢体，因为他在身体的所有肢体里面。教会是神的
家原则也是一样。父不是家人中分开的一员，乃是在所有的儿女里面。

教会的身分的第一个特点，就是教会是从世界中召出来的会众。第二个特点是教会
是神的家，由那些神所生的人组成。这第二个特点不仅是一件分别出来的事，而是
属灵、神圣的出生。

为要成为会集，我们需要被圣别，就是从世界被分别出来。然而要成为神家的一分
子，我们需要从神而生。任何不是神所生的人，都不能成为他家（家庭）的一部分。

教会，神在地上的居所，是神能得著安息并寄托的所在。神在这居所里生活行动，
以成就他的意愿并满足他心里的渴望。教会乃是信徒的组成；而信徒是神的儿女，
由神而生，有他的生命和性情。因此，他们就成为神家里的亲人。

根据以弗所二章十九节…，犹太和外邦信徒都是神家里的亲人。神的家是生命和享
受的问题；所有的信徒都由神生到他的家里，享受他的丰富。神家里的亲人加在一
起就成为神的家，神的居所。

神的居所就是他的家人，他的家庭；他的家庭是藉著神的生育而产生的。我们若没
有从神而生，神就不可能得著家庭。然而，神的确有一个大家庭，是宇宙中最大的
家庭，由那些从他所生作他儿女的人所组成。…

因此，就内在的一面说，教会是神的家人，乃是在我们这为神所创造、蒙神重生、
有神内住的灵里（新约总论第七册，二一一至二一三、二一五至二一六页）。

    参读：新约总论，第二百零八篇；提摩太前书生命读经，第三篇。



1 Tim. 3:15 "But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to 
conduct himself in the   house of God, which is the church of the living 
God, the pillar and base of the truth." Eph. 2:19 "So then you are no longer 
strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and 
members of the household of God."


    The household, the family, of God is the house of God. The house and 
the household are one thing─the assembly that is composed of the believers 
(Eph. 2:19; Heb. 3:6). The reality of this house as the dwelling place of 
the living God is in our spirit (Eph. 2:22). We must live and act in our 
spirit so that in this house God can be manifested as the living God. (1 
Tim. 3:15, footnote 2)


    The living God, who lives in the church, must be subjective to the church 
rather than objective. The idol in the heathen temple is lifeless. The God 
who not only lives but also acts, moves, and works in His living temple, 
the church, is living. Because He is living, the church too is living in 
Him, by Him, and with Him. A living God and a living church live, move, 
and work together. The living church is the house and the household of the 
living God. Hence, it becomes the manifestation of God in the flesh. (1 
Tim. 3:15, footnote 3)


    The church, the house of the living God, is living in the Father's name 
and in the Father's life. This means that the church is living in the Father'
s reality. God's house is a living composition of His many children in the 
Father's life and reality. This means that where the house of God is, there 
is God the Father with His life and reality. This is similar to the church 
being the Body of Christ. Christ is not separate from the members of the 
Body, for, as the Head of the Body, Christ dwells in all the members. For 
this reason, Christ should not be counted as a separate member of the Body, 
because He is in all the members of the Body. The principle is the same 
with the church as God's house. The Father is not a separate member of the 
household, the house, but is in all the children.


    The first characteristic of the status of the church is that it is an 
assembly called out of the world. The second characteristic is that the 
church is God's house composed of those who have been born of God. This 
second characteristic is a matter not merely of separation but of a spiritual,
 divine birth. In order to be the assembly, we need to be sanctified, that 
is, separated
from the world. But to be a component of the house of God, we need to be 
born of God. Anyone who has not been born of God cannot be part of His house,
 part of His family.


    The church, the dwelling place of God on earth, is the place in which 
God can have His rest and put His trust. In this dwelling place God lives 
and moves to accomplish His will and satisfy the desire of His heart.


    The  church  is  a  composition  of  the  believers,  and  the  believers 
 are children of God, born of Him and having His life and nature. Thus, 
they become members of the household of God.


    [According to] Ephesians 2:19...both the Jewish and the Gentile believers 
are members of God's household. God's household is a matter of life and 
enjoyment; all believers were born of God into His household to enjoy His 
riches. The members of God's family added together become the household 
of God, which is the house, the dwelling place, of God.


    God's dwelling place is His household, His family, and His family comes 
into being by God's begetting. If we had not been begotten of God, God could 
not have a family. But God does have a great family, the largest family 
in the universe, composed of those who have been born of Him to be His children.
...Intrinsically speaking,...the church as God's household is in our God-created,
 God-regenerated, and God-indwelt spirit. (The Conclusion of the New Testament,
 pp. 2228-2229, 2231-2232)


    Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 208; Life-study 
of 1 Timothy, msg. 3


- 未完待续

保罗的完成职事(23):教会是活神的家_2
保罗的完成职事(21):人的心思置於灵是生命平安