保羅的完成職事(33):神兒女的生命長大_5
太二五 1~4『那時，諸天的國好比十個童女，拿着她們的燈，出去迎接新郎。其中五個是愚拙的，五個是 精明的。愚拙的拿着她們的燈，卻沒有帶着油；但精明的拿着她們的燈，又在器皿裡帶着油。』
在我們的靈里由那靈所生，乃是一個起頭。我們的靈雖然得了重生，但魂還是虛空的。這位神聖、內住的靈，盼望擴展到我們的魂里，就是擴展到我們的心思、情感、意志里。他要浸透我們裡面的各部分。…
多年來我一直想要找出，生命長大到底是甚麼意思。聖經的確強調我們需要生命長大，或者說我們需要讓神聖的生命在我們裡面長大。我查考聖經，閱讀各種屬靈書籍，並考量自己的經歷，但我仍然無法清楚了解生命長大的意義，以及生命長大是怎樣發生的。…現在我知道了，真正生命的長大，就是魂的變化。
在十個童女的比喻里（太二五
1~13），主耶穌題到燈和器皿。精明的和愚拙的，燈里都有油（參 8），但只有精明的豫備油在器皿里。我們需要有兩分油：一分為着燈，另一分為着器皿。箴言二十章二十七節說，『人的靈是耶和華的燈。』因此，童女的燈是指靈說的。羅馬九章二十一至二十三節告訴我們，我們是神的器皿。這意思是說，我們的魂是器皿。凡是得救的人，都有油在燈里；也就是說，我們靈里都有了那靈。不過，我們的器皿里有沒有一分額外的油，卻是一個問題。精明的童女豫備油在器皿里，愚拙的卻不豫備。
我們是精明的還是愚拙的，不在於我們的靈，而在於我們的魂。我們的靈已經蒙了重生，但我們的魂現今被那靈浸透了麼？我們器皿里有沒有額外的一分油？這是我們必須認真考量的問題。我們?然蒙了重生，就需要變化，也就是需要生命長大。長大就是擴增。住在我們靈里的生命，需要擴展到我們的魂里，直到把魂浸透。不然，我們的魂還是天然、老舊的。神聖之靈的新成分進入我們的魂里，魂就起了生機的變化。這種變化就是生命長大。
有許多基督徒沒有實際生命的長大，因為內住的靈沒有機會擴展到他們的魂里，把他們的魂浸透（保羅的完成職事，九三至九四頁）。
在我們得救之初，我們裡面有重生的靈，有神的生命、性情；但我們裡面還沒有聖靈的充滿。我們燈里有油，但器皿里沒有豫備油；雖然發光，卻是個將滅的光。我們的生命並不成熟。
甚麼是生命成熟的路？生命成熟的路，在於豫備油在器皿里，就是要追求聖靈的充滿。…聖靈充滿的意
思，就是我們這個人裡面，都讓基督占有，都給神充滿了；我們的思想、愛好，我們的眼光、看法，我們
的傾向、選擇，我們所有的一切，都給基督占有，都讓神充滿了。
雖然聖靈在我們裡面，卻是受委屈，不得地位的。這樣，我們能長大麼？能成熟麼？能豫備好麼？能見主麼？不能，絕對不能。除非我們肯追求聖靈的充滿，讓基督在我們裡面占有一切，讓神充滿我們全人；到那時，我們這個人裡面滿了基督，生命成熟、長大了，我們和基督畢像畢肖，有他榮耀的形像了；這時，我們就可以見主了（基督徒生命成熟的路，九○至九一頁）。
參讀：基督徒生命成熟的路，第六至九篇
Matt. 25:1-4 "At that time the
kingdom of the heavens will be likened to
ten virgins, who
took
their lamps
and went forth
to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were foolish and five
were prudent. For the foolish, when they took their lamps, did not take oil with them;
but the prudent took oil in their vessels with their lamps."
To be born of the Spirit in our spirit is the beginning. Our spirit has
been regenerated, but the soul is still empty. The divine, indwelling Spirit
expects to spread into our soul, that is, into our mind, emotion, and will. He
wants to saturate our inward parts....For many years I tried to find out what
is meant by the growth in life. The Bible does emphasize the need for us to
grow in life,
or for the divine life to grow in us.
I could not come to a clear understanding of what this meant or how it could
come about, even after studying the Bible, reading various spiritual books, and
considering my own experiences. Now I realize that the real growth in life is
the transformation of the soul. (The Completing Ministry of Paul, pp. 67-68)
In the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13), the Lord Jesus speaks
of their lamps and their vessels. Both the prudent and the foolish had oil in
their lamps (see v. 8), but only the prudent took oil in their vessels. Two
portions of oil were needed, one for the lamp and the other for the vessel.
Proverbs 20:27 says,"The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah." The
virgins'
lamps, then, refer to the spirit.
Romans 9:21 and 23 tell us that our being is God's vessel. This means that our
soul is the vessel. Those who are saved all have oil in the lamp; that is, we
have the Spirit in our spirit. Whether we have an extra portion of oil in our
vessel, however, is another question. While the prudent virgins took oil in
their vessels, the foolish did not.
Whether we are foolish or prudent, then, depends not on our spirit but
upon our soul. Our spirit has been regenerated, but is our soul now saturated
with the Spirit? Do we have the extra portion of oil in our vessel? This is a
matter we must seriously consider. Now that we have been regenerated, we need
to be transformed; that is, we need to grow in life. To grow is to increase.
The life abiding in our spirit needs to spread out into our soul until it is
saturated. Otherwise, our soul remains natural and old. As the new elements of
the divine Spirit enter into our soul, it is organically transformed. This
transformation is the growth in life.
There are many Christians who have virtually no growth in life. This is
because the indwelling Spirit has been given no opportunity to spread into
their soul and saturate it. (The Completing Ministry of Paul, p. 68)
At the beginning of our salvation we have the regenerating Spirit and
God's life and nature in us, but we do not have the infilling of the Spirit in
us. We have oil in our lamps, but we do not have oil prepared in our vessels.
We are shining, but the light in us may be going out. We are not mature in
life.
What is the way to mature in life? The way to mature in life is to
prepare oil in our vessels, that is, to pursue the infilling of the
Spirit....To be filled with the Spirit means that our entire being is occupied
by Christ and filled with God. Our thoughts, preferences, views, insight,
inclinations, choices, and everything are occupied by Christ and filled with
God.
Although the Spirit is in us, He may be suffering and may not have any
ground in us. Can we grow in this way? Can we mature, be made ready, and see
the Lord? No, we cannot mature unless we are willing to pursue the infilling of
the Spirit, allowing Christ to occupy every part of us and allowing God to fill
our entire being. If we do so, then our whole being will be filled with Christ,
and we will be mature and full-grown in life. We will be the same as Christ and
will have His glorious image. Then we can meet the Lord. (The Way for a
Christian to Mature in Life, pp. 82-83)
Further Reading: The Way for a Christian to Mature in Life, chs. 6-9
保羅的完成職事(34):神兒女的生命長大_6
