保罗的完成职事(33):神儿女的生命长大_5
太二五 1~4『那时，诸天的国好比十个童女，拿着她们的灯，出去迎接新郎。其中五个是愚拙的，五个是 精明的。愚拙的拿着她们的灯，却没有带着油；但精明的拿着她们的灯，又在器皿里带着油。』
在我们的灵里由那灵所生，乃是一个起头。我们的灵虽然得了重生，但魂还是虚空的。这位神圣、内住的灵，盼望扩展到我们的魂里，就是扩展到我们的心思、情感、意志里。他要浸透我们里面的各部分。…
多年来我一直想要找出，生命长大到底是甚么意思。圣经的确强调我们需要生命长大，或者说我们需要让神圣的生命在我们里面长大。我查考圣经，阅读各种属灵书籍，并考量自己的经历，但我仍然无法清楚了解生命长大的意义，以及生命长大是怎样发生的。…现在我知道了，真正生命的长大，就是魂的变化。
在十个童女的比喻里（太二五
1~13），主耶稣题到灯和器皿。精明的和愚拙的，灯里都有油（参 8），但只有精明的豫备油在器皿里。我们需要有两分油：一分为着灯，另一分为着器皿。箴言二十章二十七节说，『人的灵是耶和华的灯。』因此，童女的灯是指灵说的。罗马九章二十一至二十三节告诉我们，我们是神的器皿。这意思是说，我们的魂是器皿。凡是得救的人，都有油在灯里；也就是说，我们灵里都有了那灵。不过，我们的器皿里有没有一分额外的油，却是一个问题。精明的童女豫备油在器皿里，愚拙的却不豫备。
我们是精明的还是愚拙的，不在於我们的灵，而在於我们的魂。我们的灵已经蒙了重生，但我们的魂现今被那灵浸透了么？我们器皿里有没有额外的一分油？这是我们必须认真考量的问题。我们?然蒙了重生，就需要变化，也就是需要生命长大。长大就是扩增。住在我们灵里的生命，需要扩展到我们的魂里，直到把魂浸透。不然，我们的魂还是天然、老旧的。神圣之灵的新成分进入我们的魂里，魂就起了生机的变化。这种变化就是生命长大。
有许多基督徒没有实际生命的长大，因为内住的灵没有机会扩展到他们的魂里，把他们的魂浸透（保罗的完成职事，九三至九四页）。
在我们得救之初，我们里面有重生的灵，有神的生命、性情；但我们里面还没有圣灵的充满。我们灯里有油，但器皿里没有豫备油；虽然发光，却是个将灭的光。我们的生命并不成熟。
甚么是生命成熟的路？生命成熟的路，在於豫备油在器皿里，就是要追求圣灵的充满。…圣灵充满的意
思，就是我们这个人里面，都让基督占有，都给神充满了；我们的思想、爱好，我们的眼光、看法，我们
的倾向、选择，我们所有的一切，都给基督占有，都让神充满了。
虽然圣灵在我们里面，却是受委屈，不得地位的。这样，我们能长大么？能成熟么？能豫备好么？能见主么？不能，绝对不能。除非我们肯追求圣灵的充满，让基督在我们里面占有一切，让神充满我们全人；到那时，我们这个人里面满了基督，生命成熟、长大了，我们和基督毕像毕肖，有他荣耀的形像了；这时，我们就可以见主了（基督徒生命成熟的路，九○至九一页）。
参读：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
保罗的完成职事(34):神儿女的生命长大_6
