14主在约翰十五章说,祂是葡萄树,我们是枝子,枝子离了葡萄树,就不能作什么(5)。葡萄树的枝子……乃是为着结果子。结果子,就是供应生命,就是把葡萄树的生命供应出去。这就是我们对主的功用。主今天不需要人作材料,不需要人有干才,只需要人住在祂里面,被祂充满,而将祂的生命供应出去;像葡萄树的枝子,里面被葡萄树的汁浆充满,而将葡萄树的生命供应出去一样。葡萄树的枝子不懂别的事,只懂住在葡萄树上,让其中的生命经过它供应出去,流露出去。……这就是召会的事奉。召会的事奉,不是作什么大工作,大事业,有什么大成就,乃是将基督的生命供应出去,流露出去。这需要我们接在基督身上,住在基督里面,让祂在我们里面有地位而充满我们,使祂的生命变作我们的生命,祂的性情变作我们的性情,祂的爱好变作我们的爱好,祂的趋向变作我们的趋向,祂的一切变作我们的一切(李文集一九五○至一九五一年第三册,五二九至五三○页)。
14In John 15 the Lord said that He is the vine and we are the branches. Apart from the vine the branches can do nothing. The branches on the vine… are there to bear fruit. Bearing fruit is to minister life, that is, to release the supply of the vine’s life. This is our function with respect to the Lord. Today the Lord does not need people to be His material, nor does He need human talent. He only needs people to abide in Him, to be filled with Him, and to release the supply of His life. This is truly like the branches of the vine being filled with the sap of the vine and releasing the supply of the vine’s life. The branches of the vine do not know how to do anything but abide in the vine and allow its life to be ministered and to flow out through them. This is the service of the church, which is not a great work or large enterprise with a huge accomplishment but the ministering and flowing out of the life of Christ. It requires us to be joined to Christ, to abide in Christ, and to give Him the ground in us to fill us so that His life, His nature, His likes, and His inclination can become our life, our nature, our likes, and our inclination. In other words, His all becomes our all. (CWWL, 1950-1951, vol. 3, “The Spirit and Service in Spirit,” p. 393)