19神的经纶是要使祂自己得着彰显。神不要独自彰显祂自己,乃要借着祂的配偶彰显祂自己。我们虽然不忠信,神却是信实的。哀歌三章二十三节下半说,“你的信实,极其广大。”有一首著名的诗歌论到神的信实,(诗歌十三首,)副歌说,“你的信实广大!…你的怜悯每晨都是新鲜!我所需要一切全由你供给…。”我们对圣经并对这首诗歌所说关于神信实的领会,可能是天然的,也可能是属灵的。…有人说神是信实的,意思是祂信实地顾到他们物质的需要。然而,在林前一章九节保罗说,“神是信实的,你们乃是为祂所召,进入了祂儿子我们主耶稣基督的交通。”神在这件事上是信实的,但祂也许没有信实地供给你大的房子,或高薪的工作。我不否认神信实地顾到我们的福利。我的点乃是,神的信实并非照着我们天然的领会。
19God’s economy is to have an expression of Himself. God does not want to express Himself by Himself alone; rather, He wants to express Himself through His counterpart. Although we are unfaithful, God is faithful. Lamentations 3:23b says, “Great is Your faithfulness.” The chorus of a well-known hymn on God’s faithfulness (Hymns, #19) says, “Great is Thy faithfulness!…/ Morning by morning new mercies I see. / All I have needed Thy hand hath provided…” We may understand what the Bible says and what this hymn says about God’s faithfulness either in a natural way or in a spiritual way…When some say that God is faithful, they mean that He is faithful to take care of their material needs. However, in 1 Corinthians 1:9 Paul says, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” God is faithful in this matter, but He may not be faithful to provide you a large house or a well-paying job. I would not deny the fact that God is faithful in caring for our welfare. My point is that God’s faithfulness is not according to our natural understanding.