16我们要注意“新妇也自己预备好了”这话。马太二十五章一至十三节说到十个童女的比喻。在这个比喻里,精明的童女有油在她们的器皿里,就是有神的灵充满并浸透她们的魂;她们是那些“预备好了”的人,因此同新郎进去赴婚筵,就是在基督回来时进入羔羊婚筵的享受里(10)。这指明神历代的工作,乃是要把祂自己建造到人里面。……当祂把自己建造到我们身上时,也就把祂那神的性质和天的元素,组织到我们里面。我们越让祂作工到我们里面,就越有神的成分,也越有天的成分在我们里面。……当我们顺从圣灵,让神在我们里面作工时,在我们里面就有神的同在,也有天的味道。当神将祂自己建造到我们里面时,我们就能长大。神的建造和我们的长大,就是预备新妇。……新妇预备好了,意即召会已建造完成、长大成熟了(新约总论第十四册,二四八页)。
16We need to pay attention to the phrase His wife has made herself ready. Matthew 25:1-13 speaks of the parable of the ten virgins. In this parable the prudent virgins who took oil in their vessels—who had the Spirit of God filling and saturating their souls—were those who “were ready” and thus went in with the bridegroom “to the wedding feast,” into the enjoyment of the marriage dinner of the Lamb at His coming back (v. 10). This indicates that God’s work throughout the generations is to build Himself into man… When He builds Himself into us, He constitutes the nature of God and the element of heaven into us. The more we allow Him to work Himself into us, the more we will have the element of God and the element of heaven in us… When we submit to the Holy Spirit, allowing God to work Himself into us, we have the presence of God and the taste of heaven within us. We can grow as God builds Himself into us. God’s building and our growth are for the preparation of the bride…The bride having made herself ready means that the church has been completely built up and has grown to maturity. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4323)