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出埃及记生命读经 · 第159篇

圣膏油(三)

The holy anointing oil (3)
1读经: 出埃及记三十章二十二至三十三节。
1Scripture Reading: Exo. 30:22-33
需要属灵的经历
The need for spiritual experience
2我年轻的时候,听过许多篇出埃及记的信息。我常常听到逾越节的羊羔和吗哪,我也听过几篇活水的信息。然而,与调和之灵有关的事情我从来没有听过。
2When I was young, I heard many messages from the book of Exodus. I often heard about the Passover lamb and the manna, and I heard a few messages about the living water. However, I did not hear anything concerning the compound spirit.
3以色列人留在西乃山,是要接受律法和条例,以后又领受了帐幕的启示。有些教师指出,律法的颁赐乃是神对祂子民的试验。神不是要以色列人遵守律法。但因着他们无知,神就必须把律法赐给他们。因此,神把律法赐给以色列人,来试验他们。颁布律法以后,神就立刻把帐幕的启示赐给摩西。这些教师指出,这个启示是一件恩典的事。约翰一章十七节说:“律法本是藉着摩西传的,恩典和实际都是由耶稣基督来的。”(另译)耶稣基督就是帐幕的实际。帐幕来了,恩典就来了。有些教师在这一点上有光;然而,他们的经历相当有限。因着他们缺少经历,就无法合式地领会出埃及记 三十章调和的膏油。
3The children of Israel stayed at Mount Sinai to receive the law and the ordinances and then to receive the revelation of the tabernacle. Some teachers pointed out that the law was given as God’s test of His people. God did not intend that the children of Israel would keep the law. But because of their ignorance, it was necessary for Him to give it to them. Therefore, God tested the children of Israel by giving them the law. Immediately after the decree of the law, God gave Moses the revelation of the tabernacle. These teachers pointed out that this revelation is a matter of grace. John 1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and reality came through Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ is the reality of the tabernacle. When this tabernacle came, grace came. Some teachers had light concerning this; however, their experience was limited. Because they were short of experience, they could not properly understand the compound ointment in Exodus 30.
4单单把“帐幕是基督的豫表”这个道理教导人并不需要甚么经历。只要我们有客观的光,就能彀将这个豫表的道理教导人。但要在我们的教导中摸着调和之膏油的真谛实义,就非有属灵的经历不可。因着这些教师缺少经历,他们就不懂得调和的膏油。
4Experience is not necessary simply to teach the tabernacle doctrinally as a type of Christ. As long as we have objective light, we can teach this type in a doctrinal way. But to touch the real significance of the compound ointment in our teaching requires spiritual experience. Because the teachers were lacking in experience, they did not know the compound ointment.
5圣经教师已经指出,出埃及记三十章里的油与旧约别处一样,乃是豫表神的灵。有些人甚至教导说,在创世记二十八章,雅各在石头上所浇的油,是表征浇灌在神选民身上的那灵。虽然这些圣经教师看见了油的意义,但没有看见膏油的意义。
5Bible teachers have pointed out that the oil in Exodus 30, as elsewhere in the Old Testament, typifies the Spirit of God. Some have even taught that the oil poured by Jacob on the stone in Genesis 28 signifies the Spirit poured upon God’s chosen people. But although these teachers of the Bible have seen the significance of the oil, they have not seen the significance of the ointment.
调和的膏油
A compound ointment
6出埃及记三十章里的膏油是一种调和品。然而,油的本身不是一种调和品,而是单一的元素,没有其它的成分。膏油是四种香料与橄榄油融合而成的调和品。这调和的膏油就好比油漆,油漆是一种调和品,含有几种成分。出埃及记三十章里的圣膏油也是这样。
6The ointment in Exodus 30 is a compound. However, in itself, oil is not a compound, but rather a single element without any other ingredients. The ointment was a compound formed by blending four spices with olive oil. This compound ointment can be compared to paint. Paint is a compound containing more than one element. The same is true of the holy anointing oil in Exodus 30.
7寇特(C.A. Coates)论到出埃及记三十章的著作,说了许多那灵的事;他差不多用了三页的篇幅来说到膏油和香。就在这一段里,“基督的灵”或“那灵”这些词用了二十一次。他没有把那灵说成圣灵或神的灵。有一次他说到神所喜悦之人的灵,他指明基 督的灵就是神所喜悦之人的灵。寇特也说到另一个人的灵,就是那坐在神右边之人的灵。
7C. A. Coates has much to say concerning the Spirit in his writing on Exodus 30. He devotes nearly three pages to the ointment and the incense. In this section of his writing he uses the terms the Spirit of Christ or the Spirit twenty-one times. He does not speak of the Spirit as the Holy Spirit or as the Spirit of God. Once he speaks of the Spirit of the Man of God’s pleasure. He indicates that the Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of the Man of God’s pleasure. Coates also speaks of the Spirit of another Man, even the Man sitting on the right hand of God.
8寇特说,四种香料“代表恩典所有的特征,在基督的灵里完美地融合相调在一起。”这表明寇特懂得一些香料与橄榄油调和的事。然而,他没有说出融合在基督之灵里恩典的特征是甚么。在这件事上,他没有光,他没有看见没药是表征基督包罗万有的死,肉桂是表征基督之死的功效。此外,他没有看见菖蒲从淤泥之地长出来,矗立于空中,乃是基督复活的象征;而桂皮是驱逐虫蛇的东西,豫表基督复活的能力。
8C. A. Coates says that the four spices “represent all those features of grace which were so perfectly blended and harmonized in the Spirit of Christ.” This indicates that Coates realized something concerning the blending of the spices with the olive oil. However, he does not say what are the features of grace that are blended in the Spirit of Christ. Regarding this, he did not have light. He did not see that myrrh signifies the all-inclusive death of Christ and that cinnamon signifies the effectiveness of Christ’s death. Furthermore, he did not see that calamus, rising up out of a muddy situation and shooting into the air, is a symbol of Christ’s resurrection, and that cassia, a substance that repels insects and snakes, typifies the power of Christ’s resurrection.
9四种香料的顺序很有意义;没药、肉桂、菖蒲、桂皮。此外,我们在这里能彀看见三个完整单位的五百舍客勒。有没药五百舍客勒,桂皮五百舍客勒,这里就有两个完整的单位。但肉桂和菖蒲各有二百五十舍客勒,这些半个单位合在一起形成另一个完整的单位。第二个单位裂开成为两半很有意义,这至少指明了三一神的第二位在十字架上被裂为两半。因此,由圣膏油的成分和分量,就有基督死而复活的象征。不但如此,我们在香料里面也看见基督之死的功效和祂复活的能力。
9The sequence of the four spices is significant: myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. Furthermore, here we can see three complete units of five hundred shekels. There were five hundred shekels of myrrh and five hundred shekels of cassia. Here we have two complete units. But there were two hundred fifty shekels each of cinnamon and calamus. Together these half units make another complete unit. It is significant that it is the second unit that is split into two parts. This is at least an indication that the Second of the Trinity was split into two parts on the cross. Therefore, with the ingredients of the holy anointing oil and the measurements, we have symbols of the death and resurrection of Christ. Moreover, in the spices we also see the effectiveness of Christ’s death and the power of His resurrection.
那灵与膏油涂抹
The Spirit and the anointing
10约翰七章三十九节说:“耶稣这话是指着信祂之人,要受那灵说的;那时那灵还没有,因为耶稣尚未得着荣耀。”(另译这意思是说,主得着荣耀以前,调和的灵还没有。神的灵是在创世记第一章,而圣灵与基督的降生有关:基督是由圣灵成孕的。然而,就如慕安得烈在“基督的灵”第五章里所指明的,“圣灵”这个词在旧约里没有用过。到了新约起头基督成孕的时候,才第一次题起圣灵。基督由圣灵成孕的意思是说,祂的人性是神创造的一部分,这部分乃是圣的。孕育的灵在希腊文里称为那灵、那圣。虽然在主耶稣成孕的时候,就有了圣灵,但那灵还没有;直到基督复活,得了荣耀,那时那灵的调和才完成。
10John 7:39 says, “But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” This means that before the Lord’s glorification the compound Spirit was not yet. The Spirit of God was present in Genesis 1, and the Holy Spirit was involved with the birth of Christ. Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit. But, as Andrew Murray makes clear in the fifth chapter of The Spirit of Christ, the term “the Holy Spirit” is not used in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit is first mentioned at the beginning of the New Testament when Christ was conceived. For Christ to be conceived of the Holy Spirit means that His humanity, as part of God’s creation, is holy. The conceiving Spirit in Greek is called the Spirit, the Holy. But although the Holy Spirit was present at the conception of the Lord Jesus, the Spirit was not yet until Christ was resurrected, glorified. It was then that the compounding of the Spirit was completed.
11在约翰的著作里,很少用到“圣灵”这个词。然而,约翰时常题起那灵,尤其是在启示录里。“那灵向众教会所说的话,凡有耳的,就应当听。”(启二7,另译。)二章和三章里面都重复这句话。然后启示录十四章十三节说:“那灵说,是的…”(另译)二十二章十七节说:“那灵和新妇都说,来。”(另译。)
11In the writings of John, the term the Holy Spirit is seldom used. However, especially in the book of Revelation, John often speaks of the Spirit. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7). This statement is repeated throughout chapters two and three. Then Revelation 14:13 says, “Yes, says the Spirit...” and Revelation 22:17 says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come!”
12约翰在头一封书信里面,强调膏油涂抹。约翰一昼二章二十节说:“你们有从那圣者来的膏油涂抹,并且你们都晓得。”(另译。)约翰一书二章二十七节说:“至于你们,你们从祂所领受的膏油涂抹住在你们里面,并不需要人教导你们;自有祂的膏油涂抹在凡事上教导你们,这膏油涂抹是真实的,不是虚谎的,你们要按着这膏油涂抹所教导你们的,住在祂里面。”(另译。)没有疑问,约翰写这些经文的时候,心里有出埃及记三十章里圣膏油的这幅图画。
12In his first Epistle, John emphasizes the anointing. First John 2:20 says, “And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.” In 1 John 2:27 he says, “The anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him.” No doubt, when John was writing these verses, he had in mind the picture of the holy anointing oil in Exodus 30.
13你晓得膏油涂抹是甚么?膏油涂抹就是调和之灵的运行、“油漆”。我们里面都有这个膏油的涂抹、有这个油漆。不但如此,我们所受的膏油涂抹也教导我们。
13Do you know what the anointing is? The anointing is the moving, the “painting,” of the compound Spirit. We all have this anointing, this painting, within us. Furthermore, the anointing we have received teaches us.
14我们敬拜主,这些年来,祂使我们清楚了调和的灵。以往,许多基督徒只经历了逾越节、吗哪,顶多经历了活水。他们基督徒的经历还没有到有分调和的灵这一点。
14We worship the Lord that, over the years, He has made us clear concerning the compound Spirit. In the past, many Christians experienced only the Passover, the manna, and, at most, the living water. Their Christian experience did not come to the point of partaking of the compound Spirit.
帐幕和祭司体系
The tabernacle and the priesthood
15为甚么有这么多的基督徒没有经历到调和的膏油?原因乃是:这灵乃是为着建造属灵的房屋,为着圣别的祭司体系。彼得前书二章有属灵的房屋,也有圣别的祭司体系。照样,出埃及记也有帐幕和祭司体系。二十五至二十七章启示出帐幕,这与彼得前书二章里属灵的房屋一致。然后在二十八章、二十九章有祭司体系。因此,在西乃山那里,帐幕和祭司体系这两件事豫备好了。在帐幕和祭司体系的启示以后,就有调和 之膏油的描述。这指明膏油是为着神的居所,也是为着祭司体系。
15Why have so many Christians failed to experience the compound ointment? The reason is that this Spirit is for the building up of a spiritual house and for the holy priesthood. In 1 Peter 2 we have the spiritual house and also the holy priesthood. Likewise, in the book of Exodus, we have the tabernacle and the priesthood. In chapters twenty-five through twenty-seven the tabernacle is revealed. This corresponds to the spiritual house in 1 Peter 2. Then in chapters twenty-eight and twenty-nine we have the priesthood. Therefore, at Mount Sinai two things were made ready — the tabernacle and the priesthood. After the revelation of the tabernacle and the priesthood, we have the description of the compound ointment. This indicates that the ointment is for God’s dwelling place and for the priesthood.
16如果我们不关心神的建造和神的祭司体系,我们就无法经历调和的灵。历代以来,基督徒缺少属灵房屋的建造,因此,他们无法看见调和的灵这件事;此外,也缺少了祭司体系。膏油不仅仅是为着涂抹个别的祭司。照出埃及记来看,亚伦和他的儿子必须受膏。这表明膏油涂抹乃是为着祭司体系,为着祭司团的。在新约里,有两个不同的希腊字都繙作祭司体系。其中一个字的意思是祭司的职任,另一个是祭司团或祭司的团体,出埃及记不但有祭司的职任,也有祭司团体的身体,就是祭司体系。倘若我们要有调和之灵的涂抹,就必须有神的居所和团体的祭司体系。
16If we do not care for God’s building and His priesthood, we cannot experience the compound Spirit. Because of the lack of the building up of the spiritual house, Christians throughout the centuries have not been able to see the matter of the compound Spirit. Furthermore, there has been a lack of the priesthood. The ointment was not merely for the anointing of individual priests. According to Exodus, Aaron and his sons were to be anointed. This indicates that the anointing was for the priesthood, for a body of priests. In the New Testament two different Greek words are translated priesthood. One of these words means the priestly office; the other means a body or group of priests. In Exodus we have not only the office of a priest; we also have the corporate body of priests, the priesthood. If we would have the anointing of the compound Spirit, we must have God’s dwelling place and a corporate priesthood.
那灵藉着基督的苦难调和而成
The Spirit compounded through Christ’s sufferings
17膏油的五种成分─四种香料和橄榄油─都必须经历一段过程,其中包含了压榨、切 割。例如,橄榄不投入醡中,就无法流出油来。照样,要有没药和香肉桂,也非得在 树皮上切成开口不可。曾有人说,一棵树流出没药树脂时,树脂的形状看起来就像眼泪。这指出受苦的经历。从我们的身体流出来的血和泪,也是受苦的表记。没药树流出树脂时,我们可以说,它是在流泪。
17The five elements of the anointing oil — the four spices and the olive oil — all had to pass through a process that involved either pressure or cutting. For instance, if olives are not put into the press, they cannot give forth olive oil. Likewise, in order to have myrrh and cinnamon, some kind of incision must be made on the bark of a tree. Someone has said that when a tree flows out the resin of myrrh, this resin has the appearance of tears. This points to an experience of suffering. The blood and tears that issue from our body also are signs of suffering. When the myrrh tree flows out its resin, we may say that it is shedding tears.
18我们在前一篇信息中指出,香肉桂来自树皮的内部,而桂皮来自树皮的外部。香肉桂能彀用来强心,桂皮能彀用来驱赶昆虫与蛇。
18As we pointed out in a previous message, cinnamon comes from the inner part of the bark of a tree, and cassia comes from the outer part of the bark. Cinnamon can be used to stimulate the heart, and cassia, to repel insects and snakes.
19所有的香料都需要藉着受苦才能合用。这表明神的灵惟有藉着基督的苦难,才能成为基督的灵这调和的膏油。事实上,调和就是受苦。藉着基督的苦难,香料与油融合起来,形成了调和的灵。
19All the spices were prepared for use through suffering. This indicates that the Spirit of God could become the Spirit of Christ as the compound ointment only through Christ’s sufferings. Actually, the compounding is the suffering. It was through the sufferings of Christ that the spices were blended with the oil to form the compound Spirit.
20主耶稣的一生都在受死的苦,不仅仅是十字架上的六个小时而已。祂一降生,就开始受苦。这苦难是由没药来表征的。以往我们曾指出,主耶稣活出钉十字架的生活。钉十字架的生活就是受苦的生活。主耶稣一直不断地被钉在十字架上。祂被自己的母亲、肉身的弟兄,以及门徒们钉在十字架上。祂天天都活出钉十字架的生活。这就是经历没药从树上的切口像眼泪一样滴下来。
20The Lord Jesus suffered death throughout His life, not only during the six hours He was on the cross. As soon as He was born, He began to suffer. This suffering is signified by myrrh. In the past we have pointed out that the Lord Jesus lived a crucified life. A crucified life is a life of suffering. The Lord Jesus was crucified continually. He was crucified by His mother, by His brothers in the flesh, and by His disciples. Daily He lived a life of crucifixion. This is the experience of myrrh dropping as tears from cuts made in the tree.
21主耶稣降生以后,博士拿黄金、乳香、没药献给他,来表达他们对主的珍赏。主死的时候,尼哥底母和亚利马太人约瑟来埋葬祂,也用没药把祂的身体裹起来,以表明他们对祂的爱戴。因此,主在地上一生的开始与结束,降生与受死的时候,都有没药。这表明主的一生,由生至死,都是苦难的生活、眼泪的生活。祂活出钉十字架的生活、没药的生活。
21After the Lord Jesus was born, the magi expressed their appreciation of Him by offering Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. At the time of His death, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea also showed their appreciation of the Lord by putting myrrh upon His body when they buried Him. Therefore, at the beginning of the Lord’s life on earth and at the end, at His birth and at His death, there was myrrh. This indicates that the Lord’s life from birth to death was a life of suffering, a life of tears. He lived a crucified life, a life of myrrh.
基督之死的精粹
The extract of Christ’s death
22我们必须学习如何在我们的经历中来应用没药。今天基督的死在那里?我们怎样才能应用它?基督的死乃是在那灵的里面。在我们的语言里,“灵”字的特殊用法可指液体中所榨取出来物质的精粹,尤其是提炼出来的精粹。因此,由一样物质榨取出来的,就是这个物质的精粹。例如,由彀类精粹制成的饮料就是众所周知的酒精。照样,主耶稣埋葬时,与没药一同用来膏主身体的芳香树脂,也可以当作一种酒精。当植物、彀类或其它的物质受到压榨时,就能从其中提炼出精粹来。我们能彀把这个原则应用于主的死,并探讨这个问题:基督之死的精粹是甚么?答案乃是:主受死的精粹就是基督之灵里的一种成分。一种物质的真正要素、真正成分就是它的精粹。例如,我们喝茶的时候,其实是喝茶的精粹。茶的功效就在于这个精粹。照样,基督之死的功效就是调和之灵的一种成分。
22We need to learn how to apply the myrrh in our experience. Where is the death of Christ today, and how can we apply it? The death of Christ is in the Spirit. In our language the word “spirit” in a particular usage can mean the essence of a substance as extracted in liquid form, especially by distillation. Therefore, the extract of a particular substance is the spirit of that substance. For example, alcoholic beverages made from extracts of grains are known as spirits. Likewise, the aloes used with myrrh to anoint the body of the Lord Jesus for burial may also be regarded as a kind of spirit. When a plant, a grain, or some other substance is subjected to pressure, we can extract from it the spirit of that substance. We can apply this principle to the Lord’s death and ask this question: What is the extract of the death of Christ? The answer is that the extract of the Lord’s death is an element in the Spirit of Christ. The real essence or element of any substance is its spirit. For example, when we drink tea, we actually drink the spirit, the extract, of the tea. The effectiveness of the tea is in this extract or spirit. In like manner, the effectiveness of Christ’s death is one of the elements of the compound Spirit.
23宾路易师母说到基督十字架的主观经历时,着重说那灵。宣信也看见一些基督之死的主观方面。然而,在十字架的主观经历上,他不像宾路易师母那样强调那灵。宣信的说法在道理上不错,在经历上却不是这么有帮助。宣信论到我们联于基督的死时,强调算这件事,他甚至写了一首诗歌论到算这个主题。
23In speaking concerning the subjective experience of the cross of Christ, Jessie Penn-Lewis emphasized the Spirit. In her writings she has much to say about the Spirit. A. B. Simpson also saw something regarding the subjective aspect of the death of Christ. However, with respect to the subjective experience of the cross, he did not emphasize the Spirit as much as Jessie Penn-Lewis did. A. B. Simpson’s presentation is good doctrinally, but it is not so helpful experientially. Concerning our identification with Christ in His death, A. B. Simpson emphasized the matter of reckoning. He even wrote a hymn on the subject of reckoning.
24倪拆声弟兄指出,如果我们要经历基督的死,就需要那灵。他又说,罗马六章所启示我们的旧人和祂同钉十字架的事实,惟有藉着罗马八章里的那灵才能彀经历。换句话说,离了那灵,我们就无法经历基督的死。我们联于基督的死,这个事实是在罗马六章,但经历却是在罗马八章。
24Brother Watchman Nee pointed out that if we would experience the death of Christ, we need the Spirit. He also said that the fact revealed in Romans 6 that our old man has been crucified with Christ can only be experienced through the Spirit in Romans 8. In other words, apart from the Spirit we cannot experience the death of Christ. The fact of our identification with Christ in His death is in Romans 6, but the experience of this is in Romans 8.
基督的灵
The Spirit of Christ
25罗马八章至少有四个词是用来描述那灵的,就是“生命之灵”、“神的灵”、“基督的灵”,以及“那叫耶稣从死人中复活者的灵”。罗马八章里的那灵,最要紧的不是神的灵,生命之灵,或叫基督从死人中复活者的灵。这一章里要紧的乃是基督的灵。
25In Romans 8 there are at least four terms used to describe the Spirit: the Spirit of life, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from among the dead. The aspect of the Spirit in Romans 8 that is most crucial is not the Spirit of God, the Spirit of life, or the Spirit of the One who raised Christ from among the dead. The crucial aspect in this chapter is the Spirit of Christ.
26基督这个名称包含了道成肉身、为人生活、钉死、复活和升天。基督乃是受膏者。祂是神的受膏者,经过了降生、为人生活、钉十字架、复活、升天。今天基督的灵包含了祂的死、复活、升天的精粹,甚至包含了祂的降生和为人生活的精粹。因此,基督的灵就是基督的降生、为人生活、钉死、复活、升天的灵与精粹。我们已经看见,一种物质的精粹就是从这个物质中提炼出来的东西。把这个原则应用到基督的灵上,我们就可以说,基督的降生、生活、死、复活、升天的精粹,如今全是基督之灵的成分。因此,在这一位灵里,有基督的降生、生活、钉死、复活、升天的功效。
26The title Christ includes incarnation, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension. Christ is the anointed One. As God’s anointed One, Christ passed through birth, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Today the Spirit of Christ contains the extract of His death, resurrection, and ascension. It even contains the extract of His birth and human living. Therefore, the Spirit of Christ is the Spirit, the extract, of Christ’s birth, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension. We have seen that the spirit of a substance is the extract of that substance. Applying this principle to the Spirit of Christ, we may say that the extracts of Christ’s birth, living, death, resurrection, and ascension are now all elements of the Spirit of Christ. Therefore, in this one Spirit we have the effectiveness of Christ’s birth, living, death, resurrection, and ascension.
27惟有藉着经历,我们对基督的灵才能有这种领会。我们照着灵生活行动,就有基督的道成肉身和为人生活。我们不是仅仅效法基督的生活方式。此外,我们还有祂的钉死、复活和升天。
27It is only through experience that we can have this understanding of the Spirit of Christ. When we walk according to spirit, we have Christ’s incarnation and His human living. We do not have merely an imitation of the way Christ lived. Furthermore, we also have His death, resurrection, and ascension.
接触那灵
Contacting the Spirit
28离了基督的灵,我们就无法经历与基督一同坐在天上。(弗二5~6。)有些圣经教师仅仅把以弗所二章五至六节当作道理来讲论。他们认为与基督一同坐在天上是一个地位,我们凭信来接受这个事实就彀了。然而,我们把“与基督一同坐在天上”当作一个地位来相信时,甚么事也没有发生。保罗的教导不是这样。按保罗的教训来看,基督升天的精粹包含在基督的灵里。在这灵里,我们就有与基督一同坐在天上的经 历。
28Apart from the Spirit of Christ, we cannot have the experience of being seated with Christ in the heavens (Eph. 2:5-6). Some Bible teachers present Ephesians 2:5-6 merely as a doctrine. They claim that being seated with Christ in the heavenlies is a positional matter and that we should simply take the fact by faith. However, when we believe as a matter of position that we are seated with Christ in the heavens, nothing happens. This is not the way Paul teaches. According to Paul’s teaching, the extract of Christ’s ascension is included in the Spirit of Christ. In the Spirit we have the experience of sitting with Christ in the heavens.
29今天的基督徒多半缺少属灵的经历。然而,主的恢复一直往前。我们无法否认,因着祂的怜悯和恩典,这些年来,我们对于那灵知道得不少。我们在道理上从其他的圣经教师得着光。我们由经历中晓得,算和凭信接受一个地位都不管用。有些圣经教师认为。我们所必须作的,就是凭信接受已经完成的事实。照这种领会来看,我们除了相信这些事实以外,甚么都不该作。我这么实行,但是不管用。我愈努力相信这些事实,我就愈发死。我一点也没有经历到神圣的激励。然而,我能彀作见证,当我祷告、接触那灵的时侯,我的确经历了主的激励。
29Most of today’s Christians are lacking in spiritual experience. In His recovery, however, the Lord is going on. We cannot deny that, by His mercy and grace, we have learned much concerning the Spirit throughout the years. We received light doctrinally from other Bible teachers. From experience we have learned that reckoning and taking our position by faith do not work. Some teachers of the Word claim that what we need to do is take the accomplished facts by faith. According to this understanding, we should not do anything except believe the facts. I practiced this, but it did not work. The more I tried to believe the facts, the more dead I became. I did not experience any of the divine stimulation. However, I can testify that when I prayed and contacted the Spirit, I did experience the Lord’s stimulation.
30历代以来,许多圣徒对调和的灵没有开启,也经历了那灵。他们祷告的时候,受那灵的激励,自然而然地经历了包含在那灵里面基督之死的成分。他们经历了这一点,因为他们把自己祷告到那灵里面。因着他们在灵里,他们便经历了包含在基督的灵里基督之死的精粹。他们无须算自己是死的,也无须凭信接受这个地位。他们只要在灵 里,就经历了基督之死的功效。
30In the past centuries a number of saints experienced the Spirit, even though they had not been enlightened concerning the compound Spirit. When they prayed, they were stimulated by the Spirit and spontaneously experienced the element of the death of Christ included in the Spirit. They experienced this because they prayed themselves into the Spirit. Because they were in the Spirit, they experienced the extract of the death of Christ contained in the Spirit of Christ. There was no need for them to reckon themselves dead, and it was not necessary for them to take the position by faith. Simply by being in the Spirit, they experienced the effectiveness of the death of Christ.
不模仿那灵
No imitation of the Spirit
31今天我们也需要实际经历基督之死的功效。我们在灵里经历基督之死的精粹,我们的肉体、脾气、天然的性格就都被治死了。不但如此,我们天然的良善也了结了。我们甚至会恨恶天然的良善,因为我们晓得天然的良善是源于天生的东西。我们祷告、接触那灵以后,便晓得凡是出于我们天然生命的东西,神一概不要。天然的良善乃是模仿那灵。
31Today we also need to experience the effectiveness of Christ’s death in a practical way. When we are in the Spirit experiencing the extract of Christ’s death, our flesh, our temper, and our natural disposition are put to death. Furthermore, our natural goodness is terminated. We even come to hate this natural goodness because we realize that it is something derived from our natural birth. After praying and contacting the Spirit, we realize that God does not want anything that has its source in our natural life. Natural goodness is an imitation of the Spirit.
32我在中国的时候,因着许多孔子的门徒比许多基督徒的行为还要好,而觉得很困惑。有些孔子的门徒忍耐、恩慈、同情,并且乐于助人。然而,这些好行为都是天然的,与那灵毫无关系。
32When I was in China, I was bothered by the fact that the behavior of many disciples of Confucius was better than that of many Christians. These disciples of Confucius were patient, kind, sympathetic, and helpful. However, all that good behavior was natural. It had nothing to do with the Spirit.
33基督徒多半是活出模仿的生活。不信的人也能彀亲切、谦卑、忍耐、助人。这当然与那灵毫无关系。我们基督徒如果这样生活的话,我们就是模仿膏油,这在出埃及记三十章是严严禁止的。然而,在许多宗教的聚集里,却教导、鼓励基督徒活出模仿的生活,劝勉他们要亲切、要爱人、要诚实。这些都没有基督,也没有那灵,在神看来乃是亵渎。我们很可能会作同样的事。如果我们没有看见调和的灵,在我们的日常生活里,我们就会与模仿那灵的人没有两样。
33The majority of Christians live a life of imitation. Unbelievers can also be kind, humble, patient, and helpful. This certainly has nothing to do with the Spirit. If we Christians live like this, we are making an imitation of the ointment, something that is strictly forbidden in Exodus 30. Nevertheless, in many religious gatherings, Christians are taught and encouraged to live a life of imitation. They are urged to be kind, loving, and honest, all without Christ and without the Spirit. This is an abomination in the sight of God. It is possible that we may practice the same thing. If we do not see the matter of the compound Spirit, in our daily living we may be the same as those who imitate the Spirit.
34孔子的门徒实行孔子的伦常教训。他们接受了孔子的教导,并尊敬他。这是东方文化的一面。但在西方,在基督的名下和圣经教训的气氛中,所行的却非常类似。在两种情形里,人们的行事为人都非常天然。西方的文化受圣经的影响,正如中国的文化受孔子伦常教训的影响一样。这意思是说,孔子的教训对中国有道德上的影响,圣经的教训对西方文化也有道德上的影响。倘若我们照着这种影响生活,就是模仿那灵。
34The disciples of Confucius practice his ethical teachings. They claim that they have been taught by Confucius and they respect him. This is an aspect of Oriental culture. But in the West something very similar is practiced under the name of Christ and in the atmosphere of Bible teaching. In both cases, people behave in a natural way. The culture of the West has been influenced by the Bible, in much the same way as the culture of China has been influenced by the ethical teachings of Confucius. This means that the teachings of Confucius exert a moral influence in China and that the teachings of the Bible exert a moral influence on western culture. If we live according to this influence, we shall have an imitation of the Spirit.
35事实上,每一种照着伦常道德的生活都是人工的。人也许会表现得很谦卑,但这种谦卑是人工的。有人造花,也有真花。因为真花是生机的,所以会生长。在这些花里面,有生命的元素。人造花也许和真花颜色、样式、外观都一式一样,但它们没有生命的元素。有些基督徒和一些孔子的门徒行事为人谦卑、忍耐、有爱心。他们的谦卑、忍耐和爱心,外面看来,好像与加拉太五章所描述那灵的果子相似。然而,那灵的果子是生机的,并且是满了生命的。可是照着伦常的天然好行为是死的工作,一点生命也没有。照着孔子伦常道德而活的人,有工作,但工作是死的。那么照着天然的良善而活,模仿那灵的基督徒又如何?在他们的情形里,也有一种人工而无生命的生活,就是模仿调和的灵。
35Actually, every kind of living that is according to ethics is artificial. People may act patient, but this patience is artificial. There are artificial flowers, and there are real flowers. Because real flowers are organic, they live and grow. In these flowers, there is the element of life. Artificial flowers may have the same color, shape, and appearance as real flowers, but they do not contain the element of life. Certain Christians and certain disciples of Confucius may behave in a way that is humble, patient, and loving. Their humility, patience, and love outwardly may seem to be the same as the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5. However, the fruit of the Spirit is organic and full of life. But good natural behavior according to ethics is a dead work. It does not have anything of life. Those who live according to the ethics of Confucius have dead works. Then what about those Christians who imitate the Spirit by living according to their natural goodness? In their case also there is a kind of living that is artificial and lifeless, an imitation of the compound Spirit.
36我们不该把这段论到调和之灵的话仅仅当作道理。反之,我们必须在经历上懂得这段话,并且实际地应用它。
36We should not take this word concerning the compound Spirit merely as a doctrine. Rather, we need to understand it in an experiential way and learn to apply it in a practical way.