You shall not go out with haste, . . . for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard —Isaiah 52:12
Security from Yesterday. “. . . God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.
Security for Tomorrow. “. . . the Lord will go before you . . . .” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.
Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste . . . .” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.
Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.
昨日
以色列的神必作你們的後裔。 （賽五十二12）
脫離昨天的保證。 [神需要用過去的事。 ]
年終的時候，我們會期待地指望神帶領將來，但回想過去，也會帶來焦慮。今天對神恩典的享受，很容易受過去的罪與錯失影響。可是神是管理昨天的神，他容許過去的回憶存留，為的是將來的屬靈培育。神有時用過去提醒我們，免得我們停在現今膚淺的滿足裡。
明天的保證。 [因為耶和華必在你們前頭行。 ]
這是滿有恩典的啟示，神在我們失敗的地方守衛，留意不讓我們重蹈覆轍。若他不作後盾，我們勢必再犯。神的手伸到昨天去，為我們的良心清除存貨。
今天的保證。 [你們出來必不至急忙。 ]
在進入新一年之際，讓我們不要急躁鹵莽、興奮忘舊，也不要輕率衝動，只要從忍耐中得力，知道以色列的神必在前頭行。昨天無可挽回，錯過的機會永難再得，但神可以把這摧毀性得焦慮，變成建設性得心思，作將來之用。讓過去睡吧，但要睡在主耶穌的懷裡。
把一去不復返的過去放在他手中，然後與他一同踏進必要來到的將來。
祈禱◆主耶穌啊，[父一切的豐盛，都在你裡面居住]；[萬物都交在你的手裡]；[天上地下所有的權柄都賜給你了]－－噢，我天上的父神，願你按照你在基督耶穌榮耀裡的豐盛，滿足我一切的需要。
December 31, 2014
December 30, 2014
“And Every Virtue We Possess”
. . . All my springs are in you —Psalm 87:7
Our Lord never “patches up” our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities, or characteristics. He completely remakes a person on the inside— “. . . put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24). In other words, see that your natural human life is putting on all that is in keeping with the new life. The life God places within us develops its own new virtues, not the virtues of the seed of Adam, but of Jesus Christ. Once God has begun the process of sanctification in your life, watch and see how God causes your confidence in your own natural virtues and power to wither away. He will continue until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through this drying-up experience!
The sign that God is at work in us is that He is destroying our confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but only a wasted reminder of what God created man to be. We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ— a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
And every virtue we possess
Is His alone.
我們一切的美德
我的泉源都在你裡面。 （詩八十七7）
我們的主從不修補天然美德，他乃是從裡面重新再造。 [穿上新人]，意思是你要給肉體的生命穿上與新生命相配的衣服。神種在我們裡頭的生命，會萌發本身的美德，不是亞當的，乃是主耶穌的。你成聖以後，會叫你對天然美德，並個人一切力量的信心枯萎，直至你學會怎樣從主耶穌復活的泉源中支取生命。你若正經歷那乾涸的階段，就得感謝神。
神在我們裡面作工的徵象，就是敗壞我們對天然德行的信念，因為那些本不是神應許的，不過是他初造人時所剩餘的品質。我們總是抓住天然品德，而神卻不住要我接駁到主耶穌的生命去，他的美德是無法用天然德行來比較的。最可悲的是事奉神的人，一味仗賴從遺傳而得的品質，這些並不是神恩典所賜下的。神不會建立並改變天然的德行，因為天然德行不能達到耶穌萬分之一的心意。任何天然的愛、忍耐、清潔，都不可能達到他的要求。只有把肉體生命的每一部分配合神放在我們裡頭的生命，他才能透過我們彰顯主耶穌的美德。而我們所有的一切美德也只是他的。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，你是永遠的活井，我所有清新的泉源都在你裡面。我來到你面前；願你大能的生命在我裡面湧現，真正地流入我的身體和心靈中。
Our Lord never “patches up” our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities, or characteristics. He completely remakes a person on the inside— “. . . put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24). In other words, see that your natural human life is putting on all that is in keeping with the new life. The life God places within us develops its own new virtues, not the virtues of the seed of Adam, but of Jesus Christ. Once God has begun the process of sanctification in your life, watch and see how God causes your confidence in your own natural virtues and power to wither away. He will continue until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through this drying-up experience!
The sign that God is at work in us is that He is destroying our confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but only a wasted reminder of what God created man to be. We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ— a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
And every virtue we possess
Is His alone.
我們一切的美德
我的泉源都在你裡面。 （詩八十七7）
我們的主從不修補天然美德，他乃是從裡面重新再造。 [穿上新人]，意思是你要給肉體的生命穿上與新生命相配的衣服。神種在我們裡頭的生命，會萌發本身的美德，不是亞當的，乃是主耶穌的。你成聖以後，會叫你對天然美德，並個人一切力量的信心枯萎，直至你學會怎樣從主耶穌復活的泉源中支取生命。你若正經歷那乾涸的階段，就得感謝神。
神在我們裡面作工的徵象，就是敗壞我們對天然德行的信念，因為那些本不是神應許的，不過是他初造人時所剩餘的品質。我們總是抓住天然品德，而神卻不住要我接駁到主耶穌的生命去，他的美德是無法用天然德行來比較的。最可悲的是事奉神的人，一味仗賴從遺傳而得的品質，這些並不是神恩典所賜下的。神不會建立並改變天然的德行，因為天然德行不能達到耶穌萬分之一的心意。任何天然的愛、忍耐、清潔，都不可能達到他的要求。只有把肉體生命的每一部分配合神放在我們裡頭的生命，他才能透過我們彰顯主耶穌的美德。而我們所有的一切美德也只是他的。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，你是永遠的活井，我所有清新的泉源都在你裡面。我來到你面前；願你大能的生命在我裡面湧現，真正地流入我的身體和心靈中。
December 29, 2014
Deserter or Disciple?
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more —John 6:66
When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must “walk in the light” of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t “walk in the light” of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, “Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?” You have to “walk in the light” of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the “heavenly vision,” do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— “. . . for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.
Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.
逃兵還是門徒？
從此他門徒中多有退去的，不再和他同行。 （約六66）
神藉聖靈透過他的話語，現實他的心意，使你心靈興奮萬分；但你若不行在這異象的光中，就沉淪在努力的狀態中，受制於一種不屬於主的觀點。你若心裡不服從天上來的異象，就必服役於主耶穌以外的觀點。不要指著別人說：[看哪，他持那些觀點，仍然順利亨通，我為什麼不可以？ ]你要行在異象的光中，不要與人比較，或判斷別人，那是他與神之間的事。你若發現自己所喜悅的觀點，與天上來的異象相違，你為此爭辯，漸漸裡面就會產生一種擁有感和個人權利感，這些都是主耶穌所棄絕的。他反對這些，因為這一切是叫人離開神的根源。 [人的生命不在乎家道豐富。 ]我們不體會這一點，是因為我們漠視主基本的教訓。
我們很容易回想過往美妙的經歷。可是，神的光若向你顯示一個標準，而你未能達到，或不想達到，那你就開始退後了，因為這表示你的良心對真理並未作出回應。真理一旦開啟，便再也無法依然故我。那一刻就決定你是向前做主的真門徒，還是退後做逃兵。
祈禱◆主啊，願我們四周的每一寸空間，今天都被你所充滿。願你引導的手，適當而奇妙地掌管一切；願你將我們舉起，進入你奇妙的計劃中，並且使我們不至衝動鹵莽。
When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must “walk in the light” of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t “walk in the light” of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, “Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?” You have to “walk in the light” of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the “heavenly vision,” do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— “. . . for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.
Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.
逃兵還是門徒？
從此他門徒中多有退去的，不再和他同行。 （約六66）
神藉聖靈透過他的話語，現實他的心意，使你心靈興奮萬分；但你若不行在這異象的光中，就沉淪在努力的狀態中，受制於一種不屬於主的觀點。你若心裡不服從天上來的異象，就必服役於主耶穌以外的觀點。不要指著別人說：[看哪，他持那些觀點，仍然順利亨通，我為什麼不可以？ ]你要行在異象的光中，不要與人比較，或判斷別人，那是他與神之間的事。你若發現自己所喜悅的觀點，與天上來的異象相違，你為此爭辯，漸漸裡面就會產生一種擁有感和個人權利感，這些都是主耶穌所棄絕的。他反對這些，因為這一切是叫人離開神的根源。 [人的生命不在乎家道豐富。 ]我們不體會這一點，是因為我們漠視主基本的教訓。
我們很容易回想過往美妙的經歷。可是，神的光若向你顯示一個標準，而你未能達到，或不想達到，那你就開始退後了，因為這表示你的良心對真理並未作出回應。真理一旦開啟，便再也無法依然故我。那一刻就決定你是向前做主的真門徒，還是退後做逃兵。
祈禱◆主啊，願我們四周的每一寸空間，今天都被你所充滿。願你引導的手，適當而奇妙地掌管一切；願你將我們舉起，進入你奇妙的計劃中，並且使我們不至衝動鹵莽。
December 28, 2014
Continuous Conversion
. . . unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven —Matthew 18:3
These words of our Lord refer to our initial conversion, but we should continue to turn to God as children, being continuously converted every day of our lives. If we trust in our own abilities, instead of God’s, we produce consequences for which God will hold us responsible. When God through His sovereignty brings us into new situations, we should immediately make sure that our natural life submits to the spiritual, obeying the orders of the Spirit of God. Just because we have responded properly in the past is no guarantee that we will do so again. The response of the natural to the spiritual should be continuous conversion, but this is where we so often refuse to be obedient. No matter what our situation is, the Spirit of God remains unchanged and His salvation unaltered. But we must “put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24). God holds us accountable every time we refuse to convert ourselves, and He sees our refusal as willful disobedience. Our natural life must not rule— God must rule in us.
To refuse to be continuously converted puts a stumbling block in the growth of our spiritual life. There are areas of self-will in our lives where our pride pours contempt on the throne of God and says, “I won’t submit.” We deify our independence and self-will and call them by the wrong name. What God sees as stubborn weakness, we call strength. There are whole areas of our lives that have not yet been brought into submission, and this can only be done by this continuous conversion. Slowly but surely we can claim the whole territory for the Spirit of God.
不斷迴轉
你們若不迴轉，變成小孩子的樣式……（太十八3）
這話不但在我們初信之時十分真確，就是在我們生命的每一天，也要迴轉，向神作小孩子。我們若信賴自己的頭腦過於神，他就要我們負責後果。我們的身體既在神安排下進入新的境況，就要讓天然生命順服聖靈的指揮。一次成功，並不等於第二次也可以成功。肉體生命與屬靈生命的關係，是不斷的迴轉，這是我們本性所不願的。不管在什麼環境下，神的靈始終不變，神的救恩也不變，但我們要[穿上新人]。我們每次不肯迴轉，神都要我們自己負責，因為我們的拒絕，是出於故意的頑梗。我們不要被肉體的生命管轄，必須讓神掌管。
屬靈生命的阻礙，是不肯經常迴轉悔改，我們用許多頑梗的藉口，在神的寶座前自傲地說：[我不肯。 ]我們尊崇獨立固執，給它們錯誤的稱號。神看作頑梗的軟弱，我們卻稱之為力量。我們生命中還有許多地方未受管治的，這只有靠經常迴轉才可以達成。逐漸地，我們必然被聖靈收復所有失地。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願我能被你帶進你與我同在的境地，從你的立場觀看事情。今天早上，我要向你的百姓說話，噢，主啊，以你恩慈的靈重新膏立我。
These words of our Lord refer to our initial conversion, but we should continue to turn to God as children, being continuously converted every day of our lives. If we trust in our own abilities, instead of God’s, we produce consequences for which God will hold us responsible. When God through His sovereignty brings us into new situations, we should immediately make sure that our natural life submits to the spiritual, obeying the orders of the Spirit of God. Just because we have responded properly in the past is no guarantee that we will do so again. The response of the natural to the spiritual should be continuous conversion, but this is where we so often refuse to be obedient. No matter what our situation is, the Spirit of God remains unchanged and His salvation unaltered. But we must “put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24). God holds us accountable every time we refuse to convert ourselves, and He sees our refusal as willful disobedience. Our natural life must not rule— God must rule in us.
To refuse to be continuously converted puts a stumbling block in the growth of our spiritual life. There are areas of self-will in our lives where our pride pours contempt on the throne of God and says, “I won’t submit.” We deify our independence and self-will and call them by the wrong name. What God sees as stubborn weakness, we call strength. There are whole areas of our lives that have not yet been brought into submission, and this can only be done by this continuous conversion. Slowly but surely we can claim the whole territory for the Spirit of God.
不斷迴轉
你們若不迴轉，變成小孩子的樣式……（太十八3）
這話不但在我們初信之時十分真確，就是在我們生命的每一天，也要迴轉，向神作小孩子。我們若信賴自己的頭腦過於神，他就要我們負責後果。我們的身體既在神安排下進入新的境況，就要讓天然生命順服聖靈的指揮。一次成功，並不等於第二次也可以成功。肉體生命與屬靈生命的關係，是不斷的迴轉，這是我們本性所不願的。不管在什麼環境下，神的靈始終不變，神的救恩也不變，但我們要[穿上新人]。我們每次不肯迴轉，神都要我們自己負責，因為我們的拒絕，是出於故意的頑梗。我們不要被肉體的生命管轄，必須讓神掌管。
屬靈生命的阻礙，是不肯經常迴轉悔改，我們用許多頑梗的藉口，在神的寶座前自傲地說：[我不肯。 ]我們尊崇獨立固執，給它們錯誤的稱號。神看作頑梗的軟弱，我們卻稱之為力量。我們生命中還有許多地方未受管治的，這只有靠經常迴轉才可以達成。逐漸地，我們必然被聖靈收復所有失地。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願我能被你帶進你與我同在的境地，從你的立場觀看事情。今天早上，我要向你的百姓說話，噢，主啊，以你恩慈的靈重新膏立我。
December 27, 2014
Where the Battle is Won or Lost
’If you will return, O Israel,’ says the Lord . . . —Jeremiah 4:1
Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God’s presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will lose every time. The battle may take one minute or one year, but that will depend on me, not God. However long it takes, I must wrestle with it alone before God, and I must resolve to go through the hell of renunciation or rejection before Him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and won there.
I should never say, “I will wait until I get into difficult circumstances and then I’ll put God to the test.” Trying to do that will not work. I must first get the issue settled between God and myself in the secret places of my soul, where no one else can interfere. Then I can go ahead, knowing with certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity, disaster, and defeat before the world are as sure as the laws of God. The reason the battle is lost is that I fight it first in the external world. Get alone with God, do battle before Him, and settle the matter once and for all.
In dealing with other people, our stance should always be to drive them toward making a decision of their will. That is how surrendering to God begins. Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point— a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go toward a more and more slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory.
勝敗所在
耶和華說，以色列啊，你若回來歸向我……（耶四1）
爭戰的勝敗決定於在神面前意志的隱秘處，而不是外在的世界。神的靈提醒我，催促我獨自見神，在他面前作戰。若不這樣行，我每次必敗。爭戰是一分鐘還是一年，是在於我的決定，而不是神；但必須在神面前自己摔跤，斷然棄絕主權。沒有什麼能推倒一個在神面前爭戰勝利的人。
我若說：[還是等到事情來到，再試試神吧！ ]我必發覺自己辦不到。我要在神面前，自己在心靈的隱秘處，沒有他人騷擾的地方，好好解決；然後放膽地出去，因為知道仗已經打贏了。若在那裡打敗，災禍難處必然不絕臨到，就如神的命令一樣堅定。仗打不贏的道理，是我想先從外在世界去打。其實應該獨自見神，在那裡先打勝了，才可一次過解決問題。對得其他人也是如此，要把他們推到意志的邊緣－－完全歸服的起點。有時候，神帶我們來到一個頂點，就是生命的大分水線；從那一點，我們可以逐漸退隱過一種無大用處的信徒生活；或從那一點，我們為神的榮耀燒旺－－竭誠為主。
祈禱◆噢，我的神，請你現在感動我。在其中一次改變生命的觸動中，你確實從所有事物中清楚而具體地啟示你自己；在那些燦爛的時刻中，我看見你、敬拜你，並讚歎你.
Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God’s presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will lose every time. The battle may take one minute or one year, but that will depend on me, not God. However long it takes, I must wrestle with it alone before God, and I must resolve to go through the hell of renunciation or rejection before Him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and won there.
I should never say, “I will wait until I get into difficult circumstances and then I’ll put God to the test.” Trying to do that will not work. I must first get the issue settled between God and myself in the secret places of my soul, where no one else can interfere. Then I can go ahead, knowing with certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity, disaster, and defeat before the world are as sure as the laws of God. The reason the battle is lost is that I fight it first in the external world. Get alone with God, do battle before Him, and settle the matter once and for all.
In dealing with other people, our stance should always be to drive them toward making a decision of their will. That is how surrendering to God begins. Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point— a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go toward a more and more slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory.
勝敗所在
耶和華說，以色列啊，你若回來歸向我……（耶四1）
爭戰的勝敗決定於在神面前意志的隱秘處，而不是外在的世界。神的靈提醒我，催促我獨自見神，在他面前作戰。若不這樣行，我每次必敗。爭戰是一分鐘還是一年，是在於我的決定，而不是神；但必須在神面前自己摔跤，斷然棄絕主權。沒有什麼能推倒一個在神面前爭戰勝利的人。
我若說：[還是等到事情來到，再試試神吧！ ]我必發覺自己辦不到。我要在神面前，自己在心靈的隱秘處，沒有他人騷擾的地方，好好解決；然後放膽地出去，因為知道仗已經打贏了。若在那裡打敗，災禍難處必然不絕臨到，就如神的命令一樣堅定。仗打不贏的道理，是我想先從外在世界去打。其實應該獨自見神，在那裡先打勝了，才可一次過解決問題。對得其他人也是如此，要把他們推到意志的邊緣－－完全歸服的起點。有時候，神帶我們來到一個頂點，就是生命的大分水線；從那一點，我們可以逐漸退隱過一種無大用處的信徒生活；或從那一點，我們為神的榮耀燒旺－－竭誠為主。
祈禱◆噢，我的神，請你現在感動我。在其中一次改變生命的觸動中，你確實從所有事物中清楚而具體地啟示你自己；在那些燦爛的時刻中，我看見你、敬拜你，並讚歎你.
December 26, 2014
“Walk in the Light”
If we walk in the light as He is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin —1 John 1:7
To mistake freedom from sin only on the conscious level of our lives for complete deliverance from sin by the atonement through the Cross of Christ is a great error. No one fully knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced at Calvary. The evidence that I have been delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. For a person to really know what sin is requires the full work and deep touch of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the imparting of His absolute perfection.
The Holy Spirit applies or administers the work of the atonement to us in the deep unconscious realm as well as in the conscious realm. And it is not until we truly perceive the unrivaled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7, which says, “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This verse does not refer only to conscious sin, but also to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Spirit in me can accomplish.
I must “walk in the light as He is in the light . . .”— not in the light of my own conscience, but in God’s light. If I will walk there, with nothing held back or hidden, then this amazing truth is revealed to me: “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [me] from all sin” so that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke in me. On the conscious level it produces a keen, sorrowful knowledge of what sin really is. The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the Holy Spirit’s hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God’s holiness. To “walk in the light” means that everything that is of the darkness actually drives me closer to the center of the light.
行在光中
我們若在光明中行，如同神在光明中……他兒子耶穌的血也洗淨我們一切的罪。 （約壹一7）
自覺脫離罪，得享自由；並不等於已蒙救贖，從罪中得釋放。若混淆二者，是嚴重得錯誤。人必須重生，才知何為罪；而罪就是耶穌在十字架上所面對的。我從罪中得釋放的證據，就是認識我裡頭的罪。主耶穌的救恩使人有分於他絕對的完全，叫人知道罪是什麼？聖靈使救恩在我們裡面生效，在非意識的領域，也在意識可及的領域；只有當我們體會聖靈在我們裡面那無可比擬的能力，我們才明白約翰一書一章7節的意思：[耶穌的血也洗淨我們一切的罪。 ]這不單指意識的罪，更是指因內居的聖靈而對罪有深切的認識。
我若像神一樣行在光中，不是自己良心的光，而是神的光－－沒有任何遮掩，就必希奇地領悟－－耶穌的血洗淨我一切的罪，以致神無法找出可指斥的。在我的意識中，他叫我對罪有一種敏銳而強烈的知覺。神的愛又在我裡面，叫我像聖靈恨罪一樣，恨惡一切與神聖潔相違的東西。行在光中的意思，就是每一件黑暗的事物，都驅策我更接近光的中樞。
祈禱◆潔淨我，噢，主啊，使我脫去靈裡一切的罪污，願你那充滿光輝的美善，今天臨到我身上。
To mistake freedom from sin only on the conscious level of our lives for complete deliverance from sin by the atonement through the Cross of Christ is a great error. No one fully knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced at Calvary. The evidence that I have been delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. For a person to really know what sin is requires the full work and deep touch of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the imparting of His absolute perfection.
The Holy Spirit applies or administers the work of the atonement to us in the deep unconscious realm as well as in the conscious realm. And it is not until we truly perceive the unrivaled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7, which says, “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This verse does not refer only to conscious sin, but also to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Spirit in me can accomplish.
I must “walk in the light as He is in the light . . .”— not in the light of my own conscience, but in God’s light. If I will walk there, with nothing held back or hidden, then this amazing truth is revealed to me: “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [me] from all sin” so that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke in me. On the conscious level it produces a keen, sorrowful knowledge of what sin really is. The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the Holy Spirit’s hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God’s holiness. To “walk in the light” means that everything that is of the darkness actually drives me closer to the center of the light.
行在光中
我們若在光明中行，如同神在光明中……他兒子耶穌的血也洗淨我們一切的罪。 （約壹一7）
自覺脫離罪，得享自由；並不等於已蒙救贖，從罪中得釋放。若混淆二者，是嚴重得錯誤。人必須重生，才知何為罪；而罪就是耶穌在十字架上所面對的。我從罪中得釋放的證據，就是認識我裡頭的罪。主耶穌的救恩使人有分於他絕對的完全，叫人知道罪是什麼？聖靈使救恩在我們裡面生效，在非意識的領域，也在意識可及的領域；只有當我們體會聖靈在我們裡面那無可比擬的能力，我們才明白約翰一書一章7節的意思：[耶穌的血也洗淨我們一切的罪。 ]這不單指意識的罪，更是指因內居的聖靈而對罪有深切的認識。
我若像神一樣行在光中，不是自己良心的光，而是神的光－－沒有任何遮掩，就必希奇地領悟－－耶穌的血洗淨我一切的罪，以致神無法找出可指斥的。在我的意識中，他叫我對罪有一種敏銳而強烈的知覺。神的愛又在我裡面，叫我像聖靈恨罪一樣，恨惡一切與神聖潔相違的東西。行在光中的意思，就是每一件黑暗的事物，都驅策我更接近光的中樞。
祈禱◆潔淨我，噢，主啊，使我脫去靈裡一切的罪污，願你那充滿光輝的美善，今天臨到我身上。
December 25, 2014
His Birth and Our New Birth
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us" —Matthew 1:23
His Birth in History. “. . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.
His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you . . .” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.
God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.
他的降生與我們的新生
必有童女懷孕生子，給她起名叫以馬內利。就是神與我們同在的意思。 （賽七14）
他在歷史中誕生。 [因此所要生的聖者，必稱為神的兒子。 ]（路一35）耶穌基督是降生到世界，不是從這世界而出。他不是從歷史演進而生，乃是從歷史以外而來。耶穌基督不是人類最好的一個；他是完全無法算在人類之內的一位。他不是人變作神，乃是神成了肉身，成了人的形狀，是從外而來的。他的生命最崇高最聖潔，卻從最卑微的門進來。主的誕生，是降臨人間。
他在我裡面誕生。 [我為你們再受生產之苦，直等到基督成形在你們心裡。 ](加四19)主是從外面進到人類歷史，同樣也從外面進到我裡面。我有沒有讓自己的生命，成為神兒子的伯利恆？我必須從神而生，這與天然的生產完全不同，否則便不能進入神的國度裡。 [你們必須重生]，這不是命令，而是一項基本的事實。新生的本質，就是我完全降服神，以致基督成形在我裡面，他的本性開始透過我工作。神在肉身顯現－－這是救恩為你我所成就的事實。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，當我們在今早思想以賽亞書第五十三章，願祢的榮耀將它顯明；願祢使我們變得柔和與溫順，被祢所激勵和振奮，並且將我們提升至這種榮耀的事奉，以致我們可以捕捉祢的形象。
His Birth in History. “. . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.
His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you . . .” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.
God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.
他的降生與我們的新生
必有童女懷孕生子，給她起名叫以馬內利。就是神與我們同在的意思。 （賽七14）
他在歷史中誕生。 [因此所要生的聖者，必稱為神的兒子。 ]（路一35）耶穌基督是降生到世界，不是從這世界而出。他不是從歷史演進而生，乃是從歷史以外而來。耶穌基督不是人類最好的一個；他是完全無法算在人類之內的一位。他不是人變作神，乃是神成了肉身，成了人的形狀，是從外而來的。他的生命最崇高最聖潔，卻從最卑微的門進來。主的誕生，是降臨人間。
他在我裡面誕生。 [我為你們再受生產之苦，直等到基督成形在你們心裡。 ](加四19)主是從外面進到人類歷史，同樣也從外面進到我裡面。我有沒有讓自己的生命，成為神兒子的伯利恆？我必須從神而生，這與天然的生產完全不同，否則便不能進入神的國度裡。 [你們必須重生]，這不是命令，而是一項基本的事實。新生的本質，就是我完全降服神，以致基督成形在我裡面，他的本性開始透過我工作。神在肉身顯現－－這是救恩為你我所成就的事實。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，當我們在今早思想以賽亞書第五十三章，願祢的榮耀將它顯明；願祢使我們變得柔和與溫順，被祢所激勵和振奮，並且將我們提升至這種榮耀的事奉，以致我們可以捕捉祢的形象。
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