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出埃及记生命读经 · 第43篇

喝生命的水（一）

Drinking the Water of Life (1)
1读经：出埃及记17:3上，六节；约翰福音7:37-39;4:10,14；哥林多前书10:4;12:13,3；启示录21:6;22:1-2,17；使徒行传2:17上，21。圣经中关乎人和神的关系，基本的原则乃是人需要吃喝神。因著吃喝在我们日常生活中非常普通，有名的圣经教师和学者并不十分注重它们。然而，在圣经里，吃喝是基本且是重要的。
1Scripture Reading: Exo. 17:3a, 6; John 7:37-39; 4:10, 14; 1 Cor. 10:4; 12:13, 3; Rev. 21:6; 22:1-2, 17; Acts 2:17a, 21 In the Bible the basic principle concerning man’s relationship with God is that man needs to eat and drink of God. Because eating and drinking are so common in our daily life, they have not been given much consideration by the great teachers and scholars of the Bible. Nevertheless, in the Scriptures eating and drinking are basic and crucial
一创世记、启示录
EATING AND DRINKING IN GENESIS
和约翰福音里的吃喝
REVELATION, AND THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
2在创造人的记载以后，便题到生命树和一道河『从伊甸流出来，滋润那园子。』（创二9～。）生命树是给人吃的，而涌流的河是给人喝的。因此，圣经一开始，论到神与人之间的关系时，便题到吃喝。
2After the record of the creation of man, there is mention of the tree of life and of a river which “went out of Eden to water the garden” (Gen. 2:9-10). The tree of life was for man’seating, and the flowing river 10 was for man’s drinking. Hence, at the beginning of the Bible, eating and drinking are presented with respect to the relationship between God and man.
3在圣经的末了我们也读到吃喝。启示录二十一章和二十二章，著重地强调吃喝。依据启示录二十一章六节，主要将『生命泉的水白白赐给那口渴的人喝。』在二十二章一节我们看见『生命水的河，明亮如水2晶，从神和羔羊的宝座流出来』，并且第二节告诉我们『在河这边与那边有生命树』。生命水的河从宝座流出来，而生命树长在河里。启示录二十二章十四节有一个关乎吃的应许，二十二章十七节有一个关乎喝的呼召。十四节说那些洗净自己衣裳的，可得权柄能到生命树那里，而十七节说愿意的都可以白白17取生命的水喝。十四节有吃生命树的应许，而十七节有喝生命水的呼召。所以我们可以说，圣经结束在关乎吃喝的话上。在强调基督神性的约翰福音里也论到吃喝。根据这本福音书，神成为肉身，使我们可以吃喝祂。第六章论到吃耶稣作属天的吗哪、真粮，生命的饼，以及神的57粮。在五十七节主耶稣对于吃说了清楚、著重且明确的话：『吃我的人也要因我活著。』第七章继续说到喝活水。在住棚节的末日，就是节期的最大之日，耶稣站著高声说：『人若渴了，可以到我这里来喝。（37。）约翰第三章说到重生，第四章说到喝活水。在这一章里有一个干渴的撒玛利亚妇人来到井旁打水。她在井边遇见主耶稣，主耶稣和她谈话，并告诉她活水可在祂里面找到。时候到了，祂对妇人说：『你若知道神的恩赐，和对你说给我水喝的是谁，你必早求祂，祂也必早给了你活水。』（10。）然后在十四节祂说，祂所赐的水要在喝它的人里头成为『泉源，直涌到永生。』（14。）这些关乎活水的话很有分量，并且非常有意义。
3At the end of the Bible we also read of eating and drinking. In Revelation 21 and 22 eating and drinking are emphasized strongly. According to Revelation 21:6, the Lord will “give to him who thirsts from the spring of the water of life freely.” In 22:1 we see the “river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,” and in verse we are told that “on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life.” The river of water of life flows out of the throne, and the tree of life grows in the river. In Revelation 22:14 there is a promise related to eating, and in 22:17, a call related to drinking. Verse 14 says that those who wash their robes have the right to the tree of life, and verse 17 says that whoever wills may take the water of life freely. In verse 14 we have the promise of eating the tree of life, and in verse we have the call to drink of the water of life. Therefore, we may say that the Bible concludes with a word about eating and drinking. In the Gospel of John, the Gospel that emphasizes the deity of Christ, there also are references to eating and drinking. According to this Gospel, God was incarnated so that we may eat and drink of Him. Chapter six covers the eating of Jesus as the heavenly manna, as the true bread, the living bread, the bread of God. In verse the Lord Jesus speaks a clear, strong, and definite word concerning eating: “He who eats Me shall also live because of Me.” Chapter seven goes on to speak of drinking the living water. On the last day of the feast of tabernacles, the great day of the feast, the Lord Jesus stood up and cried, “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink” (v. 37). Chapter three of John covers regeneration, and chapter four, the drinking of the living water. In this chapter a thirsty Samaritan woman comes to the well to draw water. At the well she meets the Lord Jesus, who talks with her and tells her that living water is to be found in Him. At a certain point He says to the woman, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (v. 10). Then in verse 14 He says that the water He gives will become in the one who drinks it a “spring of water welling up into eternal life” (v. 14). These words about living water are weighty and of great significance.
二神将祂自已作到我们里面的路
THE WAY GOD WORKS HIMSELF INTO US
4我们不该认为圣经里所说的吃喝是件普通的事。反之，这些事非常的重要。我们这些神的选民藉著吃喝把祂接受到我们里面来。多年来，我们一再地指出神的心意是要把祂自己作到我们里面，作我们的生命和一切。但我们仍需要对这事实有印象：神把祂自己作到我们里面的路是藉著我们吃祂、喝祂。
4We should not consider the eating and drinking spoken of in the Bible as commonplace. On the contrary, these matters are crucial. It is by eating and drinking that we, God’s chosen people, take Him into us. Throughout the years, we have pointed out repeatedly that God’sin tent i on is to work Himself into us to be our life and our everything. But we still need to be impressed with the fact that the way God works Himself into us is through our eating and drinking of Him
三如何吃主、喝主
HOW TO EAT AND DRINK THE LORD
5三十多年前，我在中国大陆的时候，不像今天这样清楚地看见吃喝主的亮光。在我早期的职事里，我传了许多的福音，时常传讲神作活水满足我们的题目。我甚至将『永远永远不再渴』那首诗歌从英文繙成中文。我喜爱这首诗歌，深深被它所感动，而且我传福音时经常用到它。但尽管我传讲神是活水解人的干渴，我自己却不知道如何来饮这活水。何等可笑，我传讲喝活水，而我自己实际上不知道怎样来喝！我们基督徒常常作出如此可笑的事。大多数的信徒知道基督是属天的吗哪；然而，很少人知道如何来吃祂。
5When I was in mainland China more than thirty years ago, I did not see the light on eating and drinking the Lord as clearly as I see it today. In the early years of my ministry, I did a lot of gospel preaching, often preaching on the subject of God as the living water to satisfy us. I even translated the song, “Never, Never Thirst Again,” from English into Chinese. I loved this song, was deeply impressed by it, and used it in my gospel preaching quite frequently. However, although I preached on God as the living water to quench man’s thirst, I myself did not know how to drink of this living water. How ridiculous for me to preach on drinking the living water when I myself actually did not understand how to drink! We Christians often do ridiculous things such as this. Most believers know that Christ is the heavenly manna; however, not many know how to eat Him
6我释放第一篇吃耶稣的信息是在一九五八年。在那时以前我不知道吃喝祂的路。但既在这件事上蒙了主的光照，在一九五八年我就开始传讲我们需要吃耶稣。我就著这个题目释放了第一篇信息之后，一位在台湾大学当教授的弟兄过来对我说，讲吃耶稣听起来很粗野。（我所用的中国字意思是吃尽、吞下。）我题醒这位弟兄，最先讲到吃主的人并不是我。我指出约翰六章五十七节，主耶稣说吃祂的人要因祂活著。我告诉他，我只是跟随主并重覆祂的话。这位弟兄听见这话，就不再说甚么了。
6The first message I delivered on eating Jesus was in 1958. Before that time I did not know the way to eat and drink Him. But having been enlightened by the Lord concerning this matter, I began in 1958 to speak on our need to eat Jesus. After I gave the first message on this subject, a brother who was a professor at Taiwan University approached me and told me that it sounded crude to talk about eating Jesus. (The Chinese word I used means to eat up, to devour.) I reminded this brother that I was not the first to speak of eating the Lord. I pointed him to John 6:57, where the Lord Jesus says that the one who eats Him will live by Him. I told him that I was simply following the Lord and repeating His words. When the brother heard this, he had nothing further to say.
7历代以来，基督徒一直谈论吃喝，但几乎没有人知道如何来吃、如何来喝。基督徒写了许多『如何』的书，例如论到如何祷告、如何胜过罪和如何得胜为题目的书。而你知道有那一本书告诉我们如何吃耶稣或如何饮活水么？但我们已经指出，吃喝耶稣是极其重要的事。
7Throughout the centuries, Christians have talked about eating and drinking, but hardly anyone has known how to eat or how to drink. Christians have written many “how-to” books, books on subjects such as how to pray, how to overcome sin, and how to be victorious. But do you know of a book which tells us how to eat Jesus or how to drink the living water? But as we have pointed out, eating and drinking of Jesus are extremely crucial matters
四是事实，不是比喻或隐喻
FACTS, NOT PARABLES OR METAPHORS
8我年轻的时候，人告诉我说神的话中论到吃喝主的那段话仅仅是比喻或隐喻。我受教导说，不能真正吃耶稣，这仅仅是比喻，隐喻。但最近我思想吃喝主耶稣时，保罗在林前十章四节的话深深摸著我。这里保罗不是说那磐石是基督的豫表或表征；他清楚地说那磐1石就是基督。在林前十章三节和四节，保罗说到灵食、灵水和灵磐石。我们因著缺乏保罗的勇气，可能削弱了他宣告的力量，而说那磐石豫表基督。先前我没有勇气说从磐石中流出来的水是属灵的。按我的领会，那水是物质的，不是属灵的。再者，我不敢说从其中流出水来的磐石是灵磐石。但保罗大胆且率直地说，它是在旷野随著以色列人的灵磐石。然后他继续说，那磐石不是基督的豫表，那磐石乃是基督自己。如果我们这样说，而没有保罗的话为依据，我们定规会被定罪为异端。我们不该把吃喝耶稣当作比喻或隐喻。我愿意很强地宣告，这些是事实。我每天甚至每时吃喝主耶稣。在约翰六章主说，祂从天上降下来作我们的食物。这不是一个比喻或隐喻的说法；它乃是神圣的事实。基督是我们的食物和饮水。在约翰七章三十七至三十八节祂继续说，渴了的人可以到祂这里来喝，并且从他腹中要流出活水的江河来。这是属天的事实。
8When I was young, I was told that those portions of the Word which speak of eating and drinking the Lord are merely parables or metaphors. I was taught that we could not actually eat Jesus, that this is simply a figure of speech, a metaphor. But recently as I have been considering the eating and drinking of the Lord Jesus, I have been impressed by Paul’sword in 1 Corinthians 10:4. Here Paul does not say that the rock was a type of Christ or a symbol of Christ; he says clearly that the rock wasChrist. In Corinthians 10:3 and 4 Paul speaks of the spiritual food, the spiritual drink, and the spiritual rock. Lacking Paul’s boldness, we may weaken the force of his declaration by saying that the rock typifies Christ. Formerly I did not have the boldness to say that the water flowing out of the rock was spiritual. To my understanding, that water was physical, not spiritual. Furthermore, I did not dare to say that the rock from which the water flowed was a spiritual rock. But Paul says boldly and plainly that it was a spiritual rock which followed the children of Israel in the wilderness. Then he goes on to say, not that the rock was a type of Christ, but that the rock was Christ Himself. If we were to say this without Paul’s word as a basis, we would surely be condemned as heretical. We should not regard the eating and drinking of Jesus as parables or metaphors. I wish to declare strongly that these are facts. Daily, even hourly, I eat and drink the Lord Jesus. In John 6 the Lord says that He came from heaven to be our food. This is not a parable or a metaphoric utterance; it is a divine fact. Christ is our food and our drink. In John 7:37-38 he goes on to say that whoever thirsts may come to Him and drink and that out of his inner being will flow rivers of living water. This is a heavenly fact.
9虽然吃喝在我们的日常生活中很普通，但在圣经中它们却有重大的意义。我们已经指出，因著我们吃喝祂，神就把祂自已作到我们里面。藉著吃喝，我们把主接受到里面来，并且祂与我们有生机的联合。当我们吃喝某些成分时，那些成分就被接受到我们里面，在本质和实质上与我们合一。比方说，餐桌上的肉类和蔬菜如何能与我们合一呢？惟一的路是藉著吃它们。我们吃喝的时候，食物就与我们生机地合一，当它被消化并吸收时，它实际上就成为我们全人的一部分，成为我们的纤维和组织。瞭解这件事会帮助我们看见圣经里吃喝的重要性。吃喝主有重大的意义。哦，我们何等需要吃祂并喝祂！
9Although eating and drinking are very common in our daily living, in the Bible they are matters of crucial significance. As we have pointed out, it is by our eating and drinking Him that God works Himself into us. By eating and drinking we take the Lord into us, and He becomes one with us organically. As we eat and drink certain elements, those elements are taken into us and become one with us in substance and in essence. For example, how can the meat and vegetables on the dining table become one with us? The only way is by our eating them. As we eat and drink, our food becomes one with us organically and, when it has been digested and assimilated, it actually becomes part of our being, our very fiber and tissue. Realizing this will help us to see the importance of eating and drinking in the Bible. Eating and drinking the Lord are of tremendous significance. Oh, how we need to eat Him and drink Him
五喝的重要
THE IMPORTANCE OF DRINKING
10根据圣经的记载，喝比吃更重要。启示录二十二章十七节不是说饥饿的人可以来吃；乃是说口渴的人可以来喝生命的水。这说出在神圣的观念里，喝比吃更重要。创世记二章先题生命树，然后才题到河流。但到了圣经末了，启示录二十二章先题到生命水，然后才题生命树。根据启示录二十二章一和二节，生命树长在生命水里是个事实，清楚地说出活水输送生命树。这暗示吃包括在喝里面，并且喝比吃更基本。这也由事实来证明，在我们肉身的生命中，我们不吃比不喝能存活得更久。
10According to the biblical record, drinking is more important than eating. Revelation 22:17 does not say that whoever is hungry may come and eat; it says that whoever is thirsty may come and drink the water of life. This indicates that in the divine concept drinking is more crucial than eating. In Genesis 2 the tree of life is mentioned first, then the river. But at the end of the Bible, in Revelation 22, the water of life is mentioned first, then the tree of life. According to Revelation 22:1 and 2, the tree of life grows in the water of life, a fact that clearly indicates that it is the living water which conveys the tree. This implies that eating is included in drinking and that drinking is more basic than eating. This is also proved by the fact that in our physical life we can survive longer without eating than without drinking
11按圣经里的顺序，先是说到食物，然后才说到水。在创世记和出埃及16记都是如此。出埃及记十六章说到食物－属天的吗哪，而后十七章继续说到从被击打的磐石流出的水。在启示录的头几章也看见同样的顺序。启示录二章七节说：『得胜的，我必将神乐园中生命树的果子赐给他吃。』生命水直到启示录七章十七节才题起，那里告诉我们，宝座中的羔羊『必…领他们到生命水的泉源。』但在启示录末了，次序正好相反。我们都知道，末了的话不论是所说的或是写的都是决定性，而且结论性的。启示录的结语，甚至全本圣经的结语，乃是把喝摆在吃的前面。神基本思想的启示不是结束在吃，而是结束在喝上。启示录二十二章十七节告诉我们，口渴的人可以来喝。一方面，圣经是深奥的；另一方面，它是实际的。在实行上，圣经结束在喝的呼召上。藉此我们看见喝的重要。
11According to the sequence in the Bible, food is presented first and then water. This is true both in the book of Genesis and in the book of Exodus. Exodus speaks of food, the heavenly manna, and then chapter seventeen goes on to speak of the water flowing from the smitten rock. The same sequence is found in the opening chapters of Revelation. Revelation 2:7 says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” The water of life is not mentioned until Revelation 7:17, where we are told that the Lamb in the midst of the throne “shall guide them to springs of waters of life.” At the end of Revelation, however, the order is reversed. We all know that both in speaking and in writing the final word is decisive and conclusive. The concluding word of Revelation, even of the whole Bible, puts drinking before eating. The unveiling of God’s basic thought concludes not with eating, but with drinking. Revelation 22:17 tells us that those who are thirsty may come and drink. On the one hand, the Bible is profound; on the other hand, it is practical. In its practicality the Bible concludes with a call related to drinking. By this we see the vital importance of drinking.
12倘若我们不知道怎样喝，我们就不能成为正确的基督徒。有些人听见这样的话，他们会希奇所有走在我们前面的信徒，大多数都不晓得喝活水的路。然而，他们很多人的确喝了活水。照样，生活在几世纪以前的人不懂得维他命。但这不是说，他们没有吸取维他命到里面。他们吸取了维他命而不瞭解它。同样的原则，许多走在我们前头的基督徒对于喝活水有许多经历。然而，他们不知道怎样喝却是事实。他们享受喝水，但他们没有喝的科学。
12If we do not know how to drink, we cannot be proper Christians. When some hear such a statement, they may wonder about all the believers who have gone before us, most of whom did not know the way to drink the living water. Nevertheless, many of them did drink of the living water. In much the same way, people who lived centuries ago did not know about vitamins. This does not mean, however, that they did not take vitamins into them. They took vitamins without realizing it. In the same principle, many of those Christians who have gone before us had many experiences of drinking the living water. However, it is nonetheless a fact that they did not know how to drink. They enjoyed drinking, but they did not have the science of drinking
13在本篇和下一篇信息中，我不仅对喝的本身有负担，对于喝的科学更有负担。和那些接受维他命而对它们一无所知的人不同，我每天有目的且有知识地吸取维他命。照样，我们若有喝的科学，就能有知识且有目的的喝。我们不单知道怎样喝，并且也实际的喝活水。连旧约中作诗的人也有喝的经历。诗篇三十六篇八节说：『你也必叫他们喝你乐河的水。』这一道河包含许多欢喜、快乐。甚至在主耶稣来以前，旧约的圣徒已经历到喝的喜乐。及至神在肉身中来到，祂发出清楚的呼召，到祂这里来喝。（约七37。）喝对我们基督徒的生活是很要紧的。
13In this message and in the message which follows, I am burdened not simply with drinking itself, but in particular with the science of drinking. Daily I take vitamins purposely and knowingly, unlike those who take vitamins without having any knowledge of them. Likewise, if we know the science of drinking, we shall be able to drink knowingly and purposely. We shall have both the knowledge of how to drink as well as the actual drinking of the living water. Even the psalmist in the Old Testament had the experience of drinking. Psalm 36:8 says, “Thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.” The one river includes many pleasures, many joys. Even before the Lord Jesus came, the Old Testament saints experienced the joy of drinking. But when God came in the flesh, He sent forth the clear call to come to Him and drink (John 7:37). Drinking is vital to our Christian life
六完成的职事
THE COMPLETING MINISTRY
和修补的职事
AND THE MENDING MINISTRY
14新约由许多不同的作者写成，包括马太、马可、路加、约翰、彼得、雅各、犹大和保罗。在歌罗西一章二十五节保罗说：『我照神为你们所赐我的职分，作了教会的执事，要把神的话传得完全。』（直译。）保罗受了完成神话语之职分的托付。没有保罗的著作，圣经中的神圣启示就不全备。倘若保罗的著作不包括在圣经里，圣经就像一个未完成的句子。因此，需要保罗的书信来完成神的话。约翰的职事是修补的职事。神圣的启示藉著保罗完成以后，有相当的破损。约翰进来修补破损之处。圣经结束在保罗完成的职事和约翰修补的职事。正如我们所知，约翰所写的启示录是圣经的最后一卷书。
14The New Testament was written by a number of different authors, including Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, James, Jude, and Paul. In Colossians 1:25 Paul says that he “became a minister according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God.” Paul was commissioned with the ministry of completing the word of God. Without the writings of Paul the divine revelation in the Bible would not be complete. If Paul’s writings were not included in the Scriptures, the Bible would be like an incomplete sentence. Thus, the Epistles of Paul are necessary for the completion of the word of God. John’s ministry is a ministry of mending. After the divine revelation had been completed through Paul, there was an amount of breakage. John came in to mend what had been broken. The Bible closes with Paul’s completing ministry and John’s mending ministry. As we know, the book of Revelation, written by John, is the last book in the Bible
15在保罗和约翰的职事里，也就是在完成的职事和修补的职事里，都大大地强调吃喝的事。保罗在哥林多前书论到吃与喝。在林前三章二节保罗对哥林多的信徒说：『我…𫗪你们。』这话隐含吃的意思。然后在林前十二章十三节保罗继续说，我们都得以饮于一位灵。在林前十章三和四节保罗论到吃与喝：『并且都吃了一样的灵食；也都喝了一样的灵水；所喝的是出于随著他们的灵磐石；那磐石就是基督。』保罗将灵食和灵水供应圣徒。他的职事是𫗪养的职事，且是供应水解除神百姓干渴的职事。约翰福音最迟写于保罗末了著作的二十年以后。既然约翰的职事是修补的职事，他的福音也是修补的福音。某些自称是基督徒却不相信基督神性的人题出了问题。约翰在他的福音书中，便修补这种由于对基督神性缺乏信心所造成的破损。他的福音书清楚地启示基督就是神。此外，我们已指出，这本强调基督神性的福音书中，也强调吃喝主。我们在启示录也发现有论到吃与喝的事。这明确地说出约翰的职事和保罗的一样，强调吃喝的重要。不吃不喝，我们无法成为正确的基督徒。我们学知如何饮活水是极其重要的。我们需要注意圣经中所有关乎如何喝主的启示。
15In both the ministry of Paul and the ministry of John, that is, in both the completing ministry and the mending ministry, the matters of eating and drinking are strongly emphasized. Paul covers both eating and drinking in the book of 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 3:2 Paul says to the believers in Corinth, “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food.” This word implies eating. Then in 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul goes on to say that we have all been made to drink of one Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 10:3 and 4 Paul covers both eating and drinking: “And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.” Paul ministered spiritual food and drink to the saints. His ministry was a ministry of feeding and of supplying water to quench the thirst of God’sp eople. The Gospel of John was written at least twenty years after the last of Paul’s writings. Since John’s ministry was a mending ministry, his Gospel is a mending Gospel. Problems had been caused by certain ones who called themselves Christians but did not believe in the deity of Christ. In his Gospel John mended the damage caused by this lack of faith in Christ’s deity. His Gospel reveals clearly that Christ is God. Furthermore, we have pointed out that in the very Gospel which emphasizes the deity of Christ the eating and drinking of the Lord are also emphasized. We have also seen that in the book of Revelation we find reference to both eating and drinking. This indicates definitely that John’s ministry, like that of Paul, stresses the importance of eating and drinking the Lord. Without eating and drinking, there is no way for us to be proper Christians. It is of vital importance that we learn how to drink the living water. There is the need to give our attention to all that the Bible reveals concerning how to drink the Lord.