约翰福音生命读经 · 第33篇

在神圣经纶中三一神生机体（一）

The Organism of the Triune God in the Divine Dispensation (1)

1在本篇信息中，我们来看约翰十五章。我们不该认为这一章与十四章及十六章是分开的，因为这三章乃是主耶稣在被出卖并捉拿之前，所释放的一篇信息。无疑的，十五章是十四章的延续，在那里我们看见相互的住处，神性与人性的调和。我们一旦明白了约翰十四章，就豫备好来看约翰十五章。大多数的基督徒都很熟悉约翰十五章，这是美好的一章，论到主是葡萄树，我们是枝子。表面看来，我们很容易领会这一章，因为我们知道甚么是葡萄树，甚么是枝子，以15及葡萄树和枝子有甚么关系。然而，约翰十五章可能是新约最深的一章。我们若要正确并充分的领会这一章较深的意义，就必须领会在写约翰福音时，神的中心思想是甚么，圣灵的用意是甚么。这卷福音书启示出主耶稣是神的彰显，祂是神显于人形。祂这样彰显出来，叫我们能接受祂作我们的生命并一切。祂的心意是要将祂自己作到我们里面，直到祂成为我们的生命并一切。三至十一章启示，祂藉著成为我们的生命，能应付我们一切的需要。十二章给我们看见，祂作我们生命而有的结果并繁增。十三章指明我们在生命中维持交通的路。接著十四章向我们揭示，祂藉著死与复活，并藉著从肉体变形为那灵，能将祂自己作到我们里面。到十四章时，祂已藉著实际的灵，将祂自己作到我们里面。如今祂是我们的生命并我们的素质。祂活在我们里面，等候我们与祂合作，好将祂自己多而又多的向我们启示并显明。父也与祂同来眷临我们，与我们同在，并同我们安排祂的住处。（约十四23。）换句话说，父在祂里面并藉著那灵，要完全与我们调和。父在子里并藉著那灵，要成为我们的住处，我们也要成为三一神的住处。这样，三一神和我们，我们和三一神，要建造在一起；也就是说，神和人，人和神，要建造在一起，成为一。这奇妙的一就是神的中心思想。神在整个宇宙中，最终的心意乃是父在子里，成为那灵，作到我们里面，并与我们调和，直到三一神和人成为相互的住处。我们研读十四章时，就已看见这事。这就是十五章的背景。

1In this message we come to John 15. We should not consider this chapter separate from chapters fourteen and sixteen because all three chapters are one message given by the Lord Jesus before He was betrayed and arrested. There is no doubt that chapter fifteen is the continuation of chapter fourteen, where we see the mutual abode, the mingling of divinity with humanity. Once we understand John 14, we are prepared to consider John 15. Most Christians are very familiar with John 15, a wonderful chapter about the Lord as the vine and us as the branches. Apparently, it is easy for us to understand this chapter because we know what a vine is, what branches are, and what the relationship between a vine and its branches is. However, John is possibly the deepest chapter in the New Testament. If we are to properly and adequately understand the deeper meaning of this chapter, we must understand the central thought of God and the intention of the Holy Spirit in writing the Gospel of John. This Gospel reveals that the Lord Jesus is the expression of God, that He is the very God expressed in the form of man. He was expressed in this way that we might take Him as our life and our everything. His intention is to work Himself into us until He becomes our life and everything. Chapters three through eleven reveal that He can meet all of our needs by becoming our life. Chapter twelve shows us the issue and multiplication of His being life to us. Chapter thirteen indicates the way to maintain our fellowship in life. Then chapter fourteen unfolds to us that He can work Himself into us by His death and resurrection and by His being transfigured from the flesh into the Spirit. By the time of chapter fourteen He has wrought Himself into us through the Spirit of reality. Now He is our life and our essence. He is living within us, waiting for us to cooperate with Him that He might reveal and manifest Himself to us more and more. The Father also comes in with Him to visit us, stay with us, and make His abode with us (14:23). In other words, the Father in Him and through the Spirit will be absolutely mingled with us. The Father in the Son and through the Spirit will be our abode, and we shall be the abode of the Triune God. In this way, the Triune God and we, we and the Triune God, will be built together, that is, God and man, man and God, will be built up together as one. This wonderful oneness is the central thought of God. The ultimate intention of God in the whole universe is that the Father in the Son as the Spirit might be wrought into us and mingled with us until the Triune God and humanity become a mutual abode. We have seen this in our study of chapter fourteen. This is the background of chapter fifteen.

2神在十五章的启示是富有意义、深奥且包罗的。这启示的思想和意义非常深。这一章首先指出的，就是三一神清楚的启示出来。父神被启示为栽培的人，祂与耕作、种植并收成有关。栽培的人就是农场的源头、创始者、建立者和种植者，是从事企业的人。整个宇宙乃是父的事业。换句话说，父有神圣的计画，永远的定旨，祂要完成祂定旨中的心意。这就是父是栽培的人的意义。祂是葡萄园的栽培者，计画要完成某个定旨。祂是源头、创立者，也是头一位照祂心意和定旨完成某些事的。并且，如圣经其他地方的细节所揭示的，父的喜悦乃是：祂的一切所是，祂神性所有的丰富，以及祂神格的一切丰满，都要成为葡萄树的丰富。父的一切所是，父的一切所有，父神圣生命的一切丰富，以及神格的一切丰满，都在葡萄树里。这都是为著那作这一切具体表现的葡萄树。葡萄树是神性和神格丰富之丰满的具体表现。父神的一切所是和所有都具体表现在葡萄树里。这章不仅将父启示出来，也启示子是葡萄树。子是葡萄树，乃是中心。整个宇宙被描绘为葡萄园，其中心就是子这葡萄树。子神是中心，一切都集中在祂里面。作为葡萄树，祂是葡萄园的中心。我们已经看见父神是源头、创立者，现在我们看见子神是中心。父神的一切所是和所有都为著这中心，都具体表现在这中心，并且藉著这中心彰显出来。父神藉这葡萄树得著彰显、表明并荣耀。所以父神是源头，子神是中心。

2The revelation of God in chapter fifteen is meaningful, profound, and all-inclusive. The thought and meaning of this revelation are very deep. The first thing to be pointed out in this chapter is that the Triune God is clearly revealed. God the Father is revealed as the husbandman who is related to a husbandry, a plantation, or a harvest. A husbandman is the source, the originator, the founder, and the planter of a husbandry. He is one who engages in an enterprise. The whole universe is the enterprise of the Father. In other words, the Father has a divine plan, an eternal purpose, and He wants to accomplish the intention behind His purpose. This is what is meant by the Father’s being the husbandman. He is the husbandman of the vineyard who plans to carry out a certain purpose. He is the source, the founder, and the first one to accomplish certain things according to His mind and purpose. Furthermore, as the details found in other parts of the Scriptures disclose, it is the Father’s pleasure that all that He is, all the riches of His divine nature, and all the fullness of the Godhead be the riches of the vine. All that the Father is, all that the Father has, all the riches of the Father’s divine life, and all the fullness of the Godhead are in the vine. This is all for the vine which is the embodiment of it all. The vine is the embodiment of the fullness of the riches of divinity and of the Godhead. All that God the Father is and has is embodied in the vine. This chapter not only reveals the Father but also the Son as the vine. As the vine, the Son is the center. The whole universe is pictured as a vineyard, and centered in this vineyard is the vine who is the Son. God the Son is the center. Everything is centralized in Him. He, as the vine, is the center of the vineyard. We have seen that God the Father is the source and founder, and now we see that God the Son is the center. Everything that God the Father is and has is for the center, is embodied in the center, and is expressed through the center. God the Father is expressed, manifested, and glorified through the vine. So God the Father is the source, and God the Son is the center

3最后，在这章末了两节，那灵被启示出来。在此，灵神称为实际的灵。这就是说，那灵乃是实际。凡父神在子里的所是，以及祂集中在子里的所有，都藉著那灵得以实化。父神在子里的一切所是，在灵神里乃是实际。集中在子里的一切，都被实际的灵所启示、证实、见证并实化。所以，父神是源头、创立者；子神是中心、具体表现和显明；灵神是实现、实际。这是极其深邃并深奥的。

3Finally, in the last two verses of this chapter the Spirit is revealed. Here God the Spirit is called the Spirit of reality. This means that the Spirit is the reality. Whatever God the Father is in the Son and whatever He has centralized in the Son will be realized by the Spirit. All that God the Father is in the Son is a reality in God the Spirit. Everything centralized in the Son is revealed, testified, witnessed, and realized by the Spirit of reality. Therefore, God the Father is the source, the founder; God the Son is the center, the embodiment, and the manifestation; and God the Spirit is the realization, the reality. This is exceedingly profound and deep.

4此外，在这启示里不仅有三一神，还有基督的身体；基督的身体就是召会。在这启示里，召会被比喻为葡萄树的枝子。葡萄树的枝子就是葡萄树的身体。你若将葡萄树的枝子折去，葡萄树就没有身体了。没有枝子，葡萄树除了根和干之外，便甚么都没有了。因此，枝子乃是葡萄树的身体。我们若仰望主，就会看见这是多么奇妙又奥秘的事。父神的一切所是和所有都集中并具体化在子神里，而这一切都实化在灵神里。现在这一切都已作到我们里面，并要藉著我们得彰显并证实。约翰十五章有四个非常重要的项目：父神是源头和创立者，子神是中心和彰显，灵神是实际和实化，而枝子是身体，团体的彰显。枝子是极其要紧的，因为牠们彰显神在基督里成为那灵是如何。没有枝子，就没有完满的彰显。这完满的彰显有赖于枝子，就是身体；因为神在子里并成为那灵，要藉著枝子，就是身体，彰显出来。父神一切的所是和所有都在子里，子一切的所是和所有都实化为那灵，那灵一切的所有都在身体，召会，就是我们里面。换句话说，作源头的父神具体表现在作中心的子神里，子神如今实化为那作实际的灵神。那灵所有的一切都已彰显在我们身上，就是彰显在枝子，召会里面。三一神在召会中得著彰显、表明并荣耀。壹葡萄树和枝子乃一生机体，

4Moreover, in this revelation there is not only the Triune God but also the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is the church. In this revelation the church is likened to the branches of the vine. The branches of a vine are simply the body of the vine. If you take away the branches from the vine, the vine will have no body. Without the branches the vine has nothing remaining except the root and the stem. Hence, the branches are the body of the vine. If we look to the Lord, we shall see what a wonderful and mysterious matter this is. All that God the Father is and has is centralized and embodied in God the Son, and all of this is realized in God the Spirit. Now all of this has been wrought into us and will be expressed and testified through us. John 15 has four very important items: God the Father as the source and founder, God the Son as the center and manifestation, God the Spirit as the reality and realization, and the branches as the Body, the corporate expression. The branches are very vital, for they express what God is in Christ as the Spirit. Without the branches there can be no full expression. The full expression depends upon the branches, the Body, for what God is in the Son and as the Spirit will be expressed by the branches, the Body. All that God the Father is and has is in the Son, all that the Son is and has is realized as the Spirit, and all that the Spirit has is in the Body, in the church, in us. In other words, God the Father as the source is embodied in God the Son as the center who is now realized as God the Spirit as the reality. All that the Spirit has is expressed in us, that is, in the branches, the church. The Triune God is expressed, manifested, and glorified in the church. I. The vine and the branches being an organism

彰显神圣生命的丰富以荣耀父

to glorify the Father by expressing the riches of the divine life

5在十五章一至十一节，我们看见葡萄树和枝子是一个生机体，彰显神圣生命的丰富以荣耀父。有的读者读到这篇信息，或许会对『生机体』一辞感到困惑。他们听见在神圣经纶中三一神的生机体，也许会觉得十分希奇。然而，我们惯说召会，基督的身体，不是一个组织，乃是一个生机体。组织和生机体有甚么区别？例如，一张桌子是一个组织，因为是由许多木块组合形成的一个实体。为甚么桌子是组织，不是生机体？因为桌子这一个单位没有生机。桌子没有生机，因为其中没有生命。表面看来，我们的身体也是一个组织；然而，牠比组织多得多，因为我们有生机，也有生命。既然我们的身体有生机和生命，牠就是一个生机体，而不仅仅是一个组织。照样，召会，基督的身体，乃是一个生机体。

5In 15:1-11 we see that the vine and the branches are an organism to glorify the Father by expressing the riches of the divine life. Some readers of this message might be bothered by the word organism; it may sound quite strange to their understanding to hear of the organism of the Triune God in the divine dispensation. But we are used to saying that the church, the Body of Christ, is not an organization but an organism. What is the difference between an organization and an organism? A table, for example, is an organization, for many pieces of wood are assembled to form one entity. Why is a table an organization and not an organism? Because in the table as a unit there is not one organ. There are no organs in a table because there is no life in a table. Apparently, our body is also an organization. However, it is much more than an organization because we have both organs and life. Since our body has both organs and life, it is an organism, not merely an organization. In like manner, the church, the Body of Christ, is an organism.

6甚么是基督的身体?那正是我们在第三十二篇信息里所说的－相互的住处，神性与人性的调和。如同我们所看见的，在十四章就有这样的一个调和。这调和就是神和人相互的住处。这相互的住处，这神性与人性的调和，因著满了生机和生命，所以是一个生机体。在约翰十五章，这生机体被比喻为葡萄树。葡萄树被用来当作这美妙生机体的图像。在这葡萄树里，有树的本身，并牠所有的枝子。主耶稣说，这葡萄树就是祂自己。（约十五1。）祂是这树，我们是这树的枝子。藉这清楚的图画我们能看见，我们是从这树分出来的枝子，因为枝子就是葡萄树的分枝。你若将枝子剪去，就只剩下一棵没有枝子、光秃秃的树，这树也没有分枝了。但今天这宇宙的葡萄树有许多的枝子，这些枝子都是祂的分枝。当主耶稣在地上时，祂仅是住在某个地方的一个小人物。但是看看祂今天的分枝：在华盛顿区、纽约、洛杉矶、伦敦、法兰克福、东京、马尼拉、台北、香港、并世界各地，都有祂分枝的部分。赞美主，在全地我们都看见这葡萄树的分枝！这不是一个组织，乃是一个有生命，连同许多器官、生机体系、和生机元素在其中生长的生机体。

6What is the Body of Christ? It is exactly what we have said in Message Thirty-two—the mutual abode, the mingling of divinity with humanity. As we have seen, there is such a mingling in chapter fourteen. This mingling is the mutual abode of God and man. This mutual abode, this mingling of divinity with humanity, being full of organs and life, is an organism. In John 15 this organism is likened to a vine tree. The grapevine is used as a figure of this wonderful organism. Within this vine tree we have the tree itself and all of its branches. The Lord Jesus said that the vine tree is just Himself (v. 1). He is the tree, and we are the branches of this tree. By this clear picture we can see that we are the branching out of the tree, for the branches are the branching out of the vine tree. If you were to cut off the branches, you would have just a bare tree without branches, and there would be no branching out of the vine. But today this universal vine tree has many branches, and these branches are simply His branching out. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was just a small man living in a certain place. But look at His branching out today: He has parts in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Manila, Taipei, Hong Kong, and throughout the world. Praise the Lord that throughout the whole earth we see the branching out of this vine tree! This is not an organization; it is an organism that has life with many organic elements, organs, and organic systems growing in it

7这葡萄树和枝子是一生机体以荣耀父。这里『荣耀』一辞意义何在?其意义是：将意向、内容、内在的生命和内在的丰富从里面释放并彰显出来。葡萄树和枝子是一个生机体以荣耀父，将意向、内容、内在的生命和内在的丰富从里面释放并彰显出来。作为荣耀父的生机体，葡萄树和枝子彰显神圣生命的丰富。当葡萄树结出累累的葡萄，那就是神圣生命的丰富彰显出来的时候。这彰显就是父的得荣，因为父就是这神圣的生命。父是葡萄树的源头和本质。没有果子，葡萄树的素质、本质和生命就被隐藏、遮蔽并限制。然而，葡萄树内在生命的丰富，藉著累累的果子得著彰显。我再说，这样彰显内在的生命，就是将神圣的素质从葡萄树里面释放出来。这就是父的得荣。

7The vine and the branches are an organism to glorify the Father. What is the meaning of the word glorify here? It means to have the intent, the content, the inner life, and the inner riches released from within and expressed. The vine and the branches are an organism to glorify the Father, to have the intent, the content, the inner life, and the inner riches released and expressed from within. As an organism to glorify the Father, the vine and the branches express the riches of the divine life. When the vine tree bears clusters of grapes, that is the time when the riches of the divine life are expressed. This expression is the glorification of the Father because the Father is the divine life. The Father is the source and the substance of the vine tree. Without the fruit, the essence, substance, and life of the vine tree would be concealed, hidden, and confined. However, the riches of the inner life of the vine are expressed in the clusters of fruit. I say again that to express the inner life in this way is to release the divine substance from within the vine. This is the glorification of the Father.

一神圣的经纶

A. The Divine Dispensation

1 神的经纶

1. God’sEcon o my

8葡萄树和枝子成为一个生机体以荣耀父，乃是神圣的经纶。这里经纶一辞的意思不是时代或一段时期，乃是分赐的意思。说到经纶或行政的希腊文，Oikonomia，奥依克诺米亚，已经英语化为ecnomy（经纶）一辞。这奥依克诺米亚是甚么?这经纶是甚么?乃是指一种行政的管理，就是一种对人的神圣经纶。根据希腊文，这辞在提前一章四节用得很明确。然而，钦定英文译本却繙作『敬虔的造就』－（godlyedifying）。牠应当译为神的经纶。

8To have the vine and the branches as an organism to glorify the Father is the divine dispensation. Here the word dispensation does not mean an age or a period of time. It means dispensing. This word has the same meaning as the word economy. Oikonomia, the Greek word for dispensation or administration, has been anglicized as the word economy. What is this oikonomia, this economy? It is a governmental administration, that is, a divine dispensation into mankind. This divine dispensation is God’secon o my. According to the Greek this word is used clearly in 1 Timothy 1:4. However, the King James Version rendered it “godly edifying.” It should be translated “God’secon o my” or “God’s dispensation

2 永远的定旨（计画）

2. The Eternal Purpose (Plan

9在以弗所三章十至十一节，我们读到神永远的定旨。永远的定旨这辞乃是圣经用语。按现代英语，该是永远的计画。在已过的永远，神为著将来的永远定了一个计画，所以，这计画是永远的计画。这计画是要许多人藉神的生命重生，成为基督的身体，并彰显那具体化在基督里神格一切的丰满。这就是神在已过的永远，为著将来的永远所定的永远计画。我们需要十分明白提前一章四节和以弗所三章十至十一节。我们需要非常熟悉这些经文。

9In Ephesians 3:10-11 we read of the eternal purpose of God. The words eternal purpose are a biblical term. According to modern English it should be eternal plan. In eternity past God made a plan for eternity future. Hence, this plan is an eternal plan. This plan is to have a large number of human beings regenerated with the divine life, become the Body of Christ, and express all the fullness of the Godhead embodied in Christ. This is the eternal plan, the plan that God made in eternity past for eternity future. We need to know 1 Timothy 1:4 and Ephesians 3:10-11 very well. We need to become more familiar with these verses.

3 在子里，藉著祂的身体，召会，彰显父神

3. To Express God the Father in the Son through His Body, the Church

10这葡萄树和枝子所构成的生机体，乃是父神在子里，藉著子的身体，召会，而有的彰显。关于这一点，我们需要看创世记一章二十六节。你曾否想过，在创世记一章二十六节中可以找到召会?召会就在那里，父的彰显也在那里。你若问何以会如此?我就要回答说，彰显就是形像。神照著祂自己的形像造人；最终，人成了神的彰显。那么召会如何？请注意，创世记一章二十六节所题到的人，并不是个别的人，乃是团体的人。神没有造出亿万的人，祂造了一个包含亿万人的团体人。正确的说，创世记一章二十六节所题到的人乃是人类，人类不是个别的，乃是团体的。召会是甚么?召会就是从人类拣选出来的部分。我们可以用制作家具的木料作比方，说明召会的这个定义。我也许收集许多材料，目的要制作一张桌子，但至终我只选了最好的部分，用来制作桌子。桌子作好以后，我就将余下的材料扔在一边。我只保存并宝爱我所作好的桌子。人类是神用来造成召会的材料。我们不知道这材料有多少已经牺牲了。神只拣选了人类的一部分，使其重生而成为召会。召会是一个团体的实体。这团体的实体在创世记一章二十六节像一粒种子种下，在启示录二十一章要收为成果。在那里我们看见，新耶路撒冷乃是那彰显神形像的生机体终极的完成。在创世记一章二十六节，我们看见照著神形像所造的团体人；在启示录二十一章，我们看见新耶路撒冷，就是神形像的团体彰显。种子在创世记种下，成果在启示录二十一章收割，而作物今天就在地上。

10This organism of the vine and the branches is the expression of God the Father in the Son through His Body, the church. In this regard we need to consider Genesis 1:26. Have you ever thought that the church is found in Genesis 1:26? The church is there. The expression of the Father is also there. If you were to ask how this can be so, I would reply that the expression is the image. God created man in His own image. Eventually, man became the expression of God. Then how about the church? Please notice that the man mentioned in Genesis 1:26 is not an individual man but a corporate man. God did not create millions of men; He created a corporate man who includes millions of persons. Properly speaking, the man mentioned in Genesis 1:26 is mankind, and mankind is not individual but corporate. What is the church? The church is a selected part of mankind. We may take as an illustration of this definition of the church the example of the wood used in making furniture. Although I may collect much material for the purpose of making a table, eventually I shall select only the best part of this material to use in making the table. After the table is made, I will cast the leftovers aside. I will keep and treasure only the table that I have made. Mankind is the material that God is using to make the church. We do not know how much of this material has been sacrificed. God has selected only a part of mankind to be regenerated and become the church. The church is a corporate entity. This corporate entity was sown as a seed in Genesis 1:26 and will be reaped as a harvest in Revelation 21 where we see the New Jerusalem as the ultimate consummation of the organism that expresses the divine image. In Genesis 1:26 we see a corporate man made in God’sim age; in Revelation 21 we see the New Jerusalem, the corporate expression of the image of God. The seed is sown in Genesis, the harvest is reaped in Revelation 21, and the crop is here on earth today.

二葡萄树－子神

B. The Vine, God the Son

1 神经纶的中心

1. The Center of God’sEcon o my

11子神是葡萄树，乃是神经纶的中心。子神是神事业、经营、企业的中心。神在宇宙中有一个经营，这经营就是祂神圣的事业。子这葡萄树就是这企业的中心。

11As the vine, the Son is the center of God’secon o my. God the Son is the center of God’s business, of God’so per at i on, of God’s enterprise. God has an operation in the universe. This operation is His divine business. The Son as the vine is the very center of this enterprise.

2 神格的具体化身和彰显

2. The Embodiment and the Manifestation of the Godhead

12这葡萄树是神格的具体化身和彰显。歌罗西二章九节说，神格一切的丰满，都有形有体的居住在子里面。约翰一章十八节说，『从来没有人看见神，只有在父怀里的独生子，将祂表明出来。』在歌罗西二章九节，我们看见子是神格的具体化身；在约翰一章十八节，我们看见祂是神的表明、彰显。所以子神，就是神宇宙的葡萄树，乃是神的具体化身和彰显。3满有生命的生机体，如同生命树这葡萄树是满有生命的生机体，像生命树一样。（创二9。）牠不是无生命的组织，像巴别塔那样。（创十一4，9。）生命树是生机体，巴别塔是组织。你喜欢有那一样，生命树还是巴别塔?巴别塔又大又高，而生命树或许和我们一样高。倘若生命树太高了，人就很难搆到牠。按照约翰六章，人想要强逼基督作王。这就是说，他们要使祂成为一座人塔。但祂宁愿作生命的粮，这就是说，祂要作生命树。

12This vine is the embodiment and manifestation of the Godhead. Colossians 2:9 says that in the Son the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” In Colossians 2:9 we see the Son as the embodiment of the Godhead, and in John 1:18 we see Him as the declaration, the manifestation, of God. So the very Son of God, who is God’s universal vine, is God’s embodiment and manifestation. 3. An Organism Full of Life, like the Tree of Life This vine is an organism full of life, like the tree of life (Gen. 2:9). It is not an organization without life, like the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:4, 9). The tree of life is an organism, and the tower of Babel is an organization. Which do you prefer to have—the tree of life or the tower of Babel? The tower of Babel was great and high, but the tree of life was probably the same height as we are. If the tree of life had been too high, it would have been awkward for people to reach it. According to John 6 the people tried to force Christ to be a king. This means that they wanted to make Him a tower. But He preferred to be the bread of life. This means that He wanted to be the tree of life

4 繁殖生命并繁增生命

4. To Propagate Life and to Multiply Life

13葡萄树非常适于繁殖生命并繁增生命。繁殖生命意即将生命广泛的布开，繁增生命意即使生命繁衍。从每一种植物生命，我们都看见繁殖和繁增。一粒麦子种在地里，长出三十、六十或一百个子粒来。这是生命的繁殖，也是生命的繁增。我们若深刻思想主将自己比喻为葡萄树的这件事，就会领悟在所有的植物、花卉、草木中，惟独葡萄树是表现生命繁殖与繁增最好的植物。葡萄树不是以牠的花朵或材料著称，乃是以牠生命之丰富的彰显闻名。一旦葡萄树满了成熟的果子，你很容易就能看出生命的丰富。所以葡萄树产生生命。主不是供人欣赏如花朵的生命，也不是用来当作某种材料的生命，主乃是带来生命，并产生生命的生命。

13The vine is very good for propagating life and for multiplying life. To propagate life means to spread life widely, and to multiply life means to reproduce life. With every kind of vegetable life we see the matters of propagation and multiplication. One grain of wheat is sown into the earth and grows into thirty, sixty, or a hundred other grains. This is both the propagation and the multiplication of life. If we consider deeply the matter of the Lord’s likening Himself to a vine, we shall realize that of all the plants, flowers, grasses, and trees, the vine is the best plant to show the propagation and multiplication of life. A vine is not noted for its blossoms or its materials; it is noted for its manifestation of the riches of life. Once a vine is full of ripened fruit, you can easily discern the riches of life. So the vine produces life. The Lord is not life for people to appreciate as blossoms; neither is He life to be used as some kind of material. Rather, the Lord is life to bring forth life and to produce life

5 彰显生命以荣耀父

5. To Express Life for the Glorification of the Father

14生命的繁殖和繁增，乃是为著彰显生命以荣耀父。当葡萄树的生命藉著枝子的繁殖和繁增而得著彰显时，父就得了荣耀，因为父在祂生命之丰富里的所是，在葡萄树的繁殖和繁增中得著彰显。

14The propagation and multiplication of life are to express life for the glorification of the Father. When the life of the vine is expressed through the branches in its propagation and multiplication, the Father is glorified, because what the Father is in the riches of His life is expressed in the propagation and multiplication of the vine.

6 不是为开花，也不是为取材

6. Not for Blossoms, Not for Materials

15正如我们已经指出的，葡萄树不是为开花，也不是为取材。葡萄树没有供我们欣赏的花朵。我听过人到华府去观赏美丽的樱花，但从未听说他们去看葡萄花。葡萄树并不是因花朵出名。我作孩子的时候，生长在一座葡萄园附近，每年我都看到很多葡萄藤，但几乎看不见葡萄花。葡萄的花非常微小，而且没有甚么色彩。葡萄树也不适合取材。（结十五2～。）没有家具是用葡萄树的木材作的。葡萄树的木材也不适于作柱子、梁、杆或壁炉架。你绝不会看见用葡萄树的木材盖造的房屋。葡萄树仅仅适于结果子，不适于开花或取材。

15As we have pointed out, the vine tree is good for neither blossoms nor materials. A vine has no flowers for us to appreciate. I have heard of people going to see the beautiful cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., but I have never heard of them going to see the blossoms of a vine. A vine is not noted for its blossoms. As a child, I was raised near a vineyard. Every year I saw the grapevines there, but I could hardly see any blossoms. The blossoms of a grapevine are very tiny and not at all colorful. Neither is the vine tree good for materials (Ezek. 15:2-3). No furniture is made of wood from a vine tree. 3 Neither is the wood of a vine tree good for making columns, beams, posts, or mantels. You will never see a building that has been constructed with the wood from a vine tree. The vine tree is good only for bearing fruit. It is not good for blossoms or materials.

16召会也是如此。你若来到召会，要看樱花，你将看不到甚么。同样的，你若来到召会，要选取材料，好为著制作家具并建立属世的组织，那你只会看见适于结果子的枝子。我们得重生是为著结果子。

16It is the same with the church. If you come to the church with the intention of seeing cherry blossoms, you will not see any. Likewise, if you come to the church to select material that is good for building furniture and worldly organizations, you will find only something that is good for bearing fruit. We were reborn to bear fruit

17我们都已经被毁坏了。就开花和取材而论，我们已经被毁坏。我们在这地上一无用处。倘若你还适于作甚么，那表示你仍是属世的。我们既不适于办教育，作生意或搞政治，甚至也不适于为宗教或作牧师。四十五年前我就完全被毁坏了。如今我是一个无用的人，一无用处。就人类社会和宗教组织而论，我是废物。你如何呢?赞美主，我们都是废物－因著耶稣，也为著耶稣，成了废物。我们都已经被祂毁坏了。你还能作一个好教授么?只有一种教授你该作，就是损毁的教授。你还能作一个好商人或农夫么?你必是一个损毁的商人或农夫。我们已经被毁坏了；除了结果子，以彰显在子里的父之外，已经一无用处。在召会中你看不见花朵或材料。你只会看见一些小人物，除了结果子之外一无用处。

17We all have been ruined. We have been ruined for blossoms and we have been ruined for materials. We are good for nothing on this earth. If you are still good for something, it means that you are still worldly. We are not good for education, business, or politics. We are not even good for religion or for being a pastor. Forty- five years ago I was completely ruined. Now I am a useless person who is good for nothing. As far as human society and religious organizations are concerned, I am a waste. How about you? Praise the Lord that we are all a waste—a waste because of Jesus and a waste for Jesus. We all have been ruined by Him. Are you still able to be a good professor? The only kind of professor you should be is a wasted professor. Can you still be a good businessman or farmer? You must be a wasted businessman or farmer. We have been ruined and are good for nothing except fruit -be aring, for expressing the Father in the Son. In the church you will not see blossoms or materials. You will see only small men who are good for nothing except for bearing fruit.

三栽培的人－父神

C. The Husbandman, God the Father

18栽培的人乃是父神。父是栽培的人，是葡萄树的源头、创始者、计画者、种植者、生命、本质、土壤、水分、空气、阳光和一切。正如我们所已经指出的，父神的一切所是、所有并所能，都已经具体化身在葡萄树里了。子是葡萄树，是神经纶的中心，也是父一切丰富的具体化身。父藉著栽培子，将祂自己连同祂一切的丰富，都作到这葡萄树里面；至终，这葡萄树藉著枝子，作父团体的彰显。这就是父在宇宙中的经纶。

18The husbandman is God the Father. The Father as the husbandman is the source, the author, the planner, the planter, the life, the substance, the soil, the water, the air, the sunshine, and everything to the vine. As we have already pointed out, whatever God the Father is, has, and can do has all been embodied in the vine tree. The Son as the vine is the center of God’secon o my and the embodiment of all the riches of the Father. The Father, by cultivating the Son, works Himself with all of His riches into this vine, and eventually the vine expresses the Father through its branches in a corporate way. This is the Father’secon o my in the universe

19在旧约里，在神眼中，以色列人是葡萄树。（诗八十8，参赛五2，耶二21，结十九10，十五2。）但是以色列人这葡萄树，却使神失望，因为他们未给神机会藉他们彰显神自己。虽然神曾试图藉著他们彰显祂自己，他们却令祂失望。最后在新约中，真以色列来了。主耶稣是真以色列，是能完满彰显神的真葡萄树。这真葡萄树是神的具体化身，也是神的完满彰显。神的所是和神的所有都已经具体化身在这真葡萄树里面，并藉这真葡萄树得以完满的彰显。

19In the Old Testament the children of Israel were a vine in the eyes of God (Psa. 80:8; cf. Isa. 5:2; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 19:10; 15:2). But Israel failed God as the vine, for they did not give God the opportunity to express Himself through them. Although God tried to express Himself through them, they failed Him. Finally, in the New Testament the real Israel came. The Lord Jesus as the true Israel is the true vine which can fully express God. This true vine is the very embodiment of God and the full manifestation of God. What God is and what God has are embodied in this true vine and fully manifested through this true vine

四枝子－在子里的信徒

D. The Branches, the Believers in the Son

20没有别的植物能比葡萄树更适当的说明我们和主之间活的关系。我们是葡萄树的枝子。这使你们想到怎样的关系?枝子除了彰显葡萄树以外，一无用处。葡萄树的一切所是和所有都藉著枝子得以彰显。就个人说，枝子乃是重生的人；就团体说，他们是召会，基督的身体。（弗一22～23。）枝子，在子里的信徒，乃是藉著结果子以彰显子连同父的。

20No plant other than the vine tree can illustrate adequately the living relationship between us and the Lord. We are the branches of the vine. What kind of relationship does this suggest to you? The branches are good for nothing except to express the vine. All that the vine is and has is expressed through the branches. Individually, the branches are the regenerated ones. Corporately, they are the church, the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). The branches, the believers in the Son, are for the expression of the Son with the Father through the fruit-bearing

五结果子

E. The Fruit-bearing

1 内在生命之丰富的洋溢

1. The Overflow of the Riches of the Inner Life

21甚么是结果子?就是内在生命之丰富的洋溢。不要试图用自己的努力领人归与基督，不要用计谋赢得灵魂。结果子乃是你内在生命洋溢的事。我们需要不断享受基督作我们的一切，然后我们才会有丰盛的内在生命；从这丰盛的内在生命，就有一道流临到别人，透入他们的生命。这流会结出许多果子来。这不单单是讲道或救灵魂，必须是藉著内在生命之丰富的洋溢以结果子。

21What is fruit-bearing? It is the overflow of the riches of the inner life. Do not try to bring people to Christ by your own effort. Do not use schemes to win souls. Bearing fruit is a matter of the overflow of your inner life. We need continuously to enjoy Christ as everything to us. Then we shall have an abundance of inner life. Out of this abundance of inner life there will be a flow that will reach others, penetrating into their lives. This flow will bear much fruit. It is not just preaching or soul-winning; it must be fruit-bearing by the overflow of the riches of the inner life.

2 在子里彰显父

2. To Express the Father in the Son

22这种结果子乃是内在生命的表显。葡萄树的内在生命乃是父一切所是和所有的丰富。这是藉著葡萄树结果子得彰显的。因此，葡萄树结果子就是在子里彰显父。

22This kind of fruit-bearing is the manifestation of the inner life. The inner life of the vine is the riches of all that the Father is and has. This is to be manifested by the fruit-bearing of the vine. Hence, the vine’s fruit- bearing is to express the Father in the Son

3 解人干渴

3. To Satisfy Man’s Thirst

23结果子也能解人干渴。葡萄树结果子－葡萄；从这些葡萄所作成的酒或葡萄汁，可解人干渴。今天，我们必须被基督生命的丰富充满，好结出累累的葡萄，以产生汁或酒解人干渴。我们都需要祷告：『主阿，愿你的生命从我里面涌流，好解人干渴。』

23Fruit-bearing also satisfies man’s thirst. The vine tree bears fruit—grapes. Out of these grapes either wine or grape juice is made to quench people’s thirst. Today we must be so filled with the riches of Christ’s life that we may be able to bear clusters of grapes that will produce either juice or wine to quench man’s thirst. We all need to pray, “Lord, may Your life flow out of me to quench others’ thirst

4 藉著住在葡萄树里，也让葡萄树住在枝子里

4. By Abiding in the Vine and Letting the Vine Abide in the Branches

24结果子是由于枝子住在葡萄树里，也让葡萄树住在枝子里。在约翰十五章，『住』是很要紧的事。这一章的每件事都有赖于『住。』真正的住有赖于清楚的异象，清楚的看见：你是枝子。一旦你看见自己是枝子，你就很难离开葡萄树，你会想要留在葡萄树里。这留就是住。不必努力去住，因为你越努力，就会越脱开。我们需要祷告：『主阿，给我清楚看见我是一根枝子。』我相信有一天主会给你看见。你会看见你是一根枝子；并且说，『赞美主，我是一根枝子。』这样，你就会住在祂里面。只要你住在祂里面，祂就住在你里面。祂住在我们里面，有赖于我们住在祂里面。我们的住是祂住的条件；而祂住在我们里面，却不是我们住在祂里面的条件。在祂来说，没有甚么是带有条件的；但在我们来说，由于我们刻变时翻，所以需要有条件。我们若不住在祂里面，祂就无法住在我们里面。虽然祂不改变，我们却是多变。我们可能今天住在祂里面，明天就离开了祂。所以，祂住在我们里面有赖于我们住在祂里面。我们住在祂里面是祂住在我们里面的条件。所以主说，『你们要住在我里面，我也住在你们里面。』我们若住在祂里面，祂就必定住在我们里面。我们若不住在祂里面，我们就不能满足祂住在我们里面的条件。祂的住有赖于

24The fruit-bearing comes about as the branches abide in the vine and let the vine abide in the branches. In John 15 abiding is a crucial matter. Everything in this chapter depends upon the abiding. The real abiding depends upon a clear vision, a clear seeing, that you are a branch. Once you see that you are a branch, it will be difficult for you to stay away from the vine. You will want to remain in the vine. This remaining is the abiding. Do not try to abide, for the more you try, the more you will fall away. We need to pray, “Lord, show me clearly that I am one of the branches.” I believe that one day the Lord will show you. You will see that you are one of the branches and you will say, “Praise the Lord, I am one of the branches.” Then you will abide in Him. As long as you abide in Him, He will abide in you. His abiding in us depends upon our abiding in Him. Our abiding is the condition of His abiding, but His abiding in us is not a condition of our abiding in Him. Nothing is conditional with Him, but with us, because we are so fluctuating, there is the need of a condition. If we do not abide in Him, there is no way for Him to abide in us. Although He does not change, we have many changes. We may abide in Him today and run away from Him tomorrow. Therefore, His abiding in us depends upon our abiding in Him. Our abiding in Him is the condition of His abiding in us. So the Lord says, “Abide in Me and I in you.” If we abide in Him, He will certainly abide in us. If we do not abide in Him, we fail to meet the condition of His abiding in us. His abiding depends upon our abiding. This mutual abiding will bring forth fruit.

25我们的住。这相互的住就会结果子。

5 是团体的

5. In a Corporate Way

26所有结果子的枝子都是相互关联的。他们因著住在葡萄树里，就没有一个是离开树而结果子的。他们都是藉著那流通在他们里面的同一生命结果子。表面看来，他们各人是个别的结果子；实际上，他们都在同一棵树上，且以同一生命团体的结果子。今天我们结果子，也必须如此，在一个身体里，并以同一的生命结果子。

26All the branches that bear the fruit are related one to another. By their abiding in the vine, none of them bears fruit in the way of being separate from the tree. All of them bear fruit by the same life that circulates in them. Apparently, each one of them bears fruit separately; actually, all of them bear fruit corporately in one tree and with one life. Today our fruit-bearing must be like this, in one Body and with one life

六修剪

F. The Pruning

27现在我们来看修剪。在二节，主说到父：『凡结果子的，祂就修理干净，使枝子结果子更多。』修剪是必需的。修剪的意义是除去废物。废物多半来自过于老旧的东西。当枝子老旧了，牠们就不再结果子。要使这些枝子结果子，就必须剪去枝子老旧的部分，让嫩枝发出来。结果子的不是老枝，而是嫩枝。这就是为甚么我们有时会有苦难的原因。苦难就是一种修剪，剪去老旧的部分，使我们更新而结果子。修剪藉著修理和折损而发生，这是为著多结果子。

27Now we come to the pruning. In verse 2 the Lord said of the Father that “every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit.” Pruning is needed. The meaning of pruning is to purge away the waste. Waste comes mostly from something that is too old. When the branches become old, they cease to bear fruit. The way to cause these branches to bear fruit is to cut away the old part of the branches and let new sprouts come out. It is not the old branches that bear the fruit but the new sprouts. This is the reason why we have sufferings at times. The sufferings are the pruning which cuts off the old part that we may become new to bear fruit. Pruning takes place by cutting and breaking. This is for the bearing of much fruit

七丢在外面

G. The Casting Out

1 将枝子从葡萄树生命之丰富的享受中剪除

1. To Cut Off a Branch from the Enjoyment of the Riches of the Life of the Vine

28说到这点，我们需要说一点『丢在外面。』在六节主说，『人若不住在我里面，就像枝子丢在外面枯干了，人收集起来，扔在火里烧了。』在约翰十五章没有得救或灭亡的思想。我们读约翰十五章时，需要忘记这观念。这一章的观念是：我们是享受葡萄树的丰富以结果子，或是失去这树的丰富。丢在外面并不是失去我们的救恩，乃是从葡萄树生命之丰富的享受中被剪除。枝子被剪除，就不再有分于葡萄树生命的丰富。许多基督徒失去了基督作生命之丰富的享受，这就是说他们已经被剪除。

28At this point we need to say a word about the casting out. In verse 6 the Lord said, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” In John 15 there is no thought of being saved or of perishing. We need to forget this concept when we come to John 15. The concept in this chapter is whether we shall enjoy the riches of the vine tree to bear fruit or miss the riches of the tree. To be cast out is not to lose our salvation; it is to be cut off from the enjoyment of the riches of the life of the vine tree. When a branch is cut off, it no longer participates in the riches of the life of the vine. Many Christians have lost the enjoyment of the riches of Christ as life. This means that they have been cut off.

2 将枝子从众枝子的交通中剪除

2. To Cut Off a Branch from the Fellowship of the Branches

29丢在外面也就是从众枝子的交通中被剪除。被剪除的枝子与其他的枝子不再有生命中的交通。许多基督徒就是这样，他们与其他的基督徒没有生命中的交通。

29To be cast out also means to be cut off from the fellowship of the branches. A branch that is cut off no longer has fellowship in life with the other branches. Many Christians are like this. They have no fellowship in life with other Christians

3 将枝子从子同著父的彰显上剪除

3. To Cut Off a Branch from the Expression of the Son with the Father

30不仅如此，丢在外面也就是从子同著父的彰显上被剪除、隔离。枝子丢在外面，就再也不能彰显葡萄树。今天许多基督徒不能作子同著父的彰显，因为他们是从葡萄树被剪除的枝子。

30Furthermore, to be cast out means to be cut off, to be separated, from the expression of the Son with the Father. When a branch is cast out, there is no more expression of the vine. Many Christians today cannot have the expression of the Son with the Father because they are branches that have been cut off from the vine

4 将枝子从神圣的定旨中剪除

4. To Cut Off a Branch from the Divine Purpose

31最后，丢在外面也就是从神圣的定旨中被剪除。父神，栽培子这葡萄树的神圣定旨，是要彰显神格的丰满。枝子从葡萄树上折下而丢在外面，就是从这神圣的定旨中被剪除。今天，许多的基督徒被剪除，无分于神圣的定旨。枝子丢在外面，就失去了对基督丰富的享受，也得不著其他同作枝子者丰富的交通，并从神的彰显上隔绝，且从神的定旨中被剪除。你若不结果子，意思就是你已经从基督之丰富的享受中被剪除了。然而，这并不是说人会灭亡。你或许想知道扔在火里是甚么意思。这意思是枯干。许多基督徒的确有枯干的感觉。十章说到永远得救或失丧的问题；十五章与得救的问题无关，牠乃是论到享受基督的丰富，有分于同作枝子者之间美好的交通，彰显神的形像，以及完成神的定旨。这是约翰十五章的主要观念。

31Finally, to be cast out is to be cut off from the divine purpose. The divine purpose of God the Father in cultivating the Son as the vine tree is to express the fullness of the Godhead. To be cast out as a branch from the vine tree is to be cut off from this divine purpose. Many Christians today are cut off from participation in the divine purpose. When a branch is cast out, it loses the enjoyment of the riches of Christ, misses the rich fellowship of its co-branches, is separated from the expression of God, and is cut off from the purpose of God. If you do not bear fruit, it means that you have been cut off from the enjoyment of the riches of Christ. This, however, does not mean that a person will be lost. Perhaps you are wondering what it means to be cast into the fire. It means to be dried up. Many Christians do have the sensation of being dried up. The matter of being eternally saved or lost is covered in chapter ten. Chapter fifteen is not concerned with the matter of salvation but with the matter of the enjoyment of the riches of Christ, the participation in the wonderful fellowship among the co-branches, the expression of the divine image, and the fulfillment of God’s purpose. This is the main concept of John 15