歌罗西书生命读经 · 第51篇

在基督里面已经生根，并正被建造（一）

HAVING BEEN ROOTED IN CHRIST AND BEING BUILT UP IN HIM (1

1读经：歌罗西书2:7a,19;3:10-11，哥林多前书3:6,9，以弗所书2:21;4:13b,15-16。

1Scripture Reading: Col. 2:7a, 19; 3:10-11; 1 Cor. 3:6, 9; 6:17; Eph. 2:21; 4:13b, 15-16

一卷经历的书

A BOOK OF EXPERIENCE

2许多读新约的人将歌罗西书视为一卷道理的书。然而，歌罗西书也是一卷经历的书。这卷书启示这位延展无限、包罗万有的基督对我们是主观的，因为祂住在我们里面，成了我们荣耀的盼望，（一，）并且祂是我们的生命。（三4。）没有甚么比我们自己的生命对我们更主观了。事实上，我们的生命就是我们。说基督是我们的生命，意思就是说，基督成了我们。基督若没有真正成为我们，怎能是我们的生命？这是不可能的。有些基督教教师反对我们所看见主观经历基督的启示。按照他们的说法，我们自封为神，使自己变成神。他们宣称我们教导人说，我们自己变得和神一样，这就是自封为神。虽然我们的确没有教导人，我们会变成神自己，或者我们会像神一样受人敬拜；但基督住在我们里面，并且是我们的生命，却是千真万确的。祂在我们的经历中成了我们。正如保罗所说的，『在我，活著就是基督。』（腓一21。）我们已经指出，基督不成为我们，就不能作我们的生命。生命就是我们的所是。因此，基督是我们的生命，意思就是祂成了我们的所是。基督成了我们的所是，就是基督成了我们。基督对我们是客观的，也是主观的。我们照著道理，同时也照著经历来认识基督。一面，我们的基督是在诸天之上的宝座上；另一面，祂是在我们的灵里。我们敬拜在诸天之上登宝座的基督，但我们经历、享受、并有分于我们灵里内住的基督。我们非常主观的与祂是一。正如保罗在林前六章十七节所说的：『但与主联合的，便是与主成为一灵。』基督对我们主观到一个地步，祂与我们，我们与祂，已经成为一灵。与主成为一灵，比得著恩赐和神迹更大。我们既与主成了一灵，在我们日常生活中，就必须经历与祂是一灵。

2Many readers of the New Testament consider Colossians a book of doctrine. However, Colossians is also a book of experience. The extensive, all - inclusive Christ revealed in this book is subjective to us, for He dwells in us as our hope of glory (1:27), and He is our life (3:4). Nothing can be 27 more subjective to us than our own life. In fact, our life is us. To say that Christ is our life means that Christ becomes us. How could Christ be our life without actually becoming us? It would be impossible. Some Christian teachers oppose the revelation we have seen concerning the subjective experience of Christ. According to them, we deify ourselves, we make ourselves God. They claim that we teach that the self becomes the same as God and that this is self-deification. Although we definitely do not teach that we become God Himself or that we shall ever be worshipped as deity, it is nonetheless true that Christ dwells in us and that He is our life. He becomes us in our experience. As Paul says, “To me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). We have pointed out that Christ cannot be our life without becoming us. Life is our very being. Hence, for Christ to be our life means that He becomes our being. For Christ to become our being is for Christ to become us. To us, Christ is both objective and subjective. We know Christ both according to doctrine and according to experience. On the one hand, our Christ i son the throne in the heavens. On the other hand, He is in our spirit. We worship the enthroned Christ in the heavens, but we experience, enjoy, and partake of the indwelling Christ in our spirit. We are one with Him in a very subjective way. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:17, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” Christ is subjective to us to such a degree that He and we, we and He, have become one spirit. To be one spirit with the Lord is greater than to have gifts and miracles. Now that we have become one spirit with the Lord, in our daily life we need to experience being one spirit with Him.

3几年前，我和一些常常谈论歌罗西一章二十七节的圣徒们在一起。虽然他们能说，内住的基督成了荣耀的盼望，但对基督的经历却少之又少。对他们来说，内住的基督仅仅是道理，不是实际。在实际的日常生活中，他们有道德、守宗教，但他们没有活基督。连他们的爱也是天然、伦理的爱，不是从他们里面活出之基督的彰显。在这些信徒身上，你可以看见宗教与道德，但你看不见多少的基督。今天许多基督徒也是这样，他们在道理上认识基督，但对基督没有多少真实的经历。然而，保罗写歌罗西书乃是照著道理，同时也照著经历。在二章七节，保罗说到在基督里面已经生根，并正被建造。生根和建造都是主观的，也是经历的。我们必须清楚认识，甚么是在基督里生根，在祂里面被建造。我们不该把二章七节视为理所当然，也不该因著难以领会就避而不谈。反之，我们应当思想、祷读、并查考这一节，直到我们得著亮光。

3Some years ago I stayed with some saints who talked a lot about Colossians 1:27. Although they could speak of the indwelling Christ as the hope of glory, they had very little experience of Christ. To them, the indwelling Christ was merely a doctrine, not a reality. In their practical daily living, they were ethical and religious, but they did not live Christ. Even their love was a natural, ethical love, not the expression of Christ lived out from within them. In these believers you could see religion and ethics, but you could not see much of Christ. This is true of many Christians today. They know Christ in doctrine, but they have very little genuine experience of Him. However, when Paul wrote the book of Colossians, he wrote both according to doctrine and according to experience. In 2:7 Paul speaks of having been rooted and being built up in Christ. Both being rooted and being built up are subjective and experiential. We need a clear understanding of what it is to be rooted in Christ and to be built up in Him. We should neither take 2:7 for granted, nor avoid it because we find it difficult to understand. Instead, we should dwell on this verse, pray-reading it and studying it until we receive light

两个条件

TWO CONDITIONS

4在基督里面已经生根，并正被建造，都与在基督里行事为人有关。（二6～7。）我们若要在基督里行事为人，就必须符合两个条件：我们必须在祂里面生根，也必须在一个过程中，就是在祂里面正被建造。一面，我们在基督里面已经生根；另一面，我们在祂里面正被建造。我们符合这两个条件，就能在基督里行事为人。我们都需要在经历中认识在基督里面生根，并在祂里面被建造的意义。

4Having been rooted in Christ and being built up in Christ are both related to walking in Christ (2:6). If we would walk in Christ, we must meet two conditions: we must be rooted in Him, and we must be in the process of being built up in Him. On the one hand, we have already been rooted in Christ; on the other hand, we are being built up in Him. When these conditions are met, we shall be able to walk in Christ. In experience we all need to know what it means to be rooted in Christ and to be built up in Him

栽种在基督里

PLANTED INTO CHRIST

5我们要在基督里生根，就必须先栽种在祂里面。圣经许多处说到栽种。我们在摩西的歌里读到这样的话：『你要将他们领进去，栽于你产业的山上；耶和华阿，就是你为自己所造的住处。』（出十五17。）诗篇九十二篇十三节说，『他们栽于耶和华的殿中，发旺在我们神的院里。』在耶利米二章二十一节，主论到祂的百姓说，『然而我栽你是上等的葡萄树，全然是真种子。』在三十二章四十一节，祂说，『我…要尽心尽意，诚诚实实，将他们栽于此地。』在马太十五章十三节，主耶稣说，『凡不是我天父所栽种的植物，必要连根拔出来。』按照约翰十五章，主耶稣看祂自己是葡萄树，父是栽培的人，就是栽种1并照管这棵葡萄树的那位。保罗在林前三章九节说，我们这些信徒乃是神的耕地；他也宣告说，『我栽种了，亚波罗浇灌了，惟有神叫他生长。』（6。）如今在歌罗西二章七节我们看见，我们已经生根在基督里面。基督乃是土地、土壤，神已将我们栽种在祂里面。

5In order to be rooted in Christ, we must first be planted into Him. In a number of places, the Bible speaks of planting. In the song of Moses we read these words: “Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in” (Exo. 15:17). Psalm 92:13 says,”Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.” In Jeremiah 2:21 the Lord says of His people, “Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed,” and in 32:41, “I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.” In Matthew 15:13 the Lord Jesus said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up.” According to John 15, the Lord Jesus regarded Himself as a vine and the Father as the husbandman, the One who planted the vine and cares for it. In Corinthians 3:9 Paul says that we, the believers, are God’s farm (Gk.). He also declares, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6, Gk.). Now in Colossians 2:7 we see that we have been rooted into Christ. Christ is the land, the soil, and God has planted us into Him.

6按照圣经来看，基督是独一的树，我们已经接枝在其中；基督也是土地、土壤，我们已经栽种在祂里面。我们已经接枝到基督里面，并且栽种在祂里面。因此，美地与土壤就等于这棵树。这又指明基督乃是我们的一切。既然基督是树，也是美地，我们就可以说，我们已经接枝到基督里面，并且栽种在祂里面。按照约翰十五章，父神是栽种者、栽培的人；祂的儿子基督乃是宇宙的葡萄树。这位基督也是美地与土壤。我们已经接枝到作为葡萄树的基督里面，并且也栽种在作为土壤的基督里面。歌罗西二章十一节说到割礼，就是一种的切割；这与接枝到基督里面有关。我们已指出，二章七节说到我们在基督里面已经生根；这与栽种在祂里面有关。在本篇信息中，我们所关心的，不是接枝的一面，乃是栽种的一面。我们这些栽种在基督里面的人，已经生根在祂里面。细小的根毛如何从土壤里吸取丰富，我们也照样吸取基督丰富的滋养。我们是树，基督是土壤，我们已经栽种在其中，并且生根在里面。如今我们将祂的丰富吸取到我们里面，而且我们因著从这些丰富所得著的滋养而长大。

6According to the Scriptures, Christ is the unique tree into which we have been grafted and also the land, the soil, into which we have been planted. We have been both grafted into Christ and planted into Him. Hence, the good land with the soil is equal to the tree. This is another indication that Christ is everything to us. Since Christ is both the tree and the good land, we can say that we have been grafted into Christ and also that we have been planted into Him. According to John 15, God the Father is the Planter, the Husbandman, whose Son, Christ, is the universal vine. This Christ is also the good land with the soil. We have been grafted into Christ as the vine and planted into Him as the soil. Colossians 2:11 speaks of circumcision, a type of cutting. This is related to being grafted into Christ. As we have pointed out, 2:7 speaks of having been rooted in Christ. This is related to being planted into Him. In this message our concern is not with the aspect of grafting, but with the aspect of planting. As those who have been planted into Christ, we have been rooted in Him. Just as the tiny root hairs absorb the riches from the soil, so we absorb the rich nourishment of Christ. We are trees, and Christ is the soil into which we have been planted and in which we are rooted. Now we are absorbing His riches into us, and we grow by the nourishment we receive from these riches

在生命里的一个单位

ONE UNIT IN LIFE

7保罗在林前三章六节说，他栽种了，亚波罗浇灌了，惟有神叫人生长。这指明信徒是植物，基督是土壤。现在我们必须问，这个栽种是在我们里面的那一部分进行。当然不是在心思里，也不是在肉身里，乃是在我们的灵里。栽种在基督里面，以及在祂里面生根的经历，乃是在我们的灵里发生的。林前六章十七节说，『但与主联合的，便是与主成为一灵。』一棵植物在土壤里生根，就与土壤成为一了。首先植物进到土壤里；然后土壤中的养分进到植物里。这样，植物与土壤就在生命上成为一了。土壤中的养分符合植物的生命，植物里的东西也符合土壤里的元素。我们可以说，植物与土壤之间有一种交通。在这交通里面，植物和土壤里彼此相符的因素，就在生命上成为一了。因此，植物与土壤在生命里成了一个单位。

7In 1 Corinthians 3:6 Paul says that he planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the growth. This indicates that the believers are plants and that Christ is the soil. Now we need to ask in what part of our being this planting has taken place. Certainly it is neither in the mind nor in the physical body. Rather, it is in our spirit. The experience of being planted into Christ and rooted in Him takes place in our spirit. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” When a plant is rooted in the soil, it becomes one with the soil. First the plant gets into the soil; then the nourishment in the soil comes into the plant. In this way, the plant and the soil become one in life. The nourishing element in the soil corresponds to the life in the plant, and something within the plant corresponds to the element in the soil. We may say that there is a fellowship between the plant and the soil. In this fellowship those factors in the plant and in the soil which correspond to each other become one in life. Thus, the plant and the soil become one unit in life.

8我们在灵里有栽种在基督里的经历，因我们在灵里与祂联合，并与祂成为一灵。主就是我们在其中生根的土壤，祂乃是那灵。如果祂不是那灵，我们就无法栽种在祂里面。赞美主，祂就是那灵，并且祂在我们里面造了一个灵！倘若我们只有身体与魂，没有灵，我们就不可能栽种在主这位赐生命的灵里。然而，因著主是那灵，又因著我们有灵，我们与祂就一致了。我们重生的时候，基督这位赐生命的灵便与我们的灵成为一。约翰三章六节清楚的指明，重生是在灵里发生的。我们重生时，就在基督这土壤里生了根。这就是保罗在二章七节里用完成式的原因。我们在灵里重生的时候，就栽种并生根到基督里了。按照二章六至七节，我们能在基督里行事为人之前，必须先生根在祂里面。我们要在基督里行事为人，就必须从住在我们灵里的那灵吸取丰富的营养。然而，我们若留在魂里─留在我们的心思、情感、意志里，我们就得不著滋养或供应。我们需要转到灵里，转到我们蒙了重生并被栽种在神圣之灵里的地方。在重生的时候，神圣的灵与我们的灵之间所发生的事，会一直存到永远。我们可以说，我们的灵已经与神圣的灵结婚了，因此二灵进入一种永远的联结里。这个婚姻不可能有分居或离婚。虽然天然的心思也许不喜欢这个婚姻，但我们的灵却很珍赏。每当我们在日常生活中面临难处时，我们不该留在天然的心思里，乃该转到灵里。然而，我们多半宁愿留在心思、情感、意志里。如果我们留在魂里，不转到灵里，就不能在基督里行事为人。我们要在祂里面行事为人，就必须在我们的经历中实际的生根于祂。我们惟有留在灵里，才能真在基督里生根，因而能在祂里面行事为人。我们已经栽种在基督里面，但是惟有当我们转到灵里，我们才有在祂里面生根的经历。我们既然在基督里面已经生根，就能在祂里面行事为人。这样，我们便经历基督作美地和丰富的土壤，供应我们滋养人的生命元素。我们越生根到这土壤里面，就越将基督的滋养吸收到我们全人里面。这不是在道理上客观的基督，这乃是在经历中主观的基督。

8In our spirit we have the experience of being planted into Christ, for here we are joined to Him and become one spirit with Him. The Lord, who is the soil in which we are rooted, is the Spirit. If He were not the Spirit, there would be no way for us to be planted into Him. Praise Him that He is the Spirit and that we have been created with a spirit! If we had only a body and a soul but had no spirit, it would not be possible for us to be planted into the Lord as the life-giving Spirit. However, because the Lord is the Spirit and because we have a spirit, there is a correspondence between us and Him. When we were regenerated, Christ as the life-giving Spirit became one with our spirit. As John 3:6 clearly indicates, regeneration takes place in the spirit. When we were regenerated, we were rooted in Christ as the soil. This is the reason Paul uses the perfect tense in 2:7. We were planted and rooted in Christ when we were regenerated in spirit. According to 2:6 and 7, we must be rooted in Christ before we can walk in Him. In order to walk in Christ, we must absorb the rich nourishment from the Spirit who dwells in our spirit. However, if we remain in the soul—in our mind, emotion, or will—we shall not receive nourishment or supply. We need to turn to the spirit, to the very place where we have been regenerated and planted into the divine Spirit. The transaction that took place between the divine Spirit and our spirit at the time of regeneration remains forever. We may say that our spirit has married the divine Spirit and thus the two spirits have entered into an eternal union. With this marriage there can be no separation, no divorce. Although the natural mind may not like this marriage, our spirit appreciates it. Whenever we face difficulties in our daily living, we should not remain in the natural mind, but turn to the spirit. However, we often prefer to remain in the mind, emotion, or will. If we stay in the soul instead of turning to the spirit, we shall not be able to walk in Christ. To walk in Him we must be rooted in Him in a practical way in our experience. Only when we remain in the spirit are we actually rooted in Christ and thus able to walk in Him. We have been planted into Christ. But when we turn to our spirit, we have the experience of being rooted in Him. Having been rooted in Christ, we are able to walk in Him. In this way we experience Christ as the good land with the rich soil that affords us the nourishing life element. The more we are rooted into this soil, the more we absorb the nourishment of Christ into our being. This is not the objective Christ in doctrine; it is the subjective Christ in our experience.

真正的长大

GENUINE GROWTH

9我们在基督里生根，并将祂的丰富吸收到我们里面，结果我们就在祂里面长大，正如树吸取土壤里的养分而长大一样。一棵树要长大，就必须得著一些实质的养分。土壤里的养分成了使树长大的实质。今天很少基督徒知道真正的长大是甚么。真正的长大不是得著更多道理知识的结果；真正的长大乃是转到灵里，留在灵里，并吸取基督养分的结果。我们惟有吸收这种元素，才能在属灵上长大。这丰富的元素越加到我们里面，我们就越长大。

9As a result of being rooted in Christ and absorbing His riches into us, we grow in Him, just as trees grow by absorbing nourishment from the soil. In order for a tree to grow, it must receive some substantial nourishment. The nourishment in the soil becomes the substance by which a tree grows. Not many of today’s Christians realize what genuine growth is. True growth is not the result of acquiring more doctrinal knowledge. It is the result of turning to the spirit, remaining in the spirit, and absorbing the nourishing element of Christ. Only by assimilating this element can we grow spiritually. The more this rich element is added into our being, the more we grow

10歌罗西二章十九节说，藉著持定元首，身体就『以神的增长而长大』。以神的增长而长大，就是得著神自己加到我们里面而长大。惟有我们在基督这土壤里生根的时候，这件事才会发生。神自己带著祂的元素和实质，就是在基督里丰富的滋养。如果我们一直在灵里生根，吸取这种元素，这便叫我们以神的增长而长大。我们是以神加添、增多到我们里面而长大。这完全是在日常生活中真正经历基督的事。我们已经看见，如果我们要在基督里行事为人，就必须栽种并生根在基督里，并且留在祂里面；基督乃是在我们灵里神圣的灵。每当我们发觉自己从灵里出来时，我们就必须回到灵里，并且留在灵里。我们留在灵里，就能实际的在基督里生根，因而将丰富的滋养吸收到我们灵里。这种滋养流入我们里面的人里，就使我们以神的增长而长大。长大发生在神加到我们里面来的时候，因为在基督里丰富的滋养，实际上就是神的自己。我们由经历中晓得，当我们在基督里生根的时候，我们就长大，然后我们就自然而然的在祂里面行事为人。

10Colossians 2:19 says that by holding the Head the Body “grows with the growth of God.” To grow with the growth of God is to grow by having God Himself added into us. This takes place only when we are rooted in Christ as the soil. God Himself with His element and substance is the rich nourishment in Christ. If we remain rooted in our spirit, we absorb this element, and this causes us to grow with the growth of God. We grow with the addition, the increase, of God into us. This is altogether a matter of the genuine experience of Christ in our daily life. We have seen that if we would walk in Christ, we must be planted and rooted in Christ, the divine Spirit in our spirit, and remain in Him. Whenever we find ourselves out of the spirit, we need to turn back to the spirit and stay there. By remaining in the spirit, we are rooted in Christ in a practical way and thereby absorb the rich nourishment into our spirit. As this nourishment flows into our inner being, it causes us to grow with the growth of God. Growth takes place as God is added into us, for the rich nourishment in Christ is actually God Himself. From our experience we know that as we are rooted in Christ, we grow and, spontaneously, we then walk in Him

个人一面与团体一面的建造

BUILT UP INDIVIDUALLY AND CORPORATELY

11二章七节也说到在基督里面正被建造。我们在基督里长大时，就在祂里面被建造。许多年前，我以为二章七节的建造是指与圣徒同被建造。但这里的意思不是这样。这里的意思是说，我们自己需要被建造起来。譬如一棵树长大时，就把自己建造起来。小孩子也是这样，他们长大了，就被建造起来。身体的建造在于众肢体个人本身的建造。如果某一个肢体没有被建造，他就不可能在身体里被建造。要被建造在身体里，首先必须自己被建造。我们成为建造起来的肢体，才能与别人一同建造在身体里。所以，二章七节里的建造，不是身体团体的建造，乃是肢体个人的建造。反之，以弗所四章十六节乃是说到身体团体的建造。重要的是，我们要看见，如果我们没有个别的建造起来，我们就不能与别人团体的建造起来。安那翰会所的建造可以说明这事。用来建造会所的材料，首先本身要建造起来，然后用来与其他的材料一同构成会所。譬如，杉木是用在表面，但我们能使用杉树的嫩芽么？杉树首先必须长大，藉著从土壤里吸取丰富，本身先建造起来；惟有这样，才能成为适合建造的材料。我们也是一样。我们需要留在灵里，吸取基督丰富的滋养。当我们吸取这元素，我们就长大，藉著这样的长大，我们就被建造起来。然后我们才可能与别人一同在身体里被建造。

11Colossians 2:7 also speaks of being built up in Christ. As we grow in Christ, we are being built up in Him. Years ago, I considered the building up in 2:7 to mean the building up with the saints. But this is not the meaning here. Rather, the meaning is that we ourselves need to become built up. For example, as a tree grows, it builds itself up. The same is true of children. They become built up by growing. The building up of the Body depends upon the individual and personal building up of all the members. If a particular member has not been built up, it will not be possible for him to be built up in the Body. To be built up in the Body we first must be built up in ourselves. When we have become built-up members, we shall then be able to be built up with others in the Body. Therefore, the building up in 2:7 is not that of the Body corporately, but the building up of the members individually. In Ephesians 4:16, on the contrary, we have the building up of the Body in a corporate way. It is important to see that if we have not been built up individually, we shall not be able to be built up with others corporately. The building of the meeting hall in Anaheim illustrates this. The material used in the construction of the hall was first built up in itself; then it was used with other pieces of material to form the meeting hall. Redwood, for example, was used in the exterior. But a tender sprout of a redwood tree could not be used for this, could it? The redwood trees first had to grow and be built up in themselves by absorbing the riches from the soil. Only then could they become the proper building material. The same is true of us. We need to remain in our spirit absorbing the rich nourishment of Christ. As we absorb this element, we shall grow, and by this growth we shall then be built up. Then it will be possible for us to be built up with others in the Body

12我们若要在基督里行事为人，就需要藉著在祂里面生根来吸取祂的丰富，并作身体中个别的肢体被建造起来。我们需要在基督里深深的扎根，好更多吸取祂的丰富；这样，我们就会在祂里面长大，并在祂里面被建造。我们履行了这两个条件，就能在基督里行事为人。

12If we would walk in Christ, we need to absorb His riches by being rooted in Him and to be built up as individual members of the Body. We need to sink our roots into Christ deeper and deeper so that we may absorb more of His riches. Then we shall grow and be built up in Him. Having fulfilled these two conditions, we shall then be able to walk in Christ.