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歌罗西书生命读经 · 第6篇

基督─众圣徒的分

CHRIST—THE PORTION OF THE SAINTS
1读经：歌罗西书1:12-14，创世记12:2b,3b,7，加拉太书3:14。在本篇信息中，我们要来看基督是众圣徒的分。在一章十二节保罗说，『感谢父，叫你们彀资格在光中同得所分给众圣徒的分。』我们会看见，众圣徒的分就是包罗万有的基督作我们的享受。
1Scripture Reading: Col. 1:12-14; Gen. 12:2b, 3b, 7; Gal. 3:14 12:2b, 3b, 7 In this message we shall consider Christ as the portion of the saints. In 1:12 Paul says, “Giving thanks to the Father, Who qualified you for a share of the portion of the saints in the light.” As we shall see, the portion of the saints is the all-inclusive Christ for our enjoyment.
那地的应许
THE PROMISE OF THE LAND
2根据创世记，在亚伯拉罕蒙召以前，没有赐下包含祝福或享受的应许。当然，在创世记三章十五节，有一个应许说到女人的后裔要伤蛇的头。但这个应许不包含祝福或享受。在创世记四至十一章，没有记载这样的应许。在创世记十二章，神呼召亚伯拉罕离开本地和父家的时候，第一次题到祝福的应许。这里神特别题到那地。（1。）我们也许熟悉亚伯拉罕的故事，以为自己明白了一切相关的事。当我们读到神呼召亚伯拉罕，以及神给他的应许，我们也许将其中一切的事视为理所当然。因此，我们读到那地时，对于那地的重要性，就没有甚么印象。但我们若仔细读神的话，我们必定会领悟，神给亚伯拉罕那地的应许，是显著且非常重要的。在创世记里的这个应许，乃是一粒种子，在整本旧约里生长并发展。实在说来，除了创世记头十一章，整本旧约都是论到迦南地的故事。旧约的主题乃是这美地，就是流奶与蜜之地。虽然如此，却很少基督徒充分注意到这事。
2According to the book of Genesis, no promises were given that involved blessing or enjoyment before the call of Abraham. Of course, in Genesis 3:15 there is the promise that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. This promise, however, does not involve a promise of blessing or enjoyment. In chapters four through eleven of Genesis there is no record of such a promise. A promise of blessing is first mentioned in Genesis 12, at the time God called Abraham out of his country and his father’sho use. Here the Lord specifically mentions the land (Gen. 12:1). We may be familiar with the story of Abraham and assume that we understand everything related to it. As we read of God’scall ing of Abraham and of the promises made to him, we may take things for granted. Thus, when we read about the land, we may have no impression of its significance. However, if we read the Word carefully, we shall surely realize that God’s promise to Abraham concerning the land is striking and very important. This promise made in Genesis is a seed that grows and develops throughout the Old Testament. In a very real sense, apart from the first eleven chapters of Genesis, the entire Old Testament is a story about the land of Canaan. The subject of the Old Testament is this good land, the land flowing with milk and honey. Nevertheless, few Christians pay adequate attention to this
3我与弟兄会在一起的时候，得著鼓励研读豫表和豫言。然而，我没有注意到三件事，在这些事上我没有得到帮助。这三件事就是：神照著祂的形像，按著祂的样式造人，并使他们有祂的管治权；生命树，有各样宝贵材料的河流，并用亚当的肋骨所建造的新妇；以及美地的应许。直到我成为基督徒多年以后，才开始专注于这些事。熟悉我信息的人都知道，我的信息是以各种方式来论到这三件事。
3When I was with the Brethren, I was encouraged to study typology and prophecy. However, three important matters were not brought to my attention, and I received no help with respect to them. These three matters were God’s creation of man in His own image, after His like ness, and with His dominion; the tree of life, the river with the precious materials, and the bride built from Adam’s rib; and the promise of the good land. Only after I had been a Christian for years did I begin to focus my at tention on these things. Those familiar with my messages realize that, in one way or other, they deal with these three things.
4神给亚伯拉罕美地的应许，是非常有意义的。保罗写歌罗西书，说到众圣徒的分时，毫无疑问，一定是想到旧约中分配美地给以色列人的图画。在一章十二节，保罗使用『所分给…的分』这辞，是以旧约记载土地的业分为背景。神将美地赐给祂的选民以色列人，作他们的业分和享受。土地对他们乃是一切。事实上，土地的问题，甚至今天在中东仍是严重的争端。在中东，以色列和周围国家的问题，乃是土地的问题。
4God’s promise to Abraham with respect to the good land is of great significance. When Paul was writing the Epistle to the Colossians and was speaking of the portion of the saints, he no doubt had in mind the picture of the allotting of the good land to the children of Israel in the Old Testament. The Greek word rendered portion in 1:12 can be also rendered lot. Paul used this term with the Old Testament record of the land as the background. God gave His chosen people, the children of Israel, the good land for their inheritance and enjoyment. The land meant everything to them. In fact, the question of the land is a serious issue in the Middle East even today. The problem in the Middle East regarding Israel and the surrounding nations is a problem of the land
后裔与土地
THE SEED AND THE LAND
5在创世记三章，神给亚当和夏娃的应许乃是女人后裔的应许。但神给亚伯拉罕的应许，不仅是后裔的应许，也是土地的应许。创世记三章十五节里所应许的后裔，成了十二章的土地。以色列人进入迦南地的时候，他们不仅承受了后裔，也承受了土地。我们可以把后裔解释为一个人，也可以解释为一粒种在土里的种子。（后裔和种子，英文均为译者注。）这意思是说，基督不仅是后裔，也是种在地里的种子。基督既是后裔（种子），也是土地。
5The promise to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 was the promise of the seed of the woman. But the promise God made to Abraham was not only that of the seed, but also that of the land. The seed promised in Genesis 3:15 becomes the land in Genesis 12. When the children of Israel entered into the land of Canaan, they inherited not only the seed, but also the land. We may interpret the seed both as a person and also as a seed sown into soil. This means that Christ is not only a seed ─ descendant, but a seed sown into the land. Christ is both the seed and the land.
6在歌罗西书，基督是后裔还是土地？在这卷书中，基督是后裔，也是土地。二章七节说，我们在基督里面已经生根。这指明祂是那地。但三章四节告诉我们，基督是我们的生命。这指明祂也是后裔。但在歌罗西书，启示基督为土地比启示基督为后裔更多。基督是我们所分得的分，我们的一切，正如土地对于以色列人是一切一样。那地供给以色列人所需的一切：奶、蜜、水、牲畜、谷类、矿物。保罗在写这卷书信的时候，采用包罗万有之地的观念，为要嘱咐误入歧途的歌罗西人，不要接受基督自己以外的任何事物。任何不是基督的事物，都与黑暗的权势有关，我们不该接受。反而，我们只该留在美地，不容任何外来的成分进来。惟有基督是我们的分，只有出于祂的，我们才该接受。
6In Colossians do we have Christ as the seed or the land? In this book Christ is both the seed and the land. Colossians 2:7 says that we have been rooted in Christ. This indicates that He is the land. But in 3:4 we are told that Christ is our life. This indicates that He is also the seed. However, in Colossians Christ is revealed more as the land than as the seed. Christ is our portion, our lot, our everything, just as the land was all things to the children of Israel. The land provided whatever the children of Israel needed: milk, honey, water, cattle, grain, minerals. In writing this Epistle, Paul employed the concept of the all-inclusive land in order to charge the misled Colossians not to take anything other than Christ Himself. Anything that is not Christ is related to the authority of darkness, and we should not accept it. Rather, we should simply remain in the good land and not allow any foreign element to come in. Christ alone is our portion, and we should accept only what is of Him
那灵就是美地
THE SPIRIT BEING THE GOOD LAND
7保罗在写歌罗西书以前，写了加拉太书。他在加拉太三章十四节说，『为叫亚伯拉罕的福，在基督耶稣里可以临到外邦人，使我们藉著信，可以接受所应许的那灵。』有些基督教教师相信，亚伯拉罕的福是指因信称义。但根据上下文来看，这福必是指美地。在创世记十二章，神应许赐给亚伯拉罕的福乃是那地。在加拉太三章十四节，保罗将亚伯拉罕的福，与那灵的应许联在一起。这指明亚伯拉罕所得的应许，美地的应许，就是那灵。因此，那灵就是美地。在加拉太三章十四节，保罗说到那灵。这应当使我们想起约翰七章三十九节。这节说，『那时还没有那灵，因为耶稣尚未得著荣耀。』加拉太三章十四节和约翰七章三十九节的那灵，乃是三一神的终极彰显。那灵是一个独特的辞，表明经过过程的神。父是源头。神的儿子是河道，成为肉体，活在地上，被钉死于十字架，并且在第三天复活。成为肉体、钉十字架和复活，是一个过程的各方面。在复活里，基督这位末后的亚当成了赐生命的灵。（林前十五45下。）根据约翰一章十四节，话就是神，成了肉体。根据林前十五章四十五节，末后的亚当，就是基督，成了赐生命的灵。许多基督教教师争辩说，本节中赐生命的灵不是圣灵。若是这样相信，那就是相信有两位能赐生命的灵─圣灵和赐生命的灵。赐生命的灵，无疑的就是那赐生命的圣灵。这灵乃是经过过程之神的终极完成。这灵一点不差就是包罗万有的基督。美地既是基督包罗万有的豫表，并且基督既成了那灵，所以那灵，也就是包罗万有之灵作为经过过程的神，至终对我们新约的信徒就是美地，应验了神给亚伯拉罕的应许：地上的万国都要因他得福。（创十二3。）根据加拉太三章十四节，这应许乃是那灵的应许。但加拉太三章十六节说，所应许的，是向亚伯拉罕的那后裔（就是基督）说的。要使这两节一致很困难。一面，那灵是包罗万有的基督。另一面，这应许，就是那灵，赐给作为后裔的基督。虽然这在道理上很难解释，但按著经历却很容易了解。我们相信主耶稣的时候，我们就接受祂作后裔，作生命。但这后裔乃是包罗万有赐生命的灵，就是美地的实际。这意思是说，我们所接受作为后裔的基督，就是美地所豫表的那灵。基督进到我们里面作后裔，但是当我们凭祂而活的时候，祂就成了那地，就是我们的分。
7Before Paul wrote Colossians, he wrote the Epistle to the Galatians. In Galatians 3:14 he says, “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Some Christian teachers believe that the blessing of Abraham refers to justification by faith. According to the context, however, this blessing must refer to the good land. In Genesis 12 the blessing God promised to give Abraham was the land. In Galatians 3:14 Paul links the blessing of Abraham to the promise of the Spirit. This indicates that the promise of Abraham, the promise of the good land, is the Spirit. Hence, the Spirit is the good land. In Galatians 3:14 Paul speaks of the Spirit. This should remind us of John 7:39. This verse says, “The Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” The Spirit in Galatians 3:14 and John 7:39 is the ultimate expression of the Triune God. The Spirit is a unique term which denotes the processed God. The Father is the source. The Son of God as the course was incarnated, lived on earth, was crucified, and on the third day was resurrected. Incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection are all aspects of a process. In resurrection, Christ, the last Adam, became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). According to John 1:14, the Word, who was God, became flesh. According to 1 Corinthians 15:45, the last Adam, who is Christ, became the life - giving Spirit. Many Christian teachers argue that the life-giving Spirit in this verse is not the Holy Spirit. To believe this is to believe that there are two Spirits who can give life, the Holy Spirit and the life-giving Spirit. The life-giving Spirit is no doubt the very Holy Spirit who gives life. This Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the processed God. This Spirit is nothing less than the all-inclusive Christ. As the good land is an all-inclusive type of Christ, and as Christ has become the Spirit, so the Spirit, the all - inclusive Spirit as the processed God, is eventually the good land to us, the New Testament believers, as a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed in him (Gen. 12:3). According to Galatians 3:14, the promise is the promise of the Spirit. But Galatians 3:16 says that the promises were made to Abraham’s seed, which is Christ. It is difficult to reconcile these verses. On the one hand, the Spirit is the all-inclusive Christ. On the other hand, this promise, this Spirit, was given to Christ as the seed. Although this is difficult to explain doctrinally, it is rather easy to understand according to experience. When we believed in the Lord Jesus, we received Him as the seed, as life. However, this seed is the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit, the reality of the good land. This means that the very Christ whom we received as the seed is the Spirit typified by the good land. Christ came into us as the seed. But as we live by Him, He becomes the land which is our portion.
脱离黑暗的权势，迁入包罗万有的基督里
Delivered out of the authority of darkness and transferred into the all-inclusive Christ
8美地如何是以色列人的分，照样，基督今天也是众圣徒的分。我们已指出，当保罗写歌罗西一章十二节的时候，他是想到迦南地的豫表。在十三节他继续说，『祂拯救了我们脱离黑暗的权势，把我们迁入祂爱子的国里。』这一节使我们想起，以色列人如何蒙拯救脱离埃及，迁入美地。因此，保罗在一章十三节的观念，与出埃及和进美地所启示的是一样的。古时，神拯救祂的百姓脱离埃及，并且领他们进入美地。父神对我们也作了同样的事。祂拯救我们脱离法老和埃及所豫表的黑暗权势，把我们迁入美地所豫表之包罗万有的基督里。以色列人如何从埃及迁到没有暴政的流奶与蜜之地，我们也照样被迁到一个奇妙的范围，叫作父爱子的国。所以，彀资格有分于所分给众圣徒的分，事实上就是进入美地。因此保罗写一章十二至十三节，乃是根据旧约里的图画。
8Just as the good land was the portion of the children of Israel, so Christ today is the portion of the saints. We have pointed out that as Paul was composing 1:12 he had in mind the type of the land of Canaan. In 1:13 he goes on to say, “Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” This verse reminds us of the way the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt and transferred into the good land. Thus, Paul’s concept in 1:13 is the same as that revealed in the exodus from Egypt and in the entering into the good land. In ancient times, God delivered His people out of Egypt and brought them into the good land. God the Father has done the same thing with us. He has delivered us out of the authority of darkness, typified by Pharaoh and Egypt, and has transferred us into the all-inclusive Christ, typified by the good land. Just as the children of Israel were transferred out of Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey, a land where there was no tyranny, so we have been transferred into a marvelous realm, called the kingdom of the Son of the Father’s love. Therefore, to be qualified for a share of the portion of the saints is actually to enter into the good land. Paul’s composition of 1:12 and 13 is thus according to the picture in the Old Testament
9逾越节、吗哪和那地保罗写哥林多前书的时候，也使用了旧约的图画。我们在林前五章七节看见，基督是逾越节；在十章三至四节，祂是吗哪。根据旧约里的图画，以色列人乃是藉著逾越节的羊羔，从埃及被拯救出来，并且藉著吗哪，在旷野得以维生。在旷野所立起的帐幕，豫表可移动的召会生活。这样的召会生活不稳固，也建造得不牢靠。以色列人进入美地，并且享受所应许给亚伯拉罕的福以后，他们因著美地那追测不尽的丰富供应，就用石头建造圣殿。圣殿豫表稳固的召会生活。在哥林多前书，有帐幕所豫表的召会，但在歌罗西书和以弗所书，有圣殿所豫表的召会。我们在歌罗西书中所享受的基督，不仅是羊羔和吗哪，更是美地，就是所分给众圣徒的分。
9THE PASSOVER, THE MANNA, AND THE LAND In writing 1 Corinthians Paul also used pictures from the Old Testament. In 1 Corinthians 5:7 we see that Christ is the Passover, and in 10:3 and 4, that He is the manna. According to the pictures in the Old Testament, it was by the passover lamb that the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt, and it was by the manna that they were sustained in the wilderness. The tabernacle erected in the wilderness typifies the movable church life. This kind of church life is not solid or well established. After the children of Israel had entered into the good land and had enjoyed the blessing promised to Abraham, they built the temple with stone, by the unsearchably rich supply of the good land. The temple typifies the solid church life. In 1 Corinthians we have the church typified by the tabernacle, but in Colossians and Ephesians, the church typified by the temple. The Christ we enjoy in Colossians is not simply the lamb and the manna, but the good land, the lot, the portion of the saints.
10许多基督教教师说到逾越节、吗哪和帐幕。但我怀疑有谁看见美地乃是包罗万有之基督的豫表。基督这个豫表，惟有藉著那灵才能应验。基督徒也许认识神的灵，但他们可能不认识那灵，就是包罗万有赐生命的灵，作经过种种过程之三一神终极的彰显，成为美地之应许的应验。对我们来说，神所应许亚伯拉罕的美地，乃是那灵。换句话说，那灵就是神应许亚伯拉罕的福。
10Many Christian teachers speak about the passover, the manna, and the tabernacle. But I doubt that any have seen that the good land is a type of the all-inclusive Christ. This type of Christ can be fulfilled only by the Spirit. Christians may know the Spirit of God, but they may not know the Spirit, the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit as the ultimate expression of the processed Triune God as the fulfillment of the promise of the good land. For us, the good land promised by God to Abraham is the Spirit. In other words, the Spirit is the blessing God promised to Abraham
在灵里生活行动
WALKING IN SPIRIT
11在加拉太五章十六节，保罗嘱咐我们要在灵里生活行动。那灵该是我们在其中生活行动的范围、领域。此外，在加拉太五章二十五节保罗说，『我们若凭著灵活著，也就当凭著灵而行。』这指明那灵是我们的美地。新约，特别是歌罗西书，启示基督是包罗万有的地。这地乃是作为包罗万有之灵的基督。阿利路亚，我们已经同得这样的分！
11In Galatians 5:16 Paul charges us to walk in spirit. The spirit should be our realm, the sphere, in which we walk. Furthermore, in Galatians 5:25 Paul says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in spirit” (Gk.). This indicates that the Spirit is our good land. The Christ revealed in the New Testament, especially in Colossians, is the all-inclusive land. This land is Christ as the all- inclusive Spirit. Hallelujah, we have received a share in such a portion
需要『出埃及』
THE NEED FOR AN EXODUS
12我们若看见这件事，就不会容许任何基督以外的事物来侵入召会。歌罗西人受到规条、作法、哲学、和禁欲主义的搅扰，因为他们没有看见，作为包罗万有之灵的基督乃是他们的分，他们的美地。他们接受了仪文、规条和哲学，来代替这一分。原则上，今天的基督教也是一样。基督教已经受到文化的侵入。基督教没有任何一部分是例外的，整个基督教都被文化所充满。主恢复的目的，是要把我们从这一切带出来，而归到基督自己那里。起初，世界是埃及。如今基督教成了埃及，神的百姓在那里被扣留在奴役中。今天主的百姓需要『出埃及』。我们许多人能作见证，当我们进入召会生活的时候，我们就出了埃及，并且蒙拯救脱离黑暗的权势。
12If we see this, we shall not allow things other than Christ to invade the church. The Colossians were troubled by ordinances, practices, philosophy, and asceticism because they did not see that Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit was their portion, their good land. In place of this portion, they accepted observances, ordinances, and philosophy. In principle, the same is true of today’s Christianity. Christianity has been invaded by culture. Not one part of Christianity has been exempt from this. All of Christianity has been flooded by culture. The purpose of the Lord’s recovery is to bring us out of all this to Christ Himself. At first, the world was Egypt. Now the religion of Christianity has become an Egypt where God’sp eople are held in bondage. The Lord’sp eople today need an exodus. Many of us can testify that when we came into the church life, we made an exodus and were delivered out of the authority of darkness
只有基督
ONLY CHRIST
13当以色列人在旷野飘流时，他们想念在埃及所享受的韭菜、葱、蒜的滋味，他们仍渴望吃那样的食物。但是当以色列人进入美地时，没有一点埃及的味道被带进迦南。若是他们把埃及的味道带进迦南地，那对神乃是亵渎。把基督以外的东西带进召会里也是亵渎。在美地上，没有埃及的韭菜、葱、蒜。在美地上，我们单单享受那地的出产。同样的原则，在召会生活中，没有属世的『蒜』，只有基督作众圣徒的分。我们若看见这事，就不会把任何外来的成分带进基督的身体里。
13When the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness, they remembered the flavor of the leeks, onions, and garlic they enjoyed in Egypt, and they still longed to eat that kind of food. But when the children of Israel entered into the good land, nothing with an Egyptian flavor was brought into Canaan. That would have been blasphemous to God. To bring into the church something other than Christ is also a blasphemy. In the good land there are no Egyptian leeks, onions, and garlic. In the good land we enjoy only the produce of the land. In the same principle, there is no worldly “garlic” in the church life, only Christ as the portion of the saints. If we see this, we shall be kept from bringing any foreign element into the Body of Christ
14我们已经看见，众圣徒的分就是基督作美地，也就是那作赐生命之灵的包罗万有的基督。首先，基督是赐给我们生命的后裔，然后祂成了我们在其中生活行动的国度、范围、领域。所以，基督是我们的后裔和土地，是我们的生命和范围。这就是作众圣徒之分的基督。
14We have seen that the portion of the saints is Christ as the good land, the all-inclusive Christ as the life-giving Spirit. Firstly, Christ is the seed that gives us life. Then He becomes the kingdom, the realm, the sphere, in which we live and walk. Therefore, Christ is our seed and our land, our life and our realm. This is Christ as the portion of the saints