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希伯来书生命读经 · 第20篇

存留之安息日的安息（三）

THE REMAINING SABBATH REST (3)
1感谢主，祂给我们看见了关于安息日的安息这件事。神绝不能在天上得到完满的安息，因为天上不是祂永远定旨得著完成的地方。神完满的安息乃是在地上，在人身上。不管天使多么美妙高超，神的安息并不在于天上的天使，祂乃是在地上的人身上得著安息。因此，主耶稣教导我们祷告说，『愿你的国来临，愿你的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上。』（太六10。）圣经启示，神至终要在地上所有蒙救赎之人的活组成身上得著完全的安息。
1We thank the Lord for what He has been showing us about the Sabbath rest. God could never find His full rest in heaven, because heaven is not the place where His eternal purpose is fulfilled. God’s full rest i son earth with man. Regardless of how wonderful or excellent the angels may be, God’s rest is not with the angels in heaven but with man on the earth. This is why the Lord Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). Eventually, the Bible reveals that God’s full rest, His full Sabbath, will be on the earth with a living composition of all the redeemed people
拾 贰安息日之安息的逐渐发展
XII. THE PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SABBATH REST
2安息日的安息，是从创世记二章逐渐发展的。在创世记二章我们看见，当神在地上得著一个具有祂形像彰显祂，并有祂权柄代表祂的人之后，神立即就有了第一个安息日。神在地上得著一个人有祂的形像，也有祂的管治权之后，神立即就安息了。那是第一个安息。神的第二个安息乃是在以色列人身上。当他们得了迦南美地，并在其上建立了圣殿，神的荣耀就充满了那殿，那时神就在地上得著第二次的安息。在美地上充满神荣耀的圣殿，表征神在地上得著一班人作祂的居所，使祂能住在其中，得著彰显，并施行祂的管治权。这是神在地上在人身上所得第二次的安息。因此，在旧约圣经中有两个突出的记载，一个在创世记二章，一个在王上八章，都是说到神的安息。
2Beginning at Genesis 2, this matter of the Sabbath rest develops progressively. In Genesis 2 we see that God’s first Sabbath was immediately after He had gained a man on earth in His image to express Him and with His authority to represent Him. Immediately after securing a man on earth in His image and with His dominion, God rested. That was the first Sabbath. God’s second Sabbath was with the children of Israel. After the children of Israel had gained the good land of Canaan and had built there a temple which was filled with God’s shekinah glory, God had His second Sabbath on earth. The temple in the good land filled with God’s glory signified that God had secured on earth a people to be His dwelling place, a place where He could dwell, express Himself and exercise His dominion. This was God’s second Sabbath with man on earth. Thus, in the Old Testament we have two outstanding stories concerning God’s Sabbath: the first in Genesis 2 and the second in 1 Kings 8
3我们在上一篇信息看过，当主耶稣在世上的时候，祂也是神的安息。在主耶稣之后，召会乃是神安息日的安息。基督是头，召会是身体。在行传二章我们看见，当五旬节那天，神的荣耀又一次充满了殿，神又一次在地上得到人作祂的居所，而得了安息。我们可以说这是第三次的安息。神曾在地上得著一个人。祂虽然在挪亚、亚伯拉罕、甚至主耶稣身上有所得著，但在本篇信息中，我们需要专特的来看三个主要的安息：在人受造有神的形像，并有神的管治权之后的第一次安息；当圣殿在地上得以建立，且充满神荣耀时的第二次安息；当召会，就是新人，由一些有神形像的人建造而成时的第三次安息。
3As we saw in the last message, when the Lord Jesus came, He also was God’s Sabbath. Following the Lord Jesus, we have the church as the Sabbath rest to God. Christ is the Head and the church is the Body. When we come to the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, we see that the glory of God filled the temple once again, and God again secured a habitation with man on earth for His rest. We may say that this is the third Sabbath. God had gained a man on the earth. Although God did have something with Noah, Abraham, and with the Lord Jesus Himself, in this message we need to focus on the three main Sabbaths: the first Sabbath after the creation of man in God’sim age and with God’s dominion; the second when the temple was built on earth and filled with God’s glory; and the third when the church, as the new man, was built with people in God’sim age.
4头两次安息，就是在人被造后的安息，以及圣殿建成之后的安息，都是图画，不是真正的安息。神在地上得著人而有第一个真正的安息，乃是召会的建造。召会不是安息日之安息的豫像，而是安息的实际。在亚当身上所得的安息和圣殿建立时所得的安息，都不过是豫表，但召会建造所得的安息不是豫表，乃是应验。神作事总是逐步的。这可以从创世记一章里神的创造看出来。神为甚么不在一天之内把万有造齐？祂只要几分钟就能完成一切。第一天，神只吩咐光照出来，第二天祂只造出天空。假如那个时候我们在那里，我们可能忍耐不住，而催促神说，『神阿，光有了，我们还要空气。』我们有时候比神还快。但是神的作为常和我们相反；祂作事总是逐步的。到有一天，神成了一个人，将祂自己种在人里面；这人经过死而复活之后，就产生了召会。但神不是把事情一次永远的作成。神虽然已经把祂自己当作种子撒在我们里面，但还没有到收成的时候。我们今天所得到的、所据有的、所获得的，都是种子，而不是收成。神是极有忍耐的。神虽然在两千年前撒了种子，但祂不是在那时就一次永远的作成一切的工。当神把祂自己种在人里面时，一个奇妙的时代，就是新约的时代开始了。在主耶稣来之前，神从来没有把自己种到人里面。亚当和以色列人都是豫表。神从来没有把自己种在亚当这块土里，也没有种在以色列人这块土里，因他们都是豫表而已。只有召会才是真土壤，让神把自己种进去。请看看种子生长的自然律。你若把种子种到土里，当然不会盼望明天就有收成；连磨菇都不会长得那么快。最好的收成，总是需要最长的时间。根据天然定律，生命是要时间长大的，并且最高的生命需要最多的时间长大。一只狗不到一年即可长大成熟，但一个人最少也要十八年才能长大成人。作父母的绝不会希望儿女的长成像狗那么快。然而所有作牧师传道的人都在作梦，以为基督徒能在一夜之间长成。我们需要时间长大，需要时间成熟。
4The first two Sabbaths, the Sabbath after the creation of man and the Sabbath after the building of the temple, both were pictures; neither of them was the real thing. The first real Sabbath that God secured with man on earth was the building up of the church. The church is not a Sabbath rest in figure but in reality. The Sabbaths with Adam and with the building up of the temple were types, but the building up of the church is not a type—it is the fulfillment. God’sway is a progressive way. We can see this in His creation in Genesis 1. Why did not God create everything in a single day? He could have completed everything in just a few minutes. On the first day God simply called for the light, and on the second day He created the expanse. If we had been there, we probably would not have been very patient, saying to God, “God, the light is here, but we need air.” Sometimes we are faster than God. God’s way is often contrary to ours; He always does things in a progressive way. One day, God became a man, sowed Himself into mankind, and after the death and resurrection of that man, the church was produced. But God did not accomplish everything once for all. Although God has sown Himself into us as the seed, the harvest has not yet come. Whatever we have received, secured, and gained today is the seed, not the harvest. God is patient. Although the seed was sown nearly two thousand years ago, God did not accomplish all the work once for all at that time. When God sowed Himself into mankind, a wonderful age, the New Testament age, began. Before the Lord Jesus came God had never sown Himself into mankind. Adam and the children of Israel were types. God never sowed Himself into the soil of Adam or into the soil of the children of Israel because they were types. Only in the church is the real soil into which God has sown Himself. Consider the natural law of the growth of a seed. If you sow a seed into the ground, you do not expect to have a harvest the next morning. Not even a mushroom grows that fast. The best harvest will always take the longest time. According to natural law, life takes time to grow, and the highest life requires the longest time to grow. A dog may grow to maturity in less than a year, but a human being needs at least eighteen years to grow into maturity. Parents do not expect their children to grow as quickly as a dog grows. Nevertheless, all the pastors, preachers, and ministers are dreaming, thinking that we Christians can grow up overnight. We need time to grow, time to ripen and mature.
拾 参生长的安息与成熟的安息
XIII. THE GROWING SABBATH AND THE SABBATH OF MATURITY
5神把自己种在一部分人类里面，他们就成为召会，其中包括一切接受了主耶稣的人。但问题是我们接受了主耶稣之后，如何让主在我们里面生长？在马太十三章撒种者的比喻里，我们看见四种土地。虽然每一种土地都接受了同样的种子，但长出来的结果却各有不同。你重生了么？你接受主耶稣了么？但是结果如何？这一点是今天许多基督徒最忽略的。不错，召会生活是神安息日的安息，但这还不是成熟的安息。召会生活固然好，但还不是全然好，好得还不彀。就著种子而言，召会生活虽然很美好，但是还没有到收成的时候。今天召会生活中的确有神的安息，但这安息还不完全，还不成熟。因此，这安息需要有另一个时期，就是主耶稣再来时的收成时期。当主耶稣第二次来时，那就是收成时期。看见庄稼成长固然欢喜，但是收成更令人欢喜。毫无疑问，在召会生活中神的确有真安息，因为神已经把祂自己当作种子，种在召会这块田里，而这块田正在生长。然而，我们必须记住，我们还没有到收成的时候。当收成的时候来到，你是否已经成熟？你若问农夫，他们会告诉你，在收割的时候，有的庄稼还没有成熟。今天在召会生活中的安息虽然是真安息，但还不是成熟的、完全的安息。那个安息乃是在下一个时代才有的。在林前三章我们看见庄稼的生长，在启示录十四章我们看见庄稼的收割。
5God has sown Himself into a part of mankind which became the church and which includes everyone who has received the Lord Jesus. But after receiving the Lord Jesus there is a problem: How are we going to allow the Lord to grow in us? In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, we see four kinds of soil. Although each type of soil received the same seed, the issue, the result, was different in each case. Have you been regenerated? Have you received the Lord Jesus? What will be the issue? This is the very thing that many Christians miss today. Yes, the church life is a Sabbath rest to God, but it is not a Sabbath with maturity. It is good, but it is not altogether good; it is not yet good enough. The church life is wonderful as far as the seed goes, but we have not yet reached the harvest. There is a Sabbath for God in the church life today, but this Sabbath is not yet complete, perfect, or mature. Hence, there will be another stage of the Sabbath—the age of harvest at the time when the Lord Jesus comes back. When the Lord Jesus comes the second time, that will be the age of the harvest. It is wonderful to see the field growing, but this could never be as wonderful as the harvest. Undoubtedly, there is a real Sabbath for God in the church life because God has sown Himself as the seed into the field and the field is now growing. Nevertheless, we must remember that we are still not in the harvest. Will you be ripe when the harvest time comes? If you inquire of farmers, they will tell you that some of the crop is not ripe at the harvest time. Today’sS abba thin the church life is a real Sabbath, but it is not a Sabbath with perfection or maturity. That Sabbath will be in the next age. In 1 Corinthians 3 we see the field growing, and in Revelation 14 we see the harvest being reaped
6我们都能在生长的安息里，但将来我们是否也在收成的安息里，完全在于我们的成熟。你看现在的情形，有成百万得救的基督徒，但只有很少数的人进到召会生活中，享受基督的丰富。这安息原是为著所有基督徒的，但他们并没有全都进入其中。希伯来书就是为此缘故而写的。写希伯来书的目的，乃是要鼓励已经得救的人不可放弃召会生活，乃要努力、奋勉、并殷勤的进入其中，因为召会生活乃是今天安息日的安息。这个安息日的安息，是不可能在任何宗教、组织、或自由团体中寻到的。今天这生长中的安息，乃是真正有基督丰富的召会生活；所有的真基督徒都当放胆、竭力的进入这安息。他们若不竭力，就会失去目标，如同当初大部分出了埃及的以色列人一样。至少有两百万出了埃及的以色列人倒毙在旷野，只有极少数人进入了安息。这是一个豫表。今天在召会时代，这个豫表已经应验了。虽然有成百万的基督徒得救了，但是他们在那里？他们或是仍旧留在埃及，或是在旷野飘流。在写希伯来书的时候，希伯来信徒正在一种危险的光景中，很可能成为另一批飘流在旷野，末了倒毙的百姓。因此，希伯来书就来鼓励他们，要竭力进入现今的安息日之安息里。今天的基督徒，何等需要这种鼓励！
6We all can be in the growing Sabbath, but whether or not we are in the harvest Sabbath depends completely on our maturity. Look at the situation: millions of Christians have been saved, but only a small minority have come into the church life to enjoy the riches of Christ. This Sabbath is for all Christians, but not all of them have come into it. This is the very reason why the book of Hebrews was written. It was written with the purpose of encouraging the saved ones not to forsake the church life but to endeavor, strive, and be diligent to enter into it because it is today’s Sabbath rest. The Sabbath rest today cannot be found in any religion, organization, or free group. Today’s growing Sabbath is the real church life with the riches of Christ, and all true Christians should be encouraged to be diligent to enter into this Sabbath. If they are not diligent, they will miss the mark, as did the majority of the children of Israel who came out of Egypt. At least two million of the children of Israel who came out of Egypt at the time of the exodus died in the wilderness, and only a very small number came into the rest. That was a type. Today, in the church age, we have the fulfillment of that type. Although millions of Christians have been saved, where are they? They are either still in Egypt or wandering in the wilderness. When the book of Hebrews was written, the Hebrew believers were in danger of becoming another people wandering in the wilderness and eventually falling away in death. Therefore, Hebrews was written to encourage them to be diligent to enter into the present Sabbath rest. How much Christians need this kind of encouragement today!
拾 肆正确长大的赏赐
XIV. A REWARD FOR PROPER GROWTH
7我们今天是在召会生活这个生长的安息里，但问题是我们如何长。我们长得正常、适当么？我们是否继续不断的，与主的恩典合作而长大？我们如何在这生长的安息里长大，要决定我们是否有分于下一个安息。实际的说，下一时代的安息乃是给在现今的安息里有正确长大之人的奖赏。下一个安息，也是成熟的安息，乃是赐给那些在今天生长的安息中，一直正确长大之人的实际而真实的赏赐。换句话说，你若在这生长的安息中没有好好的长大，就会失去下一个安息，就是失去成熟的安息。这里的思想乃是出于神的智慧，非常的合逻辑。神是有智慧的，祂用要来的安息作为赏赐，鼓励我们享受当前的安息。我们若丢失了当前的安息，也必定失去要来的安息。1在这一点上，我们需要来看保罗在林前九章二十四至二十七节的话。二十四节说，『岂不知在场上赛跑的都跑，但得奖赏的只有一人？你们应当这样跑，好叫你们得著奖赏。』这里所说的『得著』，不是指得著救恩，因为我们已经得著救恩了。这里的『得著』乃是指得著奖赏。『凡较力争胜的，诸事都有节制；他们不过是要得能坏的华冠，我们却是要得不能坏的华冠。』（25。）这一节的华冠乃是跑完赛程的赏赐、奖赏。二十六至二十七节继续说，『所以我这样奔跑，不像无定向的；我这样斗拳，不像打空气的；我乃是痛击己身，叫身为奴，免得我传给别人，自己反不蒙称许。』二十七节所题的不蒙称许，不是指从救恩中被弃绝，乃是指失去了奖赏。林前十章一节是接续九章的思路的。（圣经原文没有章节之分。）十章五节说，『但他们大多数的人，神并不喜悦，因此他们倒毙在旷野。』这一节用『但』这个重要的字起头。就某种意义说，所有的以色列人当时都在赛跑。当他们出埃及、过红海时，他们都是在赛跑，但他们中间很多人半途而废。在保罗所描绘的这幅图画中，我们看见他也在赛跑，惟恐自己不蒙称许，而失去奖赏。这是甚么意思？简单的说，就是失去要来千年国的安息。
7We are in the church life as the growing Sabbath today, but the problem is how we are growing. Are we growing properly and adequately? Are we growing in such a way as to cooperate continually with the Lord’s grace? How we grow in this growing Sabbath determines whether or not we shall share in the next Sabbath. Practically speaking, the Sabbath in the next age will be a prize for our proper growth during this present Sabbath. The next Sabbath, the Sabbath of maturity, will be actually and practically a reward for those who have grown properly in this present growing Sabbath. In other words, if you do not grow well in this growing Sabbath, you will miss the next Sabbath, the Sabbath of maturity. The though there is very logical; it is God’s wisdom. God is wise to use the coming Sabbath as a reward to encourage us to enjoy the present Sabbath. If we miss the present Sabbath, we shall certainly suffer the loss of the coming Sabbath. At this point we need to consider Paul’s words in Corinthians 9:24-27. Verse 24 says, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” The word obtain here does not refer to obtaining salvation, for we have obtained salvation already. The word obtain refers to gaining the prize. “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” (v. 25). The crown in this verse is a reward, a prize, for completing the race. Verses 26 and 27 continue: “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air; but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” The matter of being a castaway mentioned in verse 27 does not refer to being a castaway from salvation but from the prize. First Corinthians 10:1 immediately continues the thought of chapter nine (There were no chapter or verse divisions in the original Greek text.) Verse 5 of this chapter says, “But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.” This verse begins with a very important word, “but.” In a sense, all the children of Israel were in the race. When they came out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, they were running the race, but many of them fell away. In the picture depicted here by Paul, we see that he was running a race, fearing that he himself might be a castaway and miss the prize. What does this mean? Simply put, it means to miss the coming Sabbath in the millennium.
8我们智慧的父，以要来千年国的安息作我们的鼓励，好叫我们今天能正确的奔跑赛程。你跑得如何？不要草率的奔跑；你若跑得不好，可能就成熟得也不好。你现今可能在召会生活中享受今天的安息，也就是生长的安息，但你会在下一个安息，就是成熟的安息中么？在这事上，我们都必须谨慎。1当保罗写哥林多前书时，就是在他早期尽职时，他就在奔跑赛程，但他还不确定将来必会得著奖赏。我们在保罗尽职事后期所写的腓立比书中，可以看到同样的思想。腓立比三章十二节说，『这不是说，我已经得著了，或已经完全了，我乃是竭力追求，或者可以取得基督耶稣所以取得我的。』保罗的意思是说，基督为著某些事物已经取得他，但是他尚未取得基督所以取得他的。基督已经得著我们，目的是要我们赢得祂；我们现今就在赢得祂的路程上。我们完全赢得基督了么？不，我们并没有完全赢得祂。祂已得到了我们，使我们能完全赢得祂。甚至当保罗在写腓立比书时，他仍然在这路程上奔跑，尚未完全赢得基督。保罗在十三至十四节继续说，『弟兄们，我不是以为自己已经取得了，我只有一件事，就是忘记背后，努力面前的，向著标竿竭力追求，要得神在基督耶稣里，召我向上去得的奖赏。』十四节里的，『召我向上』，是指神从上头、从诸天之上的呼召；因此，这里所说的呼召就等于神在基督耶稣里属天的呼召。在这两节里，我们看见保罗还在竭力追求。甚至在保罗写腓立比书时，他还没有把握是否赢得了奖赏。
8Our wise Father uses the coming Sabbath in the millennium as an encouragement for us to run the race properly today. How are you running the race? Do not run sloppily. If you do, you probably will not mature very well. Perhaps now you are in the church life enjoying today’s Sabbath, the growing Sabbath, but will you be there in the next Sabbath, in the Sabbath of maturity? We all must be careful about this. As Paul was running the race during the early days of his ministry when Corinthians was written, he was not sure that he would gain the prize. We find a similar thought in Philippians 3:12-13, a book written during Paul’s later ministry. Philippians 3:12 says, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfected, but I pursue after, if that I may gain that for which also I am gained of Christ Jesus” (Gk). Paul was saying that Christ had gained him for something but that he had not yet gained that for which Christ had gained him. Christ has gained us for the purpose that we might gain Him, and now we are on the way toward gaining Him. Have we gained Christ in a full way? No, we have not yet gained Him in full. He has gained us that we might gain Him in full. Even at the time when Paul wrote the book of Philippians, he was still on the way, not having gained Christ in full. In verse 13 Paul continues, “Brethren, I count not myself to have gained: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Gk.). The word “hi gh” in verse 14 means from above, that is, heavenly; thus, the high calling here is equal to the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus. In these verses we see that Paul was still pressing on. Even when he wrote the book of Philippians he still did not have the assurance that he had gained the prize.
9但是到保罗写提摩太书时，他有把握得著奖赏。提后四章六至八节说，『我现在被浇奠，我离世的时候到了。那美好的仗我已经打过了，当跑的赛程我已经跑尽了，当守的信仰我已经守住了；从此以后，有公义的冠冕为我存留，就是主，那公义的审判者，在那日要赏赐我的；不但赏赐我，也赏赐凡爱祂显现的人。』这些话是保罗在殉道前不久写的。我们能否在我们一生的末了，也说这样的话？我们是否也能说，我们已经打过了美好的仗，跑尽了当跑的路，守住了当守的信仰，并且有公义的冠冕为我们存留？在此不是说恩典的冠冕，乃是说公义的冠冕。保罗知道，主这位公义的审判者，在那日要按照祂的公义，将公义的冠冕赏赐给他。这里的『那日』是指甚么？就是指在来世要来的安息，也就是那成熟的安息。保罗说，这个冠冕不但赏赐他，也赏赐凡爱慕主显现的人。今天我们长得如何？跑得如何？这些问题的答案，要决定我们的将来。你在千年国期间，是否在成熟的安息里？很多基督徒有一个错误的观念，以为只要他们得救了，就可以有分于千年国。从前我多年受这种的教导，但经过进一步查考圣经，我发现这个观念并不准确。得救是藉著信，但要与主一同作王一千年并不是救恩的事，乃是奖赏的事，这奖赏鼓励我们好好奔跑路程。在此可以看出父神的智慧。召会生活岂不是今天的安息日？是的，赞美主，召会生活乃是生长中的安息，要引领我们进入成熟的安息。但我们能否有分于那要来的、成熟的安息，乃在于我们今天如何长大。这是非常合逻辑的。我们的父非常有智慧。甚至地上的父亲也会告诉儿女说，『孩子，这个学期你若好好读书，通过期末考，你一定会得著很大的奖品。但是你如果不及格，就要受罚；我要把你关在黑屋子里。当你坐在黑屋子里，你的兄弟姊妹却要因为通过了考试，而享受特别的奖品，并得著一整天的休息。』我知道有些作父亲的，就是这样对待儿女。也许一位父亲有五个儿女，一个得到头奖，另一个得到二等奖，第三个勉强及格，得到最小的奖，还有两个顽皮的没有通过期末考，因此被关在黑屋子里。这个父亲岂不是很好，很智慧，很公正，也很慈爱么？当然是，因为他鼓励他的儿女都努力。我们天上的父，在新约里也是这样实行。我们的父有爱，有智慧，知道怎样鼓励祂的儿女长大。在新约圣经中，有很多经节说到这事，我们在往后的信息还要再讲论。
9In 2 Timothy 4:6-8, however, Paul was sure that he had the prize: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” Paul wrote these words just before he was martyred. Will we be able to say such a thing at the end of our life? Will we be able to say that we have fought a good fight, finished our race, kept the faith, and that a crown of righteousness is laid up for us? Here it is not a matter of a crown of grace but of a crown of righteousness. Paul knew that the Lord, the righteous Judge, would give him a crown of righteousness according to His righteousness in that day. What is the day referred to here? It is the Sabbath in the coming age, the Sabbath of maturity. Paul said that this crown would be given not only to him but to all those also who love the Lord’s appearing. How are we growing now? How are we running the race? The answer to these questions will determine our future. Will you be there in the Sabbath of maturity during the millennium? Many Christians hold the mistaken concept that as long as they are saved they will share in the kingdom in the thousand years. Although I was taught this for years, from a further study of the Bible I learned that this concept is not accurate. While salvation is by faith, the reign with Christ for a thousand years is not a matter of salvation but of the prize which encourages us to run the race properly. The Father’s wisdom is shown here. Is not the church life a Sabbath today? Yes, praise the Lord that the church life is the growing Sabbath which leads us into the Sabbath of maturity. But whether or not we shall partake of the coming Sabbath of maturity depends on how we are growing today. This is very logical. Our Father is very wise. Even an earthly father may tell his children, “Children, if you do well in school this semester, passing your final exams, there will be a big prize awaiting you. But if you do not pass your finals, you will suffer, and I will put you into a dark room for a day. While you are sitting in that dark room, your brothers and sisters who passed their finals will enjoy a special prize and a full day’s rest.” I know of some fathers who have this practice. A father may have five children: one receives the top prize, another receives a secondary prize, a third, barely passing the final, receives the smallest prize, and the two naughty ones who fail their final exams are put into a little dark room. Is not such a father a good, wise, just, and loving father? Certainly he is, for he encourages all of his children to do their best. Our heavenly Father’s practice in the New Testament is the same. Our Father, a Father of love, is wise, knowing how to encourage His children to grow up. There are many verses in the New Testament related to this and we shall cover them in the following messages.
10保罗虽是使徒，但他仍在奔跑赛程。他虽然非常忠信，为主作了奇妙超越的工作，但他仍然战兢恐惧，惟恐自己不蒙称许。你以为保罗是怕自己失丧么？不。我们曾经说过，不蒙称许的意思不是指失丧，乃是指失去奖赏。甚至在保罗写腓立比书时，他还没有把握一定能得著奖赏。乃是在他一生的最末了，当他快要殉道时，他才宣告说，『那美好的仗我已经打过了，当跑的赛程我已经跑尽了，当守的信仰我已经守住了；从此以后，有公义的冠冕为我存留。』惟有在那个时候，他才有把握这么说。我们必须特别注意这些经节。但是很少基督徒留意这些经节，他们只喜欢那些属灵的『糖果』。我请求你们，把哥林2多前书、腓立比书、提摩太后书这几处经节，一再的研读并祷告，直到你们进到这些话里面，并且得到完全的光照。这些经节看起来虽然不是那么甘甜，却是富有滋养，是真正的健康食品。一面说，我们都该兴奋，因为我们今天在召会生活中乃是在生长的安息里，享受基督的丰富。但另一面说，我们必须留意我们如何长大，奔跑赛程并争战，因为那会决定我们能否有分于要来的安息，也就是成熟的安息。但愿主的恩典，在这件事上与我们同在！
10Paul was an apostle, but he was still running the race. Although he was so faithful and was doing a marvelous and excellent work for the Lord, he still feared that he might have been a castaway. Do you think that Paul was afraid that he would be lost? No, as we have seen, being a cast away does not mean to be lost but to miss the prize. Even at the time of his writing to the Philippians, Paul was not sure that he had gained the prize. It was only at the very end of his life when he was about to be martyred that he could declare, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” Only then did he have the assurance to say this. We need to pay close attention to these verses. However, few Christians pay much attention to them, only caring for spiritual “candies.” I ask you to read and pray these verses in 1 Corinthians, Philippians, and Timothy again and again until you get into them and are fully enlightened. Although these verses may not appear to be so sweet, they certainly are nourishing. They are the real health food. On the one hand, we all need to be excited that in the church life today we are in the growing Sabbath enjoying the riches of Christ. But, on the other hand, we must be careful how we grow, run the race, and fight, for that will determine whether or not we shall share in the coming Sabbath, the Sabbath of maturity. May the Lord’s grace be with us in this matter!