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以斯拉记生命读经 · 第5篇

需要以斯拉－通达神话语的人

The Need For Ezras— Those Skilled In The Word Of God
1读经：以斯拉记7:6,10;1:7-11。圣经是独特的，其中所包含的一切很有意义。起初，圣经告诉我们，神创造亚当，作为从祂自己一类的造物。（创一２６。）但亚当从神类，只是在样式和外表上，不是在生命、性情和构成上。神的愿望是亚当不但在样式上，也在生命、性情和构成上从神类。
1Scripture Reading: Ezra 7:6, 10; 1:7-11 The Bible is unique, and everything contained in it is significant. At the very beginning, the Bible tells us that God created Adam as a creature in His kind (Gen. 1:26). Adam was God’skin do nly in likeness and appearance, not in life, nature, and constitution. God’s desire was that Adam would be His kind not only in likeness but also in life, nature, and constitution
神的心意是
GOD’SIN TENT I ON THAT ISRAEL
要以色列作祂的见证
WOULD BE HIS TESTIMONY
2在创世记三章十五节，神应许祂要来作女人的后裔。后来，祂进一步豫言祂要来作亚伯拉罕的后裔，这后裔要叫万国得福。（二二１８。）至终，神自己成为肉体来作人。然而在这之前，神先藉著祂不断的劳苦，花了一千多年产生并形成以色列国，作为大的豫表。神拣选亚伯拉罕，但他的后裔堕落到埃及。神差遣摩西到他们那里，拯救这个约有二百万人的大国，脱离埃及，将他们带到西乃山，在那里停留约一年，受神的教育。神的心意是要得著以色列作祂的见证，但照著他们埃及的文化，他们已成为埃及的见证。为这缘故，神将他们留在西乃山，赐给他们十条诫命，十条诫命的一切律例，律例的一切典章，帐幕同一切器具和各种供物、祭司体系并一切节期，为要用属天神圣的构成，而不用埃及的构成，将他们建立起来。
2In Genesis 3:15 God promised that He would come to be the seed of woman. Later, He prophesied further He would come to be a seed of Abraham, which would be the blessing to all the nations (22:18). Eventually, God Himself was incarnated to be a man. However, God first, through His continuous labor, took more than one thousand years to produce and form the nation of Israel as a great type. God selected Abraham, whose descendants fell into Egypt. God sent Moses to them to deliver them out of Egypt as a great nation, numbering about two million, and brought them to Mount Sinai, where they stayed for nearly a year to be educated by God. God’sin tent i on was to have Israel as His testimony, but according to their Egyptian culture they were a testimony of Egypt. For this reason God kept them at Mount Sinai to give them the Ten Commandments, all the statutes for the Ten Commandments, all the ordinances for the statutes, the tabernacle with all the furniture and all the offerings, the priesthood, and all the feasts, in order to build them up with a heavenly, divine constitution instead of an Egyptian constitution
以色列国在豫表上是神人，至终却堕落了
THE NATION OF ISRAEL BEING GOD-MEN IN TYPOLOGY
BUT EVENTUALLY BECOMING DEGRADED
3经过这段教育和训练的时间，以色列国成了一支军队，不但是形成或组织成的，更是构成的，成为神与人，人与神的构成。因此在豫表上，以色列人是神人。他们是神人，与他们有关的一切，甚至他们环境中日间的云柱和夜间的火柱，都是神的彰显。他们的往前就是神的往前。（诗六八。）
3As a result of this time of education and training, the nation of Israel became an army not only formed and organized but also constituted to be God with man and man with God. Hence, in typology the Israelites were God-men. They were God-men, and everything related to them, even their environment with the pillar of cloud in the day and the pillar of fire at night, was God’s express i on. Their going forth became God’s going forth (Psa. 68).
4然而，不久以后，以色列人就不再彰显神，神也任凭他们死在旷野。然后神兴起第二代，他们藉著大神迹过约但河。他们这支属天构成的军队来到耶利哥。他们一呼喊，耶利哥城就倒塌。这是神的见证，是神人的行动、生活，也是神的前进。但他们来到艾城，他们中间有一个人使他们失败。从那时起，以色列人中间没有别的，只有堕落。神差遣申言者警告他们，要带回他们，但他们拒绝与神同行。至终，神带进巴比伦人占有美地，并将以色列人带到巴比伦，受管教并惩罚。
4After a short time, however, the children of Israel no longer expressed God, and He let them die in the wilderness. Then God raised up the second generation, and they crossed the river Jordan by a great miracle. As a heavenly constituted army they came to Jericho. When they shouted, the city of Jericho fell. This was God’s testimony. This was the move, the living, of God-men; it was God marching on. But when they came to the city of Ai, one among them caused them to fail. From that time onward, there was nothing among the Israelites but degradation. God sent the prophets to warn them and bring them back, but they refused to go along with God. Eventually, God brought in the Babylonians to possess the good land and carry the people of Israel away to Babylon to be disciplined and punished
神的百姓在所罗巴伯
THE RETURN OF GOD’SP EOPLE
带领之下归回
UNDER ZERUBBABEL
5神无法忘记美地，应许之地，以马内利之地。（赛八８。）美地该是神人的地，作神的见证。首先，有在王室后裔所罗巴伯领导之下的归回。他适合在第一次的被掳归回中领头，因为他有管理并治理的性能。他是位很强的省长，并且在重建殿与坛的事上领导百姓。然而，百姓仍是野的，因他们得著了巴比伦的构成，所以需要以斯拉，他是事奉神的祭司，也是通达神话语和摩西律法的经学家，学者。（拉七６，１１。）他有属天、神圣之构成和文化的总和。以斯拉召聚百姓，不但承认自己的罪，也承认以色列的罪，把他们带回到神的话。
5God could not forget the good land, the promised land, the land of Immanuel (Isa. 8:8). The good land should be the land of God-men for the testimony of God. First, there was a return under the leadership of Zerubbabel, a descendant of the royal family. It was fitting for him to take the lead in the first return from captivity, because he had the capacity to administrate and to govern. He was a strong governor and he led the people in rebuilding the temple with the altar. However, the people were still unruly, for they had become Babylonian in their constitution. Therefore, there was the need for an Ezra, a priest who served God, and also a scribe, a scholar, who was skilled in the Word of God, skilled in the law of Moses (Ezra 7:6, 11). He bore the totality of the heavenly and divine constitution and culture. Ezra called the people together and confessed not only his own sin but also the sin of Israel, to bring them back to the Word of God.
长老用真理
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ELDERS
教导圣徒的责任
TO TEACH THE SAINTS WITH THE TRUTHS
6今天在召会生活中，长老主要的责任是用真理教导圣徒。圣经说，作长老的资格，其中一项是善于教导。（提前三２。）保罗告诉我们，有些长老也许不带职业，他们在『话语和教导上劳苦』，该得召会的供养。（五１７～１８。）今天在主的恢复中，我观察到有些长老在真理的认识上不彀，甚至不清楚某件事是否真理的一个项目。
6In the church life today, the main responsibility of the elders is to teach the saints with the truths. The Bible says that one of the qualifications of an elder is being apt to teach (1 Tim. 3:2). Paul tells us that certain elders may not have a job but may “labor in word and teaching” and therefore should be supported by the church (5:17-18). However, I have observed that some elders are deficient in the knowledge of the truth and may not even be clear whether a particular matter is an item of the truth.
7让我查问你们关于呼求主名的事。你们认为呼求主名是真理么？不，这不是真理。呼求主是必需的，我们需要在日常生活中有这样的实行，但呼求主名不是真理。同样，受浸、长老治会、洗脚和祷读也不是真理。另一面，因信称义是真理。重生、圣别、更新、变化、模成、改变形状、在生命和性情上，但不在神格上成为神－这一切都是真理。有些长老也许说到生活的实行，如呼求主、祷读、不住的祷告、不销灭那灵、不藐视申言者的话，但他们不知道如何向圣徒教导真理。例如，人若问他们何谓圣别，他们也许只能说，圣别就是分别归神。人若再问圣别和更新有何不同，他们也许就无法解释。所以，我再说，所有的长老都需要认识真理，并且能向别人教导真理。所有的长老都需要花时间学习真理。这是长老的本分、责任。任何接受选立作长老的，都必须尽这责任。所有的长老和同工都必须和以斯拉一样，通达神的话。全地的大饥荒全地在神的话语上是一片大饥荒。在今天的基督教，包括天主教和更正教里，相当缺少真理的教导。许多地方没有真理，反而有迷信和异教的实行。例如，在拉丁美洲全境，真理非常稀少。我信这是我们满了真理的刊物，在那里广为接受的原因。在拉丁美洲，许多爱神的人也爱我们所出版的刊物。这些刊物说到全本圣经，从首页到末页。
7Let me check with you about calling on the name of the Lord. Is calling on the name of the Lord a truth? No, it is not a truth. Calling on the Lord is necessary, and we need to have such a practice in our daily life, but calling on the Lord’s name is not a truth. Likewise, baptism, presbytery, footwashing, and pray-reading are not truths. On the other hand, justification by faith is a truth. Regeneration, sanctification, renewing, transformation, conformation, transfiguration, being made God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead—all these are truths. Some elders may speak about life-practices such as calling on the Lord, pray-reading, praying without ceasing, not quenching the Spirit, and not despising prophesying, but they do not know how to teach the truths to the saints. For example, if these ones are asked about sanctification, they may be able to say only that to be sanctified is to be separated unto God. If they are asked about the difference between sanctification and renewing, they may not be able to explain the difference. Therefore, I say once again that all the elders need to know the truths and be able to teach the truths to others. All the elders need to spend much time to learn the truths. This is the duty, the responsibility, of an elder. Anyone who accepts an appointment to the eldership must fulfill this responsibility. Like Ezra, all the elders and co-workers must be skilled in the Word of God. A GREAT FAMINE THROUGHOUT THE EARTH Throughout the whole earth there is a great famine of God’sWord. In Christianity today, both in Catholicism and in Protestantism, there is very little teaching of the truth. In many places, instead of the truth there are superstitions and pagan practices. For instance, in all of Latin America there is very little of the truth. I believe that this is the reason why our publications, which are full of the truth, are so well received there. In Latin America the people who love God also love our publications. These publications cover the entire Bible from the first page to the last
需要以斯拉用
THE NEED FOR EZRAS TO CONSTITUTE
属天的真理构成百姓
THE PEOPLE WITH THE HEAVENLY TRUTHS
8倪弟兄和我在学习通达神的话语上，都花了许多时间。我们所学习的，许多已刊印成书。我们几乎完成了圣经的生命读经，我们也开始了所谓的结晶读经。今天不只需要所罗巴伯，也需要更多的以斯拉。长老们若是仅仅定规事情，期望众圣徒跟随，却不把真理带给他们，这是不合宜的。真正的长老职分不是运用权柄，乃是藉著讲说真理探访圣徒，牧养他们，𫗪养他们，并照顾他们。今天我们需要以斯拉教导百姓，教育百姓，并用属天的真理构成百姓。
8Both Brother Nee and I spent a great deal of time in learning to be skillful in the Word. Much of what we have learned has been put into print. We have almost completed the life-study of the Scriptures, and we have begun what we call the crystallization study. Today there is the need not just for Zerubbabels but for more Ezras. It would be unseemly for an elder to make decisions and expect the saints to follow them but not visit the saints with the truths. The real eldership is not to exercise authority. The real eldership is to visit the saints and to shepherd them, feed them, and take care of them by speaking to them concerning the truths. Today we need Ezras to teach the people, to educate them, and to constitute them with the heavenly truths.
基督之丰富的豫表
TYPES OF THE RICHES OF CHRIST
9我感谢主，即使我们在许多方面仍然十分欠缺，祂却为自己的缘故，用祂的丰富，将祂的恢复扩展到全地两千多个城市。以色列人回到耶路撒冷时，他们被激动而兴起上去，并且带上去五千四百件金银器皿。（拉一７～１１。）这些器皿是尼布甲尼撒从耶路撒冷掠来，放在自己神庙中的。在被掳之人第一次归回时，这些器皿都被带回到耶路撒冷。那些器皿是基督之丰富的豫表。我来到美国以后，释放了关于基督丰富的信息，我也写过一首关于基督追测不尽之丰富的诗歌。（诗歌四○三首。）在以弗所三章八节保罗不但说到基督的丰富，也说到基督追测不尽的丰富。今天对基督丰富的享受，乃是藉著祂的话。
9I thank the Lord that, even though we are still so short in many ways, He, for His own sake, has spread His recovery, with His riches, to more than two thousand cities throughout the earth. When the Israelites went back to Jerusalem, they were stirred up, they rose up, they went up, and they brought up 5,400 vessels of gold and silver (Ezra 1:7-11). These were the vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had brought out from Jerusalem and had put in the house of his gods. During the first return from the captivity, all these vessels were brought back to Jerusalem. Those vessels are types of the riches of Christ. After I came to this country, I released messages on the riches of Christ, and I also wrote a hymn on the unsearchable riches of Christ (Hymns, #542). In Ephesians 3:8 Paul speaks not only of Christ’s riches but of Christ’sun searchable riches. Today the enjoyment of the riches of Christ is by His word
主藉著祂的话
THE LORD MOVING
在祂的恢复里行动
IN HIS RECOVERY BY HIS WORD
10主正藉著祂的话，藉著真理，在祂的恢复里行动。祂的话是在圣经里，但圣经需要正确的解释，这些解释都在生命读经里。同工和长老们若研读我们一切的刊物，主的恢复就会有许多以斯拉，能用属天的真理构成百姓。
10In His recovery the Lord is moving by His word, by the truth. His word is in the Bible, but the Bible needs the proper interpretation, which is found in the life-studies. If the co-workers and the elders study all our publications, there will be many Ezras in the Lord’s recovery to constitute people with the heavenly truths