神的異象
神「以及」……
經文
歌羅西書二1-15
1我願意你們曉得,我為你們和老底嘉人,並一切沒有與我親自見面的人,是何等的盡心竭力;
2要叫他們的心得安慰,因愛心互相聯絡,以致豐豐足足在悟性中有充足的信心,使他們真知神的奧祕,就是基督;
3所積蓄的一切智慧知識,都在他裡面藏著。
4我說這話,免得有人用花言巧語迷惑你們。
5我身子雖與你們相離,心卻與你們同在,見你們循規蹈矩,信基督的心也堅固,我就歡喜了。
6你們既然接受了主基督耶穌,就當遵他而行,
7在他裡面生根建造,信心堅固,正如你們所領的教訓,感謝的心也更增長了。
8你們要謹慎,恐怕有人用他的理學和虛空的妄言,不照著基督,乃照人間的遺傳和世上的小學就把你們擄去。
9因為神本性一切的豐盛都有形有體的居住在基督裡面,
10你們在他裡面也得了豐盛。他是各樣執政掌權者的元首。
11你們在他裡面也受了不是人手所行的割禮,乃是基督使你們脫去肉體情慾的割禮。
12你們既受洗與他一同埋葬,也就在此與他一同復活,都因信那叫他從死裡復活神的功用。
13你們從前在過犯和未受割禮的肉體中死了,神赦免了你們(或作:我們)一切過犯,便叫你們與基督一同活過來;
14又塗抹了在律例上所寫攻擊我們,有礙於我們的字據,把他撤去,釘在十字架上。
15既將一切執政的、掌權的擄來,明顯給眾人看,就仗著十字架誇勝。
信息分享
誠如我們昨天所說的,我們對神的信仰,要是停留在我們需要神但還得加上某些其他東西的話,那麼我們永遠都不可能在神的完美中看到神,而在那個「以及」裡面亦會存在我們最大的悲哀。如果我們刪除那個「以及」,那我們就會有一些驚訝的發現,而這些令我們驚訝的事情包括:神完全能夠在最艱難的情況底下幫助我們。我們無需擔心說完全信任神會導致自己的潛力受限制。正如奧古斯丁(Augustine)說:「您為了您自己而創造我們,我們不安的心惟有在您裡面才能找到安息。」
當耶和華將迦南分給以色列的各支派時,利未人得不到任何土地。神說:「我就是你的分,是你的產業」(民十八20)。這些話令利未人比他們的兄弟都更富有,而這原則對神的每一個孩子都是真實的。凡認識神的人都擁有世界最大的財富,他們可能沒有很多地上的財寶,但這不是關鍵,因為他們擁有神,就是擁有重要的一切。
試想要是利未人對神這麼說:「主啊,那很好,我想您成為我的份……但那邊的湖又怎樣呢?那座山又怎樣呢?我們可以擁有它們嗎?」我們有沒有仰望那位給我們應許的主?有沒有感到有了祂就已經很足夠?或者是我們依舊認為我們需要神但還要加上其他別的東西?如果是這樣,我們便沒有真正地認識神了,我們只不過是知道了一點關於祂的事情。
「不安的心惟有在主裡面才能找到安息」
進深研究
西一1-29;弗三19;約一16
1. 保羅為歌羅西人和以弗所人的禱告是甚麼?
2. 約翰見證耶穌的甚麼?
祈禱
天父,求您幫助我記得我屬於您──這麼一位充滿創意、全然充足的神。求您讓這真理活現在我心裡,而不是存在我頭腦中。求您讓它成為我堅信的確據,而不是一種意識。奉耶穌的名祈求,阿們。
The Vision of God
God "and"...
Bible reading:
Colossians 2:1-15
1 I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.
2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.
5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. Spiritual Fullness in Christ
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh[b] was put off when you were circumcised by[c] Christ,
12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[d] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[e]
Message
If, as we said yesterday, we have a faith in God which maintains we need God plus something else, the result will be that we will never discover God in all His fulness. In the "and" lies our greatest woe. If we omit the "and" we shall make some discoveries about God that will surprise us, and one of those surprises will be that He is perfectly capable of sustaining us in the most difficult situations. And we need not fear that by putting our trust fully in God we restrict our potential. As Augustine put it: "Thou hast formed us for Thyself and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee."
When the Lord divided Canaan among the tribes of Israel, the Levites received no share of the land. God said: "I am your share and your inheritance" (Num. 18:20). Those words made the Levites richer than all their brethren, and this principle holds good for every child of God. The man or woman who knows God has the world's greatest treasure. He or she may not have many earthly treasures, but it will not make much difference, for in having Him they have everything that matters.
Imagine the Levites saying to God: "That's fine Lord, I want You to be my portion...but what about that lake over there. And that mountain. Could we just have those?" Do we look at the Lord who promises to be our portion and find that He is sufficient? Or are we still caught up with the idea that we need God plus something else? If we do then we do not really know God. We simply know about Him.
"Our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee"
Prayer
O Father, help me remember that I belong to You, the all-creative, all-sufficient God. Make this truth come alive for me, not just in my head but in my heart. Let it become a conviction, not just an opinion. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.
Further study
Colossians 1:1-29
Ephesians 3:19
John 1:16
1. What was Paul's prayer for the Colossians and Ephesians?
2. What did John testify of Jesus?
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