新视域的力量
历史是祂的故事

经文
以弗所书二14-22
14因他使我们和睦(原文作:因他是我们的和睦),将两下合而为一,拆毁了中间隔断的墙;
15而且以自己的身体废掉冤仇,就是那记在律法上的规条,为要将两下借着自己造成一个新人,如此便成就了和睦。
16既在十字架上灭了冤仇,便藉这十字架使两下归为一体,与神和好了,
17并且来传和平的福音给你们远处的人,也给那近处的人。
18因为我们两下借着他被一个圣灵所感,得以进到父面前。
19这样,你们不再作外人和客旅,是与圣徒同国,是神家里的人了;
20并且被建造在使徒和先知的根基上,有基督耶稣自己为房角石,
21各(或作:全)房靠他联络得合式,渐渐成为主的圣殿。
22你们也靠他同被建造,成为神借着圣灵居住的所在。
信息分享
我们必须时常与神的家的其他成员相聚,这也是一个使观点改变的有效方法。我们去教会或参加基督徒团契等聚会,亦在提醒我们记得教会的存在,正面地证明了神仍然坐在宝座上。法国的思想家伏尔泰(Voltaire)是一名不信神的人,他曾说:「建立教会需要十一个人,但是我只需要一个人便可以把教会摧毁。」
他的话在两个方面出现了错误:第一,教会不是由十一个人建立的,而是由一个人,那就是由耶稣基督建立的;第二,没有人可以摧毁教会,因为全能的建立者说:「我要把我的教会建造在这磐石上;阴间的权柄不能胜过他」(太十六18)。
让我告诉你,教会的存在是肯定地证明活着的基督正在其中。伏尔泰已成尘土,但是基督仍然活着。想一想历代以来教会经历过的风暴;再想一想它曾经胜过多少迫害?既然如此,难道我们还能否认耶稣基督是教会的建立者和保护者这个事实吗?
下次再与其他基督徒聚会的时候,请你思考一个事实:虽然每一个年代都有人预言基督教会衰败,但是到今天它仍然存在。所以,确认这个事实可以纠正我们疑惑的态度。
「教会是神坐在宝座上的明证」
进深研究
林前三9-17;弗一22,四15,五23
1. 我们对教会的根基有甚么认识?
2. 保罗向以弗所人宣告甚么?
祈祷
天父,感谢您,当我常常与您的百姓聚集,我发现我的观点会因而改变。现在我更能够明白为甚么您命令我们不要停止聚会。阿们。
The Power of a New Perspective
History is His-story

Bible reading:
Ephesians 2:14-22
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,
16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household,
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Message
There can be little doubt that meeting together with other members of God's family is a powerful way of bringing about a changed perspective. Another thing that happens when we go to church or meet together in Christian fellowship is that we are reminded that the very existence of the Church in today's world is proof positive that God is on the throne. Voltaire, the French infidel, said: "It required eleven men to build the Church; I will prove that it needs only one man to knock it down."
He was wrong on two counts: first, it was not eleven men who built the Church, it was one man, the Man, Christ Jesus, and second, no one can ever knock it down, for its omnipotent Founder declared: "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it" (Matt. 16:18).
The mere existence of the Church is, I submit, decisive proof that the living Christ is in the midst of it. Voltaire is dust, Christ lives on. Think of the tempests the Church has weathered through the centuries. Think also of the persecutions through which it has victoriously come, and try, if you can, to account for this extraordinary phenomenon apart from the fact that its Founder and Protector is Jesus Christ.
The next time you meet together with your fellow Christians, reflect on the fact that, although every generation has produced people who have predicted the downfall of the Christian Church - it is still here. The realisation of this is yet another thing, I suggest, that helps to put our doubts into the right perspective.
"The Church is proof that God is on the throne"
Prayer
O Father, how can I thank You enough for the times my own perspective has been changed after meeting together with Your people. I have greater insight now why You commanded us not to neglect assembling together. And I am grateful. Amen.
Further study
1 Corinthians 3:9-17
Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; 5:23
1. What do we know about the foundation of the Church?
2. What does Paul declare to the Ephesians?
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