彼前五2　务要牧养你们中间神的群羊，按着神监督他们，不是出于勉强，乃是出于甘心；不是为着卑鄙的利益，乃是出于热切。

　　耶二13　因为我的百姓，作了两件恶事，就是离弃我这活水的泉源，为自己凿出池子，是破裂不能存水的池子。

　　在彼得的头一封书信中，在二章二十五节他说到基督是我们魂的牧人和监督，而我们的魂乃是我们内里的所是，也就是我们的真人位。在五章一至二节他告诉长老们，务要按着神牧养神的群羊。按着神，意思就是我们必须活神。我们必须随时随处有神。我们在我们的悟性上、道理上、与教训上有神，但我们在牧养人时可能没有活神。当我们与神是一，我们就成了神。在我们牧养别人时，我们就有神并且就是神。按着神牧养，意思就是按着神属性的所是牧养。神是爱、光、圣、义。按着神，至少是按着神的这四种属性。我们必须按着这四种属性牧养年幼的、软弱的和退后的。这样，我们就是好牧人（活力排，七六至七七页）。

　　1 Pet. 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion but willingly, according to God; not by seeking gain through base means but eagerly.

　　Jer. 2:13 For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, which hold no water.

　　In his first Epistle, Peter speaks of Christ being the Shepherd and Overseer of our soul, our inner being and real person (2:25). Then in 5:1-2 he tells the elders that their obligation is to shepherd God's flock according to God. According to God means that we must live God. We must have God on hand. We have God in our understanding, in our theology, and in our teaching, but we may not live God when we are shepherding people. When we are one with God, we become God. Then we have God and are God in our shepherding of others. To shepherd according to God is to shepherd according to what God is in His attributes. God is love, light, holiness, and righteousness. "According to God" is at least according to these four attributes of God. We must shepherd the young ones, the weak ones, and the backsliding ones according to these four attributes. Then we will be good shepherds. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, "The Vital Groups," p. 114)

　　耶利米书……启示神在祂经纶里的心意，是要作活水的泉源，源头，将祂自己分赐到祂的选民里面，作他们的满足和享受。这享受的目标，是要产生召会，神的配偶，作神的扩增，神的扩大，好成为神的丰满，使祂得着彰显（约三29~30，弗三16~19、21）。这是神在祂经纶里的心愿，喜悦（一5、9，三9~11）。这思想作为种子撒在耶利米二章十三节，其完满发展是在新约里（约四10、14，七37~39，……启二二1、17）。……以色列本该饮于神这活水的泉源，好成为神的扩增，作祂的彰显，但他们反倒作了两件恶事：离弃神作他们的泉源，源头，并且转向神以外的源头。……凿出池子描绘以色列用人的劳碌辛苦，制作一些东西（偶像）顶替神。那些池子是破裂不能存水的，指明除了神自己分赐到我们里面作活水以外，没有什么能解我们的干渴，也没有什么能使我们成为祂的扩增，使祂得着彰显（约四13~14）（圣经恢复本，耶二13注1）。

　　神要将祂自己分赐到人里面，作人的满足，使神得着扩大，但人成为不忠信、不贞洁的，并离弃神，转向偶像。……凡我们所有的，甚至凡我们所是的，都能成为偶像。……在对神这样不忠信的事上，我们和以色列一样。

　　我们相信主耶稣时，也许期望有平安和祝福。但我们也许反而有了许多难处，失去了我们的安全、健康或财产。有些基督徒经历这样的事，就疑惑神的信实，问说为什么神不阻止艰难临到他们。

　　我们要领悟，神允许我们有难处，但祂在祂的定旨上是信实的，就是要使我们转离偶像，带领我们归向祂自己。我们的平安、安全、健康和财产，也许成了我们的偶像，而神是信实的，祂取去这些东西，为叫我们饮于祂这活水的泉源。我们的房屋或财产若成为我们的偶像，我们就是饮于它们，不是饮于神；神的信实就是要对付这些偶像，好使我们饮于祂。……在引导我们进入祂的经纶上，神是信实的；祂的经纶乃是要我们喝基督，吃基督，享受基督，吸取基督，并吸收基督，好叫神在我们身上得着祂的扩增，以完成祂的经纶。这就是神的信实（耶利米书生命读经，三三至三五页）。

　　参读：活力排，第七篇；耶利米书生命读经，第四篇。

　　[Jeremiah] reveals that God's intention in His economy is to be the fountain, the source, of living waters to dispense Himself into His chosen people for their satisfaction and enjoyment. The goal of this enjoyment is to produce the church, God's counterpart, as God's increase, God's enlargement, to be God's fullness for His expression (John 3:29-30; Eph. 3:16-19, 21). This is the heart's desire, the good pleasure, of God in His economy (Eph. 1:5, 9; 3:9-11). The full development of this thought, sown as a seed in Jeremiah 2:13, is in the New Testament (John 4:10, 14; 7:37-39;...Rev. 22:1, 17).

　　Israel should have drunk of God as the fountain of living waters that they might become His increase as His expression, but instead they committed two evils: they forsook God as their fountain, their source, and they turned to a source other than God....The hewing out of cisterns portrays Israel's toil in their human labor to make something (idols) to replace God. That the cisterns were broken and could hold no water indicates that apart from God Himself dispensed into us as living water, nothing can quench our thirst and make us God's increase for His expression (John 4:13-14). (Jer. 2:13, footnote 1)

　　God intended to dispense Himself into man as man's satisfaction that God might be enlarged, but man became unfaithful and unchaste and forsook God for idols....Whatever we possess, and even whatever we are, can be an idol....In the matter of such unfaithfulness to God, we are the same as Israel.

　　When we believed in the Lord Jesus, we might have expected to have peace and blessing. But instead we might have had many troubles and might have lost our security, our health, or our possessions. When some Christians experience such things, they may question God's faithfulness and ask why He did not prevent hardships from happening to them.

　　We need to realize that in allowing us to have troubles, God is faithful in His purpose to turn us from idols and bring us back to Himself. Our peace, safety, health, and possessions may become idols to us, and God is faithful to take these things away so that we may drink of Him as the fountain of living waters. If our house or our possessions become idols to us, we drink of them and not of God. God's faithfulness is a matter of dealing with these idols and causing us to drink of Him.

　　God is faithful in leading us into His economy, and His economy is for us to drink Christ, to eat Christ, to enjoy Christ, to absorb Christ, and to assimilate Christ that God may have His increase with us to fulfill His economy. This is God's faithfulness. (Life-study of Jeremiah, pp. 27-29)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, "The Vital Groups," ch. 7; Life-study of Jeremiah, msg. 4