徒一3　祂受害之后，用许多确据，将自己活活地显给使徒看，四十天之久向他们显现，讲说神国的事。

　　8　但圣灵降临在你们身上，你们就必得着能力，并要在耶路撒冷、犹太全地、撒玛利亚，直到地极，作我的见证人。

　　行传一章九节说，“说了这话，他们正看的时候，祂就被取上升，有一朵云彩把祂从他们的眼界中接上去了。”路加的福音结束于主的升天（路二四51），他的行传开始于主的升天。路加的福音叙述成为肉体的耶稣在地上的职事；他的行传记载复活升天的基督，借着祂的信徒，在地上执行祂在天上继续的职事。在福音书里，主独自完成祂在地上的职事，将祂自己作为神国的种子，仅仅撒在信徒里面；那时，召会还没有建造起来。在使徒行传，主借着祂的信徒，在祂的复活和升天里，完成祂在天上的职事，将祂作为神国的发展扩展出去，为要在全地建造召会（太十六18），构成祂的身体，就是祂的丰满（弗一23），以彰显祂；甚至是神的丰满（弗三19），以彰显神（使徒行传生命读经，三九至四○页）。

　　Acts 1:3 To whom also He presented Himself alive after His suffering by many irrefutable proofs, appearing to them through a period of forty days and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God.

　　8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

　　Acts 1:9 says, "And when He had said these things, while they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him away from their sight." Luke's Gospel ends with the Lord's ascension into heaven (Luke 24:51), and his Acts begins with it. His Gospel is a narrative of the ministry of the incarnated Jesus on earth. His Acts is a record of the succeeding ministry of the resurrected and ascended Christ in heaven carried out through His believers on earth. In the Gospels, the Lord's ministry on earth, carried out by Himself, only sowed Himself as the seed of the kingdom of God into His believers, with no church built up yet. In Acts, the Lord's ministry in heaven, carried out through His believers in His resurrection and ascension, spreads Him as the development of the kingdom of God for the building up of the church (Matt. 16:18) throughout the entire world to constitute His Body, His fullness (Eph. 1:23), to express Him, even the fullness of God (3:19) for God's expression. (Life-study of Acts, p. 35)

　　国度作神在生命上特别的掌权，乃是与召会并行。这在使徒行传里清楚地启示出来；这卷书经常提到国度与召会，有许多经文说到国度（一3，八12，十四22，十九8，二十25，二八23、31），另有许多经文说到召会（五11，八1、3，九31，十一22、26，十二1、5，十三1，十四23、27，十五3~4、22、41，十六5，十八22，二十17、28）。国度是首先提到的。行传一章三节告诉我们，主耶稣“受害之后，用许多确据，将自己活活地显给使徒看，四十天之久向他们显现，讲说神国的事”。这有力地指明，神的国乃是使徒在五旬节后的使命中，所要传讲的主题。主耶稣升到诸天之上，并将自己这包罗万有的灵浇灌出来以建立召会之前，祂教导门徒国度的事。他们若不认识或领悟国度的事，主耶稣就很难带他们进入召会。因此，在行传一章，就透彻地教导国度。

　　在行传以下各章，召会被带进来。召会首次提起是在五章十一节，八章一节说到在耶路撒冷的召会。使徒行传从头至尾一再提到召会。然而，召会来临后，国度仍被传扬。在八章十二节，腓利把神国的福音传给撒玛利亚人。十四章二十二节说，“我们进入神的国，必须经历许多患难。”依照十九章八节，保罗在会堂里放胆讲说神国的事。再者，二十章二十五节告诉我们，保罗来往传扬国度。末了，在二十八章二十三节，保罗对那些到他住所来的人“讲解，郑重见证神的国”。由此我们可以看见，使徒行传开始并结束于神的国。此外，我们又看见，国度与召会是成对的，因为国度与召会并行。没有国度，召会生活就没有开始，也没有终结。召会生活与国度有密切的关系，因为国度是召会的命脉。因此，国度对召会生活是绝对重要的（新约总论第八册，一三至一四页）。

　　参读：新约总论，第二百四十一篇。

　　The kingdom as God's reign in a particular way in the sense of life goes in parallel with the church. This is revealed clearly in the book of Acts, where the kingdom and the church are frequently mentioned. Many verses speak of the kingdom (Acts 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31), and many other verses speak of the church (5:11; 8:1, 3; 9:31; 11:22, 26; 12:1, 5; 13:1; 14:23, 27; 15:3-4, 22, 41; 16:5; 18:22; 20:17, 28). The kingdom is mentioned first. Acts 1:3 tells us that to the apostles the Lord Jesus "presented Himself alive after His suffering by many irrefutable proofs, appearing to them through a period of forty days and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God." This indicates strongly that the kingdom of God would be the main subject of the apostles' preaching in the coming commission after Pentecost. Before the Lord Jesus ascended to the heavens and poured out Himself as the all-inclusive Spirit to establish the church, He taught His disciples about the kingdom. If they had not had any knowledge or realization concerning the kingdom, it would have been difficult for the Lord Jesus to bring them into the church. Therefore, in the first chapter of Acts the kingdom was taught thoroughly.

　　In the following chapters of Acts the church is brought in. The first mention of the church is in Acts 5:11. Acts 8:1 refers to the church in Jerusalem. Throughout the book of Acts the church is mentioned again and again. However, after the church comes in, the kingdom is still preached. In 8:12 Philip brought the good news concerning the kingdom of God to the Samaritans. Acts 14:22 says that "through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God." According to 19:8, Paul spoke boldly in the synagogue concerning the kingdom of God. Furthermore, 20:25 tells us that Paul went about proclaiming the kingdom. Finally, in 28:23 Paul "expounded these matters, solemnly testifying of the kingdom of God" to those who came to him in his lodging. From this we can see that the book of Acts begins and ends with the kingdom of God. Moreover, Acts shows us that the kingdom and the church are a pair, for the kingdom goes in parallel with the church. Without the kingdom there is neither the beginning nor the conclusion of the church life. The church life is intimately related to the kingdom because the kingdom is the life pulse of the church. Therefore, the kingdom is absolutely crucial to the church life. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2556-2557)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 240