民十七5~6　我〔耶和华〕拣选的那人，他的杖必发芽；……他们〔以色列人〕的首领就把杖交给他〔摩西〕，按着宗族，每首领一根，共有十二根……。

　　　8　第二天，摩西进见证的会幕去；看哪，利未家亚伦的杖已经发了芽，甚至生了花苞，开了花，结了熟杏。

　　杖是一根枯木，不仅被砍下，也枯槁了。然而这样一根枯槁的死木竟然发了芽！芽乃是生机的东西，生命的东西。亚伦发芽的杖不是预表死了的基督，乃是预表复活的基督，发芽的基督；祂不只发芽，并且开花，结出熟果。这样一位基督把生命分赐给人（约十二24，彼前一3）。今天祂仍在发芽，我们就是祂发芽所产生的果子—熟杏（圣经恢复本，民十七8注1）。

　　Num. 17:5-6 And the rod of the man whom I choose shall bud.... Every one of their leaders gave him a rod, one rod for each leader according to their fathers' houses, twelve rods...

　　8 And on the next day Moses went into the Tent of the Testimony, and there was the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi: it had budded; it even put forth buds and produced blossoms and bore ripe almonds.

　　A rod is a piece of dead wood that has not only been cut but is also dried up. Yet such a dead and dried-up piece of wood budded! A bud is something organic, something of life. The budding rod of Aaron typifies not a dead Christ but the resurrected Christ, the budding Christ, who not only buds but also blossoms and bears fruit to maturity. Such a Christ imparts life to others (John 12:24; 1 Pet. 1:3). Today He is still budding, and we are the fruit, the almonds, of His budding. (Num. 17:8, footnote 1)

　　神吩咐十二个首领按着支派，共取十二根杖，放在会幕内见证的版前。……杖是一根木头，是一根树枝，上下都砍断了，上离叶，下离根。曾有一次它是活的，现在是死了；原来能从树上得汁液，……十二根杖都没有叶子、没有根，都是枯死的。神说，若有那一根能发芽，那一根就是神所拣选的。在这里，就说明复活乃是神拣选的根据；复活乃是权柄的根据。

　　复活乃是说，一切不是出乎天然的，不是出乎自己的，不是凭自己所能的；复活是我来不及的，复活是我办不到的。……人如果从未感觉自己不行，就永远无法经历神的行。……复活就是凭自己所没有的，神给你了，这就是复活。圣经一直向我们见证，人是不行的，但许多人还一直以为自己行。……复活就是说，我不行，一切乃是神作的。

　　一切事奉的原则，乃在于发芽的杖。神把其他的十一根杖都发还各首领，只把亚伦那根发芽的杖留在约柜里，作永远的记念。这个意思就是说，复活乃是事奉神的永远原则。事奉神的人，乃是一个死了的人，再复活了。神一直向自己并向祂的子民见证，事奉神的权柄，乃是根据复活，不是根据人自己。事奉神的事非经过死而复活，就不能摆在神面前蒙悦纳。复活就是神，不是我们；复活就是神能，我不能；复活就是神作的，不是我作的。凡自己以为不错的，凡对自己有错误估价的，这人永远不知道复活是什么。任何人绝不能对自己有丝毫误会，以为自己能。如果有人一直自以为了不得，以为自己行，以为自己有用，这就是不认识复活的人。……所有认识复活的人，都是对自己绝望的人；所有认识复活的人，都是知道自己不能的人。天然的力量还存在时，复活的能力就无法彰显。撒拉自己会生时，以撒就不会生出来。凡是你能的，乃是天然的；你不能的，才是复活的。

　　今天神所能的，不是创造，乃是复活。神最大的能力，还不是彰显在创造上，乃是彰显在复活上。神的能力彰显在创造时，前面不需要死；但神的能力彰显在复活时，前面就需要死。凡是创造的，前面没有已过的东西；凡是复活的，前面有东西。……人必须到了尽头，才确知自己一无是处（倪柝声文集第三辑第一册，二六八至二六九、二七三至二七七页）。

　　参读：倪柝声文集第三辑第一册，权柄与顺服（下编）第四篇；对基督身体的透视，第二篇；基督徒的生活，第七篇。

　　God commanded the twelve leaders to take twelve rods according to the twelve tribes of Israel, and put them in the Tent of Meeting before the Ark.... A rod is a piece of wood. It is a branch that has been stripped of its leaves and roots. It once was living but now has become dead. It once derived its sap from the tree.... All twelve rods were leafless, rootless, dry, and dead. Whichever one budded was the one that was chosen by God. Here we see that resurrection is the basis of God's selection. It is also the basis of authority.

　　Resurrection is everything that is not out of our natural life, not out of ourselves, and not based on our ability. Resurrection speaks of the things that are beyond us, which we cannot do in ourselves.... If a man has never realized his own inability, he can never experience God's ability...Resurrection means that God has given us something that we did not have in ourselves. The Bible testifies again and again that man cannot make it by himself. But many people think that they can make it....Resurrection means that you cannot make it and that God is the One who has done everything.

　　The principle to every service lies in the budding rod. God returned all the eleven rods to the leaders, but kept Aaron's rod inside the Ark as an eternal memorial. This means that resurrection is an eternal principle in our service to God. A servant of the Lord is one who has died and resurrected. God testifies again and again to His people that authority to serve God lies in resurrection, not in a person himself. All services to the Lord must pass through death and resurrection before they will be acceptable to God. Resurrection means that everything is of God and not of us. It means that God alone is able and that we are not able. Resurrection means that everything is done by God, not by ourselves. All those who think highly of themselves and who hold a misguided judgment of themselves have never realized what resurrection is. No one should be mistaken to think that he can do anything by himself. If a man continues to think that he is able, that he can do something, and that he is useful, he does not know resurrection.... All those who know resurrection have given up hope in themselves; they know that they cannot make it. As long as the natural strength remains, the power of resurrection has no ground for manifestation. As long as Sarah could beget a child, Isaac would not come. What we can do belongs to the natural realm, and what is impossible for us to do belongs to the realm of resurrection.

　　God's ability is not manifested in His creation but in resurrection. God's greatest power is manifested not through creation but through resurrection. When God's power is manifested in creation, it does not need to be preceded by death. But when His power is manifested in resurrection, there is the need for it to be preceded by death. Every created thing needs no precedence for its creation, but everything in resurrection has its precedence.... A man must come to the end of himself before he will be convinced of his utter uselessness. (CWWN, vol. 47, "Authority and Submission," pp. 243,247-250)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 47, "Authority and Submission," ch. 15; CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, "A Thorough View of the Body of Christ," ch. 2; CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, "The Christian Life," ch. 7