诗歌：补930

读经：太二五4、9~10、14~15、20~23

Scripture Reading: Matt. 25:4, 9-10, 14-15, 20-23

　　太二五1~4　那时，诸天的国好比十个童女，拿着她们的灯，出去迎接新郎。其中五个是愚拙的，五个是精明的。愚拙的拿着她们的灯，却没有带着油；但精明的拿着她们的灯，又在器皿里带着油。

　　我们有圣灵在我们重生的灵里；但问题是，我们是否有额外的圣灵在我们魂里，浸透我们的所是。问题不是童女的灯。甚至五个愚拙童女的灯也是燃烧的。她们的灯要“灭了”（太二五8），这事实证明愚拙童女的灯是点着的，里面有油，却没有充足地供应。她们器皿里没有额外的油。

　　油象征神的灵（赛六一1，来一9）。灯象征信徒的灵（箴二十27），里面装着神的灵作油（罗八16）。箴言二十章二十七节说，人的灵是耶和华的灯。在灯里，就是在我们重生的灵里有油，就是圣灵。人是为着神造的器皿（罗九21、23~24），人的个格是在他的魂里。因此，这里的器皿象征信徒的魂（实行主当前行动之路，一○四至一○五页）。

　　Matt. 25:1-4 At that time the kingdom of the heavens will be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were foolish and five were prudent. For the foolish, when they took their lamps, did not take oil with them; but the prudent took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

　　We have the Holy Spirit in our regenerated spirit, but there is a question as to whether or not we have an extra portion of the Holy Spirit in our soul, saturating our being. The problem was not with the lamps of the virgins. Even the lamps of the five foolish virgins were burning. The fact that their lamps were “going out” (Matt. 25:8) proves that their lamps were lighted, having oil in them, but not having an adequate supply. They did not have the extra portion of the oil in their vessels.

　　Oil signifies the Spirit of God (Isa. 61:1; Heb. 1:9). Lamps signifies the spirit of the believers (Prov. 20:27), which contains the Spirit of God as the oil (Rom. 8:16). Proverbs 20:27 says that the spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah. Within the lamp, our regenerated spirit, is the oil, the Holy Spirit. Man is a vessel made for God (Rom. 9:21, 23-24), and man's personality is in his soul. Hence, vessels here signifies the soul of the believers. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” p. 501)

　　我们读马太二十五章一至十三节的上下文，就能看见儆醒就是被圣灵充满。我们若不是整天被充满，就不是儆醒的。这是严肃的。……作为得救的信徒，我们应当是充满那灵而时时儆醒的人。我们的灯天天都燃烧，并且我们的魂、我们的所是，天天都充满额外的圣灵。这灵乃是浸透的灵，我们需要让这灵从我们的灵浸透我们全人，达到我们的魂，甚至浸润我们的魂。这样，我们就肯定是儆醒的人，预备好自己，为着祂的回来。我们基督徒在主面前有两种身分—我们在生命上是童女，我们也是奴仆事奉主。我们必须在生命上儆醒，在事奉上忠信，在主回来时预备好。

　　我们若对主今日的行动认真，就必须每天早晨被那灵充满。我们需要认罪，但我们也需要出代价。进到我们灵里的圣灵是白白赐给的，但充满我们全人，尤其是浸透我们魂的那灵，不是白白给的。这是你必须出代价去得的，你必须买。我们作为罪人悔改并认罪、相信主耶稣时，立刻就得着重生，那灵就白白地赐给我们。但我们天天需要祂的充满、祂的浸透，从我们的灵浸润我们的魂。我们需要出代价。我们是那么爱自己，我们早晨那么喜欢睡觉。我们许多人爱我们的床过于爱主。我们每天的生活中，我们也许爱许多事物。即使这些事物也许不是罪恶的，但它们取代了主。我们也许不把我们上好的爱给祂，乃是给许多其他的东西。现在我们必须放下这一切其他的东西，意思就是我们必须出代价预备好自己。

　　无疑的，你的灯会是燃烧的，因为你已经得救；但你的器皿，你的魂，你的所是里面是否有额外的油？你的所是已经被那灵浸透了么？……你是活的么？你是充满的么？你是整天儆醒的么？你是祷告的么？你每天进入祂的话，并留在与祂的交通中么？你也许说你很累，你没有时间，但你也许有很多时间打电话闲谈，你为什么不花十分钟祷告？你也许打电话超过一小时，却没有五分钟的祷告（实行主当前行动之路，一○七至一○八、一一○至一一一页）。

　　参读：实行主当前行动之路，第七章；马太福音生命读经，第六十三至六十四篇。

　　By reading the context of Matthew 25:1-13, we can see that to be watchful is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If we are not being filled all day long, we are not being watchful. This is serious....As saved believers, we should be people who are watching all the time by being filled with the Spirit. Every day our lamp is burning, and every day our soul, our being, is filled with the extra portion of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit is the saturating Spirit, which we need to allow to saturate our entire being from within our spirit to reach and even to penetrate our soul. Then we are surely watchful persons, getting ourselves ready for His coming back. We Christians have two kinds of statuses before the Lord—we are virgins in life, and we are slaves for our service to the Lord. We must be watchful in life and faithful in service to be ready at our Lord's return.

　　If we do mean business with the Lord's present-day move, we must be filled with the Spirit every morning of every day. We need to confess our sins, but we also need to pay the price. The Spirit who came into our spirit was given freely, but the saturating Spirit to fill our entire being, especially our soul, is not free. It is something that you have to pay the price for, that you have to buy. When we as sinners repented and confessed our sins and believed in the Lord Jesus, we immediately got regenerated, and the Spirit was given to us freely. But daily we need His filling, His saturating, from our spirit to penetrate our soul. We need to pay the price. We love ourselves so much, and we love to sleep so much in the morning. Many of us love our beds more than the Lord. In our daily life we may love a lot of things. Even though these things may not be sinful, yet they are replacements of the Lord. We may not give our first love to Him but to many other things. Now we have to drop all these other things, which means that we have to pay the price to get ourselves ready.

　　No doubt, your lamp is burning because you have been saved, but is there an extra portion of oil in your vessel, your soul, your being? Has your being been saturated with the Spirit?...Are you living? Are you being filled? Are you watching all day? Are you praying? Are you getting into His Word every day and remaining in fellowship with Him? You may say that you are tired and that you do not have the time, but you may have a lot of time to make phone calls and to gossip. Why would you not spend ten minutes for prayer? You may talk on the telephone for over an hour and yet not have five minutes for prayer. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” pp. 503, 505)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” ch. 7; Life-study of Matthew, msgs. 63-64

　　弗六18　时时在灵里祷告，并尽力坚持，在这事上儆醒，且为众圣徒祈求。

　　五18　不要醉酒，醉酒使人放荡，乃要在灵里被充满。

　　　 16　要赎回光阴，因为日子邪恶。

　　每天早晨我们需要与主亲近的时间。我们需要祷告：“主，我接受你作我的赎罪祭和赎愆祭。我何等感谢你，你的宝血今天早晨还洗净我。主，我需要里外都充满你自己，充满包罗万有的灵。我需要你！我需要你的浸透！我需要你的泡透！”你不能每天早晨花很短的时间这样祷告么？你在这样作么？这是严肃的事。……你今天是儆醒的么？我们没有昨天或明天。我们基督徒只有今天。每天对我们都是今天。你今天是儆醒的么？（实行主当前行动之路，一一三至一一四页）

　　Eph. 6:18 ...Praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.

　　5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit.

　　16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

　　Every morning we need a time to be with the Lord. We need to pray, “Lord, I take You as my sin offering and trespass offering. I am so thankful to You that Your precious blood still washes me this morning. Lord, I need to be filled up with Yourself, with the all-inclusive Spirit within and without. I need You! I need Your saturation! I need Your soaking!” Could you not pray in this way every morning for a short time? Have you been doing this? This is a serious matter....Are you watching today? We do not have yesterday or tomorrow. We Christians have only today. Every day is a today to us. Are you watching today? (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” p. 507)

　　基督徒的生活不是在于可否看电视、看报纸、看运动比赛或沉迷于属世的享乐等规条，也不是仅仅在于事情是否合乎圣经；基督徒的生活乃是一件关于我们买油的事。你可能不祷告，却去看电视。你可能不祷告，却读报纸。你可能不祷告，却去运动。在你的日常生活里有许许多多的“却”；你就是不祷告。你也许没有作罪恶的事，然而这个童女的比喻，不是指明主要照着我们犯了多少罪来审判我们，而是指明主要照着我们器皿里有多少油来审判我们。接受圣灵进到我们的灵（灯）里是白白的，然而得着那灵浸透我们的魂却不是白白的。你若要让圣灵浸透你的魂，就必须出代价对付你的魂。

　　我必须多方对付我的魂，好去买油。有时候似乎是我对某人开玩笑的好时机，我也说了几句玩笑话，我就受定罪。我不是一块大理石，而是一个活人。每个活人都有他的意见，然而，许多时候当我想要发表我的意见时，就被“买油”所停止。这个异象经常影响我的日常生活。我与妻子吵架，能得到更多圣灵么？我去某个地方，能得到更多圣灵么？我可能想去某个地方，但我里面没有平安。重点乃是—每一天都该是我们在各方面得着油的日子。每天早晨我们一起床就需要祷告：“主，我不愿在不儆醒之下作任何事，不愿作任何事而不是在买油。我愿随时在任何事上买油。否则，就是浪费我的时间。”这该是我们的祷告，我们该有这样祷告的态度。许多时候到了晚上，我就懊悔自己没有花费我所有的时间在灵里。

　　在新约里，儆醒与祷告有密切的关联。以弗所六章十八节告诉我们，我们该儆醒，以便祷告。我们需要为祷告的生活儆醒、警戒。十八节的“在这事上儆醒”，指前面的祷告和祈求。除了祷告之外，没有其他的路可以得着油。你若不祷告，意思就是你不出代价去买油。借着祷告，我们更多得着那灵。每次我们祷告，都会深深地感觉，我们在祷告中得着了一些那灵。我们花时间祷告而不作其他许多的事，意思是我们出代价去得着油。

　　我们重生时起初所接受的那灵，不是我们进入婚筵的门票。足够的油，合式的油，要成为我们进入婚筵的门票。……我们绝不能借用别人的属灵〔太二五8~9〕。一个人的属灵只能使他自己够资格（实行主当前行动之路，一四二至一四四页）。

　　参读：实行主当前行动之路，第八至九章。

　　The Christian life is not a matter of legalities concerning watching television, reading the newspaper, going to sporting events, or indulging in worldly pleasures. It is not a matter of merely whether or not something is scriptural. The Christian life is a matter that concerns our buying of the oil. You may not pray, yet you will watch television. You may not pray, yet you will read the newspaper. You may not pray, yet you will play sports. There are a lot of “yets” in your daily life. You just do not pray. You may not do anything sinful, but this parable of the virgins does not indicate that the Lord will judge us according to how much sin we have committed but according to how much oil we have in our vessel. To receive the Holy Spirit into our spirit, our lamp, is free. But to have the Spirit saturating our soul is not free. If you are going to get the Holy Spirit to saturate your soul, you must pay the price in dealing with your soul.

　　I have had to deal with my soul in many ways to buy the oil. When it seemed like it was a good time for me to joke with a person and I joked with a few sentences, I got condemned. I am not a piece of marble but a living person. Every living person has his opinion, but many times when I tried to express my opinion, I was stopped by the buying of the oil. Many times this view has affected my daily living. Could I get more Spirit by exchanging words with my wife? Could I get more Spirit by going to a certain place? I may want to go to a certain place, but I do not have the peace within me. The point is this—every day should be a day for us to pick up the oil in every way. We need to pray from the time that we wake up every morning, “Lord, I do not like to do anything that is not under my being watchful, that is not under my buying of the oil. I like to buy the oil at any time and in any instance. Otherwise, that will be a waste of my time.” This should be our prayer and even our prayerful attitude. Many nights I regretted that I did not spend all my time to be in the spirit.

　　In the New Testament watchfulness is wrapped up with prayer. Ephesians 6:18 tells us that we should be those watching unto prayer. We need to be watchful, on the alert for our prayer life. Watching unto this in verse 18 refers to prayer and petition. There is no other way to get the oil except by praying. If you do not pray, it means that you do not pay the price to buy the oil. Through prayer we receive more Spirit. Every time we pray, we have the deep sensation that some amount of the Spirit has been gained by us in our prayer. To spend our time for prayer rather than for so many other things means to pay the price to get the oil.

　　Our initial receiving of the Spirit at regeneration is not a ticket for us to enter into the wedding feast. The sufficient oil, the adequate oil, will become our entry, our ticket, to the wedding feast....We can never borrow others' spirituality [cf. Matt. 25:8-9]. One's spirituality can qualify only himself. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” pp. 528-530)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” ch. 8

　　弗四30　并且不要叫神的圣灵忧愁，你们原是在祂里面受了印记，直到得赎的日子。

　　帖前五16~19　要常常喜乐，不住地祷告，凡事谢恩；因为这是神在基督耶稣里对你们的旨意。不要销灭那灵。

　　每天早晨你必须到主面前说，“主，感谢你，我在这里。充满我，浸透我，渗透我。我要在你里面被你渗透。”我们需要这样的祷告。每天有三次这样的祷告，并不太过。我建议年轻人每天有十次这样的祷告。我们越多这样祷告越好。人也许教导你不该吃得太多，但没有人教导你不要呼吸得太多。你的呼吸不该减少，反之，你最好操练更多地呼吸，并操练深呼吸。这样祷告乃是在你的器皿里得着油（实行主当前行动之路，一一八页）。

　　Eph. 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption.

　　1 Thes. 5:16-19 Always rejoice, unceasingly pray, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.

　　Every day in the morning you must go to the Lord, saying, “Lord, thank You that I am here. Fill me up. Saturate me. Soak me. I want to be soaked in You and with You.” We need such a prayer. It is not too much to have this kind of prayer three times a day. I advise the young people to have this prayer ten times daily. The more we pray this way, the better. People may teach you that you should not eat so much, but no one has ever taught you not to breathe too much. Your breathing should not be reduced. Rather, you had better exercise to have more breathing and to breathe deeply. To pray in this way is to gain the oil in your vessel. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” p. 510)

　　以弗所四章三十节告诉我们，不要叫神的圣灵忧愁；不要叫祂不喜乐。现今那在印我们、直到我们身体得赎的圣灵，乃是在我们里面。我们必须叫祂喜乐。因为祂已经使我们与祂联结为一（林前六17），当我们不喜乐，就指明祂也不喜乐。你若不来聚会，或者你若来聚会，却不尽功用，这就使那灵不喜乐。一天的末了，你可能觉得不太好，但是当你来到聚会中并且尽功用，你就觉得真是喜乐。这意思是圣灵在你里面喜乐。你若不觉得喜乐，这就指明你叫祂忧愁了。你为什么叫祂忧愁呢？因为你没有买祂，你没有为祂付代价；祂就是油。

　　帖前五章十九节说，“不要销灭那灵。”有时我们甚至到一个地步，不仅叫圣灵忧愁，也销灭祂。有时我们也许告诉主，请祂容忍我们一段时间，不要来感动我们。我们也许知道那灵在我们里面运行，但我们也许不喜欢这运行。销灭那灵就是拒绝买油。在许多事上我们没有买那灵，所以我们错过累积多而又多的那灵在我们里面的机会。

　　全本新约几乎最末了的一个嘱咐，乃是照着灵而行（罗八4）；这灵乃是我们人的灵调和着神的圣灵（参16），也就是我们调和的灵。行的意思是生活、行动、举止、作事、为人。我们的行事为人必须照着灵，这就是买那灵。我们的思想、我们的说话、我们态度的表达应当照着灵。如果你照着灵行事为人，这就是买那灵。但照着灵而行、照着灵行事为人，需要我们付极大的代价。你也许需要停止过多的电话交谈，停止从报纸的头一页往前读到下一页。

　　我的负担是与你们交通，好使你们能兴起，过一种生活，在作任何事上总不浪费时间，而买额外的油。你若作些事，而感觉在浪费时间，你最好停止作那件事。用那时间去接触主，去祷告。这就是儆醒祷告。儆醒就是不让你的时间过去，不浪费你的时间，抓住所有的时间作为买油的机会。买油就是赎回光阴最好的路，因为时日短少了。

　　我们每个人都需要过这样一种天天买油，甚至时时买油的生活。我们都需要在我们穿着、购物、谈话并生活的方式上买油。在每件事上我们都必须严肃，并思想主耶稣在马太二十五章一至十三节所提的严肃比喻。……这是一生之久的事，不是隔夜的事。……主所需要并我们所需要的一件事，乃是兴起付代价，在我们日常生活中，随时在一切事上买油（实行主当前行动之路，一四五至一四六、一四八至一四九页）。

　　参读：实行主当前行动之路，第九章。

　　Ephesians 4:30 tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Do not make Him unhappy. The Holy Spirit who is now sealing us unto the redemption of our body is in us. We must make Him happy. Because He has really joined us with Him as one (1 Cor. 6:17), when we are unhappy, this indicates that He is unhappy. If you do not come to the meeting, or if you come and do not function, this makes the Spirit unhappy. At the end of the day you may not feel so good, but when you come to the meeting and function in it, you feel so happy. This means that the Holy Spirit is happy within you. If you do not feel happy, this is an indication that you have grieved Him. Why have you grieved Him? Because you did not buy Him. You did not pay the price for Him. He is the oil.

　　First Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Do not quench the Spirit.” Sometimes we even go further not only to grieve Him but also to quench Him. Sometimes we may tell the Lord to tolerate us for a certain time and not to inspire us. We may know that the Spirit is moving within us, but we may not like it. To quench the Spirit is to reject the buying of the oil. In many things we do not buy the Spirit, so we miss the chance to accumulate more and more of the Spirit in our being.

　　Nearly the last charge in the entire New Testament is to walk according to the spirit (Rom. 8:4), which is our human spirit mingled with God's Holy Spirit (cf. v. 16), our mingled spirit. To walk means “to live, to act, to behave, to do things, to have our being.” We have to have our being according to the spirit, and this is to buy the Spirit. Our thinking and our speaking, the expression of our attitude, should be according to the spirit. If you are having your being according to the spirit, this is to buy the Spirit. But to walk, to have your being according to the spirit, needs us to pay a great price. You may need to stop your excessive talking on the telephone and stop your further reading of the newspaper from the first page to the next.

　　My burden is to fellowship with you that you may rise up to live a life of always buying an extra portion of the oil by not wasting your time in doing anything. If you do something, and you feel that it is a waste of time, you had better stop doing it. Use that time to contact the Lord, to pray. This is to watch unto prayer. To be watchful is not to let your time go, not to waste your time, but to take every time as a chance to buy the oil. To buy the oil is the best way to redeem our time, for the days are short....All of us need to live such a life of buying the oil daily, even hourly. We need to buy the oil in the way we dress, shop, talk, and live. In everything we must be serious and consider the solemn parable given by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 25:1-13....This is a lifelong matter, not an overnight matter....The one thing that the Lord needs and that we need is to rise up to pay the price to buy the oil all the time in all the matters in our daily life. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” pp. 530-533)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” ch. 9

　　太二五14~15　诸天的国又好比一个人要往外国去，就叫了自己的奴仆来，把他的家业交给他们，按照各人的才干，个别地给了一个五他连得银子，一个二他连得，一个一他连得，就往外国去了。

　　关于信徒有两面：儆醒预备的一面，和忠信精明的一面。信徒……有双重的身分。这双重身分的第一面与生命有关，第二面与服事有关。……在生命上，我们是童女；在服事上，我们是奴仆。……在儆醒上，我们是童女；这与我们的所是有关。但在忠信上，我们是奴仆；这与我们的所作有关。

　　我们也许喜欢“童女”一辞，却不喜欢听见我们是奴仆。然而，我们不仅是童女，也是奴仆。对童女而言，主是新郎；但对奴仆而言，祂是主人。因此，不仅我们有双重的身分，主也有双重的身分。一面，祂是使我们喜乐的新郎；另一面，祂是我们严厉的主人。有时候祂非常喜悦我们，但有时候，祂严厉地对付我们（马太福音生命读经，八三五页）。

　　Matt. 25:14-15 For the kingdom of the heavens is just like a man about to go abroad, who called his own slaves and delivered to them his possessions. To one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability. And he went abroad.

　　Concerning the believers, there are two aspects: the aspect of watchfulness and readiness and the aspect of faithfulness and prudence. The believers...have a dual status. The first aspect of this dual status is related to life, and the second aspect is related to service....Regarding life, we are virgins; regarding service, we are slaves....In watchfulness we are virgins. This relates to what we are....In faithfulness we are slaves. This relates to what we do.

　　Although we may like the term “virgins,” we may not like hearing that we are slaves. Nevertheless, we are not only virgins, but also slaves. To the virgins, the Lord is the Bridegroom, but to the slaves, He is the Master. Thus, not only we have a dual status, but the Lord also has a dual status. On the one hand, He is our pleasant Bridegroom and, on the other, our strict Master. Sometimes He is very pleasant with us, but at other times He deals with us in a strict way. (Life-study of Matthew, p. 758)

　　童女需要内在的东西—油在器皿里内在的充满。然而，奴仆需要外在的东西—属灵的才干。圣灵的充满是内在的，但是才干，属灵的恩赐，是外在的。我们是器皿，里面需要油；我们是奴仆，外面需要才干。……充满器皿的油达到器皿的底部。我们这人的更新是从里面进行的，变化也是从里面发生的。今天在基督徒中间非常缺少这种内在的工作。反之，许多基督徒在努力改善他们的外表，好作虚饰。宗教与外在的表现有关，但神在圣灵充满里的恩典进到我们里面，从里面变化我们。内在的油与外在的修饰大不相同。修饰立刻改变我们的脸色，但神的路乃是我们饮于那灵，并让那灵浸透我们这人，那么我们的外表就要从里面改变。例如，我吃得好，喝得好，并且营养的食物浸透我这人，就使我有健康的脸色。

　　我们需要从里面得更新，这不是说，我们不需要外面的活动。那领五他连得银子的，用这些殷勤作买卖，另外赚了五他连得。这指明我们需要里面的更新和外面的服事，里面的长大和外面的行动。我们对这原则需要有深刻的印象。在生命方面，我们需要从里面得更新；在服事方面，我们外面需要十分活跃。有时候我们可能外面很活跃，以致忽略了里面的更新。但有时候我们可能很注意里面的生命，以致没有好好工作。这样就是没有翻过的饼（何七8），一面烧焦成炭，另一面是生的；两面都不适合吃。我们需要是个翻过的饼。我们若过度工作，主会告诉我们要休息。但我们若休息太过，主会告诉我们去工作。

　　马太二十五章十四节说，这人把他的家业交给他的奴仆。……我信交给奴仆的家业包括福音、真理、信徒和召会。……十五节说，“按照各人的才干，个别地给了一个五他连得银子，一个二他连得，一个一他连得。”……童女比喻里的油，象征神的灵；这节比喻里的银子，象征属灵的恩赐（罗十二6，林前十二4，彼前四10，提后一6）。为着生命，我们需要油，神的灵，甚至祂的充满，使我们能过童女的生活，作主的见证；为着服事、工作，我们需要银子，属灵的恩赐，使我们能装备为良善的奴仆，完成主的工作（马太福音生命读经，八三五至八三七页）。

　　参读：马太福音生命读经，第六十五至六十六篇。

　　The virgins need something inward—the inward filling of the oil in the vessel. The slaves, however, need something outward—the spiritual talent. The infilling of the Holy Spirit is inward, but the talent, the spiritual gift, is outward. As vessels we need the oil inwardly, and as slaves we need the talents outwardly.

　　The oil that fills the vessel reaches the very bottom of the vessel. It is from within that the renewing of our being takes place, and it is from within that transformation transpires. There is a great lack of this inward working among Christians today. Rather, many Christians are striving to improve their outward appearance in order to make a show. Religion is concerned with outward show, but God's grace in the infilling of the Holy Spirit gets into us and transforms us from within. The inward oil is very different from outward makeup. Makeup changes our complexion immediately. But God's way is that we drink of the Spirit and let the Spirit saturate our being. Then our appearance will change from within. For example, I eat and drink well, and nourishing food saturates my being. This gives me a healthy complexion.

　　The fact that we need to be renewed from within does not mean that we do not need outward activities. The one who received five talents traded with them diligently and gained another five talents. This indicates that we need both the inward renewing and the outward service, the inward growth and the outward actions. We need to be deeply impressed with this principle. Regarding the aspect of life, we need to be renewed from within, and regarding the aspect of service, we need to be very active outwardly. Sometimes we may be so active outwardly that we neglect the inward renewing. But at other times we may care so much for the inner life that we do not work adequately. To be like this is to be an unturned cake (Hosea 7:8). On one side we are burned to charcoal, and on the other side we are raw. Neither side is good for eating. We need to be a turned cake. If we work too much, the Lord will tell us to rest. But if we rest too much, the Lord will tell us to work.

　　[Matthew 25:14] says that this man delivered his possessions to his slaves....I believe that the possessions delivered to the slaves include the gospel, the truth, the believers, and the church.

　　Verse 15 says, “To one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability.” While oil in the parable of the virgins signifies the Spirit of God, talents in this parable signify spiritual gifts (Eph. 4:8; Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:4; 1 Pet. 4:10; 2 Tim. 1:6). For life we need oil, the Spirit of God, even His fullness, that we may be enabled to live the virgin life for the Lord's testimony; for service, for work, we need the talent, the spiritual gift, that we may be equipped as a good slave for the accomplishment of the Lord's work. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 758-760)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msgs. 65-66

　　太二四45　这样，谁是那忠信又精明的奴仆，为主人所派，管理他的家人，按时分粮给他们？

　　林前十四31　因为你们都能一个一个地申言，为要使众人有学习，使众人得勉励。

　　我们要怎样在服事上忠信？……首先，马太二十四章四十五至五十一节清楚地告诉我们，主托付我们照顾祂的家人。祂的家人是指信徒（弗二19），就是召会（提前三15）。今天召会乃是主的家，也是主的家人，就是我们所说的家属。……主嘱咐我们，托付我们，要供应祂的家人，就是供应召会里的信徒。

　　按照马太二十四章四十五节，我们所供应的乃是食物。……我们必须按时分粮，就是分配生命的供应给主的子民。不要说别人有教导的恩赐，能教导你神的话，供应你属灵的食物，但你没有那样的恩赐。这里没有这样的思想。所有主的仆人都为着他们的使命，领受了恩赐（实行主当前行动之路，一二四页）。

　　Matt. 24:45 Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time?

　　1 Cor. 14:31 For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

　　In what way should we be faithful in the service?...First, in Matthew 24:45-51 we are told clearly that the Lord commissioned us to take care of His household. His household refers to the believers (Eph. 2:19), who are the church (1 Tim. 3:15). The church today is the Lord's house and also the Lord's household, what we refer to as the folks....The Lord charged us, commissioned us, to minister something to His household, that is, to the believers in the church.

　　According to Matthew 24:45, what we minister is food....At the proper time we have to minister food, the life supply, to the Lord's people. Do not say that others have a gift of teaching to teach you the Word of God and minister spiritual food to you but that you do not have such a gift. There is not such a thought here. All the Lord's servants received the gift for their commission. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” pp. 514-515)

　　主升天之前，将祂的召会连同所有的信徒交给我们。祂若只给我们银子去供给生命的供应，这样我们要供应给谁？然而，祂给了我们两类的东西：一类是祂的家业，一类是银子。今天我们有召会连同所有的信徒作家业，这是我们的分，我们能供应给他们，我们也有银子作属灵的恩赐。你不能说你没有恩赐。事实上，你很有恩赐。为此，我总是鼓励你要尽功用。有些人也许以为这只是我的实行。他们也许说，在整个基督教里，他们只看到好的教师向大会众讲道。他们从来没有看过一个聚会有这么多人站起来说话。……一个接一个站起来，好像爆玉米花一样。有“爆玉米花聚会”是很好的。这正是我们所盼望有的。这不是我的教训，这是圣经的教训（林前十四24、26、29~32）。我们都必须学习尽功用。……你说话就是按时分粮给主的家人。

　　供应食物的人知道指定的时候。你若每天供应食物，你就必须作早餐、午餐和晚餐。泡杯咖啡、买一个甜甜圈作早餐，乃是懒惰的方式。在属灵的范围里，我们若是像这样，我们就不是好仆人，没有按时将生命的供应供给主人的家人。按时就是在早晨供应早餐。此外，好妻子总是会预备最好的三明治给丈夫带到办公室，作为按时的午餐，并习惯为家人预备丰盛的晚餐。

　　同样，每当我们聚在一起，这就是你按时供应合式的食物给主的家属的时间。然而，如果我懒惰，没有读主的话；如果我在主的话上没有够多的殷勤劳苦，就来对你们说话，我就只能供应你们“一杯咖啡和几个甜甜圈”。烹煮一顿滋养、美味的早餐，需要你的殷勤。照马太二十五章十四至三十节这个比喻的上下文，忠信的人就是殷勤的人。〔二十四章四十五节的〕忠信在此等于殷勤，〔二十五章二十六节的〕“懒惰”等于怠惰。我们必须殷勤寻求主的话，使我们预备好，来到聚会时能供应美好的食物。用餐的时候就是“按时”；聚会的时候就是“按时”。……聚会的时间，就是指定的时候，我们众人必须将一些生命的供应，供给神家的人，供给同作信徒的人，就是供给我们的家业。

　　主将召会给了我们，作为我们服事的对象，祂也给了我们才能、技巧、恩赐，来顾到我们的职责（实行主当前行动之路，一二五至一二七页）。

　　参读：实行主当前行动之路，第十章。

　　The Lord, before going to the heavens, delivered to us His church with all the believers. If He had given to us only the talent to minister the life supply, then to whom would we minister? However, He gave us two categories of things: one is His possessions, the other is the talents. Today we have the church with all the believers as the possession, the portion to us, to which we can give something, and we have the talents as the spiritual gifts. You cannot say you are not gifted. Actually, you are much gifted. For this reason I have always encouraged you to function. Some may consider this merely to be my practice. They may say that in all of Christianity they only saw the practice of good preachers speaking to a crowd. They never saw a meeting with so many standing up to speak....One after another stands up like popcorn popping. It is very good to have a “popcorn meeting.” This is altogether what we expect to have. This is not my teaching; this is the Bible's teaching (1 Cor. 14:24, 26, 29-32). We all have to learn to function....For you to speak is to minister food to the Lord's household at the proper time.

　　Whoever serves food knows the proper time. If you are serving food every day, you have to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner. To buy a cup of coffee and a doughnut for breakfast is the lazy way. If we are like this in the spiritual realm, we will be poor slaves to minister the life supply to the master's folks at the proper time. The proper time in the morning is breakfast. Also, good wives prepare the best sandwiches for their husbands to bring to the office for lunch at the proper time and are accustomed to preparing a big dinner for their family.

　　In like manner, whenever we meet together, this is one of the proper times, the appointed times, for you to minister the proper food to the Lord's folks. Suppose, however, that I was sloppy, not reading the Word. If I did not labor adequately in the Word and came to speak to you, I would just be ministering to you “a cup of coffee and some doughnuts.” To cook a nourishing, good breakfast, requires your diligence. According to the context of this parable, the faithful one is the diligent one. Faithful in Matthew 24:45 equals diligent, and slothful in 25:26 equals lazy. We must be diligent in seeking the Word so that we could prepare to serve good food when we come to the meeting. The eating time is the proper time, and the meeting time is the proper time....The meeting times are the proper times when we all have to minister some portion of the life supply to our folks, to our fellow believers, to our possessions.

　　The Lord has given us the church as the object for us to serve, and He has also given us the ability, the skill, the gift, to care for our obligation. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” pp. 515-516)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” ch. 10

　　太二四49　〔恶仆〕就动手打那些和他同作奴仆的，又和酒醉的人一同吃喝。

　　二五18~19　但那领一他连得的，去掘开地，把他主人的银子埋藏了。过了许久，那些奴仆的主人竟然来和他们算账。

　　我们众人都应该按时分粮给主的子民（太二四45），并且充分使用主的恩赐（二五20、22）。在消极一面，我们不该动手打那些和我们同作奴仆的人（二四49）。你可能没有尽你的责任去完成你的事奉，反而在批评，有时甚至强烈地和弟兄们作对。你不是在作工，乃是动手打同作奴仆的。

　　虽然我无意暴露任何人，许多人却借着我所释放信息里的光被暴露。那不是我的工作，乃是主的工作。我们都必须停下我们的批评、论断、反对和怨言，那些都是在动手打人。我们必须花费我们的时间、我们的精力和我们的一切，为着主的权益有积极的事奉（实行主当前行动之路，一五六至一五八页）。

　　Matt. 24:49 ...[An evil slave] begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with the drunken.

　　25:18-19 But he who had received the one went off and dug in the earth and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.

　　All of us should be those who are feeding the Lord's people at the proper time (Matt. 24:45) and using the Lord's talents in full (25:20, 22). On the negative side, we should not be those beating our fellow slaves (24:49). You may not do your duty to perform your service, but instead you are criticizing and sometimes even strongly opposing the brothers. You are not doing the work but beating the fellow slaves.

　　Although I have no intention of exposing anyone, many are exposed by the light in the messages I release. That is not my job but the Lord's work. We all have to stop our criticizing, judging, opposing, and murmuring as a kind of beating. We must spend our time, our energy, and our everything to do a positive service for the Lord's interest. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” pp. 539-540)

　　再者，我们不该是那些“和酒醉的人一同吃喝”的人（太二四49）。这比动手打同作奴仆的人漂离得更远、更堕落。你堕落到世界里去了，成了一个爱世界的人。属世的人被属世的事物迷醉，甚至麻醉。他们被现今的世代所麻醉。与他们一同吃喝，就是享受他们所享受的。……我们不该与酒醉的人一同吃喝，也不该掘开地，把主的银子埋藏了（二五18）。地乃是象征世界，所以掘开地是表征钻进世界。任何与世界的联合、牵连，甚至一点世俗的交谈，都会埋藏主所给我们的恩赐。

　　我们要成为忠信的，路就是散布主的话，这话对每一个饥渴的人乃是食物。主的家业不仅由信徒组成，也由罪人组成。谁要去喂养饥渴的罪人？我们都必须说，“我去！”我们必须去。……我们必须尽所能地传布神的话。……许多基督徒几乎没有什么真理；他们有神的话，但他们不在意神的话，也不明白有多少丰富在其中。在这背道的时代，靠着主的怜悯，祂向我们打开祂的话。许多神圣的丰富都刊印出版了。……我们为什么不带着这些丰富出去？……这是喂养主子民的一条路。

　　主把银子给了祂所有的奴仆。……每一个人都需要去作生意，作事业，为主的国度赚钱。我们要作这事，就必须按时喂养祂的子民。每一天都是指定的时候，都是用餐的时候。……各处都有人预备好要吃，所以我们需要充分使用主的银子。

　　此外，我们必须靠着祂的怜悯，借着祂的恩典，尽所能不动手打同作奴仆的，就是同作信徒的。不要批评或埋怨他们；不要用消极的话说到他们，因为你没有时间这样作。你的口不是被造来批评的，乃是被造来说出基督的。批评弟兄们就是动手打同作奴仆的，这会使我们受惩治。我们也不该钻到世界里，与麻醉的属世之人一同享乐。我们必须是清明的人。我们不该掘开地，把我们的银子埋起来。我们应当有工作好赖以维生，但我们不该钻进去。我们与属世之人不同。我鼓励我所有的孙子尽所能的得着最高的教育。……我也鼓励召会中所有的青年人受最高的教育，但不要钻一个洞，把主给你的恩赐埋起来。我们都需要在对主的服事上忠信（实行主当前行动之路，一五八至一五九、一六三至一六六页）。

　　参读：实行主当前行动之路，第八、十章。

　　Furthermore, we should not be one who “eats and drinks with the drunken” (Matt. 24:49). This is to drift away further, a further fall from beating the fellow slaves. You have fallen away to the world and have become a world lover. The worldly people are drunk and even drugged with worldly things. They are stupefied with the present age. To eat and drink with them is to enjoy what they enjoy.

　　We should not eat and drink with the drunken, nor should we dig in the earth and hide the Lord's talent (25:18). The earth signifies the world, so to dig in the earth signifies getting into the world. Any association, any involvement, with the world, even a little worldly talk, will bury the Lord's gift to us.

　　The way to be faithful is to scatter the Lord's word, which is food to every hungry one. The Lord's household is composed not only of believers but also of sinners. Who will go to feed the hungry, sinful people? We all have to say, “Me!” We have to go....We must do everything that we can to spread the Word of God.

　　Many Christians are nearly void of the truth; they have the Word of God, but they do not care for it, nor do they realize how much is in it. In this age of apostasy the Lord, by His mercy, has opened up His Word to us. Many of the divine riches have been printed and published....Why do we not go out with these riches?...This is one of the ways to feed the Lord's people.

　　The Lord has given talents to all His slaves....Everyone was required to trade, to do business, to make money for the Lord's kingdom. In order to do this, we have to feed His people at the proper time. Every day is a proper time, a meal time....There is someone ready to eat everywhere, so we need to be those using the Lord's talent in full.

　　Also, by His mercy and through His grace we must do the best not to beat the fellow slaves, the fellow believers. Do not criticize or murmur about them. Do not speak anything negative about them, because you do not have the time to do it. Your mouth was not made for criticizing but for speaking forth Christ. To criticize the brothers is to beat the fellow slaves. This will cause us to be punished. We should also not go into the world to enjoy ourselves with the stupefied, drugged, and worldly people. We have to be the sober ones. We should not dig into the earth to bury or hide our talent. We should have a job to maintain our living, but we should not dig into it. We are different from the worldly people. I encourage all my grandchildren [and all the young people in the churches] to do their best to get the highest education, but [not to] “dig into” their education just to become an expert....Do not dig a hole that buries the talent the Lord gave you. We all need to be faithful in the Lord's service. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” pp. 540-541, 544-546)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move,” chs. 8, 10