罗十二1~2 “…将身体献上，当作圣别并讨神喜悦的活祭，这是你们合理的事奉。不要模仿这世代…。”

　　林前一2 “写信给在哥林多神的召会，就是给在基督耶稣里被圣别，蒙召的圣徒，同着所有在各处呼求我们主耶稣基督之名的人…。”

　　我们都在人类的历史里出生，却在神圣的历史里再生，重生。现在我们需要问自己一个问题：我们是活在神圣的历史里，还是仅仅活在人类的历史里？我们若活在这个世界，就是活在人类的历史里。但我们若活在召会中，就是活在神圣的历史里。在召会生活中，神的历史就是我们的历史。现在这两方—神和我们，有同一个历史，就是神圣的历史。这就是召会生活。

　　在神圣的历史中有一个新造—新人同着新心、新灵、新生命、新性情、新历史、和新的终结。赞美主，我们在神圣的历史里，经历并享受奥秘、神圣的事物。（约珥书生命读经，二五二页。）

　　Rom. 12:1-2 …Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be fashioned according to this age…

　　1 Cor. 1:2 To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints, with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place…

　　We all were born in the human history, but we have been reborn, regenerated, in the divine history. Now we need to ask ourselves this question: Are we living in the divine history, or are we living merely in the human history? If our living is in the world, we are living in the human history. But if we are living in the church, we are living in the divine history. In the church life God’s history is our history. Now two parties—God and we—have one history, the divine history. This is the church life.

　　With the divine history there is the new creation—the new man with a new heart, a new spirit, a new life, a new nature, a new history, and a new consummation. We praise the Lord that we are in the divine history, experiencing and enjoying the mysterious, divine things. (Life-study of Joel, p. 36)

　　我们所在的时代是延续先前的时代，我们的神在其中仍在行动。祂在犹太人中并借着列国作工，为要实施祂的经纶，建造基督生机的身体。

　　我们需要看见，今天我们这些在基督里的信徒，是在基督的身体里。我们都是基督身体上的肢体，这身体就是三一神的生机体。作为基督身体上的肢体，我们应当渴慕作得胜者，大能者，就是那要与基督一同回来，在哈米吉顿之战中对付敌基督，并要在千年国里与基督一同作王的。（珥三11。）

　　此外，我们应该清楚我们作为基督身体上之肢体的目标。我们的目标乃是在内在一面扩大基督的显现。…我们渴望见到基督之显现内在的扩大；这扩大是在经过过程之三一神的灵里，并借着我们的父，就是那永远、全能神圣者的生命而有的。

　　基督现今坐在诸天之上的宝座上，等候我们受成全、得成熟。至终，时机将成熟，叫祂可以回来对付列国，拯救以色列的余民，并完成神在我们身上的经纶。之后，复兴的时期就被引进。这复兴的时期要终极完成于新耶路撒冷，作神彰显于基督的终极完成。（约珥书生命读经，二四一至二四二页。）

　　神在已过的永远里，按着祂的意愿所喜悦的，（弗一5上，）曾用诸天界里各样属灵的福分，祝福了我们，使祂恩典的荣耀得着称赞，这恩典是祂在基督那蒙祂所爱者里面所恩赐我们的。（6。）

　　这是神在已过永远里的历史，这历史也包括了我们。在已过的永远里，祂立了一个经纶，为要产生召会，为着祂的彰显，并且要将万有，包括我们，在基督里都归一于一个元首之下。祂也举行了一次会议，决定神圣三一的第二者来替我们死，以完成祂的经纶。然后，在已过的永远里，祂拣选了我们，使我们有祂的性情，也使我们有祂神圣的生命，叫我们与祂一样的圣别，并叫我们成为祂的儿子，作祂的儿女，来彰显祂。这就是神在已过永远里的历史，这历史就是我们的历史。基督徒的生活，是从已过的永远里，在创立世界以前，神对我们的拣选和预定开始的。

　　我们必须从这样更深的角度认识神。我们的神有奇妙的历史，这历史包括了我们。事实上，在祂的历史里，凡祂已经作的，现在正在作的，并将来所要作的，都是为着我们基督徒的生活。祂的历史建立起我们基督徒的生活。（神在祂与人联结中的历史，一八至一九页。）

　　参读：神在祂与人联结中的历史，第一章。

　　We are living in an age, the continuation of the preceding ages, in which our God is still moving. He is working among the Jews and by the nations to perform His economy in the building up of the organism of the Body of Christ.

　　We need to see that today we, the believers in Christ, are in the Body of Christ. We all are members of the Body of Christ, which is the organism of the Triune God. As members of the Body, we should aspire to be overcomers, the mighty ones (Joel 3:11) who will return with Christ to deal with Antichrist at the battle of Armageddon and who will be His co-kings in the millennium.

　　Furthermore, we should be clear concerning our goal as members of the Body. Our goal is to enlarge the manifestation of Christ intrinsically….We desire to see the intrinsic enlargement of the manifestation of Christ in the Spirit of the processed Triune God and by the life of our Father, the eternal, almighty divine Being.

　　Christ is now on the throne in the heavens, waiting for us to be perfected and matured. Eventually the time will be ripe for Him to come back to deal with the nations, to save the remnant of Israel, and to complete God’s economy with us. Then the age of restoration will be ushered in. That age will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the ultimate consummation of God’s expression in Christ. (Life- study of Joel, pp. 26-27)

　　God’s blessing us in eternity past with the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies was according to the good pleasure of His will (Eph. 1:5b) to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He graced us in Christ, His Beloved (v. 6).

　　This is God’s history in eternity past and this involves us. In eternity past God made an economy to produce the church for His manifestation and to head up all things, including us, in Christ. He also held a council to determine that the second of the Divine Trinity should come to die for us to carry out His economy. Then in eternity past He chose us to have His nature and to have His divine life so that we could be holy as He is and be His sons as His children to express Him. This is God’s history in eternity past, and this history is our history. The Christian life began from God’s choosing us and predestinating us in eternity past before the foundation of the world.

　　We need to know God in such a way from a deeper angle. Our God has a marvelous history, which includes us. Actually, whatever He has done, whatever He is doing, and whatever He will do in His history are all for our Christian life. His history builds up our Christian life. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “The History of God in His Union with Man,” p. 26)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “The History of God in His Union with Man,” ch. 1