诗歌：大本769首

读经：创二8~9、16~17，耶二13，十五16、19，二三5~6，三一31~34，四十5~6、13~14

Scripture Reading: Gen. 2:8-9, 16-17; Jer. 2:13; 15:16, 19; 23:5-6; 31:31-34; 40:5-6, 13-14

　　创一26 神说，我们要按着我们的形像，照着我们的样式造人……。

　　徒七56 〔司提反〕就说，看哪，我看见诸天开了，人子站在神的右边。

　　我要简短地说到神与人在形像和样式上的相似。……我要鼓励你们非常仔细地研读以下各点。我们查考这些，也许会想要知道，究竟是人与神相似，还是神与人相似？

　　神在祂的创造里，并没有创造“人类”。创世记一章告诉我们，神创造一切的鱼、鸟、野兽和牲畜，各从其类（24~25）。虽然神创造一切是各从其类，但神却没有创造“人类”。在神的创造里，没有“人类”这样的东西。

　　神若没有创造“人类”，那么人是从着什么类被造的？二十六节指明，人乃是从神类被造的。这节说，“我们〔神圣的三一〕要按着我们的形像，照着我们的样式造人〔希伯来文，亚当，指红土〕。”因此，神在这里所造的是从祂自己的类，就是神类。……神按着自己的形像，照着自己的样式造一块红土（历代志生命读经，一○四至一○五页）。

　　Gen. 1:26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…

　　Acts 7:56 And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

　　I would like to give a very brief word on the resemblance of God and man in their images and likenesses ….I would encourage you to study all the following points very carefully. As we consider these, we may wonder whether man resembles God or God resembles man.

　　There was no “mankind” created by God in His creation. Genesis 1 tells us that God created all the fish, the birds, the beasts, and the cattle after their kind (vv. 24-25). Although God created everything after its kind, God did not create “mankind.” In God’s creation there was not such a thing as “mankind.”

　　If God did not create “mankind,” then after what kind was man created? Genesis 1:26 indicates that man is after God’s kind. This verse says, “Let Us [the Divine Trinity] make man [Heb. adam, denoting red clay] in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Hence, what God made here was according to His own kind, that is, God-kind….God created something of red clay in His own image and after His own likeness. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, p. 85)

　　这块红土有神的形像，看起来像神。至少我们能说，这土是神从神类所造的一个像。所以，这红土是神类。在创世记一章二十六节，神照着自己创造了一样东西。祂所造的是自己的复制。神若按着祂的形像，照着祂的样式造了一万块泥土，那一万块泥土就都是神的像，神的大量复制。

　　在十八章二至十三节，有三个人向亚伯拉罕显现。这三个人中有一位是基督—耶和华，其他二位是天使（十九1）。这三人向亚伯拉罕显现，发生在基督成为肉体以前。这就是说，在神成为肉体以前二千年，祂访问祂的朋友亚伯拉罕时，就显现为一个人。亚伯拉罕为祂预备水，给祂洗脚，而亚伯拉罕的妻子撒拉预备饭食给这人吃。这是个奥秘。基督何时成为人—在祂成为肉体的时候，或在成为肉体以前？

　　照着但以理七章十三至十四节，但以理看见人子驾着天云而来的异象，祂甚至来到亘古常在者，就是永远的神那里，被领近祂面前。祂得了权柄、荣耀、国度，使各族、各国、各方言的人都事奉祂。祂的权柄是永远的权柄，不能废去，祂的国必不毁坏。在基督成为肉体以前，但以理就看见这样一个基督为人子的异象。

　　亚当是基督的预像，预表（罗五14）。……创世记一章二十六节的那块红土是基督的预表，而基督是那不能看见之神的像（西一15）。……存在于神的形状里的基督，在祂成为肉体时，取了奴仆的形状，成为人的样式，显为人的样子（腓二6~8）。

　　司提反看见诸天开了，人子基督在神的右边（徒七56）。司提反在基督升到诸天之上以后看见这景象，指明基督在诸天之上仍是人子。……在马太二十六章六十四节主耶稣说，“你们要看见人子，坐在那大能者〔神〕的右边，驾着天上的云而来。”这是指基督的第二次来临。当主耶稣回来时，祂仍是人子（历代志生命读经，一○五至一○八页）。

　　参读：历代志生命读经，第二、四、七、十一、十三篇。

　　Having the image of God, this work of red clay looked like God. At least we can say that this clay was a figure of God, made after God’s kind. Therefore, it was God-kind. In Genesis 1:26 God created something according to Himself. What He made was a reproduction of Himself. If God had made ten thousand pieces of clay in His image and after His likeness, those ten thousand pieces of clay would all have been figures of God, the mass reproduction of God.

　　In Genesis 18:2-13 three men appeared to Abraham. One of these men was Christ—Jehovah—and the other two were angels (19:1). The appearing of these three men to Abraham took place before Christ’s incarnation. This means that two thousand years before His incarnation, God appeared as a man when He visited His friend Abraham. Abraham prepared water for Him to wash His feet, and Abraham’s wife, Sarah, prepared a meal that this man ate. This is a mystery. When did Christ become a man—at the time of His incarnation or before the incarnation?

　　According to Daniel 7:13-14, Daniel saw a vision of a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven, and He came even to the Ancient of Days—the God of eternity—and they brought Him near before Him. There was given Him dominion, glory, and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an eternal dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. Daniel saw such a vision of Christ as the Son of Man before Christ’s incarnation.

　　Adam was a type, a prefigure, of Christ (Rom. 5:14). The piece of red clay in Genesis 1:26 was a type of Christ, and Christ is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). Christ, who exists in the form of God, took the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man, in His incarnation (Phil. 2:6-8).

　　Stephen saw the heavens opened up and the Son of Man—Christ—at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). Stephen saw this after Christ’s ascension to the heavens. This indicates that Christ is in the heavens still as the Son of Man. In Matthew 26:64 the Lord Jesus said, “You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power [God] and coming on the clouds of heaven.” This refers to Christ’s second coming. When the Lord Jesus comes back, He will still be the Son of Man. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, pp. 86-87)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, msgs. 2, 4, 7, 11, 13

　　约壹三2 ……我们晓得祂若显现，我们必要像祂；因为我们必要看见祂，正如祂所是的。

　　启四3 那位坐着的，显出来的样子好像碧玉和红宝石……。

　　二一11 城中有神的荣耀；城的光辉如同极贵的宝石，好像碧玉，明如水晶。

　　林后三章十八节说，“我们众人既然以没有帕子遮蔽的脸，好像镜子观看并返照主的荣光，就渐渐变化成为与祂同样的形像，从荣耀到荣耀，乃是从主灵变化成的。”罗马十二章二节上半说到我们借着心思的更新而变化。祂这位神作了许多，使祂自己有人的形状和样式。现今祂要将我们变化成为与祂同样的形像，而将我们模成神儿子的形像。

　　腓立比二章十五节说到使我们无可指摘、纯洁无杂，在弯曲悖谬的世代中，作神无瑕疵的儿女；我们在其中好像发光之体显在世界里（历代志生命读经，一○八至一○九页）。

　　1 John 3:2 …We know that if He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is.

　　Rev. 4:3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance…

　　21:11 Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.

　　Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” Romans 12:2a speaks of our being transformed by the renewing of the mind. He as God has done a lot to make Himself in the form and likeness of man. Now He intends to transform us into the same image and conform us to the image of the Son of God.

　　Philippians 2:15 speaks of our being blameless and guileless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom we shine as luminaries in the world. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, p. 88)

　　我们晓得基督若显现，我们必要全然、完全、绝对像祂，因为我们必要看见祂，正如祂所是的（约壹三2下）。……这一切要完成于新耶路撒冷。启示录四章三节说，“那位坐着的〔神〕，显出来的样子好像碧玉。”这告诉我们，那位坐在宝座上的神，显出来的样子好像碧玉。

　　照着启示录二十一章，新耶路撒冷的光辉如同极贵的宝石，好像碧玉（11下）。新耶路撒冷的墙身是碧玉，墙的第一根基也是碧玉（18上、19）。墙是碧玉，墙的第一根基是碧玉，城的光辉是碧玉，宝座上的神也像碧玉。至终神与人，人与神，显出来的样子都是碧玉。这就是圣经的总结。圣经的总结是新耶路撒冷—神性与人性调和。神性成为人性的居所，人性成为神性的家。在这城中，神的荣耀彰显在人身上，光辉显赫。我们将要在那里，如今正在过程之中。我们是在成为“一块神”的过程中，看起来要像神—碧玉— 一样。

　　当我们想到自己是神人，这种想法，这种领悟，会使我们在日常的经历中有革命性的改变。例如，一位弟兄也许对他的妻子不高兴。但他一想起自己是神人，他的态度就会立刻改变。他会渴望作神人丈夫。

　　在神的观点里，“人类”是指堕落之人消极的辞。身为在基督里的信徒和神的儿女，我们不是人类，我们乃是神人类。……这是神福音的最高点。

　　照着这福音，我们虽然堕落，基督却为我们死。我们若相信祂，接受祂，我们就要得着永远的生命，成为神的儿子。今天基督徒都承认，所有在基督里的信徒都是神的儿子，或神的儿女，但他们不敢承认，在基督里的信徒是神。在这世代的末了，我们教导并传扬一个真理，就是神成为人，为要使人成为神，在生命和性情上，但不在神格上，与祂一样。听见这真理乃是一大福分。听见神要一班神人以后，你如何能满意于成为别的？你要成为什么？你要成为典型的中国人或典型的美国人么？你要仅仅成为基督徒或在基督里的信徒么？我们都该宣告，我们要过神人的生活。至终，神人将是胜利者，得胜者，作耶路撒冷里的锡安。这要带进历史上前所未见新的复兴，也要结束这个世代（历代志生命读经，一○九至一一○、三二至三四页）。

　　参读：神圣启示的中心路线，第五篇。

　　We know that if Christ is manifested, we will be like Him wholly, perfectly, and absolutely because we will see Him even as He is (1 John 3:2b)….All this will consummate in the New Jerusalem. Revelation 4:3 says, “He [God] who was sitting was like a jasper stone.” This tells us that the appearance of God, the One sitting on the throne, is like jasper.

　　According to Revelation 21 the New Jerusalem’s light is like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone (v. lib). The building work of its wall is jasper, and the first foundation of the wall is also jasper (vv. 18a, 19). The wall is jasper, the first foundation of the wall is jasper, the light of the city is jasper, and God on the throne is like jasper. Eventually God and man, man and God, all have the appearance of jasper. This is the conclusion of the Bible. The consummation of the Bible is the New Jerusalem— divinity mingled with humanity. Divinity becomes the dwelling place of humanity, and humanity becomes the home of divinity. In this city the glory of God is manifested in man, brightly and splendidly. We will be there, and we are on the way. We are in the process of being made “a piece of God,” to look the same as God—jasper.

　　When we think of ourselves as God-men, this thinking, this realization, revolutionizes us in our daily experience. For example, a brother may be unhappy with his wife. But he remembers that he is a God-man, and immediately his attitude is changed. Then he will desire to be a God-man husband. In God’s view mankind is a negative term referring to fallen man. As believers in Christ and children of God, we are not mankind—we are God-man kind….This is the highest point of God’s gospel.

　　According to this gospel, we were fallen, yet Christ died for us. If we believe in Him and receive Him, we will have the eternal life to be the sons of God. Christians today admit that all the believers in Christ are the sons of God or the children of God, but they do not dare admit that the believers in Christ are God. At the end of this age, we are teaching and preaching the truth that God became a man in order to make man God, the same as He is in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. It is a great blessing to hear this truth. After hearing that God wants a group of God-men, how can you be content to be anything else? What do you want to be? Do you want to be a typical Chinese or a typical American? Do you want to be merely a Christian or a believer in Christ? We should all declare that we want to live the life of a God-man. Eventually, the God-men will be the victors, the overcomers, the Zion within Jerusalem. This will bring in a new revival which has never been seen in history, and this will end this age. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, pp. 88-89, 27-28)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, “The Central Line of the Divine Revelation,” ch. 5

　　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。

　　创二8~9 耶和华神……把……人安放在那里。耶和华神使各样的树从地里长出来，可以悦人的眼目，也好作食物；园子当中有生命树……。

　　在耶利米二章十三节，耶和华说到以色列人所犯两个基本的罪。第一个罪是离弃耶和华这活水的泉源、源头；第二个罪是为自己凿出破裂不能存水的池子。这第二个罪是不信靠神，却信靠自己，要作一些事为着自己的享受。这两个罪支配了全本耶利米书。

　　圣经的原则乃是：神不要祂的选民接受祂自己以外的任何事物作源头。神造人以后，将人安置在那表征神作生命的生命树跟前。神这样作，指明祂要人有分于生命树，而不是有分于别的。有分于生命树，就是接受神作我们独一的源头，作我们一切的源头（耶利米书生命读经，二五八页）。

　　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.

　　Gen. 2:8-9 …And there He put the man….And out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, as well as the tree of life in the middle of the garden…

　　In Jeremiah 2:13 Jehovah speaks concerning the two basic sins committed by the children of Israel. The first sin was forsaking Jehovah as the fountain, the source, of living waters; the second sin was hewing out for themselves broken cisterns that could not hold water. This second sin was a matter of not trusting in God but of trusting in themselves to do something for their own enjoyment. These two sins govern the entire book of Jeremiah.

　　The principle in the Bible is that God does not want His chosen people to take anything other than Himself as their source. After God created man, He placed him in front of the tree of life, which signifies God as life. By doing this God was indicating that He wanted man to partake of the tree of life, not anything else. To partake of the tree of life is to take God as our unique source, as our source of everything. (Life-study of Jeremiah, pp. 217-218)

　　罪就是离开神而凭着自己、为着自己作某些事。这正是以色列人所作的。他们离弃神这活水的泉源作他们的供应，并且按他们的意见，尽所能地凭自己作出一些东西，给自己享受。……罪就是离弃神而凭着自己、为着自己作某些事。这是全本圣经的原则。耶利米一再强调这原则，好叫我们印象深刻。

　　耶利米三十四至四十五章这段有十二章，给我们看见以色列在他们犯罪干犯耶和华上的顽梗。这段经文指明一件事—以色列离弃神这活水的源头、泉源。我们来想一想，以基大利的情况为例，虽然他忠信地照顾神的申言者耶利米（四十5~6），但他没有寻求主的话（13~14），因为这不是他的习惯。他没有以神作他的源头，与神是一，也没有接受出于神的一切。他若是这样的人，他所作的第一件事，必定是接受神的话（耶利米书生命读经，二五八页）。

　　生命树的原则是倚靠。……你若有这位活神和你一同驾驶，……祂就是你的活地图，也是你的活向导。你甚至可以停下来让祂驾驶。你可以靠近祂坐着，享受祂的驾驶，并且说，“……主啊，你替我开车。”

　　我们可以把这原则应用在以弗所五章婚姻的教训上。所有作妻子的基督徒都晓得，以弗所五章告诉她们要服从自己的丈夫。所有作丈夫的基督徒也知道，那处经节告诉他们当爱自己的妻子。然而，妻子和丈夫都达不到这些经文的要求，因为他们把以弗所五章当作知识树，而不是当作生命树。你们作丈夫和作妻子的，不能照着知识树而活，乃应当凭生命树而活。妻子要说，“主啊，我不晓得当怎样服从我的丈夫，即使知道，我也作不来。主啊，算了！我不靠自己的努力或力量来达到这要求。主耶稣，我只停留在你的同在里，我要住在你里面，一天二十四小时享受你。”如果这样，服从就自然的从你里面流出来。这就是你享受基督作你里面的生命而有的涌流，这就是倚靠生命树（创世记生命读经，二○一、二○三至二○五页）。

　　参读：在神与人关系里生机的联结，第一至二章。

　　Sin is a matter of leaving God and doing something by ourselves and for ourselves. This is exactly what the children of Israel did. They forsook God as the fountain of living waters for their supply, and, according to their opinion, they did whatever they could to work out something by themselves for their enjoyment ….Sin is to forsake God and to do something by ourselves and for ourselves. This is the principle throughout the Bible, and Jeremiah repeated this principle again and again so that we would be impressed.

　　Jeremiah 34—45 is a section of twelve chapters showing us the stubbornness of Israel in sinning against Jehovah. In these chapters one thing is made clear—that Israel has forsaken God as the source, the fountain, of living waters. Consider, for example, the situation with Gedaliah. Although he was faithful in caring for Jeremiah, God’s prophet (40:5-6), he did not seek the Lord’s word (vv. 13-14), because this was not his habit. He did not take God as his source to be one with Him and to receive whatever issued from Him. If he had been such a person, the first thing he would have done would have been to receive the word of God. (Life-study of Jeremiah, p. 218)

　　The principle of the tree of life is dependence. If you have the living God as your co-driver,…He will be your living map and your living guide. Actually, you will even cease being the driver and let Him drive. You may sit near Him and enjoy His driving, saying,”…Lord, You drive in my place.” We may apply this principle to the teaching about marriage in Ephesians 5. All Christian wives know the verse in Ephesians 5 which tells them to submit to their own husbands. All Christian husbands know the verse which tells them to love their wives. Nevertheless, wives and husbands fail to fulfill the requirements of these verses because they take Ephesians 5 as the tree of knowledge, not as the tree of life. Husbands and wives, you should not live according to the tree of knowledge. You must live by the tree of life. As a wife you should say, “Lord, I don’t know how to submit to my husband. Lord, even if I do know, I cannot do it. I will forget about it, Lord. I won’t use my effort or energy to fulfill this requirement. Lord Jesus, I simply stay in Your presence. I want to abide in You and enjoy You twenty-four hours a day.” If you do this, submission spontaneously will flow out of your inner being. It will be the overflow of your enjoyment of Christ as your inner life. This is dependence on the tree of life. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 162, 164-165)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Organic Union in God’s Relationship with Man,” chs. 1-2

　　耶十五19 耶和华如此说，……你若将宝贵的从低贱的分别出来，你就可以作我的口……。

　　腓三8 不但如此，我也将万事看作亏损，因我以认识我主基督耶稣为至宝；我因祂已经亏损万事，看作粪土，为要赢得基督。

　　我们要支取、接受并遵守神的话，就必须绝对与神是一。我们必须信靠祂，依赖祂，没有任何从己来的意见。我们只该享受神为我们所作的，以及祂所要作的。这是完成神经纶的路，这是新约。在新约里，我们与神是一，并让祂将自己写到我们里面，作我们的生命，作我们生命的律；这律带着它的性能，叫我们尽功用。我们都需要看见这点。

　　圣经（特别是新约）的原则，乃是神将自己向我们敞开，使我们得以进入祂里面，接受祂，并与祂成为一。然后祂要在我们里面，我们也要在祂里面，支取祂作一切。我们要支取的第一样东西就是祂的话。神的话是神思想、旨意、心愿和喜悦的彰显；然后我们就不会顾到我们的意见或偏好。这样，我们就能成为祂的出口，向别人说出祂来，作他们的供应（耶利米书生命读经，二五九页）。

　　Jer. 15:19 Therefore thus says Jehovah,…If you bring out the precious from the worthless, you will be as My mouth…

　　Phil. 3:8 But moreover I also count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ.

　　To take, receive, and keep the word of God, we must be absolutely one with God. We must trust in Him, rely on Him, and not have any opinion that comes out of ourselves. We should simply enjoy what God has done and what He will do for us. This is the way to fulfill God’s economy, and this is the new covenant. In the new covenant we are one with God and let Him write Himself into us as our life and as our life law with its capacity for us to function. We all need to see this.

　　The principle of the Bible, especially of the New Testament, is that God opens Himself to us that we may enter into Him, receive Him, and become one with Him. Then He will be in us, and we will be in Him, taking Him as everything. The first thing we will take is His word to express His thought, His will, His heart’s desire, and His good pleasure; we will not care for our opinions or preferences. In this way we become His mouthpiece to speak Him forth to others for their supply. (Life-study of Jeremiah, pp. 218-219)

　　每一个信主的人，……必定有一种价值观的改变：从前所认为宝贝的，现在都不宝贝了；从前所不宝贝的，现在都宝贝了。这就叫作价值观的改变。凡是价值的判断没有改变的，都不是真基督徒。

　　马太十章三十七至三十八节说，“爱父母过于爱我的，配不过我；爱儿女过于爱我的，配不过我；不背起他的十字架，并跟从我的，也配不过我。”父母、妻子、儿女都是人所最爱的，也是人认为最重要的。在不与主比较时，都是人应当爱的。但是，如果我们遇到一个环境，是需要在这二者之间有拣选时，我们该如何呢？……我们必须帮助弟兄姊妹认识那宝贵的。你可以问初信的人：“你拣选谁呢？”他们若不弄清楚，将来遇到试探的时候就不知所措了。带领的责任是在我们身上。我们必须告诉初信的人说，“如果为着信主的缘故，需要与父母、妻子、儿女分开，你如何拣选呢？为着替我们受死的主，你当拣选作祂的门徒，跟随祂。”亲人固然是人所宝贵的，但比起我们的主，就没得比了。我们的主乃是比亲人更宝贝的。

　　在〔腓立比三章七至八节〕我们看见，保罗……改变了他的价值观；他先前以为对他是赢得的，现在因基督的缘故，他都看作亏损。保罗为什么能丢弃对他是赢得的东西，他为什么能将属世的一切看作亏损？这乃是因为他以认识基督耶稣为至宝。他以神所立为主为王的基督为至宝，因此他亏损万事，并且看作粪土。这乃是标准基督徒价值观的改变。

　　耶利米十五章十九节……告诉我们，我们若将宝贵的从低贱的分别出来，就能作神的口。今天你我如果不会分别价值的问题，神就会弃而不用我们了。……我们必须认识价值观改变的重要。求神给我们亮光，叫我们的价值观有彻底的改变，叫我们知道如何拣选上好的（倪柝声文集第三辑第十四册，一九一、一九四至一九五、二○一页）。

　　参读：倪柝声文集第三辑第十四册，第四十八篇。

　　Once a person is saved, his concept of value changes. He no longer cherishes what he once cherished, and he treasures what he once despised. This is a change in his concept of value. Anyone who has not witnessed such a change in concept is not a genuine Christian.

　　Matthew 10:37-38 says, “He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” A father, mother, wife, and children are the most precious things to a man. They are the most important things a man has in this life. When these are not compared with the Lord, there is nothing wrong in loving them. But when a situation arises where we have to choose between the two, which one will we choose?…We have to help the brothers and sisters know the real precious thing. We can ask new believers, “Whom will you choose?” If they are not clear about this, they will be lost when they face temptations in the future. The responsibility of providing proper guidance is on our shoulders. We have to tell the new believers, “If, for the Lord’s sake, you have to draw a separation line between yourself and your parents, wife, and children, will you choose Him? For His sake, that is, for the sake of the Lord who died for us, we should choose to be His disciples and follow Him.” Our own kin are precious, but they are no comparison to the Lord. Our Lord is more precious. [According to Philippians 3:7-8], we see that Paul…had a change in his concept of value. What things were gains to him, these he counted as loss on account of Christ. Why was Paul able to reject the things that were gains to him? He was able to consider them as loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Paul reckoned the Christ whom God had anointed as Lord, as King, and as the most excellent One. For His sake he suffered the loss of all things and counted them as refuse. This is the kind of change in valuation that happens to a Christian.

　　Jeremiah 15:19 [says] that if we bring out the precious from the worthless, we will be as God’s mouth. If we cannot tell the proper value of things, God will reject us and cast us aside….We have to see the importance of such a change in concept of value. May the Lord grant us the light to have a thorough change in our concept of value so that we will know to choose the most excellent portion. (CWWN, vol. 60, pp. 387, 390, 395)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 60, ch. 45

　　罗八4 使律法义的要求，成就在我们这不照着肉体，只照着灵而行的人身上。

　　林后二10 你们饶恕谁什么，我也饶恕；我若曾有所饶恕，我所已经饶恕的，是在基督的面前，为你们饶恕的。

　　以色列人的顽梗是由于他们没有与神是一。例如，遗民的首领约哈难，坚决定意去埃及避难。他惧怕巴比伦人会来报复对基大利的杀害。但神要他们留在圣地，作祂百姓中的遗民。神要眷顾他们，恩待他们，甚至使用他们作祂的百姓，在地上作活神的见证。然而，他们因着自己的考虑和意见，而完全误会神。众军长以及众百姓曾央求申言者耶利米为他们祷告，关乎他们所当走的路，所当作的事，应许他无论是好是歹，他们都必听从耶和华的话（耶四二1~6）。他们说他们要顺从，因为他们期望耶利米赞同他们。他们期望他会给他们“裹糖衣”的话。耶利米不是说这种话的人，他告诉他们，他必照着他们的话祷告耶和华（耶利米书生命读经，二五九至二六○页）。

　　Rom. 8:4 That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

　　2 Cor. 2:10 …Whom you forgive anything, I also forgive; for also what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, it is for your sake in the person of Christ.

　　The stubbornness of the children of Israel was due to their not being one with God. For example, Johanan, the leader of the remnant, strongly determined to go to Egypt to take refuge. He feared that the Babylonians would come to avenge the murder of Gedaliah. But God wanted them to remain in the Holy Land to be a remnant of His people. God would visit them and grace them and even use them to be His people as a testimony of the living God on earth. However, they altogether misunderstood God by their consideration and by their opinion. Nevertheless, all the leaders of the forces and all the people begged Jeremiah the prophet to pray for them concerning the way in which they should go and the thing which they should do, promising him that whether it was good or evil, they would listen to the voice of Jehovah (Jer. 42:1-6). They said they would obey because they expected Jeremiah to go along with them. They expected that he would give them a “sugarcoated” word. Jeremiah, who was not one to speak such a word, told them that he would pray to Jehovah according to their words. (Life-study of Jeremiah, p. 219)

　　耶利米没有急忙说话，却等候十天。过了十天，耶和华的话借着耶利米临到他们，告诉他们不要去埃及，乃要留在犹大。耶和华说，“你们若仍住在这地，我就建立你们并不拆毁，栽植你们并不拔出。”（耶四二10上）这指明祂要祝福他们，他们也要享受祂。然而，他们若不听从这话，反去埃及地，他们必死在那里。关于这点，耶和华说，“你们若定意要往埃及去，在那里寄居；你们所惧怕的刀剑，必在埃及地追上你们；你们所惧怕的饥荒，必在埃及紧紧的跟随你们；你们必死在那里。凡定意要进入埃及在那里寄居的，必遭刀剑、饥荒、瘟疫而死；他们必无一人存留，无人逃脱我所降与他们的灾祸。”（15下~17）

　　耶利米说完了耶和华的话，众百姓，包括约哈难，都指控他说谎〔四三2〕。……约哈难和一切军长拒绝听从耶利米的话留在犹大地，却带着遗民往埃及去。

　　他们一到埃及，那些知道自己妻子向别神烧香的众民，与旁边站立的众妇女聚集成大群，与申言者耶利米之间起了争论（四四15~30）。他们告诉耶利米，他们必不听从他。相反的，他们要向天后（宁录的妻子）烧香、浇奠祭，按他们在犹大的城邑中和耶路撒冷的街道上，素常所行的一样。他们甚至竟然说，他们烧香给天后的时候，吃饱饭，享福乐，并不见灾祸……（17~18）。那是谎言。他们在耶路撒冷时，被围困，甚至被迫吃自己的儿女。

　　以色列人是一班没有与神是一的百姓。他们若与神是一，就没有问题。他们若与神是一，就会接受神的话，认识神的心、神的性情、神的心思和神的定旨。他们若与神是一，自然而然就会活祂，并由祂构成，在地上作祂的见证（耶利米书生命读经，二六○至二六一页）。

　　参读：创世记生命读经，第六至七、十三至十四篇。

　　Instead of being in a hurry to speak, Jeremiah waited for ten days. After ten days the word of Jehovah came to them through Jeremiah, telling them not to go to Egypt but to remain in Judah. Jehovah said, “If you will still remain in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up” (Jer. 42:10a). This indicates that He would bless them, and they would enjoy Him. However, if they did not listen to this word but went to the land of Egypt, they would die there. Concerning this, Jehovah said, “If indeed you set your faces to go to Egypt and go to sojourn there, then the sword, which you fear, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, about which you are worried, will follow hard after you there in Egypt; and you will die there. And all the men who set their faces to go to Egypt, to sojourn there, will die by sword, by famine, and by pestilence; and they will have no survivors or any who have escaped from the evil which I will bring on them” (vv. 15b-17).

　　When Jeremiah finished speaking the words of Jehovah, all the people, including Johanan, accused him of lying…(43:2). Refusing to listen to the voice of Jeremiah to remain in the land of Judah, Johanan and all the leaders of the forces took the remnant and went to Egypt.

　　Once they were in Egypt, there was an argument between a great assemblage of those who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods and all the women who stood by, and Jeremiah the prophet (44:15-30). They told Jeremiah that they would not listen to him. Instead, they would burn incense to the queen of heaven (the wife of Nimrod) and pour out libations to her, just as they did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. They even went so far as to say that when they burned incense to the queen of heaven, they had plenty of food and were well off and did not see evil …(vv. 17-18). That was a lie. When they were in Jerusalem, they were besieged and even forced to eat their children.

　　The children of Israel were a people who were not one with God. If they had been one with God, there would have been no problem. If they had been one with God, they would have received God’s word and would have known His heart, His nature, His mind, and His purpose. If they had been one with God, then spontaneously they would have lived Him and would have been constituted with Him to be His testimony on earth. (Life-study of Jeremiah, pp. 219-220)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 6-7, 13-14

　　耶二三5~6 ……我要给大卫兴起一个公义的苗；……人要称呼祂的名为，耶和华我们的义。

　　三一33 耶和华说，那些日子以后，我与以色列家所立的约，乃是这样：我要将我的律法放在他们里面，写在他们心上；我要作他们的神，他们要作我的子民。

　　我们基督徒……违犯了与神是一的原则。我们也许无心与神是一，但我们喜欢作祂的子民。结果我们没有赞同神的旨意或神的心思，却发表自己的意见，顾到自己的爱恶。这是今天信徒中间缺少一的原因。我们若没有与神是一，就无法彼此是一。那些没有与神是一的人，没有接受神的旨意和喜悦，却发表自己的意见，并追求自己的偏好。这样作，就是凿出破裂不能存水的池子（耶利米书生命读经，二六一至二六二页）。

　　Jer. 23:5-6 …I will raise up to David a righteous Shoot….And this is His name by which He will be called: Jehovah our righteousness.

　　31:33 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares Jehovah: I will put My law in their inward parts and write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.

　　We as Christians have…transgressed the principle of being one with God. We may not have a heart to be one with God, yet we like to be His people. The result is that we do not go along with God’s will or God’s mind, but rather express our opinions and care for our likes and dislikes. This is the reason for the lack of oneness among believers today. If we are not one with God, we cannot be one with one another. Those who are not one with God do not take His will and good pleasure but express their opinions and pursue their preferences. To do this is to hew out broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Life-study of Jeremiah, pp. 220-221)

　　因着我们和以色列人一样，没有与神是一，也无心行神的旨意或接受祂的喜悦，我们就得罪神，违背祂的典章，干犯祂的诫命。我们这些人的心诡诈，无法医治（耶十七9）。我们被暴露为有罪恶和背叛的性情，这性情……是不能改变的（十三23）。既然我们的光景是这样，我们怎能与神和好？

　　在耶利米二十三章五至六节〔有〕答案。……我们能与神和好并得祂称义，唯一的路是借着基督，那新的嫩条，公义的苗，就是称为耶和华我们的义的。祂是公义的苗，在肉体里来，作大卫的后裔，在十字架上受死流血，为要完成救赎，叫我们得称义。

　　基于基督的救赎，我们已得称义，并且三一神已进入我们里面，作我们的生命、人位和一切。这造出一种情况，使神能借着将祂自己分赐到我们里面，而在我们里面自由的完成祂永远的经纶。我们若看见并抓住这原则，就能领会全本耶利米书。

　　耶利米书不是照着历史的顺序写的，但这卷书的确有属灵的顺序。首先，耶利米给我们看见神百姓基本的罪—离弃神并凿出自己的池子。然后人心逐渐被暴露为诡诈且无法医治的。我们是邪恶、无望的，有着无法改变的堕落性情。我们要与神是一，就需要基督作大卫的苗，成为我们的救赎和称义。这将三一神带到我们里面作我们的生命、我们内里生命的律、我们的性能和我们的一切。这就是新约（耶三一33）。在新约里，我们不作什么。反之，我们只要与神是一，让祂将自己写在我们里面作生命的律。这生命的律含示三一神带着最高的性能，使我们尽功用。神活在我们里面，在大小的事上都有自由，将祂自己分赐到我们这人里面，来完成祂的经纶。这分赐要带进万物的复兴，并终极完成于新天新地里的新耶路撒冷。新耶路撒冷就是神经纶的完成，是借着神永远的分赐所成就的。

　　在耶利米书中，我们看见我们蒙救赎、得称义并且与神成为一。至终我们要认识神，活神，并在祂的生命和性情上由神构成，使我们作祂团体的彰显。这是圣经（特别是新约）完整的教训，这也是耶利米书的素质（耶利米书生命读经，二六二至二六四页）。

　　参读：耶利米书生命读经，第一至五、二十六、三十二至三十三篇；加拉太书生命读经，第九、十六篇。

　　Because we, like the children of Israel, were not one with God and did not have the heart to do God’s will or take His good pleasure, we offended God, transgressed His ordinances, and committed sins against His commandments. We were a people whose heart was deceitful and incurable (Jer. 17:9). We were exposed as having a nature that is sinful and rebellious, a nature that…could not be changed (13:23). Since this was our situation, how could we be reconciled to God?

　　The answer [is] in 23:5-6….The only way that we can be reconciled to God and justified by Him is by Christ, the new Sprout, the righteous Shoot, who is called Jehovah our righteousness. As the righteous Shoot, He came in the flesh as the descendant of David to die on the cross and shed His blood in order to accomplish redemption for our justification.

　　Based upon Christ’s redemption we have been justified, and the Triune God has come into us to be our life, our person, and our everything. This creates a situation in which God is free to work out His eternal economy in us by His dispensing of Himself into our being. If we see this principle and grasp it, we will understand the entire book of Jeremiah.

　　The book of Jeremiah was not written according to the historical sequence, but this book surely has a spiritual sequence. First, Jeremiah shows us the basic sins of God’s people—forsaking God and hewing out their own cisterns. Then the human heart is gradually exposed as being deceitful and incurable. We are wicked and hopeless, having a fallen nature that cannot change. In order to be one with God, we need Christ as the Shoot of David to be our redemption and justification. This ushers the Triune God into us to be our life, our inner life law, our capacity, and our everything. This is the new covenant (31:33). In the new covenant, we do not do anything. Rather, we are simply one with God to let Him write Himself into us as the law of life. This law of life implies the Triune God with the highest capacity for our function. God lives in us and has the freedom, in matters great and small, to dispense Himself into our being to carry out His economy. This dispensing will bring in the restoration of all things and will consummate in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth. The New Jerusalem is the consummation of the economy of God accomplished by His eternal dispensing.

　　In Jeremiah we see that we are redeemed, that we are justified, and that we have become one with God. Eventually we will know God, live God, and be constituted with God in His life and nature that we may be His corporate expression. This is the complete teaching of the Bible, especially in the New Testament, and this is the essence of the book of Jeremiah. (Life-study of Jeremiah, pp. 221-222)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Jeremiah, msgs. 1-5, 26, 32-33; Life-study of Galatians, msgs. 9, 16