西二8~9 你们要谨慎，恐怕有人用他的哲学，和虚空的欺骗，照着人的传统，照着世上的蒙学，不照着基督，把你们掳去；因为神格一切的丰满，都有形有体地居住在基督里面。

　　我们若没有看见基督是我们的生命和一切，而想丢弃我们的文化，我们就不过是更换另一种文化而已。想要没有文化，也就成为另一种文化。文明人有一种文化，未开化的人也有一种文化，虽然形式很不相同。我们若有这样的体会，就会看见，光是决定丢弃我们的文化是没有用的。离了基督，我们的所是和所作，多少都与文化有关。每一个人都有文化。文化有的是高度发展的，有的是未发展的，有的高，有的低，但是无论怎样总是文化。……历世历代以来，每个种族、每个国家都有自己特别的文化。这里的重点是，每一种文化都与基督相对，而基督也与每一种文化相对。不论哪一种文化，都是与基督相对的。在祂以外，每一种人类的产品和发展都是文化的一部分（歌罗西书生命读经，四一○至四一一页）。

　　Col. 2:8-9 Beware that no one carries you off as spoil through his philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ; for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

　　If we try to drop our culture without seeing that Christ is our life and our everything, we shall succeed only in exchanging one kind of culture for another. To be uncultured is also to have a culture. Those who are cultured have a culture, and those who are uncultured also have a culture, although of a very different kind. If we realize this, we shall see that it is of no avail simply to decide to drop our culture. Apart from Christ, whatever we are and whatever we do is related to culture in some way. Every human being has culture. The culture may be developed or undeveloped, high or low, but it is nonetheless a culture…. Throughout the thousands of years of history, every race and nationality has had its particular kind of culture. The crucial point here is that every kind of culture is versus Christ and that Christ is versus every kind of culture. Any culture, no matter what kind of culture it is, is versus Christ. Apart from Him, every human product and development is part of culture. (Life-study of Colossians, p. 330)

　　我们若没有这样一位基督的异象，就不该想要丢弃文化。……基督进来了，我们的文化就必须离开。但我们若没有基督，就不该丢弃文化。事实上，我们所关心的不在于文化，乃在于对基督的经历。我们要说的乃是，我们既然接受了基督，就不该让文化成为祂的代替品。在基督里我们有自由将文化摆在一旁，好使我们享受主的度量能够扩大。我们里面所有的地位都必须让给基督。我们里面全部的地位若都让给祂，我们里面的文化自然而然就被基督顶替了。不过，没有基督而丢弃文化，却是非常可怕的。但是基督来了，我们就当告诉主，我们要祂来拥有并占有我们里面所有的地位。

　　文化是经历基督的一大阻挠。在主的恢复里，主的确已经眷临我们。使我们不能享受祂的，主要的不是罪，不是世界，乃是文化。我们在无意中或在下意识里，都受了文化的阻挠，以致无法经历基督。许多圣徒多年渴望更多经历基督，然而他们对基督的经历并没有扩大。那限制对基督的享受，使其无法扩大的因素，乃是文化。我们里面的文化，自然而然地使我们无法真正地经历基督。在聚会中，我们也许宣告基督是我们的生命，召会生活真荣耀。但是我们散会回家之后，又自动地照着我们的文化，不照着基督而活。管治我们家庭生活的原则不是基督，乃是我们的文化。我们在聚会中一同赞美并领受同样的启示时，彼此好像都一样；但在聚会之外，在文化观念和行为上，我们又各不相同了。我们也许照着文化的影响去作一些事，或是不作一些事。因此，我们的生活不是受基督规律并管理，乃是受文化规律并管理。有中国背景的人就照着中国文化而活，美国人则照着美国文化而活。

　　我们需要祷告说，“主耶稣，我愿被你接管，被你占有，被你拥有。我里面全部的地位，一切的空间，都让给你。主，我不要在经历你的事上受到限制、受到阻挠。我要无限无量、无拘无束地享受你。主，我单单要你，不要文化。我要凭你而活，不凭任何一种文化而活。”（歌罗西书生命读经，三七九至三八○、三八五页）

　　参读：神新约的经纶，第二十七章。

　　We should not endeavor to drop our culture without … a vision of Christ…. When Christ comes in, our culture must go. But we should not try to drop culture without Christ. Actually our concern is not with culture—it is for the experience of Christ. The point we are making is that since we have received Christ, we should not allow culture to become a substitute for Him. In Christ we have the liberty to set aside our culture in order to enlarge our capacity to enjoy the Lord. All the room within us must be given over to Christ. If our entire inward capacity is made available to Him, spontaneously the culture within us will be replaced by Christ. However, it is terrible to drop culture apart from Christ. But when Christ comes, we should tell the Lord that we want Him to possess and occupy all the ground within us.

　　Culture is a great frustration to the experience of Christ. In His recovery the Lord surely has come to visit us. What keeps us from enjoying Him is not mainly sin or worldliness; it is culture. Unconsciously and subconsciously, we are frustrated by culture from the experience of Christ. Many saints have been desiring for years to experience more of Christ. However, their experience of Him has not expanded. The factor that limits the expansion of the enjoyment of Christ is culture. Spontaneously the culture within us keeps us from the real experience of Christ. In the meetings we may declare that Christ is our life and that the church life is glorious. But when we return home after the meetings, we automatically live according to our culture, not according to Christ. The governing principle of our life at home is not Christ; it is our culture. In the meetings all of us may be the same as we share in the same praises and aspirations, but outside the meetings we are different in our cultural concepts and behavior. We may do certain things or refrain from doing those things according to the influence of culture. Hence, our living is regulated and governed not by Christ, but by culture. Those with a Chinese background live according to Chinese culture, and the Americans live according to American culture.

　　We need to pray, “Lord Jesus, I want to be taken over, occupied, and possessed by You. I want to give You my full capacity and all the room in my being. Lord, I don’t want to be limited or frustrated in my experience of You. I want to enjoy You without limitation, restriction, or confinement. Lord, I want to have only You, not culture. I want to live by You, not by any kind of culture.” (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 306-307, 310-311)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “God’s New Testament Economy, ” ch. 27