创二22 “耶和华神就用那人身上所取的肋骨，建造成一个女人，领她到那人跟前。”

　　约一12 “凡接受祂的，就是信入祂名的人，祂就赐他们权柄，成为神的儿女。”

　　三29~30 “娶新妇的，就是新郎；…祂必扩增，我必衰减。”

　　当我们重生时，我们就成为神的儿女，作新郎基督的新妇，使祂得着扩增，正如夏娃是亚当的配偶所预表的（约一12~13，三29~30，创二21~23）。重生使信徒成为神的儿女。

　　就个人而言，我们是神的儿女；但就团体而言，我们是一个实体，就是基督的新妇。在约翰三章头一部分，主耶稣说到重生的事。后来在同一章，施浸者约翰说到重生之人的集大成乃是基督的一个新妇（29~30）。…当主耶稣受死时，祂没有留在死里，祂复活了。祂在复活里，带同许多蒙拯救的人，并产生他们，使他们成为祂的各部分。当所有这些部分摆在一起，他们就成了新妇，作基督的配偶（生机建造的召会作基督的身体成为经过过程并分赐之三一神的生机体，九至一○页）。

　　Gen. 2:22 And Jehovah God built the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman and brought her to the man.

　　John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name.

　　3:29-30 He who has the bride is the bridegroom….He must increase, but I must decrease.

　　When we are regenerated, we are made the children of God as the bride of Christ, who is the Bridegroom, for His increase, as typified by Eve as the counterpart to Adam (John 1:12-13; 3:29-30; Gen. 2:21-23). Regeneration makes the believers the children of God.

　　Individually, we are children of God, but corporately we are one entity, the bride of Christ. In the first part of John 3 the Lord Jesus spoke concerning regeneration. Later in the same chapter John the Baptist referred to the regenerated ones in totality as the one bride of Christ (vv. 29-30)….When the Lord Jesus was put to death,… He did not remain in death; He resurrected. In His resurrection He brought many saved ones with Him and brought them forth to become parts of Him. When all these parts are put together, they become a bride as His counterpart. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” p. 271)

　　召会是基督的新妇，按预表这新妇是由亚当的配偶夏娃所预表。夏娃起初是亚当的一部分。当亚当睡着时，神从亚当肋旁取下一条肋骨。神用那条肋骨建造成一个女人，名叫夏娃，并将夏娃带给亚当，作他的配偶（创二21~23）。…当〔亚当〕看见了夏娃，他宣告说，“这是我骨中的骨，肉中的肉。”（23）夏娃是召会的一幅图画。召会是出于基督，是基督的一部分。召会内在的素质，乃是成为肉体、钉十字架并复活的基督。祂是召会的素质，因为召会是祂的一部分。召会不仅是由神所生的儿女组成，召会也是新妇，基督的配偶，是基督的一部分，作基督的扩增。

　　夏娃出现以前，她是亚当的一条肋骨，是亚当的一部分。按照这启示，我们可以说，召会出现以前，召会就已经是基督的一部分。…这就是为什么个个信徒都是基督身体的肢体。正如我们肉身的肢体是我们的一部分，基督的肢体也是基督的一部分。神圣的生命，就是那成为肉体、钉死、复活的基督，乃是召会的素质。

　　基督成为召会的素质，乃是借着释放出神圣的生命。…如果神圣的生命只留在祂神圣的所是里，包藏在祂为人的身体里，这神圣的生命就永远无法成为我们的生命。要使这生命成为你的、我的，这生命就必须释放出来。借着基督这一粒麦子落在地里死了，这神圣的生命得着了释放，使基督得着繁增（约十二24）。…借着祂的死，神圣的生命就从一粒麦子释放出来，进到许多子粒里。

　　这释放出来的神圣生命，已经分赐到我们这些信基督的人里面。这事发生在基督复活的时候。祂的复活包含了我们（弗二6）。我们都在祂里面，同着祂并借着祂复活了。…在祂的复活里，神的独生子成了长子，有许多的弟兄。如今祂是我们的长兄，我们是神的众子。在基督的复活里分赐到我们里面的神圣生命，乃是召会，就是基督生机身体内在的素质（生机建造的召会作基督的身体成为经过过程并分赐之三一神的生机体，一○至一三页）。

　　参读：出埃及记生命读经，第二十三篇；圣洁没有瑕疵，第二至三章。

　　The church is the bride of Christ, and according to typology, this bride is typified by Eve, who was Adam’s counterpart. Eve was first a part of Adam. While Adam was sleeping, God opened his side and took out a rib. Then God built that rib into a woman by the name of Eve and brought her to Adam to be his counterpart (Gen. 2:21-23)….When he saw Eve, he declared, “This time this is bone of my bones / And flesh of my flesh” (v. 23). Eve is a picture of the church. The church came out of Christ as a part of Christ. The intrinsic essence of the church is the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Christ. He is the essence of the church because the church was His part. The church is not only composed of children born of God, but the church is also the bride, the counterpart of Christ, a part of Christ as Christ’s increase.

　　Before Eve came into existence, she was a rib of Adam, a part of Adam. According to this revelation, we can say that before the church came into existence, she was a part of Christ….This is why every believer is a member of the Body of Christ. Just as the members of our physical body are parts of us, the members of Christ are parts of Christ. The divine life, the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Christ Himself, is the essence of the church.

　　Christ became the essence of the church through the release of the divine life…. If the divine life had only remained in His Divine Being, concealed in His human body, it could have never been our life. For this life to be yours and mine, it had to be released. The divine life was released by Christ as the one grain of wheat falling into the ground and dying there for His multiplication (John 12:24)….With His death the divine life was released from one grain into many grains.

　　This released divine life has been imparted into us, the believers of Christ. This took place at the time Christ was resurrected. His resurrection included us (Eph. 2:6). We all were resurrected in Him, with Him, and by Him….In His resurrection He became the firstborn Son with many brothers. Now He is our big Brother, and we are the many sons of God. The divine life imparted into us in Christ’s resurrection is the intrinsic essence of the church, the organic Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” pp. 271-273)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msg. 23; CWWN, vol. 34, “The Glorious Church,” chs. 2-3