诗歌：大本592首

读经：西二19，弗四13，15~16，林前三6~7，十二12，约三29~30上，34

Scripture Reading: Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:13, 15-16; 1 Cor. 3:6-7; 12:12; John 3:29-30a, 34

　　西二19 “…持定元首；本于祂，全身借着节和筋，得了丰富的供应，并结合一起，就以神的增长而长大。”

　　一28 “我们宣扬祂，是用全般的智慧警戒各人，教导各人，好将各人在基督里成熟地献上。”

　　召会的素质是神圣的生命，就是经过过程并分赐的三一神。我们都因着这神圣的生命得了重生。召会如今是在这生命里、凭这生命、以这生命并借这生命而生长。

　　基督在扩增，而神的增加乃是在基督生机身体的肢体里生命的长大。…长大是生命的事，而生命是神自己。召会是基督的身体，召会不能没有基督，祂是神具体的化身（西二9），作生命的源头。借着持定元首基督，召会就以神的增长而长大，以是生命之神的扩增而长大（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，一九至二○、三三页）。

　　Col. 2:19 And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.

　　1:28 Whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man full-grown in Christ.

　　The essence of the church is the divine life, which is the processed and dispensing Triune God. We all have been regenerated with this divine life. The church is now growing in this life, by this life, with this life, and through this life.

　　Christ is increasing, and God is increasing in the growth of life within the members of the organic Body of Christ…To grow is a matter of life, which is God Himself. As the Body of Christ, the church should not be deprived of Christ, who is the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9) as the source of life. By holding Christ, the Head, the church grows with the growth of God, with the increase of God as life. (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. 278, 287)

　　真正生命的长大乃是以神的增长而长大，就是以神的扩增—神的加多—而长大。神自己不能也不需要增长，祂是永远、完全、完整的；然而，神必须在我们里面增长。我们都需要神在我们里面更多扩增、加多。我们需要以神的增长而长大；那就是说，我们需要神在我们里面扩增、增长。

　　神在各方面都是丰富的。神的荣耀是丰富的，祂一切神圣的属性也是丰富的。祂的爱、恩慈、怜悯、光、生命、能力、力量都是丰富的。神的丰富是无穷无尽的。如今这位丰富的神正在把祂自己加到我们里面。神的丰富乃是我们借以长大的元素和实质。神乃是真实的、丰富的、实在的，我们需要吸取祂。

　　今天我们的神乃是经过过程、包罗万有的灵，而我们有灵可以吸取祂。因此，我们必须操练我们的灵，留在神的面光中来吸取祂。这是需要花时间的。虽然我们都经历过吸取神的丰富，但我们的经历还不够充分。因这缘故，我们必须花更多的时间来吸取祂。不要浪费时间在心思、情感、意志里，乃要更多花时间在灵里爱慕主，赞美祂，向祂献上感谢，并且自由地对祂说话。我们这样与祂交通，就吸取祂的丰富，祂也会更多把祂自己加到我们里面。神越加到我们里面，就越使我们生长。这就是神叫人生长的路（新约总论第十二册，一四○至一四一页）。

　　神的成分加增有多少，召会的建造也就有多少。…若是我们在弟兄们中间，自己的成分太多，就需要蒙光照，受审判，叫我们自己的成分被杀死，神的成分能加多。我们在召会中所有的事奉，都得注意这个原则。无论我们是和别人一同祷告，或是配搭出去看望，会后与人谈话等，人的成分都必须逐渐减少，好叫神的成分逐渐加多。

　　在一个祷告聚会里，若是神的成分不多，这个聚会就有毛病。在看望的事上，若是你前年是这样的作法，再过一年还是原样，这就是没有长进。…我们若要在召会中有建造的事奉，必须学习拒绝个人的成分，而让神的成分加增，好叫我们的生命有长进。唯有如此，我们才能显出功用，与别人联络在一起，并结合在一起，叫召会得着建造（建造召会的事奉，八四至八五页）。

　　参读：新约总论，第三百五十六篇；建造召会的事奉，第六篇。

　　The genuine growth in life is to grow with the growth of God, that is, to grow with the increase of God, the addition of God. In Himself, God cannot and does not need to grow. He is eternal, perfect, and complete. However, there is the need for God to grow in us. We all need more of the increase, the addition, of God within us. We need to grow with the growth of God; that is, we need God to increase, to grow, in us.

　　God is rich in every way. He is rich in glory and in all the divine attributes. He is rich in love, kindness, mercy, light, life, power, and strength. God’s riches are endless. Now this rich God is adding Himself into us. God’s riches are the element and substance by which we grow. God is real, rich, and substantial, and we need to absorb Him.

　　Our God today is the processed, all-inclusive Spirit, and we have a spirit with which to absorb Him. Thus, we must exercise our spirit to stay in His presence to absorb Him. This takes time. Although we all have experienced absorbing the riches of God, our experience is not yet adequate. For this reason, we must spend more time to absorb Him. We should not spend so much time in our mind, emotion, and will, but spend more time in our spirit to adore the Lord, to praise Him, to offer thanks to Him, and to speak to Him freely. As we fellowship with Him in this way, we will absorb His riches, and He will add more of Himself into us. The more God is added into us, the more growth He gives to us. This is the way God causes the growth. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3595)

　　The increase in the element of God determines how much the church is built up. If we have too much of the element of our self, we need to be shined upon and judged so that the element of our self may be killed and so that the element of God may increase. We must take care of this principle in all our service in the church. In our prayer with others, visitation of others, or fellowship with others after the meeting, our natural element must gradually decrease so that the divine element of God may gradually increase.

　　If there is not the element of God in a prayer meeting, there is a problem with that meeting. If our ways of visitation are the same year after year, it indicates that we are not growing…. In order to have service that builds up the church, we must learn to reject our natural element and let the element of God increase so that the divine life in us may grow. Only then can we manifest the function that joins us together and knits us together with others for the building up of the church. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 3, “Service for the Building Up of the Church,” pp. 468-469)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 356; CWWL, 1957, vol. 3, “Service for the Building Up of the Church,” ch. 6

　　林前三6 “我栽种了，亚波罗浇灌了，唯有神叫他生长。”

　　西三16 “当用各样的智慧，让基督的话丰丰富富地住在你们里面，用诗章、颂辞、灵歌，彼此教导，互相劝戒，心被恩感歌颂神。”

　　我们既是基督身体的肢体，就应当喝纯净的话奶，使我们可以生长。然后我们必须吃主话语中的干粮，使我们能更多地生长。我们吃主的话，使我们刚强地长大。主的话满了食物，但有些人读经的时候，只照着字句得着知识。…基督是我们的真食物，圣经的每一页都是这位丰富基督的描述。整本圣经都是发表祂，或者含示祂。…当我们来到圣经前，我们该带着寻求基督的心而来。我们应当祷告说，“主啊，我来到你的话前。我不要只有教训，我要你。主啊，求你借着你的话，用你自己喂养我。”（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，二○至二一页）

　　1 Cor. 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.

　　Col. 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God.

　　As members of the Body of Christ, we should drink the guileless milk of the word that we may grow. Then we must eat the solid food of the word so that we may grow even more. Our eating of the word causes us to grow in a strong way. The Word is full of food, but some get only knowledge according to the letter when they read the Bible.…Christ is our real food, and every page of the Bible is a description of this rich Christ. He is either expressed or implied throughout the whole Bible.…When we come to the Bible, we should come with a seeking heart after Christ. We should pray, “Lord, I come to Your Word. I do not care for teachings alone, but I care for You. Lord, feed me with Yourself through this Word.” (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. 279)

　　召会内在的生长是借着神叫基督的肢体在生命中长大（林前三6下）。有恩赐的人可以栽种并浇灌，但叫人在生命中生长的乃是神。这就是为什么我到聚会中说话之前，必须花一点时间祷告。我祷告求主与我是一，并以祂自己灌输我，使我所说的，都是在祂里面说的。我信祂已经丰厚地答应了这些祷告，因为当我说话时，我经常在里面感觉有供应，使我说话有新的亮光和即时的发表。

　　我们需要从圣经直接得着喂养，我们也需要从那些更认识圣经的人得着浇灌。神是随着我们的读经，并随着有恩赐之人的讲说，而叫我们生长。…当我们进到话中，我们就是在得喂养。当我们在话语的讲说之下，我们就领受浇灌；然后，神就叫我们生长。

　　召会内在的生长是凭着神在信徒里的增长（西二19）。我们是凭着神圣的生命，就是神自己，得重生的。如今我们正在得喂养，得浇灌，并且神正在叫我们生长。这个生长就是神自己在我们里面的增长（19）。当神把生命的长大赐给我们时，这意思是说祂自己在我们里面增长。当我们在话上得着喂养，并且得着有恩赐之人的浇灌，神自己就在我们里面运行、增长。

　　歌罗西二章十九节下半告诉我们，基督的身体是“以神的增长而长大”。我们是凭着神在我们里面的增长而长大。神本身不会增长，因为祂是完整的，也是完全的。祂的增长乃是在我们里面的，而祂在我们里面有多少增长，在于我们有多少地方让祂增长。我们可能满了世界、自己、自利，但借着读圣经，圣经的话就一点一点地除去我们的属世、自利，以及在神以外的所爱。然后在我们里面就会有更多地方归给神。祂就用这地方在我们里面扩展并扩增。这个扩增就是祂在我们里面的增长。祂的增长就成了我们的生长，因为我们与祂乃是一。召会的生长就是神在召会里的增长。借着我们在话上得喂养，并借着有恩赐之肢体的浇灌，我们里面消极的事物就被除去，就有更多地方让给住在我们里面的神。当祂得着更多的地方，祂就在我们里面增长，结果就带进召会生机的生长（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，二八至三○页）。

　　参读：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，第二章。

　　The intrinsic growth of the church is through the giving of growth in life to the members of Christ by God (1 Cor. 3:6c). The gifted ones may do the planting and the watering, but it is God who gives the growth in life. This is why I must always take some time to pray before I come to speak in a meeting. I pray that the Lord would be one with me and infuse me with Himself so that whatever I speak would be in Him. I believe that He has richly answered these prayers because quite often, as I am speaking, I feel supplied within to speak with new light and instant utterance.

　　We need the feeding from the Bible directly, and we need the watering from the ones who know the Bible more. God goes along with our reading of the Word and with the speaking of the gifted members to give us the growth.…When we get into the Word, we are feeding. When we get under the speaking of the word, we receive the watering. Then God gives the growth.

　　The intrinsic growth of the church is by God’s growing in the believers (Col. 2:19). We were reborn by the divine life, which is God Himself. Now we are being fed and watered, and God is causing us to grow. This growth is God Himself growing in us (v. 19). When God gives us the growth in life, this means that He is increasing Himself within us. As we are feeding on the Word, and as we are being watered by the gifted ones, God Himself is moving and growing within us.

　　The last part of Colossians 2:19 tells us that the Body “grows with the growth of God.” We grow by God’s growing within us. Of course, God in Himself is not growing, because He is complete and perfect. His growing is within us, and how much He grows within us depends on how much room we will give to Him to grow. We may be full of the world, of ourselves, of our own interests, but by reading the Bible, little by little the word of the Bible takes away some part of our worldliness, some part of our self-interest, and some part of our love for things other than God Himself. Then within us more room is given to God; He takes this room and expands and increases within us. This increase is His growth in us. His growth becomes our growth because we and He are one. The growth of the church is God’s growth in the church. By our feeding on the Word and being watered by the gifted members, the negative things within us are taken away, and there is more room for the very God who dwells in us. When He gets more room, He grows within us. This issues in the church’s organic growth. (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. 284-286)

　　Further Reading: 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,” ch. 2

　　弗一23 “召会是祂的身体，是那在万有中充满万有者的丰满。”

　　三8 “这恩典赐给了我这比众圣徒中最小者还小的，叫我将基督那追测不尽的丰富，当作福音传给外邦人。”

　　身体不仅仅是一班蒙召之人的组合，身体乃是基督的丰满；身体不光是基督的彰显，还是基督的丰满。而这个丰满怎样有的呢？乃是基督的丰富，被你接受到里头，被你享受，被你消化，甚至变作了你。如同你吃了鱼，吃了鸡，吃了馒头，吃下去之后，过了五、六个小时，都消化在你里头，变作了你。这个时候，你就是丰满（李文集一九七七年第三册，三六九至三七○页）。

　　Eph. 1:22-23 …The church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.

　　3:8 To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given to announce to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel.

　　The Body is not merely a composition of a group of the called-out ones; the Body is the fullness of Christ. The Body is not only the expression of Christ but also the fullness of Christ. How does this fullness come into being? It is by your receiving the riches of Christ into you to be enjoyed and assimilated by you and even to become you. We may compare this to eating fish, chicken, and bread. After about five or six hours, they are digested into you to become you. It is at this time that you are the fullness. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man,” p. 284)

　　我吃了一大堆台湾的丰富，这些丰富都消化在我里头，变成了我。所以你们现在看见我站在这里，精神十足，满有劲头。这就是丰满。召会就是基督的丰满。

　　这样一位宇宙的基督，充满万有的基督，在天又在地的基督，祂需要一个身体来作祂的丰满。当祂在地上作拿撒勒人耶稣的时候，祂在加利利就不能在犹太，祂在撒玛利亚就不能在耶路撒冷，因为祂是一个小耶稣。祂受祂肉身的限制。…祂从死里复活，升到诸天之上，祂就充满万有。〔如今〕祂能在天同时又在地，祂能在天上一个地方，同时又能在地上千万个地方。祂是这样一位充满万有者，因此需要一个伟大的身体来作祂的丰满。所以今天我们可以说，因着祂在地上有这样一个伟大的身体，祂在天上，也在台北，也在香港，也在马尼拉，也在新加坡，也在伦敦，也在德国，也在美国，也在非洲，也在北美洲，也在南美洲，因为祂的身体到处都在。那么这一个身体是什么呢？就是…祂在宇宙中的丰满。

　　身体乃是基督的丰满。从道理来说，召会就应该是身体。但从实际来说，身体的成分有多少，还是个问题。弟兄姊妹，我们不要定罪别人，我们也要看自己的光景。我们都要在主的光中承认说，连我们自己，一直到今天，可能只有百分之三十凭灵活着，还有百分之七十是我们自己。…主今天不仅需要各地有召会，主今天需要身体。你和我一旦不凭基督活着，你和我一旦不在灵里活着，你我就不是身体。在名义上我们仍是召会，但是在实际上我们不是身体。为什么？因为身体乃是基督的丰满。

　　不要忘记了以弗所一章二十三节的两个“是”字：“召会“是”祂的身体，“是”那在万有中充满万有者的丰满。”这就是说，召会是身体，身体是丰满。这两层的“是”，在我看是梯次的，不是平行的。不是说，一面召会是身体，一面召会是丰满。乃是说，召会是身体，身体是丰满。按道理说丰满就等于身体，身体就等于召会。但是按实际来说，人可以在召会中，而不活在身体里。〔在各地召会〕聚会的弟兄姊妹都是在召会里，但谁是活在身体里？…严格来说，今天那能完成神永远旨意的，不是名义上的召会，乃是身体。身体就是基督的丰满。我再说，用这一个眼光来看，用这一个尺度来量，你就看见，今天在地上，身体的成分不多（李文集一九七七年第三册，三七○、三七二至三七三、三七六至三七七页）。

　　参读：一个身体，一位灵，一个新人，第三至四、六篇。

　　I have eaten a great amount of the riches of Taiwan, and these riches have been assimilated into me and have become me. Now, therefore, I can stand here full of life and energy. This is the fullness. The church is the fullness of Christ.

　　[The] universal Christ, the Christ who fills all things, the Christ who is both in the heavens and on the earth, needs a Body to be His fullness. When He was on earth as Jesus the Nazarene, He could not be in Judea at the same time that He was in Galilee, nor could He be in Jerusalem when He was in Samaria. This was because He was a small Jesus,… limited by His flesh….Today He has risen from the dead and ascended to the heavens, so He fills all things. He can be in the heavens and on the earth simultaneously; He can be in one place in the heavens, and at the same time He can be in millions of places on the earth. He is such a One who fills all things, so He needs a great Body as His fullness. Thus, today we can say that because He has such a great Body on earth, He is in heaven and He is also in Taipei, in Hong Kong, in Manila, in Singapore, in London, in Germany, in the United States, in Africa, in North America, and in South America. His Body is everywhere. What is this Body? It is…His universal fullness.

　　The Body is the fullness of Christ. In doctrine the church is the Body, but as to reality there is still a question of how much element of the Body is there. Brothers and sisters, we should not condemn others; we must see our own condition. At this time we all must confess in the light of the Lord that even we ourselves up to this day may live only thirty percent by the Spirit, leaving seventy percent that we live by ourselves.…The Lord does not merely need a church in each locality; He needs a Body. As soon as we do not live by Christ, as soon as we are not living by the Spirit, we are not the Body. In name we are still the church, but in reality we are not the Body. Why? Because the Body is the fullness of Christ.

　　Do not forget the word is in Ephesians 1:23: “[The church] is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.” This means that the church is the Body, and the Body is the fullness. These two levels of “is” are in succession rather than in parallel. It is not that on the one hand the church is the Body, while on the other hand the church is the fullness. Rather, it is that the church is the Body, and the Body is the fullness. According to doctrine, the fullness equals the Body, and the Body equals the church. But according to reality, a man can be in the church and still not live in the Body. All the brothers and sisters who meet in Hong Kong are in the church, but who is living in the Body?… Strictly speaking, that which can fulfill God’s eternal purpose is not the church in name but the Body. The Body is the fullness of Christ. I repeat that if you look from this angle and measure with this yardstick, you will see that today on earth in the churches there is not much of the element of the Body. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man,” pp. 284, 286, 288-289)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man,” chs. 3-4, 6

　　弗四13 “直到我们众人都达到了信仰上并对神儿子之完全认识上的一，达到了长成的人，达到了基督丰满之身材的度量。”

　　15 “唯在爱里持守着真实，我们就得以在一切事上长到祂，就是元首基督里面。”

　　〔以弗所四章十三节说，〕我们也要达到基督丰满之身材的度量。基督的丰满就是基督的身体（一23），这身体有一个具有度量的身材。

　　基督的丰满就是基督的彰显。作为基督的丰满的身体，乃是基督的彰显。基督的丰满—身体，有一个身材，这个身材有一个度量。因此，四章十三节说到基督丰满之身材的度量。

　　达到基督丰满之身材的度量，就是达到基督身体的完满建造，也就是达到身体建造的完满完成（以弗所书生命读经，四四七页）。

　　Eph. 4:13 Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

　　15 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ.

　　[Ephesians 4:13 says that we] are to arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The fullness of Christ is the Body of Christ (1:23), which has a stature with a measure. The fullness of Christ is simply the expression of Christ. As Christ’s fullness, the Body is Christ’s expression. Christ’s fullness, the Body, has a stature, and with this stature there is a certain measure. Hence, 4:13 speaks of the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

　　To arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is to arrive at the full building up of the Body of Christ. It is to arrive at the full completion of the building up of the Body. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 370)

　　以弗所一章启示基督的身体是基督的丰满，四章启示基督的丰满有一个身材。因此，基督丰满的身材就是基督身体的身材。

　　保罗在四章十三节不仅说到基督丰满的身材，也说到那身材的度量。召会是基督的身体，有一个身材。因为这身材在长大，所以十三节说到身材的度量，这度量就是长成的人。…在许多信徒身上，基督丰满的身材没有长多少。…但是基督在他们里面长大时，他们会逐渐增长，而达到基督丰满之身材的度量。我们需要向前追求，直到我们都达到基督丰满之身材的度量。…我们现今正在朝向长成的人，朝向基督丰满身材之度量的途中。

　　日子将到，我们都要达到长成的人。直到那时之前，我们仍在过程中。因着我们是在过程中，所以保罗说到，那时我们就“不再作小孩子，为波浪漂来漂去，并为一切教训之风所摇荡”（14）。

　　召会是基督的身体，是那每天在我们里面长大的丰满。我们都必须看见，召会是出自基督的生机体，这是顶要紧的。凡不是出于基督的，都不能成为召会的一部分。不管我们多么有纪律，多么规矩，多么改良自己，若不是出于基督的结果，这些一点也不属于召会。自我约束、自我规律和自我改良，也许会产生良好的社会，但不能产生召会。就基督的身体来说，我们自己里面所有的，没有一样是重要的。对基督的身体来说，天然的良善没有用处。不管我们或好或坏，我们仍然需要基督。坏人当然需要基督，但好人也照样需要基督。无论我们有什么样的性情，我们天然的人需要被内住的基督吞没，甚至被销毁。然后，我们才实际地成为基督的身体，就是祂的丰满。

　　约翰一章十六节说，“从祂的丰满里我们都领受了，而且恩上加恩。”重要的不是我们仅仅学了基督，或是效法基督，乃是我们领受祂的丰满。…我们若是天天领受祂的丰满，至终我们要成为祂的丰满，因为我们要照着我们所领受的被构成。这意思是说，我们越领受祂的丰满，我们就越被祂的丰富所构成，并成为祂的丰满。我们若看见这事，我们会说，“主，救我脱离一切不是你丰满的事物。主，我乐意花任何代价来享受你，并有分于你的丰满。”愿主怜悯我们，使我们每天经历祂并享受祂，因而成为召会，就是祂的丰满，祂的满溢（以弗所书生命读经，八三四至八三六页）。

　　参读：以弗所书生命读经，第一、四十三、四十五、八十二篇。

　　Ephesians 1 reveals that the Body of Christ is the fullness of Christ, and chapter 4, that the fullness of Christ has a stature. Therefore, the stature of the fullness of Christ is the stature of the Body of Christ.

　　In 4:13 Paul speaks not only of the stature of the fullness of Christ, but of the measure of that stature. As the Body of Christ, the church has stature. Because this stature grows, 4:13 speaks of its measure. This measure is the full-grown man. In many believers the stature of the fullness of Christ has not grown very much…. But as Christ grows within them, they will gradually increase unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We need to press on until we all arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

　　Presently we are on the way toward a full-grown man, toward the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The day is coming when we shall all arrive at a full-grown man. Until then, we are still in the process. Because we are in the process, Paul speaks of the time when we shall “be no longer little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching” (4:14).

　　As the Body of Christ, the church is the fullness that is daily growing within us. It is vital for us all to see that the church is an organism that comes out of Christ. Anything that is not of Christ cannot be part of the church. No matter how disciplined, regulated, or improved we may be, none of this is of the church if it does not issue out of Christ. Self-regulation, self-discipline, and self-improvement may produce an excellent society, but it cannot produce the church. As far as the Body of Christ is concerned, nothing that we have in ourselves has any significance. In relation to the Body, natural goodness is of no advantage. Whether we are good or evil, we still need Christ. Those who are evil surely need Christ. But those who are very good need Christ just as much. No matter what kind of disposition we may have, our natural being needs to be swallowed up and even consumed by the indwelling Christ. Then in reality we shall be the Body of Christ, His fullness.

　　John 1:16 says, “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” What is important is not that we merely learn about Christ or that we imitate Christ, but that we receive of His fullness…. If we daily receive of His fullness, we shall eventually become His fullness, for we shall be constituted according to what we have received. This means that the more we receive of His fullness, the more we shall be constituted of His fullness and become His fullness. If we see this, we shall say, “Lord, save me from anything that is not Your fullness. Lord, I am willing to pay any price to enjoy You and to partake of Your fullness.” May the Lord be merciful to us that we may daily experience Him and enjoy Him and thereby become the church that is His very fullness, His overflow. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 690-691)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 1, 43,45, 82

　　约三29~30 “娶新妇的，就是新郎；…祂必扩增，我必衰减。”

　　34 “神所差来的，就说神的话，因为祂赐那灵是没有限量的。”

　　新妇，就是借重生所产生，并由基督这新郎所娶得的，乃是基督的扩增，扩大（因此，作基督扩增的新妇，也是基督自己，如林前十二章十二节所说，基督的身体也是基督）。这位基督赐那灵是没有限量的，祂也是无法测度的一位，将永远的生命（无限的生命）赐给祂的信徒（约三29~30、34、36）。…基督得以扩增，乃是借着重生蒙救赎的罪人，使他们成为祂的新妇，祂的妻子。这新妇就是基督的扩增（约翰福音结晶读经，六九页）。

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

　　34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for He gives the Spirit not by measure.

　　The bride, produced by regeneration and taken by Christ as the Bridegroom, is the increase, the enlargement, of Christ. (Hence, the bride as the increase of Christ is also Christ Himself as 1 Corinthians 12:12 says that the Body of Christ is also Christ.) Christ gives the Spirit not by measure and, as the immeasurable One, gives eternal life (the unlimited life) to His believers (John 3:29-30, 34, 36).…Christ increases by regenerating the redeemed sinners, making them His bride, His wife. This bride is Christ’s increase. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” p. 381)

　　亚当和夏娃预表基督和祂的扩增。…夏娃是亚当的扩增，而亚当借着他妻子得了亿万的后代，他们也是亚当的扩增。…不仅妻子是丈夫的扩增，所有的儿女也是他的扩增。

　　为使基督扩增，我们必须个别地接触人，使他们得重生。我们不该用名讲道人召聚大会的方式来得人。我们必须个别地，一个一个地接触人。然后我们就像他们的父母一样，借着活力排，渐进而稳定的，以适当的照顾，天天喂养并顾惜他们。这样，基督就会不断地得着扩增。我们每一个人都必须在小排里，产生新的属灵儿女。

　　施浸者约翰说，他必衰减，基督必扩增。我们都应当渴望看见基督扩增，我们衰减。为此，我们需要讲说主的话。讲说神的话之真正、内在的意义，乃是扩展神。当我们讲说圣言，真理，神圣的启示时，我们就扩展神。基督借着我们这些祂的肢体解释神，说明神，最终彰显神，而将神讲说出来。彰显神就是扩展神。基督是讲说神的话，并赐那灵没有限量的一位（约三34）。当一个人接受了祂的话，那灵就跟着成为所说之话的实际。基督扩增祂自己，乃是借着讲说神的话扩展神，并借着赐给神的灵作祂所说之话的实际，为要将永远的生命分赐到人里面，使他们成为神类，神的儿女，神的种类，神的家庭，作基督的扩增。这就是基督如何成为扩增的基督（约翰福音结晶读经，七○至七一页）。

　　身为使徒，就是奉神差遣者、大使，基督…说神的话。基督所说的话乃是雷玛，这话就是灵，就是生命。…我们许多人都能作见证，我们运用灵好好接触神的话时，进到我们里面的话就成为灵，话一成为灵，也就成为生命。话说出来的时候，仍旧是话；但话进到我们里面以后，就成为灵，成为生命。然后我们把在我们里面成为灵与生命的话说出来，它就再一次成为话。这样的话进到别人里面以后，便又成为灵，成为生命。这样，是灵、是生命的神自己，就说到我们里面来了。借此，神的素质就说到我们全人里面。

　　主耶稣的话实际上就是神的素质。因此，这话进到我们里面时，神的素质就进到我们里面。这个素质就是灵。…如果我们接受话〔雷玛〕，并且被那灵充满，我们就会享受永远的生命。结果，我们就成为新妇，成为无限基督的宇宙扩增（李文集一九八二年第二册，二○一、二○八页）。

　　参读：约翰福音结晶读经，第五篇；约翰福音生命读经，第八至十篇。

　　Adam and Eve are a type of Christ with His increase…. Eve was Adam’s increase, and through his wife Adam has billions of descendants, who are also his increase…. Not only the wife but also all the children are the increase of the husband.

　　In order for Christ to increase, we need to contact people individually to get them regenerated. We should not take the way of big speakers gathering big congregations in order to gain people. We have to contact people individually, one by one. Then gradually and steadily with the proper care, we as their parents should feed, nourish, and cherish them day by day through the vital groups. In this way Christ will increase continually. Each of us must be in a small group to produce new spiritual children.

　　John the Baptist said that he should decrease and that Christ should increase. We should all desire to see Christ increasing and ourselves decreasing. For this we need to speak the Lord’s word. The real intrinsic significance of speaking the word of God is to spread God. When we speak the holy Word, the truth, the divine revelation, we spread God. Christ speaks God through us, His members, by defining God, explaining God, and eventually expressing God. To express God is to spread God. Christ is the One who speaks the words of God and who gives the Spirit not by measure (John 3:34). When someone receives His words, the Spirit follows to be the reality of what is spoken. Christ increases Himself by speaking God’s word to spread God and by giving the Spirit of God to be the reality of what He spoke in order to dispense the eternal life into people, making them Godkind, the children of God, the species of God, the family of God, to be Christ’s increase. This is how Christ becomes the increasing Christ. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” pp. 381-382)

　　As the Apostle, God’s sent One and Ambassador, Christ speaks the word of God. The word Christ speaks is the rhema, the word that is spirit and life. Many of us can testify that when we handle the Word of God properly by exercising our spirit, the word that comes into us becomes spirit, and when it becomes spirit, it also becomes life. When the word is spoken, it is still the word. But after it comes into us, the word becomes spirit and life. Then as we speak out [that] word,… it once again becomes the word. After such a word enters into someone else, it again becomes spirit and life. In this way God, who is Himself Spirit and life, is spoken into us. By this means God’s essence is spoken into our being.

　　The word of the Lord Jesus is actually the essence of God. Therefore, when this word enters our being, God’s essence comes into our being. This essence is the Spirit. If we receive the word [rhema] and are filled with the Spirit, we will enjoy eternal life. The result is that we become the bride, the universal increase of the unlimited Christ. (CWWL, 1982, vol. 2, “The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John,” pp. 157, 163)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” msg. 5; Life-study of John, msgs. 8-10

　　约三6 “从肉体生的，就是肉体；从那灵生的，就是灵。”

　　六63 “赐人生命的乃是灵，肉是无益的；我对你们所说的话，就是灵，就是生命。”

　　约翰三章三十节说到基督的扩增，这个扩增就是基督的繁增与复制。我们要知道，我们这人重生的部分乃是基督的复制、繁增，这是很要紧的。基督的扩增就是祂的新妇。

　　我们天然的生命和生活不是基督扩增的一部分。例如，如果你说话随随便便、开开玩笑，你的生活就不是基督扩增的一部分。反之，这种说话乃是蛇性所是的一部分，而蛇性的所是无法成为基督新妇、基督扩增的一部分。唯有我们这人重生的部分、我们重生的灵，才是基督的扩增（李文集一九八二年第二册，一九三至一九四页）。

　　John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

　　6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

　　John 3:30 speaks of Christ’s increase. This increase is the multiplication and reproduction of Christ. It is important for us to know that the regenerated part of our being is the reproduction, the multiplication, of Christ. This increase of Christ is His bride.

　　Our natural life and living are not part of the increase of Christ. For example, if you speak in a natural, joking manner, you are not living as part of Christ’s increase. On the contrary, that way of speaking is part of the serpentine being, and the serpentine being cannot be part of Christ’s bride, His increase. Only the regenerated part of our being, our regenerated spirit, is Christ’s increase. (CWWL, 1982, vol. 2, “The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John,” p. 150)

　　按照约翰三章三十四节，基督是神所差来的，就说神的话。译作“话”的希腊字是雷玛（rhema），意思是即时、现时说出的话，与娄格斯（logos）不同；娄格斯的意思是常时的话，如一章一节者。…六章六十三节…也用到雷玛这个希腊字。那灵是活的、实际的，但是相当奥秘、摸不着，我们也很难领会。然而主的话是具体的。首先主指明，为着分赐生命，祂要成为那灵。然后祂说，祂所说的话就是灵，就是生命。这表明祂所说的话，乃是赐生命之灵的具体化。如今祂在复活里是赐生命的灵，这灵具体化于祂的话。我们运用灵来接受祂的话，就接受了那是生命的灵。

　　在新约里，神只借着一个人说话，这个人就是祂的儿子〔来一1~2〕。…所有新约的话语执事，都是神在祂儿子里面说话的一部分。例如，保罗在他的职事里说话，就是神在祂儿子里面说话的一部分。

　　我们说话的时候，渴望与神的儿子基督成为一灵。我常常在服事话语以前祷告说，“主，在我的说话中与我成为一灵。主，我要在传讲你话的时候，与你成为一灵。”倘若我没有与主成为一灵的把握，我就不愿意说话。在我们说话的时候与主成为一灵，意思就是说，我们真在神的儿子里面。新约所有真正传讲神圣话语的人，都是神在祂儿子里说话的一部分。今天父神在子里说话，而子包含了新约所有的话语执事。

　　我们尽话语职事时，是在作什么？我们乃是把神说到人里面。我们把神圣的素质说到人里面。我们许多人能作见证，听到真正话语的职事，结果就叫我们得着神的素质。…我们接受了话以后，话在我们里面就成为灵，成为生命。那灵实际上就是神的素质成了我们里面的生命。…我们所服事的话语，必须是神的素质。

　　我们成为无限基督的宇宙扩增，唯一的路就是接受那灵，被那灵充满。我们越得着那灵，就越成为基督的扩增。这扩增开始于我们得着重生，终结于我们被没有限量的灵所充满（李文集一九八二年第二册，二○○至二○三、二○六页）。

　　参读：约翰著作中帐幕和祭物的应验，第六至七、九、十一至十三篇。

　　According to John 3:34, Christ as the One sent by God speaks the words of God. The Greek word translated “words” is rhema, which refers to the instant and present spoken word. It differs from logos, which refers to the constant word, as in John 1:1. In John 6:63…the Greek word rhema is used. The Spirit is living and real but rather mysterious and intangible and difficult for us to comprehend. But the Lord’s words are substantial. First, the Lord indicated that for giving life, He would become the Spirit. Then He said that the words He speaks are spirit and life. This shows that His spoken words are the embodiment of the life-giving Spirit. He is now the life-giving Spirit in resurrection, and the Spirit is embodied in His words. When we receive His words by exercising our spirit, we receive the Spirit who is life.

　　In the New Testament God speaks through only one person, and that person is His Son [Heb. 1:1-2a]…. All the New Testament ministers of the Word are part of God’s speaking in the Son. Paul’s speaking in his ministry, for example, was part of this speaking of God in His Son.

　　In our speaking we desire to be one spirit with Christ, the Son of God. Often before I minister the Word, I pray, “Lord, be one spirit with me in my speaking. Lord, I want to practice being one spirit with You in the speaking of Your word.” If I do not have the assurance that I am one spirit with the Lord, I do not have any desire to speak. To be one spirit with the Lord in our speaking of the word means that we are truly in the Son of God. All the genuine speakers of the divine word of the New Testament are part of God’s speaking in the Son. Today God the Father speaks in the Son, and the Son includes all the New Testament ministers of the Word.

　　What are we doing as we carry on the ministry of the Word? We are speaking God into people. We are speaking the divine essence into others. Many of us can testify that as a result of listening to the genuine ministry of the Word, we receive the essence of God….Then after the word has been received by us, it becomes spirit and life in us. The Spirit is actually the essence of God becoming the very life within us.…The word in our ministry must be the very essence of our God.

　　The unique way for us to become the universal increase of the unlimited Christ is to receive the Spirit and be filled with the Spirit. The more we have of the Spirit, the more we will be Christ’s increase. This increase begins with our regeneration, and it consummates with our being filled with the immeasurable Spirit. (CWWL, 1982, vol. 2, “The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John,” pp. 156-158, 161)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1982, vol. 2, “The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John,” chs. 6-7, 9, 11-13