书三17　　抬耶和华约柜的祭司在约但河中的干地上站定，…直到国民尽都过了约但河。

　　林后四11~12　　因为我们这活着的人，是常为耶稣被交于死，使耶稣的生命，也在我们这必死的肉身上显明出来。这样，死是在我们身上发动，生命却在你们身上发动。

　　我们什么时候真的在主面前背十字架，什么时候基督的身体就得着供应。我们如果不知道什么叫作生命的供应，我们就不能领会保罗所说的“死是在我们身上发动，生命却在你们身上发动”（林后四12）。还有，保罗对在歌罗西的圣徒说，“现在我因着为你们所受的苦难喜乐，并且为基督的身体，就是为召会，在我一面，在我肉身上补满基督患难的缺欠”（西一24）。…这是生命的供应（倪柝声文集第二辑第十六册，二三一页）。

　　Josh. 3:17 And the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan,…until all the nation had completely crossed over the Jordan.

　　2 Cor. 4:11-12 For we who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death operates in us, but life in you.

　　Whenever we are truly bearing the cross before the Lord, the Body of Christ will receive the supply. If we do not know the meaning of the supply of life, we will not understand what Paul meant when he said, “Death operates in us, but life in you” [2 Cor. 4:12]. Moreover, he told the Colossian saints, “I now rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His Body, which is the church” (Col. 1:24)….This is the supply of life. (CWWN, vol. 36, “The Holy Spirit and Reality,” p. 244)

　　（在林后四章）保罗没有谈论他的工作和成就，他乃是说到苦难。他在八节说，“我们四面受压。”我们若是保罗，也许会说，“哥林多人哪，我们各面都蒙祝福。…我们的工作这样蒙祝福，就证明我们的职事是出于主的，我们的工作也是出于主的。”…在十节他接着说，“身体上常带着耶稣的治死，使耶稣的生命也显明在我们的身体上。”保罗…并没有说，“身体上常带着大能之神的大祝福。”…表面看来，保罗是个处境悲惨的可怜使徒。

　　保罗在十一节接着说，“因为我们这活着的人，是常为耶稣被交于死，使耶稣的生命，也在我们这必死的肉身上显明出来。”我们也许以为保罗会说“蒙拯救脱离死”，而不会说被交于死。然而，保罗常被交于死，使耶稣的生命在他必死的肉身上显明出来。…保罗在这里并不是说必死的身体，乃是说必死的肉身（原文即肉体）。身体这个辞是积极、正面的，而肉身（肉体）这个辞是消极、反面的。必死的含示肉身渐渐死去。如果有人说我们的身体是必死的肉身，我想我们一定不高兴。但保罗用这样的话，说到他自己。…保罗这个名字的意思就是微小。保罗在这几节经文里的意思是说，“我宁可保持微小。在我身上所显出来的生命，乃是一个拿撒勒人的生命，而不是世上伟人的生命。不仅如此，耶稣的生命也在我这必死的肉身上显明出来。我不是什么大人物，我也没有什么了不起的情形显在一个绝佳的身体上。不，我是个微小的人，在我必死的肉身上显出拿撒勒人耶稣的生命。”

　　保罗在十二节说，“这样，死是在我们身上发动，生命却在你们身上发动。”在这节经文里，保罗的确提到他的工作。他的工作乃是死在他身上发动。…使徒们的工作乃是死在他们身上发动，使生命在信徒身上发动。…死在使徒们身上发动，这句话可能不太好听。但是死发动的结果却是美妙的，就是生命在别人身上发动。这是新约职事的真实工作。这不是作工的问题，乃是死的问题。在主的恢复里，我们需要死，好叫生命在别人身上作工。因此，我们死就是我们作工。主不需要你为祂完成什么工作。祂需要你死。如果你死了，生命就会在别人身上作工。借着死，你就把生命供应人。因此，我们的工作乃是被治死。…使徒们不是跟从一个大人物，乃是跟从拿撒勒人耶稣这个微小的人。不仅如此，他们没有被高举，反而常常被治死，好叫耶稣的生命能在他们必死的肉身上显明出来。死在他们身上发动，生命就在信徒身上发动（哥林多后书生命读经，三四四至三四七页）。

　　参读：哥林多后书生命读经，第三十三篇。

　　[In 2 Corinthians 4], instead of talking about his work and accomplishments, Paul speaks of affliction. In verse 8 he says, “We are pressed on every side.” If we had been Paul, we probably would have said, “Corinthians, we are blessed on every side….This blessing on our work proves that our ministry is of the Lord and that our work is of Him.” Paul continues, “Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (v. 10)…. Paul does not say, “Always bearing about in the body the great blessing of the mighty God.”…Seemingly Paul was a pitiful apostle in a pitiful situation.

　　In verse 11 Paul goes on to say, “For we who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” Perhaps we would expect Paul to say, “being rescued from death,” instead of “being delivered unto death.” Paul, however, was always being delivered unto death so that the life of Jesus might be manifested in his mortal flesh. Here Paul does not speak of mortal body, but of mortal flesh. The word body is positive, but the word flesh is negative. Mortal implies that the flesh is dying. I do not think we would be happy if someone referred to our body as mortal flesh. Nevertheless, Paul adopted such an expression in speaking of himself. The name Paul means little. In these verses Paul seems to be saying, “I prefer to stay in my smallness. The life manifested in me is the life of a Nazarene, not the life of a great man in the world. Moreover, the life of Jesus is manifested in my mortal flesh. I am not a great person manifesting something marvelous in a splendid body. No, I am a small person manifesting the life of Jesus, a man from Nazareth, in my mortal flesh.”

　　In verse 12 Paul says, “So then death operates in us, but life in you.” In this verse Paul does refer to his work. His work was a work of death operating in him….The work of the apostles is the work of death operating in them so that life may operate in the believers. It may not sound pleasant to us to hear of death operating in the apostles. But the issue, the result, of this operation of death is wonderful—it is life in others. This is the real work of the new covenant ministry. It is not a matter of working; it is a matter of dying. In the Lord’s recovery we need to die so that life may work in others. Hence, our dying is our working. The Lord does not need you to accomplish a work for Him. He needs you to die. If you die, life will work in others. You will minister life to others by dying. Therefore, our work is to be put to death. The apostles were not followers of a great person, but of a small man, Jesus of Nazareth. Furthermore, instead of being exalted, they were always being put to death so that the life of Jesus could be manifested in their mortal flesh. Death operated in them so that life might operate in the believers. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 294-296)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 33