腓二8　　既显为人的样子，就降卑自己，顺从至死，且死在十字架上。

　　弗五22　　作妻子的，要服从自己的丈夫，如同服从主。

　　彼前三5　　因为从前那仰望神的圣别妇人，也是这样妆饰自己，服从自己的丈夫。

　　以弗所五章说到家庭里的事，是先劝作妻子的。二十四节先对姊妹说话，二十五节才对弟兄说话。…二十四节说，“妻子也要照样凡事服从丈夫。”如果一个姊妹要出嫁，来问我说，“我嫁给某人好不好？”我定规回答她说，“你能不能服从他？”如果你不能服从他，你就没有资格嫁给他。如果你能服从他，你才有资格嫁给他。如果你心中没有打算要服从他，你就别作他的妻子，别嫁给他。…你肯嫁给一个人，就是说你把自己摆在这里，说，“我肯服从”（倪柝声文集第二辑第十八册，三一四页）。

　　Phil. 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross.

　　Eph. 5:22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord.

　　1 Pet. 3:5 For in this manner formerly the holy women also, who hoped in God, adorned themselves, being subject to their own husbands.

　　Ephesians 5 first exhorts the wife. Verse 24 is directed at the sisters, and verse 25 is directed at the brothers….Verse 24 says, “Let the wives be subject to their husbands in everything.” If a sister wants to be married and she comes to me and asks, “Should I marry a certain person?” I will surely answer, “Can you be subject to him?” If you cannot be subject to him, you are not qualified to marry him. You can only marry him if you can submit to him. If you have never intended to submit to him in your heart, you should not be his wife and should not marry him…. Marrying a person means that you are willing to offer yourself up and say, “I am willing to submit.” (CWWN, vol. 38, p. 525)

　　姊妹们首要的功用，就是成为服从的。这不是在作什么工，却有一种真实的功用。成为服从的，比作任何事都重要。姊妹们若是服从的，她们就是在作全世界最伟大的事。这是姊妹这一面最大的功用。林前十一章三节说，“基督是各人的头，男人是女人的头，神是基督的头。”在这节经文中，我们可以看见神圣的次序。然而，今天在全世界每一个国家、每一个学校、每一个家庭，我们所看到的不是次序和服从，而是背叛加上背叛。全世界向着神都是背叛的；这世界就像风暴的海洋，满了背叛的风。在召会生活中不该是这样。召会是蒙神拣选的器皿，要向宇宙作一个与世界完全不同的见证。召会是圣别的，完全脱离世界的道路和潮流。作为召会，我们不是在世界的流里，乃是在新耶路撒冷的流里（启二二1）。地方召会是基督身体在地方上的彰显，其中该有真实的服从。

　　要服从就需要有生命的供应、恩典的享受、十架的作工、以及否认己。我们绝不要想凭我们的己服从。我们要将自己奉献给主，不是要为主作工，而是单单的服从。姊妹们若作到服从这件事，召会就会得着加强、丰富和更新。一处地方召会的姊妹们若服从，召会就会活而刚强、丰富又兴旺。姊妹们的服从，远比她们作任何的工更有效。这是姊妹们要学的第一个功课。这不是说，姊妹们就不必和召会交通了，而是姊妹们必须认识，她们的位置和地位就是服从（李文集一九六八年第一册，一○四至一○六页）。

　　救恩不光是为叫人喜欢，也是为叫人服从。人若光为喜乐，其所得的必不丰盛；唯有服从的人才能经历救恩的丰盛，否则就把救恩的性质改变了。我们当服从，象主一样；主耶稣凭着顺从便成了我们救恩的根源。神拯救我们，盼望我们服从祂的旨意。若碰着神的权柄，服从便很简单，明白神的旨意也很简单，因主一直服从，也把祂服从的生命赐给了我们（倪柝声文集第三辑第一册，一六○页）。

　　参读：李文集一九六八年第一册，一○四至一○八页；权柄与顺服，第五篇。

　　The first function of the sisters is to be submissive. This does not involve the doing of any kind of work, but it is a real function. Being submissive is much greater than any kind of doing. If the sisters are submissive, they are doing the greatest thing in the world. This is the greatest function on the side of the sisters. First Corinthians 11:3 says, “Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.” In this verse we can see the divine order. However, in the entire world today, in every country, in all the schools, and in all the homes, what we see is not order and submission but rebellion upon rebellion. The entire world is rebellious toward God. The world is like a stormy ocean full of the winds of rebellion. In the church the situation should not be like this. The church is God’s chosen vessel to bear a testimony to the universe that is absolutely different from the world. The church is sanctified, separated from the course of the world and from the current of the age. As the church we are not in the flow of the world but in the flow of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1). In the local churches as the local expressions of the Body of Christ, there should be genuine submission.

　　To be submissive requires the supply of life, the enjoyment of grace, the working of the cross, and the denial of the self. We should never try to be submissive by our self. We should consecrate ourselves to the Lord not to do a work for the Lord but simply to be submissive. If the sisters take care of this one matter of being submissive, the church will be strengthened, enriched, and renewed. If the sisters in a local church are submissive, the church will be strong, living, rich, and prevailing. It is much more prevailing for the sisters to be submissive than for them to do any kind of work. This is the first lesson the sisters need to learn. This does not mean that there is no need for the sisters to fellowship with the church, but the sisters must know that their position and standing are to be submissive. (CWWL, 1968, vol. 1, pp. 83-85)

　　Salvation not only brings joy; it also brings submission. If a man is only for joy, his experiences will not be abundant. Only submissive ones will experience the fullness of salvation. Otherwise, we change the nature of salvation. We need to be submissive, even as the Lord was submissive. The Lord became the source of our salvation through obedience. God saved us with the hope that we would submit to His will. When one meets God’s authority, submission is a simple matter, and knowing God’s will is also a simple matter, because the Lord, who was submissive throughout His life, has already given us His life of submission. (CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” p. 146)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1968, vol. 1, pp. 83-86; CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” ch. 5