王下二1 耶和华要用旋风接以利亚升天的时候，以利亚与以利沙从吉甲前行。

　　腓三3　　 真受割礼的，乃是我们这凭神的灵事奉，在基督耶稣里夸口，不信靠肉体的。

　　以利亚是旧约时代连同旧约经纶的预表，以利沙是新约时代连同新约经纶的预表。借着经过吉甲、伯特利、耶利哥和约但河这四个地方（王下二1~8），时代转换了。吉甲是神的百姓受割礼以对付肉体的地方（书五2~9）（圣经恢复本，王下二1注1）。

　　2 Kings 2:1 And when Jehovah was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

　　Phil. 3:3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.

　　Elijah is a type of the Old Testament age with the Old Testament economy, and Elisha is a type of the New Testament age with the New Testament economy. The age was changed by passing through four places—Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and the river Jordan (2 Kings 2:1-8). Gilgal was a place where God’s people were circumcised to deal with their flesh (Josh. 5:2-9). (2 Kings 2:1, footnote 1)

　　圣经启示，神最强硬、最邪恶的仇敌乃是我们的肉体〔罗七~八〕。肉体是彻底并绝对地为神所恨恶。神绝不容忍肉体。在某种意义上，神可以容忍我们的错误和过犯，但祂绝不容忍肉体。……在第三次堕落的时候，整个人类成了肉体。因此，神进来告诉祂的仆人挪亚说，祂要毁灭整个世代（创世记生命读经，四五○页）。

　　〔王下二章一至十四节里，〕有四段路程，就是从吉甲动身，到伯特利，到耶利哥，到过约但河。当以利亚快要被提上天和以利沙快得着加倍的圣灵时，他们俩就是经过了这四个地方。所以这里要紧的教训是：若要像（一）以利亚被提上天，或者像（二）以利沙得着外衣的圣灵（即圣灵降在他身上，如同外衣穿在他身上），就必须走这四段的路程。无论我们是要被提，是要得圣灵的能力，都得从吉甲动身，直到过约但河。

　　 吉甲是“辊”的意思。若读约书亚五章二至九节的话，就知道出埃及那一代的以色列人，曾受过割礼，在旷野生的第二代人没有受割礼。此时他们立刻要进迦南，立刻要得产业了，所以当把旧的肉体辊去，把埃及的羞辱辊去，换一个新的生活。割礼的意思，就是脱去肉体的情欲（西二11）。

　　肉体在圣经中，是神所定罪、所最不喜悦的。肉体就是我们从生下来而有的一切。“从肉体生的，就是肉体。”（约三6）……所以其中不只有罪恶、有污秽、有败坏，并且也有天然的良善、才干、热心、智慧和能力。信徒一生最难学的功课，就是认识自己的肉体。神必须把他带过各样的失败和剥夺，他才能知道他自己（肉体）是如何的。

　　神说肉体是当脱去的，我们就必须与神表同情。神说当割，我们就要割。无论如何，必须从吉甲动身，必须拒绝肉体。这不是说当割到什么程度，乃是说，当审判肉体。现在的错误，就是人所注意的乃是如何热心、行善、工作，而忘记了拒绝肉体；但是最要紧的是，当审判肉体—像神一样的审判肉体。按着我个人在神面前所学习的，重生、圣洁、完全、胜罪、能力，都不是属灵生活最高的表示。拒绝肉体乃是属灵的途径，拒绝肉体也是属灵生活的目标。凡不从吉甲动身的，都是在属灵途程中没有动过身的人。凡没有学习拒绝肉体的，必定不知道什么是真实属灵的生命。这样的人可以热心，可以作工，可以快乐，但是真实属灵的生活是他所不知道的（倪柝声文集第一辑第九册，二三八至二四○页）。

　　参读：倪柝声文集第一辑第九册，四段要紧的路程；创世记生命读经，第二十七篇；事奉的基本功课，第十七至十八课。

　　The Bible reveals that the strongest and most evil enemy of God is our flesh [cf. Rom. 7—8] ...The flesh is thoroughly and absolutely hated by God. God will not tolerate it. In a sense, God may tolerate our mistakes and transgressions, but He will never tolerate the flesh... At the time of the third fall, the entire human race became flesh. Thus, God stepped in and told His servant Noah that He was going to destroy that whole generation. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 369)

　　In [2 Kings 2:1-14] there are four journeys. These include setting out from Gilgal, the journey to Bethel, the journey to Jericho, and the crossing of the Jordan River. Before Elijah was taken into heaven and Elisha received a double portion of the Holy Spirit, they passed through these four places. If we want to be like Elijah, who was taken into heaven, or like Elisha, who received the outer clothing of the Holy Spirit (that is, the Holy Spirit descending upon him like an outer garment), the crucial lesson is that we must travel on these four journeys. Whether we are raptured or receive the power of the Holy Spirit, we all must set out from Gilgal and journey until we cross the Jordan.

　　Gilgal means “to roll away.” Joshua 5:2-9 tells us that the generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt were circumcised; however, those of the second generation, who were born in the wilderness, were not. At that point, they were about to enter Canaan and to receive the inheritance; they needed to have the old flesh and shame of Egypt rolled away so that they could begin a new living. Therefore, the meaning of circumcision is to put off the body of the flesh (Col. 2:11).

　　In the Bible the flesh is condemned by God and is very displeasing to God. The flesh is everything we possess from our birth. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6)... In the flesh there is not only sin, uncleanness, and corruption, but also natural kindness, talent, zeal, wisdom, and ability. The most difficult lesson for a believer to learn in his life is recognizing his flesh. God must bring him through every kind of failure and exposure before he will know the flesh.

　　God says the flesh must be put off; we must, therefore, agree with Him. When God says it must be cut off, we have to cut it off. We must start from Gilgal, and we must reject the flesh. It is not a matter of how much cutting should be done, but a matter of judging the flesh. The present error is that men pay attention to being zealous, doing good, and working, while forgetting to reject their flesh. But it is very important to judge the flesh the way God judges it. According to what I have learned before God, regeneration, sanctification, perfection, the overcoming of sin, and the acquisition of power are not the highest expressions of spiritual life. Rejecting the flesh is the proper spiritual path and goal of spiritual living. All those who have not set out from Gilgal have not started on the spiritual pathway. All those who have not learned to reject the flesh do not truly know the spiritual life. They can be zealous, work, and rejoice, but they do not truly know the spiritual life. (CWWN, vol. 9, pp. 307-309)

　　!Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 9, pp. 307-314; Life-study of Genesis, msg. 27; CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,” lsns. 17-18