叁 我们要吃基督作生命树，就必须在凡事上让基督居首位，就是以起初的爱来爱祂，受祂爱的困迫，在我们的生活中以祂为一切，接受祂作一切—启二4~5，西一18下，林后五14~15，可十二30，诗七三25~26，八十17~19： |
Ⅲ In order for us to eat Christ as the tree of life, we must give Him the first place in all things, which is to love Him with the first love, being constrained by His love to regard and take Him as everything in our life—Rev. 2:4- 5; Col. 1:18b; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Mark 12:30; Psa. 73:25-26; 80:17-19: |
一 以起初的爱爱主，在凡事上让祂居首位，乃是吃祂作生命树；吃基督作生命树，就是享受基督作我们生命的供应，该是召会生活中首要的事—启二7，约六57、63。 |
A To love the Lord with the first love, to give Him the first place in all things, is to eat Him as the tree of life; eating Christ as the tree of life, that is, enjoying Christ as our life supply, should be the primary matter in the church life—Rev. 2:7; John 6:57, 63. |
二 召会生活的内容在于享受基督；我们越享受基督，召会生活的内容就越丰富；但我们若要吃基督作生命树，享受祂作我们生命的供应，就必须用起初的爱来爱祂—启二4~5。 |
B The content of the church life depends on the enjoyment of Christ; the more we enjoy Him, the richer the content will be; but to eat Christ as the tree of life, to enjoy Him as our life supply, requires us to love Him with the first love—Rev. 2:4-5. |
三 一面，严格地说，启示录二章七节里吃神乐园中生命树的果子，是指在要来千年国里的新耶路撒冷，特别享受基督作我们生命的供应。 |
C On the one hand, strictly speaking, to eat of the tree of life in the Paradise of God in Revelation 2:7 refers to the particular enjoyment of Christ as our life supply in the New Jerusalem in the coming millennial kingdom. |
四 另一面，我们今天在召会中，正在享受钉死并复活的基督作生命树，就是在我们灵里生命的供应，作为预尝；每个地方召会都是神的乐园，在其中基督是生命树，给我们享受。 |
D On the other hand, we are enjoying the crucified and resurrected Christ as the tree of life, the food supply in our spirit, as a foretaste today in the church; every local church is a paradise of God, where Christ is the tree of life for us to enjoy. |
五 当我们在凡事上让主居首位，并终日维持吃钉死并复活的基督作生命树，不管召会的情形怎样，召会要成为我们的乐园；因此，我们对召会的感觉和态度乃在于我们的光景。 |
E When we give the Lord the first place in everything and maintain our eating of the crucified and resurrected Christ as the tree of life throughout the day, the church, no matter what its condition may be, becomes paradise to us; thus, our feeling and our attitude toward the church depend upon our situation. |
六 “我们今天在召会生活中若不享受基督作生命树，我们必不会在国度时代有分于生命树。根据我的经历，今天在安那翰的召会，对我乃是乐园”—李文集一九九四至一九九七年第五册，活力排，二一二页。 |
F "If we do not enjoy Christ as the tree of life in the church life today, surely we will not participate in the tree of life in the kingdom age. According to my experience, today the church in Anaheim is a paradise to me"—The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 5, "The Vital Groups," p. 157. |
七 召会荒凉和堕落的内在原因，乃是基督没有被神的子民高举；他们没有在凡事上让祂居首位，居第一位；神的子民什么时候高举基督，让祂在他们生活的每一面居首位，就有恢复和复兴—诗八十17~19。 |
G The intrinsic reason for the desolation and degradation of the church is that Christ is not exalted by God's people; they do not give Him the preeminence, the first place, in everything; whenever God's people exalt Christ, giving Him the preeminence in every aspect of their living, there is restoration and revival—Psa. 80:17-19. |
晨兴喂养
启二4~5 然而有一件事我要责备你，就是你离弃了起初的爱。所以要回想你是从哪里坠落的，并要悔改，行起初所行的。不然，我就要临到你那里；你若不悔改，我就把你的灯台从原处挪去。 西一18 祂也是召会身体的头；祂是元始，是从死人中复活的首生者，使祂可以在万有中居首位。 神原初的心意是要人吃生命树（创二9、16）。因着人堕落了，生命树就向人封闭（三22~24）。借着基督的救赎，接触生命树（就是神自己在基督里作人生命）的路再次向人打开（来十19~20）。然而在召会的堕落中，宗教及其知识偷偷进来打岔在基督里的信徒，使他们不能吃祂这棵生命树。因此，主应许得胜者，要把祂自己这神乐园中生命树的果子给他们吃，作为赏赐。这是一种激励，叫他们离开宗教的知识，回来享受主自己。主这个应许，是要照着神的经纶，把召会恢复到神原初的心意里。主要得胜者作的，就是全召会在神的经纶里该作的。由于召会堕落了，主就来呼召得胜者，顶替召会完成神的经纶（新约总论第十四册，六九页）。 |
Rev. 2:4-5 But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore where you have fallen from and repent and do the first works; but if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent. Col. 1:18 And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things. God's original intention was that man should eat of the tree of life (Gen. 2:9, 16). Because of the fall the way to the tree of life was closed to man (3:22- 24). Through the redemption of Christ the way by which man could touch the tree of life, which is God Himself in Christ as life to man, was opened again (Heb. 10:19-20). But in the church's degradation, religion crept in with its knowledge to distract the believers in Christ from eating Him as the tree of life. Hence, the Lord promised to grant the overcomers to eat of Himself as the tree of life in the Paradise of God, as a reward. This is an incentive for them to leave religion with its knowledge and return to the enjoyment of Himself. This promise of the Lord restores the church to God’s original intention according to His economy. What the Lord wants the overcomers to do is what the whole church should do in God’s economy. Because of the church’s degradation, the Lord came to call the overcomers to replace the church in the accomplishing of God's economy. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4171) |
信息选读
吃生命树不仅是神原初对人的心意，也是神救赎的永远结果。所有神的赎民，都要享受生命树，就是基督连同一切神圣的丰富，作他们永远的分（启二二2、14、19）。……主的智慧把要来国度里对祂的享受当作赏赐，为要鼓励信徒在今天的召会生活中，胜过宗教打岔人之知识的教训，回到享受祂自己作生命的供应，以完成神的经纶。 吃生命树，就是享受基督作我们生命的供应，该是召会生活中首要的事。召会生活的内容在于享受基督……。我们若要享受基督，就必须用起初的爱爱祂。起初的爱要把我们带到生命树那里。……当我们把起初的爱归给主耶稣，祂就要将生命树给我们吃。……用起初的爱，就是上好的爱来爱祂，就是让主在凡事上居首位。我们要让祂居首位，就必须乐意被调整、被破碎，成为无有，好使主能有路在我们里面、借着我们并在我们中间，建造祂生机的身体。我们应该祷告：“主耶稣，我以起初的爱爱你，我以上好的爱爱你，我最上好的爱归属于你。哦，主耶稣，我把我的爱优先给你。”我们若离弃对主起初的爱，就要失去对基督的享受，并且会失去耶稣的见证；结果，灯台要从我们挪去。爱主、享受主以及成为主的见证，这三者乃是并行的。 当我们得胜，借着在各方面、在凡事上让基督居首位，而回到基督作我们起初的爱时，我们就享受祂作生命，并发出神圣的光，作为灯台，在我们所在的地方持守耶稣的见证（一9，十二17）。我们将见证基督的身位，祂是神也是人；也见证基督的人性生活、钉十字架、复活、升天、降下和第二次的显现。光的照耀乃是见证。在我们日常生活中的每一面，我们应当把基督照耀出去。这照耀就是灯台的照耀。我们需要爱、生命、光和灯台。这样，我们在祂里面的生活和所是，就要成为主给我们的赏赐（新约总论第十四册，六九至七一页）。 参读：新约总论，第四百零九篇；得胜者，第二至三章；活力排，第十一篇。 |
The eating of the tree of life not only was God’s original intention concerning man but also will be the eternal issue of God’s redemption. All God's redeemed people will enjoy the tree of life, which is Christ with all the divine riches as the redeemed's eternal portion for eternity (Rev. 22:2, 14, 19)…The Lord in His wisdom made the enjoyment of Himself in the coming kingdom a reward in order to encourage His believers to overcome religion’s distracting knowledge in teachings and return to the enjoyment of Himself as the life supply in the church life today for the accomplishing of God’s economy. Eating the tree of life, that is, enjoying Christ as our life supply, should be the primary matter in the church life. The content of the church life depends on the enjoyment of Christ…But to enjoy Christ requires us to love Him with the first love. The first love will bring us to the tree of life…When we give our first love to the Lord Jesus, He will give us to eat of the tree of life…To love Him with the first love, the best love, is to give the Lord the first place in all things. In order to give Him the preeminence, we must be willing to be adjusted, to be broken, and to be made nothing so that the Lord can have a way in us, through us, and among us for the building up of His organic Body. We should pray, “O Lord Jesus, I love You first, and I love You best. My first love belongs to you. O Lord Jesus, I give the priority of my love to You.” If we leave our first love toward the Lord, we will miss the enjoyment of Christ and lose the testimony of Jesus; consequently, the lampstand will be removed from us. These three things—loving the Lord, enjoying the Lord, and being the testimony of the Lord—go together. When we overcome to return to Christ as our first love by giving Him the preeminence in every way and in everything, we will enjoy Him as life and will shine forth the divine light as the lampstand to keep the testimony of Jesus (1:9; 12:17) in our locality. We will testify of Christ's person as God and man as well as Christ's human living, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, descension, and second appearing. The shining of the light is a testimony. In every aspect of our daily life we should be shining forth Christ. This shining is the shining of the lampstand. We need love, life, light, and the lampstand. Then we will be rewarded by the Lord with what we live and are in Him. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4171-4172) Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 409; CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “The Overcomers,” chs. 2—3; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” ch. 11 |