来六1 所以，我们既离开了那论到基督之开端的话，就当竭力前进，达到完全、成熟……。

　　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。

　　在启示录十二章，争战抵挡神仇敌的男孩子被提，乃是为着在神面前所要尽的功用。神需要男孩子被提到天上，与祂的仇敌争战，使仇敌被打败摔到地上，以完成神的定旨。同样的原则，十四章的初熟果子不是仅仅享受被提，乃是满足了神的需要。神和羔羊需要享受。神是又饥又渴，切望尝到初熟果子而得满足。一面，男孩子打败神的仇敌，完成神的定旨；另一面，初熟的果子是为着使神满足。当初熟的果子在殿里献给神，使祂满足时，活着的得胜者享受这个被提，好顾到神的需要（新约总论第十四册，二三一页）。

　　Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be brought on to maturity…

　　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.

　　In Revelation 12 the rapture of the man-child, who fights against God's enemy, is for a function before God. God needs the man-child to be raptured to the heavens to fight the battle with His enemy so that the enemy might be defeated and cast down to the earth for the fulfillment of God's purpose. In the same principle, the firstfruits in chapter 14 do not merely enjoy the rapture but satisfy God's need. God and the Lamb need enjoyment. God is hungry and thirsty. He desires some first-fruits to taste for His satisfaction. On the one hand, the man-child fulfills God's purpose by defeating His enemy, and on the other hand, the firstfruits are for God's satisfaction. As the firstfruits offered to God in the temple for His satisfaction, the living overcomers enjoy the rapture in order to take care of God's need. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4308)

　　我们应当注意我们的成熟，好叫我们能作初熟的果子，满足神的心。……我们若仍是幼嫩，我们怎能成为初熟的果子而被提？

　　我们要作初熟的果子，就必须爱主耶稣。……我们应当把时间用来爱主，说，“主啊，注视你、与你交谈是我所享受的。主啊，我要使你满足，与你是一，停留在你的面前。”我们应当学着花时间亲密地爱主耶稣。……仅仅不犯罪还不够；仅仅很好、很对也不够，我们必须与主相爱。我们都必须与主耶稣相爱，告诉祂说，“哦，主耶稣，我爱你，你也知道我爱你。因为我爱你，主啊，有些事我就不去作。”这是作活着的得胜

　　者的路。主固然需要男孩子去与祂的仇敌争战，但祂更需要初熟的果子，就是爱祂的人，作祂的满足。

　　我们该是初熟的果子，就是那些较早成熟，使主满足的人。我们需要说，“主啊，为着使你满足，我要早日成熟。……主啊，只要能让你满足，我无论在地上或在天上都无妨。”这是活着的得胜者的态度。

　　因为对初熟的果子来说，他们无论在哪里都无妨，所以圣经没有告诉我们，他们被提了；圣经只告诉我们，这十四万四千初熟的果子与羔羊一同站在锡安山上。……这必然不是地上的锡安山，乃是诸天之上的锡安山。……凡被提作初熟果子的人都不会有惊奇的感觉。他们反倒要说，“主耶稣，多年来我一直与你同在。主啊，无论我是在地上，或是在三层天上，都没有差别。我在这里并没有什么特别的感觉，因为我在你面前已经多年了。我活在这光景中已经很久了。”……我们若是真的爱主，活在与祂亲密的交通里，被提就不是令我们惊奇的事，而是寻常的经历。

　　初熟的果子是被主耶稣浸透的圣徒。他们是完全被基督占有，被基督接管，以至于成熟的人。我们该为许多主的儿女心痛，他们对于需要成熟这件事似乎有几分忽视、不在意并且是麻木的。……我们需要思想，我们成熟了多少。……我们需要严肃地接受这话，并且把这事带到主面前。

　　我们都需要祷告说，“主啊，怜悯我，使我成为初熟果子的一部分，使我成为得胜者。”我们需要看见神的定旨和意愿，我们需要看见我们的职责，好与祂合作。我们应当享受基督，有分于祂，将祂接受进来，直到我们成熟（新约总论第十四册，二三一至二三三、二三五至二三六页）。

　　参读：倪柝声文集第三辑第十一册，第二十二篇。

　　We should pay attention to our maturity so that we may be the firstfruits to satisfy the heart of God…If we are still immature, how can we be the firstfruits and be raptured?

　　In order to be the firstfruits, we must love the Lord Jesus…We should spend our time in loving the Lord, saying, “Lord, I enjoy looking at You and talking to You. Lord, I want to satisfy You, to be one with You, and to stay in Your presence.” We should learn to spend time loving the Lord Jesus in an intimate way…It is not adequate merely to be sinless; neither is it sufficient simply to be good or right. We must be in love with the Lord. We all need to fall in love with the Lord Jesus, telling Him, “O Lord Jesus, I love You, and You know that I love You. Because I love You, Lord, there are certain things that I will not do.” This is the way to be a living overcomer. Although the Lord certainly needs the man-child to fight against His enemy, even more He needs the firstfruits, His lovers, to be His satisfaction.

　　We should be firstfruits, those who ripen earlier for the Lord's satisfaction. We need to say, “Lord, for the sake of Your satisfaction, I want to ripen early… Lord, as long as I can satisfy You, it makes no difference to me whether I am on earth or in heaven.” This is the attitude of the living overcomers.

　　Because it does not matter to the firstfruits where they are, we are not told that they are caught up; instead, we are simply told that the one hundred forty-four thousand firstfruits are standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion… This surely is not the Zion on earth but the Zion in the heavens…Those who are raptured as the firstfruits will have no feeling of surprise. Rather, they will say, “Lord Jesus, I have been with You continuously for years. Lord, it makes no difference whether I am on earth or in the third heaven. I have no special feeling about being here because I have been in Your presence for years. I have lived in this atmosphere for a long time.”…If we truly love the Lord and live in intimate fellowship with Him, the rapture will not come as a surprise; it will be an ordinary experience.

　　The firstfruits are the saints who are saturated with the Lord Jesus. They are the ones who have been fully occupied with Christ and taken over by Christ until they are matured. Our heart should ache for many of the Lord's children who seem to be ignorant, careless, and dull concerning the need to be matured…We need to consider how mature we are…We need to take this word seriously and bring this matter to the Lord.

　　We all need to pray, “Lord, have mercy upon me that I would be a part of the firstfruits and that I would be an overcomer.” We need to see God's purpose and intention, and we need to see our responsibility to cooperate with Him. We should enjoy Christ, participate in Him, and take Him in until we are matured. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4308-4310, 4312)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 57, ch. 22