第七週 • 週一

晨興餧養

來十一10      因為他等候那座有根基的城，其設計者並建築者乃是神。

彼前二4~5     你們來到祂這為人所棄絕，卻為神所揀選所寶貴的活石跟前，也就像活石，被建造成為屬靈的殿，成為聖別的祭司體系，藉着耶穌基督獻上神所悅納的屬靈祭物。

盼望主在這些年間，給我們這些一同事奉的人，有個很深的感覺，祂需要一個厲害的恢復，就是恢復『建造』。…我們所作的工，不僅僅是為着造就一般聖徒，乃是為要建造一個身體，建造一所屬靈的房屋。…恩賜者乃是為着建造基督的身體〔弗四11~12。〕

在馬太十六章十八節，主耶穌親自說，『我要把我的召會建造…。』以弗所二章二十二節題到，猶太人和外邦人『在祂裏面同被建造，成為神在靈裏的居所』。彼前二章五節也說，我們『也就像活石，被建造成為屬靈的殿』。保羅在林前三章指出，他是一個智慧的工頭，立好了根基，我們各人要謹慎怎樣在上面建造（10）。我們的建造該是金、銀、寶石的建造（12）。到了十四章，他更給我們看見，不論我們切慕甚麼屬靈的恩賜，都不重在恩賜的問題，乃重在我們要切慕建造（3~5、12）。這意思是，十四章中所有的恩賜，都當為着建造召會（召會的治理與話語職事，四頁）。

信息選讀

    希伯來十一章說到，亞伯拉罕等候那座有根基的城，其設計者並建築者乃是神（10）。那座有根基的城，就是將來的新耶路撒冷。新耶路撒冷是神的帳幕與人同在（啟二一3），換句話說，新耶路撒冷就是神的居所。這並不是說神在這一個時代，有兩種不同的建造，一種是在地上建造的召會，另一種是在天上建造的聖城新耶路撒冷。並非神今天暫時住在召會裏，等到新耶路撒冷來臨時，就廢掉召會，再從召會搬到新耶路撒冷。實際上，召會與新耶路撒冷二者乃是一個。

    神在這一個時代裏，只作這一件建造的事。…神在地上建造召會，結果乃是將召會建造到天的境界；神在時間裏建造召會，卻是將召會建造到永遠裏。將來的新耶路撒冷完全是屬天的，滿了屬天的性質，和屬天的味道。

    神在這一個時代工作之中心的結果，最終的目的，就是要為祂自己建造出一個居所。在初期時，是一所房屋；在成熟時，是一座城，那座城就是神的帳幕與人同在，祂要與人同住（3）。在舊約裏，神的帳幕就是神的殿；在新約裏，召會一面是神的帳幕，一面又是神的殿。到了新耶路撒冷，乃是神的帳幕在人間，在其中看不見殿，因為一切都已經完全達到成熟，那座城是帳幕，也是一個擴大的殿。

    保羅對於這個建造，有清楚的異象，他說，『我…好像一個智慧的工頭，立好了根基，有別人在上面建造，只是各人要謹慎怎樣在上面建造。』（林前三10）我們建造的方法，建造的材料，以及建造成甚麼東西，都需要好好地研究。…拯救罪人、造就聖徒，乃是為着一個中心的目標，就是要建造神的房屋。如果我們注意這個中心的工作，我們拯救罪人，傳揚福音，就會更有果效；我們造就聖徒，也不會是問題（召會的治理與話語職事，五至七頁）。

    參讀：召會的治理與話語職事，第一篇。

WEEK 7 — DAY 1

Morning Nourishment

Heb. 11:10 "For he eagerly waited for the city which has the foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God."

1 Pet. 2:4-5 "Coming to Him, a living stone, rejected by men but with God chosen and precious, you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

May the Lord grant those of us who serve together a deep feeling that He needs a strong recovery,...a recovery of the building up....Our work is not merely for the edification of the saints in general; rather, it is to build up a Body, a spiritual house....The gifted ones are for the building up of the Body of Christ [Eph. 4:11-12].

In Matthew 16:18 the Lord said, “I will build My church.” Ephesians 2:22 says that in Christ the Jews and Gentiles are “being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” First Peter 2:5 says that we, “as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house.” First Corinthians 3:10 says that Paul, as a wise master builder, laid a foundation and that we should take heed how we build upon it. We should build with gold, silver, and precious stones (v. 12). Chapter 14 emphasizes earnestly desiring spiritual gifts for the sake of building up (vv. 1, 3-5, 12). This means that all the gifts should be for the building up of the church. (The Administration of the Church and the Ministry of the Word, p. 9)

Today's Reading

Hebrews 11:10 says that Abraham “eagerly waited for the city which has the foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God.” The city with the foundations is the coming New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is the tabernacle of God with men (Rev. 21:3). In other words, the New Jerusalem is God’s dwelling place. This does not mean that God has two different buildings in this age. He does not have the church on earth as one building and the holy city, the New Jerusalem, in the heavens as another city. God is not temporarily dwelling in the church today only to discard the church and move to the New Jerusalem in the future. The church and the New Jerusalem are one.

When God builds up the church, He is building up the New Jerusalem. These are two aspects of the same work. The church is the temple of God, the house of God, but in the New Jerusalem we will not see a temple (v. 22), because the temple will be enlarged into a city. The building of the temple is not one work, and the building of the city, another work. The coming New Jerusalem is the consummation of the church. The temple is enlarged to be a city.

In this age God’s only work is building....Although God is building up the church on earth, this building is in the heavenly realm. Although God is building up the church in time, this building is eternal. The New Jerusalem is heavenly; it is full of the heavenly nature and the heavenly flavor.

The ultimate goal of God’s work in this age is the building of a dwelling place for Himself. In its initial stage it is a house, and in its mature stage it will be a city, which is the tabernacle of God with men. In the Old Testament the tabernacle of God is the temple of God. In the New Testament the church is the tabernacle of God and the temple of God. The New Jerusalem will be the tabernacle of God with men. There will be no temple in the New Jerusalem because everything will have reached maturity. The city is a tabernacle as well as an enlarged temple.

Since Paul had a clear vision concerning the building, he said, “As a wise master builder I have laid a foundation, and another builds upon it. But let each man take heed how he builds upon it” (1 Cor. 3:10). We need to be careful concerning the way we build, the materials we build with, and the outcome of our building....Saving sinners and edifying the saints are related to the central goal of building God’s house. If we pay attention to this central work, our preaching the gospel to save sinners will be more effective, and our edification of the saints will not cause problems. (The Administration of the Church and the Ministry of the Word, pp. 9-11)

Further Reading: The Administration of the Church and the Ministry of the Word, ch. 1