最棒的基督徒生命 2

看得清楚 

活在地上最棒的基督徒將是那些最愛神的人，這即是何以在地上最偉大的靈魂是那些活出尋求神的生命，單單行祂旨意的人。這是因為行神的旨意是對神真實之愛的明證，而不是人類情感的一時興致而已。

愛神是首要和最大的誡命，但此愛不單是一種情感流露。此誡命所用的字『愛』並不是名詞，而是動詞，是具有行動力的字。你無法對他人命令一種情感；因此，我們的目標絕不能將自己隔離，單是坐在那裡感受對神的情感，我們對神的愛應該支配著我們的生命和我們所行的一切。我們可能會有需要隔離的時候，深度委身的生命是一個健康的基督徒生命，但聖經所命令的愛是帶出行動力的。

雖然我們成為什麼比我們做了什麼來得重要，但我們做了什麼也很重要，而且是真愛的明證。正如雅各寫著：『沒有行為的信心是死的』（參考雅各書2:20），我們所做之事也是真信心的明證。沒有行為的信心不是真信心，沒有行動的愛也不是真愛。 

儘管在聖經中愛的誡命不是名詞也不是情感，但並不代表情感不在其中。誰會想聽到他們的配偶說：『親愛的，我用信心愛你，但我對你沒有感覺』？即便如此，情感可以被許多因素影響，甚至我們身體中的化學因素。因此，我們必須學習控制我們的情感，而不是任其來控制我們。我們應當用同樣的行動來愛，不管我們的心情好壞。 

剛開始愛神可能很難，因為我們看不見祂，但當我們在愛中成長，這反而成為優勢而非劣勢。當我們無法用天然人的眼睛看祂，迫使我們用使徒保羅稱為『心中的眼睛』或屬靈的眼睛來看。我們的屬靈眼睛可以看得比天然眼睛更多，我們的屬靈眼睛只能用信心才能看見。

我們的屬靈眼睛不單是看一個人的外在，更是要看見他們的內心多過外在。因此，當我們心中的眼睛被打開時，我們不會傾向用外在來評斷他人，而是依靠聖靈來評斷。因此，以此方式而來的真實評斷，只有藉著我們屬靈眼睛打開的程度才可能做成。

使徒保羅從一開始就有對此的深刻瞭解，當他第一次與主相遇，他的天然人眼睛被擊打瞎了，為了『看見』主，保羅必須藉由聖靈來看祂。這也必須以某種方式發生在我們身上，好讓我們能真正看見祂─我們必須對自然事物瞎眼才能在聖靈裡看見。當我們一直把主將自然界的事物連在一起，只是大大地在縮小祂。

聖經解釋自然界不過是屬靈界的『影兒』，這即是何以主耶穌告訴祂的門徒，祂的離開是有助益的，好讓聖靈能來。當耶穌道成肉身來到地上，很難想像有何事能好過與祂同行，但祂自己卻說有聖靈與我們一起更好。如何更好？因為聖靈將我們引至『完全真理』，其只能在聖靈裡被找到，其亦是自然界不過是『影兒』的真實層面。

求我們主耶穌基督的神，榮耀的父，將那賜人智慧和啟示的靈賞給你們，使你們真知道祂，
並且照明你們心中的眼睛，使你們知道祂的恩召有何等指望，祂在聖徒中得的基業有何等豐盛的榮耀；
並知道祂向我們這信的人所顯的能力是何等浩大，
就是照祂在基督身上所運行的大能大力，使祂從死裡復活，叫祂在天上坐在自己的右邊，
遠超過一切執政的、掌權的、有能的、主治的，和一切有名的；不但是今世的，連來世的也都超過了（以弗所書1:17-21）。

(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week2, 2015)

 

Seeing Clearly- The Greatest Christian Life, Part 2
Week 2, 2015
Rick Joyner

The greatest Christian who will ever live will be the one who loves God the most. This is why the greatest souls to ever walk the earth are those who lived a life of pursuing God, seeking to do His will. This is because doing God’s will is proof of the true love of God, not merely a whim of human emotion.

Loving God is the first and greatest commandment, yet this love is not just an emotion. The word used for “love” in this commandment is not a noun but a verb, an action word. You cannot command an emotion in others. Therefore, our goal must not be to sequester ourselves in a place where we can just sit and feel emotions for God, but our love for God should be the controlling factor in our lives, in all that we do. There may be times for sequestering, and a deep devotional life is a foundation for a healthy Christian life, but the biblical love to which we are commandeddoes something. 

Though what we become is more important than what we do, what we do is important too and is the proof of true love. As James wrote, what we do is also the proof of true faith as “faith without works is useless” (see James 2:20). Faith without works is not real faith. Neither is love without action real love.

Even though the love commanded in Scripture is not a noun and not an emotion, it does not mean that emotions are not a part of it. Who would like to hear their spouse say, “Darling, I love you by faith, but I don’t feel anything for you”? Even so, emotions can be influenced by many factors, even chemical factors in our bodies. Therefore, we must learn to control our emotions rather than allowing them to control us. We should love with the same actions, regardless of whether we are feeling up or down.

It may be difficult at first to love God Who we cannot see, but as we mature in our love, this becomes an advantage rather than a disadvantage. Not being able to see Him with our natural eyes forces us to see Him with what the Apostle Paul called “the eyes of our heart,” or our spiritual eyes. Our spiritual eyes can see much more than our physical eyes ever could. Our spiritual eyes are only limited in what they can see by our faith.

Our spiritual eyes don’t just see the externals of a person, but will see their heart even more than externals. Therefore, as the eyes of our hearts are opened, we will not be prone to judge others by appearances but by the Spirit. True judgment in this way is, therefore, only possible to the degree that our spiritual eyes are open.

The Apostle Paul understood this very well from the beginning. He was struck blind in the natural with his first encounter with the Lord. To “see” the Lord, Paul had to see Him by the Spirit. In some way, this must happen to each of us for us to really see Him—we must become blind to the things in the natural to see in the Spirit. To keep relating Him to natural things is to greatly reduce Him.

Scripture explains that the natural realm is but “a shadow” of the spiritual. This is why the Lord Jesus told His disciples that it was expedient for Him to go away so that the Spirit could come. It is hard to imagine anything that could have been more wonderful than walking with Jesus when He walked the earth in the flesh. But He Himself said that having the Holy Spirit with us is better. How? Because the Spirit will lead us into “all truth,” which can only be found “in the Spirit,” which is the reality that the whole physical realm is but “a shadow” of.    

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance to his holy people,
and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength
he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:17-21 NIV).