大使命 6
基督的新婦
正如我們最近一直在探討，『天上地下所有的權柄』都給了耶穌，但祂還沒拿回地上的權柄。祂的國即將降臨，祂的旨意即將行在地上如同在天上。天上的一切都活在萬王之王的管轄之下，只有撒但與跟隨撒但的天使從天上領域背叛，而在人悖逆神時被趕到地上。現在所有悖逆神的受造物，無論是自然領域或屬靈領域，都可在地上看見。
約翰寫到全世界都臥在那惡者手下，目前的確是在惡者手下，但詩篇告訴我們，地和其中所充滿的，都屬耶和華。在天上地下每一件事的權柄都在主的管轄之下，但祂尚未拿回地上的權柄。主可以一復活後就得著地上的權柄，但祂卻為我們的緣故不這樣做。祂容許惡者掌管地球一段時間，只為一個原因：尋找愛祂和祂真理超過愛自己生命的人。他們證明此是藉由為祂而活，順服祂以抵擋地上所有反對的人與地獄的爪牙。
主是全能神，祂可以用祂的小指頭消滅魔鬼與其跟班，主可以在一復活後立刻將撒但與其黨羽丟入火湖。祂救贖了人類與全地，祂可以奪回地，卻為著另一個目的而沒有這樣做─祂為了尋找可以與祂一起統治與掌管的新婦。
耶穌在哥林多前書十五章45節被稱為『末後的亞當』，有其合法理由。神將地的統治權賜給首先的亞當，當亞當屈服於試探，選擇順從邪惡而不順服神，撒但便能夠在地上行使其能力。我們成為我們所順從對象的奴僕，正如羅馬書六章16節所告訴我們的：
豈不曉得你們獻上自己作奴僕，順從誰，就作誰的奴僕嗎？或作罪的奴僕，以至於死；或作順命的奴僕，以至成義。
當人墮落後，在人之下所管轄的一切隨之墮落，地上成為魔鬼的領域，那是侵佔來的領域，惡者卻擁有對全地的勢力。耶穌必須成為人來救贖這地的原因，是因為地上的權柄本是給了人，這即是何以耶穌總是以『人子』來稱呼自己。唯有一個全然順服主的人，能從人不順服的後果中救贖地。耶穌完全應驗了此，並拿回首先的亞當所失去在地上的權柄。
我們可以在某件事上有權柄，卻尚未得著它。我們可能有一部車的所有權狀，但還在車行等著我們去取車。然而，在我們取車前，即使它是屬於我們的，都還不算真正擁有它。耶穌一上十字架後，地的所有權狀就寫上耶穌的名字，祂只是還沒有來到地上宣稱祂的所有權，為要以地上的景況來預備祂的新婦─教會與祂一同掌權。
首先的亞當之新婦住在最完美的景況中，卻選擇悖逆神。末後的亞當耶穌的新婦將住在最艱困的景況中，抵擋所有黑暗權勢的攻擊，她會選擇順服。沒有其他受造物會忍受她將要忍受的事物，但她會忠心，這甚至會成為他們時候一切空中執政掌權者的見證。就連天使都會感到驚奇，認為她配成為他們的審判者。她會成為一個配得的新婦，與神的兒子一起承受產業。
神不會以邪惡來試探我們，但正如耶利米書二十章12節及其他經文所言，神確實允許我們被試驗。試驗不同於試探，儘管試探有可能是一個試驗，就像亞當和夏娃的例子。主試驗我們是為了幫助我們成長，靈命進深，正如學校中的測驗是為了看我們是否可以進到下一個級別。在主裡的進深包括更多的權柄。
正如傅蘭吉總喜歡說：『你絕不會通不過神的測試，你只不過一測再測，直到你通過。』基本上這是千真萬確的。以色列在曠野繞了四十年，因為他們無法通過某些需要進入應許之地的考驗。許多基督徒亦是如此，在屬靈生命中不斷繞圈圈，因為他們一直無法通過相同的考驗。現在是通過考驗、得著應許之地的時候。
(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week 6, 2013)
The Bride of Christ - The Great Commission, Part 6
Week 6, 2013
Rick Joyner
As we have been covering, “all authority in heaven and earth” has been given to Jesus, but He has not taken that authority over the earth yet. His kingdom is going to come, and His will is going to be done on earth as it is in heaven. All of heaven lives under the domain of the King. Only Satan and the angels who followed him have rebelled from the heavenly realm and were cast down to the earth when mankind rebelled against God. Now the only rebellion against God in all of creation, the physical or spiritual realms, is found on planet earth.
John wrote that the whole earth lies in the power of the evil one. It does presently lie in his power, but as we are told in Psalms, the earth and all it contains belongs to the Lord. The authority over everything in heaven and earth is under the Lord’s domain, but He has not yet taken His authority over the earth. He could have taken dominion over the earth immediately after His resurrection, but He did not for our sakes. He left it under the domain of evil for a time for one reason—to find those who loved Him and His truth even more than they loved their own lives. They will prove this by living for Him and obeying Him against the opposition of virtually all who are on the earth and hell’s minions as well.
The Lord is all-powerful. He could dispatch of the devil and all of his demonic hordes with the flick of His finger. The Lord could have cast Satan and his hosts into the lake of fire immediately after His resurrection. He had redeemed mankind, and the earth, and it was His to take. He left it as it was for another purpose—He is seeking a bride to rule and reign with Him.
Jesus is called “the last Adam” in I Corinthians 15:45. There was a legal reason for this. The first Adam had been given dominion over the earth. When Adam succumbed to the temptation and chose to obey the evil one instead of God, Satan was able to exert his power over the earth, and we become the slaves of the one we obey. We are told in Romans 6:16:
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
When man fell, all that was under his dominion fell with him, and the earth became the domain of the devil. It was a usurped domain, but this gave the evil one power over the whole earth. The reason why Jesus had to come as a man to redeem the earth was because authority over the earth was given to mankind. This is why Jesus always referred to Himself as “the Son of Man.” Only a man who walked in perfect obedience to the Lord could redeem the earth from the consequences of man’s disobedience. Jesus perfectly fulfilled this and took back the authority over the earth that had been lost by the first Adam.
We can have authority over something and not possess it yet. We could be given a car, the title could be put in our name, and it is at the dealer waiting for us to pick it up. However, until we pick it up, it is not in our possession even though it belongs to us. The title to the earth was put in Jesus’ name immediately after the cross. He just has not come to claim His possession yet in order to allow the conditions on the earth to help prepare His bride, the church, to rule with Him.
The bride of the first Adam lived in the most perfect conditions yet chose to disobey. The bride of the last Adam, Christ, will have lived in the most difficult conditions, and against the onslaught of all the powers of darkness, she will chose to obey. No other creation of God will have endured what she will have endured, and yet she will be faithful. This will be a witness to even the principalities and powers that their time is up over the earth. Even the angels will marvel at her and consider her worthy to be their judges. She will be a worthy bride and joint heir for the Son of God.
God does not tempt us with evil, but as stated in Jeremiah 20:12 and other places, He does allow us to be tested. A test is different from a temptation, though a temptation can be a test just as it was for Adam and Eve. We are tested by the Lord to help us grow and to qualify us for advancement, just as we took tests in school to see if we could be promoted to the next grade. Advancement in the Lord includes more authority.
As Francis Frangipane likes to say, “You never fail one of God’s tests; you just keep taking them until you pass.” That is basically true. Israel kept going in circles for forty years in the wilderness because they could not pass certain tests that were required before they could enter their Promised Land. Many Christians do the same thing and keep going in circles in their spiritual life because they keep failing the same tests. It is now time to pass the tests and go on to possess our Promised Land.
