第五週 • 週三
晨興餧養
提前三 15~16『倘若我耽延，你也可以知道在神的家中當怎樣行；這家就是活神的召會，真理的柱石和根
基。並且，大哉！敬虔的奧祕！這是眾所公認的，就是：祂顯現於肉體，被稱義於靈裏，
被天使看見，被傳於萬邦，被信仰於世人中，被接去於榮耀裏。』
召會是支持真理的柱石，也是托住真理的根基。〔提前三章十五節〕的『真理』，是指照着神新約的經綸，在新約裏所啓示，關乎基督與召會的真實事物。召會是支持這一切實際的柱石，也是托住這一切實際的根基。地方召會該是這樣的建築，托住、擔負並見證基督與召會的真理—實際。
神新約的經綸由兩個奧祕所組成：基督是神的奧祕（西二 2），召會是基督的奧祕（弗三 4）。基督與召會，頭與身體，乃是神新約經綸之實際的內容。召會旣是支持真理的柱石，和托住柱石的根基，就爲『基督是神的奧祕，召會是基督的奧祕』這個實際（真理）作見證。
按照上下文，我們可以說提前三章十五節的真理，是指十六節敬虔的奧祕，就是神在肉體的顯現。宇宙間獨一的真理，獨一的實際，乃是三一神顯現於肉體。…神這個顯現不僅在基督身上，也是在召會中（新約總論第七冊，二一七頁）。
信息選讀
神顯現於召會，召會乃是基督的身體，也是活神的家，成爲神在肉體擴大、團體的彰顯。…〔提前三章十六節〕的『祂』就是基督，是神顯現於肉體，作爲敬虔的奧祕。從『敬虔的奧祕』轉到『祂』，含示神在肉體的顯現，基督，就是敬虔的奧祕（西一 27，加二 20）。這敬虔的奧祕就是正當召會的生活，這樣的生活也就是神顯現於肉體。
提前三章十五至十六節含示：不僅作爲頭的基督是神顯現於肉體，作爲身體的召會也是神顯現於肉體。當召會在基督裏以神的增長而長大時（西二 19），她就會盡功用，爲着神在地上的行動作活神的家，並作支持真理的柱石和托住真理的根基，帶着基督和祂身體神聖的實際，向世界作見證。然後召會要成爲基督作神顯現於肉體的延續。這是敬虔的極大奧祕：基督作爲神在肉體的顯現，從召會活出來。…召會乃是神顯現於肉體的擴增和擴大。這是神按照新約成爲肉體的原則，以一種更廣泛的方式顯現於肉體。
提前三章十六節開頭的連接詞『並且』，指明保羅在十五節說到關於召會的話，還沒有結束。這個連接詞指出，召會不僅是活神的家，真理的柱石和根基，也是敬虔的奧祕。照上下文看，敬虔是指神活在召會中，就是那是生命的神在召會中活出來而得着彰顯。…基督和召會，二者都是敬虔的奧祕，在肉體裏彰顯神。因此，敬虔的奧祕就是正當召會的生活，這樣的生活乃是神在肉體的顯現。這個顯現開始於基督在地上的時候，如今在召會中延續。願我們都看見召會是神的家這個異象（新約總論第七冊，二一八至二一九頁）。
參讀：新約總論，第十三、十六、二十六、二百三十一篇；神的經營，第二十三章；提摩太前書生命讀經，第六篇。
WEEK 5 — DAY 3
Morning Nourishment
1 Tim. 3:15-16 "But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in
the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the
truth. And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was
manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among
the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory."
The church is the supporting pillar and holding base of the truth. [In 1 Timothy 3:15] truth refers to the real things revealed in the New Testament concerning Christ and the church according to God's New Testament economy. The church is the supporting pillar and holding base of these realities. A local church should be such a building that holds, bears, and testifies the truth, the reality, of Christ and the church.
God's New Testament economy is composed of two mysteries: Christ as the mystery of God (Col. 2:2) and the church as the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:4). Christ and the church, the Head and the Body, are the contents of the reality of God's New Testament economy. As the pillar which bears the truth and the base which upholds the pillar, the church testifies the reality, the truth, of Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ.
According to the context, we may say that the truth in 1 Timothy 3:15 denotes the mystery of godliness, the manifestation of God in the flesh, in verse 16. The unique truth, the unique reality, in the universe is the manifestation of the Triune God in the flesh....This manifestation is not only in Christ but also in the church. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2232-2233)
Today's Reading
God is manifested in the church, the Body of Christ and the house of the living God, as the enlarged, corporate expression in the flesh....In Greek, the antecedent of"who" [in 1 Timothy 3:16] is omitted but easily recognized. The antecedent is Christ, who was God manifested in the flesh as the mystery of godliness. The transition from"the mystery..." to"who" implies that Christ as the manifestation of God in the flesh is the mystery of godliness (Col. 1:27; Gal. 2:20). This mystery of godliness is the living of a proper church. Such a living is also the manifestation of God in the flesh.
First Timothy 3:15 and 16 imply that not only Christ Himself as the Head is the manifestation of God in the flesh but also that the church as the Body is the manifestation of God in the flesh. When the church grows in Christ with the growth of God (Col. 2:19), it will function as the house of the living God for His move on earth and as the supporting pillar and holding base of the truth, bearing the divine reality of Christ and His Body as a testimony to the world.
Then the church will become the continuation of Christ's manifestation of God in the flesh. This is the great mystery of godliness: Christ lived out of the church as the manifestation of God in the flesh....The church, then, is the increase, the enlargement, of the manifestation of God in the flesh. This is God manifested in the flesh in a wider way according to the New Testament principle of incarnation.
The conjunction and at the beginning of 1 Timothy 3:16 indicates that Paul's speaking about the church in verse 15 is not finished. This conjunction indicates that, as the house of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth, the church is also the mystery of godliness. According to the context, godliness denotes the living of God in the church, that is, God as life lived out
in the church to be expressed....Both Christ and the church are the mystery of godliness, expressing God in the flesh. Therefore, the mystery of godliness is the living of a proper church, and such a living is the manifestation of God in the flesh. This manifestation began with Christ when He was on earth, and now it continues in the church. May we all see this vision of the church as the house of God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2233-2234)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 13, 16, 26, 231; The Economy of God, ch. 23; Life-study of 1 Timothy, msg. 6
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