The Persistent Purpose of God - Part 9 — T. Austin-Sparks

I'd like to go this morning to this house which was revealed to the prophet Ezekiel. 今天早晨我們要來看當初起死給新之一世節的那個聖殿。. And I'm sure that as you have read these six chapters, you have found very great difficulty in getting a clear picture of the whole.

我知道你們讀這六章聖經的時候不容易得到全部的一幅清楚的圖畫。. I have tried many times to draw a plan of this house. 我曾多次要為著這個殿畫一張圖, with all its details and its correct measurements. Up to the present time I have not succeeded. That is not because it is impossible.

I expect that there is some architect here this morning who might succeed. 我盼望今天早晨有讀功成的人能在這裡做成功。. But I have come up against the Lord in this matter. 我會... against the Lord. 我在今天是這樣做 ,有點緊張著。. Or the Lord has come up against me.

或者是酒窩來反對我。. I have got my paper on my board. 我把我的紙頭放在檯子上。. And I have got all my instruments. 我也得到了所有的工具。. Then again and again I have started on this plan. 我就一次過一次地開始來畫。. And I have not found that I could get on very far.

我發現我不能夠進修太多。. It was as though I was trying to do something that the Lord did not want me to do. 好像我一直要做一點主守不要我做的事。. I wonder if you have had that experience. 我不知道你們有沒有這種經歷。. You try to do something, but you just have no life in it at all.

你想要做一點這樣的事 ,可是裡頭一直不感覺有生命。. The thing becomes dead. 那個是一件失望的事。. And if you are spiritually sensitive, you just have to say, well, the Lord is not in this. 若是你們的靈那個感覺是敏銳的話 ,你們就要說 ,都不要我做這個事。. And that has been my consciousness every time I have tried to reduce this thing to a plan on paper.

每一次當我要把這些記載畫在一張紙上的時候 ,我都有這種感覺。. And that is the point at which I begin this morning. 這就是我今天早晨要開示的一個點。. Because I believe that contains a very important principle. 因為我相信這裡面包括很多重要的原則。. As we read these chapters, we find ourselves in the presence of a great mess of details.

我們讀這幾章的時候 ,我們就覺得我們讀到的東西裡頭是非常詳細說的。. It is very difficult to cope with all the details. 所以就沒有辦法把這些細則好好地看出來。. If we were to try to deal with that in these sessions. 若是我們願意在這一段裡頭來查這些細則的話。. We should find that we had undertaken an impossible task.

我們就會發現我們在那裡做一件不可能做成功的事。. For one thing, we would have to be here till next year. 我們也許從今天做到明天還不一定做得好。. And for another thing, we might begin to lose our sense of life in it. 另一方面 ,我們這樣做的時候 ,我們就感覺沒有生命。.

Rejecting a Technical System for the House of God

My point is this. 我的重點是這個。. It would be very easy for us to fall into the very mistake that we must most carefully avoid. 我們很容易落到一種錯誤。. 這種錯誤是我們最應該謹慎避防的。. There is one thing that you and I must be very careful to avoid.

有一件事是你我應當非常慎重去躲避的。. And that is to resolve spiritual things into a technical system. To be taken up with the technique of the house of God. That is a very great peril. 這是一個莫大的危機。. And I do want to emphasize that this morning.

我今天早晨就是要很重地說到這一點。. Here is this great mess of material and detail altogether beyond our power to handle. 這裡所記載的那些詞層、那些事者 ,完全是我們所不能領會的。. If we were to resolve this into merely a technical system, we could easily destroy the life.

I therefore urge you brothers to be very careful on this matter. Be very careful not to reduce the house of God to a technique. Immediately if it is resolved into a system, then it is in danger of losing its life.

是一個制度 ,一個制度 ,你就會受到生命的虧損。. 這就是宰教會歷史中人所一再一再犯的一個過程。. 還沒有到興旦末了的時候 ,這裡的事就發生了。. The present system of Christianity was beginning. And as you know, Paul wrote his last letters to Timothy to restore the spiritual nature of things.

你記得 ,保羅寫給Timothy的書 ,就是要恢復這些事屬靈的意義。. 他要給我們看見 ,在教會中的那些職務不僅僅就是職務而已。. 就是說 ,做長老不僅僅是職務的問題。. 並且他們應該是屬靈的。. 神的間或者神的家不是一個制度的 ,乃是屬靈的。. 那時候人已經把屬靈的事就弄成屬地的一些制度了。. 在一個 ,這是一個時代 ,這種事曾多次的發生過。. 神已經做了一些事 ,完全是屬靈的性質。. 祂對於這些事 ,那個屬靈的性質就有了新的啟示。.

有一段的時間 ,一切的事 ,就是在一種屬靈的生命裡進行。. 而後人就把這些事拿來 ,把它固定在某些的制度裡頭。. 人把這些東西從天神就戳到地上來。. 人這樣做 ,就把那些事裡頭屬靈的生命砸死了。. 這就是今日基督教在地上許多事情的光景。. 有許多的事 ,當初的時候開始實在是瞞了屬靈的生命。. 也有屬靈的能力。. 從這些事溜出去一條生命的河水。. 而後人就把那些事拿來阻止變成一個制度。. 他們就把那個基礎的成分帶到這些事情裡面來。.

他們這樣做 ,就把生命砸死了。. 所以那些事情留下來 ,不過就是虛空的、人的、死的一個外殼而已。. 這是以前在神的世上所存在的一個危機。. 我的確要請求你們要精神啟發這一個危機。. 並且要很精神的防範這件事。. 特別是你們有責任、負責任。. 要防這一個危險。. 這是很容易的把神所做的美好的事弄成不過是一個制度而已。. 你可以有那些原則、有那些規則 ,而沒有那個生命。. 失去了那個生命。. 我十分相信你們會許可我說這件事。.

這是我多年所避難的一種危機。. 也是我確定的一個職責來防範這件事。. 我們不願意聽見人說事情就是如何如何的做法。. 這是在臺北的做法。. 這是在倫敦貴鄉的做法。. 但願主拯救我們處理這個。. 你不能把人擺在那個制度裡頭 ,還叫他們能夠有生命。. 我相信你們看見了這個重點。. 我們再回到這裡來。. 自然這前段的氣勢就給我們看見神是如何謹慎又準確。. 特別給我們看見主宰那些細小的點上是如何的謹慎。. 我們承認這件事。.

這也是神的定的一個法則。. 神在最小的事上也是特別的注意。. 每一件小事物都有它的一個尺度。. 那個尺度那是神所定規的。. 你不可以把那件小東西弄得大一點還是小一點。. Well, as we have said, there is a tremendous mess of detail here. But every part of it represents God's particular concern to have things according to His mind.

We recognize that. 我們承認這一件事。. 但我們在另一面也必須承認在這裡是給我們看見的不是一個制度。. 在神這個定的上面 ,神不是起始著一套的制度來。. 祂不是給我們看見一個組織。. 祂是給我們看見一個人。. 這就是祂兒子那個人。. 這是一個心靈的殮 ,一個心靈的房屋。. 不是一套真理的組織。. One characteristic of this, what to do with it, is life.

Now we look at that from both sides. Life will demand exactness in behavior. 在行為上有準確性。. 生命也要求在秩序裡面有準確性。. 可是我們能有那個秩序而沒有那個生命。. 很可能那個制度還是那個基數方面毀壞了生命。. 你既然有了那個聖經記載的基數裡面 ,那就容易失去聖經記載的生命裡面。. It is impossible to resolve Christianity into a legal system just as much as Judaism.

The law of this house is holiness of life. 這一個神的殿的那個法則完全是生命的一個聖結。. 所以我們需要經以客觀的態度來看神這個殿。. That is how Ezekiel first saw it. You will see that there were two views of this temple given to Ezekiel. First of all, he saw it as a whole as from a distance.

He was given to view it from the very high mountain. He saw it comprehensively in that way. He saw its broad outlines. 他看見它那個外面的輪廓。. 他看見那個殿的間線。. And then the spirit took him in. 又把他帶到裡頭去。. 這時候他就從裡面來看見了。.

He was shown all the details from the inside. It is important that we see it in that way. The first thing that we see from this heavenly standpoint. 我們從這個宿天地裡頭來看過。. 就是看到這一座神殿那個大的一方面。. 整個這個殿的那個面積七十個億一十年了。.

The Vastness of Christ and the Church

And it is as we saw yesterday a very great thing. We must be very careful not to make Christ or his church smaller than it really is. 不要把基督和教會弄得比他應該是的小了一點。. 我們不應該把基督弄得比神是定位的小了一點。. 我們不應該把他弄得就成為僅僅是我們的基督。.

我們的那個小基督。. 那就是守護我們的那個基督。. 那就是我們這個地方上的一個基督。. 我們要謹慎 ,我們不要把基督弄得比神所做的小了一點。. 我們也不應該把教會弄得比神所做的小一點。. 這不是我們的一個小教會。. 也不是任何人的一個小教會。. 這個比我們的觀念大多了。. 這是超過我們所能想像的。. 這是一個非常大的基督 ,也是一個非常大的教會。. 在這裡我們又應該反反一個危機。. 這就是歷代所存在的一個危機。.

人把基督和教會弄小了。. 把教會弄小到一個尺度是照著我們所看見的那個大小。. 教會的那個尺度不是照著我們所能了解領會的那個尺度。. 教會的尺度不是我們所能夠了解的那個尺度。. 司徒會說人對教會的認識是一個禱告 ,就是說人的那個了解要擴大。. He prayed that the church might know what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth.

This is a knowledge which surpasses all human knowledge. 這一件事是超過人一切的知識。. 若是有一件事在司徒保羅先生比任何事都高超的話 ,就是這件事。. 他總是論到基督的偉大和教會的偉大 ,沒有辦法了。. 所以我們必須也這樣看見教會。. 一緊反反一靜時 ,就是把基督和教會縮小到我們的那個尺度。. 那就是縮小到我們的知識所認識的那個尺度。. 你和我需要認識基督和祂的教會 ,應該認識的比我們是一定認識的遠大得多才可以。.

我們若是能了解這件事 ,就會一直增進我們脫離那個縮小。. 在這裡就是一個莫大的豐滿的一個範圍。. 這個裡邊充滿了一切 ,充滿一切裡頭也充滿一切。. This house is to affect all things to the uttermost bound of the earth. That is what we come to of course when we come to the river.

The river is the influence or effect of this house. 那條河就是這一個殿的感動力。. 也就是從這個殿溜出去的東西能夠影響世界。. 也就是影響全世界人。. 所以促成在這個殿裡頭的有一個可能 ,極大的可能 ,能夠影響到地理。. You notice that this house, the whole dimension of the house is square.

你要注意這個殿裡那個面積 ,整個面積是方的。. It has four sides. 它是有四面。. And all the sides are equal. 並且四面都是相等的。. 我是執著整個聖殿裡那個面積所。. 實在所為 ,任何一件東西都是四方做成的。. 我們現在不能說到這件事。. We are dealing with the whole temple area. 我們是來看那個聖殿整個的面積。.

It is one great square. 是很大的一個建方的東西。. Four sides which are equal. 四面都是相等。. Now you remember what we said about the number four. 你們還記得我們說過那個四的意思。. When we were beginning, we pointed out that the number four is the number of creation.

Four embraces the whole creation. And this house represents the new creation in Christ. Paul tells us that he is to fill all things. And all things are to be filled into him. Or to use another phrase of Paul.

In Ephesians 3 .9 在一副說三章十九節。. To make all men see what is the stewardship of the mystery. Do take note of that. 要注意這一點。. To make all men know what is the stewardship of the mystery. That does not necessarily mean that all men will accept it or understand it.

We must be very careful that we do not confine church truth as we call it to just a few. 我們要謹慎。. 我們不要把我們所說的教會真理就信在少數人身上。. 我們是一般看見這個教會的人。. 我們是站在教會那個立場上的人。. 我們是守住了這個教會真理的人。. We have seen the meaning of the body of Christ.

Many other Christians have not seen it. They do not stand on that ground. Therefore what conclusion do we draw? We must be the church and they are not. 我們就是這個教會 ,他們不是教會。. 我們要看見這是很基礎的一個結論。. 我們必須很謹慎地反這個威脅。.

在這裡靈慧真理是有一個分別。. 也可能有對教會的立場一個不同。. 但是神的意思是說要眾人都明白這件事。. 使眾人都能認識神這個奧秘的計劃。. You cannot get outside of all men. That is the range of God's will. And we must enlarge our hearts and our minds to God's measure.

This is something the Lord would say to us. I might just stay here to say that I have had very deep exercise before the Lord early this morning. I felt that I must put this whole thing back. And extricate myself from this mass of material.

And ask the Lord, now what really is it you want me to say? What do you want these people to know? And these are some of the things that he has definitely put on my heart to say to you. You cannot make Christ too big.

你們不能使基督弄得太小了。. 你們也不能把教會弄得太大。. 若是他是神的教會而不是人教會的話。. 所以我們在這裡就看見基督那個包含性。. I said that Paul was overwhelmed with that consciousness. He was constantly crying out under that tremendous overwhelming of the greatness of things.

He spoke of all the depth of the riches. Of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his ways. He spoke of the exceeding riches. Paul was overwhelmed with this greatness. What it amounts to is this.

That a real apprehension of the church will make us big and not small. There is nothing that will save us from littleness more than a true apprehension of Christ. 除了對基督有真的認識之外 ,沒有什麼能使我們再大。. 若是我們在我們自己的工作上小了 ,那就是我們對基督還不夠了解。.

這就是我們在這裡所看見的第一件事。. How great this is. It represents the whole of a new creation. In the ages to come, it will fill all things. And all things will be affected by it. That's a glorious vision. We must therefore be very big people.

Big in spirit and big in heart. Then we notice the threefold purpose of this house. First of all, it is the place of God's glory. Chapter forty-three, verse seven. And he said unto me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever.

And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, nor by their whoredoms and by their dead bodies of their kings in their high places. You notice that it is the word glory that leads up to verse seven.

Verse two,. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. Verse four,. And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate. And he said, This is the place of my throne.

The House as the Place of God's Glory

This is the place of the throne of glory. Now the glory had left Jerusalem nineteen years before this. It is not returning to the literal earthly Jerusalem. It is returning to the spiritual house. The glory left the earthly Jerusalem when God's Son was rejected.

And it has never come back to the earthly Jerusalem. But it did come back to the spiritual house on the day of Pentecost. This house is the house of God's glory. And you notice from the whole of the seventh verse that the glory is the glory of holiness.

It is not just some bright shining. It is a spiritual condition. No defilement has a place here. No dead bodies have a place here. There is no death or corruption here. The glory is the glory of holiness.

Where corruption and death have been removed. Do remember that the glory depends upon the spiritual condition. It depends upon the holiness. This then in the first place is the place of his glory. And then it is the place of his government.

The Heavenly Government of the Holy Spirit

This is the place of my throne. This is the seat of his government. Remember that this is a heavenly house. The seat of his government is not in a church on the earth. Whether that be in Rome or in anything else.

The seat of his throne is in heaven. We only come under the government of God when we come into a heavenly position. Now that is a very strong statement. It carries very much with it. We really only come under this government of God when we are in a heavenly position.

And I am sure that you would agree that it is a very important matter to be under the government of God. What hope is there for any of us or for a church that is not under the government of God? Well what we have in the book of the Acts just states this very clearly before us.

There the church is under the government of heaven. And it is a very effective church. When the church got under the government of man it lost its effectiveness. The government then requires a heavenly position.

But this is a church or a house that is holy according to Christ. That is necessary for a heavenly government. The government of the Lord will come by way of things being just according to Christ. This is the place of my throne.

What place? The place that is according to Christ. Everything here in this vision is Christ. Christ stands over everything. Everything takes its measure and its character from Christ. And this is the place of the throne.

And then this is a house that is entirely ordered by the Spirit. You notice the place of the Spirit in this. The Spirit lifted me up. The Spirit brought me in. The Spirit took me out. The Spirit took me round.

All this is in and by the Spirit. This is the revelation of Christ by the Holy Spirit. And this is the constitution of the church government where the whole church governs itself. The whole church selects its minister.

The whole church votes on everything that is going to be done. That is democratic government. None of these systems have a place here. They are all merely official. The government of this house is the government of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit may use men. He may choose those who are called elders. But there is a great deal of difference between the official and the Spirit. You can be what is called an elder officially and not be an elder spiritually.

If you are an elder spiritually, you are bound to become that officially. Your spiritual measure will be recognized. And whether you are made an elder or not, you will be one if you are spiritually one.

The government I am saying is spiritual. The men of the New Testament were described as men filled with the Holy Spirit. They were the apostles, they were the elders, they were the deacons. That was the thing that made them what they were.

The House as the Channel of God's Life

Men filled with the Spirit. And then the third thing. This house is the channel or vessel of God's life. Out of a house like this house, life flows. It is from this that the life flows. You do not have to stop the life flowing.

You do not have to make this life. This life comes from a stream. You do not go and collect buckets of water. And then try to pour them out from this house. There is nothing artificial about this. There is nothing second hand about this.

There is nothing of men doing about this. The life just springs up. And it flows out. It flows out of a house like this. A house where the Lord's throne is. A house where the government of heaven is. A house where the Lord is.

Out from that house the life flows. The testimony itself is in that life. John says this is the testimony. Do you want to know what the testimony is? The testimony is not a system of doctrine and teaching.

The testimony is not a technique. This is the testimony that God has given unto us eternal life. And this life is in His Son. The testimony is in the life. And when the testimony is in us, when the life is in us, the testimony is in us.

So the test of everything is life. That is a certain statement. That is a statement that we receive as a test. Life is that which determines the presence of the Lord. Life is that which tells whether things are according to Christ.

Life tests whether this service is the service of God. Life tests everything. The question is, is it ministering life? Is this thing a living thing? And is it pouring out life? Pouring out life to the ends of the earth.

If that is not true, there is something wrong with it. It may be a very wonderful technique and system. But there is something wrong with it. Everything is tested by life. I think we shall have to leave it there this morning.

I haven't got my pretty little picture yet. We can leave it to Lord Willis tomorrow morning.