约翰福音-John 13 章 33~38节
13:33 |
孩子们,我还有不多的时候与你们同在,以后你们要找我,但我曾对犹太人说过,如今也照样对你们说,我所去的地方,你们不能到。 Little children, I am still with you a little while; you will seek Me, and even as I said to the Jews, Where I am going, you cannot come, now I say to you also. |
13:34 |
我赐给你们一条新诫命,乃是叫你们彼此相爱,正如我爱你们,为使你们也彼此相爱。 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. |
13:35 |
你们若彼此相爱,众人因此就认出你们是我的门徒了。 By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. |
13:36 |
西门彼得问耶稣说,主啊,你往那里去?耶稣回答说,我所去的地方,你现在不能跟我去,后来却要跟我去。 Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, where are You going? Jesus answered him, Where I go you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later. |
13:37 |
彼得说,主啊,我为什么现在不能跟你去?我愿意为你舍命。 Peter said to Him, Lord, why can't I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You. |
13:38 |
耶稣回答说,你愿意为我舍命么?我实实在在的告诉你,鸡叫以前,你要三次不认我。 Jesus answered, Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, A rooster shall by no means crow until you deny Me three times. |
Enlightenment:
Each of us must learn how to love the brothers and sisters by ministering the spiritual foot-washing to them. Sometimes when I come to visit you, you can minister some sort of foot-washing to me by showing your love toward me, and I have to show the same love toward you so that some foot-washing will be ministered to you to cleanse you from the earthly touch. We must do this, otherwise the fellowship between us could not be maintained. Fellowship can be maintained between one another only when love ministers such a foot-washing. Many times I have enjoyed the spiritual foot-washing from quite a number of brothers and sisters. It is impossible to tell you how many times I have experienced this kind of foot-washing. More than twenty-five years ago when I was working with the leading co-workers such as Brother Watchman Nee and others, I received much help by this kind of foot-washing from them. Every time I contacted them, I sensed some sort of foot-washing to keep me clean from the earthly touch. They loved me and showed their love to me by ministering the spiritual foot-washing to cleanse me from the earthly touch.
By putting these principles into practice, we shall see how real they are. You can simply apply them in your home life and in your church life from this very hour. Immediately, you will then minister some sort of foot-washing and wiping to your brothers and sisters. This is what we need. This is the real love that maintains the fellowship among us. It is by this kind of foot-washing and wiping that the spiritual fellowship can maintain the church life. Without it, the church life cannot be maintained, because the fellowship will have been damaged by the earthly touch. We need the spiritual foot-washing to cleanse us from the earthly touch and to keep our spiritual fellowship in a good condition. Then it is possible to realize the church life. If the church life is to be kept fresh, new, pleasant, and living, we continually need this foot-washing. Every local church needs this. In the churches on the West Coast, the Lord has been very gracious to us. Although we have not used the term foot-washing, the Lord has continually kept the church life here fresh and new by the foot-washing with the living water of life. We do not talk about it and we do not use this term, but there has been the reality of foot-washing in the water of life constantly. So, we can boast of His grace that the churches here are ever new, ever fresh, and ever living. In the matter of fellowship, there is no frustration among the saints. Every church needs to pray for this. Then the church will be preserved in newness and freshness.
Peter was in the genuine fellowship with the Lord, and the Lord’s washing did keep him in this fellowship. He was willing to remain in this fellowship with the Lord, but he failed by denying the Lord three times when the Lord was being tried. Peter had the desire to remain in the fellowship, but he did not have the strength to do it, because, before the Lord’s resurrection, His resurrection life had not been imparted into him. To remain in the fellowship of the Lord maintained by the foot-washing requires the strength of resurrection life. We can never do it by our natural man.
亮光