九月十六日

與神的性情有份。（彼後1：4）

與神的性情有份，當然不是變成了神，那是不能够的一件事。受造者是不能具有神的本質的。在受造者與創造者之間必須永遠有一條鴻溝，好叫神得到尊崇；但頭一個亞當是照著神的形象造的，我們因著聖靈的更新也一樣地有了至高者的形象，而且比前者更加像神，更有神的性情。我們是因著恩典才得以像神。“神就是愛”，我們也成爲愛，“凡有愛心的，都是由神而生”；神是真理，我們也屬真理，幷愛真理；神是善，他也藉著他的恩典使我們成爲善，因此我們有清潔的心得以見神。

我們與神的性情有份還不僅如此，事實上，按我們所能瞭解的更高的意義說，我們若不完全像神就不能生存。我們不是已經成爲基督身子上的肢體嗎？是的，流于頭上的血也一樣要流到手上，使基督活著的生命也必使他的民活著，因爲“你們已經死了，你們的生命與基督一同藏在神裏面。”不，這還不够，我們與基督必須結爲夫婦。他已因著他的公義和信實聘定了我們，與主相連的就與他同有一靈。

這是極大的奧秘！我們看到這裏，但誰能明白呢？與耶穌成爲一體——我們若離了主，我們的救主和我們的救贖主，就像枝子離了葡萄樹不再成爲一體一樣！我們爲此要歡喜快樂，但同時也要牢記，我們這與神的性情有份的人，在與人談話時要表現出我們與神有這樣高尚而聖潔的關係，幷在每日的行事和說話上躲避今生的情欲的敗壞。願我們的生活更加屬神而聖潔！

September 16

"Partakers of the divine nature." -- 2 Peter 1:4

To be a partaker of the divine nature is not, of course, to become God. That cannot be. The essence of Deity is not to be participated in by the creature. Between the creature and the Creator there must ever be a gulf fixed in respect of essence; but as the first man Adam was made in the image of God, so we, by the renewal of the Holy Spirit, are in a yet diviner sense made in the image of the Most High, and are partakers of the divine nature. We are, by grace, made like God. "God is love"; we become love--"He that loveth is born of God." God is truth; we become true, and we love that which is true: God is good, and He makes us good by His grace, so that we become the pure in heart who shall see God. Moreover, we become partakers of the divine nature in even a higher sense than this--in fact, in as lofty a sense as can be conceived, short of our being absolutely divine. Do we not become members of the body of the divine person of Christ? Yes, the same blood which flows in the head flows in the hand: and the same life which quickens Christ quickens His people, for "Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Nay, as if this were not enough, we are married unto Christ. He hath betrothed us unto Himself in righteousness and in faithfulness, and he who is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Oh! marvellous mystery! we look into it, but who shall understand it? One with Jesus--so one with Him that the branch is not more one with the vine than we are a part of the Lord, our Saviour, and our Redeemer! While we rejoice in this, let us remember that those who are made partakers of the divine nature will manifest their high and holy relationship in their intercourse with others, and make it evident by their daily walk and conversation that they have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. O for more divine holiness of life!