Image and Dominion—the Heart of Genesis形像与管治权—创世记的心脏 (Day4)
Samuel Lin
Rom. 8:29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers.
5:17 For if, by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 4:4 Paul says that “the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine on them.” This verse indicates that the terms God, image, Christ, glory, gospel, and illumination are all in apposition to one another; thus, they all refer to the same wonderful person. God is the image, the image is Christ, Christ is the glory, the glory is the gospel, and the gospel is the illumination. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3206)
Today’s Reading
We reign in life in being conformed to the image of God’s firstborn Son through the Spirit’s interceding that all things may work together for the conformation of those who love God (Rom. 8:26-29). (Crystallization-study of the Complete Salvation of God in Romans, p. 30)
Conformation is the end result of transformation. It includes the changing of our inward essence and nature, and it also includes the changing of our outward form, that we may match the glorified image of Christ, the God-man. He is the prototype and we are the mass production. (Rom. 8:29, footnote 3)
Christ was the only begotten Son of God from eternity (John 1:18). When He was sent by God into the world, He was still the only begotten Son of God (1 John 4:9; John 1:14; 3:16). By His passing through death and entering into resurrection, His humanity was uplifted into His divinity. Thus, in His divinity with His humanity that passed through death and resurrection, He was born in resurrection as God’s firstborn Son (Acts 13:33). At the same time, all His believers were raised together with Him in His resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3) and were begotten together with Him as the many sons of God. Thus they became His many brothers to constitute His Body and be God’s corporate expression in Him. (Rom. 8:29, footnote 4)
Conformation denotes the shaping of life. As the divine life grows within us and transforms us, it spontaneously shapes us into the pattern, the image, of the firstborn Son of God.
Self-likeness is the expression, the appearance, of the self....We need to be saved in the life of Christ from such a self-expression....To be saved from the self is to be conformed to the image of the Son of God. This means that to be saved from the self is to be made truly a son of God. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 683, 492)
God’s complete salvation is for us to reign in life by the abundance of grace (God Himself as our all-sufficient supply for our organic salvation) and of the gift of righteousness (God’s judicial redemption applied to us in a practical way). When we are all reigning in life, living under the ruling of the divine life, the issue is the real and practical Body life. (Crystallization-study of the Complete Salvation of God in Romans, p. 37)
To be saved in life causes us to reign as kings [Rom. 5:17]....A justified person should reign because he has the divine life, a kingly life, with which to reign. Without the kingly life, no one can reign. When we were redeemed by Christ, forgiven of our sins, and washed by the blood of Christ, we were justified. In addition, we were regenerated with a divine, spiritual, heavenly, kingly, and royal life. Thus, we are now able to reign in life as kings. (To Be Saved in the Life of Christ as Revealed in Romans, pp. 9-10)
Today there is the need for all the believers who have received the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness to practice the life restriction and limitation in the divine life. (Crystallization-study of the Complete Salvation of God in Romans, p. 43)
Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 9; Crystallization-study of the Complete Salvation of God in Romans, msg. 4; Salvation in Life in the Book of Romans, ch. 7
晨兴喂养
罗八29 因为神所预知的人，祂也预定他们模成神儿子的形像，使祂儿子在许多弟兄中作长子。
五17 若因一人的过犯，死就借着这一人作了王，那些受洋溢之恩，并洋溢之义恩赐的，就更要借着耶稣基督一人，在生命中作王了。
保罗在林后四章四节说，“基督荣耀之福音的光照，不照亮他们；基督本是神的像。”这节指明，“神”、“像”、“基督”、“荣耀”、“福音”和“光照”彼此是同位语；因此，这些辞都是指同一个美妙的人位。神是像，像是基督，基督是荣耀，荣耀是福音，福音是光照（新约总论第十册，二三一页）。
信息选读
我们在生命中作王，而被模成为神长子的形像；这是借着那灵的代求，使万有互相效力，叫爱神的人都被模成（罗八26~29）（罗马书中神完整的救恩结晶读经，二九页）。
模成是变化的最终结果，包括我们里面素质和性情的变化，和我们外面样式的变化，好使我们与神而人者的基督，在荣耀里的形像相配。祂是原型，我们是大量产品（圣经恢复本，罗八29注3）。
基督从永远就是神的独生子（约一18），到神差祂到世上来时，仍是神的独生子（约壹四9，约一14，三16）。等祂经过死进入复活，将祂的人性提高到祂的神性里，祂就带着祂死而复活的人性，在祂的神性里，在复活中生为神的长子（徒十三33）；同时也在祂的复活里，带着所有信祂的人一同复活（彼前一3），和祂一同生为神的众子，使他们成为祂的许多弟兄，好构成祂的身体，作神在祂里面的团体彰显（罗八29注5）。
模成是指生命的成形。神圣的生命在我们里面长大并变化我们时，就自然而然将我们形成神长子的模样、形像。
己的样式就是己的彰显、样子。……我们需要在基督的生命里得救，脱离这样己的彰显。……得救脱离己就是模成神儿子的形像。这就是说，得救脱离己就是真正成为神的儿子（罗马书生命读经，八○九、五七七至五七八页）。
神完整的救恩是要我们凭神洋溢之恩（神自己作我们生机救恩的全足供应），并洋溢之义的恩赐（神法理的救赎实际地应用在我们身上），在生命中作王。当我们都在生命中作王，在神圣生命的管治下生活，结果就有真实、实际的身体生活（罗马书中神完整的救恩结晶读经，三九页）。
在生命中得救，使我们像王一样掌权〔罗五17〕。……一个得着称义的人应当作王，因为他有神圣的生命，王的生命，可凭以作王。没有王的生命，就没有人能作王。我们蒙基督救赎、罪得赦免并蒙基督的血洗净时，我们就得着称义。不仅如此，我们蒙了神圣、属灵、属天、君王和君尊的生命所重生。因此，我们现今能像王一样，在生命中掌权（罗马书中所启示在基督的生命里得救，四至五页）。
今天，所有接受了洋溢之恩并洋溢之义恩赐的信徒，都需要操练接受神圣生命的约束和限制（罗马书中神完整的救恩结晶读经，四五页）。
参读：哥林多后书生命读经，第九篇；罗马书中神完整的救恩结晶读经，第四篇；罗马书中的生命救恩，第七篇。
周 四
2 基督是神的像，是神荣耀的光辉；因此，基督的福音，就是神的荣耀照明并照耀的福音—林后四3~4，西一15，来一3：
ａ 在林后四章四节里，神是像，像是基督，基督是荣耀，荣耀是福音，福音是光照。
ｂ 借着基督荣耀之福音的光照，基督作为三一神具体化身与彰显之照耀的实际，成了我们里面的宝贝—6~7节。
三 神的心意是要使在基督里的信徒模成长子的形像，并使他们在生命中作王—罗八29，五17：
1 模成神儿子的形像，结果使祂在许多弟兄中作长子—八29：
ａ 模成是指生命的成形，把我们形成神长子的形像。
ｂ 模成是一个过程，在其中我们在生命里得救，脱离己的样式，而模成长子的形像，作祂团体的彰显—五10。
2 神完整的救恩是要我们凭洋溢之恩，并洋溢之义的恩赐，在生命中作王—17、21节：
ａ 按经历说，在生命中作王，乃是在我们所凭以重生的神圣生命，君王生命和君尊生命的管治之下—约三3、5~6、15~16，罗五17。
ｂ 所有接受了洋溢之恩并洋溢之义恩赐的信徒，都需要操练接受神圣生命的约束和限制—太八9，林后二12~14，五14。
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