神的心意是要把祂自己作到一个团体的人里面，使祂得着团体的彰显。这是圣经中神圣启示的基本观念。这是神永远的目的。神呼召亚伯拉罕，目的就是要把祂自己作到亚伯拉罕里面，但亚伯拉罕有一个很强的己。这天然的己对神的旨意是最强的阻挠。今天我们也是这样。神的目的是要把祂自己作到我们里面，作我们的生命，甚至作我们的生活，但我们天然的己阻挠这事。所以神必须对付我们，使祂自己能进到我们里面，作我们的一切。神不需要我们爱人、谦卑，使社会改良。神乃是要把祂自己作到我们里面，成为我们的谦卑和一切。今天神的心意是要对付亚伯拉罕，使以撒能来临。祂的心意是要对付我们天然的人，使我们完满的经历祂自己在基督里作到我们里面，作我们的享受。
恩典就是神把祂自己作到我们里面，作我们的享受。这位神今天不仅仅是父神，也是子神和灵神。不仅如此，灵神也是恩典的灵（来十29），这恩典乃是生命的恩典（彼前三7），也是“诸般的恩典，”（彼前四10），“全般的恩典，”（彼前五10），“彀用的恩典。”（林后十二9）。三一神是这样的恩典，这恩典如今与我们的灵同在（加六18）。恩典乃是三一神的神圣人位作为那灵，住在我们的灵里。这恩典的灵住在我们灵里，作我们的享受，使我们享受神作我们的生命和一切，甚至作我们的生活。这就是为甚么保罗的每一封书信都结束于：“愿恩典与你们同在。”
那么我们为甚么受苦？因为我们的己、自我、天然的人仍在这里，需要受对付。赞美祂，没有一个对付是徒然的。每个从神来的对付，都是破碎我们天然的人，使我们更多享受祂作我们的恩典。为此，我们有亚伯拉罕和以撒；有损失的痛苦，也有得着的享受。这不是得着外面的东西；乃是得着内住的那位，就是恩典的灵和生命的恩典。神所赐给我们外面的恩赐，充其量不过是祝福。当这恩赐作到我们里面，成了我们里面生命的元素，那就是恩典。祝福必须成为恩典。在旧约里，神赐给祂子民许多东西当作祝福，但那些东西仅仅是外面的祝福。在基督来临之前，这些祝福都没有作到神子民里面。基督来不仅为我们死在十字架上，更在死后成了赐生命的灵进到我们里面。所以在新约里有“在基督里”和“基督在你们里面”的辞。现在祂在我们里面，我们也在祂里面。神在基督里所赐给我们的，已经作到我们里面，成为恩典，就是我们的享受。现在我们不仅在祂的祝福之下，我们更在祂的恩典里面，祂的恩典也在我们里面。今天你享受甚么－祝福还是恩典？新约从未说，“愿祝福与你们同在，”却一再说，“愿恩典与你们同在。”
每日一问：在基督徒的生活中，为什么会受苦？受苦是为着什么？
请享受诗歌 (点击诗歌名）
Isaac’s Experience – Receiving Grace (6) — 1 Pet. 5:10
God’s intention is to work Himself into a corporate people so that He may obtain a corporate expression. This is the basic concept of the divine revelation in Scripture. This is God’s eternal purpose. God called Abraham with the purpose of working Himself into Abraham, but Abraham had a very strong self. This natural self is the strongest hindrance to God’s will. We are the same today. God’s purpose is to work Himself into us as our life and even our living, but our natural self hinders this. Therefore God must deal with us so that He Himself can enter into us and become our everything. God does not need us to love others, to be humble or to improve society. Rather, He wants to work Himself into us, becoming our humility and our everything. Today God’s intention is to deal with Abraham so that Isaac may come. His intention is to deal with our natural man so that we may fully experience Him working Himself into us in Christ as our enjoyment.
Grace is God working Himself into us as our enjoyment. God today is not only the Father God, but also the Son God and the Spirit God. Moreover, the Spirit God is also the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29). This grace is the grace of life (1 Pet. 3:7), also “manifold grace” (1 Pet. 4:10), “all grace” (1 Pet. 5:10) and “sufficient grace” (2 Cor. 12:9). The Triune God is such grace, and this grace is now with our spirit (Gal. 6:18). Grace is the divine Person of the Triune God, as the Spirit, dwelling in our spirit. This Spirit of grace dwelling in our spirit is our enjoyment, enabling us to enjoy God as our life and everything, and even as our living. This is why every one of Paul’s epistles ends with: “Grace be with you.”
Then why do we suffer? Because our self, our ego, our natural man is still here and needs to be dealt with. Praise Him — no dealing is in vain. Every dealing that comes from God breaks our natural man, enabling us to enjoy Him more as our grace. For this purpose, we have Abraham and Isaac; we have the pain of loss and also the enjoyment of gaining. This is not about gaining outward things, but about gaining the indwelling One — the Spirit of grace and the grace of life. The outward gifts God gives us are, at most, blessings. When these gifts are wrought into us and become the element of life within us, that is grace. Blessings must become grace. In the Old Testament, God gave His people many things as blessings, but those things were only outward blessings. Before Christ came, these blessings were not wrought into God’s people. Christ came not only to die on the cross for us, but also, after His death, He became the life-giving Spirit entering into us. Therefore in the New Testament there is the expression “in Christ” and “Christ in you.” Now He is in us, and we are in Him. What God has given us in Christ has been wrought into us, becoming grace — our enjoyment. Now we are not only under His blessing; we are in His grace, and His grace is also in us. What are you enjoying today — blessings or grace? The New Testament never says, “May blessing be with you,” but again and again says, “Grace be with you.”
Daily Question: In the Christian life, why do we suffer? What is suffering for?