九月十六日
与神的性情有份。（彼后1：4）
与神的性情有份，当然不是变成了神，那是不能够的一件事。受造者是不能具有神的本质的。在受造者与创造者之间必须永远有一条鸿沟，好叫神得到尊崇；但头一个亚当是照着神的形象造的，我们因着圣灵的更新也一样地有了至高者的形象，而且比前者更加像神，更有神的性情。我们是因着恩典才得以像神。“神就是爱”，我们也成爲爱，“凡有爱心的，都是由神而生”；神是真理，我们也属真理，幷爱真理；神是善，他也借着他的恩典使我们成爲善，因此我们有清洁的心得以见神。
我们与神的性情有份还不仅如此，事实上，按我们所能了解的更高的意义说，我们若不完全像神就不能生存。我们不是已经成爲基督身子上的肢体吗？是的，流于头上的血也一样要流到手上，使基督活着的生命也必使他的民活着，因爲“你们已经死了，你们的生命与基督一同藏在神里面。”不，这还不够，我们与基督必须结爲夫妇。他已因着他的公义和信实聘定了我们，与主相连的就与他同有一灵。
这是极大的奥秘！我们看到这里，但谁能明白呢？与耶稣成爲一体——我们若离了主，我们的救主和我们的救赎主，就像枝子离了葡萄树不再成爲一体一样！我们爲此要欢喜快乐，但同时也要牢记，我们这与神的性情有份的人，在与人谈话时要表现出我们与神有这样高尚而圣洁的关系，幷在每日的行事和说话上躲避今生的情欲的败坏。愿我们的生活更加属神而圣洁！
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!
