756 英翻中 (456) Jesus Christ is God. 耶穌基督是上帝. 7/5/2024

756 英翻中 (456)                Jesus Christ is God.                  耶穌基督是上帝.                           7/5/2024

Because Jesus Christ is God, He is able to do what no mere man could ever do: reconcile lost sinners to a holy God. When the first man and woman sinned, they declared war on God, but God did not declare war on them. Instead, God sought Adam and Eve, and He provided a covering for their sins.                                                                                                                                因為耶穌基督是上帝，所以祂有大能做人永遠不能做到的事：將喪失的罪人與聖潔的上帝和解。 當第一對男女亞當夏娃犯罪時，他們向上帝宣戰，但上帝沒對他們宣戰。反而上帝為他們尋找掩蓋他們罪過的獸皮衣。

The natural mind of the unsaved sinner is at war with God (Rom. 8:7). The sinner may be sincere, religious, and even moral; but he is still at war with God. How can a holy God ever be reconciled with sinful man? Can God lower His standards, close His eyes to sin, and compromise with man? If He did, the universe would fall to pieces! God must be consistent with Himself and maintain His own holy law.                                                                                                                        在未得救的罪人的思想裡，自然的想到要與上帝挑戰（羅     8：7）。罪人可能是誠實的，虔誠的，甚至是道德的；但失喪的罪人仍要與上帝交戰。 聖潔的上帝怎麼能與失喪的罪人和解呢？上帝能降低祂的標準，閉著眼睛不看罪，與罪人妥協嗎？ 如果祂這樣做，那麼宇宙會崩離破碎！上帝必須與自己的意念一致，並維護自己的聖潔律法。

Perhaps man could somehow please God. But by nature, man is separated from God, and by his deeds, he is alienated from God (Col. 1:21). The sinner is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1ff.), and therefore is unable to do anything to save himself or to please God (Rom. 8:8).           或許人可以在某種情節中取悅上帝。但是在自然中，人與上帝分離，並因他的行為，他與上帝隔絕（西  1：21）。罪人是 “死在罪惡過犯之中”（弗  2：1 比照研讀），因此，無法做任何事情來拯救自己或取悅上帝（羅  8：8）。

If there is to be reconciliation between man and God, the initiative and action must come from God. It is in Christ that God was reconciled to man (2 Cor. 5:19). But it was not the incarnation of Christ that accomplished this reconciliation, nor was it His example as He lived among men. It was through His death that peace was made between God and man. He “made peace through the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20).                                                                                                                   人若要與上帝和好，上帝才是發動和行動者。在基督裡人才能與上帝好（林後   5:19）。但不是基督的道成肉身來完成這和好的事，也不是因祂在世的榜樣所達成。乃是因為藉著耶穌的捨身，上帝才能與人和好。“藉著耶穌在十字架所流的血，成就了和平” （西     1：20）。

Of course, the false teachers offered a kind of reconciliation between man and God. However, the reconciliation they offered was not complete or final.  The angels and the “emanations” could in some way bring men closer to God, according to the Gnostic teachers. But the reconciliation we have in Jesus Christ is perfect, complete, and final. More than that, the reconciliation in Christ involves the whole universe! He reconciles “all things unto Himself … things in earth, or things in heaven” (Col. 1:20).                                                                                                                                   誠然，假教師所提供人與上帝之間的一種和好。可是，他們提供的尚未完成或終結。天使和 “靈射體” 可能以某種方式，要把人與上帝的距離拉近。但是我們在耶穌基督裡與上帝的和好是完美，全備和最終的。不僅如此，和解在基督裡涉及整個宇宙！基督調和  “叫萬物與祂自己……無論是地上的，或天上的萬物”（西     1:20）。 

However, we must not conclude wrongly that universal reconciliation is the same as universal salvation.                                                                                                                                                       可是，我們絕不能錯誤地提出結論 : 普世的和好與普世救贖相同。 

“Universalism” is the teaching that all beings, including  those who have rejected Jesus Christ, will one day be saved. This was not what Paul believed. “Universal  restorationism” was not a part of Paul’s theology, for he definitely taught that sinners needed to believe in Jesus Christ to be saved (2 Thess. 1).                                                                                                                                   “普世主義” 是所謂的眾生， 包括那些拒絕了耶穌基督的所有的人，有一天他們都會得救。這不是保羅所相信的。 “普世得救主義”  不是保羅神學的一部分，因為他堅絕的教導罪人，必需要相信耶穌基督，才能得救（帖後  1章）。 

Paul wrote that Christ solved the sin problem on the cross once and for all. This means that one day God can bring together in Christ all who belong to Him (Eph. 1:9–10). He will be able to glorify believers and punish unbelievers, and do it justly, because of Christ’s death on the cross. No one—not even Satan—can accuse God of doing wrong, because sin has been effectively dealt with on the cross.                                                                                                                                     保羅寫道，基督是在十字架上，一勞永逸的解決了罪的問題。這意味著，有一天上帝可以將所有屬於祂的人，召集到基督裡（弗   1：9-10）。因為基督在十字架上的捨命，祂將要使公正的信徒得榮耀，並懲罰不信的人。沒有人 —- 甚至撒但也不行 —- 都無法指責上帝做錯，因為罪惡已經有效地被十字架所對付。

If Jesus Christ is only a man, or only an emanation from God, He cannot reconcile God and man. The only arbitrator who can bring God and man together is One who is both God and Man Himself. Contrary to what the gnostics taught, Jesus Christ was a true human being with a real body. He was God in human flesh (John 1:14). When He died on the cross, He met the just demands of the law because He paid the penalty for man’s sins (1 Peter 2:24).                                 耶穌基督若只是人，或者只是從上帝那裡出來的一個“靈射體”，祂就無法和解上帝與人的關係。 唯一能夠將上帝與人和好在一起的是 : 祂既是上帝又是人的中保。這與諾斯底派確切相反，認為耶穌基督是具有真實身體的人。祂是道成肉身的上帝（約   1:14）。當祂在十字架上捨命時，祂對付了律法公義的要求，因為祂付了所有人的罪的贖價（彼前     2:24）。

Reconciliation was completed on the cross (Rom. 5:11).  A man once came to see me because he had difficulties at home. He was not a very well-educated man and sometimes got his words confused. He told me that he and his wife were having “martial problems” when he meant to say “marital problems.” (Later I found out that they really were “at war” with each other, so maybe he was right after all!) But the word that caught my attention was in this sentence: “Pastor, me and my wife need a re-cancellation.”                                                                                                       和好在十字架上成全了（羅     5:11）。有位朋友曾經因為家庭困難來找我。他沒有受過良好的教育，他的話語有時候很混亂。他告訴我，他和妻子遇到 “軍事問題” 時，意思是說遇到 “婚姻問題”。 （後來，發現他們真的互相  “打起來”，也許他說的畢竟是對的！）但是這個詞句吸引了我的注意，他說的話實際意思是，“牧師，我和妻子需要重新和好。”

He meant to say reconciliation, but the word re-cancellation was not a bad choice. There can be peace and a reunion of those who are at war only when sin has been cancelled. As sinners before a righteous God, we need a “re-cancellation.” Our sins were cancelled on the cross.  As we review this profound section (and this study has only scratched the surface), we notice several important truths.                                                                                                                                                         他的意思是和好，但 “再次 —- 取消” 不是一個壞選擇。因為可能只有在罪惡被消除時，和平與重聚才有希望。在公義上帝面前的罪人，我們需要 “再次 —- 取消”。我們的罪在十字架上洗淨。當我們回顧這深刻的段落（本研究只是碰到它表面），所以只注意到下列幾個重要的真理。

First, Jesus Christ has taken care of all things. All things were created by Him and for Him. He existed before all things, and today He holds all things together. He has reconciled all things through the cross. No wonder Paul declared that “in all things he might have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18).                                                                                                                                                第一，耶穌基督已經顧到一切。萬物是由祂並為祂創造的。祂在萬物中具首位，今天祂擁有萬物合在一起。耶穌基督通過十字架使萬物和好。難怪保羅宣告 “萬物都擁祂具有優越的位置”（西   1:18）。

Second, all that we need is Jesus Christ.  all of God’s fullness in Him, and we are “filled full”  (complete) in Him (Col. 2:10). There is no need to add anything to the person or work of Jesus Christ.  To add anything is to take away from His glory. To give Him prominence instead of  reeminence is to dethrone Him.                                                                                                             第二，我們所需要的只是耶穌基督。 上帝的一切豐盛都有形有體的在祂裡面，我們在祂裡面也得了 “豐盛”  （全備）（西2:10）。沒必要給耶穌基督在人或工作上，再添加任何東西。 增加任何東西就是拿去祂的榮耀。只給祂有名而不是給祂優越，就是不以祂為王。

Third, God  is pleased when His Son, Jesus Christ, is honored and given preeminence. There are people who tell us they are Christians, but they ignore or deny Jesus Christ. “We worship the Father,” they tell us, “and that is all that is necessary.”                                                                       最後，當上帝的兒子，耶穌基督受到尊敬，並享有優越的地位时，上帝就喜悅。 有些人告訴我們，他們是基督徒，但他們無視或否認耶穌基督。他們告訴我們，“我們敬拜父，這就可以了，是必要的。”

But Jesus made it clear that the Son is to be worshipped as well as the Father “that all man honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him” (John 5:23–24 niv).                                                                                                         但是耶穌明確表示不但要敬拜聖子，還要敬拜聖父 “叫人尊敬子，如同尊敬父一樣。不尊敬子的，就是不尊敬差祂來的父”（約   5：23–24 新國際版）。

The late Dr. M. R. DeHaan, noted radio Bible teacher, told about a preacher who was confronted by a cultist who rejected the deity of Jesus Christ.  “Jesus cannot be the eternal Son of God, for a father is always older than his son,” the man argued. “If the Father is not eternal, then He is not God. If Jesus is His Son, then He is not eternal.”                                                                                 已故的帝漢(M. R. DeHaan)博士提出，有位廣播聖經老師，當他講述到一位傳教士面臨異教徒的挑戰，拒絕耶穌基督的神性。 那人狡辯說，“耶穌不可能是上帝永恆的兒子，因為父親總是比兒子大，若天父不是永恆的，那麼祂不是上帝。如果耶穌是祂的兒子，那麼耶穌不是永恆的。”

The preacher was ready with an answer. “The thing that makes a person a father is having a son. But if God is the eternal Father, then He must have an eternal Son!”                                                 傳道人已經準備好答案。 他說，“事情這樣的，若人成為父親，生了一個兒子。但是若上帝是永恆的天父，那麼祂的兒子必定是永恆的！”

This means that Jesus Christ is eternal—and that He is God!  Jesus Christ is the Savior, the Creator, the Head of the church, and the Beloved of the Father. He is eternal God … and in our lives He deserves to have the preeminence.                                                                                             這說法肯定耶穌基督是永恆的 —- 並且祂是上帝！ 耶穌基督是救世主，創造主，教會的頭和天父的愛子。祂是永恆的上帝   … 在我們的生命中，祂是值得擁有優越的位置。

Is Jesus Christ preeminent in your life?                                                                                                 耶穌基督在你的生命中擁有優越地位嗎？

 (第四課完)