778 英翻中 (478) You have to set your hearts on things above. 信徒必須思念天上的事. 23/06/2024

778 英翻中 (478)   You have to set your hearts on things above. 信徒必須思念天上的事.  23/06/2024

Chapter eight                           HEAVEN ON EARTH                    Colossians 3:1–11            第八章                                                                    在地如在天                                                                     歌羅西書3：1-11

In the final two chapters of Colossians, Paul moved into the practical application of the doctrines he had been teaching. After all, it does little good if Christians declare and defend the truth, but fail to demonstrate it in their lives. There are some Christians who will defend the truth at the drop of a hat, but their personal lives deny the doctrines they profess to love. “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him” (Titus 1:16).                                                                                                                                          在歌羅西書的最後兩章中，保羅進入了他所討論的教義的實際應用。畢竟，如果基督徒宣揚並捍衛真理，卻沒有在生活中證明這一真理，那就沒有什麼用。有些基督徒會在戴上帽子後捍衛真理，但他們的個人生活卻否認他們自稱愛的教義。 “他們自稱認識上帝，但在工作中卻否認上帝”（多   1:16）。

We must keep in mind that the pagan religions of Paul’s day said little or nothing about personal morality. A worshipper could bow before an idol, put his offering on the altar, and go back to live the same old life of sin. What a person believed had no direct relationship with how he behaved, and no one would condemn a person for his behavior.                                                                           我們必須謹記，保羅時代的異教徒對個人道德幾乎沒有說什麼。朝拜者可以在偶像面前鞠躬，將奉獻物放在壇上，然後回過頭來過同樣的罪惡生活。一個人相信的東西與他的舉止沒有直接關係，也沒有人會因為他的行為而被譴責。

But the Christian faith brought a whole new concept into pagan society: what we believe has a very definite connection with how we behave! After all, faith in Christ means being united to Christ, and if we share His life, we must follow His example. He cannot live in us by His Spirit and permit us to live in sin. Paul connected doctrine with duty in this section by giving his readers three instructions.                                                                                                                                     但是基督教信仰給異教社會帶來了全新的概念：我們所相信的與我們的行為有著非常明確的聯繫！畢竟，對基督的信仰意味著與基督聯合，如果我們分享祂的生活，我們就必須效法祂的榜樣。上帝不能藉著祂的靈在我們裡面生活，而讓我們生活在罪惡之中。保羅在本段中通過給讀者三個指示來將教義與責任聯繫起來。

1. Seek the Heavenly (3:1–4)                                                                                                                      1. 尋求天國（3：1-4） 

The emphasis is on the believer’s relationship with Christ. We died with Christ (v. 3a). The fullest explanation of this wonderful truth is found in Romans 6—8. Christ not only died for us (substitution), but we died with Him (identification). Christ not only died for sin, bearing its penalty, but He died unto sin, breaking its power. Because we are “in Christ” through the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), we died with Christ. This means that we can have victory over the old sin nature that wants to control us. “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Rom. 6:2).                                                                                                                                 重點是信徒與基督的關係。我們與基督同死（3 節上 ）。關於這個奇妙真理的最完整的解釋是在羅馬書   6-8 三章中。基督不僅為我們而死（代替），而且我們與祂一同死（認同）。基督不僅為罪而死，承受著刑罰，而且為罪而死，破壞了死的權勢。因為我們通過聖靈的工作“在基督裡”（林前   12：13），所以我們與基督同死了。這意味著我們可以戰勝想要控制我們的老我罪惡天性。 “我們已經死在罪惡之中了，怎麼樣能再生活在罪中呢？”   (羅     6：2）

We live in Christ (v. 4a). Christ is our life. Eternal life is not some heavenly substance that God imparts when we, as sinners, trust the Savior. Eternal life is Jesus Christ Himself. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12). We are dead and alive at the same time— dead to sin and alive in Christ.                                                                 我們活在基督裡（4節上）。基督是我們的生命。永生不是當我們作為罪人相信救主時神所賜予的某種天上的物質。永生就是耶穌基督自己。 「人有了神的兒子就有生命；有了神的兒子就有生命。人沒有神的兒子就沒有生命」（約壹 5:12）。我們同時死了又活了 ── 向罪死了，在基督裡又活了。

Someone has said, “Life is what you are alive to.” A child may come alive when you talk about a baseball game or an ice cream cone. A teenager may come alive when you mention cars or dates. Paul wrote, “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). Christ was Paul’s life and he was alive to anything that related to Christ. So should it be with every believer.                                                    有人說：“生活就是你活著的意義。”當你談論棒球比賽或蛋捲冰淇淋時，孩子可能會變得活躍起來。當你提到汽車或約會時，青少年可能會變得活躍起來。保羅寫道：「因我活著就是基督」（腓 1:21）。基督是保羅的生命，凡與基督有關的事都是活的。每個信徒也應該如此。

                                                                                                                                                        Years ago I heard a story about two sisters who enjoyed attending dances and wild parties. Then they were converted and found new life in Christ. They received an invitation to a party and sent their RSVP in these words: “We regret that we cannot attend because we recently died.”             幾年前，我聽到一個故事，講述了兩個姐妹喜歡參加舞蹈和野外聚會的故事。然後他們在基督裡找到了新生命。他們收到了參加聚會的邀請，並用以下字樣發送了他們的回答(RSVP)：“我們很遺憾不能參加，因為我們最近重生了。”

We are raised with Christ (v. 1a). It is possible to be alive and still live in the grave. During World War II, several Jewish refugees hid in a cemetery, and a baby was actually born in one of thgraves. However, when Jesus gave us His life, He lifted us out of the grave and set us on the throne in heaven! Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and we are seated there “in Christ.”     我們與基督一同復活（1節上）。可能還活著並仍然生活在墳墓中。第二次世界大戰期間，幾名猶太難民躲在墓地裡，一個墳墓中實際上生了一個嬰兒。但是，當耶穌把我們的生命賜給我們時，他把我們從墳墓裡抬了出來，使我們登上了天上的寶座！基督坐在上帝的右邊，因我們“在基督裡面”,   所以也坐在那裡。

The word if does not suggest that Paul’s readers might not have been “risen with Christ”, for all of us, as believers, are identified with Christ in death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. The word since gives the truer meaning of the word. Our exalted position in Christ is not a hypothetical thing or a goal for which we strive. It is an accomplished fact.                                         “ if”一詞並不表示保羅的讀者可能沒有“與基督同高”，因為我們所有人，作為信徒，在死亡，埋葬，復活和升天中都與基督同在。從此，單詞給出了單詞的真實含義。我們在基督裡的崇高地位不是我們為之奮鬥的假想事物或目標。這是一個成就的事實。

We are hidden in Christ (v. 3b). We no longer belong to the world, but to Christ; and the sources of life that we enjoy come only from Him. “Hidden in Christ” means security and satisfaction. The eminent Greek scholar Dr. A. T. Robertson commented on this: “So here we are in Christ who is in God, and no bur[1]glar, not even Satan himself, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:31–39)” (Paul and the Intellectuals, Broadman, 98).                                       我們被隱藏在基督裡（3節下）。我們不再屬於這個世界，而是屬於基督。而我們所享受的生命之源僅來自他。 “藏在基督裡”是指安全和滿足。著名的希臘學者羅伯遜博士（AT Robertson）對此評論說：“因此，我們在基督裡是在上帝里面，沒有竊賊，甚至撒但本人也無法將我們與上帝在基督耶穌裡的愛區分開（羅8： 31-39）”（Paul and the Knowledges，Broadman，98）。

The Christian life is a “hidden life” as far as the world is concerned, because the world does not know Christ (see 1 John 4:1–6). Our sphere of life is not this earth, but heaven; and the things that attract us and excite us belong to heaven, not to earth. This does not mean that we should ignore our earthly responsibilities. Rather it means that our motives and our strength come from heaven, not earth.                                                                                                                                       就世界而言，基督徒的生活是“隱藏的生活”，因為世界不認識基督（見約翰一書4：1-6）。我們的生活範圍不是這個地球，而是天堂。吸引我們和激發我們的事物屬於天堂，而不是地球。這並不意味著我們應該忽略我們的世俗責任。相反，這意味著我們的動機和力量來自天堂，而不是地球。

We are glorified in Christ (v. 4b). Christ is now seated at the Father’s right hand, but one day He will come to take His people home (1 Thess. 4:13–18). When He does, we shall enter into eternal glory with Christ. When He is revealed in His glory, we shall also be revealed in glory. According to the apostle Paul, we have already been glorified (Rom. 8:30)! This glory sim[1]ply has not yet been revealed. Christ has already given us His glory (John 17:22), but the full revelation of the glory awaits the return of the Savior (Rom. 8:17–25).                            我們在基督裡得了榮耀（4 節下）。基督現在坐在父神的右邊，但是有一天他會來帶他的百姓回家（帖1：4：13-18）。當他行事的時候，我們將與基督一起進入永恆的榮耀。當他在榮耀中彰顯出來時，我們也將在榮耀中彰顯出來。根據使徒保羅的說法，我們已經被榮耀了（羅馬書8:30）！這個榮耀的模擬尚未被揭露。基督已經把榮耀歸給我們了（約翰福音17:22），但是榮耀的全部啟示仍在等待救主的歸來（羅馬書8：17-25）。

Now, in view of our wonderful identification with Christ, we have a great responsibility: “Seek those things which are above” (Col. 3:1). Through Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, we have been separated from the old life of this world, and we now belong to a new heavenly life.                                                                                                                                             現在，鑑於我們對基督的奇妙認同，我們負有重大責任：“尋找上面的那些東西”（西   3：1）。通過基督的死，葬禮，復活和提升，我們已經脫離了這個世界的舊生活，而我們現在屬於一種新的天堂生活。

But how do we “seek those things which are above”? The secret is found in Colossians 3:2: “Habitually set your mind—your attention—on things above, not on things on the earth” (literal translation). Our feet must be on earth, but our minds must be in heaven. This is not to suggest that (as D. L. Moody used to say) we become “so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good.” It means that the practical everyday affairs of life get their direction from Christ in heaven. It means further that we look at earth from heaven’s point of view.                                                       但是，我們如何“尋找上面的東西”？在歌羅西書3：2中發現了這個秘密：“習慣於將您的注意力-您的注意力-放在上面的東西上，而不是放在地球上的東西上”（直譯）。我們的腳必須在地上，但我們的思想必須在天上。這並不是說（就像穆迪曾經說過的那樣），我們變得“天上萬般，以至於我們都不是塵世的善良。”這意味著日常生活中的日常事務是從天上的基督那裡得到他們的指導的。這進一步意味著我們從天堂的角度看地球。

While attending a convention in Washington, D.C., I watched a Senate committee hearing on television. I believe they were considering a new ambassador to the United Nations. The late Senator Hubert Humphrey was making a comment as I turned on the television set: “You must remember that in politics, how you stand depends on where you sit.” He was referring, of course, to the political party seating arrangement in the Senate, but I immediately applied it to my position in Christ. How I stand—and walk— depends on where I sit, and I am seated with Christ in the heavenlies!                                                                                                                                         在華盛頓特區參加會議時，我看了參議院委員會在電視上的聽證會。我相信他們正在考慮擔任新的聯合國大使。當我打開電視機時，已故參議員休伯特·漢弗萊（Hubert Humphrey）發表評論：“您必須記住，在政治上，您的立場取決於您的坐姿。”他當然是指參議院中的政黨就座安排，但我立即將其應用於我在基督裡的職位。我的站立和行走方式取決於我的坐姿，而我在天上與基督同坐！

When the nation of Israel came to the border of the Promised Land, they refused to enter, and, because of their stubborn unbelief, they had to wander in the wilderness for forty years (see Num. 13—14). That whole generation, starting with the twenty-year-olds, died in the wilderness, except for Caleb and Joshua, the only two spies who believed God. How were Caleb and Joshua able to “get the victory” during those forty difficult years in the wilderness? Their minds and hearts were in Canaan! They knew they had an inheritance coming, and they lived in the light of that inheritance.                                                                                                                                                 以色列國來到應許之地的邊界時，他們拒絕入境，由於their強的不信，他們不得不在曠野流浪四十年（見民數記13-14）。從二十歲開始，這一代人在曠野去世，除了迦勒布和約書亞這兩個唯一相信上帝的間諜。在曠野的那四十個艱難歲月中，迦勒和約書亞如何才能“取得勝利”？他們的思想和心在迦南！他們知道遺產即將來臨，並根據該遺產生活。

The queen of England exercises certain powers and privileges because she sits on the throne. The president of the United States has privileges and powers because he sits behind the desk in the oval office of the White House. The believer is seated on the throne with Christ. We must constantly keep our affection and our attention fixed on the things of heaven, through the Word and prayer, as well as through worship and service. We can enjoy “days of heaven upon the earth” (Deut. 11:21) if we will keep our hearts and minds in the heavenlies.                                     英格蘭女王由於坐在寶座上而行使某些權力和特權。美國總統享有特權和權力，因為他坐在白宮橢圓形辦公室的桌子後面。信徒與基督坐在寶座上。我們必須通過話語和祈禱，以及通過敬拜和服務，不斷地將我們的感情和注意力固定在天堂上。如果我們將自己的心思意念留在天上，就可以享受“在地如同在天堂的日子”（申   11:21）。