784 英翻中 (484) A FAMILY AFFAIR. 基督家庭的和諧. 30/06/2024

 784 英翻中 (484)            A FAMILY AFFAIR.                 基督家庭的和諧.                                                                    30/06/2024

CHAPTER TEN                        A FAMILY AFFAIR                        Colossians 3:18—4:1                    第十課                                        家務事                                               歌羅西書   3:18—4:1

Faith in Jesus Christ not only changes individuals; it also changes homes. In this section, Paul addressed himself to family members: husbands and wives, children, and household servants. It seems clear that these persons being addressed were believers since the apostle appealed to all of them to live to please Jesus Christ.                                                                                                        對耶穌基督的信心不僅改變了個人，而且也改變了家庭。保羅在本段中談到家庭：丈夫和妻子，孩子，和家庭傭人。顯然，這些保羅所談的人應該都是信徒，因為使徒呼籲他們都要活著取悅耶穌基督。

Something is radically wrong with homes today. The last report I saw indicated that in America there are now more broken homes than ever. Single-parent families are on the increase. Over half of all mothers are now working outside the home, and many of them have small children. The average American child from six to sixteen watches from twenty to twenty-four hours of television each week and is greatly influenced by what he sees. The “battered child” syndrome continues to increase, with from two to four million cases being reported annually, and many not reported at all.                                                                                                                                                               今日的家庭非常的不正常。最近報告說明，美國破碎的家庭，比以往任何時候都要多。單親家庭正在增加。現在，超過半數的母親都出外打工，其中許多都是有小孩的。在美國家庭中，平均六到十六歲的孩子，每週觀看電視20到24小時，並且對他們影響很大。 “虐待兒童”事件繼續增加，每年報告從200萬件到400萬件，還有許多根本沒有提出報告。

 

The first institution God founded on earth was the home (Gen. 2:18–25; Matt. 19:1–6).                  家庭是上帝在地上建立的首要機構（創2：18-25；太19：1-6）。

As goes the home, so goes society and the nation. The breakdown of the home is a sign of the end times (2 Tim. 3:1–5). Centuries ago Confucius said, “The strength of a nation is derived from the integrity of its homes.” One of the greatest things we can do as individuals is help to build godly Christian homes. Paul addressed the various members of the family and pointed out the factors that make for a strong and godly home.                                                                                                就像家的形成，社會和國家也一樣的形成。家庭的破碎是世界末日來臨的兆頭（提前3：1-5）。幾個世紀以前，孔子曾說過， “國家的強大來自其完整的家庭。”  個人能做到的最偉大事情，就是幫助建立敬虔的基督教家庭。保羅向家庭中的各個份子致詞，並提出了建立堅固而虔誠的家庭的因素。

1.  Husbands and Wives: Love and Submission (3:18–19)                                                                    1.  丈夫和妻子：愛與互相順服（3：18-19）

 Paul did not address the wives first because they were the neediest! The gospel radically changed the position of women in the Roman world. It gave them a new freedom and stature that some of them were unable to handle, and for this reason Paul admonished them. (Similar admonitions are found in Eph. 5:18ff. and 1 Peter 3:1ff.)                                                                                                保羅沒有首先對妻子講話，因為他們是最需要幫助的！福音從根本上改變了婦女在羅馬世界的地位。這給了他們新的自由和地位，其中有些人無法適應，因此保羅告誡他們。 （弗5：18比照研讀，和  彼前3：1 比照研讀有類似的警告。）

We must not think of submission as “slavery” or “subjugation.” The word comes from the military vocabulary and simply means “to arrange under rank.” The fact that one soldier is a private and another is a colonel does not mean that one man is necessarily better than the other. It only means that they have different ranks.                                                                                            我們決不能認為順服是 “奴隸” 或 “屈服”。  該詞來自軍事詞彙，僅表示  “按次序排位”。士兵與上校並不意味著人不同，也不是肯定上校要比士兵更好。這僅意味著它們具有不同的等級。

God does all things “decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). If He did not have a chain of command in society, we would have chaos. The fact that the woman is to submit to her husband does not suggest that the man is better than the woman. It only means that the man has the responsibility of headship and leadership in the home.                                                                        上帝所做的事都 “合倫理和有次序”（林前14:40）。若祂不給社會一連串的誡命，世人將陷入混亂。女人要順服丈夫的事實，並不是說男人比女人要好。這僅意味著在一家之中，應該有人擔負是頭及領導職務的責任。

Headship is not dictatorship or lordship. It is loving leadership. In fact, both the husband and the wife must be submitted to the Lord and to each other (Eph. 5:21). It is a mutual respect under the lordship of Jesus Christ.                                                                                                                          當頭的不是獨裁或君主。而是出於愛的領導。實際上，丈夫和妻子都必須順服主，並彼此順服（弗   5:21）。在耶穌基督的帶領下，並相互尊重。

True spiritual submission is the secret of growth and fulfillment. When a Christian woman is submitted to the Lord and to her own husband, she experiences a release and fulfillment that she can have in no other way. This mutual love and submission creates an atmosphere of growth in the home that enables both the husband and the wife to become all that God wants them to be.      真正的屬靈順服是成長和豐盛的秘訣。當基督徒婦女委身給主和她自己的丈夫時，她會經歷釋放和豐盛，也只有在順服的情況下可做到。這種相互的愛與委身，在家庭中建造了成長的氣氛，使丈夫和妻子都成為上帝希望他們做到的一切。 

The fact that the Christian wife is “in the Lord” is not an excuse for selfish independence. Just the opposite is true, for her salvation makes it important that she obey the Word and submit to her husband. While it is true that in Jesus Christ “there is neither male nor female” (Gal. 3:28), it is also true that joyful submission is an evidence that the wife belongs to Jesus Christ.                    基督徒妻子是“在主內”  ，這事實不是要作為自私獨立的藉口。恰恰相反，因為她的得救，使她必須遵守聖經的教導，並順服丈夫，這一點很重要。 雖然，在耶穌基督裡  “沒有男女的分別”  是事實（加3:28），但妻子的喜樂的順服是在耶穌基督裡的證據，這也是事實。

However, the husband has the responsibility of loving his wife, and the word for “love” used here is agape—the sacrificing, serving love that Christ shares with His church. A marriage may begin with normal, human, romantic love, but it must grow deeper into the spiritual agape love that comes only from God. In the parallel passage (Eph. 5:18ff.), Paul made it clear that the husband must love his wife “even as Christ loved the church.” Jesus Christ gave His all for the church! He willingly died for us! The measure of a man’s love for his wife is not seen only in gifts or words, but in acts of sacrifice and concern for her happiness and welfare.                                                   可是，丈夫有責任愛護他的妻子，這裡用的  “愛” 是博愛(agape) --- 牺牲的愛，是基督與祂的教會分享的愛。婚姻可以從正常的，人性的，浪漫的愛情開始，但婚姻必須深化為僅來自上帝的屬靈相愛的愛。在歌羅西書與以弗所書平行的段落中（弗5：18 比照研讀。），保羅明確指出，丈夫必須愛他的妻子  “就像基督愛教會一樣”。耶穌基督將祂的一切都獻給了教會！祂願意為我們而死！丈夫對妻子的愛不僅可以通過禮物或言語體會出來，而且可以通過犧牲行為和對她快樂與福祉的關心的行動表現出來。

 Paul added a special word of warning for the husbands: “And be not bitter against them” (Col. 3:19). Husbands must be careful not to harbor ill will toward their wives because of something they did or did not do. A “root of bitterness” in a home can poison the marriage relationship and give Satan a foothold (Eph. 4:31; Heb. 12:15). The Christian husband and wife must be open and honest with each other and not hide their feelings or lie to one another. “Speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15) is a good way to solve family differences. “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath” is a wise policy to follow if you want to have a happy home (Eph. 4:26).                                 保羅用特別的警語加上對丈夫：“不可苦待她們”（西3:19）。丈夫必須小心，不要因為他們做過或未做過的事，對妻子懷有惡意。家庭中的 “苦毒的根” 是毒害婚姻關係的源頭，並使撒但有立腳之地（弗4:31；來12:15）。基督徒的丈夫和妻子必須坦誠相待，不要掩飾自己的感情或互相撒謊。 “用愛心說誠實話”（弗4:15）是解決家庭分歧的好方法。如果你想擁有幸福的家，“不可含怒到日落” 是明智的原則（弗4:26）。

 A husband who truly loves his wife will not behave harshly or try to throw his weight around in the home. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:4–5 niv).                                                                                                                                                             真正愛妻子的丈夫不會表現得很苛刻，也不會試圖在家裡擺弄自己的粗暴。 “愛是恆久忍耐，又有恩慈，愛是不嫉妒，不自誇，不張狂，不作害羞的事，不求自己的益處，不輕易發怒，不計算人的惡”（林前13：4-5  新國際版）。

A wife really has little difficulty submitting to a husband who loves her. She knows he seeks the very best for her and that he will not do anything to harm her. The husband’s love for his wife is seen in his sacrifice for her, and the wife’s love for her husband is seen in her submission to him. Where there are sacrifice and submission in an atmosphere of love, you will find a happy home.  妻子向愛她的丈夫委身真的很容易。她知道他為她尋求最好的東西，並且他不會做任何傷害她的事情。從對丈夫的犧牲中可以看出丈夫對妻子的愛，從對丈夫的委身順服中可以看出妻子對丈夫的愛。在充滿奉獻和委身的愛的氣氛中，你會找到幸福的家。

A happy marriage does not come automatically; it is something that must be worked at all the time. As we walk with Christ in submission to Him, we have no problem submitting to one another and seeking to serve one another. But where there is selfishness, there will be conflict and division. If there is bitterness in the heart, there will eventually be trouble in the home.                幸福的婚姻不會自動產生。它必須始終長久的經營。當我們與基督同行，順服基督時，我們彼此順服，並尋求彼此侍奉是沒有問題的。但是，但自私一旦發生，就產生衝突和分裂。若心中有苦毒，最終將在家庭中製造麻煩。

Where do we get the power to love and to submit? From the Lord. If we are wearing the “grace-clothes” described earlier (Col. 3:5–14), and if we have our hearts filled with the peace of Christ and the Word of Christ, then we will contribute to the joy and harmony of the home. If we live to please Christ first, others second, and ourselves last, we will build strong marriages and spiritual homes.                                                                                                                                                我們從哪裡獲得愛和委身的力量？來自主。 若穿著前面描述的 “八種恩典的衣服”（西3：5-14），並且若內心充滿了基督的安寧和基督的話語，那麼我們將為基督建造喜樂與和諧的家。若我們首先為討基督的喜悅而活，然後是別人，最後是自己，那麼牢固的婚姻和屬靈的家庭自自然然的而建成。