794 英翻中 (494) Oh, God Your living Word. 主阿! 祢的活命聖言. 10/07/2024

794 英翻中 (494)             Oh, God Your living Word.           主阿!   祢的活命聖言.                      10/7/2024

CHAPTER THREE              READ THE BANKBOOK               Ephesians 1:15–23                        第三課                                    阅读銀行存摺                                   以弗所书 1:15-23

On January 6, 1822, the wife of a poor German pastor had a son, never dreaming that he would one day achieve world renown and great wealth. When Heinrich Schliemann was seven years old, a picture of ancient Troy in flames captured his imagination. Contrary to what many people believed, Heinrich argued that Homer’s great poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, were based on historic facts and he set out to prove it. In 1873, he uncovered the ancient site of Troy, along with some fabulous treasure, which he smuggled out of the country, much to the anger of the Turkish government. Schliemann became a famous, wealthy man because he dared to believe an ancient record and act on his faith.                                                                                                                  1822 年 1 月 6 日，一位贫穷的德国牧师妻子生了一个儿子，做梦也没想到他有朝一日能享誉世界，获得巨额财富。海里希·施利曼 (Heinrich Schliemann) 七岁时，一幅火焰中的古代特洛伊 (Troy) 的照片激发了他的想象力。施里曼与许多人的看法相反，他认为荷马的伟大诗歌《伊利亚特》和《奥德赛》是基于历史事实，他着手证明这一点。 1873 年，他发现了特洛伊古城遗址，以及一些他走私出境的绝妙宝藏，这激怒了土耳其政府。施里曼之所以成为名人，是因为他敢于相信古老的记录，并根据自己的信心行事。

We discovered that we were “born rich” when we trusted Christ. But this is not enough, for we must grow in our understanding of our riches if we are ever going to use them to the glory of God. Too many Christians have never “read the bankbook” to find out the vast spiritual wealth that God has put to their account through Jesus Christ. They are like the late newspaper publisher, William Randolph Hearst, who invested a fortune collecting art treasures from around the world. One day Mr. Hearst found a description of some valuable items that he felt he must own, so he sent his agent abroad to find them. After months of searching, the agent reported that he had finally found the treasures. They were in Mr. Hearst’s warehouse. Hearst had been searching frantically for treasures he already owned! Had he read the catalog of his treasures, he would have saved himself a great deal of money and trouble.                                                                                  我们发现，当相信基督时，就  “生而富有”。但这还不够，因为如果要使用财富来荣耀上帝，我们就必须加深对财富的理解。太多的基督徒从来没有做 “读銀行存折” 的事，以找出上帝通过耶稣基督存入他们账户的巨大屬靈财富。他们就像已故的报纸出版商威廉·伦道夫·赫斯 (William Randolph Hearst) 一样，投资了一大笔钱，收集了来自世界各地的艺术珍品。有一天，赫斯先生发现了一些他觉得必须拥有的贵重物品的描述，所以他派他的代理人到国外寻找。经过几个月的寻找，特工报告说他终于找到了宝藏。他们在赫斯先生的仓库里。赫斯一直在疯狂地寻找着自己已经拥有的宝物！如果他能阅读他的宝藏目录，他会为自己省去很多钱和麻烦。  

Paul desired the Ephesian Christians to understand what great wealth they had in Christ. Paul knew of their faith and love, and in this he rejoiced. The Christian life has two dimensions: faith toward God and love toward men, and you cannot separate the two. But Paul knew that faith and love were just the beginning. The Ephesians needed to know much more. This is why he prayed for them, and for us.                                                                                                                                  保罗希望以弗所的基督徒明白他们在基督里有多么大的财富。保罗知道他们的信心和爱心，为此他很高兴。基督徒的生活有两个层面：对上帝的信心和对人的爱，两者是分不开的。但保罗知道信心和爱心只是开始。以弗所人需要知道更多。这就是为什么他为他们祈祷，也为我们祈祷。

In the prison prayers of Paul (Eph. 1:15–23; 3:14–21; Phil. 1:9–11; Col. 1:9–12), we discover the blessings he wanted his converts to enjoy. In none of these prayers did Paul request material things. His emphasis was on spiritual perception and real Christian character. He did not ask God to give them what they did not have, but rather prayed that God would reveal to them what they already had.                                                                                                                                                在保罗的监狱祷告中（弗 1:15-23；3:14-21；腓 1:9-11；西 1:9-12），我们发现保羅希望他所帶領信耶穌基督的人享受他們的福氣。在这些祷告中，保罗都没有要求物质的东西。他的重点是在屬靈的領悟和真正的基督徒品格上。他没有祈求上帝将他们所没有的赐给他们，而是祈求上帝将他们已有的显明给他们知道。 

Before we study Paul’s four requests in this “prayer for enlightenment,” we must notice two facts. First, enlightenment comes from the Holy Spirit. He is the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Isa. 11:2; John 14:25–26; 16:12–14). With his natural mind, man cannot understand the things of God. He needs the Spirit to enlighten him (1 Cor. 2:9–16). The Holy Spirit reveals truth to us from the Word, and then gives us the wisdom to understand and apply it. He also gives us the power—the enablement—to practice the truth (Eph. 3:14–21).                                                                                在我们要研究保罗，他的 “光照顯明祷告” 的四项要求之前，我们必须注意两件事实。第一，光照来自圣灵。祂是 “智慧和启示的灵”（赛  11:2；约   14:25-26；16:12-14）。人以生來的知識，不能明白上帝的事。他需要圣灵的光照（林前   2：9-16）。圣灵将圣经中的真理启示给我们，然后赐给我们智慧去理解和应用這真理。祂也给我们大能 — 能夠去实践這真理              （弗   3:14-21）。

Second, this enlightenment comes to the heart of the believer (Eph. 1:18). Literally this verse reads, “The eyes of your heart being enlightened.” We think of the heart as the emotional part of man, but in the Bible, the heart means the inner man, and includes the emotions, the mind, and the will. The inner man, the heart, has spiritual faculties that parallel the physical senses. The inner man can see (Ps. 119:18; John 3:3), hear (Matt. 13:9; Heb. 5:11), taste (Ps. 34:8; 1 Peter 2:3), smell (Phil. 4:18; 2 Cor. 2:14), and touch (Acts 17:27). This is what Jesus meant when He said of the people, “They seeing see not, and hearing they hear not” (Matt. 13:13). The inability to see and understand spiritual things is not the fault of the intelligence but of the heart. The eyes of the heart must be opened by the Spirit of God.                                                                                            其次，这光照进入信徒的心（弗  1:18）。这节经句的字面意思是，“你心中的眼睛就照亮了。”  我们认为心是人的情感部分，但在圣经中，心是指里面的人，包括情感、心思和意念。内在的人，也就是心，具有与身体感官平行的屬灵能力。裡面的人可以看到（诗   119:18；约  3:3），听到（太  13:9；来  5:11），尝到（诗  34:8； 彼前 2:3），聞到（腓  4:18；林後  2:14）和摸到（徒  17:27）。这就是耶稣講到人，“他们看也看不见，听也听不见” 的心意（太  13:13）。无法看到和理解属灵的事，不是智力的不夠，而是心灵的眼睛沒有打開。這真理必须要用上帝的灵來打开。

Paul prays that the Ephesian believers’  eyes maybe opened to see four spiritual  realities :            保罗為以弗所信徒祈求他們的眼睛可以被上帝的靈打开，看到四个属灵的实存：

1.   That they might know God (1:17b) This, of course, is the highest knowledge possible. The atheist claims there is no God for us to know, and the agnostic states that if there is a God we cannot know Him. But Paul has met God in the person of Jesus Christ, and he knows that a man really cannot understand much of anything else without a knowledge of God.                                  1. 他们可能认识上帝（1:17 節下半段） 当然，这是最高的認知的可能性。无神论者声称没有上帝让我们知道，不可知论者则说如果有上帝，我们也无法认识祂。但是保罗藉由耶稣基督的大光遇见了上帝，他知道人如果不认识上帝，就真的无法理解上帝其他任何事。

This willful ignorance of God led mankind into corruption and condemnation. In Romans 1:18ff., Paul described the stages in man’s devolution: from willful ignorance of God to idolatry (substituting a lie for the truth) to immorality and indecency. Where does it begin? It begins with an unwillingness to know God as Creator, Sustainer, Governor, Savior, and Judge.                        人故意不認上帝的心志，导致他們堕落和定罪。在罗马书 1章18 節及以下，保罗描述了人堕落的阶段：从故意不認上帝到拜偶像（用谎言代替真理）到不道德和下流。是从哪里开始？  是始于不愿意认识上帝是创造主、维持者、总督、救主和审判者。

The believer must grow in his knowledge of God. To know God personally is salvation (John 17:3). To know Him increasingly is sanctification (Phil. 3:10). To know Him perfectly is glorification (1 Cor. 13:9–12). Since we are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26–28), the better we know God, the better we know ourselves and each other. It is not enough to know God only as Savior. We must get to know Him as Father, Friend, Guide, and the better we know Him, the more satisfying our spiritual lives will be.                                                                                                                                  信徒必须在他对上帝的认识上成长。亲自认识祂就是救恩（约  17:3）。越来越认识祂就是促使他成圣（腓  3:10）。完全认识祂就是得荣耀（林前  13：9-12）。因为我们是按照上帝的形象造的（创  1:26-28），我们越了解上帝，就越了解自己和認同祂。仅仅认识上帝是救主是不够的。我们必须认识祂是父亲、朋友、导師，我们越了解祂，就使我们的属灵生活越令祂满意。

A believer said to me one day after a Bible lesson, “I’m sure glad I came! You gave me two good verses to use on my wicked neighbor!” Surely there are times when we use God’s Word as a sword to defeat the enemy, but that is not the primary purpose behind the writing  of the Bible. As the familiar hymn puts it, Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord. My spirit pants for Thee, O living Word.                                                                                                                                                有一天上完圣经课后，有位信徒对我说，“很高兴我来了！你给了我两句好诗来对付我的恶邻！”  当然，有时我们可以使用上帝的话语，作为剑来击败敌人，但这并不是写圣经的主要目的。正如那首熟悉的赞美诗所说， “在神圣一页的那邊，主阿! 我寻求祢，主阿!   我的灵渴慕你，主阿!   活命的聖言。