798 英翻中 (498) In God's mercy, He does not give us what we do deserve, and in His grace He gives us what we do not deserve. 上帝的怜悯, 祂没有给我们应得的懲罰, 祂的恩典, 却给了我们不配得的恩惠. 14/07/2024

798 英翻中 (498)        In God's mercy, He does not give us what we do deserve, and in His grace He gives us what we do not deserve.                上帝的怜悯, 祂没有给我们应得的懲罰, 祂的恩典, 却给了我们不配得的恩惠.                        14/7/2024

2.  God’s Work for Us (2:4–9)                                                                                                                  2. 上帝對我们的作為（2:4-9）

The focus of attention now is on God, not on sinful man. “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). We are reminded of four activities that God performed on behalf of sinners to save them from the consequences of their sins.                                                                                                                        现在关注的焦点是針對上帝，而不是說罪人。 “救恩出于主”（拿   2：9）。我们想起上帝为罪人所做的四项作為，以拯救他们脱离罪的后果。

He loved us (v. 4). By nature, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). But God would love even if there were no sinners, because love is a part of His very being. Theologians call love one of God’s attributes. But God has two kinds of attributes: those that He possesses of Himself (intrinsic attributes, such as life, love, holiness) and those by which He relates to His creation, especially to man (relative attributes). For example, by nature God is truth, but when He relates to man, God’s truth becomes faithfulness. God is by nature holy, and when He relates that holiness to man, it becomes justice.                                                                                                                                                        上帝爱我们（第 4 节）。从本性上看，“上帝就是爱”（约壹  4：8）。但即使世上没有罪人，上帝仍会爱，因为爱是祂本性的一部分。神学家称爱是上帝的属性之一。但是上帝有两种属性：祂自己拥有的属性（内在属性，如生命、爱、圣洁）和祂有關的创造，特别是与人相关的属性（相对属性）。例如，上帝的本性是真理，但当祂与人交往时，祂的真理就变成了信实。上帝在本性上是圣洁的，当祂将这种圣洁与人联連起来时，它就变成了公义。

Love is one of God’s intrinsic attributes, but when this love is related to sinners, it becomes grace and mercy. God is “rich in mercy” (Eph. 2:4) and in “grace” (Eph. 2:7), and these riches make it possible for sinners to be saved. It comes as a shock to some people when they discover that we are not saved “by God’s love,” but by God’s mercy and grace. In His mercy, He does not give us what we do deserve, and in His grace He gives us what we do not deserve. And all of this is made possible because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. It was at Calvary that God displayed His hatred for sin and His love for sinners (Rom. 5:8; John 3:16).                                                      爱是上帝的内在属性之一，但当这种爱与罪人有关时，它就变成了恩典和怜悯。上帝“有丰盛的怜悯”（弗  2:4）和“恩典”（弗  2:7），这些丰盛使罪人有可能得救。有些人发现我们不是“因上帝的爱”而得救，而是因上帝的怜悯和恩典而得救，这让他们感到震惊。因着上帝的怜悯，祂没有给我们应得的东西，而在祂的恩典中，却给了我们不配得的东西。而这一切都因耶稣基督在十字架上的死，而成为可能。正是在髑髅地，上帝彰显了对罪的仇恨和对罪人的爱（罗  5:8；约  3:16）。

He quickened us (v. 5). This means He made us alive, even when we were dead in sins. He accomplished this spiritual resurrection by the power of the Spirit, using the Word. In the four gospels, it is recorded that Jesus raised three people from the dead: the widow’s son (Luke 7:11–17), Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:49–56), and Lazarus (John 11:41–46). In each case, He spoke the Word and this gave life. “The Word of God is quick [living] and powerful” (Heb. 4:12). These three physical resurrections are pictures of the spiritual resurrection that comes to the sinner when he hears the Word and believes (John 5:24).                                                                               上帝使我们振興起来（第 5 节）。是顯明祂使我们仍活着，即使我们已死在罪中。上帝借着圣灵的能力，使用聖言，完成了属灵的甦醒。在四福音书中，记载耶稣使三个人从死里复活：寡妇的儿子（路  7:11-17）、睚鲁的女儿（路  8:49-56）和拉撒路（约 11:41-46） 。 耶穌在這三种復活的情况下，祂都讲道，赋予他們生命。 “上帝的道是活泼的（活生生的）和有能力的”（来  4:12）。这三人身體的复活是罪人听到道，并相信时属灵复活的图画（约  5:24）。

But our spiritual resurrection is much greater because it puts us in union with Christ: God “made us alive together with Christ.” As members of His body we are united to Him (Eph. 1:22–23), so that we share His resurrection life and power (Eph. 1:19–20).                                                            靠著與基督联合，使我们属灵的复活顯得特別偉大：上帝“使我们与基督一同活过来”。作为祂身体的肢体，我们与祂联合（弗  1:22-23），以便我们分享祂复活的生命和大能（弗  1:19-20）。

He exalted us (v. 6). We are not raised from the dead and left in the graveyard. Because we are united to Christ, we have been exalted with Him and we are sharing His throne in the heavenlies. Our physical position may be on earth, but our spiritual position is “in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Like Lazarus, we have been called from the grave to sit with Christ and enjoy His fellowship (John 12:1–2).                                                                                                                          上帝高举我们（第 6 节）。我们不是从死里复活被留在墓地里。因为我们与基督联合，我们与祂一同被高举，我们在诸天之上分享祂的宝座。我们的身体位置雖然可能在地上，但我们的属灵位置是“在天上的基督耶稣里”。像拉撒路一样，我们从坟墓中被呼召与基督同坐，并與祂同享受祂的团契（约  12：1-2）。

He keeps us (vv. 7–9). God’s purpose in our redemption is not simply to rescue us from hell, as great a work as that is. His ultimate purpose in our salvation is that for all eternity the church might glorify God’s grace (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). So, if God has an eternal purpose for us to fulfill, He will keep us for all eternity. Since we have not been saved by our good works, we cannot be lost by our bad works. Grace means salvation completely apart from any merit or works on our part. Grace means that God does it all for Jesus’ sake! Our salvation is the gift of God. (The word that in Eph. 2:8, in the Greek, is neuter; while faith is feminine. Therefore that cannot refer to faith. It refers to the whole experience of salvation, including faith.) Salvation is a gift, not a reward.        上帝保守我们（7-9等 节）。上帝救赎的目的不仅仅是将我们从地狱中拯救出来，像是一项伟大的作為。 但拯救我们的最终目的是上帝要让教会永远荣耀祂的恩典（弗  1:6，12，14）。所以，如果上帝有永恒的旨意要我们去完成，祂就会永远保守我们。既然我们没有因善行得救，就不会因恶行而喪失。恩典的是完全沒有任何我們的善行參加的救恩。恩典是顯明上帝完全为耶稣所作為！我们的救恩是上帝的恩赐。 （在  弗  2:8 中，希腊文中的救恩單词是中性的；而信心是阴性的。因此，这不是指信心。它是指整个救恩的经历，包括了信心。）救恩是白白恩賜，而不是报酬。

Salvation cannot be “of works” because the work of salvation has already been completed on the cross. This is the work that God does for us, and it is a finished work (John 17:1–4; 19:30). We can add nothing to it (Heb. 10:1–14); we dare take nothing from it. When Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from the top to the bottom, signifying that the way to God was now open. There is no more need for earthly sacrifices. One sacrifice—the Lamb of God—has finished the great work of salvation. God did it all, and He did it by His grace.                                              救恩不可能是“工作”，因为救恩的工作已经在十字架上完成了。这是上帝專为我们的作為，是已成就的作為（约  17：1-4；19：30）。 不能再添加任何东西（来  10:1-14）；我们不敢从中拿走任何东西。耶稣死时，圣殿的幔子从上到下裂为两半，表示通往上帝的路现在已敞开。不再需要世上的献祭。献祭 --- 上帝的羔羊 --- 已经完成了伟大的救恩的作為。上帝的作為完全，而且是靠着祂恩典的作為。

Sin worked against us and God worked for us, but the great work of conversion is but the beginning.                                                                                                                                                  罪作敵对我们的工作，上帝的作為是專为我们，但伟大的悔改工作只是剛剛开始。