804 英翻中 (504) I know the “mystery” of the church. 我知道教會的奧秘. 21/7/2024

804 英翻中 (504)   I know the “mystery” of the church.     我知道教會的奧秘.           21/7/2024             

CHAPTER SIX                     I KNOW A SECRET                       Ephesians 3:1–13                             第六課                                   我知道秘密                                       以弗所书 3:1-13

I was once a character witness at a child-custody trial. I was grateful that the case was being tried at a small rural county seat rather than in a big city, because it was my first experience on the witness stand. I have since learned that the location of the court makes little difference. All trials can be difficult and it is no fun to be a witness at any.                                                                           我曾经是儿童犯罪审判的性格证人。我很庆幸这案子是在农村小县城而不是在大城市的法院审理，因为这是我第一次作证人的经历。从那以后，我了解到那裡的法院几乎都一樣。所有的审判都可能很困难，做证人一点也沒有趣。

The prosecutor’s first question caught me unawares, “Reverend, do you think that a man who has been in prison is fit to raise a child?”                                                                                                       检察官的第一个问题让我措手不及，“牧师，你认为已经坐过牢的人适合抚养孩子吗？”

I was supposed to answer yes or no, so the reply I gave did not make the judge too happy. “Well,” I said slowly, stalling for time, “I guess it depends on the man. Some very famous people have been in jail and have made the world a better place because of their experiences—John Bunyan, for example, and the great apostle Paul.” I could have given other examples from the Bible, but I detected that my answer was not acceptable to the court.                                                                     我只能回答 “是” 或 “否”，所以我给出的回答，并没有让法官太高兴。 為了拖延了时间，我慢慢地回答，“嗯，我想这要取决于那个人。一些非常有名的人因为他们在監獄的经历，让世界变得更美好 --- 例如约翰班扬和伟大的使徒保罗。”我本可以举出圣经中的其他例子，但发现我的回答法庭並不接受。

Twice in this letter, Paul reminded his readers that he was a prisoner (Eph. 3:1; 4:1), and at the close he called himself an “ambassador in bonds” (Eph. 6:20). No doubt the Ephesians were asking, “Why is Paul a prisoner in Rome? Why would God permit such a thing?” In this paragraph, Paul explained his situation and, in doing so, also explained one of the greatest truths in this letter, the “mystery” of the church. In the New Testament, a mystery is not something eerie or inscrutable, but rather “a truth that was hidden by God in times past and is now revealed to those who are in His family.” A mystery is a “sacred secret” that is unknown to unbelievers, but understood and treasured by the people of God.                                                                                     在信中，保罗曾两次提醒读者他是囚犯（弗  3:1；4:1），并在信结束时，称自己为“被捆綁的大使”（弗  6:20）。毫无疑问，以弗所人會问，“为什么保罗要到罗马被囚禁？ 为什么上帝会允许这样的事发生？”在这段中，保罗解释了他的处境，同时也解释了这封信中最伟大的真理之一，教会的“奥秘”。 在新约聖經中，奥秘不是怪异或高深莫测的事，而是“上帝在过去將它隐藏的真理，现在向祂的家人揭示”。奥秘是非信徒不知道的“神圣秘密”，但为上帝的子民所理解和珍寶。

Paul explained the mystery—the Gentile believers are now united to the Jewish believers in one body, the church (Eph. 3:6). He had mentioned this new work of God, so his readers were familiar with the concept (Eph. 1:10; 2:11, 22). But now Paul explained the tremendous impact of this “sacred secret” that had so possessed his own life and ministry. Actually, this explanation is almost a parenthesis in the letter, for Paul began this section with the intention of praying for his readers. Compare Ephesians 3:1 and 14. His use of the words prisoner and Gentiles led him into this important explanation of the “mystery of the church,” and in this explanation, Paul showed us that the “mystery” is important to four different groups of persons.                                                                         保罗解释了該奥秘是教会现在為外邦信徒与犹太信徒結合成的身体 （弗  3:6）。他提到了上期的这项新作為，所以他的读者对該概念很熟悉（弗  1:10；2:11、22）。但是现在保罗解释了这“神圣的秘密”的巨大影响，對他自己的生活和事工被这秘密占据了。实質上，該解释在信中是加上括号，因为保罗在信的开始是為他的读者祈祷。比较以弗所书 3章1節 和 14節。他对囚犯和外邦人这两个词的運用，使他对“教会的奥秘”进行了很重要的解释，在这个解释中，保罗向我们展示了“奥秘”对四種不同群体的人的重要性。

1.  It Was Important to Paul (3:1–5)                                                                                                          1.  对保罗很重要（弗   3:1-5）

The best way to grasp the importance of “the mystery” in Paul’s life is to focus on the two descriptions he gave of himself in this section. He began by calling himself “a prisoner” (Eph. 3:1), and then he called himself “a minister” (Eph. 3:7). Paul was a prisoner because he believed in God’s new program of uniting believing Jews and Gentiles into one body, the church. The orthodox Jews in Paul’s day considered the Gentiles “dogs,” but some of the Christian Jews did not have a much better attitude toward the Gentiles.                                                                             要了解“奥秘”在保罗生平中的重要性，最好的方法是关注他在本节中对自己的两个描述。他开始称自己为“被囚的”（弗  3:1），然后他称自己为“传道人”（弗  3:7）。保罗是囚犯，因为他深信上帝是要將犹太人和外邦人的信徒結合成為一体，即教会的新计划。保罗时代犹太的正统教者，认为外邦人是“狗”，但一些教犹太基督徒对外邦人的态度并不好一些。

Paul was a leader in Jewish orthodoxy when Christ saved him (Gal. 1:11–24; Phil. 3:1–11), yet in the providence of God, he began his early ministry in a local church in Antioch that was composed of both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 11:19–26). When the council was held at Jerusalem to determine the status of believing Gentiles, Paul courageously defended the grace of God and the unity of the church (Acts 15; Gal. 2:1–10).                                                                                                                   当基督拯救保罗时，他是犹太正統教的领袖（加  1:11-24；腓  3:1-11），然而上帝的旨意下，安排在安提阿的地方教会开始了他早期的對犹太人和外邦人信徒的事工（徒   11：19-26）。当在耶路撒冷举行的大公会议，作對外邦信徒的地位决定时，保罗勇敢地捍卫了上帝的恩典和教会的合一（徒  15；加  2:1-10）。

Paul knew from the very beginning of his Christian life that God had called him to take the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 26:13–18), and he was not disobedient to that call. Wherever Paul ministered, he founded local churches composed of believing Jews and Gentiles, all “one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).                                                                                                                                       保罗从他一开始基督徒生活，就知道上帝呼召他将福音传给外邦人（徒  9:15；26:13-18），他并没有违背这个呼召。无论保罗在哪里服事，他都建立了由信主的犹太人和外邦人组成的地方教会，他们都“在基督耶稣里是合一的”（加  3:28）。

Because Paul was the “apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13; 15:15–16; Eph. 3:8; 1 Tim. 2:7), he was accused of being prejudiced against the Jews, particularly the Jewish believers in Jerusalem and Judea. The special offering Paul collected for the needy believers in Judea should have shown the goodwill that existed between these churches and the churches Paul founded (Rom. 15:25–33). Paul delivered the offering in person (Acts 21:17–19), and from all evidence, it was graciously received by the Judean Christians. Even though Paul took drastic steps to pacify the Jewish believers, there was a riot in the temple and Paul was arrested (Acts 21:30–33). Paul defended himself by giving his personal testimony, and the crowd listened to him until he got to the word “Gentiles” and then they rioted again (Acts 22:22–23). The rest of the book of Acts explains how Paul got from Jerusalem to Rome, “a prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles” (Eph. 3:1). Had Paul compromised his message and encouraged the selfish prejudices of the Jews he probably would have been released.                                                                                                                           因为保罗是“外邦人的使徒”（罗   11:13；15:15-16；弗  3:8；提前   2:7），他被指控对犹太人有偏见，尤其是犹太人耶路撒冷和犹大省的信徒。保罗为有需要犹太信徒收集的特别奉献，本应显示出这些教会与保罗所建立的教会之间存在的善意（罗   15:25-33）。保罗亲自献祭（徒  21：17-19），从所有证据来看，犹太基督徒都欣然接受了。尽管保罗采取严厉措施来安抚犹太信徒，但圣殿里还是发生了骚乱，保罗被捕（徒  21：30-33）。保罗用个人见证作为自己的辩护，众人听他说话，直到他说到“外邦人”这词，然后再次發生骚动（徒  22：22-23）。使徒行传的其余部分解释了保罗如何从耶路撒冷到罗马，“为你们外邦人做了耶稣基督的囚徒”（弗  3:1）。若保罗在他的信息上妥协，并贊同犹太人的自私偏见，他可能会被释放。

Paul was not only a “prisoner” because of “the mystery,” but he was also a “minister.” God gave him a “dispensation” (stewardship) that he might go to the Gentiles, not only with the good news of salvation through Christ, but also with the message that Jews and Gentiles are now one in Christ. The word dispensation comes from two Greek words: oikos, meaning “house” and nomos, meaning “law.” Our English word “economy” is derived directly from the Greek oikonomia, “the law of the house,” or “a stewardship, a management.” God has different ways of managing His program from age to age, and these different “stewardships” Bible students sometimes call “dispensations” (Eph. 1:9–10). God’s principles do not change, but His methods of dealing with mankind do change over the course of history. “Distinguish the ages,” wrote Saint Augustine, “and the Scriptures harmonize.”                                                                                                               保罗不仅因“奥秘”而成为“囚徒”，而且还因為他是“传道人”。上帝给了他“攝理”的職事（管家），這樣他可以去外邦人傳道，不仅傳講基督得救的好消息，而且傳講现在犹太人和外邦人在基督里合一的信息。 希腊词(Dispensation)是来自两个詞：oikos(房子)和 nomos(法律)。英语則為单词“经济”，是來自希腊语經濟( oikonomia)，意思是“房屋的法律”或“管家，經理”。上帝在各个时代，有不同的方式来攝理祂的计划，这些不同的“管家”圣经学生有时称之为“攝理”（弗  1:9-10）。上帝的原则不会改变，但祂对待人类的方法，确实会随着历史的进程而改变。  圣奥古斯丁写道，“在年代的分別上，圣经是一致的。”

Paul was made，by God， a steward of “the mystery” with the responsibility of sharing it with the Gentiles. It was not enough simply to win them to Christ and form them into local assemblies. He was also to teach them their wonderful position in Christ as members of the body, sharing God’s grace equally with the Jews. This truth had not been revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures. It was revealed to the New Testament apostles and prophets (see Eph. 4:11) by the Holy Spirit. God revealed it personally to Paul, and it was his responsibility to share it with the Gentile Christians. This was the “dispensation”—or stewardship—that God had given him. And because Paul was a faithful steward, he was now a prisoner in Rome. Like Joseph in the Old Testament, his faithful stewardship resulted in false arrest and imprisonment. But, in the end, it brought great glory to God and salvation to Jews and Gentiles.                                                           上帝設立保罗為 “奥秘”的管家，有责任与外邦人分享。仅仅赢得他们归向基督是不够的，并且要将他们參加当地的集会。保羅还要教导他们在基督里成為祂身體肢体的奇妙地位，与犹太人平等地分享上帝的恩典。这真理在旧约圣经中没有启示。它被圣灵启示给新约的使徒和先知（见  弗  4:11）。上帝亲自向保罗启示，他有责任与外邦基督徒分享。这就是上帝给他的“攝理”--- 或管家。因为保罗是一位忠心的管家，他现在是罗马的囚犯。就像旧约中的约瑟一样，他對管家職事的忠心，导致被猶太人错误的逮捕和监禁。但最终，給上帝带来了极大的荣耀，也为犹太人和外邦人带来了救恩。