813 英翻中 (513) Have a mercy on me, Oh Lord! 求主賜憐憫! 5/8/2024

807 英翻中 (507)   Have a mercy on me, Oh Lord!                 求主賜憐憫!            5/8/2024

編輯者多次在博客使用上帝的 "憐憫" 及"恩典" , 憐憫是上帝暫時不加祂的審判於我這該受審判的罪人身上.  而恩典是上帝不該給我這罪人身上救恩, 而祂却白白賜給我們救恩.  

4.  It Should Be Important to Christians Today ( 弗  3:11–13)                                                                     4.  这对今天的基督徒应该非常重要（3:11-13）

When God saved Paul, He deposited with him the precious treasures of gospel truth (1 Tim. 1:11). Paul in turn committed these truths to others, exhorting them to commit the truths to faithful men who would guard them and share them (2 Tim. 2:2). “O Timothy! Keep that which is committed to thy trust” (1 Tim. 6:20). At the close of his life, Paul would say, to the glory of God, “I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). During those apostolic days, the truths of the gospel and “the mystery” were guarded, preached, and handed down to faithful men.                                              当上帝拯救保罗时，祂将福音真理的宝藏存放在他身上（提前  1:11）。保罗順理的，将这些真理遞交给他人，劝勉他们将真理交给忠心的人，他们会保护它们并分享它们（提后   2:2）。 “哦提摩太！保守你所托付的”（提前   6:20）。在他生命的尽头，为了上帝的荣耀，保罗会说，“我已经守住了基督信仰”（提后   4:7）。在使徒时代，福音的真理和“奥秘”得到保护、传扬，并传给忠心的人。

But a study of church history reveals that, one by one, many of the basic truths of the Word of God were lost during the centuries that followed. God had His faithful people—a minority—at all times, but many of the great truths of the Word were buried under man[1]made theology, tradition, and ritual. Then, God’s Spirit began to open the eyes of seeking souls, and these great truths were unveiled again. Martin Luther championed justification by faith. Other spiritual leaders rediscovered the person and work of the Holy Spirit, the glorious truth of the return of Jesus Christ, and the joy of the victorious Christian life. In recent years, the truth of “the mystery” has again excited the hearts of God’s people. We rejoice that we are “all one in Christ Jesus.”                                                                                                                                                        但对教会历史的研究表明，在随后的几个世纪里，上帝话语的许多基本真理都慢慢遗失了。上帝在任何时候都有祂忠心的子民  --- 少数人 --- 但圣经的许多伟大真理都被人为的神学、传统和仪式所掩埋。然后，上帝的灵开始打开寻求灵魂的眼睛，这些伟大的真理再次被揭开。马丁路德提倡因信称义。其他属灵领袖重新发现圣灵的位格，工作，及耶稣基督再来的荣耀真理，以及得胜基督徒生活的喜乐。近年来，“奥秘”的真相再次感动了上帝子民的心。我们喜乐，因为“在基督耶稣里我們都成为一体了”。

Most of us identify Napoleon Bonaparte as the would-be conqueror of Europe. But not many would name him as a patron of arts and sciences. Yet he was. In July 1798, Napoleon began to occupy Egypt, but by September 1801, he was forced to get out. Those three years meant failure as far as his military and political plans were concerned, but they meant success in one area that greatly interested him—archeology. For in August 1799, a Frenchman named Boussand discovered the Rosetta Stone about thirty miles from Alexandria. This discovery gave to archeologists the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphics. It opened the door to modern Egyptian studies.                                                                                                                                      我们大多数人都认为拿破仑(Napoleon)是欧洲的征服者。但没有多少人会称他为艺术和科学的赞助人。然而他還不是。 1798年7月，拿破仑开始占领埃及，但到了1801年9月，他被迫撤离。这三年的失败只是就他的军事和政治计划而言，但對其他而言，他非常感兴趣的领域  --- 考古学上取得了成功。 1799 年 8 月，一位名叫布桑(Boussand)的法国人，在距离亚历山大，大约 30 英里的地方发现了罗塞塔(Rosetta)石碑。这一发现为考古学家提供了理解埃及象形文字的钥匙。它打开了研究现代埃及的大门。

The “mystery” is God’s “Rosetta Stone.” It is the key to what He promised in the Old Testament, what Christ did in the Gospels, what the early church did in the book of Acts, what Paul and the other writers teach in the Epistles, and what God will do as recorded in the book of Revelation. God’s program today is not “the headship of Israel” (Deut. 28:1–13), but the headship of Christ over His church. We today are under a different “stewardship” from that of Moses and the Prophets, and we must be careful not to confuse what God has clarified.                                            “奥秘”是上帝的“罗塞塔石碑”。它是祂在旧约中应许的关键，基督在福音书中所做的，早期教会在使徒行传中所做的，保罗和其他作者在书信中所教导的，以及上帝在圣经中所记载在启示录的那些将要做的事情。上帝今天的计划不是“作以色列的元首”（申  28:1-13），而是基督作他教会的元首。我们今天处于与摩西和先知不同的“管家”之下，我们必须小心不要混淆上帝所阐明的。      

The reason many churches are weak and ineffective is because they do not understand what they have in Christ. And the cause of this is often spiritual leaders who are not good “stewards of the mystery.” Because they do not “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15), they confuse their people concerning their spiritual position in Christ, and they rob their people of the spiritual wealth in Christ.                                                                                                                                          许多教会软弱和无效的原因，是因为教會教友不明白他们在基督里的豐盛。造成这种情况的原因往往是屬靈领袖，他们不是“奥秘的好管家”。因为他们没有“按照正意分解真理的道”（提后  2:15），混淆了他们在基督里的属灵地位，并剥夺了他们在基督里的属灵豐盛。

This great truth concerning the church is not a divine afterthought. It is a part of God’s eternal purpose in Christ (Eph. 3:11). To ignore this truth is to sin against the Father who planned it, the Son whose death made it possible, and the Spirit who today seeks to work in our lives to accomplish what God has planned. When you understand this truth, it gives you great confidence and faith (Eph. 3:12). When you know what God is doing in the world, and you work with Him, you can be sure that He will work in you and for you. All of His divine resources are available to those who sincerely want to do His will and help Him accomplish His purposes on earth.             关于教会的伟大真理不是屬天的事后想法。它是上帝在基督里永恒旨意的一部分（弗  3:11）。忽视这真理，就是得罪作這计划的父上帝，得罪以死亡欲使這真理成为可能的子上帝，以及今天寻求在信徒生活中作工以來完成父上帝计划的圣灵上帝。当你明白这真理时，它会给你极大的自信和信心（弗  3:12）。当你知道上帝在世界上正在做什么，并且你与祂一起工作时，你就可以确信祂会在你里面，并为你有所作為。那些真诚地想要遵行祂的旨意，并帮助祂在地上实现祂旨意的人，可以获得祂所有的屬天的神圣资源。

The early church thought that the gospel belonged to the Jews because it had come through them and to them first. Until Peter, by divine direction, went to the Gentiles in Acts 10, the Jewish believers thought that a Gentile had to become a Jew before he could become a Christian! God’s Spirit gradually revealed to the churches that God was doing a new thing: He was calling out a people for His name from both the Jews and Gentiles (Acts 15:14). There are no national, racial, political, physical, or social distinctions in the church! “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).                                                                                                                                                          早期教会认为福音是属于犹太人的，因为福音是藉由他们传到世人。直到彼得在使徒行传第 10 章，奉上帝的指示前往外邦人那里，犹太信徒认为外邦人必须先成为犹太人才能成为基督徒！上帝的灵逐渐向教会显明，祂正在做一件新事：祂从犹太人和外邦人中，以祂的名呼召一群人（徒  15:14）。教会中没有民族、种族、政治、身体或社会的分别！ “没有犹太人也没有希腊人，没有束缚也没有自由，没有男性也没有女性；因为你们在基督耶稣里都成为一了”（加  3:28）。

But an understanding of God’s program in this present age not only gives the believer confidence toward God. It also gives him courage in the difficult circumstances of life. Paul’s sufferings for the Gentiles would mean glory for the Gentiles. In the Old Testament age, when God’s people obeyed, God blessed them materially, nationally, and physically (Deut. 28), and if they disobeyed, He withdrew these blessings. This is not the way He deals with the church today. Our blessings are spiritual, not material (Eph. 1:3); they have all been given to us completely in Christ. We appropriate them by faith, but if we disobey God, He does not revoke them. We simply lose the enjoyment and the enrichment of them. Paul was certainly a dedicated, Spirit-filled man, yet he was suffering as a prisoner. Paul made it clear that physical, material blessings are not always the experience of the dedicated Christian (2 Cor. 4:7–12; 11:23— 12:10).                                                  但明白上帝在今世的计划，不仅能使信徒对祂有信心。这也给了他在艰难环境中的生活勇气。保罗为外邦人受苦，就是为外邦人得荣耀。在旧约时代，当上帝的子民顺服时，祂在物质、民族和身体上都祝福他们（申   28），如果他们不顺服，祂就会收回这些祝福。这不是祂今天对待教会的方式。我们的祝福是属灵的，而不是物质的（弗  1:3）；它们都是在基督里完全赐给我们的。我们凭信心擁有它们，但如果我们不顺服上帝，祂不会撤销它们。我们只是失去了對它们的乐趣和丰富。保罗当然是献身的，被圣灵充满的人，但他作为囚犯正在受苦。保罗明确表示，身体和物质上的祝福，并不总是献身基督徒的经历（林后   4:7-12； 11:23-12:10）。

I was driving to a preaching engagement, trying to follow a map I had found in the glove compartment of my car. (I am a very poor navigator, so my wife is usually the navigator in our family.) For some reason, I could not locate the interstate highway I needed, so I stopped to get directions at a filling station.                                                                                                                  我开车去参加布道会，试图按照我在汽车杂物箱里找到的地图走。 （我對方向是个很差的导航员，所以我的妻子通常是家中的导航员。）出于某种原因，找不到我需要的州际公路，所以我在加油站停下来问路。

“You’ve got an ancient map there, Mister!” the attendant told me. “Here’s the latest map. Follow it and you’ll get where you are going.” He was right. I followed the new map and arrived in plenty of time to preach.                                                                                                                              服务员告诉我，“先生，你的地图是舊的！ 这是最新的地图。跟随它，你就会到达你要去的地方。”他是对的。我跟着新地图走，有足够的时间到达讲道的處所。

People who do not understand God’s “mystery” in His church are trying to make spiritual progress with the wrong map. Or, to change the figure, they are trying to build with the wrong blueprints. God’s churches on this earth—the local assemblies—are not supposed to be either Gentile culture cliques or Jewish culture cliques. For a German church to refuse fellowship to a Swede is just as unscriptural as for a Jewish congregation to refuse a Gentile. God’s church is not to be shackled by culture, class, or any other physical distinction. It is a spiritual entity that must submit to the headship of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit.                                                      不了解在上帝的教会中的“奥秘”的人(回到以弗所書)，正试图用错误的地图来達成属灵的进步。或者改变数字，他们试图用错误的蓝图来建造。在地上的上帝教会集会  --- 不应该是外邦文化團契或犹太文化團契。德国教会拒绝与瑞典人团契，就像犹太会众拒绝外邦人一样不符合圣经。上帝的教会不受文化、阶级或任何其他身体差异的束缚。它是属灵实体，必须在圣灵的大能中，顺服耶稣基督的领导地位。

Yes, God had a “secret”—but God does not want it to be a secret anymore! If you understand your wonderful position in Christ, then live up to it—and share the blessing with others. This “secret” was important to Paul, to the Gentiles, and to the angels—and it ought to be important to you and me today.                                                                                                                                 是的，上帝有“秘密” 祂不希望它再成为秘密！如果你明白自己在基督里的奇妙地位，那就去实践它  --- 并与他人分享祝福。这“秘密”对保罗，外邦人，和天使都很重要。 今天对你我也应该很重要。