819 英翻中 (519) Forbearing one another in the love of the Christ! 在基督的愛中彼此寬容! 8/13/2024

 

819 英翻中 (519)   Forbearing one another in the love of the Christ!  在基督的愛中彼此寬容!      8/13/2024

我們在天上的阿爸父, 我們切慕祢的真理, 渴想祢的話語, 感謝祢把生命的活水恩賜給了我們, 用無比豐盛的愛澆灌在我的心裡.

  當我軟弱無能的時候;                                                                                                                            當我受試探的時候;                                                                                                                                  當我困難重重的時候;                                                                                                                            當我偏行己路的時候;  求祢讓聖靈充滿我, 安慰溫暖我, 提醒幫助我, 引領我行在主的心意之中.  

奉主耶穌基督的聖名禱告.      啊們.

4.  The Growth of Unity (4:12–16)                                                                                                            4.  合一的成長（4:12-16）

Paul was looking at the church on two levels in this section. He saw the body of Christ, made up of all true believers, growing gradually until it reaches spiritual maturity, “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” But he also saw the local body of believers ministering to each other, growing together, and thereby experiencing spiritual unity.                                                     保羅在這一部分從兩個層面來看教會。他看到基督的身體，由所有真正的信徒組成，逐漸成長，直到達到屬靈的成熟，“有基督長成的身量”。但他也看到當地的信徒團體彼此服事，共同成長，從而經歷屬靈的合一。

A freelance missionary visited a pastor friend of mine asking for financial support. “What group are you associated with?” my friend asked.                                                                                         有位自由傳教士拜訪了我的牧師朋友，尋求經濟支持他。我朋友問那位自由傳教士，“你跟什麼團體有關係？”

The man replied, “I belong to the invisible church.”                                                                             那人回答說，“我屬於隱形教會。”

My friend then asked, “Well, what church are you a member of?”                                                   然後，我的朋友問，“那麼，你是那個教會的成員？”

Again he got the answer, “I belong to the invisible church!”                                                               他又得到了答案：“我屬於隱形教會！”

Getting a bit suspicious, my friend asked, “When does this invisible church meet? Who pastors it?”                                                                                                                                                             我的朋友有點疑惑，問道，“這個無形的教會什麼時候開會？誰牧養這教會？”

The missionary then became incensed and said, “Well, your church here isn’t the true church. I belong to the invisible church!”                                                                                                             然後，那位傳教士變得很生氣的說，“好吧，你們這裡的教會不是真正的教會。我屬於隱形教會！”

My friend replied, “Well, here’s some invisible money to help you minister to the invisible church!”                                                                                                                                                   我的朋友回答說，“好吧，這裡有一些隱形的錢可以幫助你為隱形的教會服務！”

Now, my pastor friend was not denying the existence of the one body. Rather, he was affirming the fact that the invisible church (not a biblical term, but I will use it) ministers through the visible church.                                                                                                                                           現在，我的牧師朋友並沒有否認一體的存在。相反的，他肯定了一個事實，即隱形教會（不是聖經術語，但我會使用它）通過有形教會來服事。

The gifted leaders are supposed to “equip the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the body of Christ” (literal translation). The saints do not call a pastor and pay him to do the work. They call him and follow his leadership as he, through the Word, equips them to do the job (2 Tim. 3:13–17). The members of the church grow by feeding on the Word and ministering to each other. The first evidence of spiritual growth is Christlikeness.                     有恩賜的領袖應該“裝備聖徒做事工，建造基督的身體”（直譯）。聖徒不會召喚牧師並付錢給他做工作。他們呼喚他並跟隨他的領導，因為他通過聖言裝備他們完成工作（提後書 3：13-17）。教會的成員靠著以話語為食並彼此服事而成長。屬靈成長的第一個證據是基督化。

The second evidence is stability. The maturing Christian is not tossed about by every religious novelty that comes along. There are religious quacks waiting to kidnap God’s children and get them into their false cults, but the maturing believer recognizes false doc[1]trine and stays clear of it. The cultists do not try to win lost souls to Christ. They do not establish rescue mis[1]sions in the slum areas of our cities, because they have no good news for the man on skid row. Instead, these false teachers try to capture immature Christians, and for this reason, most of the membership of the false cults comes from local churches, particularly churches that do not feed their people the Word of God.                                                                                                                 成熟第二個證據是穩定性。成熟的基督徒不會被隨之而來的每一個宗教新奇事物所折騰。有一些宗教庸醫在等著綁架上帝的孩子，讓他們加入他們的錯誤邪教，但成熟的信徒認識到錯誤的教義並遠離它。邪教徒不會試圖為基督贏得失喪的靈魂。他們沒有在我們城市的貧民窟地區設立救援任務，因為他們沒有給貧民窟的人帶來好消息。相反，這些假教師試圖抓住不成熟的基督徒，因此，假邪教的大部分成員來自地方教會，特別是那些不以上帝的話語餵養他們的人的教會。

The third evidence of maturity is truth joined with love: “Speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). It has well been said that truth without love is brutality, but love without truth is hypocrisy. Little children do not know how to blend truth and love. They think that if you love someone, you must shield him from the truth if knowing the truth will hurt him. It is a mark of maturity when we are able to share the truth with our fellow Christians, and do it in love. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Prov. 27:6).                                                     成熟的第三個證據是真理與愛的結合：“用愛心說誠實話”（弗    4:15）。眾所周知，沒有愛的真理是殘酷的，但沒有真理的愛是虛偽的。小孩子不知道如何融合真理和愛。他們認為，如果你愛一個人，你必須保護他遠離真相，否則知道真相會傷害他。當我們能夠與我們的基督徒同胞分享真理並以愛心去做時，這是成熟的標誌。 “朋友的傷是忠心；仇敵的親嘴是詭詐”（箴    27:6）。

The last evidence of maturity is cooperation (Eph. 4:16). We realize that, as members of the one body and a local body, we belong to each other, we affect each other, and we need each other. Each believer, no matter how insignificant he may appear, has a ministry to other believers. The body grows as the individual mem[1]bers grow, and they grow as they feed on the Word and minister to each other. Note once again the emphasis on love: “forbearing one another in love” (Eph. 4:2); “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15); “the edifying of itself in love” (4:16). Love is the circulatory system of the body. It has been discovered that isolated, unloved babies do not grow properly and are especially susceptible to disease, while babies who are loved and handled grow normally and are stronger. So it is with the children of God. An isolated Christian cannot minister to others, nor can others minister to him, and it is impossible for the gifts to be ministered either way.                                                                                                                             成熟的最後證據是合作（弗    4:16）。我們意識到，作為一個團體和一個地方團體的成員，我們彼此相屬，相互影響，彼此需要。每個信徒，無論他看起來多麼微不足道，對其他信徒都是服事的對象。身體隨著肢個體成員的成長而成長，隨著他們以話語為食物，並彼此服事而成長。再次注意以弗所書對基督愛的闡釋，基督的愛是何等的長闊高深，並知道這愛是過於人所能測度的， 便叫上帝一切所充滿的，   充滿了你們。“在基督的愛中彼此寬容”（弗  4:2）； “用愛心說誠實話”（弗  4:15）； “在愛中造就自己”（4: 16）。愛是身體的循環系統。研究發現，孤立無援的嬰兒不能正常生長，特別容易生病，因此受愛撫摸的嬰兒則生長正常，且更強壯。上帝的兒女也是如此。 孤立的基督徒不能事奉別人，別人也不能事奉他，恩賜也不可能以任何方式被供應給他。

So, then, spiritual unity is not something we manufacture. It is something we already have in Christ, and we must protect and maintain it. Truth unites, but lies divide. Love unites, but selfishness divides. Therefore, “speaking the truth in love,” let us equip one another and edify one another, that all of us may grow up to be more like Christ.                                                                那麼，屬靈的統一，不是我們製造的東西。而是我們在基督裡已經擁有的奧祕，我們必須保護和維護這上帝的奧祕。真理使教會團結，但謊言則使其分裂。基督的愛使其團結，但自私使其分裂。因此，讓我們“用愛心說诚實話”，讓我們彼此裝備，彼此造就，使我們所有人都能長大成為更像基督的信徒。