749 英翻中 (494) Paul’s prison letters prayed on spiritual blessings. 囚犯為信徒靈性祝福禱告. 4/30/2024
Chapt. 3 A prisoner’s prayer Colossians 1:9–12 第三課 囚犯的禱告 歌罗西书 1:9–12
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[e] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[f] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. (NIV)
9 因 此 ， 我 們 自 從 聽 見 的 日 子 ， 也 就 為 你 們 不 住 的 禱 告 祈 求 ， 願 你 們 在 一 切 屬 靈 的 智 慧 悟 性 上 ， 滿 心 知 道 神 的 旨 意 ；
10 好 叫 你 們 行 事 為 人 對 得 起 主 ， 凡 事 蒙 他 喜 悅 ， 在 一 切 善 事 上 結 果 子 ， 漸 漸 的 多 知 道 神 ；
11 照 他 榮 耀 的 權 能 ， 得 以 在 各 樣 的 力 上 加 力 ， 好 叫 你 們 凡 事 歡 歡 喜 喜 的 忍耐寬 容 ；
12 又 感 謝 父 ， 叫 我 們 能 與 眾 聖 徒 在 光 明 中 同 得 基 業 。(新國際版)
The prayers in Paul’s prison letters are certainly unique. To begin with, he prayed for others and not for himself. The requests in his prayers center on spiritual blessings, not on material or physical matters. Of course, it is not wrong to pray about physical or material needs. But spiritual needs are vastly more important. 保罗监狱信中的祷告確實是獨特的。首先，他为别人，並不是为自己祷告。他祷告中的要求是以屬靈上的祝福为中心，而不是在物质或切身需要上。当然，对身体或物质需求的祷告是没有错的。但屬靈上的需求却非常重要。
How would you pray for a group of people you had never seen? All that Paul knew about the believers in Colosse he learned from their faithful pastor, Epaphras. Paul knew of the false teaching that was threatening the church, so he centered his praying on that problem. In his prayer, Paul made three requests. 如何为一群你从未见过面的人祷告？保罗是從信实的以巴弗牧师得知的歌羅西的信徒的情況。保罗知道威胁教会的是假教師的教学，所以他的祈祷集中在这问题上。保罗在這祷告中提出三點要求。
1. He Prayed for Spiritual Intelligence (1:9). 1. 他以祷告祈求屬灵的智慧（1：9）。
The false teachers promised the Colossian believers that they would be “in the know” if they accepted the new doctrines. Words like knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding were a part of their religious vocabulary, so Paul used these words in his prayer. 假教师對歌罗西的信徒承诺，如果他们接受新的教义，他们将会 “知道”。 像知识，智慧和屬靈上悟性等詞都是他们宗教词汇中的一部分，所以在保罗的祷告中用这些话。
Satan is so deceptive! He likes to borrow Christian vocabulary, but he does not use the Christian dictionary! Long before the false teachers had adopted these terms, the words had been in the Christian vocabulary. 撒旦是非常會欺骗！牠喜欢借用基督信仰者的词汇，但牠使用基督教字典！在假教师久已采用这些术语之前，它們一直是在基督信仰者的字典裡。
The phrase “for this cause” relates the prayer to what Paul had written in Colossians 1:6: “and knew the grace of God in truth.” The report from Epaphras convinced Paul that these believers truly knew Christ and were born again. But there was much more to learn from Him and about Him! “You do not need a new spiritual experience,” Paul was saying. “You only need to grow in the experience you have already had.” “为这些緣故” 的這短语，与保罗在歌罗西书1章6節中写的：“并且真知道上帝的恩典” 相關。來自以巴弗的报告，保罗被说服这些歌羅西信徒是真正认识基督，并重生。但是，對耶穌是上帝的兒子及有關祂更多的事還要學！保罗说， “你不需要新的屬靈体验”。 保罗還说，“你只需要根据你已拥有的屬靈經驗用来增长他們的靈性”。
When a person is born into God’s family by faith in Jesus Christ, he is born with all that he needs for growth and maturity. This is the theme of Colossians: “And you are complete in Him” (Col. 2:10). No other experience is needed than the new birth. “Do not look for something new,” Paul warned the church. “Continue to grow in that which you received at the beginning” (author’s paraphrase). 凡在上帝的家中因信靠耶稣基督重生的，他是生來就帶有成长和成熟所需要的一切靈性。 歌罗西书的主题是 : “你们在祂里面是豐盛完備的(complete)”（西 2:10）。新生儿不需要其他的经验。保罗警告歌罗西教會說， “從一生下时就具有的，讓它繼續成长“（作者改寫）。
Every believer needs to have “the knowledge of his will.” The Greek word translated “knowledge” in this verse carries the meaning of “full knowledge.” There is always more to learn about God and His will for our lives. No Christian would ever dare to say that he had “arrived” and needed to learn nothing more. Like the college freshman who handed in a ten-page report titled “The History of the Universe,” that Christian would only declare his ignorance. 凡是信徒都需要有 “自己意志的認知”。这经文 “認知” 是從希腊语翻译成 “滿有知识”。总是有更多需要對上帝和祂对我们生命的旨意要了解的。没有基督徒敢说，他已經認知 “夠了”，不需要再繼續去学习。像大学新生一样，递交了十页报告题目为 “宇宙的历史”，基督徒可能会宣告他的无知。
The will of God is an
important part of a successful Christian life. God wants us to know His will
(Acts
The
word filled is a key word in Colossians. It was also a key word in the
teachings of the false teachers who had invaded the Colossian church. Paul used
it many times (see Col. 1:19, 25; 2:2, 9–10;
In the language of the New
Testament, to be “filled” means to be “controlled by.” When we are filled with
anger, we are controlled by anger. To be “filled with the Spirit” (Eph.
But how does this take
place? How can believers grow in the full knowledge of God’s will? Paul’s
closing words of Colossians 1:9 tell us: “By means of all wisdom and spiritual
insight” (literal translation). We understand the will of God through the Word
of God. The Holy Spirit teaches us as we submit to Him (John
The general will of God for all His children is given clearly in the Bible. The specific will of God for any given situation must always agree with what He has already revealed in His Word. The better we know God’s general will, the easier it will be to determine His specific guidance in daily life. Paul did not encourage the Colossians to seek visions or wait for voices. He prayed that they might get deeper into God’s Word and thus have greater wisdom and insight concerning God’s will. He wanted them to have “all wisdom”—not that they would know everything, but that they would have all the wisdom necessary for making decisions and living to please God. 上帝的一般旨意，对祂的兒女透過圣经中能得到明确的啓示。上帝对于任何事物的特定旨意，必须始终与祂的话所啟示一致。我们越了解上帝的一般旨意，就越容易确定祂在我們日常生活中的特定的旨意。保罗不鼓励歌罗西人寻求異象或等待祂說話。保羅祈祷说，他们可能会更深入上帝的话语，因此对上帝的旨意會有更多的智慧和洞察能力。保羅聁望他們拥有 “豐滿的智慧”，這不是說他们会知道一切，而是要有一切必要的智慧來做决定，過著討上帝喜悅的生活。
Spiritual intelligence is the beginning of a successful, fruitful Christian life. God puts no premium ignorance. I once heard a preacher say, “I didn’t never go to school. I’m just igerant(ignorance) Christian, and I’m glad I is!” A man does not have to go to school to gain spiritual intelligence, but neither should he magnify his “ignorance.” 屬靈的智慧是基督徒成功而豐富生活的开始。上帝没有付出无知的月費。我曾经听过传道人说，“我上過学。只是個無知的基督教徒，我很高兴我不是!”人不必要到学校获得屬靈智慧，但也不应该誇大他的無知。
(待續)
