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哥林多前书生命读经 · 第3篇

引言（三）

INTRODUCTION (3)
1读经：哥林多前书一章一至九节。在林前一章六节保罗说，『正如我们为基督所作的见证，在你们里面得以坚固。』这里为基督所作的见证，与启示录一章里耶稣的见证不同。保罗这里的意思是指传讲基督。保罗传讲基督乃是为基督作见证。有人可能不明白为甚么保罗不用传讲一辞，却用见证一辞。传讲可能仅仅是用话语传达思想；见证却与此相当不同。见证不仅是一种传讲，更必须是一种生活。
1Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 1:1-9 In 1:6 Paul says, “Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.” The testimony of Christ here is different from the testimony of Jesus in Revelation 1. Here Paul means the preaching of Christ. Paul’sp reaching of Christ was a testimony of Christ. Some may wonder why Paul did not use the word preaching, but instead spoke of a testimony. Preaching may be regarded simply as a matter of words conveying thoughts. A testimony is quite different from this. A testimony must be a living, not merely a preaching
2今天许多基督教传道人只有传讲，却不作见证。他们的传讲只是用话语表达一些思想，却没有一种生活见证他们所传讲的。保罗要帮助哥林多人，不仅明白他的发表，更要得著实际，就告诉他们，他为基督所作的见证，在他们里面得以坚固。这里保罗似乎是说，『我所作的绝不是仅仅向你们传讲基督；我所传讲的，就是我的生活。这是我为基督所作的见证。你们在一切发表和知识上都得以富足；你们对我向你们所传讲的，在领会上也很富足。』保罗对哥林多人的传讲，就是对他们所作的见证。
2Many of today’s Christian ministers only preach; they do not testify. In their preaching they express certain thoughts in words. However, they do not have a life to testify what they preach. In order to help the Corinthians not only to understand his expression but also to have the reality, Paul told them that the testimony of Christ was confirmed in them. Here Paul seems to be saying, “I did much more than merely preach Christ to you. What I preached was my living. This is my testimony concerning Christ. You have been enriched in all expression and all knowledge. You have been enriched in the understanding of what I preached to you.” Paul’sp reaching to the Corinthians was his testifying to them
3保罗为基督所作的见证，在哥林多信徒里面，或者说在他们中间得以坚固。保罗写他的书信非常谨慎。保罗说他为基督所作的见证在哥林多人里面得以坚固，意思是这样：『我向你们传讲基督，就是向你们见证基督。你们相信并接受祂，里面就有事情发生了。永远的生命赐给你们，圣灵也进到你们里面；这些就是在你们里面起初的恩赐。这些起初的恩赐坚固我对你们所作的见证。』保罗在这里所说的一切事都与我们是圣徒有关。圣徒是已经蒙神呼召，如今呼求主耶稣之名的人。圣徒也是在里面得以坚固的人。你里面没有保罗在林前一章六节所说的坚固么？你既是在基督里的信徒，里面必定有神圣的生命和圣灵。所以，你对自己的得救有这样的坚固。如果一个人里面没有这种坚固，我就怀疑他到底得救了没有。圣徒不仅蒙神呼召，呼求主名，而且里面还有一种坚固。他里面有个东西证实他是属主的，并且证实他有神圣的生命和圣灵。
3Paul’s testimony of Christ was confirmed in, or among, the believers in Corinth. Paul was very careful in composing his Epistle. By saying that the testimony of Christ was confirmed in the Corinthians, Paul meant something like this: “When I preached Christ to you, I testified to you of Christ. When you believed in Him and received Him, something happened in you. Eternal life was given to you, and the Holy Spirit came into you. These are the initial gifts which are in you. These initial gifts confirm what I testified to you.” All the matters that Paul covers here are related to being saints. A saint is a person who has been called by God and who is now calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. A saint is also a person who has the confirmation within him. Do you not have within you the confirmation Paul speaks of in verse 6? As believers in Christ, you surely have the divine life and the Holy Spirit in you. Therefore, you are confirmed with respect to your salvation. If a person does not have this confirmation within him, I would have doubts about his salvation. A saint not only has been called by God and calls on the name of the Lord, but he also has a certain inner confirmation. Something within him confirms that he belongs to the Lord and that he has the divine life and the Holy Spirit.
4有些圣徒在基督徒生活的初期，可能会对自己的得救失去感觉。他们可能不觉得自己有神圣的生命或圣灵。我年轻的时候，有时候也会失去这种感觉。我得救后不久读到本仁约翰写的『天路历程』一书。那本书中的天程旅客一度遗失他的证书。我读到这里就问自己，我的证书在那里。我好像找不到。为这件事，我有好几天受搅扰，吃不好、睡不好。之后我读到倪弟兄出版的『得救的证实』一书。在这本书里倪弟兄说，在圣经里神清楚告诉我们，只要我们相信基督，我们就得救了。我读到这里时，就把我的圣经翻到约翰三章十六节，跪下来说，『我要向天、地作见证，我相信这节圣经。按这节圣经所说，我知道我有永远的生命。』虽然以后我还有点怀疑，但最后我里面又有了很强的感觉：我真是神的儿女。这就是我所说里面的坚固。我们这些在基督里的信徒，都有这样的坚固。我们确信，我们是神的儿女，有神圣的生命和圣灵。就像保罗所说的，我们在恩赐上一无所缺。我们已经看过，这是指我们有起初的恩赐─神圣的生命和圣灵说的。我们看过了有关圣徒的许多事，就都该清楚，我们实在是圣徒。你能否认你是圣徒的事实么？你已经蒙神呼召，呼求主耶稣的名，并且你有里面的坚固，证实你有神圣的生命与圣灵。
4Early in their Christian life, some saints may lose the feeling that they are saved. They may not feel that they have the divine life or the Holy Spirit. When I was young, I also sometimes lost this feeling. Not long after I was saved, I read John Bunyan’s book Pilgrim’s Progress. At one point, the pilgrim in that book loses his certificate. When I read this, I asked myself where my certificate was. It seemed that I was not able to find it. For several days I was troubled about this, and I was unable to eat well or sleep well. Then I read a book published by Brother Nee, The Assurance of Salvation. In this book Brother Nee says that in the Bible God clearly tells us that as long as we believe in Christ, we are saved. When I read this, I opened my Bible to John 3:16, knelt down, and said, “I want to testify to the heavens and the earth that I believe this verse. According to this verse in the Bible, I know that I have eternal life.” Although I still had some doubts after that, eventually the strong feeling returned in me that I was in fact a child of God. This is what I mean by inward confirmation. As believers in Christ, we all have this confirmation. We are confirmed that we are children of God with the divine life and the Holy Spirit. As Paul says, we are not lacking in any gifts. We have seen that this means we possess the initial gifts—the divine life and the Holy Spirit. Having considered the various matters related to being a saint, we all should be clear that we are truly saints. Can you deny the fact that you are a saint? You have been called by God, you are calling on the name of the Lord Jesus, and you have the inner confirmation that you possess the divine life and the Holy Spirit
肆 有分于基督
IV. THE PARTICIPATION IN CHRIST
5保罗在林前一章九节说，『神是信实的，你们乃是为祂所召，进入了祂儿子我们主耶稣基督的交通。』这话是接续八节，用对神信实的确信，加强八节的思想。因著祂的信实，祂必坚固信徒到底，使他们在主回来的日子无可指责。
5In verse 9 Paul says, “God is faithful, through Whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” This word is a continuation of verse 8, strengthening the thought with the assurance of God’s faithfulness. In His faithfulness He will confirm the believers till the end, making them unreprovable in the day of the Lord’s return.
6九节告诉我们，神已经召我们进入了祂儿子我们主耶稣基督的交通。进入了祂儿子我们主耶稣基督的交通，意即有分于那与神儿子耶稣基督联合，并共同享受祂的交通。神已经呼召我们进入这样的交通，享受基督作祂赐给我们的分。就如二节所说『祂是他们的，也是我们的』。此乃强调基督是信徒惟一中心的重要事实，好解决信徒中间的难处，特别是分裂的难处。本书向我们揭示，我们蒙召所进入的基督，乃是包罗万有的。祂是神赐给我们的分，（2，）是神的能力和智慧，成了我们的公义、圣别和救赎。（24，30。）为著叫我们得荣耀，（二7，罗八30，）祂是荣耀的主。（林前二8。）祂是神的深奥（神深奥的事），（10，）是神建造的惟一根基，（三11，）是我们的逾越节、（五7、）无酵饼、（五8、）灵食、灵水和灵磐石，（十～4，）是头，（十一3，）是身体，（十二12，）是初熟的果子，（十五20，23，）第二个人，（47，）和末后的亚当；（45；）祂是这样的一位，成了赐生命的灵，（45，）好给我们接受到我们里面，作我们的一切。神已将这位至少有二十项丰富的包罗万有者赐给我们，作我们的分，给我们享受。我们该专注于祂，不该专注于祂以外的任何人事物。我们该对准祂，以祂为神所指定我们惟一的中心，使信徒中间一切的难处得以解决。我们蒙了神的呼召，乃是进入这样一位的交通里。祂这交通成了使徒在祂的身体─召会─中与信徒共享的交通，（徒1二42，约壹一3，）也该是我们在祂的筵席上有分于祂的血和身体时，所享受的交通。（林前十16，21。）这样的交通，就是由圣灵所实施的交通，（林后十三14，）必是惟一的，因为祂是独一的；这交通禁止在祂独一身体的肢体中间有任何分裂。
6Verse 9 tells us that God has called us into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Fellowship denotes the partaking of, the participation in, God’sS on. It is to partake of, participate in, the all - inclusive Christ. God has called us into such a fellowship that we may partake of Christ, participate in Him, and enjoy Him as our God-given portion. This word, like the word concerning Christ’s being theirs and our sin verse 2, stresses again the crucial fact of Christ’s being the unique center of the believers for the solving of the problems among them, especially that of division. This book unveils to us that the very Christ, who is the portion of all believers, and into whose fellowship we have been called, is all - inclusive. He is God’s power and God’s wisdom as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption to us (1:24, 30). He is our glory for our glorification (2:7; Rom. 8:30), hence, the Lord of glory (2:8). He is the depths of God, the deep things of God (2:10). He is the unique foundation of God’s building (3:11). He is our Passover (5:7), the unleavened bread (5:8), the spiritual food, the3 spiritual drink, and the spiritual rock (10:3-4). He is the Head (11:3) and the Body (12:12). He is the firstfruit (15:20, 23), the second Man (15:47), and the last Adam (15:45); as such, He became the life-giving Spirit (15:45). This all-inclusive One, with the riches of at least nineteen items, God has given to us as our portion for our enjoyment. We should concentrate on Him, not on any persons, things, or matters other than Him. We should focus on Him as our unique center appointed by God that all the problems among the believers may be solved. It is into the fellowship of such a One that we have been called by God. This fellowship of Him becomes the fellowship the apostles shared with the believers (Acts 2:42; John 1:3) in His Body, the church, and should be the fellowship we enjoy in the partaking of His blood and His body at His table (10:16, 21). Such a fellowship must be unique, because He is unique. It forbids any division among the members of His unique Body.
7交通这辞非常深奥。我不信有甚么基督教教师或解经家，能把这辞的意义说透。交通不单指你和别人之间的来往，也指有分于那个人；不仅如此，交通更是指我们与基督已经成为一，也就是说我们享受基督和祂的一切所是，祂也享受我们和我们的所是。结果，不仅有互相的来往，并且在每一方面都是彼此互相的。基督的一切所是都成了我们的，我们的一切所是也都成为祂的。我们都已经蒙神呼召，进入我们和神儿子之间这样彼此互相的关系里。我不信其他的语言中，有与希腊文『交通』一辞充分对等的语辞。我们已经蒙召进入了神儿子的交通。我们已经蒙召进入一种彼此互相里，我们在其中享受神儿子的所是，在其中我们与祂是一，祂也与我们是一。在哥林多前书的另一处，六章十七节，保罗说，『与主联合的，便是与主成为一灵。』我们已经蒙召进入这样的一里，在这个一里，我们享受基督的所是，祂也享受我们的所是。
7This word fellowship is profound and very deep. I do not believe that any Christian teacher or expositor of the Bible can exhaust the meaning of this word. Fellowship does not merely mean that there is communication between you and someone else; it also denotes participation in that one. Furthermore, it means that we and Christ have become one. It also means that we enjoy Christ and all He is, and that He enjoys us and what we are. As a result, there is not only a mutual communication, but a mutuality in every way. All that Christ is becomes ours, and all that we are becomes His. We all have been called by God into such a mutuality between us and the Son of God. I do not believe that in any other language there is an adequate equivalent for the Greek word for fellowship. We have been called into the fellowship of God’sS on. We have been called into a mutuality in which we enjoy what the Son of God is, and in which we are one with Him and He is one with us. Elsewhere in this Epistle, in 6:17, Paul says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” We have been called into such a oneness. In this oneness we enjoy what Christ is, and He enjoys what we are.
8我们虽然很可怜，基督仍然享受我们。这一点你可能信不来，你也许说，『我当然信我们已经蒙召来享受基督，但基督真能享受我们么？你可以说这是事实，但我信不来。』然而，基督会说，『孩子，我非常享受你。你不晓得我多么享受你，甚至你软弱下沉的时候，我仍旧享受你，因为我与你是一灵。』一章九节与二节有关。在二节保罗说，『同著所有在各处呼求我们主耶稣基督之名的人；祂是他们的，也是我们的。』基督是我们的，也是他们的；祂属于我们和所有其他的信徒。有些圣经学者相信，二节中『他们的』和『我们的』是指地方说的。我不同意这种解释。保罗在这里不是说他们的地方、我们的地方，好像说他们在他们那里呼求主耶稣的名，我们在我们这里呼求主的名。这里保罗的思想不该是这样。他乃是说我们在各处所呼求的主耶稣基督，是我们的主，也是他们的主；是我们的分，也是他们的分。这就是说，众圣徒都有主作他们独一的分。原因是我们都已经蒙召，进入了神儿子主耶稣基督的交通。
8Even though we are so pitiful, Christ still enjoys us. Perhaps you find this very difficult to believe. You may say, “I certainly believe that we have been called to enjoy Christ. But how can it be true that Christ enjoys us? You may say that this is true, but I find it hard to believe.” Christ, however, would say, “Child, I enjoy you very much. You don’t realize how much I enjoy you. Even when you are weak and low, I still enjoy you, for I am one spirit with you.” Verse 9 is related to verse 2. In verse 2 Paul says, “With all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, theirs and ours.” Christ is ours, and He is also theirs. He belongs to us and to all the other believers. Some Bible scholars believe that in verse 2 the words theirs and ours refer to places. I do not agree with this interpretation. Here Paul is not speaking of their place and our place as if to say that they call upon the name of the Lord Jesus in their place and that we call upon His name in our place. This should not be Paul’s though there. He is saying that the very Lord Jesus Christ upon whose name we are calling in every place is our Lord and their Lord, our portion and their portion. This means that all the saints have the Lord as their unique portion. The reason for this is that we all have been called into the fellowship of God’sS on, the Lord Jesus Christ
9这把我们带到一件非常重要的事。所有在基督里的信徒，连我们也不例外，都有自己的偏好。哥林多信徒有他们的偏好。他们是希利尼人，是崇尚哲学的人。不大思考的人可能没有多少偏好。比方说，如果我问一个不大思考的人，在他所在召会的长老当中，他比较喜欢那一位。他可能回答说，长老们都是一样的，他看不出他们中间有甚么不同。但如果你拿这个问题问一个常常用心思的人，他马上会回答说，他的确比较偏爱某一位长老。
9This brings us to a very important matter. All believers in Christ, including us, have their preferences. The Corinthian believers had theirs. As Greeks, they were a philosophical people. Those who are not thoughtful may not have many preferences. For example, if I ask such a person which elder he prefers among those in his local church, he may answer that all are the same, that he does not see any difference among them. But if you ask this question of a person given to the exercise of his mentality, he would immediately respond that he does have a preference for a certain elder.
10一个地方召会中，至少有两三位长老。你难道没有偏好？每当你要讨论召会的事务时，岂不是按自己的拣选去找比较喜欢的长老？你可能会说，你喜欢去找某某弟兄；实际上，这位弟兄就是你的偏好。你有这样的偏爱，这事实指明你很会思考，甚至很有哲学思想。你可能对你当地的长老们有许多考量。一个地方召会中，许多人都已花过时间把当地的长老好好考量过。结果，他们对长老们就有了偏好。偏好是属肉体的。只要你持守你的偏好，你就是在肉体里。不仅如此，偏好使你失去基督这惟一的中心。我们惟一的中心是主，祂是他们的，也是我们的；祂是神的儿子，我们都已为神所召，进入了祂的交通。我们不是蒙召进入了我们对长老或地方召会的偏好。有时候圣徒说，『我不满意这里的召会，我不想再留在这里，我想搬到别的地方去。』这就是偏好，是属肉体的。我再说，有偏好就是失去基督这惟一的中心。我信保罗写这封书信给哥林多信徒时，他的意思是说，『亲爱的弟兄姊妹，你们需要晓得，保罗、矶法、亚波罗或甚么人，都不是信徒中间惟一的中心。这中心甚至也不是狭窄的基督，不是你所偏爱的基督。所有信徒惟一的中心基督，乃是他们的，也是我们的。』如果我们看见这个，就不会在意人、地或国籍了。反之，我们在意基督是所有信徒惟一的中心。
10In a local church there are always at least two or three elders. Do you not have your preference among them? Whenever you need to discuss something concerning the church, do you not prefer to go to the elder of your choice? You may say that you like to go to Brother So-and-so. Actually, this brother is your preference. The fact that you have such a preference indicates that you are a thoughtful person, even a philosophical one. Probably you have thought a good deal about the elders in your locality. Most members of a local church have spent time to consider the elders in their locality. As a result, they have a preference regarding them. Preferences are fleshly. As long as you hold to your preference, you are in the flesh. Furthermore, having a preference causes you to lose Christ as the unique center. Our unique center is the Lord who is both theirs and ours, the Son of God into whose fellowship we all have been called of God. We have not been called into our preference, either in elders or in local churches. Sometimes saints have said, “I am not happy with the church here, and I don’t want to stay here any longer. I intend to move to another locality.” This is to have a preference, and it is fleshly. To repeat, to have a preference is to lose Christ as the unique center. I believe that as Paul was writing this Epistle to the Corinthian believers, he was saying, “Dear brothers and sisters, you need to realize that neither Paul, Cephas, Apollos, nor any other person is the unique center among the believers. This center is not even a narrow Christ, the Christ of your preference. The Christ who is the unique center of all believers is the One who is both theirs and ours.” If we see this, we shall not care for persons, localities, or nationalities. Instead, we shall care for Christ as the unique center of all the believers
11保罗这封书信，是特别写给『在哥林多神的召会，就是给在基督耶稣里被圣别，蒙召的圣徒』。这些圣徒，也就是住在哥林多的信徒，乃是哥林多召会的组成分子。但这封书信不仅写给他们，也写给『所有在各处呼求我们主耶稣基督之名的人；祂是他们的，也是我们的』。这里应当没有甚么差别。不仅如此，按九节说，神已经呼召我们众人进入基督的交通。我们已经蒙召进入我们和祂之间的一里，进入我们和祂彼此互相的关系里。因此，我们对于地方召会，或个别的信徒，都不该有甚么偏好。只有基督，别无他人，是所有基督徒惟一的中心。
11Paul addressed this Epistle specifically “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints.” These saints, the believers living in Corinth, were the components of the church in Corinth. Nevertheless, this Epistle was written not only to them, but also to “all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, theirs and ours.” There is to be no difference. Furthermore, according to verse 9, God has called us all into the fellowship of Christ. We have been called into the oneness, into a mutuality, between us and Him. Therefore, there should not be any preference with respect to local churches or individual believers. Only Christ—no other one—is the unique center of all Christians
12我要一再强调这个事实：独一的中心是基督，也惟有基督。你所在的召会光景好坏、高低都无关紧要，要紧的是基督这独一的中心。我们都已经蒙召进入祂里面，进入在祂里面的交通、享受和分享里。我们已经蒙召进入彼此互相的情形里，在其中我们与祂是一。只有这个能吞灭分裂，除去众圣徒中间所有的区别和偏好。想想今天基督徒中间的光景：有太多的偏好。有些人喜欢加入长老会，有些人喜欢加入浸信会、卫理会、路德会或灵恩派。有的说，『我喜欢这个，』有的说，『我喜欢那个。』有些宣称：『我喜欢这个牧师，』又有的说，『我喜欢那位传道人。』『我喜欢…我喜欢…，』普遍在今天的信徒口中。你可能喜欢一样东西，但神却不喜欢；神只喜悦基督。神有一个中心─耶稣基督，祂不是呼召你进入你所选择的公会，乃是呼召你进入祂儿子的交通。我们不可对任何人或团体有偏好，我们惟一的偏好，惟一的选择必须是基督作我们惟一的中心；这位基督是他们的，也是我们的；神已经呼召我们，进入我们与祂彼此互相的关系里。哦，我们都必须看见，神已经呼召我们进入这样一位基督的交通！
12Again and again I would emphasize the fact that the unique center is Christ and Christ alone. Whether the church in your locality is good or bad, high or low, does not matter. What matters is Christ as the unique center. We all have been called into Him, called into the fellowship, the enjoyment, the participation, in Him. We have been called into a mutuality in which we are one with Him. Only this can swallow up divisions and eliminate all the differences and preferences among the saints. Consider the situation among Christians today: there is preference after preference. Some prefer to be Presbyterians, whereas others prefer to be Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, or Pentecostals. Some say, “I like this,” and others say, “I like that.” Some declare, “I like this pastor,” and others say, “I like that minister.” “I like I like,” is commonly uttered by believers today. You may like a certain thing, but God may not like it. God is only pleased with Christ. God has one center—Jesus Christ—and He has called you not into the denomination of your choice, but into the fellowship of His Son. No individual or group must be our preference. Our only preference, our one choice, must be Christ as the unique center, the Christ who is theirs and ours, the Christ into whose mutuality we have been called by God. Oh, we all must see that God has called us into the fellowship of such a Christ