歌罗西书生命读经 · 第8篇

基督─切受造之物的首生者

CHRIST—THE FIRSTBORN OF ALL CREATION

1读经：歌罗西书1:15-17，启示录3:14。

1Scripture Reading: Col. 1:15-17; Rev. 3:14

2在本篇信息中，我们要来看何谓基督是一切受造之物的首生者。（西一15～。）歌罗西书的主要目的是要指出，基督是每一件事物，祂就是一切。宇宙中所存在的一切，可归纳到两个基本标题之下：创造者和受造之物。为了给我们看见基督是一切，圣经告诉我们，基督是创造者，也是一切受造之物的首生者。倘若祂只是创造者，而不是受造之物的首生者，祂就不是一切了。

2In this message we shall consider what it means for Christ to be the firstborn of all creation (1:15-17). The main purpose of the book of Colossians is to show 17 that Christ is everything, that He is all. In the universe everything that exists is included under one of two basic headings: the Creator and the creation. In order to show us that Christ is all, the Bible tells us that Christ is both the Creator and the firstborn of all creation. If He were only the Creator but not the firstborn of creation, then He would not be all.

敬拜天使的异端

THE HERESY OF ANGEL WORSHIP

3在歌罗西书里，保罗对付犹太人的仪文、外邦人的规条、神秘主义、智慧派学说、和禁欲主义等类的事。在他所对付的一切消极事物中，敬拜天使一种拜偶像─显得特别严重。敬拜神以外的任何事物，包括像天使这样的受造之物，都是拜偶像。然而，因著在歌罗西某些异端的教师认为自己和别人不配直接的接触神，就倡导敬拜天使。他们教导说，神极其尊高，而我们极其卑微，神是荣耀的，而人是败坏的。因此，根据他们异端的教训，我们不配直接来接触神。据他们说，我们必须有些居间者才行。这些教师说，天使就是我们和神之间的居间者。这就是侵入歌罗西召会的敬拜天使背后的观念。

3In Colossians Paul deals with such things as Jewish observances, Gentile ordinances, mysticism, Gnosticism, and asceticism. Of all the negative things that he deals with, one stands out as especially serious—the worship of angels, which is a form of idolatry. To worship anything other than God, including such creatures as angels, is idolatry. Nevertheless, because they regarded themselves and others as being unworthy to contact God directly, certain heretical teachers in Colosse advocated angel worship. They taught that God is very high and that we are very low, that God is glorious and that man is corrupt. Therefore, according to their heretical teaching, we could not be worthy to contact God directly. According to them, we must have some kind of intermediary. These teachers said that the angels are the intermediaries between us and God. This was the concept behind the angel worship that had invaded the church in Colosse

4保罗在这封书信里所对付的敬拜天使，与卑微的感觉有关。有些人认为，自信不配直接敬拜神，乃是卑微的表记。表面看来，他们持有这种见解，在圣经里也有些根据。圣经记载，律法不是神直接赐给摩西的；乃是藉天使作居间者而颁赐的。（加三19。）因此，在颁赐律法时，天使的功用是作居间者。那些异端的教师继续说，天使应当是神和堕落之人中间的居间者。他们鼓励圣徒随从这种敬拜的方式，来表示卑微。这些教师似乎对歌罗西人说，『你们不该这样骄傲，以为你们能直接到神面前。你们必须自卑，承认你们需要天使作你们和神之间的居间者。』保罗抵挡这样的观念，他说，『不可让人凭故意卑微，并敬拜天使，所作反对你们的判断，骗取你们的奖赏。』（西二18。）我们不该被人的卑微，或敬拜天使的教训所掳去。

4The angel worship Paul dealt within this Epistle was related to a sense of humility. Some thought it was a sign of humility to believe that they were not worthy to worship God directly. Apparently they had some ground in the Bible for their position. The Bible records that the law was not given to Moses by God directly; it was given through the mediation of angels (Gal. 3:19). Hence, in the giving of the law the angels functioned as intermediaries. The heretical teachers went on to say that the angels should be the intermediaries between God and fallen man. They encouraged the saints to show humility by following this way of worship. It seems as if these teachers were telling those in Colosse, “You shouldn’t be so proud as to think that you can go directly to God. You must humble yourselves and recognize your need of angels to serve as intermediaries between you and God.” Paul was fighting against such a concept when he said, “Let no one purposely defraud you of your prize, in humility and worship of the angels” (2:18). We should not be carried away by someone’s humility or by a teaching regarding angel worship.

一切执政掌权者的元首

THE HEAD OF ALL RULE AND AUTHORITY

5保罗在二章九至十节说，『因为神格一切的丰满，都有形有体的居住在基督里面，你们在祂里面也得了丰满。祂是一切执政掌权者的元首。』执政掌权者，是指天使说的。基督是一切天使的元首，不仅是地位较低之天使的元首，也是那些执政的、有能的、掌权的天使的元首。我们需要看见，为甚么保罗在二章十节插入『祂是一切执政掌权者的元首』这句话。我们很容易领会，神格一切的丰满，都有形有体的居住在基督里面。（9。）基督在地上的时候，祂有一个身体，神格一切的丰满，都居住在那个身体里面。因为丰满居住在祂里面，又因为我们在祂里面，结果我们在祂里面也得了丰满。（10。）然后保罗忽然说到，基督是一切执政掌权者的元首。神格一切的丰满都居住在其中，而我们也在其中得了丰满的那一位，乃是一切执政掌权者的元首。我们需要看见这件事情的意义，这是非常要紧的。

5In 2:9 and 10 Paul says, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you in Him are made full, Who is the Head of all rule and authority.” The words rule and authority refer to the angels. Christ is the Head of all the angels, not only of subordinate angels, but of those angels that have rule, power, and authority. We need to see why Paul inserts the phrase in 2:10, “Who is the Head of all rule and authority.” It is rather easy for us to understand that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily, that is, in bodily form (2:9). When Christ was on earth, He had a physical body, and in that body all the fullness of the Godhead dwelt. Because the fullness dwells in Him and because we are in Him, it follows that in Him we are made full (2:10). But then Paul suddenly speaks of Christ being the Head of all rule and authority. The One in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells and the One in whom we are made full is the very Head of all rule and authority. It is crucial that we see the significance of this

6要明白这个插入的句子，我们需要从整卷书的上下文来看。歌罗西书启示基督是一切。保罗对歌罗西人强调这件事，因为他们接受了敬拜天使的异端。显然的，在歌罗西的圣徒，不以为基督能成为他们和神之间的居间者。按他们的观念，基督太尊高了，不能这样帮助他们。因此，他们觉得需要天使作居间者。这就是保罗告诉他们，基督是一切天使之元首的原因。只要我们有那是一切的基督，我们就不需要依赖天使。倘若我们需要居间者，基督就是我们的居间者；这不是天使的功用。不错，神是尊高的，而我们是极其卑微的。但这意思不是说，我们需要天使作居间者。我们在基督里已得了丰满；我们甚么都不缺。因为歌罗西人认为天使是居间者，他们就需要看见，基督乃是一切天使的元首。基督是一切。只要他们有祂，他们就得了丰满。无论在道理上和经历上，我们都应该能见证，我们在基督里得了丰满，并且一无所缺。在基督里，我们有神、公义、生命、以及宇宙中一切正面的事物。我们因著有基督，就有了那是一切天使之元首的一位。歌罗西人接受敬拜天使的异端，是何等的错谬！因为基督是一切，我们就该为著所需要的一切，到祂面前去。现在我们看见，保罗在二章十节加入一句话，为要使歌罗西人对这个事实有印象：我们不需要天使作居间者，因为我们的基督乃是一切执政掌权者的元首。祂是一切天使的元首。

6In order to understand the insertion of this clause, we need to consider it in the context of the whole book. Colossians reveals that Christ is all. Paul emphasized this to the Colossians because they had accepted the heresy of angel worship. Apparently the saints in Colosse did not think that Christ could be the intermediary between them and God. To their concept, Christ was too exalted to help them in this way. Hence, they felt they needed angels as intermediaries. This was the reason Paul told them that Christ is the Head of all angels. As long as we have Christ, who is everything, there is no need for us to rely on angels. If we need an intermediary, Christ is our intermediary. This is not the function of angels. Yes, God is high, and we are very low. But this does not mean that we need angels as intermediaries. In Christ we have been made full; we are short of nothing. Because the Colossians were regarding angels as intermediaries, they needed to see that Christ is the Head of all the angels. Christ is everything. As long as they had Him, they had been made full. Both doctrinally and experientially, we should be able to testify that in Christ we have been made full and are short of nothing. In Christ we have God, righteousness, life, and all the positive things in the whole universe. By having Christ we have the One who is the Head of all angels. How mistaken the Colossians were in accepting the heresy of angel worship! Because Christ is all, we should go to Him for everything we need. Now we see that Paul added a clause in 2:10 in order to impress the Colossians with the fact that we do not need angels as intermediaries because our Christ is the Head of all rule and authority. He is the Head of all angels.

7歌罗西书启示基督是一切；祂是创造者，也是一切受造之物的首生者。倘若基督只是创造者，而不是受造之物，祂就不是一切。这样，三一神的丰满，三一神的彰显，就不完全。保罗在歌罗西书里的观念是深奥的。三一神的丰满，就是三一神完满的彰显，居住在基督里面。这一位是一切，祂是创造者，也是一切受造之物的首生者。这乃是一个基本的原则。

7Colossians reveals that Christ is everything, both the Creator and the firstborn of all creation. If Christ were only the Creator but not anything of the creation, He would not be all. Thus, the fullness, the expression of the Triune God, would not be complete. Paul’s concept in Colossians is profound. The fullness, the full expression of the Triune God, dwells in Christ. As the One who is all, He is both the Creator and the firstborn of all creation. This is a basic principle

那不能看见之神的像

THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD

8一章十五节说，基督是『那不能看见之神的像』。然后在同一节，保罗说，基督是『一切受造之物的首生者』。为甚么他把不能看见之神的像，和一切受造之物的首生者，这两件事摆在一起？神是不能看见的，但祂的爱子，神荣耀的光辉，神本质的印像，（来一3，）乃是祂的像，彰显祂的所是。这里的像，不是指物质的形状，乃是指神的所是在祂一切属性和美德上的2彰显。这解释由歌罗西三章十节和林后三章十八节得著证实。

8Colossians 1:15 says that Christ is the “image of the invisible God.” Then, in the very same verse, Paul says that Christ is the “firstborn of all creation.” Why does he put these two matters together, the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of all creation? God is invisible. But the Son of His love, “the effulgence of His glory and the express image of His substance” (Heb. 1:3), is His image, expressing what He is. The image here does not mean a physical form, but an expression of God’s being in all His attributes and virtues. This interpretation is confirmed by Colossians 3:10 and Corinthians 3:18.

9说基督这位包罗万有者是神的像，含示祂就是神，就是那位创造者。我们看见基督，就看见那不能看见之神的彰显，因为祂自己就是神。如果是我写歌罗西书，我会简单的说，基督就是创造者─神。但保罗没有写得这么简单。他说，基督是那不能看见之神的像，就是神自己彰显出来。

9To say that Christ, the all-inclusive One, is the image of God implies that He is the very God, the Creator. When we see Christ, we see the expression of the invisible God, for He Himself is God. If I had written the Epistle to the Colossians, I would have said simply that Christ is God the Creator. Paul, however, did not write in such a simple way. He said that Christ is the image of the invisible God, God Himself expressed

一切受造之物的首生者

FIRST AMONG ALL CREATURES

10保罗在歌罗西一章十五节继续说，基督是一切受造之物的首生者。这意思是说，在创造里，基督是首先的。基督是神，祂是创造者；然而，基督是人，有分于受造的血肉之体，（来二14上，）所以祂是受造之物的一部分。一切受造之物的首生者，是指基督在一切受造之物中居首位，因为从这一节到十八节，使徒著重基督在万有中的首位。这一节启示基督不仅是创造者，也是一切受造之物的首生者，在一切受造之物中居首位。

10In 1:1 5 Paul goes on to say that Christ is the firstborn of all creation. This means that in creation Christ is the first. Christ as God is the Creator. However, as man, sharing the created blood and flesh (Heb. 2:1 4), He is part of the creation. “Firstborn of all creation” refers to Christ’s preeminence in all creation, since from this verse through verse 18 the apostle stresses the first place of Christ in all things. This verse reveals that Christ is not only the Creator, but also the first among all created things, the first among all creatures.

11有些人坚持基督只是创造者，不是受造者。但圣经启示基督是创造者，也是受造者，因为祂是神也是人。基督是神，是创造者；但祂也是人，是受造者。如果祂不是受造者，祂怎能有肉、有血、有骨？基督岂不是成了一个人么？祂岂不是穿上了有肉、有血、有骨的身体么？祂的确如此。反对这个教训的人都缺少知识。事实上，他们属于异端，因为他们不相信基督真正成了一个人；相反的，他们只信祂是神，而这样的信仰乃是异端。我们的基督是神，祂已往一直是神，将来也永远是神。但藉著成为肉体，祂成了一个人，否则祂就不能被捉拿、受试验、并被钉十字架；此外，祂也不能在十字架上为我们的罪流出血来。为著我们的基督是神也是人的真理，赞美主！基督是神，是永远的，不需要出生。但在一章十五节，祂称为一切受造之物的首生者。凡需要出生的，必定是受造之物，是造物的一部分。如果基督只是神，不是人，祂就不会有出生，因为神是无限、永远、无始无终的。但基督是人，祂必须有一个出生。阿利路亚，基督出生成为人！以赛亚九章六节说，『因有一婴孩为我们而生，有一子赐给我们…祂名称为…全能的神，永在的父…。』基督是为我们而生的婴孩，祂称为全能的神。祂是赐给我们的子，祂的名称为永在的父。基督是全能的神、永在的父，祂乃是永远的；但祂也是婴孩、是子，祂必须出生。有些人争辩说，基督虽然出生，但不是被造。根据圣经，出生乃是创造的完成。因此，出生就是被造。

11Some insist that Christ is only the Creator, not a creature. But the Bible reveals that Christ is both the Creator and a creature, for He is both God and man. As God, Christ is the Creator, but as man, He is a creature. How could He have flesh, blood, and bones if He were not a creature? Did not Christ become a man? Did He not take on a body with flesh, blood, and bones? Certainly He did. Those who oppose this teaching are short of knowledge. Actually, they are heretical, because they do not believe that Christ truly became a man. Rather, they believe only that He is God, and such a belief is heresy. Our Christ is God, has always been God, and always will be God. But through incarnation He became a man. Otherwise He could not have been arrested, tried, and crucified; and He could not have shed His blood on the cross for our sins. Praise the Lord for the truth that our Christ is both God and man! As God, Christ is eternal and did not need to be born. But in 1:15 He is called the firstborn of all creation. Anything that requires birth must be a creature, part of creation. If Christ were only God and not man, He could not have been born, for God is infinite and eternal, without beginning or ending. But as a man, Christ had to be born. Hallelujah, Christ was born as a man! Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given...and his name shall be called The mighty God, The everlasting Father....” As the child born to us, Christ is called the mighty God. As the Son given to us, His name is called the eternal Father. As the mighty God and the eternal Father, Christ is eternal. But as the child and a son, He had to be born. Some argue that Christ was born, but not created. According to the Bible, birth is the carrying out of creation. Therefore, to be born is to be created

在神没有时间的元素

NO TIME ELEMENT WITH GOD

12有些人不明白，既然基督是在不到二千年前出生，而不是在创造开始时出生，祂怎能成为一切受造之物的首生者。我们若要正确的领会这事，就必须知道，在神没有时间的元素。譬如，根据我们对时间的估计，基督是在大约二千年前被钉十字架。但启示录十三章八节说，基督从创世以来就被杀了。这两者都对；然而，神的算法比我们的重要多了。在神眼中，基督从创世以来就被钉在十字架上。在永远里，神已经豫先看见人的堕落。因此，祂也在永远里，为完成救赎作了准备。

12Some may wonder how Christ could be the firstborn of all creation since He was born less than two thousand years ago, not at the very beginning of creation. If we would understand this properly, we need to realize that with God there is no time element. For example, according to our estimate of time, Christ was crucified about two thousand years ago. But Reve lation 13:8 says that Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. Both are right. However, God’s reckoning is much more important than ours. In the eyes of God, Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world. In eternity, God foresaw the fall of man. Therefore, also in eternity, He made preparation for the accomplishment of redemption.

13神对时间的估计和我们的不同，这也能帮助我们领会，为甚么基督称为第二个人。（林前十五47。）从我们的观点来看，第二个人是该隐，就是首先的亚当的儿子。但从神的观点来看，

13The difference between God’s estimate of time and ours also helps us understand why Christ is called the second man (1 Cor. 15:47). From our point of view, the second man was Cain, the son of the first Adam. But from God’s point of view, the second man is Christ

14第二个人乃是基督。

15我们可以把对时间的不同算法，应用到基督是一切受造之物的首生者。根据我们的时间观念，基督大约在二千年前出生于伯利恒。但在神眼中，主耶稣在创世以前就出生了。如果祂从创世以来就被杀，当然祂在那时以前就出生了。所以，根据神在永远里的眼光，基督在已过的永远里就出生了。这就是为甚么按著神的观点，基督始终是一切受造之物的首生者。神豫知基督要生在伯利恒马槽里的日子。因为基督在受造之物中居首位，我们就能说，作为包罗万有者，祂是创造者，也是受造之物的一部分。

15We may apply this matter of the different ways of reckoning time to Christ as the firstborn of all creation. According to our sense of time, Christ was born in Bethlehem approximately two thousand years ago. But in the eyes of God, the Lord Jesus was born before the foundation of the world. If He was slain from the foundation of the world, certainly He must have been born before then. Therefore, according to God’s perspective in eternity, Christ was born in eternity past. This is the reason that, according to God’s viewpoint, Christ has always been the first of all creatures. God foresaw the day that Christ would be born in a manger in Bethlehem. Because Christ is the first among the creatures, we can say that as the all-inclusive One He is both the Creator and part of creation

忠于真理

FAITHFUL TO THE TRUTH

16我在前一篇信息中指出，一九三四年，倪弟兄在上海释放了一系列的信息，论到基督的中心与普及。我照倪弟兄的要求，将这些信息的笔记加以润饰，豫备在倪弟兄的『复兴报』上发表。这信息译成英文的时候，译者将倪弟兄对于基督是受造之物的首生者这观念，以倪弟兄绝不会同意的方式随意的繙译。那位译者不照著倪弟兄所说的：『子是受造之物的第一位，』反而说成：『子是一切受造之物的元首。』这样的译文当然是不忠实的，乃是根据译者的观念而有的解释。

16In a previous message I pointed out that in 1934 Brother Nee gave a series of messages in Shanghai on the centrality and universality of Christ. At Brother Nee’s request, I polished my notes of these messages and prepared them to be printed in Brother Nee’sp aper called The Present Testimony. When this material was translated into English, the translator took the liberty of interpreting Brother Nee’s concept regarding Christ as the first of the creatures in away to which Brother Nee would never have agreed. Instead of saying, as Brother Nee did, that “the Son is the number one of the creatures,” the translator says that “the Son is the head of all creation.” Surely this is not a faithful translation, but an interpretation according to the concept of the translator

17倪弟兄大胆的说出圣经所说的。在一九三四年的那次特会中，我们读到倪弟兄用中文繙译的歌罗西一章。在这译文中，他非常确定的说，基督是一切受造之物的首生者。这是倪弟兄大胆为著真理的例子。他不在意人说甚么，他只在意圣经所说的。然而，这些信息的译者改变了倪弟兄的话，为要避免一些神学观念上的难处。这是对倪弟兄职事的不忠实。

17Brother Nee had the boldness to say just what the Bible says. During that conference in 1934 we read from Brother Nee’s Chinese translation of Colossians 1. In this translation he made it very definite that Christ is the first of all creatures. This is an example of Brother Nee’s boldness for the truth. He did not care for what men say; he cared only for what the Bible says. Nevertheless, the translator of these messages changed Brother Nee’swords in order to avoid trouble with certain theological concepts. This is not faithful to Brother Nee’s ministry

18倘若我们在意真理，我们就会见证，基督是那不能看见之神的像，也就是创造主；祂作为一切受造之物的首生者，乃是一切受造之物的第一个。在这种意义上，基督不仅是创造者，也

18If we care for the truth, we shall testify that Christ, the image of the invisible God, the very Creator, as the firstborn of all creation, is the first among all creatures. In this sense, Christ is not only the Creator, but also part of creation

19是受造之物的一部分。

19IN HIM, THROUGH HIM, AND UNTO HIM

在祂里面，藉著祂，并归于祂

20歌罗西一章十六节说，『因为万有，无论是在诸天之上的、在地上的、能看见的、不能看见的、或是有位的、主治的、执政的、掌权的，都是在祂里面造的；万有都是藉著祂并为著祂造的。』『在祂里面』，指在基督人位的能力里。万有都是在基督所是的能力里被造的。一切受造之物，都带著基督内在能力的特征。（见本节在达秘新译本的注解。）『藉著祂』，指明基督是主动的凭藉。藉这凭藉，万有的创造才得依次完成。末了，『为著祂』或作『归于祂』，指明基督是一切受造之物的归结。万有的被造乃是为著归于祂，为祂所有。

20Colossians 1:16 says, “Because in Him were all things created in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or lordships or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and unto Him.” “In Him” means in the power of Christ’s Person. All things were created in the power of what Christ is. All creation bears the characteristics of Christ’s intrinsic power. (See note on this verse in Darby’s New Translation.) “Through Him” indicates that Christ is the active instrument through which the creation of all things was processed. Finally, “unto Him” indicates that Christ is the end of all creation. All things were created for His possession

在万有之先

BEFORE ALL THINGS

21保罗在十七节继续说，『祂在万有之先。』这指明祂在永远里早已存在。

21In verse 17 Paul goes on to say, “And He is before all things.” This indicates His eternal preexistence

万有在祂里面得以维系

ALL THINGS SUBSISTING IN HIM

22再者，十七节说，『万有也在祂里面得以维系。』万有在基督里面得以维系，意指万有靠著基督作联系的中心，得以一同存在，如同轮子的轮辐靠著轮轴作中心，得以维系在一起。

22Moreover, verse 17 says that “all things subsist together in Him.” For all things to subsist together in Christ means that they exist together by Christ as the holding center, just as the spokes of a wheel are held together by the hub at their center