We describe some key points in the life of John the Baptist who was the forerunner for Jesus. First, let us use verses to take a look at his birth, and we can also see from those verses that we have to use New Testament to explain the unclear parts of Old Testament. Secondly, we want to see his growth and preaching style, which is based upon facts without worrying that he might scare people away. Thirdly, he is clear what he was assigned to do, like what he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Fourthly, he has testified that Jesus is the Son of God. Finally, we talk about how he dies, and why the Bible says that he has his feebleness 

In Luke 1:8-17, it talks very clearly about his birth. Let us take a look at what the verses say. We see the angel appeared to his father Zacharias and told him in advance that his wife Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist, and also told him that the child’s name should be John [1[. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And because of his birth, he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God [2]. And Luke 1:17 states, “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Notice that fathers use the plural. So, it doesn’t mean God the father. If we look at the corresponding verses in Malachi 4:5-6 of Old Testament, it says, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.” If you use tools, you will see that “father” is a male noun and doesn’t specify if it is plural or singular. In this case, we have to use New Testament to get the correct meaning of the words in Old Testament.

Secondly, we can see that he grew in the wilderness [2]. When the word of God came to him, he started to preach the baptism of repentance [3]. As Isaiah said, he is the forerunner of Jesus [4] We can also see his preaching style is very different from many people, which is based upon facts not on the worry that he might scare people away [5]. 

Thirdly, he baptized Jesus since it is fitting for them to fulfill all righteousness (6). He is very clear what he was assigned to do, as he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” [7] He preached that Jesus would baptize people with Holy Spirit and fire [8].

Fourthly, let us take a look at how he testified for Jesus. Since he baptized Jesus, he saw in Matthew 3:16-17, “After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” Therefore, “John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:32-34)

Finally, let us look at how he died and how the Bible honestly described his feebleness. John was arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias [9]. In Matthew 11:2-3, it says, “Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”” “Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”” (Matthew 11:4-6) Although he knew that Jesus is the son of God, he is still feeble. Therefore, although we are often feeble, we cannot use feebleness as an execuse. We really need to repent.

Some related verses

(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)

[1] Luke 1:8-13, Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.

[2] Luke 1:14-16, You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

[3] Luke 3:2-3, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;

[4] Luke 3:4-6, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight. ‘Every ravine will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be brought low; The crooked will become straight, And the rough roads smooth; And all flesh will see the salvation of God.'”

[5] Luke 3:7-9, So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

[6] Matthew 3:13-15, Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.

[7] John 3:28-30, You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.

[8] Luke 3:16-17, John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

[9] Mark 6:17-19, For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so;

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

There are four parts in this article. First, let us review the necessity of repentance. Secondly, we will take a look at what could have been the effect due to a wrong translation. Followed by a discussion about why one shouldn’t look for a perfect church. Finally, we still need to pursue the truth even in this situation. In order to be conformed to the image of Jesus, we need to deny ourselves.

John the Baptist says in Matthew 3:1-3, “…”Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!'”” Jesus himself says in Matthew 4:12-17 that repentance is necessary, “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; …From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”” The disciples preach the same in Mark 6:12, “They went out and preached that men should repent.” After Pentecost, they preached as was described in Acts 2:38, “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Repentance is absolutely necessary as indicated in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Repentance is only the first step. We really need a true repentance, since one can even cheat oneself without seeing the fact as says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” We really need enlightenment by God. Merely studying the Bible is not enough. The purpose of studying the Bible is according to what Jesus says in John 5:39-40, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.” And the life can only be initialized from God as indicated in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.” What we can do is be willing to work with God.

Secondly, we can see a wrong translation can cause some problems. As an example, we are familiar with the verse in John 4:24, NASB, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” According to Strong’s Concordance, we have in John 4:24, NIV, “God is a Spirit: (G4151) and they that worship him must worship him in spirit (G4151) and in truth.” There is no distinction between the Holy Spirit and our spirit in Greek. In the English translation the big letter “Spirit” is used to indicate the Holy Spirit, and the small letter “spirit” to describe our spirits. In this case, we cannot use the surrounding verses to decide which one we need to choose, and unfortunately all the possible combinations are chosen in different translations. Therefore, we have to decide how to translate correctly according to the whole Bible. 

Let us just use these two versions for our discussion. In NASB, the small letter “spirit” is used. It has to be wrong since we cannot see a spirit, but in Exodus 33:23 Moses can see God although not in face, “Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” Thus, we cannot say that “God is spirit” as in NASB. Since according to the whole Bible God is Holy Trinity, God is (Holy) Spirit. As in NIV, there is no “a” in Greek. Thus, the right translation should be “God is Spirit (G4151), and those who worship Him must worship in spirit (G4151) and truth.” 

Thirdly, let us not dream about a perfect church because Romans 3:23 says clearly, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” There was a pastor said something like this. If you ever see a perfect church, please let me know and I’ll join it. She knows that it is impossible to have a perfect church. As long as I attend such a church, it isn’t perfect anymore since I am imperfect. It is impossible to not make mistakes. Nevertheless, God is full of mercy and grace as seen in Revelation 3:8, “I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” Just because the church in Philadelphia has a little power, He rewards them an open door.

Since we talked about sin, we may ask where it comes from? In Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, …” In Genesis 2:16-17, “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” However, Adam disobeyed as stated in Genesis 3:6, “…she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” So, sin comes from the disobedience of God. In Romans 5:19, “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One (Jesus) the many will be made righteous.” He obeyed God to death. God says, don’t kill people. If one kills, then the person doesn’t obey and commits a sin.

God knows that we often are weak and commit sins and are unable to follow the words in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Do not quench the Spirit.” He gives us the way of repentance in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” What we need to do is to seek and open the door as stated in Luke 11:9-13, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” The verses are referring to the Holy Spirit. The only condition is that the person has to be a Christian. Although it doesn’t state when, there are no other conditions. We must pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit and pray in faith as stated in Hebrews 6:12, “so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot do anything. Jesus says clearly in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Finally, let us talk about denying oneself in order to gain life. Words becomes flesh [1] in order to that we might have life abundantly [2]. To gain life is the way of following Jesus. It is a way of bearing our cross as Jesus says in Luke 9:23, “…If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” It is the way of denying oneself! Paul in Romans 8:13 says, “for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” In other words, we have to substitute the life of ours by that of Jesus: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20) “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans 8:29) To be conformed to the image of Jesus is our goal, how can we not deny ourselves? 

Some related verses

(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)

[1] Philippians 2:5-7, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,:who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”

[2] John 3:17, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” 

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

我们分為四个部份来看这话题。首先我们看一看悔改的必要性。第二我们看看翻译错误会影响很大。接著我们讨论為什麼不要梦想有个完美的教会，即使如此，我们仍要追求。最后，我们看到了我们必须治死老我，这是得生命非要不可的。

施洗约翰是為耶稣开路的，他传道說：『…「天国近了，你们应当悔改！」这人就是先知以赛亚所說的，他說：「在旷野有人声喊着說：『预备主的道，修直他的路！』」 (马太福音 3:1-3) 耶稣自己也說要悔改：『耶稣听见约翰下了监，就退到加利利去；…从那时候，耶稣就传起道来，說：「天国近了，你们应当悔改！」』 (马太福音 4:12-17) 门徒也这样传道：『门徒就出去传道，叫人悔改。』 (马可福音 6:12) 在五旬节后，他们仍这样传，如『彼得說：「你们各人要悔改，奉耶稣基督的名受洗，叫你们的罪得赦，就必领受所赐的圣灵。」』 (使徒行传 2:38) 悔改实在是非常必要：『我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗淨我们一切的不义。』 (约翰一书 1:9)

悔改只是第一步，要真的悔改，要意识到人真的会自己欺骗自己，看不到自己，因為『人心比万物都诡诈，坏到极处，谁能识透呢？』 (耶利米书 17:9) 需要人的光照。不要以為查考圣经就可以了！耶稣說得很清楚：『你们查考圣经，因你们以為內中有永生；给我作见证的就是这经。然而你们不肯到我这里来得生命。』 (约翰福音 5:39-40)  要知道生命的成长只能从神来，『我栽种了，亚波罗浇灌了，惟有神叫他生长。可见栽种的算不得甚麼，浇灌的也算不得甚麼，只在那叫他生长的神。』 (哥林多前书 3:6-7) 我们只能夠主动的愿意。

第二我们說到错误的翻译会影响很大。舉个例子来說，在以弗所书 4:15 說：『惟用愛心說诚实话(G226)，…』 (以弗所书 4:15) 可能很少人会想到诚实话不见得是真的，更不见得是真理，因此別人不会听。那麼我们看这希腊字 G226，这字只在另一个经文中出现，就是『如今，我将真理 (G226) 告诉你们，就成了你们的仇敌吗？』 (加拉太书 4:16) 我们不能說，圣灵的感动不只是讲真理而已，有时是真话，真理一定是真话，而真话不一定是真理，因此这句话应该翻成：『惟用愛心說真话』。虽說诚实话是翻错的，这也不对，是圣经的话加上了人的逻辑，在这经文中我们看上下文就知道应翻作真理，因此这句话应该翻成：『惟用愛心說真理』。

另外一个影响很大的例子见魂有不同的翻译，这会浪费许多时间去分辨究竟為何？例如和合本中的彼得前书說的灵魂其实都是指魂，英文就很清楚！有更多的经文中，魂被翻成不同的字。

接著谈谈不要梦想有完美的教会，『因為世人都犯了罪，亏缺了神的荣耀。』 (罗马书 3:23) 有个牧师說，如果有完美的教会，请告诉我，我一定要加入。她知道这是不可能的事，『因為我加入了，就不可能再是完美的教会了。』 犯错是经常的事，要悔改！

那麼我们看看在圣经中罪从何处来？『这就如罪是从一人(亚当)入了世界…』 (罗马书 5:12) 在创世记 2:16-17，『耶和华神吩咐他(亚当)說：「园中各样树上的果子，你可以随意吃，只是分別善恶树上的果子，你不可吃，因為你吃的日子必定死。」』 (创世记 2:16-17) 可是，『於是，女人…又给她丈夫，她丈夫也吃了。』 (创世记 3:6) 所以罪从不顺服而来，亚当不能完全的信靠神。『因一人的悖逆，眾人成為罪人；照样，因一人(耶稣)的顺从，眾人也成為义了。』 (罗马书 5:19) 例如，神說不能杀人，杀人就不顺服神，犯罪了！

即使常常不能顺服，神仍留了一條路给我们，『我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗淨我们一切的不义。』 (约翰一书 1:9) 我们要做的是要寻求，『…因為，凡祈求的，就得着；寻找的，就寻见；叩门的，就给他开门。「你们中间作父亲的，谁有儿子求饻，反给他石头呢？求鱼，反拿蛇当鱼给他呢？求雞蛋，反给他蠍子呢？你们虽然不好，尚且知道拿好东西给儿女，何況天父，岂不更将圣灵给求他的人吗？」』 (路加福音 11:9-13) 只要是基督徒，这是沒有任何其他條件而沒說时间的应许，我们一定要求被圣灵充满，『並且不懈怠，总要效法那些凭信心和忍耐承受应许的人。』 (希伯来书 6:12) 沒有圣灵，我们真的什麼都不能做。耶稣实在說得很清楚：『我是葡萄树，你们是枝子。常在我里面的，我也常在他里面，这人就多结果子。因為离了我，你们就不能做甚麼。』 (约翰福音 15:5)

最后我们谈一谈要治死老我得生命。耶稣道成肉身 [1]，不仅是要赐给我们生命，更是要赐给我们更丰盛的生命 [2]。而得生命的道路，是一條跟随的道路，也是一條十字架的道路，因為『耶稣又对眾人說：「若有人要跟从我，就当舍己，天天背起他的十字架来跟从我。」』 (路加福音 9:23) 这是一條治死老我的路！所以保罗說：『你们若顺从肉体活着，必要死；若靠着圣灵治死身体的恶行，必要活着。』 (罗马书 8:13)  也就是說，我们实在要用耶稣的生命去替代我们的生命：『我已经与基督同钉十字架，现在活着的不再是我，乃是基督在我里面活着；並且我如今在肉身活着，是因信神的儿子而活，他是愛我，為我舍己。』 (加拉太书 2:20) 而且『因為他预先所知道的人，就预先定下效法(模成)他儿子的模样(形像)，使他儿子在许多弟兄中作长子。』 (罗马书 8:29) 即然模成耶稣的形像是我们的标桿，怎能不治死我们的老我而得生命？

一些相关的经文

[1] 你们当以基督耶稣的心為心。他本有神的形像，不以自己与神同等為強夺的，反倒虛己，取了奴仆的形像，成為人的样式。 (腓立比书 2:5-7)

[2] 『因為神差他的儿子降世，不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因他得救。』 (约翰福音 3:17)  『…我来了，是要叫羊得生命，並且得的更丰盛。』(约翰福音 10:10)

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我們分為四個部份來看這話題。首先我們看一看悔改的必要性。第二我們看看翻譯錯誤會影響很大。接著我們討論為什麼不要夢想有個完美的教會，即使如此，我們仍要追求。最後，我們看到了我們必須治死老我，這是得生命非要不可的。

施洗約翰是為耶穌開路的，他傳道說：『…「天國近了，你們應當悔改！」這人就是先知以賽亞所說的，他說：「在曠野有人聲喊着說：『預備主的道，修直他的路！』」 (馬太福音 3:1-3) 耶穌自己也說要悔改：『耶穌聽見約翰下了監，就退到加利利去；…從那時候，耶穌就傳起道來，說：「天國近了，你們應當悔改！」』 (馬太福音 4:12-17) 門徒也這樣傳道：『門徒就出去傳道，叫人悔改。』 (馬可福音 6:12) 在五旬節後，他們仍這樣傳，如『彼得說：「你們各人要悔改，奉耶穌基督的名受洗，叫你們的罪得赦，就必領受所賜的聖靈。」』 (使徒行傳 2:38) 悔改實在是非常必要：『我們若認自己的罪，神是信實的，是公義的，必要赦免我們的罪，洗淨我們一切的不義。』 (約翰一書 1:9)

 悔改只是第一步，要真的悔改，要意識到人真的會自己欺騙自己，看不到自己，因為『人心比萬物都詭詐，壞到極處，誰能識透呢？』 (耶利米書 17:9) 需要人的光照。不要以為查考聖經就可以了！耶穌說得很清楚：『你們查考聖經，因你們以為內中有永生；給我作見證的就是這經。然而你們不肯到我這裏來得生命。』 (約翰福音 5:39-40)   要知道生命的成長只能從神來，『我栽種了，亞波羅澆灌了，惟有神叫他生長。可見栽種的算不得甚麼，澆灌的也算不得甚麼，只在那叫他生長的神。』 (哥林多前書 3:6-7) 我們只能夠主動的願意。

第二我們說到錯誤的翻譯會影響很大。舉個例子來說，在以弗所書 4:15 說：『惟用愛心說誠實話(G226)，…』 (以弗所書 4:15) 可能很少人會想到誠實話不見得是真的，更不見得是真理，因此別人不會聽。那麼我們看這希臘字 G226，這字只在另一個經文中出現，就是『如今，我將真理 (G226) 告訴你們，就成了你們的仇敵嗎？』 (加拉太書 4:16) 我們不能說，聖靈的感動不只是講真理而已，有時是真話，真理一定是真話，而真話不一定是真理，因此這句話應該翻成：『惟用愛心說真話』。雖說誠實話是翻錯的，這也不對，是聖經的話加上了人的邏輯，在這經文中我們看上下文就知道應翻作真理，因此這句話應該翻成：『惟用愛心說真理』。

另外一個影響很大的例子見魂有不同的翻譯，這會浪費許多時間去分辨究竟為何？例如和合本中的彼得前書說的靈魂其實都是指魂，英文就很清楚！有更多的經文中，魂被翻成不同的字。

接著談談不要夢想有完美的教會，『因為世人都犯了罪，虧缺了神的榮耀。』 (羅馬書 3:23) 有個牧師說，如果有完美的教會，請告訴我，我一定要加入。她知道這是不可能的事，『因為我加入了，就不可能再是完美的教會了。』 犯錯是經常的事，要悔改！

那麼我們看看在聖經中罪從何處來？『這就如罪是從一人(亞當)入了世界…』 (羅馬書 5:12) 在創世記 2:16-17，『耶和華神吩咐他(亞當)說：「園中各樣樹上的果子，你可以隨意吃，只是分別善惡樹上的果子，你不可吃，因為你吃的日子必定死。」』 (創世記 2:16-17) 可是，『於是，女人…又給她丈夫，她丈夫也吃了。』 (創世記 3:6) 所以罪從不順服而來，亞當不能完全的信靠神。『因一人的悖逆，眾人成為罪人；照樣，因一人(耶穌)的順從，眾人也成為義了。』 (羅馬書 5:19) 例如，神說不能殺人，殺人就不順服神，犯罪了！

即使常常不能順服，神仍留了一條路給我們，『我們若認自己的罪，神是信實的，是公義的，必要赦免我們的罪，洗淨我們一切的不義。』 (約翰一書 1:9) 我們要做的是要尋求，『…因為，凡祈求的，就得着；尋找的，就尋見；叩門的，就給他開門。「你們中間作父親的，誰有兒子求餅，反給他石頭呢？求魚，反拿蛇當魚給他呢？求雞蛋，反給他蠍子呢？你們雖然不好，尚且知道拿好東西給兒女，何況天父，豈不更將聖靈給求他的人嗎？」』 (路加福音 11:9-13) 只要是基督徒，這是沒有任何其他條件而沒說時間的應許，我們一定要求被聖靈充滿，『並且不懈怠，總要效法那些憑信心和忍耐承受應許的人。』 (希伯來書 6:12) 沒有聖靈，我們真的什麼都不能做。耶穌實在說得很清楚：『我是葡萄樹，你們是枝子。常在我裏面的，我也常在他裏面，這人就多結果子。因為離了我，你們就不能做甚麼。』 (約翰福音 15:5)

最後我們談一談要治死老我得生命。耶穌道成肉身 [1]，不僅是要賜給我們生命，更是要賜給我們更豐盛的生命 [2]。而得生命的道路，是一條跟隨的道路，也是一條十字架的道路，因為『耶穌又對眾人說：「若有人要跟從我，就當捨己，天天背起他的十字架來跟從我。」』 (路加福音 9:23) 這是一條治死老我的路！所以保羅說：『你們若順從肉體活着，必要死；若靠着聖靈治死身體的惡行，必要活着。』 (羅馬書 8:13)  也就是說，我們實在要用耶穌的生命去替代我們的生命：『我已經與基督同釘十字架，現在活着的不再是我，乃是基督在我裏面活着；並且我如今在肉身活着，是因信神的兒子而活，他是愛我，為我捨己。』 (加拉太書 2:20) 而且『因為他預先所知道的人，就預先定下效法(模成)他兒子的模樣(形像)，使他兒子在許多弟兄中作長子。』 (羅馬書 8:29) 即然模成耶穌的形像是我們的標桿，怎能不治死我們的老我而得生命？

一些相關的經文

[1] 你們當以基督耶穌的心為心。他本有神的形像，不以自己與神同等為強奪的，反倒虛己，取了奴僕的形像，成為人的樣式。 (腓立比書 2:5-7)

[2] 『因為神差他的兒子降世，不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因他得救。』 (約翰福音 3:17)  『…我來了，是要叫羊得生命，並且得的更豐盛。』(約翰福音 10:10)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

更正:  關於十一奉獻。這衹是聖靈引導我瞭解十一奉獻的真諦過程中的一次，我在「2142 十一奉獻的真諦和不要認撒但為父」，講述了整個五次的過程。 我在油管和相應的文章中，並沒有個別的更新，而是用更正的方式引用了正確的「2142」，保留了這過程，希望別人不會和我犯下同樣的錯誤。其他的部份沒有問題。謝謝。

     我们首先用十一奉献来说明不要强解圣经，然后问保罗为什么不在迫害基督徒之前见到大光，因而谈到了万物有定时，接着讲箴言中的一个远离虚假和谎言的祷告，最后看圣经如何说神是又真又活的神，是有怜悯有恩典的神。

     我们已在专题查经中谈了三次的十一奉献，因为这和许多人的生活息息相关 [1]。只有在第三次，我们才把人的逻辑完全除掉，只看圣经如何教导。在这里，我们只将分享的最后结论大致提出。

     首先我们看见旧约在律法中的要求是、奉献要超过十分之一。我们现在是在新约的时代，新约没有如律法般的要求一定要奉献十分之一。新约的要求是要甘心乐意，我们和神的关系会决定了我们到底奉献多少。但不能把这当作借口，我可以见证神会考虑我们是否有足够的资源能奉献十分之一。新约中受到耶稣称赞的是穷寡妇奉献的两个小钱，是超过十分之一的奉献。

     如果我们和神关系好，自然会想要神家有粮，尤如我们和一个人关系好，自然希望这人能衣食无忧。也自然会考虑到那在旧约中所说的，且从未拿走的事实：十分之一是属耶和华的。这不是说奉献不到十分之一就是和神关系不好，神是看内心的，而不是看外表。

     我们可能会问，为什么我必须在前两次中犯两次错误？第一次分享是因有对圣经相当熟习的人和我有同样的看见，第二次意识到原文与和合本的翻译不同，直到第三次才借着姊妹的话告诉我拿去一切人的逻辑，只看圣经怎么说。

     问答这一问题，我们试着先问另一问题：神不是随时可以让保罗见到大光吗？不是在他迫害基督徒之前见到大光更好吗？是的，从人的角度看可能是更好的。保罗说：然而我蒙了怜悯，是因耶稣基督要在我这罪魁身上显明他一切的忍耐，给后来信他得永生的人作榜样。 (提摩太前书 1:16) 他说：『…在罪人中我是个罪魁。』(提摩太前书 1:15) 动词用的是现在式，所以他是说，我不仅过去迫害基督徒是个罪魁，现在仍是。神让他看见，和神的圣洁及无限相比，他不是罪魁是什么？愿神让我们都有这样的看见，这样的看见是不可少的。

     在传道书 3:1，耶和华说：「我的意念非同你们的意念，我的道路非同你们的道路。天怎样高过地，照样，我的道路高过你们的道路，我的意念高过你们的意念。」 的确如此，且『凡事都有定期，天下万务都有定时。』 (传道书 3:1) 这就是我们所领受的，凡事都有一个时间的窗口，有开始的时间，有结束的时间。有时候神会允许我们犯错而无意中开始了这窗口，结束的时间是在神手上。我想这大概就是为什么我在讲十一奉献时会先犯两次错误，第三次才借姊妹的话真的知道！没有疑问的，神的道路高过我的道路。

     箴言教我们一个这样的祷告：「我求你两件事，在我未死之先，不要不赐给我：求你使虚假和谎言远离我，使我也不贫穷也不富足，赐给我需用的饮食。恐怕我饱足不认你，说：『耶和华是谁呢？』又恐怕我贫穷就偷窃，以致亵渎我神的名。」  (箴言 30:7-9) 这虽只是物质上的，而人活着不是单靠食物 [2]，有人见证这样的祷告是蒙主悦纳的，是蒙主应许的。

     这就牵涉到善意的谎言问题，因人们常常以为善意的谎言为世界所接纳，是所以可以说的。千万不可！善意的谎言也是谎言，要用智慧的话语。圣经应许基督徒：『你们中间若有缺少智慧的，应当求那厚赐与众人、也不斥责人的神，主就必赐给他。』 (雅各书 1:5)

     我看到在圣经中蒙神赦免的谎言都和牺牲自己的生命有关。例如说，妓女喇和当时如不说谎就形同自杀，神不要我们去自杀。但圣经从没有夸赞她的说谎，只称赞她的信心。 但和真理有关的，『…你务要至死忠心，我就赐给你那生命的冠冕。』 (启示录 2:10)

     圣经在经文中说神是又真又活的神： 『…你们是怎样离弃偶像，归向神，要服事那又真又活的神。』 (帖撒罗尼迦前书 1:9) 神有绝对主权，但有怜悯， 有恩典，如经文所说：『耶和华说：「…我要恩待谁，就恩待谁；要怜悯谁，就怜悯谁。」』 (出埃及记 33:19) 『道成了肉身，住在我们中间，充充满满地有恩典，有真理。…』 (约翰福音 1:14)

     我们已提到了几个神的应许，要全心相信，所有神的应许从不落空。『只要凭着信心求，一点不疑惑；因为那疑惑的人，就像海中的波浪，被风吹动翻腾。』 (雅各书 1:6) 例如在大使命中有这样的应许：『凡我所吩咐你们的，都教训他们遵守，我就常与你们同在，直到世界的末了。』 (马太福音 28:20) 这应许因我们有内住的圣灵而成就了。『他又用印印了我们，并赐圣灵在我们心里作凭据。』 (哥林多后书 1:22)

     我们最后用一节经文来结束分享：『遵守神命令的，就住在神里面，神也住在他里面。我们所以知道神住在我们里面，是因他所赐给我们的圣灵。』 (约翰一书 3:24)

一些相关的经文和知识

 [1] 这三次分别是：『200816 从圣经的无误和一致性看一些经文』https://youtu.be/xea-Yj-jnro ，『 201220 读经要从整本圣经读的三个例子』https://youtu.be/O3E84s3SoYI ，和『210918 愿神家有粮和十一的奉献』https://youtu.be/YH7ih5ZFQeQ 。

 [2] 耶稣却回答说：「经上记着说：『人活着，不是单靠食物，乃是靠神口里所出的一切话。』」 (马太福音 4:4) ####

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到这网站后要按『对属灵生命的了解』。)

更正:  關於十一奉獻。這衹是聖靈引導我瞭解十一奉獻的真諦過程中的一次，我在「2142 十一奉獻的真諦和不要認撒但為父」，講述了整個五次的過程。 我在油管和相應的文章中，並沒有個別的更新，而是用更正的方式引用了正確的「2142」，保留了這過程，希望別人不會和我犯下同樣的錯誤。其他的部份沒有問題。謝謝。

我們首先用十一奉獻來說明不要强解聖經，然後問保羅為什麼不在迫害基督徒之前見到大光，因而談到了萬物有定時，接著講箴言中的一個遠離虛假和謊言的禱告，最後看聖經如何說神是又真又活的神，是有憐憫有恩典的神。

我們已在專題查經中談了三次的十一奉獻，因為這和許多人的生活息息相關 [1]。只有在第三次，我們才把人的邏輯完全除掉，只看聖經如何教導。在這裏，我們只將分享的最後結論大致提出。

首先我們看見舊約在律法中的要求是、奉獻要超過十分之一。我們現在是在新約的時代，新約沒有如律法般的要求一定要奉獻十分之一。新約的要求是要甘心樂意，我們和神的關係會決定了我們到底奉獻多少。但不能把這當作藉口，我可以見証神會考慮我們是否有足夠的資源能奉獻十分之一。新約中受到耶穌稱讚的是窮寡婦奉獻的兩個小錢，是超過十分之一的奉獻。

如果我們和神關係好，自然會想要神家有糧，尤如我們和一個人關係好，自然希望這人能衣食無憂。也自然會考慮到那在舊約中所說的，且從未拿走的事實：十分之一是屬耶和華的。這不是說奉獻不到十分之一就是和神關係不好，神是看內心的，而不是看外表。

我們可能會問，為什麼我必須在前兩次中犯兩次錯誤？第一次分享是因有對聖經相當熟習的人和我有同樣的看見，第二次意識到原文與和合本的翻譯不同，直到第三次才藉著姊妹的話告訴我拿去一切人的邏輯，只看聖經怎麼說。

問答這一問題，我們試著先問另一問題：神不是隨時可以讓保羅見到大光嗎？不是在他迫害基督徒之前見到大光更好嗎？是的，從人的角度看可能是更好的。保羅說：然而我蒙了憐憫，是因耶穌基督要在我這罪魁身上顯明他一切的忍耐，給後來信他得永生的人作榜樣。 (提摩太前書 1:16) 他說：『…在罪人中我是個罪魁。』(提摩太前書 1:15) 動詞用的是現在式，所以他是說，我不僅過去迫害基督徒是個罪魁，現在仍是。神讓他看見，和神的聖潔及無限相比，他不是罪魁是什麼？願神讓我們都有這樣的看見，這樣的看見是不可少的。

在傳道書 3:1，耶和華說：「我的意念非同你們的意念，我的道路非同你們的道路。天怎樣高過地，照樣，我的道路高過你們的道路，我的意念高過你們的意念。」 的確如此，且『凡事都有定期，天下萬務都有定時。』 (傳道書 3:1) 這就是我們所領受的，凡事都有一個時間的窗口，有開始的時間，有結束的時間。有時候神會允許我們犯錯而無意中開始了這窗口，結束的時間是在神手上。我想這大概就是為什麼我在講十一奉獻時會先犯兩次錯誤，第三次才藉姊妹的話真的知道！沒有疑問的，神的道路高過我的道路。

箴言教我們一個這樣的禱告：「我求你兩件事，在我未死之先，不要不賜給我：求你使虛假和謊言遠離我，使我也不貧窮也不富足，賜給我需用的飲食。恐怕我飽足不認你，說：『耶和華是誰呢？』又恐怕我貧窮就偷竊，以致褻瀆我神的名。」  (箴言 30:7-9) 這雖只是物質上的，而人活著不是單靠食物 [2]，有人見証這樣的禱告是蒙主悅納的，是蒙主應許的。

這就牽涉到善意的謊言問題，因人們常常以為善意的謊言為世界所接納，是所以可以說的。千萬不可！善意的謊言也是謊言，要用智慧的話語。聖經應許基督徒：『你們中間若有缺少智慧的，應當求那厚賜與眾人、也不斥責人的神，主就必賜給他。』 (雅各書 1:5)

我看到在聖經中蒙神赦免的謊言都和犧牲自己的生命有關。例如說，妓女喇和當時如不說謊就形同自殺，神不要我們去自殺。但聖經從沒有誇讚她的說謊，只稱讚她的信心。 但和真理有關的，『…你務要至死忠心，我就賜給你那生命的冠冕。』 (啓示錄 2:10)

聖經在經文中說神是又真又活的神： 『…你們是怎樣離棄偶像，歸向神，要服事那又真又活的神。』 (帖撒羅尼迦前書 1:9) 神有絕對主權，但有憐憫， 有恩典，如經文所說：『耶和華說：「…我要恩待誰，就恩待誰；要憐憫誰，就憐憫誰。」』 (出埃及記 33:19) 『道成了肉身，住在我們中間，充充滿滿地有恩典，有真理。…』 (約翰福音 1:14)

我們已提到了幾個神的應許，要全心相信，所有神的應許從不落空。『只要憑着信心求，一點不疑惑；因為那疑惑的人，就像海中的波浪，被風吹動翻騰。』 (雅各書 1:6) 例如在大使命中有這樣的應許：『凡我所吩咐你們的，都教訓他們遵守，我就常與你們同在，直到世界的末了。』 (馬太福音 28:20) 這應許因我們有內住的聖靈而成就了。『他又用印印了我們，並賜聖靈在我們心裏作憑據。』 (哥林多後書 1:22)

我們最後用一節經文來結束分享：『遵守神命令的，就住在神裏面，神也住在他裏面。我們所以知道神住在我們裏面，是因他所賜給我們的聖靈。』 (約翰一書 3:24)

一些相關的經文和知識

[1] 這三次分別是：『200816 從聖經的無誤和一致性看一些經文』https://youtu.be/xea-Yj-jnro ，『 201220 讀經要從整本聖經讀的三個例子』https://youtu.be/O3E84s3SoYI ，和『210918 願神家有糧和十一的奉獻』https://youtu.be/YH7ih5ZFQeQ 。

[2] 耶穌卻回答說：「經上記着說：『人活着，不是單靠食物，乃是靠神口裏所出的一切話。』」 (馬太福音 4:4)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

Correction: Regarding tithing. This is just one instance of the Holy Spirit’s guidance in my understanding of the true meaning of tithing. I recounted the entire five-fold process in “1142 True meaning of tithing and don’t acknowledge Satan as father.” I haven’t updated the individual parts of the corresponding articles or on YouTube. Instead, I’ve included the corrected version of “1142” and preserved the process, hoping others won’t make the same mistake I did. The rest of the content is fine. Thank you.

First, we’ll use the example of giving one tenth of your income as an offering to show that we shouldn’t forcefully interpret the Bible as I did, since I finally got rid of the logic in the aspect of human after three iterations [1]. Instead, whatever the Bible says, we follow. In other words, we can finally study the Bible on this topic in the aspect of the Bible. Then, we asked why Paul didn’t see the big light before he prosecuted Christians? This leads to the discussion of the fact there is a time for everything under heaven similar to the first one that I went through three iterations. After that, we discuss a prayer in Proverbs 30 about keeping deception and lies far from me. Finally, we take a brief look at how the Bible says that God is living and true and He is full of mercy and grace.

We have talked three times about the concept of one tenth offering in topic-wise Bible study as the topic influences our daily life. In the first iteration of 8/16/20, the arguments are very logical in the aspect of human. Actually, there is someone agreeing with me on the same arguments which gave me the courage to talk about it. In the first iteration, I conclude wrongly with the following arguments that we have to offer at least one tenth in the era of New Testament with hearts moved.

In Exodus 25:1-2: Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “… from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution.” So, we must have our heart moved when we give an offering. From Leviticus 27:30, it says: Thus, all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s …” This sentence is still true even in the era of the New Testament. For churches talking about one tenth offering, they often quoted the verse in Malachi 3:8, it says: “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.” Someone may argue that more than tithes are required if quoting this verse, since there are additional offerings mentioned. Since the offerings mentioned in this verse are all related to the sacrificial system. We no longer have the temple in the era of the New Testament or the offerings mentioned. Therefore, from this argument, one tenth offering in the era of New Testament is still correct.

In the era of New Testament, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 in NIV says, “…On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income (G2343), …”  Paul didn’t have to say how much since everyone at that time knew, one tenth. Let us see what Jesus said in Luke 11:42, “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and …” He also said in Matthew 23:3, “therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, …” Hence, both Testaments say that we have to offer at least one tenth. Is it very logical? That is why both of us are deceived by words not in the Bible.

In the second iteration of 12/20/20, I realized the word in Greek G2343 is not necessarily related to income. I made changes accordingly.

In the third iteration of 9/4/21, to answer the question about what the teaching of offering in New Testament is, I realized that the only direct teaching was what Jesus said in Luke 21:2-4, “And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”” 

In the era of New Testament, it is impossible to have any law like one tenth offering as we can see how Jesus hated it. I didn’t say offering less than one tenth indicated the relationship between God and the person was no good. I want to point out there is only one God, who has the absolute authority. We really cannot use logic to say there is no sacrifice anymore, and conclude one tenth offering is still correct. This is to view things in the aspect of human. If in the aspect of the Bible, it was required to offer more than one tenth in the era of Old Testament. Period. Man has free will. Offering how much definitely depends upon the relationship between God and the person.

However, this is not to be used as an excuse. Just like if one person has a good relationship with another person, the first person normally hopes that the other will not lack of food. If one person has good relationship with God, the person will automatically think about having enough food in God’s house like what Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, …” The person then really wants return what belongs to the Lord as said in Leviticus 27:30 mentioned earlier. However, I can testify that God doesn’t blame at all those people who don’t have enough resources to offer one tenth, “…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).

We might ask then why I had to go through three iterations to get it finally be consistent with the Bible? This is my interpretation. One might ask why Paul saw the big light after he prosecuted Christians. Isn’t it better if it happened before that? Yes, in the aspect of human. But in Isaiah 55:8-9, it says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Furthermore, in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.” So, it is the right time as you can see from what Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:16, “Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” I think that it might be a similar reason why I had to go through two wrong logical iterations before I finally am consistent with what the Bible says. The way of God is definitely higher than mine, not comparable at all. We can also see that there is a window of time for everything. Sometimes God allows us to start the time window unexpectedly or even by allowing us to make mistakes, the end is solely controlled by God as He has the absolute authority.

Just to mention by passing what is related to 1 Timothy 1:15, “…  sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.” notice that the verb is the present tense. So, he didn’t say that he was the foremost because he prosecuted Christians, he is now the one too. God let him see that before His Holy presence and His infinity, what else could he feel other than being the foremost? May God let us feel the same way since such a perception is the must.

Just to mention by passing what is related to 1 Timothy 1:15, notice that the verb is the present tense. So, he didn’t say that he was the foremost because he prosecuted Christians, he is now the one too. God let him see that before His Holy and infinity, what else could he feel other than being the foremost? May God let us feel the same way since such a perception is the must.

Let us now take a look at a prayer in Proverbs 30:7-9 related to the time, “Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.” People often thinks that a lie out of a good will is acceptable by the world at large. Hence, it is ok to lie out of good will. Absolutely not! A lie out of good will is still a lie. What we want to do is to use the words of wisdom as in James 1:5-6, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.” If we don’t have the wisdom, we can pray for it. There are no other requirements except requiring that a Christian prays in faith. It doesn’t say anything about time, but we are surely to get it as God promised. 

When God forgave someone in the Bible for lying, it is always related to the life for that person. For example, in Joshua 2:4-6, “But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.” Surely, the harlot Rahab lied. If at that time Rahab didn’t lie, it would be just like suicide. God doesn’t want us to commit suicide. In the Bible, the faith of Rahab is praised, never about her lying. If related to truth, Revelation 2:10 says clearly, “…Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Although Matthew 4:4 says, “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'”, we’ll not depend on food ALONE but still need food. Hence, though such a prayer talks about materials, someone testified that it was still made God pleased and was granted so far.

Finally, let us remember the Bible says that although God has the absolute authority, He is living and true. He is full of mercy and grace. Apparently, He is living and true as said in 1 Thessalonians 1:9, “For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God.” He has the absolute authority as in Exodus 33:19, “…and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” It also shows that He has compassion. In the era of the New Testament, John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” He is full of grace.

We have mentioned some promises. We have to believe that whatever He promised, it will be done. All we have to do is to pray in faith as said in James 1:6, “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, …” For example, the promise in the great mission of Matthew 28:20 “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” is done by the indwelling Holy Spirit stated in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”

We end the sharing by a verse in 1 John 3:24, “The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”

Reference

(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)

[1] For people who know Chinese, you can go to YouTube to get those three iterations in detail. They are: 『200816 從聖經的無誤和一致性看一些經文』https://youtu.be/xea-Yj-jnro ，『 201220 讀經要從整本聖經讀的三個例子』https://youtu.be/O3E84s3SoYI ，和『210918 願神家有糧和十一的奉獻』https://youtu.be/YH7ih5ZFQeQ 。

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

我们簡短敍述一些保罗所遭遇的事。首先我们看到保罗的转变是他见到大光的神蹟后[1]，主透过看到異象的亚拿尼亚告诉保罗，事奉主必须受许多的苦难 [2]，但保罗仍旧选择跟随主耶稣基督。他见大光后马上凭借自己力量去传道，最后结果是夜间用筐子把他从城牆上缒下去 [3]。极有可能的去了亚拉伯矿野三年，承受启示成為使徒 [4]。

巴拿巴找他到教会，並很有果效的宣教 [5]。随后因圣灵的带领去了第一次佈道 [6]，总共三次佈道 [7]。虽遭逼害，為主不惜自己的生命 [8]。他实在是有这样在狱中仍唱诗喜乐的生命 [9] 。為了坚持真理而责备彼得 [10]，圣灵也透过他充满別人 [10]，甚至能使死人复活 [12]。

他上诉该撒实在是不得已 [13]，因此坐船到罗马 [14]，而遇上了船难，得到主的使者以预言平安加力量 [15]，来到了罗马 [16]。到了罗马以后，虽在狱中仍然传道 [17]，他在狱中写的书信，使万人蒙福。

一些相关的经文

[1] 掃罗行路，将到大马士革，忽然从天上發光，四面照着他。他就仆倒在地，听见有声音对他說：「掃罗，掃罗！你為甚麼逼迫我？」他說：「主啊，你是谁？」 主說：「我就是你所逼迫的耶稣。起来！进城去，你所当做的事，必有人告诉你。」 (使徒行传 9:3-6)

[2] 当下，在大马士革有一个门徒，名叫亚拿尼亚。主在異象中对他說：「亚拿尼亚。」 他說：「主，我在这里。」主对他說：「起来！往直街去，在犹大的家里，访问一个大数人，名叫掃罗，他正祷告；…主对亚拿尼亚說：「你只管去。他是我所拣选的器皿，要在外邦人和君王並以色列人面前宣扬我的名。我也要指示他，為我的名必须受许多的苦难。」 (使徒行传 9:10-16)

[3] …掃罗就在各会堂里宣传耶稣，說他是神的儿子。…他的门徒就在夜间用筐子把他从城牆上缒下去。 (使徒行传 9:19-25)

[4] 因為我不是从人领受的，也不是人教导我的，乃是从耶稣基督启示来的。…然而那把我从母腹里分別出来、又施恩召我的神，既然乐意将他儿子启示在我心里，叫我把他传在外邦人中，我就沒有与属血气的人商量，也沒有上耶路撒冷去见那些比我先作使徒的，惟獨往阿拉伯去，后又回到大马士革。过了三年，才上耶路撒冷去见矶法，和他同住了十五天。 (加拉太书 1:12-18)

[5] 他(巴拿巴)又往大数去找掃罗，找着了，就带他到安提阿去。他们足有一年的工夫和教会一同聚集，教训了许多人。门徒称為基督徒是从安提阿起首。 (使徒行传 11:25-26)

[6] 他们事奉主，禁食的时候，圣灵說：「要為我分派巴拿巴和掃罗，去做我召他们所做的工。」於是禁食祷告，按手在他们头上，就打發他们去了。 (使徒行传 13:2-3)

[7] 过了些日子，保罗对巴拿巴說：「我们可以回到从前宣传主道的各城，看望弟兄们景況如何。」…保罗拣选了西拉也出去，蒙弟兄们把他交於主的恩中。』 (使徒行传 15:36-40)   住了些日子，又离开那里，挨次经过加拉太和弗呂家地方，坚固眾门徒。 (使徒行传 18:23)

[8] 他们是基督的仆人吗？（我說句狂话）我更是！我比他们多受劳苦，多下监牢；受鞭打是过重的，冒死是屡次有的。被犹太人鞭打五次，每次四十，減去一下；被棍打了三次，被石头打了一次；遇着船坏三次，一昼一夜在深海里。又屡次行远路，遭江河的危险、盜贼的危险、同族的危险、外邦人的危险、城里的危险、旷野的危险、海中的危险、假弟兄的危险。受劳碌、受困苦、多次不得睡；又飢又渴，多次不得食；受寒冷，赤身露体。除了这外面的事，还有為眾教会掛心的事，天天压在我身上。 (哥林多后书 11:23-28)

[9] 禁卒领了这样的命，就把他们下在內监里，两腳上了木狗。约在半夜，保罗和西拉祷告唱诗讚美神，眾囚犯也侧耳而听。 (使徒行传 16:24-25)

[10] 但我一看见他们行得不正，与福音的真理不合，就在眾人面前对矶法說：「你既是犹太人，若随外邦人行事，不随犹太人行事，怎麼还勉強外邦人随犹太人呢？ (加拉太书 2:14)

[11] 保罗按手在他们头上，圣灵便降在他们身上，他们就說方言，又說预言。一共约有十二个人。 (使徒行传 19:6-7)

[12] 有一个少年人，名叫犹推古，坐在窗台上困倦沉睡。保罗讲了多时，少年人睡熟了，就从三层楼上掉下去；扶起他来，已经死了。保罗下去，伏在他身上，抱着他說：「你们不要發慌，他的灵魂还在身上。」…有人把那童子活活地领来，得的安慰不小。 (使徒行传 20:9-12)

[13] 但非斯都要讨犹太人的喜欢，就问保罗說：「你愿意上耶路撒冷去，在那里听我审断这事吗？」保罗說：「我站在凯撒的堂前，这就是我应当受审的地方。…他们所告我的事若都不实，就沒有人可以把我交给他们。我要上告於凯撒。」 (使徒行传 25:9-11)

 [14] 非斯都既然定规了，叫我们坐船往意大利去，便将保罗和別的囚犯交给御营里的一个百夫长，名叫犹流。 (使徒行传 27:1)

[15] 因我所属所事奉的神，他的使者昨夜站在我旁边說：『保罗，不要害怕！你必定站在凯撒面前；並且与你同船的人，神都赐给你了。』 (使徒行传 27:23-24)

[16] 在那里(部丟利)遇见弟兄们，请我们与他们同住了七天。这样，我们来到罗马。 (使徒行传 28:14)

[17] 进了罗马城，保罗蒙准和一个看守他的兵另住在一处。 (使徒行传 28:16) 保罗在自己所租的房子里住了足足两年。凡来见他的人，他全都接待，放胆传讲神国的道，将主耶稣基督的事教导人，並沒有人禁止。 (使徒行传 28:30-31)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到这网站后要按『对属灵生命的了解』。)

我們簡短敍述一些保羅所遭遇的事。首先我們看到保羅的轉變是他見到大光的神蹟後[1]，主透過看到異象的亞拿尼亞告訴保羅，事奉主必須受許多的苦難 [2]，但保羅仍舊選擇跟隨主耶穌基督。他見大光後馬上憑藉自己力量去傳道，最後結果是夜間用筐子把他從城牆上縋下去 [3]。極有可能的去了亞拉伯礦野三年，承受啓示成為使徒 [4]。

巴拿巴找他到教會，並很有果效的宣教 [5]。隨後因聖靈的帶領去了第一次佈道 [6]，總共三次佈道 [7]。雖遭逼害，為主不惜自己的生命 [8]。他實在是有這樣在獄中仍唱詩喜樂的生命 [9] 。為了堅持真理而責備彼得 [10]，聖靈也透過他充滿別人 [10]，甚至能使死人復活 [12]。

 他上訴該撒實在是不得已 [13]，因此坐船到羅馬 [14]，而遇上了船難，得到主的使者以預言平安加力量 [15]，來到了羅馬 [16]。到了羅馬以後，雖在獄中仍然傳道 [17]，他在獄中寫的書信，使萬人蒙福。

一些相關的經文

[1] 掃羅行路，將到大馬士革，忽然從天上發光，四面照着他。他就仆倒在地，聽見有聲音對他說：「掃羅，掃羅！你為甚麼逼迫我？」他說：「主啊，你是誰？」 主說：「我就是你所逼迫的耶穌。起來！進城去，你所當做的事，必有人告訴你。」 (使徒行傳 9:3-6)

[2] 當下，在大馬士革有一個門徒，名叫亞拿尼亞。主在異象中對他說：「亞拿尼亞。」 他說：「主，我在這裏。」主對他說：「起來！往直街去，在猶大的家裏，訪問一個大數人，名叫掃羅，他正禱告；…主對亞拿尼亞說：「你只管去。他是我所揀選的器皿，要在外邦人和君王並以色列人面前宣揚我的名。我也要指示他，為我的名必須受許多的苦難。」 (使徒行傳 9:10-16)

[3] …掃羅就在各會堂裏宣傳耶穌，說他是神的兒子。…他的門徒就在夜間用筐子把他從城牆上縋下去。 (使徒行傳 9:19-25)

[4] 因為我不是從人領受的，也不是人教導我的，乃是從耶穌基督啓示來的。…然而那把我從母腹裏分別出來、又施恩召我的神，既然樂意將他兒子啓示在我心裏，叫我把他傳在外邦人中，我就沒有與屬血氣的人商量，也沒有上耶路撒冷去見那些比我先作使徒的，惟獨往阿拉伯去，後又回到大馬士革。過了三年，才上耶路撒冷去見磯法，和他同住了十五天。 (加拉太書 1:12-18)

[5] 他(巴拿巴)又往大數去找掃羅，找着了，就帶他到安提阿去。他們足有一年的工夫和教會一同聚集，教訓了許多人。門徒稱為基督徒是從安提阿起首。 (使徒行傳 11:25-26)

[6] 他們事奉主，禁食的時候，聖靈說：「要為我分派巴拿巴和掃羅，去做我召他們所做的工。」於是禁食禱告，按手在他們頭上，就打發他們去了。 (使徒行傳 13:2-3)

[7] 過了些日子，保羅對巴拿巴說：「我們可以回到從前宣傳主道的各城，看望弟兄們景況如何。」…保羅揀選了西拉也出去，蒙弟兄們把他交於主的恩中。』 (使徒行傳 15:36-40)    住了些日子，又離開那裏，挨次經過加拉太和弗呂家地方，堅固眾門徒。 (使徒行傳 18:23)

[8] 他們是基督的僕人嗎？（我說句狂話）我更是！我比他們多受勞苦，多下監牢；受鞭打是過重的，冒死是屢次有的。被猶太人鞭打五次，每次四十，減去一下；被棍打了三次，被石頭打了一次；遇着船壞三次，一晝一夜在深海裏。又屢次行遠路，遭江河的危險、盜賊的危險、同族的危險、外邦人的危險、城裏的危險、曠野的危險、海中的危險、假弟兄的危險。受勞碌、受困苦、多次不得睡；又飢又渴，多次不得食；受寒冷，赤身露體。除了這外面的事，還有為眾教會掛心的事，天天壓在我身上。 (哥林多後書 11:23-28)

[9] 禁卒領了這樣的命，就把他們下在內監裏，兩腳上了木狗。約在半夜，保羅和西拉禱告唱詩讚美神，眾囚犯也側耳而聽。 (使徒行傳 16:24-25)

[10] 但我一看見他們行得不正，與福音的真理不合，就在眾人面前對磯法說：「你既是猶太人，若隨外邦人行事，不隨猶太人行事，怎麼還勉強外邦人隨猶太人呢？ (加拉太書 2:14)

[11] 保羅按手在他們頭上，聖靈便降在他們身上，他們就說方言，又說預言。一共約有十二個人。 (使徒行傳 19:6-7)

[12] 有一個少年人，名叫猶推古，坐在窗台上困倦沉睡。保羅講了多時，少年人睡熟了，就從三層樓上掉下去；扶起他來，已經死了。保羅下去，伏在他身上，抱着他說：「你們不要發慌，他的靈魂還在身上。」…有人把那童子活活地領來，得的安慰不小。 (使徒行傳 20:9-12)

[13] 但非斯都要討猶太人的喜歡，就問保羅說：「你願意上耶路撒冷去，在那裏聽我審斷這事嗎？」保羅說：「我站在凱撒的堂前，這就是我應當受審的地方。…他們所告我的事若都不實，就沒有人可以把我交給他們。我要上告於凱撒。」 (使徒行傳 25:9-11)

[14] 非斯都既然定規了，叫我們坐船往意大利去，便將保羅和別的囚犯交給御營裏的一個百夫長，名叫猶流。 (使徒行傳 27:1)

[15] 因我所屬所事奉的神，他的使者昨夜站在我旁邊說：『保羅，不要害怕！你必定站在凱撒面前；並且與你同船的人，神都賜給你了。』 (使徒行傳 27:23-24)

[16] 在那裏(部丟利)遇見弟兄們，請我們與他們同住了七天。這樣，我們來到羅馬。 (使徒行傳 28:14)

[17] 進了羅馬城，保羅蒙准和一個看守他的兵另住在一處。 (使徒行傳 28:16) 保羅在自己所租的房子裏住了足足兩年。凡來見他的人，他全都接待，放膽傳講神國的道，將主耶穌基督的事教導人，並沒有人禁止。 (使徒行傳 28:30-31)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

We briefly describe something about what Paul encountered. First, we can see the change of Paul that occurred after the miracle of his seeing a light from heaven flashing around him [1]. Through Ananias, Jesus told him, “for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” [2] Despite that, Paul still chose to follow Jesus until death. After he saw the big light, he immediately chose to preach Gospel by his old self, and a result “his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.” [3] Likely, he went to Arabia for three years, and became an apostle through revelation [4].

After that, Barnabas found Paul and introduced him to the church of Antioch, and preached the Gospel effectively [5]. Holy Spirit then leads him to the first evangelical trip [6], and there are three trips in total [7]. Even though he suffered because of strong suppression, he didn’t care for his own life in order to preach for the Lord [8]. He has the life to continue praying and singing hymns of praise to God even in jail [9]. In order to stand for the truth, he even scolded Peter [10]. Holy Spirit also through him to fill others [11]. He could even revive a dead [12].

He was forced to appeal to Caesar [13], and it was decided that he would sail for Italy [14]. As a result, he encountered a shipwreck, but an angel of the God appeared to him to ensure him in advance to not be afraid of what will happen [15]. Eventually, he arrived Rome [16]. Even in jail in Rome, he still preached the Gospel [17]. The four books he wrote when jailed benefited so many.

Some related verses

(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)

[1] Acts 9:3-6, As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.”

[2] Acts 9:10-16, Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

[3] Acts 9:19-25, …Saul Begins to Preach Christ Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” …but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

[4] Galatians 1:12-18, For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days.

[5] Acts 11:25-26, And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

[6] Acts 13:2-3, While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

[7] Acts 15:36-40, “After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” …But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.” Acts 18:23, “And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.”

[8] 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Are they servants of Christ?-I speak as if insane-I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

[9] Acts 16:24-25, and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;

[10] Galatians 2:14, But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?

[11] Acts 19:6-7, And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. There were in all about twelve men.

[12] Acts 20:9-12, And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. Troas to Miletus

[13] Acts 25:9-11, But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges? ” But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

[14] Acts 27:1, When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius.

[15] Acts 27:23-24, For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’

[16] Acts 28:14, There we found some brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome.

[17] Acts 28:30-31, And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

我们簡单的看看彼得在成圣之路所遭遇的一些事情。我们不是用『见树不见林』的方法而详查经文，相反的、我们是簡述大纲，而将一些详情放於参考的经文中。我们要強调一点，虽然因篇幅的关系，我们只能引用部份经文，引用是要以圣经的一致性為基础的，如有沒有看见的和看错的地方，敬请指正。谢谢。

首先，我们看到了彼得虽然跟随了耶稣三年多，在耶稣钉十字架前仍三次不认主，虽然他悔改並成為大使徒，但我们看见了我们实在不能凭借老我 [1]。

我们曾說过，主在复活后三次问彼得說你愛我吗，是用不同的愛问的，只有用原文才能分辨出来 [2]，所以有时非用原文不可。对不懂原文的我，必须用工具书如汇编(Strong’s concordance)才能分辨。在这些经文中，我们看见了耶稣告诉彼得，要用神来的(Agape)愛才能牧養我的羊 [2]，用人世间的愛只能餵養。

在五旬节时，彼得被圣灵充满，带著这新我，他得人如得鱼 [3]，並看到一个圣灵可以如何作工的方法。他也大有其他的能力，如在美门医治瘸腿的，但很清楚的知道能力来自耶稣基督，是主的工作 [4]，而众人也因此归荣耀於神 [5]。他还行了许多的神蹟 [6]，圣灵也借著他的按手降在別人身上 [7]，甚至使死人复活 [8]。

我们也看到了彼得透过異象开始在外邦中传福音，一连三次看见天上有一物降下 [9]，因而去了外邦人哥尼流的家中 [10]。更进一步，在『彼得还說这话的时候，圣灵降在一切听道的人身上。』(使徒行传 10:44) 他也証实了保罗是外邦的使徒，並传同样的福音 [11]。

我们最后看看两件事，看看一些他走在成圣之路的生命。第一件事是他明確的知道神有能力救他不死 [12]，耶稣卻预言了他為荣耀主而死 [13]，即使如此，他仍然跟随主到底。另外一件事，他曾遭保罗责备 [14]，他很清楚知道那时的保罗是对的，在他老年生命成熟的时候了，仍然称讚保罗 [15]。

 一些相关的经文和知识

[1] 彼得說：「主啊，我為甚麼现在不能跟你去？我愿意為你舍命。」耶稣說：「你愿意為我舍命吗？我实实在在地告诉你：雞叫以先，你要三次不认我。」(约翰福音 13:37-38) 从这节经文中我们看到彼得在老我中是愿為主舍命的，但在耶稣钉十字架前，他的肉体软弱了！在我们的经验中，我们不是常常如此吗？凭著老我，我们只会落在罗马书第七章所讲的光景中：『因為我所做的，我自己不明白；我所愿意的，我並不做；我所恨恶的，我倒去做。』(罗马书 7:15) 但彼得当时就悔改了，我们也要有一个悔改的心志。『主转过身来看彼得，彼得便想起主对他所說的话：「今日雞叫以先，你要三次不认我。」他就出去痛哭。』(路加福音 22:61-62)

 [2] 我们看在第二次耶稣问彼得說你愛我吗时，就可以知道有不同的愛！『耶稣第二次又对他說：「约翰的儿子西门，你愛(G25)我吗？」 彼得說：「主啊，是的，你知道我愛(G5368)你。」 耶稣說：「你牧養(G4165)我的羊。」』(约翰福音 21:16) 在汇编中，不同的字有不同的编号，两个不同编号的愛，是两种不同的愛。另外，如果你把约翰福音 21:15-17 中耶稣对彼得說的话放在一起，就可以看到只有用神来的(Agape)愛才能牧養和餵養(G1006)，用人世间的愛(G5368)只能餵養。

[3] 『五旬节到了，门徒都聚集在一处。…他们就都被圣灵充满，按着圣灵所赐的口才說起別国的话来。』(使徒行传 2:1-4) 『眾人听见这话，觉得扎心，…彼得說：「你们各人要悔改，奉耶稣基督的名受洗，叫你们的罪得赦，就必领受所赐的圣灵。…於是，领受他话的人就受了洗。那一天，门徒约添了三千人，…』(使徒行传 2:37-42)  『但听道之人有许多信的，男丁数目约到五千。』(使徒行传 4:4) 圣灵的一个工作是使人感到扎心，即使扎心，人仍有自由意志可決定要不要接受。

[4] 有一个人，生来是瘸腿的，天天被人抬来，放在殿的一个门口（那门名叫美门），要求进殿的人赒济。…彼得說：「金银我都沒有，只把我所有的给你。我奉拿撒勒人耶稣基督的名，叫你起来行走！」…於是拉着他的右手，扶他起来。他的腳和踝子骨立刻健壮了。…彼得看见，就对百姓說：「以色列人哪，為甚麼把这事当作希奇呢？為甚麼定睛看我们，以為我们凭自己的能力和虔诚使这人行走呢？(使徒行传 3:2-12)

[5] …这是因眾人為所行的奇事，都归荣耀与神。(使徒行传 4:21)

[6] 还有许多人带着病人和被污鬼缠磨的，从耶路撒冷四围的城邑来，全都得了医治。(使徒行传 5:16)

[7] 使徒在耶路撒冷听见撒马利亚人领受了神的道，就打發彼得、约翰往他们那里去。…於是使徒按手在他们头上，他们就受了圣灵。(使徒行传 8:14-17)

[8] 在约帕有一个女徒，名叫大比大，翻希腊话就是多加。她广行善事，多施赒济。当时，她患病而死，有人把她洗了，停在楼上。…彼得叫她们都出去，就跪下祷告，转身对着死人說：「大比大，起来！」她就睜开眼睛，见了彼得，便坐起来。(使徒行传 9:36-40)

[9] …彼得…看见天开了，有一物降下，…彼得卻說：「主啊，这是不可的！凡俗物和不洁淨的物，我从来沒有吃过。」…这样一连三次，那物随即收回天上去了。(使徒行传 10:9-16)

[10] 彼得…次日起身和他们同去，还有约帕的几个弟兄同着他去。…哥尼流已经请了他的亲属、密友等候他们。…彼得…就对他们說：「你们知道，犹太人和別国的人亲近来往，本是不合例的，但神已经指示我，无论甚麼人都不可看作俗而不洁淨的。所以我被请的时候，就不推辞而来。…』(使徒行传 10:23-29)

[11] 『至於那些有名望的，不论他是何等人，都与我(保罗)无干。神不以外貌取人。那些有名望的，並沒有加增我甚麼，反倒看见了主託我传福音给那未受割礼的人，正如託彼得传福音给那受割礼的人。（那感动彼得叫他為受割礼之人作使徒的，也感动我，叫我為外邦人作使徒。）』(加拉太书 2:6-8) 『我是奉启示上去的，把我在外邦人中所传的福音对弟兄们陈說，卻是背地里对那有名望之人說的，惟恐我现在或是从前徒然奔跑。』(加拉太书 2:2)

[12] …彼得被两條鐵链锁着，睡在两个兵丁当中。…忽然有主的一个使者…說：「快快起来！」那鐵链就从他手上脫落下来。…彼得就出来跟着他，不知道天使所做是真的，只当见了異象。…彼得醒悟过来，說：「我现在真知道主差遣他的使者，救我脫离希律的手和犹太百姓一切所盼望的。」(使徒行传 12:5-11)

[13] 我实实在在地告诉你：你年少的时候，自己束上带子，随意往来；但年老的时候，你要伸出手来，別人要把你束上，带你到不愿意去的地方。」耶稣說这话，是指着彼得要怎样死，荣耀神。說了这话，就对他說：「你跟从我吧！」(约翰福音 21:18-19)

[14] 从雅各那里来的人未到以先，他和外邦人一同吃饭；及至他们来到，他因怕奉割礼的人，就退去与外邦人隔开了。…但我一看见他们行得不正，与福音的真理不合，就在眾人面前对矶法說：「你既是犹太人，若随外邦人行事，不随犹太人行事，怎麼还勉強外邦人随犹太人呢？(加拉太书 2:12-14)

[15] 並且要以我主长久忍耐為得救的因由，就如我们所亲愛的兄弟保罗，照着所赐给他的智慧写了信给你们。(彼得后书 3:15)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到这网站后要按『对属灵生命的了解』。)

我們簡單的看看彼得在成聖之路所遭遇的一些事情。我們不是用『見樹不見林』的方法而詳查經文，相反的、我們是簡述大綱，而將一些詳情放於參考的經文中。我們要強調一點，雖然因篇幅的關係，我們只能引用部份經文，引用是要以聖經的一致性為基礎的，如有沒有看見的和看錯的地方，敬請指正。謝謝。

首先，我們看到了彼得雖然跟隨了耶穌三年多，在耶穌釘十字架前仍三次不認主，雖然他悔改並成為大使徒，但我們看見了我們實在不能憑藉老我 [1]。

我們曾說過，主在復活後三次問彼得說你愛我嗎，是用不同的愛問的，只有用原文才能分辨出來 [2]，所以有時非用原文不可。對不懂原文的我，必須用工具書如彙編(Strong’s concordance)才能分辨。在這些經文中，我們看見了耶穌告訴彼得，要用神來的(Agape)愛才能牧養我的羊 [2]，用人世間的愛只能餵養。

在五旬節時，彼得被聖靈充滿，帶著這新我，他得人如得魚 [3]，並看到一個聖靈可以如何作工的方法。他也大有其他的能力，如在美門醫治瘸腿的，但很清楚的知道能力來自耶穌基督，是主的工作 [4]，而衆人也因此歸榮耀於神 [5]。他還行了許多的神蹟 [6]，聖靈也藉著他的按手降在別人身上 [7]，甚至使死人復活 [8]。

我們也看到了彼得透過異象開始在外邦中傳福音，一連三次看見天上有一物降下 [9]，因而去了外邦人哥尼流的家中 [10]。更進一步，在『彼得還說這話的時候，聖靈降在一切聽道的人身上。』(使徒行傳 10:44) 他也証實了保羅是外邦的使徒，並傳同樣的福音 [11]。

我們最後看看兩件事，看看一些他走在成聖之路的生命。第一件事是他明確的知道神有能力救他不死 [12]，耶穌卻預言了他為榮耀主而死 [13]，即使如此，他仍然跟隨主到底。另外一件事，他曾遭保羅責備 [14]，他很清楚知道那時的保羅是對的，在他老年生命成熟的時候了，仍然稱讚保羅 [15]。

一些相關的經文和知識

[1] 彼得說：「主啊，我為甚麼現在不能跟你去？我願意為你捨命。」耶穌說：「你願意為我捨命嗎？我實實在在地告訴你：雞叫以先，你要三次不認我。」(約翰福音 13:37-38) 從這節經文中我們看到彼得在老我中是願為主捨命的，但在耶穌釘十字架前，他的肉體軟弱了！在我們的經驗中，我們不是常常如此嗎？憑著老我，我們只會落在羅馬書第七章所講的光景中：『因為我所做的，我自己不明白；我所願意的，我並不做；我所恨惡的，我倒去做。』(羅馬書 7:15) 但彼得當時就悔改了，我們也要有一個悔改的心志。『主轉過身來看彼得，彼得便想起主對他所說的話：「今日雞叫以先，你要三次不認我。」他就出去痛哭。』(路加福音 22:61-62)

[2] 我們看在第二次耶穌問彼得說你愛我嗎時，就可以知道有不同的愛！『耶穌第二次又對他說：「約翰的兒子西門，你愛(G25)我嗎？」 彼得說：「主啊，是的，你知道我愛(G5368)你。」 耶穌說：「你牧養(G4165)我的羊。」』(約翰福音 21:16) 在彙編中，不同的字有不同的編號，兩個不同編號的愛，是兩種不同的愛。另外，如果你把約翰福音 21:15-17 中耶穌對彼得說的話放在一起，就可以看到只有用神來的(Agape)愛才能牧養和餵養(G1006)，用人世間的愛(G5368)只能餵養。

[3] 『五旬節到了，門徒都聚集在一處。…他們就都被聖靈充滿，按着聖靈所賜的口才說起別國的話來。』(使徒行傳 2:1-4) 『眾人聽見這話，覺得扎心，…彼得說：「你們各人要悔改，奉耶穌基督的名受洗，叫你們的罪得赦，就必領受所賜的聖靈。…於是，領受他話的人就受了洗。那一天，門徒約添了三千人，…』(使徒行傳 2:37-42)  『但聽道之人有許多信的，男丁數目約到五千。』(使徒行傳 4:4) 聖靈的一個工作是使人感到扎心，即使扎心，人仍有自由意志可決定要不要接受。

[4] 有一個人，生來是瘸腿的，天天被人抬來，放在殿的一個門口（那門名叫美門），要求進殿的人賙濟。…彼得說：「金銀我都沒有，只把我所有的給你。我奉拿撒勒人耶穌基督的名，叫你起來行走！」…於是拉着他的右手，扶他起來。他的腳和踝子骨立刻健壯了。…彼得看見，就對百姓說：「以色列人哪，為甚麼把這事當作希奇呢？為甚麼定睛看我們，以為我們憑自己的能力和虔誠使這人行走呢？(使徒行傳 3:2-12)

[5] …這是因眾人為所行的奇事，都歸榮耀與神。(使徒行傳 4:21)

[6] 還有許多人帶着病人和被污鬼纏磨的，從耶路撒冷四圍的城邑來，全都得了醫治。(使徒行傳 5:16)

[7] 使徒在耶路撒冷聽見撒馬利亞人領受了神的道，就打發彼得、約翰往他們那裏去。…於是使徒按手在他們頭上，他們就受了聖靈。(使徒行傳 8:14-17)

[8] 在約帕有一個女徒，名叫大比大，翻希臘話就是多加。她廣行善事，多施賙濟。當時，她患病而死，有人把她洗了，停在樓上。…彼得叫她們都出去，就跪下禱告，轉身對着死人說：「大比大，起來！」她就睜開眼睛，見了彼得，便坐起來。(使徒行傳 9:36-40)

[9] …彼得…看見天開了，有一物降下，…彼得卻說：「主啊，這是不可的！凡俗物和不潔淨的物，我從來沒有吃過。」…這樣一連三次，那物隨即收回天上去了。(使徒行傳 10:9-16)

[10] 彼得…次日起身和他們同去，還有約帕的幾個弟兄同着他去。…哥尼流已經請了他的親屬、密友等候他們。…彼得…就對他們說：「你們知道，猶太人和別國的人親近來往，本是不合例的，但神已經指示我，無論甚麼人都不可看作俗而不潔淨的。所以我被請的時候，就不推辭而來。…』(使徒行傳 10:23-29)

[11] 『至於那些有名望的，不論他是何等人，都與我(保羅)無干。神不以外貌取人。那些有名望的，並沒有加增我甚麼，反倒看見了主託我傳福音給那未受割禮的人，正如託彼得傳福音給那受割禮的人。（那感動彼得叫他為受割禮之人作使徒的，也感動我，叫我為外邦人作使徒。）』(加拉太書 2:6-8) 『我是奉啓示上去的，把我在外邦人中所傳的福音對弟兄們陳說，卻是背地裏對那有名望之人說的，惟恐我現在或是從前徒然奔跑。』(加拉太書 2:2)

[12] …彼得被兩條鐵鏈鎖着，睡在兩個兵丁當中。…忽然有主的一個使者…說：「快快起來！」那鐵鏈就從他手上脫落下來。…彼得就出來跟着他，不知道天使所做是真的，只當見了異象。…彼得醒悟過來，說：「我現在真知道主差遣他的使者，救我脫離希律的手和猶太百姓一切所盼望的。」(使徒行傳 12:5-11)

[13] 我實實在在地告訴你：你年少的時候，自己束上帶子，隨意往來；但年老的時候，你要伸出手來，別人要把你束上，帶你到不願意去的地方。」耶穌說這話，是指着彼得要怎樣死，榮耀神。說了這話，就對他說：「你跟從我吧！」(約翰福音 21:18-19)

[14] 從雅各那裏來的人未到以先，他和外邦人一同吃飯；及至他們來到，他因怕奉割禮的人，就退去與外邦人隔開了。…但我一看見他們行得不正，與福音的真理不合，就在眾人面前對磯法說：「你既是猶太人，若隨外邦人行事，不隨猶太人行事，怎麼還勉強外邦人隨猶太人呢？(加拉太書 2:12-14)

[15] 並且要以我主長久忍耐為得救的因由，就如我們所親愛的兄弟保羅，照着所賜給他的智慧寫了信給你們。(彼得後書 3:15)

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

We describe some things encountered in Peter’s sanctifying pathway. We want to avoid “not seeing the forest for the trees.” So instead, we summarize shortly and leave the detail in the referred verses. We want to emphasize that we may quote part of verses due to the lack of spaces, however quotations are based upon the consistency of the Bible as a whole. If we don’t see some related verses or interpret verses wrong, please let us know. Thanks.

First, although Peter followed Jesus more than three years and was willing to lay down his life for Him, he denied Him three times before He was crucified [1]. Peter regretted instantly and became the leading apostle [1]. Nevertheless, we can see from the verses that we really cannot depend upon our old self.

We said before that Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him three times after resurrection. Different words of love in Greek are used [2]. However, there is only one word of love in English, and so there is no way to know that they are different words except by looking at the original Greek. People like me who don’t know the Greek can only use something like Strong’s Concordance to distinguish them. From these verses, we can see that Jesus told Peter that in order to shepherd His sheep, he had to have Agape love, which he surely had after Pentecost.

In Pentecost, Peter was filled by the Holy Spirit. He got a new self, became a fisher of men and saw one example of how the Holy Spirit worked [3]. He also had other powers. For example, he healed a lame person in the gate of Beautiful, but knew clearly that the power came from Jesus Christ and it’s the work of Lord [4]. People were all glorifying God for what had happened [5]. He performed other miracles too [6]. The Hole Spirit also worked through him to fill other people [7]. He even resurrected Tabitha from dead [8].

We also see that Peter started the salvation of the Gentiles through a vision where he saw a great sheet coming down from the sky three times [9]. Because of this, he went to the home of the Gentile Cornelius [10]. Furthermore, in Acts 10:44, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.” He also verified that Paul was the apostle of Gentiles, and preached the same gospel [11].

Lastly, we want to highlight two things in his pathway to sanctification. First, he surely knew that God has the power to save him from death [12]. However, Jesus predicted him to die for glorying the Lord [13]. Even so, he followed the Lord till the end. Another thing is regarding Paul. He was scolded by Paul before [14], but he knew for sure that Paul was right, verified by the fact that he praised Paul when he was older [15].

Some related verses and knowledge

(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)

[1] John 13:37-38, “Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.” From these verses, we can see that Peter is willing to lay down his life for Jesus. But he was weakened in his old self when he faced the pressure before Jesus was crucified. In our experiences, are we doing the same as he did by depending on our old selves? As a matter of fact, if we depend on our old selves, we can only fall into the situations described in Romans 7:15, “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.”  But we can also see that Peter regretted at that time. In Luke 22:61-62, “The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.” A soul of repentance is what we need. In Matthew 4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.””

[2] We can see from the second time that Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him that there are two different kinds of love. In John 21:16, “He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (G25) Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love (G5368) You.” He said to him, “Shepherd (G4165) My sheep.”” In Strong’s Concordance, different words have different numbers. So, it is apparent that there are at least two different kinds of love in Greek. If you put together what Jesus said to Peter in John 21:15-17, you can see only to use agape love (G25), you can both shepherd (G4165) and feed (G1006). If using the worldly like love (G5368), you can only feed (G1006). 

[3] Acts 2:1-4, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. …And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” Acts 2:37-42, “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, …Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. …So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. …” Acts 4:4, “But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.” One of the work of feeling being pierced. Nevertheless, we do have free will to receive it or not.

[4] Acts 3:2-12, “And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. …But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene-walk!” And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. …But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?”

[5] Acts 4:21, “When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened.”

[6] Acts 5:16, “Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.”

[7] Acts 8:14-17, “Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, …Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.”

[8] Acts 9:36-40, “Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did. And it happened at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upper room. …But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.”

[9] Acts 10:9-16 “…Peter …fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, …But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.”

[10] Acts 10:23-29, “…Peter at Caesarea And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him. …And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. …”

[11] Galatians 2:6-8, “But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)-well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles).” Galatians 2:2, “It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.”

[12] Acts 12:5-11, “So Peter was kept in the prison, …On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, …And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands. …And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. …When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.””

[13] John 21:18-19, “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go. ” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!””

[14] Galatians 2:12-14, “For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

[15] 2 Peter 3:15, “and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you.”

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

圣经是神所默示的，我们会先看看这问题，為什麼大家都读同一本圣经，卻有不同的解释？接著簡单的探讨一下科学会和圣经冲突的问题。最后用一个簡单的架构，說到同时有预知和预定，並且提到了神有絕对的主权和人有自由意志在这架构中的不冲突。

首先我们用经文来回答為什麼会有不同解释的问题。在彼得后书 3:16，彼得說：『他(保罗)一切的信上也都是讲论这事。信中有些难明白的，那无学问、不坚固的人強解(曲解, 呂振中译本)，如強解別的经书一样，就自取沉沦。』所以会有不同的解释是由於曲解！

那麼我们再看保罗很麼說，『所以，在基督里若有甚麼劝勉，愛心有甚麼安慰，圣灵有甚麼交通，心中有甚麼慈悲怜悯，你们就要意念相同，愛心相同，有一样的心思，有一样的意念，使我的喜乐可以满足。』 (腓立比书 2:1-2) 也就是說，我们要在基督里合一。其实我们是要如经文所說的要模成耶稣的形像，而耶稣只有一位，我们被模成了耶稣的形像的那时，怎麼可能不合一？『因為他预先所知道的人，就预先定下效法(模成)他儿子的模样(形像)，使他儿子在许多弟兄中作长子。』 (罗马书 8:29)

舉一个关於曲解的例子。在启示錄的七个教会中，如果我们看这七个教会的地理位置，正好是从以弗所的教会，以顺时鐘的方向，最后达到了老底嘉的教会，於是就有人论到这七个教会时，說是代表教会在不同时期的光景。要分辨这是不是对的說法，我们只要问一个很簡单的问题，就是圣经有沒有这样說？答案是沒有。圣经是我们的絕对标准，这就相当的清楚这种說法是曲解了！所以我们分辨一个人的话是不是曲解，只要看这话至少是不是直接从圣经来的，或是圣经有的观念。后者如三位一体，虽然圣经沒有用这词，但这观念在许多地方都有。

接著我们来看一下这个问题，就是有人认為圣经和目前所知的科学不合，因此是迷信。目前科学的本质可以用下面的示意图一来表示。

蓝線代表一个黑盒子，里面是由电池构成。假如我们现在要知道黑盒子里面是什麼，而我们只能测量外面的两根線是九伏特，这时我们分不出来里面是一个九伏特的大电池或六个一点五伏特的小电池。也就是說，如果最左图是代表现在科学所能做的，就是从外面看到的九伏特猜黑盒子中可能的东西，是理论。如果我们相信圣经是神所默示的，也就是圣经讲的是实际情況，如同图中所示的有六个小电池。

这时，如果另外一个人还可以量出三伏特的那两條線，我们就知道只有一个九伏特的大电池是不可能的。这就如在过去牛顿力学的时代，我们认為质量不灭，到了愛因斯坦时，我们知道质量可转換成能量，原子弹和核能电厂就此發现。所以科学是暂时的，而圣经是永远的，是实际的情況。

我们就以一个圣经的例子做这段的结束。我们知道有很长的一段时间人们都以為天圆地方的，在那个时代里，你如果告诉別人地球绕著太阳旋转，而地球是悬在虛空，人们是不会相信的。哥白尼也因告诉了地球绕太阳旋转的事实而丧命。科技絕对有用处的，譬如现在有人造卫星能証明的確是这样，而圣经早就这样說了！

『神坐在地球大圈之上，地上的居民好像蝗虫。…』 (以赛亚书 40:22)

『神将北极铺在空中，将大地悬在虛空；』 (约伯记 26:7)

 『天圆地方』是那时从人的角度看。从圣经的角度看就是圣经說的话算数。圣经並不是每件事情都提，科学和圣经看似冲突时，要用圣经引导科学，因圣经是实际，看似冲突的原因是因為那时的科技还达不到水准，如牛顿时代是以為物质不灭的。

 最后我们谈一谈常引起爭论的预知和预定问题，喀尔文认為只有预定，而马丁路德只讲预知。其实圣经是如罗马书 8:29 所說，同时有预知和预定，所以在这点上，他们是和圣经不合的。

我们现在用一个簡单的例子来說明同时有预知和预定，而且在这架构中，我们也看到了神有絕对主权和人有自由意志的不冲突。我们特別要強调一点，就是这样的解释只是帮我们了解圣经，因為圣经沒有明說是这样，我们当然不能確定到底是怎样。如果这样的看法不是实际的情況，我们可看到神都能让我想到这架构去看同时会有预知和预定 ，祂自己一定会有更好的安排。

我们现在就用小学时玩的一个遊戏来描述这架构。在图二的这遊戏中，我们从左边的一个纸卷开始。当纸卷打开一点时，我们看到了一條路，打开更多时我们看到了两个选择。这时纸卷沒有更多的打开，我们在不知道的情況下要选择向左或者向右走，然后如果答案揭晓时如中间偏左那张图所示。如果选择了右边就被火烧死，遊戏也就结束，而选择了左边就很安全的渡过这一关而有下一个选择。假设答案揭晓时是如中间偏右的图所示，这时可看见选左边就会被水淹死而使遊戏结束，选右边就面临了另一选择。假如这时选了右边，我们就会面临了最后的抉择。最后我们会如右图所示的，只有一條路能成功的到达纸的边缘，选对了那一條路就赢了。

这是一个很簡单的遊戏，我们可能会问，这和圣经有什麼关系？我们就用图三来說明一下。遊戏开始时宛如创造，然后亚当和夏娃就面临了抉择，接著我的看到了他们要決定是否要吃分別善恶树上的果子，而且他们知道吃的日子必定死 [1]。他们开始的选择是左边的不吃，然后就受到了蛇的诱惑，最终选择了吃因而灵死了 [2]。

因為在这遊戏中玩遊戏者事先並不知道路線如何安排，他有自由意志去选择那一边，但他完全不能決定整体的路線如何安排，这是由另外一人完全決定而他跟本不能参与，也就是另外一人有絕对的主权。如果神宛如是另外那一个人，不是有絕对的主权吗？神是全能的，当然能预先设计好整个路線。神有是全知的，祂能事先知道我们会选择那一條路，这就宛如预知。神能事先设计好整个路線，又能预知我们的选择，难道不能预定吗？所以同时有预知和预定，神有絕对主权和人有自由意志也不冲突。

我们的一生其实是在观念上可以用这样的一个路線图来表示的，只是每一次面临选择时在理论上通常有很多选择。如果两个人完全无关，只不过是永不相交的两个路線，而两个或几个有限的人有互动，只是部份路線有重合而已。所以在观念上，全人类的每一个人的一生都可用这图来表示，只是复雜到想都想不出来。

我们每天其实都在经历宛如神有絕主权和人有自由意志的不冲突。我们看看用电价格的结构，电价是和不同时间用电及用电量都有关系的，电力公司宣佈了用电价格的结构，用戶基本上是不能有異议的，这就宛如神有絕对主权。但用戶是可以选择在何时用电和用电量的多少，电力公司不能干涉，这不就宛如人有自由意志吗？在马丁路德和喀尔文时代电还沒有發现，他们不会这样去看神有絕对主权和人有自由意志的不冲突，因而更进一步的想到有预知和预定同时存在的架构。

其实我们可以得到一个簡单的结论，要从圣经的角度分辨一个人的话，因為圣经是神所默示的 [3]，这也就是从神的角度看事情。不要从人的角度看事，也就是不要用人的话去分辨，因為神是无限，人是有限，不管你以為一个人多麼属灵，人难免会犯错误！

一些相关的经文和知识

[1] 只是分別善恶树上的果子，你不可吃，因為你吃的日子必定死。 (创世记 2:17)

[2] 在创世记 5:3 說，『亚当活到一百三十岁，生了一个儿子，形像样式和自己相似，就给他起名叫塞特。』难道神是說谎的吗？絕对不是的。新约中很清楚的告诉我们，人由灵、魂、体三部份构成的。因此在时间上是灵立刻就死了，其余的还存活了一段时间。『愿赐平安的神亲自使你们全然成圣。又愿你们的灵与魂与身子得蒙保守，在我主耶稣基督降临的时候，完全无可指摘。』 (帖撒罗尼迦前书 5:23)

[3] 『圣经都是神所默示的，…』 (提摩太后书 3:16) 虽然新约在保罗这样說的时候並沒有完成，如启示錄还沒开始写，但基督徒相信整本圣经都是神所默示的。

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