39 聖靈的內在見證 The Internal Testimony of The Holy Spirit
作者: 史鮑爾 (R.C. Sproul) 譯者: 姚錦榮
摘自《神學入門》《Essential Truths of the
Christian Faith》P104 ,更新傳道會出版http://www.crmnj.org/
在任何需要見證人出席的法庭審訊中，證人的見證是很具關鍵性的。見證人之所以如此重要，因為它可幫助我們獲知事實的真相。在一些審訊中，因為證人的品格受到懷疑，所以見證本身也變得可疑，例如患精神病的說謊者，其見證的價值就很低。要見證可信，證人本身必須是可信的。
當神見證真理時，祂的見證是真的，無需懷疑：神所作的見證是無需懷疑的，且是絕對可靠和無謬的，因為神有至高的品格，最深䆳的知識，和最高的權威。神見證的可信性驅使馬丁路德這樣宣稱：「聖靈是無容置疑的。」（註1）聖靈所啟示的真理比生命更加真實。
加爾文說，即使聖經擁有清楚而合理的標記，顯明出它有來自神的權威，也有足夠的證據顯明其本身是由神而來，可是這些見證仍須在我們的心內得到聖靈的印證後，才會完全說服我們（註2）。加爾文又指出，證據和信服之間是有分別的，雖然我們能針對聖經真理提出客觀且具說服力的證據，但這並不能保證人會相信、服從或接受這些真理，我們還需要聖靈內在見證的幫助才能信服；只有聖靈能使我們默認或順服在聖經真理的證據之下。
所謂聖靈內在的見證，並不是指聖靈會提供一些新奇、神秘的知識，或聰明過人的道理。它乃是指聖靈會在我們的心中工作，破碎並勝過我們抵擋神真理的態度，並感動我們，使我們順服在神話語清楚的教訓之下，並存充分的把握接受真理。
聖靈內在的見證不是叫人逃進神秘主義或主觀主義𥚃，以致將個人的感覺提升到絕對權威的地位。聖靈對我們的靈所作的見證，與我們靈𥚃的見證是有很大分別的。聖靈的見證就是見證神的話，這見證是和神的話一同臨到我們，也是藉著神的話臨到我們。聖靈的見證是不會脫離神的話的。
正如聖靈向我們的心見證我們是神的兒女，肯定了神對我們說的話（羅8：16），同樣地，聖靈也在我們的內心見證，聖經是神的話。
總結
1. 神的見證是完全可信的。
2. 聖經提供客觀的證據，證明它本身就是神的話。
3. 若缺少了聖靈的見證，我們便無法信服聖經中的真理。
4. 聖靈的內在見證沒有向我們的思想提供新的論點，而是在我們的靈𥚃和心中工作，使我們順服已有的證據。
5. 聖靈內在證據的教義，並不保證凡我們所感覺真實的事情都是真的。
思考經文
約15：13；徒5：32；徒15：28；羅8：16；加5：16-18
註1：Martin Luther,
Bondage of the Will (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1957),70.
註2 ：John
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge, 2
vols.,bk I (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975), 1:71-72.
The Internal Testimony of The
Holy Spirit
In
any courtroom drama that includes witnesses, the testimony that is given is
crucial to the case. Testimony is important because it is designed to help us
get at the truth of the matter. In some trials, the testimony of witnesses is
challenged because their character is suspect. The testimony of a psychopathic
liar has little value. For testimony to be credible, the witness must be
credible.
When
God testifies to the truth of something, His witness is sure. His testimony is
altogether unimpeachable. Testimony that has God as its author cannot fail. It
is, in fact, infallible testimony. It proceeds from the highest possible
character, the deepest possible font of knowledge, and from the most supreme
authority. The trustworthiness of God’s testimony is what once prompted Luther
to declare, “The Holy Spirit is no skeptic.”1
The
truths that the Spirit reveals are more certain than life itself.
John
Calvin taught that even though the Scriptures manifest clear and reasonable
signs of their divine authority and exhibit sufficient evidence of their divine
origin, these evidences do not fully persuade us until or unless they are
sealed to our hearts by the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit.2 Calvin
recognized the difference between proof and persuasion. Even though we may be
able to offer objective and compelling proofs of the truth of Scripture, that
is no guarantee that people will believe, yield to, or embrace them. For us to
be persuaded of their truth we need the help of the internal testimony of the
Spirit. The Spirit causes us to acquiesce or yield to the compelling evidence
of the truth of the Scriptures.
In
His inner witness, the Holy Spirit offers no new secret information or clever
argument otherwise unavailable to us. Rather, He operates upon our spirits to
break down and overcome our resistance to God’s truth. He moves us to surrender
to the clear teaching of God’s Word and embrace it with full assurance.
The
internal testimony of the Spirit is not a flight into mysticism or an escape
into subjectivism, where personal feelings are elevated to the status of
absolute authority. There is a crucial difference between the testimony of the
Holy Spirit to our spirits and the human testimony of our own spirits. The
testimony of the Holy Spirit is to the Word of God. It comes to us with the
Word and through the Word. It does not come apart from or
without
the Word.
Just
as the Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirits that we are the children of
God, confirming His word to us (Romans 8:16), so the Holy Spirit inwardly
assures us that the Bible is the Word of God.
Summary
1.
The testimony of God is completely trustworthy.
2.
The Bible offers objective evidence that it is the Word of God.
3. We
are not fully persuaded of the truth of Scripture without the
testimony
of the Holy Spirit.
Biblical
passages for reflection:
John
15:13；Acts 5:32；Acts 15:28； Romans 8:16；
Galatians 5:16-18
转载自: