作者: Mark Jones 翻譯: 駱鴻銘
所有真實的神學都是以某種形式的上帝的盟約為基礎的。基督宗教必須通過盟約來理解，因為上帝乃是透過盟約這個方法來和人建立關係——無論是在樂園裡，還是罪進入到世界之後。上帝與人所立的所有盟約，可以用聖經裡的這句話來總結：「我要作你們的上帝，你們要作我的子民；並且，我要住在你們中間」（參：出六7，廿九45；結十一20；林後六16；啟廿一3）。
All
true theology is based on some form of a divine covenant. The Christian
religion must be understood covenantally, for that is how God has chosen to
relate to man, whether in the garden or after the entrance of sin into the
world. The goal of all divine–human covenants is summed up in the words found
throughout the Bible: “I will be your God and you will be my people, and I will
dwell among you” (Ex. 6:7; 29:45; Ezek. 11:20; 2 Cor. 6:16; Rev. 21:3).
什麼是盟約？What Is a Covenant?
學者們對盟約（covenant）——從希伯來文的berith 和希臘文的diathēke翻譯過來的——有各種不同的定義，這個字在聖經裡的用法，其背景也會指導我們對它的意義的理解。在基本的層面上，盟約是兩個以上的團體之間，一種受到誓言所約束的關係。如此，人類的盟約（例如：婚姻）就落在這個一般性的定義之下。在神聖的盟約中，上帝以主權與祂的受造物建立了關係。雖然還有其他的微妙之處，不過，上帝在人類墮落後與人立的盟約，基本上是上帝通過祂自己的誓言，約束自己遵守祂的應許。Scholars have
defined covenant—translated from the Hebrew berith and the Greek diathēke—in
various ways, and the context in which the word is used in Scripture will also
inform our understanding of its meaning. At its most basic level, a covenant is
an oath-bound relationship between two or more parties. Thus, human covenants
(for example, marriage) fall under this general definition. In divine
covenants, God sovereignly establishes the relationship with His creatures.
There are other nuances, but a divine covenant given after the fall is,
fundamentally, one in which God binds Himself by His own oath to keep His
promises.
不過，在人的這方面，還是有一些附加在這個誓言之上的條件。與上帝立約的人倘若沒有履行盟約的條件，就會招致一些後果。當亞當和夏娃違背了上帝的誡命，即他們不可以吃分別善惡樹上的果子時，他們就遭受到許多的惡果（創三16-19）。在墮落之後，耶和華與人所立的盟約，其條件最終是靠上帝自己來成全的。例如，在創世記十五章，上帝起誓說祂會遵守與亞伯拉罕所立的約，並且要承擔亞伯拉罕背約的後果。這不是說人的光景與此毫不相幹。我們必須信靠耶和華，才能從祂盟約的應許裡得著益處。亞伯拉罕以信心來回應：他「信耶和華，耶和華就以此為他的義」（第6節），耶和華就賜福給他。不過，即使在這裡，上帝也是藉著祂的靈將信心的回應賜給祂的選民（選民必須自己運用信心）。上帝保證祂的百姓會成全信心這個條件，因此親自保證我們會成全盟約的義務（弗二8-9）。Still, there are conditions
attached to that oath on the human side. If the human party involved in a
covenant with God does not keep the covenant’s conditions, there will be consequences. When Adam
and Eve broke the commandment that they should not eat from the Tree of
Knowledge of Good and Evil, they su?ered numerous consequences (Gen. 3:16–19).
After the fall, the conditions of the Lord’s covenants with man are ultimately
met by God Himself. For example, in Genesis 15, God swears that He will keep
the conditions of His covenant with Abraham and will bear the consequences of
Abraham’s breaking it. This does not mean the human conditions are irrelevant.
We must trust in the Lord to benefit from His covenant promises. Abraham
responded in faith: he “believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as
righteousness” (v. 6), and the Lord blessed him. Even here, however, God by His
Spirit grants to His elect the response of faith that they must exercise. God
guarantees that His people will fulfill the condition of faith, and so
guarantees our fulfillment of our covenant obligations Himself (Eph. 2:8–9).
在聖經裡，明確地提到了幾個盟約，包括與挪亞（創六17）、亞伯拉罕（創十五到十七章）、大衛（撒下第七章）、摩西和以色列人（出十九到廿四章）和基督（來八到九章）所立的約。聖經所有這些盟約是同一個恩典之約——上帝與墮落之後的人所立的約——的一部分。這個恩典之約是對亞當的應許，即女人的後裔要來，打破蛇的頭（創三15）。In Scripture, there is
explicit mention of several divine covenants, including those made with Noah (Gen.
6:17), Abraham (Gen. 15–17), David (2 Sam. 7), Moses and the Israelites (Ex.
19–24), and Christ (Heb. 8–9). All of these biblical covenants are part of the
one covenant of grace—the covenant God made with man after the fall. This
covenant of grace was the promise to Adam of the coming seed of the woman who
would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15).
舊約（Old Covenant）The Old Covenant
儘管墮落之後許多的盟約強調上帝應許要成全盟約的條件，其他的盟約則以近乎相同的力道強調人類的回應。其中一個墮落後的約在這方面特別突出：與以色列所立的舊約。這是上帝和祂的子民在西奈山，在摩西之下所立的盟約（出十九到廿四章）。有些神學家將這個約標明為律法之約，和應許之約相反。不過，這種鮮明的對律法（有條件）之約和應許（無條件）之約的區分，經常製造出更多的問題，對我們更明白上帝與人所立的盟約並沒有幫助。Though many
post-fall covenants emphasize God’s promise to
fulfill the covenant conditions, other covenants emphasize human response
almost as strongly. One post-fall covenant stands out in this respect: the old
covenant made with Israel. This was the covenant made under Moses between God
and His people at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19–24). Some theologians have labeled this
covenant as a lawcovenant in opposition to promise covenants, such as the
Abrahamic or new covenant. However, this sharp distinction between law
(conditional) and promise (unconditional) covenants often creates more problems
than it solves in terms of understanding God’s covenants with humanity.
事實是，這個舊約除了其他功用之外，也是作為一個引導，將百姓帶到基督那裡（加三24）。例如，基督在馬太福音廿六章28節所說的話（我立約的血）具有豐富的舊約聖經的背景。這些話主要和出埃及記廿四章8節有關，摩西把血灑在以色列人身上，作為他們已經被上帝潔凈的一個象徵性的行動。出埃及記廿四章同樣也強調吃和喝（見11節），這與耶穌在設立主餐時的話語和行動是互相關聯的。The fact is that
the old covenant, among other things, served as a guide to point people to
Christ (Gal. 3:24). For example, Christ’s words in Matthew 26:28 (“my blood of
the covenant”) have a rich Old Testament background. The words primarily relate
to Exodus 24:8, when Moses took the blood and threw it on the Israelites as a
symbolic act of their sin being cleansed by God. Also, there is an emphasis on
eating and drinking in Exodus 24 (see v. 11), which correlates well with the
words and actions of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper.
從這個角度出發，我們必須問這個問題：在摩西時期施行在上帝子民身上的舊約，是不是一個恩典之約？和基本上無條件的新約比起來，它基本上是不是一個有條件的盟約？要回答這個問題，我們必須在它更大的背景下來理解這個舊約，特別是出埃及記十七到廿四章的背景。十九章說明以色列人是領受了上帝救恩的人，不只是身體得救，在靈性上也是得救的（4-6節）。上帝吩咐以色列人要順服（7-8節），不是為了他們因此可以得贖，而是因為他們已經得贖（出十八10）。With this in mind, the question must be asked: was the
old covenant, administered in the time of Moses to God’s people, a gracious
covenant or not? Was it essentially conditional in contrast to an essentially
unconditional new covenant? To answer this, we must understand the old covenant
in its larger context, particularly chapters 17–24 of Exodus. Chapter 19 shows
that the Israelites were the recipients of God’s salvation, not just physically
from Egypt but spiritually, too (vv. 4–6). The obedience of the Israelites (vv.
7–8) was not commanded in order that they might be redeemed, but because they
had been redeemed (Ex. 18:10).
十誡是在廿章被賜下的。以色列人在盟約的脈絡下，不只是在十九章8節，在賜下十誡之前，承諾要順服上帝的誡命。他們也在廿四章3、7節作出承諾。以色列人在廿四章7節宣告出順服的承諾之後，摩西把血灑在以色列人身上，他們也一起吃喝（廿四8、11）。因此，十誡是在盟約施行的脈絡下發生的，然而十誡的訓詞只是舊約的一部分，不是舊約的總和。上帝首先拯救祂的子民，並且宣告他們是祂寶貴的產業（見申廿六18）。The Ten Commandments are given
in chapter 20. The Israelites promise obedience to God’s commandments in the
context of the covenant not only in 19:8, before the giving of the Ten
Commandments, but also in 24:3, 7. After the Israelites’ declaration of
promised obedience in 24:7, Moses sprinkles blood on the Israelites, and they
also eat together (24:8, 11). Therefore, the Ten Commandments occur in the
context of a covenant administration, but the precepts of the Ten Commandments
are only part of the old covenant, not the sum total of it. God first saved His
people and declared them to be His treasured possession (see Deut. 26:18).
毫無疑問，在舊（盟）約裡，律法是很突出的。但是若主張說恩典沒有同樣突出，就是一個嚴重的誤解。此外，當以色列人進入到上帝的同在中吃吃喝喝（預示新盟約中的基督徒）時，不是出於他們順服律法，而是出於上帝的恩典。畢竟，以色列人還沒有足夠的時間來證明他們的順服（或不順服）。在十九章他們被禁止上山，但到了廿四章就蒙允許了，因為以色列已經被血所灑（亦即他們的罪得贖了），而這不是因為他們證明自己完全順服了上帝的命令。There is no
question that law is prominent in the old covenant. But it would be a grave
misconception to suggest that grace is not also prominent. God’s people are
sprinkled with the blood of the covenant. Additionally, when the Israelites
came into God’s presence to eat and drink (a foreshadowing of Christians in the
new covenant), it was not because of their obedience to the law, but because of
God’s grace. After all, there had not been time for the Israelites to prove
their obedience (or lack thereof). The approach forbidden in chapter 19 is
allowed in chapter 24 because Israel had been sprinkled with the blood (that
is, their sins had been atoned for), not because they had proven themselves
obedient to all that was commanded.
在盟約中的堅忍是以信心和順服為條件的，但這並非意味著沒有恩典。順服是真實信心的外在確認；恩典和信心的有機關係有如「樹根和果實」，舊約和新約之間也顯明出這種連續性。畢竟，在形容自己是真葡萄樹之後，基督自己也曾對祂的門徒這樣說過，「你們若遵守我的命令，就常在我的愛裡，正如我遵守了我父的命令，常在祂的愛裡。」（約十五10）Persevering in the covenant was contingent upon
faith and obedience, but that does not mean grace was absent. Obedience is the
visible ratification of the genuineness of faith; grace and faith are
organically related as “root and fruit” in a way that shows marked continuity
between the old and new covenants. After all, it was Christ Himself who said to
His disciples, after describing Himself as the true vine: “If you keep my commandments,
you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and
abide in his love” (John 15:10).
因此，舊約和新約之間的差別不在於舊約對百姓是有條件的，而新約沒有。在舊約之下，百姓必須信靠上帝，並通過他們的順服來顯明他們的信心，與此同時，也要記得拯救他們的唯獨是上帝，而不是他們的順服。再者，其中的差別不是新約有恩典，而舊約沒有。救贖總是出現在上帝呼召他們順服祂之前（申七6-8，九6；弗二8-10；雅二14-26）。在羅馬書第四章，保羅用亞伯拉罕和大衛作為榜樣，說明人如何因信稱義。在這點上，我們有著絕對的連續性——我們都是唯獨藉著信心在基督裡得救的。So, the difference
between the old and new covenants is not that the old covenant had conditions
for the people and the new covenant does not. Under the old covenant, the
people had to put their faith in God and show their faith by their obedience
while remembering that God alone—not their obedience— saved them. Furthermore,
the di?fference is not that the new covenant has grace and the old covenant did
not. Redemption always comes before God’s call to obey Him (Deut. 7:6–8;
9:6;Eph. 2:8–10; James 2:14–26). In Romans 4, Paul uses Abraham and David as
models for how someone is justified by faith alone. There is absolute
continuity on this point—we are saved only by faith in Christ.
舊約的軟弱與力量The
Weaknesses and Strengths of the Old Covenant
但是基督在「時候滿足」（加四34）到來之前，「在這末世」（來九26），以色列人只有天上之事的影像（來八5）。他們有許多應許，但是我們今天有了應驗（來八到九章）。希伯來書第九章的重點是說明基督的死是有功效的，可以作為良心平安的基礎。舊約不斷重覆的獻祭不能給以色列人我們所擁有的這種良心的平安，這種良心的平安是因為基督成全了這些獻祭。這點，無疑地會影響他們順服上帝的能力。But before Christ
came “in the fullness of
time” (Gal. 4:4), “at the end of the ages” (Heb. 9:26), the
Israelites only had shadows of heavenly things (Heb. 8:5). They had promises,
but today we have fulfillment (Heb. 8–9). The point of Hebrews 9 is to show
that Christ’s death is efficacious and provides the basis for peace of
conscience. The repetitions of old covenant sacrifices could not give the
Israelites the same peace of conscience that we have because of Christ’s
fulfillment. This, no doubt, a?ffected their ability to obey God.
此外，因著基督的應驗，聖靈以一種以色列人所不知道的、也無法知道的方式，澆灌下來。這不是說舊約之下沒有救恩。有的。但是新約是「更美」的約；聖靈的澆灌更為強烈、更為廣泛，因為基督已經得到祂的獎賞（徒二33-36；弗四8）。舊約在救贖歷史裡扮演一個很重要的角色。舊約裡的灑血只是許多的預表或預示之一，在這個約中，這些預表指向基督和祂的工作，這就解釋了威斯敏斯特信仰告白所說的「應許、預言、獻祭、割禮、逾越節的羊羔，以及其他的預表和規條」是「預表那要來的基督」（7.5）。這些在「律法時代」的預表，對猶太人來說，是「有效的，透過聖靈的運作，去教導和建立選民對所應許的彌賽亞的信心，藉著祂，他們才能得到完全的赦罪……」。Moreover, because
of fulfillment, the Holy Spirit is poured out in a manner that Israel did not—indeed, could not—know. It is not that salvation did not occur under the
old covenant. It did. But the new covenant is “better”; the Spirit’s outpouring
is more intensive—and extensive— because Christ has received His rewards (Acts
2:33–36; Eph. 4:8). The old covenant played an important role in redemptive
history. The sprinkling of blood in the old covenant is one of several types,
or foreshadowings, in that covenant that point to the person and work of
Christ, which explains why the Westminster Confession speaks of the “promises,
prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and
ordinances” as “foresignifying Christ to come” (7.5). These types in the “time
of the law” were, for the Jews, “efficacious, [only] through the operation of
the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in the faith in the promised
Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins.”
上帝的藍圖The Big Picture
舊約在救贖歷史中扮演了一個重大的角色，因為它向以色列顯明了三件事：(1) 他們應當如何生活、如何敬拜；(2) 因為他們的罪，他們需要一位救主；(3) 上帝向他們啟示自己，並稱他們為「寶貴的產業」全是出於上帝的恩典。The old covenant
played a vital role in the history of redemption as it showed Israel three
things: (1) how they ought to live and worship; (2) their need for a Savior
because of their sins; and (3) the grace of God in revealing Himself to them
and calling them His “treasured possession.”
恩典之約的藍圖，也就是救贖歷史的架構，總是把焦點放在上帝渴望與祂的百姓建立關係，而且最終要與他們同住，住在他們裡面。祂乃是靠祂的靈，透過祂的愛子，耶穌基督來完成的（弗三17）。The big picture of the
covenant of grace, which structures the history of redemption, always maintains
the focus on God’s desire to relate
to His people, and ultimately to dwell among them and in them. He does this
preeminently by His Spirit through His Son, Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:17).