聖靈的職事The Holy Spirit’s Ministry
作者: Sinclair Ferguson 譯者: 禾壯
改教家們非常強調聖靈有恩賜給基督的全部身體（教會）。加爾文被譽爲「最懂得聖靈的神學家」。然而，改革宗基督徒卻總是因爲聖靈恩賜的看法而爲他們贏得不佳的聲譽。
我們相信，爲了達成祂特定的目的，上帝刻意將某些恩賜 (特別是：講啓示性預言，行神跡，說方言) 只在有限的時段內賜下。如此說法是有牢固的聖經根據的：
1. 這些恩賜的暫時性表現是貫穿於整本聖經曆史的上帝一貫的作工模式和特征。與流行的觀點相反, 神跡奇事的恩賜在聖經曆史中僅是間間斷斷臨到，他們集中發生在不多的幾個時間區間內，每個區間約持續一個世代左右。
2. 這些恩賜的功能，即傳達和印證啟示（現已停止，直到基督回來），是新約本身所強調的（徒二22, 十四3 ; 林後十二12 ; 來二3-4）。
3. 新約聖經的歷史表明, 隨著使徒時代的結束，這些神跡奇事的恩賜的功能已經被新約聖經的完成所取代。因此，教牧書信既沒有提到神跡奇事賜的出現，也沒有期望對這等恩賜的運作有任何的規範。
從聖經的基督論角度來看，還可補充一點, 在五旬節講預言，行神跡，說方言等聖靈的恩賜傾倒下來，目的是特別標記基督的加冕。因此，它本來就是教會生活非永久性的固有特徵。但在這種背景下，它可能是強調另一個更重要的，經常被忽視的改革宗教導。偉大的清教徒約翰歐文出色地描述了這一教導：
「盡管所有這些恩賜和他們的運作在某些方面已經停止了，其中某些已經完全停止了，另外一些在直接交通的方式上和在優越的程度方面也已經不如以往；然而，就他們對教會的造就性而言，有些與他們相似的事情在過去和現在一直未曾中斷。」
這是什麼意思？簡單而言：那同一位聖靈所賜給教會的恩賜中，既有暫時性的，也有延續性的。因此，在兩者中若能找到某些相同的脈絡，毫不奇怪。
也許在暫時性與延續性兩種不同的恩賜當中最重要的相同脈絡，在於聖靈的光照——祂照明我們的心思意念，使我們認識、看見、抓住並實踐上帝的心意。在上帝所賜的暫時性恩賜中，這種光照是直接。聖靈將直接教導使徒們「一切的事」（約十四26），帶他們進入「一切的真理」（約十六13）。今天，聖靈透過祂使門徒們為我們寫成的聖經，在我們的生命中繼續不斷做類似的工作。事實上，在臨別講話中（約翰福音十四至十六章），我們的主明確地告訴使徒們，這將是聖靈在他們生命中最核心的事工之一。祂將要讓他們想起耶穌說了什麼（福音書），引導他們進入一切的真理（所有的書信），還要把未來的事情講給他們（啓示錄）。
既然如此，爲什麼今天的基督徒-----與他們的教父相比------更渴望能經曆到上帝直接的個人的啓示（上帝告訴我如何如何）, 而上帝對我們的期望卻是持久不斷的聖靈的工作，透過新約聖經間接的公開的啓示，打開我們的心思意念來認識他 ？ 有三個方面的原因：
1. 直接的個人化啟示，比透過聖經間接的公開的啟示，更能激勵人心，有更明顯的超自然性，對許多人而言，這更「屬靈」，更「神聖」。
2. 許多人認爲，能夠說「上帝直接對我說如何如何」，比「聖經告訴我如何如何」來得更有權威。
3. 直接啓示可以不必痛苦堅忍地研究聖經，仔細地思考基督教的教義，就可以明白神的旨意，是條捷徑。與直接啓示相比，坦白地說，研究聖經很枯燥。
身為改革宗的基督徒, 惟恐我們受到威嚇，和滋生一種受困的心態，我們應該將聖靈光照的幾件事情牢記在心：
1. 聖靈的光照也是耶穌的親身經曆。不錯，我們的主曾經講過許多的預言，行過許許多多的神跡；但如果我們不透過耐心的默想舊約聖經來認識耶穌的智慧與上帝和人喜愛祂的心與日俱增（路二52），我們就可能會犯「基督幻影論（Docetism ）的錯誤（認爲耶穌的人性只是看起來與我們相象而已），和不忠實於聖經。請看先知以賽亞的第三篇「仆人之歌」展示給我們的是一幅何等超乎尋常的感人畫面(賽五十4–11)：耶穌基督每天醒來，依靠祂的父光照，使祂明白天父的話，使祂有能力去思想、感覺、行動，並活出一個完全的人的生命，滿有智慧和知識 (賽十一1-3a).
2. 這不僅是耶穌生命成長之路，也同樣是所有基督徒生命得以真實無僞地成長的神聖方法。因爲它涉及人的心意更新變化（羅十二2），而且它是循序漸進的（它要花費我們的時間，要求我們意志的降服）。雖然有些時候，上帝做事很快；但是祂通常的方法乃是一步一步實實在在地在祂兒女們身上作工，使我們逐漸變得更象主耶穌。
3. 聖靈與上帝的話語同工，且借著上帝的話光照和更新我們的心意，其結果是：我們敬虔的本能被哺育出來，且經常以出乎意料的方式運作。在一個得到良好的真理教導，又被聖靈光照的基督徒身上，聖經啓示的真理深深融入他的思想觀念之中，以至於上帝的旨意對他而言變得非常清晰，幾乎成爲他的本能與直覺；從這個意義上說，他能夠非常「直接」地領受上帝的旨意。正如一個訓練有素且經驗豐富的音樂耳朵可以輕易辨識出某一段音樂的演奏是好是壞，在上帝的話語中屬靈的操練可以産生出辨識的能力（來五11-14）。
不幸的是，有些動機良好的基督徒有時卻誤將光照當作啓示，這可能會導致嚴重的神學混淆，和潛在的不幸的實踐後果。但光照的教義也有助於我們解釋經曆中某些神秘的元素，而不必急於宣告說「我們得了特殊啓示和講預言的恩賜」。在這裏，前威斯敏斯特神學院教授約翰慕理（John Murray）的一番話極有智慧：
「當我們作爲聖靈光照的領受者時，會産生反應；當聖靈在我們心中運行要實行神的旨意時，我們會有感覺、印記、強烈的信心、衝動、禁止、興奮、負擔、決心。聖靈透過上帝的話語光照並引領我們，在我們的意識中用以上的這些方法聚焦。我們並非自動機器……我們不應當認爲以上的現象就必然不理性或帶著令人著迷的神秘色彩。」
上帝的話語透過聖靈的光照，成爲我們腳前的燈、路上的光，引領我們進入屬靈的穩妥與自由，正如詩篇一百一十九篇所言。它引領我們每一天毫不動搖地去認識、熱愛並遵行上帝的旨意。
本文原刊於Tabletalk雜誌。
The Holy Spirit’s Ministry
FROM
Sinclair Ferguson
The
Reformers placed tremendous stress on the gifts of the Spirit to the whole body
of Christ. John Calvin himself has rightly been described as “the theologian of
the Holy Spirit” (B.B. Warfield). Yet Reformed Christians always have been
given a “bad press” for their views on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Our
conviction is that God purposefully gave some gifts (specifically the ability
to work miracles, the gift of revelatory prophecy, and speaking in tongues)
only for a limited period. We have solid biblical reasons for believing this:
1. A
temporary manifestation of these gifts is characteristic of God’s pattern of
working. Contrary to popular opinion, such gifts as these were given spasmodically
in biblical history. Their occurrence is generally contained within a handful
of time periods lasting around a generation each.
2.
The function of these gifts, namely to convey and to confirm revelation (now
ceased until Christ’s return), is underlined in the New Testament itself (Acts
2:22, 14:3; cf. 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3–4).
3.
The history of the New Testament suggests that by the close of the apostolic
age the role of these gifts was being superseded by the completion of the New
Testament. Thus, there is no reference to their presence—or, more
significantly, their future regulation—in the Pastoral Letters.
More
could be said here in terms of biblical Christology, for the outpouring of the
gifts of tongues, prophecy, and miracles at Pentecost was specifically intended
to mark the coronation of Christ. It was, therefore, inherently intended to be
a non-permanent feature of the life of the church. But in this context, it
probably is more important to emphasize another, often-ignored facet of Reformed
teaching. It is well-expressed in some words of the great Puritan John Owen:
Although
all these gifts and operations ceased in some respect, some of them absolutely,
and some of them as to the immediate manner of communication and degree of
excellency; yet so far as the edification of the church was concerned in them,
something that is analogous unto them was and is continued.
What
does this mean? Simply this: It is the same Spirit who gives both temporary and
continuing gifts to the church. We should not be surprised, therefore, to
discover common threads in both.
Perhaps
the most important common thread is the Spirit’s ministry in illumination—He
enlightens our minds to enable us to know, see, grasp, and apply the will and
purposes of God. There was an immediacy to illumination in the temporary gifts.
The Spirit taught the apostles “all things” (John 14:26) and led them into “all
truth” (John 16:13). Now, however, He continues this work in us through the
Scriptures He enabled the apostles to write for us. Indeed, during the Farewell
Discourse (John 14–16), our Lord made it clear to the apostles that this would
be one of the central ministries of the Spirit in their lives: He would remind
them of what Jesus had said (the gospels), lead them into the truth (the
epistles), and show them the things to come (e.g. Revelation).
Why,
then, are Christians today—in contrast to their fathers—so thirsty to
experience immediate revelation from God, when His desire for us is the ongoing
work of the Spirit opening up our understanding through the mediated revelation
of the New Testament? There seem to be three reasons:
1. It
is more exciting to have direct revelation rather than Bible revelation. It
seems more “spiritual,” more “divine.”
2.
For many people, it feels much more authoritative to be able to say, “God has
revealed this to me” than to say, “The Bible tells me so.”
3.
Direct revelation relieves us of the need for painstaking Bible study and
careful consideration of Christian doctrine in order to know the will of God.
In comparison to immediate revelation, Bible study seems—to be frank—boring.
Lest
we be brow-beaten and develop a kind of siege mentality as Reformed Christians,
here are some things we should bear in mind about the work of illumination:
1.
Jesus experienced it. Yes, our Lord prophesied; yes, He worked miracles. But we
would be guilty of Docetism (the view that Jesus’ humanity only seemed to be
like ours) and untrue to Scripture if we failed to recognize that Jesus Himself
grew in wisdom and favor with God (Luke 2:52) by patiently meditating on the
Old Testament Scriptures. (I suspect He probably knew them by heart.) The third
Servant Song of Isaiah (Isa. 50:4–11) gives us an extraordinarily moving
picture of the Lord Jesus waking up each day, dependent on His Father to
illumine His understanding of His Word that He might think, feel, act, and live
as the Man full of the Spirit of wisdom and understanding (Isa. 11:2ff).
2.
This is the divine method that produces authentic Christian growth, because it
involves the renewal (not the abeyance) of the mind (Rom. 12:2) and it is
progressive (it takes time and demands the obedience of our wills). Sometimes
God does things quickly. But His ordinary way is to work slowly and surely to
make us progressively more like our Lord Jesus.
3.
The result of the Spirit working with the Word of God to illumine and transform
our thinking is the development of a godly instinct that operates in sometimes
surprising ways. The revelation of Scripture becomes, in a well-taught,
Spirit-illumined believer, so much a part of his or her mindset that the will
of God frequently seems to become instinctively and even immediately clear—just
as whether a piece of music is well or badly played is immediately obvious to a
well-disciplined musician. It is this kind of spiritual exercise that creates
discernment (see Heb. 5:11–14).
Well-meaning
Christians sometimes mistake the Spirit’s work of illumination for revelation,
which, unhappily, can lead to serious theological confusion and potentially
unhappy practical consequences. But the doctrine of illumination also helps us
explain some of the more mysterious elements in our experience without having
to resort to the claim that we have the gift of revelation and prophecy. Here
the late John Murray spoke with great wisdom: “As we are the subjects of this
illumination and are responsive to it, and as the Holy Spirit is operative in
us to the doing of God’s will, we shall have feelings, impressions,
convictions, urges, inhibitions, impulses, burdens, resolutions. Illumination
and direction by the Spirit through the Word of God will focus themselves in
our consciousness in these ways. We are not automata.… We must not think [these
things] are … necessarily irrational or fanatically mystical.”
God’s
Word, illumined by God’s Spirit, is, as Psalm 119 so magnificently shows, the
pathway to spiritual stability and liberty. It leads us unwaveringly to
knowing, loving, and doing God’s will on a daily basis. It brings joy through
light.
This
post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine.
