什麼是救贖歷史RedemptiveHistory
作者: Richard Phillips 譯者: 誠之
即使對聖經不熟的人也知道聖經可以分成兩部分：舊約和新約。對聖經稍微熟悉的人知道，聖經的第一部分是摩西五經，然後是歷史書，詩歌，以及先知書。新約有福音書，使徒行傳，使徒書信，以及啓示錄。這描繪出教會是如何組織聖經正典書卷的。但是聖經是否提出她自己的架構，來幫助我們明白救恩的信息呢？改革宗神學家很早就注意到，聖經的確提供了一個架構，就是我們所說的「聖約神學」（covenant theology）。透過這些聖約，上帝在救贖歷史中行動。聖約神學不只是改革宗認識聖經的方法，也是聖經自己呈現救恩的方式。
Even
those casually familiar with the Bible know its basic contents: the Old
Testament in front and the New Testament in back. Those more familiar know its
contents more deeply. First is the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses),
followed by the histories, the poetic books, and the prophets. In the New
Testament, we find the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation. This
describes how the church has organized the canon of the Bible’s books. But does
Scripture present its own structure for understanding its message of salvation?
As Reformed theologians have long observed, the Bible does provide such a
framework, which we call “covenant theology.” It is through His covenants that
God has acted in redemptive history. Covenant theology is not merely a Reformed
approach to Scripture, but the Bible’s own approach in presenting salvation.
神和祂子民的故事
A
HISTORY OF GOD AND HIS PEOPLE
如果要講述美國歷史，我們會選擇一些可行的方案。我們也許會把美國的戰爭作為架構，以瞭解美國如何在國際強權下誕生。或者我們會考慮美國的總統政治，她令人驚訝的發明記錄，或者個人自由的擴張。這些骨架都可以把美國歷史的資料整合成一部歷史。
If we
were to tell the story of American history, we might choose a number of
possible approaches. We might recount America’s wars as a framework for
understanding our national ascent to global power. Or we might consider
presidential politics, the record of amazing inventions, or the expansion of
personal liberties. Such frameworks would serve to integrate the data of
American history into one story.
那麼，聖經呢？它如何展開神和祂子民的歷史呢？我最近搭飛機旅行，有個機會回答了這個問題。一位年輕的猶太婦女坐在我旁邊，問道：「基督徒相信什麼？」這真是令人興奮的機會啊！我大可以用許多教義來回答，用聖經來解釋創造、罪、審判、救贖，以及永生的問題。這種方式是很正確的，也可能會很有效。但是我卻用了另一種方法，就是把聖經所述說的故事加以展開。換句話說，我是用聖約神學來教她。用這個方法部分的原因是，這樣可以把她的猶太人身分和基督徒的信仰連在一起。另一個原因是這是上帝所用的方法。在聖經中，祂就是用這種方式把救恩的信息傳遞出來的。
What
about the Bible? How does it unfold the story of God and His people? During a
recent flight, I had an opportunity to answer this. A young Jewish woman
sitting next to me asked, “What do Christians believe?” What an exciting opportunity!
I may have responded with various doctrines, giving Bible answers about
creation, sin, judgment, redemption, and eternal life. Such an approach would
have been sound and perhaps effective. But I took a different approach, instead
unfolding the story told in the Bible. In other words, I taught her covenant
theology. I took this approach, in part, to connect her Jewish identity to the
Christian faith. But I also did so because it is the approach God took when He
communicated His message of salvation in the Bible.
首先，讓我們先認識什麼是聖約。聖約是神為人的生命和祝福所設立的契約（合同）。當一對男女進入聖約，要在婚姻的祝福下一同生活，他們就設立了一個合同——一個正式的、具約束性的協議——即我們所稱的婚禮。婚禮把他們綁在婚姻之內，有彼此的權利和義務。同樣，神也用聖約把祂自己和人綁在一起。這個聖約的條件是上帝根據自己的主權所設立的。有了這層理解，讓我們回答我如何回答這位婦人的問題。我說到：基督徒們相信，上帝和亞當立了一個神聖的約，上帝要賜給亞當永恆的生命，條件是亞當必須完全順服神的吩咐。然而亞當吃了禁果，破壞了這個聖約，因而遭受到聖約的咒詛，並且連累到他所有後代的子孫。然而，上帝應許了另一個聖約，在這個約中，人唯獨靠著神的恩典，靠著一個完美的獻祭所流的血，才可以得到拯救。之後，神用洪水消滅了惡貫滿盈的人類，祂和有信心的挪亞立了約，拯救他，也為自己保存了一群聖潔的子民。接下來，神和亞伯拉罕立約，應許他一塊蒙福之地，以及多如天上繁星的後裔，條件是他必須信靠神。
First,
let’s make sure we know what a covenant is. A covenant is a compact God makes
with man for life and blessing. When a man and a woman enter into a covenant to
live in the blessings of marriage, they make a compact—a formal, binding
agreement — in what we call a wedding. A wedding binds them in marriage, with
certain privileges and obligations. Likewise, God bound Himself to men with
covenants, according to His own sovereignly imposed terms. With that
understanding, let’s get back to my answer to the woman’s question. I began:
“Christians believe that God made a covenant with Adam, permitting him to live
on the condition of perfect obedience. But Adam broke that covenant by eating
from the forbidden tree, falling under God’s curse through sin, and all his
offspring with him. But God promised another covenant by which He would offer
salvation by grace alone, through the blood of a perfect sacrifice. Later, when
God determined to destroy sinful mankind with a flood, He made a covenant with
Noah to save the man of faith and preserve a holy people for Himself. Later yet,
God made a covenant with Abraham, promising a land of blessing and descendants
as numerous as the stars, requiring that Abraham believe.”
我繼續解釋基督徒的信仰。我說到上帝如何差遣摩西，把以色列人從埃及地拯救出來，和他們立約，使他們成為一個聖潔的國度。然後我說到上帝如何與大衛立約，應許他的後裔會有一個永遠的王位。最後的結論是，「基督徒相信上帝差派了自己的兒子，就是舊約所應許給以色列的彌賽亞，來到世上。祂完美的一生和獻祭，堅立了上帝恩典救恩的應許，使所有願意相信的人都可以獲得這個應許。」
On
went my explanation of Christian belief. I explained how God sent Moses to
deliver Israel from bondage in Egypt, making a covenant to establish God’s holy
nation. Then I told how God made a covenant with David, promising an eternal
throne for a son from David’s line. Finally, I concluded, “Christians believe
that God sent His own Son, Israel’s promised Messiah, whose perfect life and
sacrificial death established God’s gracious salvation promises for those who
believe.”
這就是聖約神學的聖經基礎：聖經是這樣來講述上帝拯救人的方法的。上帝就是這樣呼召我們如此相信的，所以，所有相信聖經所講說之故事的人，都應該相信聖約神學。
This
demonstrates the biblical foundation of covenant theology: it is the Bible’s
own way of relating God’s way of salvation. This is what God calls for us to
believe, so that all who believe the Bible’s story believe in covenant
theology.
兩個聖約的故事
A
TALE OF TWO COVENANTS
聖經的主要信息是為了處理兩個問題：罪和救贖。聖經用兩個聖約來處理這些問題：人違背了其中一個聖約，而基督成全了另一個聖約。這兩個聖約——「行為之約」和「恩典之約」——為聖經的教導樹立起一個架構，也是我們明白救恩的關鍵。
The
Bible’s primary message deals with two great issues: sin and redemption. It
relates these to two different covenants, one of which man broke and other of
which Christ fulfilled. These two covenants—the covenant of works and the
covenant of grace—provide the architecture on which the Bible’s teaching is
erected and serve as the key to our understanding of salvation.
如同我告訴我猶太人的鄰居的，上帝和亞當立了約。上帝以這種方式規定了一些條件，亞當和他的後裔必須遵守這些要求，也就是「完美與個人的順服」（威敏思特信仰告白7.2），才能繼續享受伊甸園裡的生命。上帝為「知善惡樹」（創二9，見新譯本），設置了一個測驗。上帝的諭令是：「你吃的那日必定死」（創二17）。亞當藉著順服可以在伊甸園裡繼續保存生命，但是倘若他違背了聖約，他就會遭受死亡的懲罰。改革宗神學家稱這個約是「行為之約」，因為亞當靠的是自己的行為，要不是成功就是失敗。
As I
told my Jewish neighbor, God entered into a covenant with Adam. In this way,
God imposed the terms by which Adam and his posterity might continue to enjoy
life in the garden, namely, “perfect and personal obedience” (Westminster
Confession of Faith 7.2). A test was implemented with regard to one tree: “the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” God ordained that “in the day that you
eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17). Through obedience, Adam would
retain life in the garden, but if he broke the covenant, he would suffer death.
Reformed theology refers to this as “the covenant of works,” since by Adam’s
own works he would either stand or fall.
聖經其餘的部分，就是在呈現上帝如何為亞當破壞了行為之約所做的回應，而此回應就是「恩典之約」，這是上帝的應許，是行為之約被破壞的補救之道。既然蛇（代表魔鬼）已經成功地誘惑第一個亞當犯罪，上帝的恩典就首先顯明在蛇被打敗了。上帝告訴蛇：「我要使你和女人彼此為仇，你的後裔和女人的後裔也彼此為仇；女人的後裔要傷你的頭，你要傷他的腳跟。」（創三15）神學家稱這段話是「原型福音」，亦即福音的第一次宣講。然後上帝展示這個恩典之約會如何進行：一個無罪的祭物會代替罪人而死，將上帝的公義賜給他們，並且用血來償付他們的刑罰。創世記三章21節說：「耶和華神為亞當和他的妻子做了皮衣，給他們穿上。」
Adam’s
breach of the covenant of works is the great problem for which the rest of the
Bible presents God’s answer. This answer is the covenant of grace, which God
promised as His remedy for the broken covenant of works. Since the serpent
(representing the devil) had tempted the first humans into sin, God’s grace was
first presented in terms of his defeat. God told the serpent: “I will put
enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15).
Theologians call this the Protoevangelion, that is, the first preaching of the
Gospel. God then displayed how the covenant of grace would succeed: a sinless
sacrifice would die in the place of sinners, providing His righteousness for
them and paying their penalty in His blood. Genesis 3:21 says, “The Lord God
made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”
恩典之約為福音在接下來的世代中的展開，提供了一個統一的架構。上帝與挪亞立的約保存了恩典之約，好讓人類可以一直延續到救主的降生。上帝與亞伯拉罕立的約不只應許了許多的後裔，也應許了那唯一的後裔，在祂裡面，這個恩典之約會得著應驗（見加三16）。到了摩西的時代，亞伯拉罕的家族已經變成一個大國，而上帝與摩西立的約提供了祭司，祭司可以獻祭，好讓他們的罪可以得到赦免。上帝的國度也需要一個主權的君王，而上帝與大衛立的約應許會有一位君王，他永遠不會失敗或死亡。
The
covenant of grace provides unity to the Gospel’s unfolding in successive generations.
God’s covenant with Noah preserved the covenant of grace, so that the human
race would continue until the birth of its Savior. God’s covenant with Abraham
promised not just many offspring, but also the single offspring in whom the
covenant would be fulfilled (see Gal. 3:16). By the time of Moses, Abraham’s
family had become a nation, and God’s covenant with Moses provided priests who
would offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of their sins. God’s kingdom also
needed a sovereign, and God’s covenant with David promised a king who would
never fail or die.
但是即使經過了那麼長的世代，那被破壞的行為之約還是沒有得到成全：亞當和他的後代仍然需要那唯有藉著完全的順服才能得到的公義。因此，正如保羅所說的，「及至時候滿足，神就差遣他的兒子，為女子所生，且生在律法以下，要把律法以下的人贖出來，叫我們得著兒子的名分。」（加四4-5）這是聖約神學最精彩的地方。如同耶穌所說，祂來是要成全律法（太五17）；換句話說，祂來是要代表我們完成行為之約。如此，耶穌藉著死在十字架上，就為上帝在恩典之約裡要給罪人的恩典打下了根基。這正是基督說祂設立了「新約」的意思，祂為所有相信的人，實現了恩典之約。耶穌在預告祂贖罪的死的時候作了這樣的宣告：「因為這是我立約的血，為多人流出來，使罪得赦。」（太廿六28）
But
through all the long generations, the broken covenant of works remained
unfulfilled—Adam and his line still needed the righteousness that comes only
through perfect obedience. So, as Paul put it, “When the fullness of time had
come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem
those who were under the law” (Gal. 4:4–5). This is covenant theology at its
finest. As Jesus stated, He came to fulfill the Law (Matt. 5:17); that is, he
came to fulfill the covenant of works on our behalf. Then, by dying on the
cross, Jesus laid the foundation for God’s grace for sinners in the covenant of
grace. This is the meaning of Christ’s words in establishing His “new
covenant,” bringing the covenant of grace to fruition for those who believe.
Anticipating His atoning death, Jesus declared, “This is my blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt.
26:28).
聖約神學的重要性，不單單在於它對我們瞭解舊約和福音上非常重要，在我們理解使徒書信裡所教導的使徒的教訓，也是很重要的。例如，上帝如何能同時是公義的，又是那「稱信耶穌的人為義的」（羅三26）呢？聖約神學提供了答案：在基督裡的信徒所以被稱義，不只是因為基督代表我們成全了行為之約，同時也是因為靠著祂的血所提供的贖罪（這血是在恩典之約裡提供的）。這是另一個重要的問題：為什麼信心可以使我們在上帝面前得稱為義，而不必靠我們自己的行為呢？聖約神學提供了聖經的答案：耶穌成全了我們在工作之約下所虧欠上帝的好行為，而這是我們在恩典之約下唯獨靠信心才能領受的。
Covenant
theology is vital not merely for understanding the Old Testament and the
Gospels, but also for the apostolic doctrine taught in the Epistles. How, for
instance, can God be just and yet be “the justifier of the one who has faith in
Jesus” (Rom. 3:26)? Covenant theology provides the answer: believers in Christ
are justified both by His fulfilling the covenant of works on our behalf and by
the atonement in His blood offered by the covenant of grace. Here is another
important question: How can faith make us righteous before God, apart from
works of our own? Covenant theology gives the Bible’s answer: Jesus performed
the works we owe to God under the covenant of works, which we receive by faith
alone under the covenant of grace.
歷史是祂的歷史
HISTORY AS HIS STORY
聖約神學把聖經自己的救恩骨架呈現出來，因為它和聖經一樣，都同樣是在展開耶穌基督的位格和工作。當保羅寫到，「上帝的一切應許，在基督裡都是『是』（原文是阿們）的」（林後一20），他是指向上帝的聖約應許。上帝所應許的恩典禮物是什麼呢？答案要在祂諸多的聖約裡去找。祂的聖約應許了生命，保存，應許之地，一群榮耀的百姓，一個永遠事奉的祭司，一個公義的君王，一個贖罪的羔羊。只要我們信靠耶穌的一生、死亡和復活，以及在聖約裡的基督，這些應許就都是是的，都是阿們的。聖約神學所教導的聖經歷史，真是祂的歷史，以至於我們唯獨可以在耶穌基督裡發現上帝恩典的豐盛。
Covenant theology presents the Bible’s own framework
for salvation, because like the Bible it unfolds the person and work of Jesus
Christ. When Paul wrote, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2
Cor. 1:20), he was pointing to God’s covenant promises. What has God promised
as His gift of grace? The answer is found in His covenants, which offer life,
preservation, a land of promise, a glorious people, a ministering priest, a
righteous king, and an atoning lamb. These promises are all Yes and Amen only
as we trust in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ of the
covenants. The Bible history taught by covenant theology is truly His story, so
that we might find the fullness of God’s grace in Jesus Christ alone.
