直到國度降臨'Til Kingdom Come
作者：NICK BATZIG 譯者: 駱鴻銘
最近圍繞「社會正義」的辯論似乎可以歸結為對「上帝的國」與「教會」之間關係，有著根本的分歧和誤解。許多人將這兩種聖經概念混為一談，以至於在「教會的使命」和「信徒在世上的活動」之間，沒有劃分出明確的界線。其他人則將它們對立起來，以至於使它們之間不再存有任何必要的關聯。魏司堅（Geerhardus Vos）在他所著的《改革教義學》的第五卷中，對於這兩種聖經概念的獨特性和彼此的關聯，提出了許多相當重要的觀點。
So
much recent debate surrounding social justice seems to boil down to fundamental
disagreements and misunderstandings about the relationship between the
"Kingdom of God" and the "Church." Many have conflated these two biblical
concepts so as to lose the clear lines of demarcation regarding the mission of
the church and the activities of believers in the world. Others have so pitted
them against one another as to bifurcate any necessary correlation. In vol. 5
of his Reformed Dogmatics, Geerhardus Vos made a number of profoundly important
points regarding both the distinctness and interconnectedness of these two
biblical concepts when he wrote,
「一方面，『上帝的國』是狹義的，『教會』則是更廣義的概念......另一方面，『上帝的國』或『天國』是一個比『教會』更廣義的概念。」（註1）
"On
the one hand, 'kingdom of God' is the narrower, and 'church' the wider concept...On
the other hand, the 'kingdom of God' or 'of heaven' is a broader concept than
that of the church."1
對於「上帝的國」是比「教會」更為狹義的概念，魏司堅提到：
Concerning
his observation about the "Kingdom of God" being a more narrow
concept than the "Church," Vos noted,
「雖然教會既有『有形的』（visible）一面，也有『無形的』（invisible）一面，因此往往可以被視是一整個國家，但上帝的國在其各種意義上卻是無形的屬靈原則。若我們真屬於基督，降服在祂的至高權柄之下，靠著活潑的信心被塑造成祂的模樣，連同教會的許多成員，與祂的身體聯合在一起，那麼基督對我們的靈魂所行使的，就是祂的主權。教會就是由這些真正的成員和基督的臣民組成的聚集。它被稱為「天國」，乃是因為它有其中心，在天上有它的未來。聖約的一切屬靈益處都和它有關：公義、自由、和平、聖靈中的喜樂（參：羅十四17）。作為這種屬靈的實體，它乃是在人心裏，並不具有外在的形貌。按此意義來理解，天國就等於無形教會；但在新約的特殊處境中，因為基督宣講天國近了，即藉著祂的降臨，天國已經近了。祂是君王，藉著祂明確的自我啟示、藉著祂完成的工作，無形教會也獲得了前所未有的新榮耀，所以即使在這個國度中，最小的仍然比施洗約翰更大（太十一11）。」（註2）
"While
the Church has both a visible and invisible side, and so can often be perceived
of an entire nation, the kingdom of God in its various meanings is the
invisible spiritual principle. It is the lordship Christ exercises over our
souls if we truly belong to Him, our submission to his sovereign authority, our
being conformed and joined by living faith to His body with its many members.
It is the gathering of these true members and subjects of Christ. It is called
the "kingdom of heaven" because it has its center and its future in
heaven. All the spiritual benefits of the covenant are linked to it: righteousness,
freedom, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit [cf. Rom 14:17]. As such a spiritual
entity, it is within man and does not appear with an outward face. Understood
in this sense, the kingdom of heaven equals the invisible church, but then in
its New Testament particularity, for Christ preached that the kingdom of heaven
had come near, namely, through His coming. He is the king, and through His
clear self-revelation and through His completed work, the invisible church also
receives a new glory that it did not have previously, so that even the least in
this kingdom is still greater than John the Baptist [Matt 11:11]."2
關於堅持「上帝的國」是更廣義的概念，而「教會」是更狹義的，Vos解釋說：
With
regard to the insistence that the "Kingdom of God" is the broader,
and the "Church" the narrower concept, Vos explained,
「上帝的國......是如此呈現在我們眼前的：它是必須滲透一切的酵母，是必須長成大樹的一粒芥菜種，其枝幹要覆蓋生活的全部領域。顯然，這種事不會被視為和『教會』有關。除了教會的領域之外，還有其他的生活領域，但是這些領域都不會被排除在上帝的國度之外。它在科學、藝術，各種知識領域中都有其主張。但是教會並不會宣稱對這一切的主權。此國度的外表（有形教會）決不能承擔這些事情；國度的內在本質，新的存在狀態，本身必須滲透和淨化。教會將一切都納入其中，必須掌管一切，恰恰是羅馬天主教的錯誤。然後就出現了一種教會科學、一種教會藝術，一種教會政治。在那裏，上帝的國度與教會完全等同，並以絕對的形式立足在世上。根據我們的看法，事情並非如此。真基督徒首先屬於教會，並承認基督為王。但除此之外，他也承認基督在生命每個領域中的主權，卻沒有因此犯下把這些事物彼此混雜在一起的錯誤。舊約聖經的教會-國家，包涵了整個國家的生活，是這種無所不包的上帝國度的一個預表。」（註3）
"The
Kingdom of God...is presented to us as leaven that must permeate everything, as
a mustard seed that must grow into a tree that with its branches covers all of
life. Plainly, such a thing may not be said of the concept 'church.' There are
other spheres of life beside that of the church, but from none of those may the
kingdom of God be excluded. It has its claim in science, in art, on every
terrain. But the church may not lay claim to all that. The external side of the
kingdom (the visible church) must not undertake these things; the internal
essence of the kingdom, the new existence, must of itself permeate and purify.
It is precisely the Roman Catholic error that the church takes everything into
itself and must govern everything. Then there appears an ecclesiastical
science, an ecclesiastical art, an ecclesiastical politics. There the kingdom
of God is identical with the church and has been established on earth in an
absolute form. According to us, it is otherwise. The true Christian belongs in
the first place to the church, and in it acknowledges Christ as king. But
besides that he also acknowledges the lordship of Christ in every other area of
life, without thereby committing the error of mixing these things with each
other. The Old Testament church-state, which comprehended the entire life of
the nation, was a type of this all-encompassing kingdom of God."3
這些區分自然會得出某些結論，這些結論涉及到上帝所統治的、並且在祂的百姓和世上作王的這兩個領域，彼此之間複雜的關聯。魏司堅寫道：
These
distinctions lead naturally to certain conclusions concerning the complex
interrelatedness of these two spheres of God's rule and reign in His people and
in the world. Vos wrote,
「若我們從第一個層面來比較有形教會和上帝的國度，那麼我們可以說前者是後者的表現和體現。
"If
now one compares the visible church and the kingdom of God viewed from the
first side, then one can say that the former is a manifestation and embodiment
of the latter.
如果從第二個層面來比較有形教會和上帝的國度，那麼可以說前者是後者的工具。
If
one compares the visible church and the kingdom of God viewed from the second
side, then one can say that the former is an instrument of the latter.
如果我們看最終的結果，那麼我們必須說，教會和上帝的國度會重疊在一起。在天堂，生活將不再是分裂的。在那裏，有形教會和無形教會有著完美的重疊。與此同時，就現在而言，神的國必須藉由教會的特定形式來推進。」（註4）If one looks to the final outcome, then one
must say that the church and kingdom of God will coincide. In heaven there will
no longer be a division of life. There the visible and the invisible will
coincide perfectly. Meanwhile, for now the kingdom of God must advance through
the particular form of the church."4
這兩個概念的複雜性，使我們必須極為審慎地考慮它們的獨特性和彼此的關聯。只有當我們這樣作的時候，我們才能大有裨益地進行關於教會使命、社會正義、憐憫事工、個人與群體，神聖與世俗，以及無數相關事務的對話，這些是基督徒喜歡花大量時間在網上辯論的事。儘管這本身是一項艱鉅的任務，但它將證明是一項值得的努力，肯定會給教會中的其他成員帶來巨大的益處。
The
complexity of these two concepts necessitates that we give the utmost care to
our consideration of both their distinctness and interrelatedness. It is only
as we do so that we will profitably enter into conversations about the mission
of the church, social justice, mercy ministry, the individual and the
corporate, the sacred and the secular, and the myriad of others associated
matters about which Christians love to spend inordinate amounts of time
debating online. Though a daunting task, in and of itself, it will prove a
worthy endeavor sure to yield great benefit to fellow members in the
church.
註：
1.
Vos, G. (2012-2016). Reformed Dogmatics. (R. B. Gaffin, Ed., A. Godbehere, R.
van Ijken, D. van der Kraan, H. Boonstra, J. Pater, A. Janssen, ... K. Batteau,
Trans.) (Vol. 5, pp. 8-9). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
2.
Ibid., vol. 5, p. 8.
3.
Ibid., p. 9
4.
Ibid.