神的獨生子耶穌基督 Jesus Christ as only Begotten

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》P81 ,更新傳道會出版http://www.crmnj.org/

聖經稱耶穌為「父獨生子」（約1：14），這句話在教會歷史上曾引起很激烈的辨論。由於耶穌又被稱為「是首生的，在一切被造的以先。」（西1：15；譯者註：此句亦可譯作「在一切被造之上，為首生者。」）於是有人認為，聖經教導我們，耶穌並非擁有神性，祂只是一個被神升為至高的受造物而已。

耶和華見證人會和摩門教都使用這些觀念，來否定基督的神性。主要是因為這兩個教派否認基督的神性，他們才被視為異端，因此不被納入正統基督教的宗派。

第四世紀，當亞流派異端否認三位一體之教義時，基督的神性即是他們爭論的一個重點，而當日亞流派否認基督神性的主要論點，成了今天耶和華見證人會和摩門教的先導。亞流派在主後三二五年的尼西亞大會中，已被定為異端。

按亞流派的論點，譯成所生（begotten）的這個希臘字，原意是「成為」或「開始」；既是所生的，就必定在時間上有一個開始；從時間的角度來說，是有窮盡，這也正是受造者的特征。在一切被造的以先一語，含有在被造界中居最高層次之意，高過天使，但不能超越被造的層次。敬拜受造之物就等於拜偶像，沒有任何天使或受造之物是值得我們敬拜的，因此亞流派認為，將神性歸給耶穌是褻瀆，是違背聖經中的一神論。亞流派認為神只有一位，無論在實存上或在位格上都只是一位。

尼西亞信經（Nicene Creed) 是教會對亞流派異端的回應。這信經承認耶穌是「為父神所生的，而非父神所造的」。教會用這短短的一句話，熱切地強調「所生」一詞並不包括任何被造的意味。

有些歷史學家批評尼西亞大會存有偏見，過度花工夫解釋「所生」這個字和「是首生的，在一切被造的以先」在希臘文中簡單而直接的含意。其實教會並非武斷使用這些簡單的字眼，教會把「非父神所造」的限制語加在「為父神所生」一詞上是有根據的。

第一，教會是由整本聖經對基督本質的教導去理解這些用語。教會相信新約聖經清楚確認基督的神性，並且也反對用一段經文去與其他經文對立。

第二，新約聖經雖是用希臘文寫成的，但其中大部分的思想型態和觀念都含有濃厚的希伯來意義，這些希伯來的觀念不過是藉希臘文為工具表達出來。這事實提醒我們，不要過分地倚重古典希臘文的精細解釋。例如，約翰用一個意義豐富的字眼道（logos) 來形容耶穌，但如果我們過分地將這詞在希臘文所包含的一切意義都應用在耶穌身上，便不恰當了。

第三，新約聖經使用所生這個字的方式是有講究的。約翰福音一章14節稱耶穌為那獨一者（新國際版之譯法）；一章18節稱耶穌為獨生子或那獨一之神（新國際版之譯法），又或作獨生之神。有些有份量的文稿顯示，希臘文原文是那獨生之神。如果人們肯接納那獨生之神這種譯法的話，爭論便解決了。但是如果我們只接受獨生子的譯法，我們還面對一點重要的講究，因耶穌被稱為獨生子（monogenais), 此字之字首的獨（mono-)在希臘文是很強的用語。這乃是說，耶穌的為父所生乃屬獨一無二的，也是絕無僅有的。沒有任何人或物的所生，是像耶穌那樣生的。教會稱基督的永遠生於父懷正是表明這事。子乃是永遠地從父而來，並不是受造物，而是三位一體中的第二位。

希伯來書論到耶穌時，也用了生一字（來1：5）。這卷書可能是新約聖經中提出最崇高的基督論的一卷書，在這方面，只有約翰福音能與它相比。因約翰曾清楚地稱耶穌為神，又稱基督為獨生子。

最後，「是首生的，在一切被造的以先」一語，應該按照第一世紀猶太文化的背景去理解。從這個角度出發，我們可以看到基督是首生的，乃是指基督身為父神的後嗣所具有高升的地位。長子如何承受先祖的產業，照樣，神聖之子的耶穌也承受了父神的國度為其產業。

總結

1. 耶穌被稱為父獨生子，又被稱作是首生的，在一切被造的以先，這些名稱在教會歷史上曾引起對基督神性的激烈爭論。

2. 耶和華見證人會和摩門教使用這些詞句來否認基督的神性。

3. 尼西亞信經清楚說明，耶穌是「父所生的，而非父神所造的」。此中細微的分別是新約確認耶穌神性的明證。

4. 耶穌被稱為父神的獨生子，祂的為父所生乃屬獨一無二的，祂不是受造物，而是永恒的獨一者，是三位一體中的第二位。

5. 首生一詞必須按照第一世紀猶太文化背景去理解。耶穌是首生的，在一切被造的以先，這是指衪是父神萬有的承受者。

思考經文：

約1：1-18；西1：15-19；𠂔1：1-14

Jesus Christ as only Begotten

That the Bible refers to Jesus as “the only begotten of the Father” (John1:14) has provoked great controversy in church history. Because Jesus is also called the “firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15), it has been argued that the Bible teaches that Jesus is not divine, but an exalted

creature.

Both Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons deny the deity of Christ by appealing to these concepts. It is chiefly because of their denial of the deity of Christ that these two groups are regarded as sects rather than as bona fide Christian denominations.

The deity of Christ was a crucial issue in the fourth century when the heretic Arius denied the Trinity. Arius’s chief argument against the deity of Christ anticipated the arguments of modern Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. Arius was condemned as a heretic at the Council of Nicea in

A.D. 325.

Arius argued that the Greek word translated begotten means “to happen,” “to become,” “to start to be.” That which is begotten must have a beginning in time. It must be finite with respect to time, which is a sign of creatureliness. To be the “firstborn over all creation” suggests the supreme level of creatureliness, ranking higher than the angels, but it does not rise above the level of creature. To worship a creature is to commit idolatry.

No angel or any other creature is worthy of worship. Arius saw the attributing of deity to Jesus as a blasphemous rejection of biblical monotheism. For Arius God must be regarded as “one,” both in being and in person.

The Nicene Creed reflects the church’s response to the Arian heresy. It confesses that Jesus was “begotten, not made.” In this simple formula the church was zealous to guard against the idea of interpreting the term begotten to mean or to imply creatureliness.

Some historians have faulted the Council of Nicea for engaging in special pleading or mental gymnastics to evade the plain and simple meaning of the Greek word begotten and the phrase “firstborn over all creation.” The church, however, did not flee from the simple meaning of these terms in an arbitrary manner. There was justifiable grounds for fencing their term begotten with the qualifier “not made.”

First, the church was seeking to understand these terms in the total context of the biblical teaching concerning the nature of Christ. Being persuaded that the New Testament clearly ascribes deity to Christ, the church was against setting one part of Scripture against another.

Second, although the New Testament was written in the Greek language, most of the thought forms and concepts are loaded with Hebrew meanings.

The Hebrew concepts are expressed through the vehicle of the Greek language. This fact sounds a warning against leaning too heavily upon tight nuances of classical Greek. Just as John uses the loaded term logos to refer to Jesus, it would be a mistake to fill that term exclusively with the

Greek ideas associated with the use of the word.

Third, the term begotten is used in a qualified way in the New Testament. In John 1:14 Jesus is referred to as the “only begotten.” Again in John 1:18 He is called the “only begotten Son.” There is significant manuscript evidence that suggests that the original Greek read “only begotten God.”

Had that text been accepted the debate would be over. However, if we treat the text as reading “only begotten Son,” we still have a crucial qualifier. Jesus is called the only begotten (monogenais). The prefix monois stronger in Greek than the word only is in English. Jesus is absolutely singular in his begottenness. He is uniquely begotten. No one or nothing else is begotten in the sense Jesus is begotten. That the church can speak of Christ’s eternal begottenness is an attempt to do justice to this. The Son proceeds eternally from the Father, not as a creature, but as the Second Person of the Trinity.

The book of Hebrews, which also refers to Jesus as “begotten” (Hebrews 1:5), is the epistle that gives us perhaps the highest Christology to be found in the New Testament. The only book in the New Testament that rivals Hebrews in this regard is the Gospel of John. It is John who clearly calls Jesus “God.” It is also John who speaks of Christ as the “only begotten.”

Finally, the phrase “firstborn over all creation” must be understood from the background of first-century Jewish culture. From this vantage point we can see that the term firstborn refers to Christ’s exalted status as the heir of the Father. Just as the firstborn son usually received the patriarchal inheritance, so Jesus as the divine Son receives the Father’s kingdom as His inheritance.

Summary

1. That Jesus is called “the only begotten of the Father” and “firstborn over all creation” has sparked controversy in church history over the deity of Christ.

2. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons use these passages to deny the deity of Christ.

3. The Nicene Creed clearly spelled out that Jesus was “begotten, not made.” This careful distinction was a reflection of the New Testament’s affirmation of Christ’s deity.

4. Jesus is called “the only begotten” of the Father. Jesus is uniquely begotten of the Father, not as a creature, but as the eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity.

5. The term firstborn must be understood from a first-century Jewish background. Jesus is the “firstborn over all creation” in the sense that He is the heir of all that belongs to the Father.

Biblical passages for reflection:

John 1:1-18

Colossians 1:15-19

Hebrews 1:1-14