恩典之約The Covenant of Grace
譯者/校對者:Maria Marta/誠之
「亞當給他的妻子起名叫夏娃，因爲她是衆生之母。耶和華 神爲亞當和他的妻子做了皮衣，給他們穿上。」（創三20-21新譯本）
---創世記第三章
亞當和夏娃並不是上帝所指定的樂園和喜樂的永久擁有者，但是在伊甸園裏，爲了配得到在上帝面前的永恒生命，他們必須順服上帝。因此，亞當和夏娃被放置在行爲之約的考驗底下（創二15-17）。考驗的條件對亞當特別重要，因爲他在上帝面前是人類盟约的頭或代表。只有藉著遵守盟約並通過上帝的考驗，他才會得到永恒的生命。這次測驗集中在分別善惡樹這試題上（17節）。我們的造物主吩咐亞當和夏娃不要吃這樹上的果子，但園中各樣樹上的果子都可以吃。實際的果子並不重要；關鍵的問題是果子代表什麽，即是，他的行動代表著是否願意繼續敬愛和信靠上帝。爲了證明對上帝的忠誠，我們的第一對父母要做的所有事情，就是避免吃分別善惡樹上的果子。
盡管被禁吃的果子樹稱爲分別善惡樹，但是我們不應該認爲亞當和夏娃在吃果子之前，缺乏辨別對與錯的所有知識。我們的第一對父母至少知道順服上帝是善，違背上帝是惡，這就是爲什麼這個誘惑對亞當和夏娃來說，不是真的要獲得他們還沒有得到的知識。在蛇的說話中，誘惑是「會像 神一樣，能知道善惡」（三5；強調是另加的）； 撒但呈現給他們一種可能，他們可以成為自己的律法，是獨斷獨行的自主主體，沒有義務要聽從造物主的話。撒但引誘他們相信，他們可以自己判斷對與錯，不必臣服於上帝的律法之下。
然而，成爲那些不必對上帝負責的，道德自由的主體是不可能的，我們必須根據上帝的啓示作出對與錯的決定。當亞當和夏娃吃果子時，他們拒絕了這一原則，上帝詛咒人類必終生勞苦，才能從地裏得吃，並且在痛苦中生産兒女。最糟糕的是，我們受到死亡的詛咒，被禁止吃生命樹上的果子（17-24節）。然而，上帝是恩慈的，祂並沒有使死亡立即發生。相反，祂作了恩典之約的第一個宣告，應許要消滅蛇（15節）。上帝還用動物的皮遮蓋亞當和夏娃的恥辱（21節），最終這行動指向那日，祂的兒子會粉碎罪惡和撒但，並爲覆蓋我們的罪惡和羞辱，提供祂兒子的完美公義。
活在上帝的面光中（Coram Deo）
聖經常常描述上帝是一位對罪人有憐憫，有恩典的上帝（出三四6）。事實上，亞當和夏娃在伊甸園犯罪之後，
上帝並沒有立即摧毀他們，也許這是最好的例子。我們不能濫用上帝的恩慈，但是我們也不應該認爲，上帝只是在尋找我們的差錯，以便把我們擊殺。上帝渴望我們悔改，這就是當聖靈指證我們的罪時，我們所必須做的事。
延伸閱讀:
經文：創六5-7 ；何六1-10 ；林前十五22；加三10。
The
Covenant of Grace
“The
man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And
the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them”
(vv. 20-21).
-
Genesis 3
Permanent
possession of Eden and its joys was not a given for Adam and Eve, but our first
parents had to render obedience to God in order to be accounted worthy of
eternal life in the garden before the Lord’s face. As such, Adam and Eve were
placed under probation in the covenant of works (Gen. 2:15-17). The terms of
the probation were particularly important for Adam, as he was humanity’s
federal head or representative before God. Only by keeping the covenant and by
passing the Lord’s test would he have merited eternal life. This test was
centered on the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (v. 17). Our Creator
commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from this tree, and He gave them the fruit of
all other trees to eat. The actual fruit is unimportant; the key thing is what
the fruit represented, namely, a willingness to continue loving and trusting
the Lord. To prove faithful, all our first parents had to do was refrain from
eating the forbidden fruit.
Though
the forbidden tree was called the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, we should
not think that Adam and Eve lacked all knowledge of right and wrong before they
ate. Our first parents at least knew that it would be good to obey the Lord and
evil to disobey Him, and that is why the temptation was not really for Adam and
Eve to gain knowledge they did not already have. In the words of the serpent,
the temptation was to become “like God, knowing good and evil”; (3:5, emphasis
added). Satan held out to them the possibility that they could become a law
unto themselves, autonomous agents who are under no obligation to the Creator.
He was tempting them to believe that they could determine right and wrong for
themselves, that they need not be subject to God’s law.
Yet
it is impossible to become free agents who are unaccountable to the Lord, and
we must determine right and wrong based on God’s revelation. When Adam and Eve
ate the fruit, they rejected this principle, and the Lord cursed mankind with
difficulty in laboring to produce food and in childbirth. Worst of all, we were
cursed with death and barred from the Tree of Life (vv. 17-24). However, the
Lord was merciful, and He did not bring death to pass right away. Instead, He
gave the first announcement of the covenant of grace, promising to destroy the
serpent (v. 15). God also covered Adam and Eve’s shame with animal skins (v.
21), ultimately pointing to the day when His Son would crush sin and Satan, and
provide the covering of His perfect righteousness for our wickedness and shame.
Coram
Deo
Scripture
often depicts the Lord as One who is slow to anger and patient with sinners
(Ex. 34:6). The fact that He did not destroy Adam and Eve right away after they
sinned in Eden is perhaps the best example of this. We are not to presume upon
God’s kindness, but neither should we think that the Lord is just looking for
us to slip up so that He can strike us down. He is eager for us to repent, and
that is what we must do when His Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin.
Passages
for Further Study
Genesis
6:5-7
Hosea
6:1-10
1
Corinthians 15:22
Galatians
3:10