敬拜的水平层面The Horizontal in Worship
作者：Barry J. York 译者：骆鸿铭
当牧师在任何一个主日呼召你去敬拜时，他无疑是想把你的注意力引到天上，这是他义不容辞的。他用经文呼召你赞美主，向祂欢呼。正如保罗告诉歌罗西教会的，作为“与基督一同复活”的人，我们要“求上面的事，那里有基督坐在上帝的右边”（西三1）。在敬拜当中，我们必须听从保罗的告诫，他说：“你们要思念上面的事上，不要思念地上的事”（西三2）。我们的敬拜是“垂直”的，因为我们要荣耀我们的三位一体真神，并与祂交流。
When
the minister calls you to worship on any given Lord’s Day, undoubtedly he seeks
to draw your heart’s attention heavenward, as he should. He uses texts of
Scripture to call you to praise the Lord and to shout joyfully to Him. As Paul
told the church at Colossae, as those who “have been raised with Christ,” we
are to “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right
hand of God” (Col. 3:1). In worship, we are to heed his admonition when he
says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on
earth” (Col. 3:2). Our worship is “vertical” as we glorify and commune with our
triune God.
然而，我们也不能忽略敬拜所需要的“横向”性质。思念上面的事，不要思念地上的事，意思不是要我们忽略周围与我们一起敬拜的人。在敬拜中，我们不仅要履行最大的诫命，也就是尽心、尽意、尽力爱上帝；我们也应当在敬拜中关爱与我们同在的邻舍。会众在主日早晨来到这里的时候，他们是聚在一起进行集体的敬拜。因此，我们要确定我们有把“集体”放在我们的集体敬拜中！在仰望天上的同时，我们也必须环顾四周。
Yet,
we must not miss the needed “horizontal” nature of worship as well. Setting our
minds on things above, and not on earthly things, does not mean we are to
ignore the others around us who are worshiping with us. In worship, we are not
only to fulfill the great commandment to love God with all our heart, soul,
mind, and strength. We are also to love our neighbor who is there with us in
worship. As the congregation arrives on Sunday morning, it is gathering for
corporate worship. Thus, we need to be sure that we are putting the corporate
into our corporate worship! In looking
up, we must also look around.
很明显，我们在敬拜前后都会想到这一点。基督徒喜欢看到他们在基督里的弟兄姐妹，与他们打招呼，与他们叙旧，无论是在礼拜前的圣殿里，还是礼拜后一起喝杯咖啡。但是在崇拜当中呢？特别是在崇拜当中，我们要彼此顾念。
Obviously,
we think of this before and after worship. Christians enjoy seeing their
brothers and sisters in Christ, greeting them and catching up with them,
whether in the sanctuary before the service or over a cup of coffee afterward.
But what about during the service? It is especially during the service that we
are to be mindful of one another.
圣经鼓励这种横向的敬拜吗？当然是的。例如，当我们参与敬拜中的各个环节时，请想一想，每个环节是如何鼓励这种观点的。
Do
the Scriptures encourage this horizontal dimension of worship? They most
definitely do. For example, think through how, as we participate in the various
elements in worship, each element encourages this viewpoint.
当我们蒙召去敬拜时，我们不是作为个人被呼召的，而是作为基督的身体蒙召的，这是由许多活石组成的圣殿，一起向主献上活祭（林前三16；彼前二4-5）。我们许多敬拜的呼召都强调要超越仅仅是个人敬拜上帝的意义，而进入到这个集体的层面。请听听其中的几条告诫：
When
we are called to worship, we are called not as individuals but as the body of
Christ, a temple of living stones who together offer sacrifices to the Lord (1
Cor. 3:16; 1 Peter 2:4–5). Many of our calls to worship emphasize moving beyond
a mere personal sense of worshiping God to this corporate aspect. Listen to a few of these admonitions.
我要时时称颂耶和华；赞美他的话必常在我口中。我的心必因耶和华夸耀；谦卑人听见就要喜乐。你们和我当称耶和华为大，一同高举他的名。（诗卅四1-3）
I
will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh,
magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! (Ps. 34:1–3)
来啊，我们要向耶和华歌唱，向拯救我们的磐石欢呼！我们要来感谢他，用诗歌向他欢呼！（诗九五1-2）。
Oh
come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our
salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a
joyful noise to him with songs of praise! (Ps. 95:1–2)
又要彼此相顾，激发爱心，勉励行善。你们不可停止聚会，好像那些停止惯了的人，倒要彼此劝勉，既知道那日子临近，就更当如此。（来十24-25）
And
let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not
neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb. 10:24–25)
那么，当我们在敬拜中祷告的时候，虽然牧师带领祷告时，我们只能听见他一个人的声音，但上帝的子民在牧师祷告时应该同心合意。最值得注意的是，主耶稣指导我们祷告的时候，也教导我们这个真理。想想主祷文中所有的第一人称复数代名词。“‘我们’在天上的父。” “‘我们’日用的饮食，今日赐给我们” “免‘我们’的债，如同‘我们’免了人的债”；“不叫‘我们’遇见试探，救‘我们’脱离凶恶”。显然，我们要像一个由许多部分组成的身体一样祷告，不只是求主供应我每天的需要或赦免我的罪，也要为别人祈求。教会也应当另有一些祷告的时间，让每个人开声向上帝祷告（见徒四24-31）。
Then,
as we pray in worship, though the singular voice of the minister may be the
only one audibly heard as he leads in prayer, yet all of God’s people are to
join in with one heart as he prays. Most notably, the prayer the Lord Jesus
gave to instruct us about prayer also teaches us this truth. Think of all the
first-person-plural pronouns in the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father in heaven.”
“Give us this day our daily bread.” “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our
debtors”; “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Clearly, we
are to pray as one body consisting of many parts, not just asking the Lord to
supply my daily needs or forgive my sins, but praying that for others as well.
The church should also have times of prayer where everyone is lifting their
voices to God (see Acts 4:24–31).
其次，考虑我们的歌唱。当新约圣经命令我们唱歌时，使徒告诉我们，我们不仅要向上帝歌唱，而且要用歌声刻意地彼此提说。“当用各样的智慧，把基督的道理丰丰富富的存在心里，用诗章、颂词、灵歌，彼此教导，互相劝戒，心被恩感，歌颂上帝。”（西三16；另见弗五19）。再次，希伯来书的作者敦促我们在赞美上帝的时候要有集体的思想。“我们应当靠着耶稣，常常以颂赞为祭献给上帝，这就是那承认主名之人嘴唇的果子。”（来十三15）。
Next,
consider our singing. When the New Testament commands us to sing, the Apostle
tells us that we are not only to sing to God, but we are also to address one
another intentionally in song. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16; see
also Eph. 5:19). Again, the author of Hebrews urges us to think corporately as
we praise God. “Through [Christ] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice
of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Heb.
13:15).
由于什一奉献和其他供物的奉献，它们应当被视为是上帝子民共同的捐献。当诗人敦促各家将上帝的名所当得的荣耀归给祂时，他呼吁各家为此带去供物（诗九六7-8）。这些奉献是用于教会的工作和事工，是真正的“为圣徒捐钱”（林前十六1）。我们的奉献显示了教会紧密的联系，因为它被用于照顾我们的牧师、做怜悯的工作、支持宣教士等。
As
tithes and offerings are given, they are to be viewed as a joint collection by
God’s people. As the psalmist urges families to ascribe to God the glory due
His name, he calls them to bring an offering for that purpose (Ps. 96:7–8).
These offerings were used for the work and ministry of the church, a true
“collection for the saints” (1 Cor. 16:1). Our giving shows the church’s
connectivity, as it is used for such things as caring for our minister, doing
mercy work, and supporting missionaries.
在敬拜中，也许我们需要更新我们的横向意识的一处地方是读经和讲道的时候。你不只是自己一个人在那里听而已。你聆听神的话语，不仅是为了个人的益处，更是为了基督身体的其他肢体。每个人都要听“圣灵对‘众教会’所说的话”（启二7）。理解这种集体的动态，会影响我们聆听上帝的道的方式。
Perhaps
one place we need to renew our sense of the horizontal in worship is when the
Bible is being read and preached. You are not there merely listening to it by
yourself. You are to hear God’s Word not only for its personal benefit, but you
are also to listen as a fellow member of the body of Christ. Each person is to
“hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7, emphasis added).
Understanding this corporate dynamic affects how we listen to God’s Word.
例如，回想保罗曾经问哥林多教会：“（你们）岂不知你们是神的殿，神的灵住在你们裡头吗？”（林前三16）。圣经的两种原文，即旧约中的希伯来语和新约中的希腊语，都在第二人称单数和第二人称复数之间做了区分，这种区分在我们的英文译本中并不是立刻就能看清楚的（译按：英文都是you，但中文很清楚）。在这节经文中，希腊文明确指出，“你们” 的三种用法都是複数。保罗是在告诉哥林多的会众，这个会众全体共同构成了神的殿。在《桌边谈》杂志（Tabletalk Magazine）的一篇文章中，Gabe Fluhrer也提出了类似的观点。在约翰福音中耶稣关于圣灵的论述中，他说道：“有趣的是，人称代名词‘你们’在《约翰福音》十四章15 -31节中使用了近30次，没有一次是单数形式。它总是复数。为什么这样说呢？因为耶稣应许圣灵的引导不仅是给个人的，而且是给祂的教会的”（注1）。
For
example, recall that Paul asks the Corinthian church, “Do you not know that you
are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16). Both of
the original languages of the Bible, Hebrew in the Old Testament and Greek in
the New, make a distinction between the second-person singular and
second-person plural, a distinction that is not immediately clear in our
English translations. In this verse, the Greek makes it clear that each of the
three uses of “you” is plural. Paul is telling the congregation at Corinth that
it together constitutes the temple of God. In an article in Tabletalk, Gabe
Fluhrer makes a similar point. In Jesus’ discourse on the Holy Spirit in the
gospel of John, he states: “Interestingly, the personal pronoun ‘you’ is used
almost thirty times in John 14:15–31 and not once is it in the singular form.
It is always plural. Why? Because Jesus is promising the guidance of the Spirit
not just to individuals but to His church.”1
明白这个重要的真理，就能使圣经得到更广泛、更深入的应用。正如上面的例子所显示的，将教会而不仅仅是我个人视为神的殿堂（许多自称基督徒的人都是这样做的），凸出了参加敬拜、向他人学习、在教会中一起服侍等事情的重要性。认识到许多书信是写给会众或服侍会众的牧师的，可以帮助我们更充分地将圣言应用在整个基督的身体。
Seeing
this important truth opens up the Bible to wider and deeper applications. As
the above example shows, considering the church and not just my individual self
as the temple of God (which many professing Christians do) emphasizes such
things as the importance of being at worship, learning from others, and serving
together in the church. Recognizing that many of the epistles were written to
congregations or to ministers that served them can help us apply the Word more
fully to the entire body of Christ.
最后，即使是在礼拜结束时的祝祷，我们在接受上帝的祝福时，也应该想到身边的每一个人，而不仅仅想到自己。从《哥林多后书》结尾处摘录的，我们非常熟悉的上帝的祝福，可以仅仅作为个人的祝祷来听。然而，它却被刻意说成是以集体意义的祝福作为结尾。“愿主耶稣基督的恩惠、上帝的慈爱、圣灵的感动，常与你们众人同在！”（林后十三14）。从礼拜的开始到结束，甚至在结束之后，我们三位一体上帝的纵向祝福流淌下来，传遍整个基督的身体。这是敬拜水平层面的一幅多么美丽的图画啊！
Finally,
even as we come to the end of the service at the time for the benediction, we
should be thinking of everyone around us and not just ourselves as we receive
God’s blessing. The familiar blessing of God taken from the end of 2
Corinthians could be heard merely as a personal blessing. Yet it is
deliberately stated to conclude with a corporate sense of blessing. “The grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14, emphasis added). From the beginning of
the service to the end and beyond, the vertical blessing of our triune God
flows down and spreads through the entire body of Christ. What a beautiful
picture of the horizontal dimension of worship.
注1: Gabe Fluhrer, “Doing Theology Together
under the Leading of the Holy Spirit,” Tabletalk, February 2018, 25.