作者: Jeff Robinson
譯者: 賈思婷
身為一個牧者，我最常遇見的 問題就是，神愛每個人都一樣多嗎？ 換句話說，祂愛那個把保羅送上斷頭 台的尼祿王，與愛一生忠心服事祂的 葛培理一樣多嗎？又或祂愛敵對祂的 人與憑信心認真悔改信祂的人一樣 多嗎？還有神只恨罪，卻愛罪人，對 嗎？
One
of the most common theological questions I’ve been asked as a pastor and
professor goes something like this: Does God love everybody in the same way? In
other words, did he love Nero to the same degree he loves Billy Graham? Does he
love those who reject him the same he loves his redeemed children? Does God
hate the sin, but love the sinner?
這是個複雜難解的問題，但許多 時候，基督徒試著用一個簡單的答案 來塘塞問者。有史以來，為這個問題給答案的人可分兩派：一派人用不合 格的「是」作答；另一派的人用不合 格的「非」作答！其實真相往往是隱 藏在細節裏的。耶穌所謂的「世人」 是指哪些人呢？論到神是愛，約翰福 音3章16節是否就是我們惟一可根據 的經文呢？
Too
often I’ve heard simplistic answers to this complex question. Historically, one
theological camp has answered with an unqualified yes, while some in another
offer an unqualified no. Yet truth often lies in the details. What is the
meaning of “world”? Is John 3:16 the lens through which every other verse must
be read?
針對「神是愛」這個題目，三一 神學院的教授卡森（D. A. Carson） 在其所著的《論神是愛這個難解的教 義》（The Difficult Doctrine of the
Love of God）中，給了最細膩、微妙又有力 的答案。卡森指出，聖經中談到神的 愛時，指出五種神的愛：
The
most careful, nuanced, and robustly biblical answer I’ve seen appears in Don
Carson’s book The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (Crossway, 2000).
Carson identifies five different ways Scripture speaks of God’s love.
壹、五種神的愛
一、父神與子神內部間特有的三位一 體之愛
1.
God’s intra-Trinitarian love between the Father and the Son
這種特有的愛，使得基督教的一 神論與世間其他的一神論有別，因為 只有這種愛才能顯示出神的啟示與救贖。約翰福音論到這種愛的教導特別 多（參約3: 35; 5: 20），惟有父神與 子神內部所特有的這種愛，能將祂們 之間那完全且絕對不受罪所影響的關 係表達出來，而這種愛也成為耶穌與 所有跟隨祂的人之間彼此相愛的一個 模範。在這種愛中，父神對子神的愛 沒有救贖之意，而子神愛父神也從來 不含蒙赦免而心懷感恩之意。
God’s
intra-Trinitarian love not only marks off Christian monotheism from all other
monotheisms, but is bound up in surprising ways with revelation and redemption.
John’s Gospel is especially rich in this theme (e.g., John 3:35; 5:20). This
intra-Trinitarian love is expressed in a relationship of perfection between the
Father and the Son, untarnished by sin on either side. However much this
intra-Trinitarian love serves as a model of love to be exchanged between Jesus
and his followers, there is no sense in which the love of the Father redeems
the Son, or the Son’s love is expressed in a relationship of forgiveness
granted and received.
父神與 子神之間的這種愛，一點也不包含神 對那些帶有祂形像、卻悖逆反抗祂之 人所含的怒氣，與在十字架上所彰顯 的愛。
As
precious as this expression of God’s love is, an exclusive focus here takes too
little account of how God manifests himself toward his rebellious image-bearers
in wrath, in love, and on the cross.
二、神對受造界的供應之愛
2.
God’s providential love over his creation
聖經提到「愛」這個字的經文 並不多，但這個主題卻是處處可見。 當神創造之工完成而罪尚未汙染受 造界之前，神看祂所有的創造都是 「好的」（創1章），因為這是一位 擁有完全之愛的神的最佳設計。在人 類被造以先，即使在無人眼欣賞之 際，連野地的草，神都會給它穿上美 麗的裝飾。
Though
the Bible largely refrains from using the word “love” in this connection, the
theme is not hard to find. God creates everything, and before there’s a whiff
of sin he pronounces all he’s made “good” (Gen. 1). This is the product of a
loving Creator. Jesus depicts a world in which God clothes the grass of the
field with the glory of wildflowers seen by no human, perhaps, but seen by God.
獅子吼叫尋食，神就賜它 們食物。耶穌描述天父的創造時，如 此說，天上的飛鳥，也不種，也不 收，也不積蓄在倉裏，天父一樣尚且 養活它們（太6章）。因為祂是一位 愛之神，是一位有恩慈又有愛心的萬 物供應者。若以此類推，我們就可以 得知耶穌的意思—我們的神也會供 應祂百姓的需要，祂若非是這樣的一 位神，那就真是講不通了。
The
lion roars and hunts down prey, but God feeds it. The birds of the air find
food, and not a sparrow falls apart from the sanction of the Almighty (Matt.
6). If this were not a benevolent providence, a loving providence, then the
moral lesson Jesus drives home—that this God can be trusted to provide for his
people—would be incoherent.
三、神對普天下墮落之人獨有的救贖 之愛
3.
God’s redeeming stance toward his fallen world
約翰福音3章16節：「神愛『世人』，甚至將祂的獨生子賜給他們， 叫一切信他的，不至滅亡，反得永 生。」此處的「世人」（或作「世 界」，kosmos）有人將之解作「蒙揀 選之人」，但約翰福音中似乎並沒 有這個意思。
God
so loved the world that he gave his Son (John 3:16). Some try to take kosmos
(“world”) here to refer to the elect, but that really will not do. All the
evidence of the word’s usage in John’s Gospel works against the suggestion.
“World” in John refers more to badness than to bigness. It’s primarily the
moral order in willful and culpable rebellion against God. In John 3:16, God’s
sending love is to be admired not because it’s extended to so big a thing as
the world, but to so bad a thing; not to so many people, but to such wicked
people.
約翰在其書信中通常用 「世界」一詞，來描述一個故意藉犯 罪來頂撞神的道德次序，約翰不是用 這個字來描述「世界」有多大，而是 要描述這個世界有多「壞」。這節聖 經不是要描述神所賜的愛範圍可涉及 多廣，一如我們所生活的世界那麼廣 大，而是說，我們乃是罪大惡極的一 個群體。
‘World’
in John refers more to badness than to bigness. . . . God’s sending love is to
be admired not because it’s extended to so big a thing as the world, but to so
bad a thing; not to so many people, but to such wicked people.
儘管如此，約翰在其他書信中， 如約翰一書2章2節，也用過同一個字 「世界」（譯者註：和合本將之譯作 「普天下人」），在這節經文中，約 翰用「世界」一詞把「大」與「壞」 都包含了進去。更重要的是，主耶穌 的門徒本來也都屬於這個罪大惡極 的群體，但神把他們選召了出來（如 約翰福音15章19節所說：「你們不 屬世界，乃是我從世界中揀選了你 們。」），可見神的愛是多麼的長闊 高深！
Nevertheless,
John can elsewhere speak of the “whole world” (1 John 2:2), bringing bigness
and badness together. More importantly, the disciples themselves once belonged
to the world but were drawn out of it (e.g., John 15:19). God’s love for the
world cannot be collapsed into his love for the elect.
四、神對蒙祂揀選之人獨特、有效又 有條件之愛
4.
God’s particular, effective, selecting love toward his elect people
所謂「蒙祂揀選之人」可以指整 體以色列民，也可以指教會，或任何 的基督徒群體。不論是指哪個群體， 神對祂所揀選之人有特別的感情，是 其他人所享受不到的。
The
elect may be the entire nation of Israel or the church as a body or
individuals. In each case, God sets his affection on his chosen ones in a way
he doesn’t set his affection on others.
申命記7章7-8 節如此說：「耶和華專愛你們，揀選 你們，並非因你們的人數多於別民； 原來你們的人數在萬民中是最少的。
The
striking thing about passages like Deuteronomy 7:7–8 is when Israel is
contrasted with other nations, the distinguishing feature includes nothing of
personal or national merit; it’s nothing other than the love of God. God’s love
is directed toward Israel in a way it’s not directed toward other nations.
只因耶和華愛你們，又因要守他向你 們列祖所起的誓，就用大能的手領你 們出來，從為奴之家救贖你們脫離埃 及王法老的手。」此處神很清楚地 表明，以色列民與其他民族有別的地 方，只在於神的愛。神定意愛以色列 人，而沒有選擇愛其他的民族。 神的這種愛與前三種愛有別， 而這種看來是有點偏心的愛在聖經他 處也常常出現，諸如，瑪拉基書1章 2-3節，神說：「以掃不是雅各的哥 哥麼？我卻愛雅各，惡以掃。」你可 以用各種方法來解釋這是閃族文化的 一部分，但不可否認的是，這種極端 的描述方式，很清楚地顯明了神的絕 對偏好，祂的確愛祂所揀選的人。
The
fourth way of speaking of God’s love is unlike the previous three. And this
discriminating feature of God’s love surfaces frequently. “I have loved Jacob,
but Esau I have hated,” God declares (Mal. 1:2–3). Allow all the room you like
for the Semitic nature of this contrast, observing the absolute form can be a
way of articulating absolute preference, and yet God’s love in such passages is
peculiarly directed toward the elect.
新 約聖經中也有類似的描述，講到基督 「愛教會，為教會捨己。」（弗5: 25） 同時新約聖經一再提到，神的確愛那 些組成祂教會的成員。Similarly, in the New
Testament we read Christ “loved the church” (Eph. 5:25). Repeatedly the New Testament
tells us that God’s love is directed
toward those who constitute the church.
五、神對肯順服祂的選民所賜有條件 之愛
5.
God’s love for his people—conditioned on obedience
順服是認識神不可或缺的一個 關係結構，這與我們如何信主無關， 而與我們一旦認識祂而想與祂建立進 一步的關係有關。因此猶大如此勸勉 他的讀者說：「保守自己常在神的愛 中。」（猶21節）這句話說明了，有 些人是不會保守自己在神的愛中。
Obedience
is part of the relational structure of knowing God; it doesn’t have to do with
how we come to know him, but with our relationship with him once we know him.
Jude exhorts his readers, “Keep yourselves in God’s love” (Jude 21), leaving
the unmistakable impression that someone might not keep himself in God’s love.
耶 穌也勸勉祂的門徒要「常在我的愛 裏」（約15: 9）。又說：「你們若遵 守我的命令，就常在我的愛裏」（約 15: 10）。
The
Lord Jesus commands his disciples to remain in his love (John 15:9), adding:
“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my
Father’s commands and remain in his love” (John 15:10).
除了以上五點外，卡森又說： 「用一個淺顯的例子來說明，那就有 如我的孩子，不論是好是壞，我對他們的愛都是不改變的，然而他們也都 明白，他們應保守自己在我的愛中。 如果他們晚上過了規定回家的時間卻 故意不回家，他們一定知道自己的下 場會是什麼：不但會挨罵，也會失去 一些特權。我不需要提醒他們，我責 備他們是因為我愛他們。不論我罰他 們禁足，或特地帶他們出去吃飯、釣 魚，或帶他們去聽他們喜歡的音樂 會，兩者都是出於我愛他們，但兩者 的不同是，前者的經歷讓他們知道不 順服讓我生氣，後者則讓他們體會到 保守自己在我的愛中的快樂。」
“To
draw a feeble analogy,” Carson writes, “there is a sense in which my love for
my children is immutable, regardless of what they do. There is another sense in
which they know well enough that they must remain in my love. If my teenagers
break curfew for no good reason, the least they will experience is a bawling
out, and they may come under some restrictive sanctions. There is no use
reminding them that I am doing this because I love them. That is true, but the
manifestation of my love for them when I ground them and when I take them out
for a meal or attend one of their concerts or take my son fishing or my
daughter on an excursion of some sort is rather different in the two senses.
The latter will feel much more like remaining in my love than falling under my
wrath.”
貳、三個重要的警告
Three
Vital Warnings
卡森又對牧者們提出警告，當他 們論到神的愛時要注意以下三件事：Carson offers three pastoral
warnings about how we approach the love of God:
一、不要太絕對 如果我們對神揀選的愛太過強 調，會讓我們變成極端的加爾文主義。另一方面，如果我們太強調神對 受造者無止境的供應之愛，我們則有 可能落入泛神論，或其他與聖經教導 不合的一神論中。We must avoid absolutizing one biblical expression of
God’s love. Placing
exclusive emphasis on God’s electing love
could lead to a cold hyper-Calvinism. If God’s providential love for his
creation received sole emphasis, pantheism or another form of monism would
result.
二、不要將之劃分得太清楚 我們無法把神按祂的愛非常機械 化來分析，神永遠愛祂所揀選的人與 祂所造的世界。
We
must not compartmentalize these ways of articulating God’s love. God must not
be viewed as mechanically toggling between the various aspects of his love. He
is always loving toward his elect and toward his creation.
三、按聖經來衡量基督徒慣用的術語 聖經中有許多論到神之愛的經 文，可以幫助我們對基督徒慣用的種 種術語和說法有更清楚的概念，諸 如：「神會無條件的愛我們」，「神 對每個人愛的程度都是一樣的」等 等。聖經中多處說到神的愛是有條件 的，與我們是否順服祂有關。但換一 個角度來看，神的愛也的確是沒有條 件的，但那是因為基督的順服所帶給 我們的福氣。
We
must weigh well-worn evangelical clichés on the scales of Scripture.
Scripture’s full teaching on God’s love sheds needed light on aphorisms such as
“God loves everyone the same way,” or “God loves us unconditionally.” In many
places Scripture depicts God’s love as conditioned by obedience, Carson points
out. On the other hand, God’s love for his people is unconditional—thanks to
the work of Christ.
所以，卡森如此結論說：「我們對聖經如何論到神的愛要有完整的理 解，否則我們所傳遞給別人的神學概 念，其後果可能是可悲的。」
“We
need all of what Scripture says on this subject,” Carson writes, “or the
doctrinal and pastoral ramifications will prove disastrous.”
叁、感恩而來的喜樂
Cause
for Joy
神愛罪人這一點不但令我們訝 異，也令我們感到謙卑。這絕不是一 個學術性的觀念而已，誠如詩人所 說：「人算什麼，你竟顧念他？世人 算什麼，你竟眷顧他？」（詩8: 4）
God’s
love for sinners should always astound and humble us. It must never be reduced
to a merely academic matter. Rightly did the psalmist wonder, “What is man that
you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Ps. 8:4).
神愛祂的百姓、祂的受造者，也愛這 個沉淪的世界，神這種無法測透的愛 令我們不得不熱切地敬拜祂，與保羅 一樣開口承認說：是的，「因為萬有 都是本於他，倚靠他，歸於他。願榮 耀歸給他，直到永遠！阿們。」（羅 11: 36）
God
loves his people, his creation, and this fallen cosmos, and that unfathomable
truth should lead us to worship him fervently, crying out with the great
apostle, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be
glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36).
