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2017-12-04

苦难与上帝的荣耀Suffering andthe Glory of God

作者:史鲍尔(R.C. Sproul)译者:王一

多年前,我曾探访过一位患子宫癌的女士。当时她极度痛苦,但原因不只是身体上病患。她向我倾诉,自己年轻时曾经堕过胎,她坚信癌症是上帝对她的惩罚。

通常,面对挣扎在痛苦和死亡边缘的人,普遍的回应是说苦难并非是上帝对罪的审判。但是实话实说,我告诉她我不知道这到底是不是上帝的审判。也许是,也许不是。我无法透知上帝隐秘的旨意,也无法看到他那不可见的膀臂,我不知道她为什么受苦。然而,我能够知道的是,不论什么原因,她的罪是可以解决的。于是,我便和她谈起了基督的十字架和他的怜悯。最后,这位女士在信心中睡了。

她面对的问题,正是所有在苦难中的人都不停在问的。这不禁让我联想到新约圣经中的一段。约翰福音第九章开头,「耶稣过去的时候,看见一个生来是瞎眼的。门徒问耶稣说:『拉比,这人生来是瞎眼的,是谁犯了罪?是这人呢?是他父母呢?』耶稣回答说:『也不是这人犯罪,也不是他父母犯了罪,是要在他身上显出上帝的作为来。』」(约九1-3

为什么门徒们认为那人瞎眼的原因不是自己的罪就是父母的罪呢?他们肯定有一些圣经根据,圣经记载了始祖犯罪堕落,似乎很明显,这世界上一切的苦难、疾病、死亡的原因就是罪。门徒们这样理解没有错。人类的苦难的确与罪有关。圣经中也有许多处讲到因为上帝因为人类犯罪而降下灾祸。上帝用麻风病来惩罚摩西的姐姐米利暗,因为她质疑摩西是上帝的代言人(民十二1-10)。上帝因为大卫的罪取了拔示巴之子的性命(撒下十二14-18)。那个孩子被击打,并不是因为他自己做了什么,而是上帝对大卫的审判。

然而,门徒们错误地把罪和苦难的一般关系具体化。他们断定那人从生下来就瞎眼,背后肯定有个直接的罪因。难道他们没读过约伯记吗?约伯本来没有犯罪,却备受折磨。他们把问题想的太简单了,他们用二选一的方式问耶稣,假设他瞎眼的原因要么是他自己的罪,要么就是他父母的罪。

门徒们还假设一个人受苦的程度直接和他所犯的罪成正比。同样,约伯记这卷书反对这样的结论。因为约伯受的苦远比那些比他更有罪的人所受的苦沉重得多。

我们决不可以草率地说受苦的程度就是某个罪的直接结果。这个生来瞎眼的人就是为了告诉我们这个道理。

我们的主回答门徒们的问题,纠正他们错误的想法。主叫他们确实知道这个人生来瞎眼并非因为上帝审判他或他的父母。这里有另外一个原因。而这个原因也可能是今天上帝呼召我们忍受苦难的原因。

耶稣回答门徒们说,「也不是这人犯了罪,也不是他父母犯了罪,是要在他身上显出上帝的作为来」(3节)。这是什么意思?简单来说,耶稣的意思是这个人生来瞎眼,好叫耶稣能够在所定的时间来医治他,并让他作为耶稣的见证,见证耶稣的大能与神性。我们的主在医治他这件事上显明了自己是救主和上帝儿子的身份。

受苦时,我们应当信靠上帝,确信他知道自己所作的,并且明白受苦是为着上帝的荣耀,也为着我们的成圣。尽管长期的苦难的确难以忍受,但是当我们听到主亲自解释这个生来瞎眼的人受苦的原因时,我们能得到极大的安慰。上帝呼召他忍受多年的瞎眼之苦,那是为了耶稣基督的荣耀。


Suffering and the Glory of God
by R.C. Sproul

I once visited with a woman who was dying from uterine cancer. She was greatly distressed, but not only from her physical ailment. She explained to me that she had had an abortion when she was a young woman, and she was convinced that her disease was a direct consequence of that. In short, she believed cancer was the judgment of God on her.

The usual pastoral response to such an agonizing question from someone in the throes of death is to say the affliction is not a judgment of God for sin. But I had to be honest, so I told her that I did not know. Perhaps it was God’s judgment, but perhaps it was not. I cannot fathom the secret counsel of God or read the invisible hand of His providence, so I did not know why she was suffering. I did know, however, that whatever the reason for it, there was an answer for her guilt. We talked about the mercy of Christ and of the cross, and she died in faith.

The question that woman raised is asked every day by people who are suffering affliction. It is addressed in one of the more difficult passages in the New Testament. In John 9, we read: “As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him’” (vv. 1–3).

Why did Jesus’ disciples suppose that the root cause of this man’s blindness was his sin or his parents’ sin? They certainly had some basis for this assumption, for the Scriptures, from the account of the fall onward, make it clear that the reason suffering, disease, and death exist in this world is sin. The disciples were correct that somehow sin was involved in this man’s affliction. Also, there are examples in the Bible of God causing affliction because of specific sins. In ancient Israel, God afflicted Moses’ sister, Miriam, with leprosy because she questioned Moses’ role as God’s spokesman (Num. 12:1–10). Likewise, God took the life of the child born to Bathsheba as a result of David’s sin (2 Sam. 12:14–18). The child was punished, not because of anything the child did, but as a direct result of God’s judgment on David.

However, the disciples made the mistake of particularizing the general relationship between sin and suffering. They assumed there was a direct correspondence between the blind man’s sin and his affliction. Had they not read the book of Job, which deals with a man who was innocent and yet was severely afflicted by God? The disciples erred in reducing the options to two when there was another alternative. They posed their question to Jesus in an either/or fashion, committing the logical fallacy of the false dilemma, assuming that the sin of the man or the sin of the man’s parents was the cause of his blindness.

The disciples also seem to have assumed that anyone who has an affliction suffers in direct proportion to the sin that has been committed. Again, the book of Job dashes that conclusion, for the degree of suffering Job was called to bear was astronomical compared with the suffering and afflictions of others far more guilty than he was.

We must never jump to the conclusion that a particular incidence of suffering is a direct response or in direct correspondence to a person’s particular sin. The story of the man born blind makes this point.

Our Lord answered the disciples’ question by correcting their false assumption that the man’s blindness was a direct consequence of his or his parents’ sin. He assured them that the man was born blind not because God was punishing the man or the man’s parents. There was another reason. And because there was another reason in this case, there might always be another reason for the afflictions God calls us to endure.

Jesus answered His disciples by saying, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (v. 3). What did He mean? Simply put, Jesus said that the man was born blind so that Jesus might heal him at the appointed time, as a testimony to Jesus’ power and divinity. Our Lord displayed His identity as the Savior and the Son of God in this healing.

When we suffer, we must trust that God knows what He is doing, and that He works in and through the pain and afflictions of His people for His glory and for their sanctification. It is hard to endure lengthy suffering, but the difficulty is greatly alleviated when we hear our Lord explaining the mystery in the case of the man born blind, whom God called to many years of pain for Jesus’ glory.


2017-09-27

唯独神的荣耀SoliDeo Gloria Among the Reformation Solas

/ David VanDrunen   /和卫 和茜    /李亮
节选自David VanDrunenGods Glory Alone: The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and LifeGrand Rapids: Zondervan2015pp.13-25。本文为该书的第一章,题目略有修改。

对任何人来说,如果他不能在十架的卑微与羞辱中认识神,那么他绝对不可能认识神的荣耀和尊贵,且这样的认识对他也是无益的。——马丁·路德
“It is not sufficient for anyone, and it does him no good to recognize God in his glory and majesty, unless he recognizes him in the humility and shame of the cross.” — Martin Luther

除非我们完全放弃自我荣耀,否则我们便绝不会在他里面真正得荣耀……被拣选之人被神称义,为要使他们在他里面得荣耀,而不是在其他任何地方。——约翰·加尔文
“We never truly glory in him until we have utterly discarded our own glory. . . . The elect are justified by the Lord, in order that they may glory in him, and in none else.” — John Calvin

 Soli Deo Gloria”——唯独神的荣耀!尽管当今大多数更正教基督徒不会读拉丁文,但他们在翻译这三个词方面却毫不费力。有哪个短语能比Soli Deo Gloria更能激发敬虔的心变得火热而又涵盖如此丰富的圣经真理呢!从天使在野地向牧羊人宣告耶稣诞生,到约翰在启示录里记下在天上宝座前的颂赞,“唯独神的荣耀”贯穿始终。全然尊贵的神呼召我们这些罪人在敬拜时思想他的荣耀并回应天使的颂赞,这是多么大的特权啊,超乎人的想象!他也使我们能够书写和阅读有关此宏大主题的书籍,这是一个多么大的祝福啊!
Soli Deo Gloria— Glory to God alone. Most Protestant Christians do not read Latin these days, but many of them need no help translating these three words. What simple slogan stirs the godly heart more warmly and encapsulates more biblical truth than soli Deo gloria? “Glory to God” was the theme of the angelic host that announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds in the field and of the heavenly throng whose songs John recorded in Revelation. What a privilege almost beyond imagination that the all- majestic God calls sinners like us to contemplate his glory and to echo the angels’ chorus in our own worship. And what a blessing that he enables us to write and read books on such a grand topic.

本文的写作目的在于纪念和庆祝宗教改革。在我写作此文时,宗教改革已经近五百年了。更正教人士通常会提到“宗教改革的五个唯独”,但我们经常忘了,改教家们自己从来没有认真考虑使用这五个短语——唯独圣经、唯独信心、唯独恩典、唯独基督和唯独神的荣耀——作为宗教改革运动的口号!乍一听,这似乎有点让人失望,因为我们认为,我们目前所使用的正是路德、慈运理、加尔文和那些继承他们属灵遗产的后继改教家们所倡导的。
The occasion for this book, and the series of which it’s a part, is to commemorate and celebrate the Protestant Reformation, whose unofficial 500th birthday draws near as I write. Protestants commonly speak of the “five solas of the Reformation,” but we often forget that the Reformers themselves never sat down and adopted these five slogans— sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus, and soli Deo gloria— as the official mottos of the Reformation movement. At first, this sounds a little disappointing. We like to think we’re adopting the very same set of phrases that Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and their colleagues bequeathed to their spiritual posterity.

然而,我们真的不该因此而失望。或许,人们只是在宗教改革之后很久才开始谈论宗教改革的“五个唯独”,但其中的每个主题却的确以某种角度触及了宗教改革关于信心和生命的核心。改教家们也许没有明确地提说“五个唯独”,但是基督、恩典、信心、圣经、神的荣耀(“五个唯独”)的重要性却一直贯穿着相关的神学、伦理、敬拜和属灵操练。唯独基督,而非其他救主,才是我们救恩的中保。唯独恩典,而非任何人类贡献,才能拯救我们。唯独信心,而非其他人类行为,才是我们获救的途径。唯独圣经,而非人言,才是我们的至高权柄。唯独神的荣耀,而不是任何受造物,才是万物的终极目标。我们在学习“五个唯独”时,不是在重复这些口号,而是积极地拥抱源自圣经教导和被宗教改革所复兴的敬虔信仰。
It really shouldn’t disappoint us at all. People may have begun speaking of the “five solas of the Reformation” only long after the Reformation itself, but each of these five themes does in fact probe the heart of Reformation faith and life in its own way. The Reformers may not have spoken explicitly of “the five solas,” but the magnification of Christ, grace, faith, Scripture, and God’s glory— and these alone— suffused their theology and ethics, their worship and piety. Christ alone, and no other redeemer, is the mediator of our salvation. Grace alone, and not any human contribution, saves us. Faith alone, and no other human action, is the instrument by which we’re saved. Scripture, and no merely human word, is our ultimate standard of authority. God’s glory alone, and that of no creature, is the supreme end of all things. Our study of the five solas involves no rote repetition of slogans but the wonderful embrace of the holy religion taught in the Bible and revitalized in the Reformation.

 “唯独神的荣耀”将“五个唯独”联结在一起
Soli Deo Gloria: The Glue That Holds the Solas Together

即便如此,在总结宗教改革神学方面,“唯独神的荣耀”这个口号似乎没有其他四个“唯独”有实效。教授宗教改革神学的教师们试图保持公正和精确,他们时常提醒学生,中世纪的基督教和十六世纪的罗马天主教并没有否认圣经、信心、恩典和基督的重要性——他们的神学家经常谈及这些,也积极主张没有这些就没有救恩。但是,如果我们继续深究,进一步问这些神学家有关“唯独”这一不起眼的词语时,便很快就会揭露出真正的不一致。改教家们宣称,“唯独圣经”才是基督徒信仰和生活的权威,罗马天主教徒们在表示崇敬圣经的同时,却坚持教会传统和罗马教皇与圣经并立,而且认定这二者能正确无误地解释圣经,也能增强圣经教导的有效性。当改教家坚称“唯独因信称义”时,罗马天主教的回应是:称义确实来自信心,但也靠与信心并列的功德。在有关恩典和基督方面,他们也有着类似的看法。Even so, there may seem to be something about soli Deo gloria that works less well than the other four as a motto summarizing Reformation theology. Teachers of Reformation theology, trying to be fair and accurate, often have to remind their students that medieval Christianity and sixteenth century Roman Catholicism did not deny the importance of Scripture, faith, grace, and Christ. Theologians spoke of them often and would have eagerly affirmed that there is no salvation without them. But if we could press the matter further and ask these theologians about the little word alone, we would soon find genuine disagreement. While the Reformers claimed that Scripture alone is the authority for Christian faith and life, Roman Catholics professed reverence for Scripture but insisted that the church’s tradition and the Pope in Rome stood alongside Scripture to interpret it infallibly and to augment its teaching. When the Reformers asserted that justification comes by faith alone, Roman Catholics responded that justification does indeed come by faith, but also by works alongside faith. They had similar exchanges about grace and Christ.

有关“唯独圣经”、“唯独信心”、“唯独恩典”和“唯独基督”的论点涉及到天主教和宗教改革的两大核心争辩:宗教权威和救恩论。“唯独神的荣耀”因而显得有点置身局外。当改教家声称荣耀唯独归于神时,难道罗马天主教真的回应说荣耀在事实上既属于神,也属于某事或某人吗?“唯独神的荣耀”这一原则的确事关重大,但真的与宗教改革本身如此相关吗?
Claims about Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, and Christ alone concerned the two chief points of debate between Rome and the Reformation: religious authority and the doctrine of salvation. Soli Deo gloria thus appears to be a bit of an outlier. When the Reformers proclaimed that glory belongs to God alone, did Roman Catholics really respond that glory in fact belongs equally to God and something or someone else? Does the principle of soli Deo gloria, magnificent as it is, really have much to do with the Reformation itself?

确实是相关的,即便罗马天主教并没有像否认“唯独圣经”和“唯独信心”一样直接否认“唯独神的荣耀”。我们可以将“唯独神的荣耀”理解为将其他四个“唯独”固定就位的粘结剂,或者是将其他几个“唯独”组成一个伟大的、统一的整体的核心。最近,当有作者提出它“是其他四个要点逻辑上的内涵”或是“囊括了其他所有唯独”时,他们说的就是这个。[2] Indeed it does, even if Rome never directly denounced the idea of glory to God alone as it denounced the ideas of Scripture alone and faith alone. Soli Deo gloria can be understood as the glue that holds the other solas in place, or the center that draws the other solas into a grand, unified whole. Recent writers suggest the same idea when they speak of soli Deo gloria as “the logical implication of the other four points” or as the motto that “subsumes all the others.”1

五个“唯独”语气很强烈,那它们有什么依据呢?简单说,事实在于,救恩是唯独信心、唯独恩典和唯独基督,与我们所做的任何好的德行都毫无关系,这保证了所有的荣耀都是神的,而不是我们自身的。同样,唯独圣经才是我们的最终权威,而不是任何教会传统、宗教权力机构或教皇对圣经的补充或否决,这一事实保证了所有的荣耀都归于神,而不是人的自负。当然,天主教从来不会承认他们篡夺了神的荣耀。他们教导说,即便是最具美德的人类工作,也是因着贯穿在圣礼中的神圣恩典而成就。此外,他们还强调,教会传统源自使徒的早期实践,教皇则是众仆之仆。但是,改教家们逐渐意识到,这样的声称虽然能长期地吸引人,但最终只是显示出人心的诡诈。我们是多么容易就趋向于想让我们能够在基督的工作和顺服上添些什么,或在先知和使徒被默示的话语上加点什么,甚至以为神会因着我们的贡献而被高举!但是,改教家看到了基督完全的话和完全的工作,单单是因为它们是完全的,所以不需要任何的加添。事实上,任何对它们进行补充的行为都是在挑战其完全性,也侮辱了神在基督里的话语和工作。如果罗马天主教有关权威和救恩的教义是正确的,那么荣耀就并非唯独归于神。但圣经告诉我们,神不将他的荣耀归给他人(赛42:8)。
What justifies such strong claims? Simply put, the fact that salvation is by faith alone, grace alone, and Christ alone, without any meritorious contribution on our part, ensures that all glory is God’s and not our own. Likewise, the fact that Scripture alone is our final authority, without any ecclesiastical tradition, magisterium, or Pope supplementing or overruling it, protects the glory of God against every human conceit. Rome, of course, would never admit to usurping God’s glory. Even meritorious human works, it says, are accomplished by divine grace infused through the sacraments. The church’s traditions grow organically from the practice of the apostles, Rome adds, and the Pope is the servant of servants. But the Reformers came to understand how such claims, though perennially attractive, ultimately reveal the deceit of the human heart. How we like to think that there’s something for us to add to the satisfaction and obedience of Christ or to the inspired word of the prophets and apostles, and even that God is wonderfully honored by our contribution. But the Reformers perceived that the perfect word and work of Christ— precisely because they are perfect— need nothing to supplement them. Anything that tries to supplement them, in fact, challenges their perfection and thus dishonors God’s word and work in Christ. If the Roman Catholic doctrine of authority and doctrine of salvation are true, all glory thus does not belong to God alone. And God, Scripture tells us, will share his glory with no other (Isa 42:8).

我们可以换种方式来思考。在把“唯独神的荣耀”当作“五个唯独”的生命血液时,我们也要提醒自己,宗教改革重拾的圣经信仰最终不是关乎我们自身的,而是关乎神!我们的焦点很容易变成以自我中心,即便我们所问的问题是改教家们也昼夜思想的重要问题:我在哪可以找到神权威性的启示?我怎能逃脱神的忿怒?我要怎样做才能得救?在回答这些问题上,其他四个“唯独”给了我们必要和翻转人生命的答复,但“唯独神的荣耀”将它们放在合宜的视角下:圣经所揭示的神在基督里救赎计划的最高目的不是为着我们的福分,无论那有多好。最高的目的是为着神自身的荣耀。神藉着他赐给我们丰盛的祝福来荣耀他自己。
We might think of it in another way. By holding forth soli Deo gloria as the lifeblood of the solas, we remind ourselves that the biblical religion recaptured by the Reformation is not ultimately about ourselves, but about God. Our focus so easily becomes self- centered, even when we ask the same important questions that occupied the Reformers: Where can I find God’s authoritative revelation? How can I escape the wrath of God? What must I do to be saved? The other four solas provide necessary and life- changing answers to such questions, but soli Deo gloria puts them in proper perspective: the highest purpose of God’s plan of salvation in Christ, made known in Scripture, is not our own beatitude, wonderful as that is. The highest purpose is God’s own glory. God glorifies himself through the abundant blessings he bestows upon us.

马丁·路德:荣耀神学与十架神学之对比
A Theology of Glory Vs. a Theology of the Cross: Martin Luther

当我们继续这一研究,熟悉宗教改革神学的读者可能会被一些问题困扰。马丁·路德不是反对“荣耀神学”吗?太过强调神的荣耀,会不会损害基于圣经的“十架神学”因而带来不好的影响?这些都是很好的问题。事实上,路德的确曾经呼吁用十架神学取代荣耀神学,因为当时的世代被荣耀神学所充斥,但是他这么做的目的并不是让我们不再关注神的荣耀,相反他正是为了解释神是如何向我们显示他的荣耀,并呼召我们与他进入荣耀的相交。这是路德喜欢使用悖论的一个伟大例证。任何想要认识至高神的荣耀的人,都必须透过十字架的卑微来看他。路德的推理值得我们关注,因为这揭示了一个重要主题,那就是:根据圣经,荣耀总是伴随着苦难而来。神因着他爱子的受苦,而被极大地荣耀;基督徒只有背起自己的十字架跟随耶稣,才能认识神,并和耶稣同得荣耀。
As we embark on this study, some puzzling questions may arise for readers familiar with Reformation theology. Didn’t Martin Luther speak against a “theology of glory”? Can an emphasis upon the glory of God actually detract from a biblical “theology of the cross” rather than illumine it? These are good questions. Luther did, in fact, call for a theology of the cross to replace the theology of glory he thought so prevalent in his own day, but his purpose was not to divert our attention from the glory of God. Rather, it was to explain how God manifests his glory to us and calls us to glorious fellowship with him. This is a great example of Luther’s delight in paradox. Anyone who wishes to know the great God of glory must see him through the humility of the cross. Luther’s reasoning is worth contemplating, because it exposes an important theme in subsequent chapters of this book: according to Scripture, glory comes through suffering. God is most highly glorified through the suffering of his Son; Christians know God and are glorified with Christ only by taking up their cross and following him.

路德之所以反对所谓的荣耀神学,是因为他担心当时的基督徒正在用错误的方式寻求神。许多神学家认为,他们可以凭借理性的力量来认识独一真神。他们认为自己可以直接走到神的面前,照着神的本相认识他。路德反驳说,除非神采取主动将自己显现给我们,否则我们就毫无希望能够认识神。这彻底击碎了我们试图操控神的幻想。因此,荣耀神学是人类自负的实践。罪恶的人类用表面的虔敬掩盖住自己的傲慢,试图自己爬到天堂,来一窥伟大的神。路德逐渐意识到,如果我们想要认识神,就必须透过他的启示认识他。而神最清晰的启示就在圣经里。只要打开圣经,我们就会知道自己是迷失的罪人,而一位忿怒的神正站在对面审判我们。因此,在圣经的光照下,荣耀神学不过是一场破灭的梦。
Luther objected to the so- called theology of glory because he was concerned that Christians were seeking to know God in the wrong way. Many theologians thought they could understand the one true God by the speculative power of their own reason. They figured they could get to God directly and perceive him as he is in himself. Luther countered that we have no hope of knowing God unless he takes the initiative and reveals himself to us, and this strips us of our illusions of control. The theology of glory, therefore, is an exercise of human pretension. Sinful human beings, cloaking their hubris in a seemingly pious religiosity, try to climb to heaven to get a peek at God in his majesty. If we want to know God, Luther came to recognize, we must know him through revelation, and his clearest revelation is in Scripture. And when we open Scripture and learn that we are lost sinners, and that a God of wrath and judgment stands against us, the theology of glory becomes but a dream extinguished by Scripture’s dawn.

然而,路德在圣经中同时发现了十架神学。只要充满罪性的人类试图通过自己的方式寻求神,至高的神就将自己隐藏起来。但是,如果我们通过十字架,以这个人类无法想象的方式寻求神,神就会将人类从罪中拯救出来,并将关乎自己的真知识显现出来。要注目荣耀的神,就必须注目被鞭打、嘲笑、钉十字架的神。要获得永恒的祝福,就必须完全谦卑自己,才能唯独在被诅咒的十架下找到避难之所。
In Scripture, however, Luther also discovered the theology of the cross. As long as sinful people strive to come to God by their own resources, the Almighty will keep himself veiled. But when they seek him through the humanly unimaginable way of the cross, God redeems them from sin and provides genuine knowledge of himself. To behold the God of glory, we must behold God beaten, mocked, and crucified. To gain everlasting beatitude, we must utterly humble ourselves and find refuge only in a cursed cross.

这里不妨听听路德本人的一些话。路德关于荣耀神学和十架神学最著名的论述来自其1518年的《海德堡辩论》,这是在他宗教改革初期的成果。路德认为有两类神学家。一类是“十架神学家”:“通过苦难和十架来了解神可见和显明之事”的人,才值得被称为神学家。路德曾经写道:“对任何人来说,如果他不能在十架的卑微和羞辱中认识神,那么他绝对不可能认识神的荣耀和尊贵,且这样的认识对他也是无益的。”另一方面,路德这样描述“荣耀神学家”:那些“不认识基督的人,也不认识隐藏在苦难中的神。因此,他们喜欢做工,而不是受苦;喜欢荣耀,而不是十架;喜欢力量,而不是软弱;喜欢智慧,而不是愚拙。总体来说,喜欢好的事情,不喜欢不好的事情”。与之相反,“十架神学家”一直都是“被苦难和恶者打击和拆毁,直到意识到自己毫无价值,自己所作的工也不是属乎自己,而是属乎神。”[3]
 It may be helpful to hear this in a few of Luther’s own words. Some of his most famous statements about the theology of glory and theology of the cross come from the Heidelberg Disputation, composed in 1518, during his early efforts at reformation. Luther identifies two kinds of theologians. One is the “theologian of the cross”: he “who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the cross” is the one who deserves to be called a theologian. “It is not sufficient for anyone,” writes Luther, “and it does him no good to recognize God in his glory and majesty, unless he recognizes him in the humility and shame of the cross.” On the other hand, Luther describes the “theologian of glory” in this way: he “who does not know Christ does not know God hidden in suffering. Therefore he prefers works to suffering, glory to the cross, strength to weakness, wisdom to folly, and, in general, good to evil.” The “theologian of the cross,” in contrast, has been “deflated and destroyed by suffering and evil until he knows that he is worthless and that his works are not his but God’s.”2

事实上,路德对荣耀神学的批判与本文开头所总结的观点并无相悖。我提到过,宗教改革运动最主要的两大关切是宗教的权威和救恩论的教义。路德支持十架神学也是出于同样的关切。十架神学植根于圣经的启示,拒绝所有用人类自己的方法来认识神的尝试。[4]十架神学同时也是救恩神学,拒绝所有试图靠自己与神和好的徒然努力。[5]因此,它唯独指向神在基督里的恩典,并呼召我们承认自己的贫穷,望向我们以外,只靠信心抓住耶稣。这完全不会让我们忽视神的荣耀。神荣耀自己,我们可以为了他的荣耀而活,但是只能沿着一条人类无助的理性绝不会发现也绝不敢想象的路。那条通往神的荣耀的路,蜿蜒穿过卑微和荒芜的各各他。
As it turns out, Luther’s critique of the theology of glory was hardly opposed to the perspective summarized at the opening of this chapter. I noted that the two overriding concerns of the Reformation had to do with religious authority and the doctrine of salvation. Luther championed the theology of the cross as a result of the same concerns. The theology of the cross was built upon biblical revelation that rejected all speculative human attempts to know God in our own way.3 The theology of the cross was also a theology of salvation, rejecting all vain endeavors to reconcile ourselves to the creator.4 It therefore points only to the grace of God in Christ, and summons us to confess our own poverty, to look outside of ourselves, and to cling only to Christ by faith. It hardly turns us away from God’s glory altogether. God glorifies himself, and we can live for his glory, but only along a path that unaided human reason could never have discovered and would never have dared imagine. The way to God’s glory winds through the lowliness and desolation of Calvary.

约翰·加尔文:神的荣耀和人的荣耀
Divine Glory and Human Glory: John Calvin

在路德对荣耀神学的批评和宗教改革“唯独神的荣耀”的主题中,我们似乎看到一丝张力。然而,事实证明,这种张力完全不是问题。而另一个问题或许更加严重,因为它似乎要挑战我们到目前为止一直思索的宗教改革神学的整个主题。这一问题被陈述为:强调神的荣耀和“唯独神的荣耀”似乎贬低了人类。如果神的荣耀意味着对人性的贬损,那么这样的神还值得我们去赞美吗?并且,进一步的问题是,这种贬低人类的描述似乎一点也不符合经文。在圣经里,人类是神创造的巅峰,是治理全地的神的形像的承载者。即便堕落之后,神也救赎他的子民,还让他们有一天也能得着荣耀。毋庸置疑,倘若将来的荣耀在等着我们,那么荣耀岂不就不唯独属于神了?!
The suspected tension between Luther’s critique of the theology of glory and the Reformation theme of soli Deo gloria turns out to be no problem at all. A different sort of problem is perhaps more serious, since it threatens to challenge the whole thrust of Reformation theology we’ve considered thus far. The alleged problem is this: the emphasis on God’s glory and God’s glory alone seems to demean human beings. If God’s glory implies humanity’s debasement, is such a God really worthy of our praise? Furthermore, the problem continues, this depiction of human debasement is hardly consistent with Scripture. Scripture describes human beings as the pinnacle of God’s creation, as divine image- bearers with dominion over the world. Even after the fall, God redeems his people so that someday they might be glorified. Surely if glorification awaits us, then glory does not belong to God alone!

实际上,这不是一个真正的问题,但确实发出了一项挑战。在本文一开始便问到,是否有其他口号能够像“唯独神的荣耀”一样能简明扼要地涵盖如此丰富的真理。我想,答案有可能是否定的。然而,从本质来看,口号便是将事情简化,也因此无法表达细枝末节和复杂性。如果“唯独神的荣耀”这一主题像我所陈述的那样深刻,那么我们必须也要关注其细节和复杂,使人们的认识不至于偏颇。而“唯独神的荣耀”与“人类将得的荣耀”这一恩典之间的张力便是一个很好的例证。
This, too, is not really a problem, but it does present a challenge. I asked at the outset whether any simple slogan encapsulates as much truth as soli Deo gloria. I think the answer is probably no, yet by their very nature slogans simplify matters and fail to express nuance and complexity. If the soli Deo gloria theme is as profound as I’ve suggested, then we must attend to its nuance and complexity in order to do it justice. This alleged tension between the soli Deo gloria theme and the gift of human glorification is a great case in point.

的确,圣经在很多方面尊崇人类的经验和呼召。神以他的形像造了我们,使我们比天使稍微低一点,也给了我们治理被造之物的权柄(创1:26-28;诗8:5-8)。更为令人惊异的是,神预定人类管理将来的天地(来2:5-9)。他的应许是,那些相信他爱子的人,虽然是罪人,却将得享基督的荣耀,也会享有显现给他们的荣耀(罗8:17-18)。乍一看,这似乎与我们所热切推崇的宗教改革的口号相矛盾。
Scripture does indeed speak of human experience and the human calling in many exalted ways. God made us in his image— just a little lower than the angels— and gave us dominion over the works of his hands (Gen 1:26–28; Ps. 8:5–8). Even more marvelous, God destined human beings to rule the world to come (Heb 2:5–9). He has promised that those who believe in his Son, though guilty sinners, will share in Christ’s glory and have glory revealed in them (Rom 8:17–18). At first blush, this does seem to contradict the Reformation slogan we so enthusiastically promote.

然而,我们无需困惑于圣经尊崇人类的描述。我们感到有张力,并勤力思考时,这本是好的,因为若不能合宜地关注人在被造和救赎时的荣耀,也就不能彻底地理解神的荣耀。可将此表述为:神有着全然的智慧,他爱世人,正是藉着他创造的人得荣耀,来荣耀他自己。如此,我们的荣耀不断地指向神的荣耀。从另一个角度,我们也可以说,正是通过承认和寻求唯独神的荣耀,人类才能进入他们最高的归宿,享受他们该有的尊贵。只有当我们的话语符合圣经的描述时,才是真实的和有益的。当我们所做的工是唯独通过信心并靠着恩典称义时,才是良善和圣洁的。当我们只在基督身上得享安息时,我们才能被按照神的形像更新。所以,承认“唯独神的荣耀”便是贬损人类吗?答案是否定的,虽然这出人意料。正如威斯敏斯特大小要理问答一开始所传达的,神在使我们成为荣耀他的器皿的同时,也使我们在将所有荣耀都归于他的时候享受他:“人的首要目的”是“荣耀神,并永远以他为乐”。在神的荣耀中,我们能找到自我的尊贵。在神的荣耀中,我们也得到喜乐。我们得荣耀在于,将天上和地下所有的荣耀都归于他。
Yet we need not be embarrassed by the Bible’s description of human exaltation. It is good that we feel the tension and wrestle with it, because we cannot fully understand the glory of God without giving due weight to humanity’s glorification in creation and especially in redemption. One way to put it is that the all- wise and loving God is pleased to glorify himself precisely through the glorification of his human creation. Our glory, such as it is, redounds back to God’s glory. From a different angle we might also say that precisely through acknowledging and seeking God’s glory alone, human beings attain their highest destiny and enjoy their proper dignity. Our words are true and edifying when they conform to Scripture alone. Our works become good and holy when they proceed from justification by grace alone through faith alone. We are renewed in the image of God when we rest on Christ alone. So are human beings demeaned by the confession of glory to God alone? Unexpectedly, no. As the opening of both the Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms communicates, God simultaneously makes us instruments for glorifying him and causes us to enjoy him as we ascribe to him all glory: the “chief end of man” is “to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” In God’s glory is our dignity. In God’s glory is our delight. Our glorification lies in ascribing all glory in heaven and earth to him.

改教家们也深知此意。约翰·加尔文便是一个极好的例子。他热切捍卫神至高的荣耀,并意识到,神有时会通过他所造之物的美妙来彰显他的荣耀。在加尔文看来,神的创造是一出“美妙的戏剧”,“上演着神圣的荣耀”[6],深得人心敬畏。“在世界的每个部分,”他写道,“都可窥见神的荣美。”[7]加尔文在经文里看到神藉着自然来启示他的伟大:“因为他权能和智慧的荣耀在受造界随处可见,而受造界也常被称作他的宫殿。首先,眼目所及的世界,不管有多小,无不彰显着万般美妙的奇异光辉;我们不可避免地要思忖这无垠蔓延的美丽,也不得不被这无限的荣耀所震撼。”[8]
The Reformers understood this. John Calvin provides a good example. In his zeal to protect the supreme glory of God, Calvin recognized that God manifests his glory in large part through the beauty of his handiwork. Calvin stood in awe of creation as a “beautiful theatre,” indeed, a “theatre of the divine glory.”5 “In every part of the world,” he writes, “some lineaments of divine glory are beheld.”6 Appealing to biblical texts that describe God’s revelation of his greatness through nature, Calvin observes: “Because the glory of his power and wisdom is more refulgent in the firmament, it is frequently designated as his palace. And, first, where you turn your eyes, there is no portion of the world, however minute, that does not exhibit at least some sparks of beauty; while it is impossible to contemplate the vast and beautiful fabric as it extends around, without being overwhelmed by the immense weight of glory.”7

但加尔文也想到,神也通过另一种特殊的方式来彰显他的荣耀,这便是照着他的形像而造的人类。加尔文注意到这一形像,以及由此而来的人的尊贵,尤其是灵魂的尊贵,“人体的每个部分无不折射出神荣耀的光辉,”所以“神的荣耀也体现在人的体貌”。[9]因此,从加尔文对神的荣耀的热切描述中,我们看不到对被造物,尤其是对人性的贬损。而事实正好相反,在加尔文看来,我们拥有的美妙和尊贵正是神在我们里面所彰显的荣耀。
But Calvin also thought that God’s glory shines in a special way in human beings, created in the image of God. Calvin located the image, and hence humanity’s chief dignity, especially in the soul, yet he also comments: “There was no part even of the body in which some rays of glory did not shine,” and thus “the divine glory is [also] displayed in man’s outward appearance.”8 Calvin’s zeal for the glory of God, therefore, hardly entailed a demeaning view of creation or of humanity in particular. In fact, it was just the opposite. The beauty and dignity we have, thought Calvin, reflect God’s glory manifest in us.

如果神的荣耀在最初的创造中显现,那么这荣耀在基督、他的救赎之工和新天新地的重新创造的盼望中的彰显更是何等之大呢!加尔文谈道:“在基督的位格里,神的荣耀以可见的方式展现给了我们。”[10]基督在道成肉身中的救恩也加增了神的荣耀。例如,当我们思考我们在基督里的称义时,加尔文表示:“我们必须尤其注意以下两点:一是神的荣耀要得到毫无亏损的维护;二是在他的审判台前,我们的良心能平静安稳。”[11]他继续写道,我们应该记住,“在整个有关称义的探讨中,最为重要的是,要捍卫神完全的荣耀;使徒也说到,在彰显他自身的公义中,神也将他的恩典施与我们”。
If God’s glory shines in the original creation, how much more does it radiate in Christ, his work of redemption, and the hope of new creation? “In the person of Christ,” Calvin remarks, “the glory of God is visibly manifested to us.”9 The salvation achieved in Christ’s incarnation also promotes the divine glory. When contemplating our justification in Christ, for example, Calvin asserts that “two ends must be kept especially in view— namely, that the glory of God be maintained unimpaired, and that our consciences, in the view of his tribunal, be secured in peaceful rest and calm tranquility.”10 We ought to remember, he adds, “that in the whole discussion concerning justification the great thing to be attended to is, that God’s glory be maintained entire and unimpaired; since, as the Apostle declares, it was in demonstration of his own righteousness that he shed his favor upon us.”

这一陈述很好地表明了“唯独神的荣耀”如何与宗教改革其他的“唯独”紧密地联系在一起。救恩唯独通过基督、靠着恩典和藉着信心意味着,所有荣耀都是唯独归于神的。神的荣耀通过这种方式彰显,不仅没有贬损我们,反而使我们有能力践行我们最高的呼召。加尔文在解释自己的“十架神学”时表示,当我们放弃自我荣耀的时候,就有宣告神的荣耀的特权:“除非我们完全放弃自我荣耀,否则我们便绝不会在他里面真正得荣耀……被拣选之人被神称义,为要使他们在他里面得荣耀,而不在其他任何地方。”[12]而基督再来时圣徒们将要得到的荣耀更是无与伦比的。在注释提多书2:13时,加尔文说道:“在我看来,神的荣耀不仅意味着他自身有着完全的荣耀,还表明他也将他的荣耀扩散至四方,使他的选民能同享这一荣耀
This statement is a wonderful example of how soli Deo gloria is so closely connected with the other Reformation solas. Salvation by Christ alone, through grace alone, by faith alone means that all glory goes to God alone. And far from demeaning us, this marvelous display of divine glory enables us to fulfill our highest calling. Even now, explains Calvin through his own “theology of the cross,” we have the privilege of declaring God’s glory as we cast aside our own: “We never truly glory in him until we have utterly discarded our own glory . . . The elect are justified by the Lord, in order that they may glory in him, and in none else.”11 But even this is nothing compared to the privilege that awaits the saints when Christ 7 returns. Commenting on Titus 2:13, Calvin states: “I interpret the glory of God to mean not only that by which he shall be glorious in himself, but also that by which he shall then diffuse himself on all sides, so as to make all his elect partakers of it.”12

虽然批评人士指出“唯独神的荣耀”贬损了人性,我们却不必因此而困扰。事实上,如果要找到那些贬低人性的说法,只要看一下那些否认神的荣耀之人的虚妄世界便足够了。如果神不是那位享有所有荣耀的创造者和救赎主,那么这个世界将处在混乱不堪中,生活将毫无意义,人类的命运就是死亡。从另一方面来说,圣经和宗教改革关于“唯独神的荣耀”的信息使我们瞩目基督的第二次再来,那时神的荣耀将得到最大的彰显,而因着他的恩典得救的子民也将和他们的主一同得荣耀。[14] The cynics objection that the Reformation theme of soli Deo gloria debases humanity need not worry us. In fact, to find humanity debased, we need look no further than the imaginary universe of those who deny God’s glory. If God is not the all- glorious creator and redeemer, then this world is random chaos, life is meaningless, and human destiny is the grave. The biblical and Reformation message of soli Deo gloria, on the other hand, directs our eyes to Christ’s second coming, when God will reveal his glory most brilliantly and his people, saved by grace, will themselves be glorified with their Lord.13

当代神学理论中关于“神的荣耀”
 This, too, must be our theme in the chapters ahead.

尽管相对简短,但上文总结了宗教改革中“唯独神的荣耀”这一主题的重要性——该主题源于圣经本身而不是出自改教家们。因此,在这些杰出人物所洞见的亮光中,很多当代持宗教改革信仰的作者会继续回到这一主题,以此来诠释经文和描述基督信仰的特性就不足为奇了。他们有各自不同的路径,但是大部分是彼此相合的,我相信他们是欣赏彼此的洞见的。在某种程度上,这些不同的路径是源于圣经中“唯独神的荣耀”这一主题的丰富,如同可以从不同角度来欣赏一块宝石一样。不过,我在下文中关于这一主题的论述,更多的选用了某一些路径而不是另一些,之所以会作此取舍不是为了要批判任何一个具体的路径,而是为了给读者一个当代状况的整体概念,并帮助我们厘清圣经对“唯独神的荣耀”完整描述中所有重要的方面。
Even the relatively brief survey in the pages above highlights the importance of the soli Deo gloria theme for the Reformation, a theme originating not with the Reformers but in Scripture itself. In light of its eminent pedigree, it’s little wonder that many contemporary writers who embrace the Reformation continue to return to the theme of God’s glory to unfold the message of Scripture and to describe the character of the Christian religion. They do so in many different ways, however. Most of their approaches are compatible, and I imagine most of them would appreciate the others’ insights. In part, their different approaches stem from the richness of the soli Deo gloria motif in Scripture and the fact that this single jewel can be admired from various angles. While my own treatment of the subject in subsequent chapters comports with some of these approaches better than with others, my point in sampling them is not to critique any in particular but to provide readers with a sense of the contemporary landscape and to help us identify important aspects of the full biblical presentation of soli Deo gloria.

当代一些作者强调的重点,是通常思维下对“唯独神的荣耀”这个主题最普遍的推想:“唯独神的荣耀”是在呼召所有的信徒竭尽全力来荣耀神。这个重点似乎是受到伟大的正统路德宗音乐家约翰•塞巴斯蒂安•巴赫的影响,他将他所作的曲子都加上“唯独神的荣耀”(SDG)的标记。[15]例如,特瑞•约翰逊(Terry Johnson)在《关于宗教改革的“唯独”》一书中用了两章来写“唯独神的荣耀”,但重点却在改革敬拜仪式和教会治理上。接着他将这个主题转向在生活的每一个层面都要顺服神并使之对我们周遭的文化产生影响。他强调说“唯独神的荣耀”呼召信徒“带着基督徒世界观进入他们各自效力的领域……”[16]
One emphasis among some recent writers captures perhaps the most common way of thinking about the soli Deo gloria theme in popular imagination: soli Deo gloria is a call for believers to gear all of their pursuits for the glory of God. This emphasis seems to follow the spirit of the great musician and orthodox Lutheran Johann Sebastian Bach, who appended “SDG” to scores he composed.14 Terry Johnson, for example, devotes two chapters to soli Deo gloria in a book on the Reformation solas, the first of which focuses upon the reform of worship and church government. Then he treats the theme in terms of being obedient to God in all areas of life and the impact it can have on our surrounding cultures. He urges that soli Deo gloria calls believers today to “carry the Christian world- view into their realms of endeavor . . .”15

约翰•汉纳(John Hannah)也有类似的看法。他解释“荣耀”是描述神内在的本质和属性,圣经经常将神的荣耀展现为可见的他的荣光和超越。[17]但是汉纳作品的核心——正如该书题目《如何荣耀神》所展现的——是对荣耀神道德层面的应用。他观察到,在我们这个后现代的时代,极端自我中心和自恋,但是“唯独神的荣耀”正是“呼召在生活的方方面面都要竭力以神为中心”。“唯独神的荣耀”意味着正确的人生目标是——以神为中心的目标。那些认同这个基督教观点的人,会将神的荣耀作为自己人生的终极目标,而不是自我满足和自我实现。”[18]之后,他进一步解释:当我们效法神的圣洁时我们就荣耀神了,而这会改变我们对工作、政治及其他事务的观点。[19]
John Hannah raises similar ideas. He explains how “glory” expresses God’s internal qualities or attributes and how Scripture often describes God’s glory as a visible display of his brightness and excellency.16 But central to Hannah’s work— in accord with its title: How Do We Glorify God?— are the moral implications of God’s glory. Our postmodern age, he observes, is one of radical self- centeredness and narcissism, but soli Deo gloria is “a call to a radical vision of God- centered living in all of life’s many facets. The glory of God alone implies the right purpose for all of life— a God- centered purpose. All who share this radical view of Christianity make the ultimate purpose of life God’s glory, not their own self- fulfillment or self- realization.”17 At some length, he later explains how God is glorified as we mirror his holiness and how this should transform our perspective on work, politics, and other endeavors of life.18

约翰•派博从一个不同的角度来论述神的荣耀这一主题,他呼应约拿单•爱德华兹,特别是他在《神创世的终极目的》一文中的神学观点。派博解释道:“所有子民在神里面喜乐和神荣耀的加增是一个目的而不是两个……神荣耀的展示和人类灵魂最深的喜乐是同一件事。”他说,这是他自己人生的意义所在并塑造了几乎他全部的讲道和写作。[20]在这爱德华兹式的观点中,神的恩典使我们在他里面有不断增长的喜乐,而“当我们在他里面最满足的时候也正是神最得荣耀的时候”。[21]因此,神热切地希望我们喜乐,如同他热切地希望得荣耀一样。[22]在这个意义上,派博认同C.S.鲁益师的格言:“你知道吗?基督徒的责任就是,让每个人都尽可能的快乐。”[23]
 Reflecting on the theme of God’s glory from a somewhat different angle, John Piper invokes the theology of Jonathan Edwards, and especially his treatise, “The End for Which God Created the World,” about which I’ll say a little more in the next chapter. Piper explains, “The rejoicing of all peoples in God, and the magnifying of God’s glory are one end, not two. . . . The exhibition of God’s glory and the deepest joy of human souls are one thing.” This, he says, is what his own life is all about and what shapes nearly everything he preaches and writes.19 In this Edwardsian vision, God’s grace enables us to grow into an ever- increasing delight in God, and “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”20 Thus, God zealously desires our joy just as much as he desires his own glory.21 In this sense, Piper embraces C. S. Lewis’s aphorism, “It is a Christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can .”22

当代作家关于神的荣耀这个主题的另一个路径是把它作为一个圣经神学的主题。我在这里使用“圣经神学”一词是从技术层面来讲的。圣经神学——不同于其他神学研究方法,例如系统神学和历史神学——是研究神学主题在圣经整体信息中,也即圣经早期书卷到晚期书卷中,渐进而有机的发展。我们也可以这样理解,就是圣经从神不完全的启示到更完全的启示,或者是神的真理逐渐展开,如同种子长成花枝怒放。我提出这个,是因为最近有几位作者将神的荣耀作为圣经神学的核心主题,也就是圣经中神逐渐展开并不断加深的启示的中心主题。
Another route by which contemporary writers approach the theme of God’s glory is as an organizing theme of biblical theology. I use the term “biblical theology” here in a technical sense. Biblical theology— in distinction from other methods of doing theology, such as systematic theology and historical theology— explores the progress and organic development of theological themes and of the overall message of Scripture as the biblical canon moves from earlier books to later books. We can also think of this as movement within Scripture from less complete revelation of God to more complete, or as the gradual growth in the manifestation of God’s truth from seed into full blossom. I raise this subject because several writers have recently identified the glory of God as the central theme of biblical theology, that is, the central theme of this unfolding, ever more profound revelation of God in Scripture.

其中的一位,詹姆斯•汉密尔顿围绕上帝在他的救赎之功,以及从历史中的审判而彰显出的荣耀来组织他的《圣经神学》一书。他赞叹神的荣耀“如同一块多面的宝石,当你注视它的时候永远会以一种不断更新、不断惊喜的方式折射和反射出光来。”[24]但是汉密尔顿试图将这些神的荣耀的不同的光线集合在一起时,他认为“神的荣耀就是他本身的良善,并因他启示自己为创造主、供应者、审判官和救赎者而应得的美名和尊荣,以及他完全的公义、怜悯、慈爱和真理。”[25]汉密尔顿认识到圣经中的一个进程:一个从旧约以色列相对有限和局部彰显的神的荣耀,到充满在全地上的普世性和末世终极性的神的荣耀。[26]
One of them, James Hamilton, organizes his Biblical Theology around the motif of God’s glory in his work of salvation and judgment through history. He acknowledges that God’s glory “is like a many- faceted gem, which reflects and refracts light in ever- new, ever- unexpected ways as it is admired.”23 But Hamilton attempts to bring these various beams of divine glory together by suggesting that “the glory of God is the weight of the majestic goodness of who God is, and the resulting name, or reputation, that he gains from his revelation of himself as Creator, Sustainer, Judge, and Redeemer, perfect in justice and mercy, loving- kindness and truth.”24 Hamilton recognizes a movement in Scripture from the more limited and local manifestations of God’s glory to Old Testament Israel toward the universal and eschatological goal of God’s glory filling all the world.25

托马斯•施赖纳也在他的《圣经神学》中把神的荣耀作为此书的主线,如同他在之前的新约圣经神学和保罗神学中所使用的一样。[27]施赖纳认为圣经中用“荣耀”一词来形容神在万有中的至高主权”。他相信这对我们的道德生活有直接的影响:“人类的存在是为了顺服、信任和赞美神……神对全地所有的生命都拥有绝对的主权。[28]第三位当代圣经神学家毕尔(G. K. Beale)在他的《新约圣经神学》一书的开始也呼吁读者要注意神的荣耀的中心性:“我认为新约故事的目标是指向神的荣耀,而达成这一目标的主要基石就是基督末世性新创造的国度的建立及其扩展。毕尔在书中的首要关注在这个基石和新创造(而不是神的荣耀)上,但这主要是因为其他很多人已经给予神的荣耀是圣经终极目标这一主题足够的论证了。[29]
 Biblical Theology, as he did in earlier works on New Testament biblical theology and Paul.26 Schreiner claims that Scripture uses the word “glory” “broadly to capture the supremacy of God in everything.” He believes this has direct implication for our moral lives: “Human beings exist to obey, believe in, and praise God . . . God exercises an absolute claim upon the lives of all.”27 A third contemporary biblical theologian, G. K. Beale, also calls readers’ attention to the centrality of God’s glory at the outset of A New Testament Biblical Theology: “I contend that the goal of the New Testament storyline is God’s glory, and that the main stepping- stone to that goal is Christ’s establishment of an eschatological new- creational kingdom and its expansion.” Beale’s primary focus is upon this stepping- stone, the new creation, but only because many others have already argued effectively that the glory of God is Scripture’s ultimate end.28

这些当代作者的作品见证了宗教改革的主题之一“唯独神的荣耀”持续散发着丰富与活力。无论是对于在世上敬虔服事的思考、还是基督徒的灵性或圣经中神救恩的渐进性启示,这些作者都发现神的荣耀是一个神学研究的泉源。
These contemporary authors testify to the continuing richness and vibrancy of the Reformation theme that glory belongs to God alone. Whether contemplating godly service in the world, Christian spirituality, or the developing revelation of God’s salvation in Scripture, these writers find the glory of God a deep reservoir for theological reflection. That will be the case in subsequent chapters of this book as well.

所有的荣耀都是神的而不是我们的
All Glory Belongs to God and Not to Ourselves

在本文中,我们来思考主的荣耀以及宗教改革的主题之一“唯独神的荣耀”。改教家们为我们开辟了一条道路使我们不至于走偏。为了对抗高举我们的话在神的话之上以及靠我们自身的行为来寻求永生这些生生不息的试探,改教家们呼吁教会回归到唯独圣经、唯独信心、唯独恩典、唯独基督,如此他们也提醒我们,所有的荣耀都当归于神而不是我们。要亲近这位神并认识他一定需要我们谦卑自己并在十字架的卑微处寻找他。而我们因信基督在十字架上的受死使我们与神和好并使我们成为神造我们时候应有的样子,这却使我们脱离了卑贱。当我们在圣洁上长进并在我们的敬拜中归荣耀给他时,神就使我们有反映出他荣耀的特权,并与他同享新天新地里的荣耀——圣经将这称为我们“得荣耀”。在一定程度上,神通过荣耀我们来使自己得到那至高的荣耀。宗教改革“唯独神的荣耀”这个主题实在是福音好信息的一个非常美好的方面。
In this book, we have set out to contemplate the glory of the Lord and the Reformation theme that all glory belongs to God. The Reformers established a trajectory that will surely not lead us astray. Against the perennial temptation to elevate our own words above God’s and to pursue everlasting life by our own deeds, the Reformers called the church back to Scripture alone, to faith alone, to grace alone, and to Christ alone, and by so doing they reminded us that all glory belongs to God and not to ourselves. Approaching this God and knowing him truly requires us to humble ourselves and to seek him in the lowliness of the cross. Yet far from debasing us, humbling ourselves by faith in Christ crucified reconciles us to God and enables us to become the sort of creatures God made us to be. God grants us the privilege of reflecting his own glory as we grow in holiness and ascribe him glory in our worship, and by one day joining him in the glory of the new creation— which Scripture wonderfully calls our glorification. God draws supreme glory to himself, in part, by glorifying us. The Reformation theme of soli Deo gloria is indeed a beautiful aspect of the good news of the gospel.


作者简介:

大卫•范德卢内(David VanDrunen 博士,现任美国加州威斯敏斯特神学院Robert B. Strimple 教席系统神学及基督教伦理学教授。加尔文学院学士,加州威斯敏斯特神学院道学硕士(M. Div.),美国三一福音神学院神学硕士(Th. M.),西北大学法学院法学博士(J. D.),芝加哥罗耀拉大学博士(Ph. D.)。他写作或编辑了十本书,包括最新出版的《唯独神的荣耀:基督徒信仰和生命的伟大核心》(Gods Glory Alone: The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and Life)。

 [1] 本文出处:Credo Magazine网站,http://www.credomag.com/2017/05/05/read-excerpts-from-each-book-in-the-5-solas-series/2017910日存取)。原文节选自David VanDrunenGods Glory Alone: The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and LifeGrand Rapids: Zondervan2015pp.13-25。本文为该书的第一章,题目略有修改。承蒙授权翻译转载,特此致谢。——编者注

[2] 有代表性的著作请参见 John D. HannahHow Do We Glorify God?Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2000, p.9; R. C. Sproul Jr., Soli Deo Gloria, in After Darkness, Light: Distinctives of Reformed Theology: Essays in Honor of R. C. Sproul, ed. R. C. Sproul Jr.,Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2003, p.191.

[3] Luthers Works, vol. 31, Career of the Reformer: I, ed. Harold J. Grimm, gen. ed. Helmut T. LehmannPhiladelphia: Fortress, 1957,pp. 5253.

[4] 阿里斯特•麦格拉斯是这样描述的:“我们可以这样来总结‘十架神学’:十架神学是启示的神学而绝非推测。见《路德的十架神学:马丁•路德的神学突破》,Alister McGrathLuthers Theology of the Cross: Martin Luthers Theological Breakthrough , Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1985,p.149.

[5] 伯恩哈德•洛斯评论说:“(路德)用荣耀神学和十架神学的概念……有助于使救恩论成为他神学的主题。”见《马丁•路德的神学:历史和系统神学的发展》,Bernhard LohseMartin Luthers Theology: Its Historical and Systematic Development, trans. Roy A. Harrisville, Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999, p.38. 类似的评论见麦格拉斯《路德的十架神学》,McGrath, Luther’s Theology of the Cross, pp.151, 174.

[6] Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1953, 1.14.20; and Calvin, Calvins Commentaries, vol. 22, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999, p.266 (concerning Hebrews 11:3). 为有助于讨论加尔文关于自然秩序和上帝荣耀的启示,参见诸如Susan E. Schreiner, The Theater of His Glory: Nature and the Natural Order in the Thought of John Calvin, Durham: Labyrinth, 1991; Davis A. Young, John Calvin and the Natural World, Lanham, MO: University Press of America, 2007.

[7] Institutes, 1.15.3.

[8] Ibid., 1.5.1

[9] Ibid., 1.5.3

[10] Ibid., 3.2.1.

[11] Ibid., 3.13.1

[12] Ibid., 3.13.2.

[13] Calvins Commentaries, 21: 320 (concerning Titus 2:13). 为有助于讨论神在基督里及通过基督的救赎而有的荣耀,参见Billy Kristanto, Sola Dei Gloria: The Glory of God in the Thought of John Calvin , New York: Peter Lang, 2011, Part 2.

[14] 尽管我只讨论了路德和加尔文,其他改教家们对神的荣耀是基督徒信仰和生活的中心这一主题同样有所贡献。这里只给出一个例子,苏黎世杰出的改教家海因里希•布林格写道:“一个被神的灵充满的人,无论他做什么或说什么都会满怀对神的敬畏;至终他所说和所做的都是为了神的荣耀:而这一切都实在是自由而丰盛的源自那位圣灵。”见Henry Bullinger, The Decades of Henry Bullinger, The Fourth Decade, ed. Thomas Harding, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1851, p. 320.

[15] 参见Calvin R. Stapert, My Only Comfort: Death, Deliverance, and Discipleship in the Music of Bach, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000, pp.2728; and Jaroslav Pelikan, Bach Among the Theologians, Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986, p.140.

[16] Terry L. Johnson, The Case for Traditional Protestantism: The Solas of the Reformation, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2004, p.162. The two chapters dealing with soli Deo gloria are 6–7.

[17] John Hannah, How Do We Glorify God? Basics of the Reformed Faith Series, Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2008, pp.6–7.

[18] Ibid.,pp. 6–7, 9.

[19] Ibid., pp.19–35, 38–40.

[20] John Piper, God’s Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards, Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1998, pp.31–32.

[21] Ibid., pp.34–35, 47.

[22] Ibid., p. 34.

[23] Ibid., p.46 (italics his).

[24] James M. Hamilton, God’s Glory in Salvation Through Judgment: A Biblical Theology, Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010, p.59.

[25] Ibid., p.56.

[26] Ibid., pp.106, 116, 268–69, 343, 483.

[27] Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul: Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001; Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008; Thomas R. Schreiner, The King in His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.

[28] Ibid., p.16.

[29] G. K. Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011, p.126.