耶穌為童女所生   The Virgin Birth

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》P77 ,更新傳道會出版http://www.crmnj.org/

耶穌為童女所生的教義，指出耶穌的出生是神跡性受孕的結果：童女馬利亞靠著聖靈的能力，無需為人父者，懷了一嬰孩。基督這神跡性的誕生，正證明了祂擁有與眾不同的本質。祂由女子所生，這說明了祂具有人性，是我們中間的一份子，但又和我們不完全相同，我們是帶著原罪出生，但基督沒有原罪。

耶穌為童女所生一事也和基督的神性有關。雖然神也可以循別的方法進入世界，但這神跡卻顯明了基督的神性。天使迦百列向馬利亞的宣告，顯明了這一點，當天使告訴馬利亞，她將要生子時，馬利亞十分困惑地對天使說：「我沒有出嫁，怎麽有這事呢？」（路1：34)

迦百列對馬利亞的回答，使我們對童女生子一事有了更確切的理解：「聖靈要臨到你身上，至高者的能力要蔭庇你，因此所要生的聖者必稱為神的兒子」（路1：35)，接著，天使又說：「因為出於神的話，沒有一句不帶能力的。」（路1：37)

現代科學化的人工受孕，是非神跡式的一種受孕方式。一般來說，除了人工受孕外，一個胎兒的成形，只要透過正常普通的肉體關系就會發生，這是很平常的事。如果一位女子未與男子發生性交而受孕，這不但違反了生物現象，而且顯然違反了自然定律。

馬利亞的孩子不是單由馬利亞而生的，孩子的「父親」是聖靈。路加福音說到，聖靈臨到馬利亞身上，祂的能力蔭庇她，這正回應了聖靈在創世時借著運行而成就的工作，也說明了這個嬰孩的出生是特別的，祂的父親是神自己。

通常不相信耶穌為童女所生的人，也不會相信耶穌是真神的兒子，因此之故，耶穌為童女所生可視為一個分水嶺的教義，將正統信仰的基督徒與不信耶穌覆活與救贖的人，分離開來。

總結

1．聖經清楚且毫不含糊地教導童女生子的教義。

2．耶穌從女子所生的事實顯明耶穌的人性，和耶穌是新的亞當和第二個亞當。

3．耶穌並非從具人性的父親所生，這顯明了祂擁有神兒子的神性本質。

4．不相信耶穌為童女所生的人，通常也不會相信聖經中超自然或神跡性的成分。

思考經文：

賽7：10-16；太1：23；羅1：3-4：林前15：45：-49；加4：4

The Virgin Birth

The doctrine of the Virgin Birth of Jesus holds that Jesus' birth was the result of a miraculous conception whereby the Virgin Mary conceived a baby in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, without a human father. Christ's miraculous birth tells us much about his nature. That He was born of woman demonstrates that He was indeed human and became one of us. Christ's humanity, however, was not precisely the same as our own. We are born with original sin, Christ was not.

The Virgin Birth also relates to the deity of Christ. While it is certainly possible for Deity to enter the world in a manner other than a virgin birth, the miracle of his birth points to Christ's divinity. The announcement of the angel Gabriel to Mary underscores this point. When he told Mary she would have a son, Mary was perplexed: "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" (Luke 1:34).

Gabriel's answer to Mary is of decisive significance for our understanding of the Virgin Birth: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). Moments later the angel added, "For with God nothing will be impossible" (Luke 1:37).

Aside from artificial insemination, which is a modern, non-miraculous variation on conception, nothing is more regular or commonplace in nature than the normal causal relationship for the conception of a baby. For a woman to become pregnant who has not had sexual intercourse with a man is not only biologically extraordinary, it is clearly against the laws of nature.

But Mary's child was not generated by Mary, herself. The "father" of the baby is the Holy Spirit. The language of the Spirit's coming upon Mary and "overshadowing" her echoes the descriptive account of the Holy Spirit's work in the original creation of the world. It reveals that this baby will be a special creation with His father being God Himself.

Those who do not believe in the Virgin Birth usually do not believe that Jesus is the true Son of God. Thus, the Virgin Birth is a watershed doctrine, separating orthodox Christians from those who do not believe in the Resurrection and Atonement.

1.         The Bible plainly and unambiguously teaches the Virgin Birth.

2.         The birth of Jesus from a woman points to His humanity and His appearance as the new or second Adam.

3.         That Jesus was born apart from human fatherhood points to His divine nature as the Son of God.

4.         The denial of the Virgin Birth is usually linked to the denial of the supernatural or miraculous elements of Scripture.

基督的人性 The Humanity of Christ

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》P75 ,更新傳道會出版http://www.crmnj.org/

神的兒子取了真正的人性，這是具有歷史性之基督教中一項極重要的教義。主後四五一年的迦克墩大會，肯定了耶穌是真人也是真神，並肯定了基督的神人二性是不可混合、不可混淆、不可分離、不可分裂的，而且這兩種本性都有其特有的屬性。

耶穌具有真正人性的教義主要曾遭到兩方面的攻擊。初期教會必須與幻影派（docetism)的異端對抗，此派認為耶穌並沒有真正的肉身，或真正的人性，他們說耶穌只是「好像」擁有身體，但實施上祂只是一個幽靈。使徒約翰針對此說，強烈地指明那些否認耶穌真正具有肉身的，就是敵基督。

初期教會所需要對抗的另一個異端是基督一性論派（monophysite), 此派認為耶穌並非擁有神人二性，而只有一性；此性既非真正的神性，也非真正的人性，而是一種神人混合的本性，即所謂的神人一體（the-anthropism)。基督一性論派的異端主㢳，基督不是具有神性化的人性，就是具有人性化的神性。

基督一性論派的異端在每個時代都有，它以不易察覺的方式危害教會。此說的傾向是讓人相信耶穌的神性呑蝕了祂的人性，並以此說來消除耶穌的人性所帶給祂的真正限制。

我們必須能區分基督的二性，卻又能不將它們分離。例如，當耶穌饑餓時，這是祂的人性，而不是神性的表現，祂身上的神性和人性都是確實存在的。又如，神人基督在十字架上死了，這並不是說神在十字架上被消滅了；雖然基督的神人二性在衪升天後仍是聯合的，但我們必須區分祂與我們同在時所具有的二種本性。就祂的人性而言，今天基督不再與我們同在，但是衪卻以祂的神性未曾與我們須臾分離。

基督的人性與我們的人性相仿。衪為我們的緣故成為人，並進入我們的處境中，作我們的救贖主。祂成為我們的替代，自己背負我們的罪惡，好站在我們的地位受苦。祂代表我們滿足神的律法。

救贖是雙向的交換：我們的罪歸在耶穌身上，耶穌的義則歸在我們身上。耶穌因我們不完全的人性而受到審判，我們則因耶穌完全的人性而領受祝福。具人性的耶穌，受到所有人類共同有的限制，只是祂沒有犯罪。具人性的耶穌並不是無所不知的，當時的祂雖然擁有真正而確實的知識，但這知識不是無限的。有一些事是祂自己也不知道的，例如，祂就不知道自己再來的日子、時刻。但具神性的耶穌卻是無所不知的，衪的知識也是無限的。

身為人子，耶穌受到時空的限制。就像其他人一樣，衪不可能同時出現在不同的地方；祂會流汗，會覺得餓，會流淚，會感受痛苦，會死亡。在這些方面，祂與我們是一樣的。

總結

1. 耶穌具有真正的人性，這人性與祂的神性完美地結合在祂身上。

2. 「幻影派」認為，耶穌沒有一個真正的肉身。

3. 「基督一性論派」的異端把基督的人性神性化，且認為基督的神性吞蝕了祂的人性。

4. 基督的人性是祂與我們認同的基礎。

5. 基督擔當了我們的罪，又將衪的義歸給我們。

6. 基督的人性使祂受到一般人性所帶來的限制，只是衪沒有犯罪。

思考經文

約1：1-14；加4：4；腓2：5-11；來2：14-18；來4：15

The Humanity of Christ

That God the Son took upon Himself a real human nature is a crucial doctrine of historic Christianity. The great ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451 affirmed that Jesus is truly man and truly God and that the two natures of Christ are so united as to be without mixture, confusion, separation, or division, each nature retaining its own attributes.

The true humanity of Jesus has been assaulted chiefly in two ways. The early church had to combat the heresy of docetism, which taught that Jesus did not have a real physical body or a true human nature. They argued that Jesus only "seemed" to have a body but in reality was a phantom sort of being. Over against this, John strongly declared that those who denied that Jesus came truly in the flesh are of the Antichrist.

The other major heresy the church rejected was the monophysite heresy. This heresy argued that Jesus did not have two natures, but one. This single nature was neither truly divine nor truly human but a mixture of the two. It was called a "theanthropic" nature. The mono-physite heresy involves either a deified human nature or a humanized divine nature.

Subtle forms of the monophysite heresy threaten the church in every generation. The tendency is toward allowing the human nature to be swallowed up by the divine nature in such a way as to remove the real limitations of Jesus' humanity.

We must distinguish between the two natures of Jesus without separating them. When Jesus hungers, for example, we see that as a manifestation of the human nature, not the divine. What is said of the divine nature or of the human nature may be affirmed of the person. On the cross for example, Christ, the God-man, died. This, however, is not to say that God perished on the cross. Though the two natures remain united after Christ's ascension, we must still distinguish the natures regarding the mode of His presence with us. Concerning His human nature, Christ is no longer present with us. However, in His divine nature, Christ is never absent from us.

Christ's humanity was like ours. He became a man "for our sakes." He entered into our situation to act as our Redeemer. He became our substitute, taking upon Himself our sins in order to suffer in our place. He also became our champion, fulfilling the law of God on our behalf.

In redemption there is a twofold exchange. Our sins are imparted to Jesus. His righteousness is imparted to us. He receives the judgment due to our imperfect humanity, while we receive the blessing due to His perfect humanity. In His humanity Jesus had the same limitations common to all human beings, except that He was without sin. In His human nature He was not omniscient. His knowledge, though true and accurate as far as it went, was not infinite. There were things He did not know such as the day and the hour of His return to earth. Of course in His divine nature He is omniscient and His knowledge is without limit.

As a human being Jesus was restricted by time and space. Like all human beings He could not be in more than one place at the same time. He sweated. He hungered. He wept. He endured pain. He was mortal, capable of suffering death. In all these respects He was like us.

1.         Jesus had a true human nature that was perfectly united with His divine nature.

2.         Docetism said that Jesus did not have a real physical body.

3.         The monophysite heresy involves the deification of the human nature by which His humanity is eclipsed by His deity.

4.         Christ's humanity is the basis of His identification with us.

5.         Jesus took our sins upon Himself and imparts His righteousness to us.

6.         Jesus' human nature had the limitations of normal humanity, except that He was without sin.

基督的從屬  The Subordination of Christ

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》P73 ,更新傳道會出版http://www.crmnj.org/

何謂從屬（subordinate) ？在我們的用語𥚃，從屬於某人，很清楚是指服在某人的權勢之下。從屬不是指同輩關系，也不是同等權柄的關系。從屬的英文字subordinate, 其字首sub-, 有「在下」之意，而superordinate的字首super-,  則有「在上」之意。

但論到基督的從屬，我們必須小心處理。在我們的文化𥚃，從屬代表不平等的關系，但在三位一體𥚃，每一位格在本性、尊貴和榮耀上都是平等的，而且都是永恒的、自存的，他們全享有神性的特質和屬性。

但在神的救贖計劃𥚃，子神卻自願扮演從屬於父神的角色。是父神差遣子神到世上來，因此子神就順服地來到世上，以完成父神的旨意。我們要小心理解這一點，這種順服不是勉強的馴服；因為父神和子神有同樣的榮耀，所以父神和子神的心意也是完全相同的。父神希望救贖之功得以完成，子神也如此希望。子神希望做成救贖的工作，父神也希望如此。耶穌說，祂為父的殿「心𥚃焦急，如同火燒」（約2：17），並且祂的食物就是遵行神的旨意。

最後我們必須指出，基督的從屬與順䏜並不單指基督的受苦而言，神的計劃也包含基督各方面的工作，甚至包含基督最後的得榮。《西敏斯特信仰告白》如此解釋天父旨意和基督工作二者間的關連性：「神在祂永恒的計劃𥚃，樂意揀選並按立主耶穌，祂的獨生子，成為神和人之間的中保，為先知、祭司、君王、教會的頭與救主、萬有的承受者以及世界的審判者。在永恒中神已定意為主耶穌選召一群百姓，成為祂的後嗣，在日期滿足時，使他們得贖、蒙召、稱義、成聖並得榮。」（註1）

基督藉著順服於父神完全的旨意，為我們成全了我們所不願意，也不可能成完的事--------完全地順服神的律法。基督在受洗時對施洗約翰說：「我們理當這樣盡諸般的義。」（太3：15）耶穌的整個生命和事奉，都彰顯出這種完全的順服。

因著完全順服於律法之下，基督完成了兩件重要的事：第一，這使得祂有足夠的資格作我們的救主，是神無瑕疵的羔羊；如果基督犯了罪，祂不但不能救贖自己的罪，更遑論我們的罪了。第二，藉著完全的順服，基督從神得著那應許給所有守約者的賞賜。祂得著天上的賞賜，並且將之賜給我們。作為從屬者，祂拯救了一群本來不肯從屬神的子民。

父神＝子神

在本質和永恒的屬性上

兩者完全相同

總結

1. 雖然基督在神性上與父神同等，但在救贖工作上祂從屬於父神。

2. 從屬不同於遜於。

3. 基督的從屬是自願的。

4. 基督完全的順服，使祂有資格擔當祂子民的罪，並為他們得著應許給蒙贖者的天上賞賜。

父神

在救贖計劃上

子神成為從屬者

子神

思考經文：

約5：34；約5：30；腓2：5-8；來5：8-10；來10：5-10

注1. Westminster Confession of Faith ( Committee for Christian Education Publication, Prebyterian Church Church in America, 1990) ,art.8.1.

26. THE SUBORDINATION OF CHRIST

What is a subordinate? In our language it is clear that to be subordinate to someone is to be “under” that person’s authority. A subordinate is not a peer; a subordinate is not on an equal level of authority with his or her super-ordinate. The prefix sub- means “under” and super- means “over” or “above.”

When we speak of the subordination of Christ we must do so with great care. Our culture equates subordination with inequality. But in the Trinity all members are equal in nature, in honor, and in glory. All three members are eternal, self-existent; they partake of all aspects and attributes of deity.

In God’s plan of redemption, however, the Son voluntarily takes on a subordinate role to the Father. It is the Father who sends the Son into the world. The Son obediently comes to earth to do the will of the Father. We must be careful to note, however, that there is no sense of begrudging

obedience. As they are the same in glory, the Father and the Son are also of one will. The Father wishes for redemption equally as much as the Son.

The Son is eager to perform the work of salvation, just as the Father is eager for Him to do so. Jesus declared that zeal for His Father’s house consumed Him (John 2:17) and that His meat and His drink was to do the will of the Father.

Finally, it should be noted that Christ’s subordination and obedience was not only unto suffering. The plan included all aspects of Christ’s work for us and Christ’s ultimate glorification. The Westminster Confession explains the interconnectedness of the Father’s purpose and Christ’s work:

It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, to be the Mediator between God and man, the Prophet, Priest and King, the Head and Savior of His Church, the heir of all things, and Judge of the world: unto whom He did from all eternity give a people, to be His seed, and to be by Him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified and glorified.1

By submitting Himself to the perfect will of His Father, Jesus did for us what we were unwilling and unable to do for ourselves. He obeyed the law of God perfectly. At His baptism Christ told John, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Jesus’ entire life and ministry demonstrate this perfect obedience.

By obeying the law perfectly, Jesus accomplished two vitally important things. On the one hand He was qualified to be our Redeemer, the Lamb without blemish. Had Jesus sinned, He could not have atoned for His own sins, let alone for ours. Second, by His perfect obedience He earned the rewards God promised to all who keep His covenant. He merited the rewards of heaven that He bestows upon us. As the subordinate One, He saved a people who had been insubordinate.

FATHER = SON

Equal in being and eternal attributes

Summary

1. Although Christ is equal to the Father in terms of His divine nature, He

is subordinate to the Father in His role in redemption.

2. Subordination does not mean “inferior.”

3. Christ’s subordination is voluntary.

4. Christ’s perfect obedience qualified Him to be the sin bearer for His

people and earned the rewards of heaven promised to the redeemed.

FATHER

Son subordinate in economy of redemption

SON

Biblical passages for reflection:

John 4:34

John 5:30

Philippians 2:5-8

Hebrews 5:8-10

Hebrews 10:5-10

1. Westminster Confession, chap. 8, sec. 1.

基督的神性The Deity of Christ

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》P67 ,更新傳道會出版http://www.crmnj.org/

基督的神性是基督徒必須相信的，這也是新約基督福音最重要的成分，可惜在每個世紀，教會都無可避免地要面對一些自稱為基督徒，卻否定或曲解基督神性的人。

在教會歷史上有四個世紀，對於基督神性的認信在教會內部形成了激烈的爭辯。這四個世紀就是第四、第五、第十九和第二十世紀，我們現在正活在異端充斥的一個世紀，因此保衛教會對基督神性的認信乃是當務之急。

在主後三二五年的尼西亞大會中，教會為了針對亞流異端，而宣稱耶穌是父所生，而非父所造的，耶穌的神性與父神是同質的(homo ousios)。這認信宣布了三位一體的第二位與父神的本質相同。換句話說，基督的實存就是神的實存；基督並只是與神相似，祂就是神。

基督神性的認信，是綜合新約各書卷中的見證而得來的結論。道成肉身的基督，不單在創世之先已經存在，而且祂是永遠存在的。衪太初時即與神同在，而且祂就是神（約1：1-3）。基督與神同在的這個概念，表明出父神和子神有位格上的區分；而基督是神的概念，則指出基督包括在三位一體的神𥚃面。

新約聖經其他處也將神性獨有的稱號用在耶穌身上。神將主這個重要的神性稱號用在基督身上（腓2：9-11）。身為人子，耶穌稱自己為安息日的主（可2：28），並宣稱擁有赦罪的權柄（可2：1-12）。祂亦被稱為榮耀的主（雅2：1）。當多馬對衪呼叫「我的主！我的神！」時（約20：28），祂亦坦然接受他的敬拜。

保羅宣稱，神本性一切的豐盛，都有形有體地居住在基督𥚃面（西1：19）；又說耶穌高過天使，這也是希伯來書所談及的主題。敬拜天使或其他任何受造物-----無論其地位有多高--------都違背了聖經中禁拜偶像的命令。約翰福音中「我是........ 」的宣稱，也見證了耶穌的神性。

第五世紀的迦克墩大會（主後四五一年）肯定耶穌為真人，亦為真神；並且肯定耶穌的神人二性是不可混合、不可混淆、不可分離、也不可分裂的（without mixtrue, confusion, separation, or division)。

總結

1.基督的神性是基督教絕對必要的教義。

2.教會在第四、第五、第十九和第二十世紀，都曾面對基督神性教義的異端。

3.尼西亞大會（主後三二五年）確認基督的神性，宣告基督的本質與父神相同，並且基督不是被造的。

4.新約聖經清楚確認基督的神性。

5.迦克墩大會（主後四五一年）宣告耶穌是真神。

思考經文：

可2：28；約1：1-14；約8：58；約20：28；腓2：9-11；西1：19

The Deity of Christ

Faith in the deity of Christ is necessary to being a Christian. It is an essential part of the New Testament gospel of Christ. Yet in every century the church has been forced to deal with people who claim to be Christians while denying or distorting the deity of Christ.

In church history there have been four centuries in which confession of the deity of Christ has been a crucial and stormy issue inside the church. Those centuries have been the fourth, fifth, nineteenth, and twentieth. Since we are living in one of the centuries where heresy assaults the church, it is urgent that we safeguard the church's confession of Christ's deity.

At the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, the church, in opposition to the Arian heresy, declared that Jesus is begotten, not made, and that His divine nature is of the same essence (homo ousios) with the Father. This affirmation declared that the Second Person of the Trinity is one in essence with God the Father. That is, the "being" of Christ is the being of God. He is not merely similar to Deity, but He is Deity.

The confession of the deity of Christ is drawn from the manifold witness of the New Testament. As the Logos Incarnate, Christ is revealed as being not only preexistent to creation, but eternal. He is said to be in the beginning with God and also that He is God (John 1:1-3). That He is with God demands a personal distinction within the Godhead. That He is God demands inclusion in the Godhead.

Elsewhere, the New Testament ascribes terms and titles to Jesus that are clearly titles of deity. God bestows the preeminent divine title of Lord upon Him (Philippians 2:9-11). As the Son of Man, Jesus claims to be Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28) and to have authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:1-12). He is called the "Lord of glory" (James 2:1) and willingly receives worship, as when Thomas confesses, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28).

Paul declares that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily (Colossians 1:19) and that Jesus is higher than angels, a theme reiterated in the book of Hebrews. To worship an angel or any other creature, no matter how exalted, is to violate the biblical prohibition against idolatry. The I ams of John's Gospel also bear witness to the identification of Christ with Deity.

In the fifth century, the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) affirmed that Jesus was truly man and truly God. Jesus' two natures, human and divine, were said to be without mixture, confusion, separation, or division.

1.         The deity of Christ is a doctrine essential to Christianity.

2.         The church has had crises of heresy regarding Christ's deity in the fourth, fifth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.

3.         The Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) affirmed the deity of Christ, declaring that He is of the same substance or essence as the Father and that He was not a created being.

4.         The New Testament clearly affirms the deity of Christ.

5.         The Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) declared that Jesus was truly God.

行為之約   Covenant of Works

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》P67 ,更新傳道會出版http://www.crmnj.org/

當亞當和夏娃被造時，他們與上帝，也就是他們的創造主之間，建立一種道德上的關係。他們有責任順服上帝, 卻不能因這種順服而向上帝索求賞賜祝福。然而，上帝在慈愛、憐憫和恩典中，自願與祂的受造之物立約，將賜予祝福的應許加進衪的律法中。這不是一種由平等的雙方所立的約，而是根據上帝的主動和神聖權柄所立的約。

上帝最初與人所立的約是一種行為之約（ convenant of work )。在這約中，上帝要求人類完全地順服衪的管治，而祂也應許要賜給人類永生作順服的祝福，同時警告以死亡作為不順服上帝律法的刑罰。直到今天，所有身為亞當後裔的人類都在這約之下。直到今天，所有身為亞當后裔的人類都在這約之下，人類雖然不肯順服這約，或甚至不肯承認這約，但是總逃不離此約。全人類都與上帝有一種約的關係，他不是違約者便是守約者。行為之約是我們需要救贖的基礎（因為基督已為我們完成了此約的條款）。

人只要犯一件罪行，便已違背了行為之約，因而就成為無法向上帝償還罪債的人。而我們即使只犯了一件小罪，若還能得著名任何救贖的盼望，便是上帝的恩典，並且是單單出于上帝的恩典。

正如奧古斯丁所說的，我們從天上的上帝所得的賞賜，也是上帝恩典的作為，這些都是上帝所賜諸般恩典禮物（如信心等）之上的恩惠冠冕。亞當若能順服上帝的行為之約，他只能得到完成與上帝所立之約中的義。但因為亞當陷入罪中，上帝便按自己的憐憫又再加上一個新的恩典之約（covenant of grace ), 使救恩得以實現。

只有一個人曾遵守了行為之約，這人就是耶穌。祂成為第二個亞當，或新的亞當，祂滿足了所有我們最初與上帝之約的條款，祂所成就的義，可賜予所有信靠祂的人。

耶穌也是第一個帶著義行進入天堂的人，我們也是憑著義行進入天堂----不過是憑著耶穌的義。當我們憑著信心接受基督時，上帝便將基督的義行歸給我們。恩典之約滿足了行為之約，因為上帝將基督的義給我們，使我們在恩典之中達到了行為之約的要求。

總結

1.上帝與亞當和夏娃立了一個行為之約。

2.全人類都不能逃避與上帝所立的行為之約。

3.全人類都違背了行為之約。

4.恩典之約把基督的義歸給我們，使得行為之約得到足。

思考經文

創二17；羅三20-26；羅三5-13；加三10-14

24. COVENANT OF WORKS

When Adam and Eve were created, they stood in a moral relationship with God, their Creator. They possessed a duty of obedience to Him without any inherent claim to reward or blessing for such obedience. In His love, mercy, and grace, however, God voluntarily entered into a covenant with His creatures by which He added a promise of blessing to His law. This was not a covenant of equal partners, but one that rested on God’s initiative and His divine authority.

The original covenant between God and humankind was a covenant of works. In this covenant, God required perfect and total obedience to His rule. He promised eternal life as the blessing of obedience, but threatened mankind with death for disobeying God’s law. All human beings from Adam to the present are inescapably members of this covenant. People may refuse to obey or even acknowledge the existence of such a covenant, but they can never escape it. All human beings are in a covenant relationship to God, either as covenant breakers or covenant keepers. The covenant of works is the basis of our need of redemption (because we have violated it) and our hope of redemption (because Christ has fulfilled its terms for us).

A single sin is enough to violate the covenant of works and make us

debtors who cannot pay our own debt to God. That we, after even a single sin, have any hope of redemption is due to God’s grace and God’s grace alone.

The rewards we will receive from God in heaven are also acts of grace. They are God’s crowning of His own gracious gifts. Had Adam been  obedient to God’s covenant of works, he would only have achieved the merit that comes by virtue of fulfilling the covenant agreement with God.

Because Adam fell into sin, God, in His mercy, added a new covenant of grace by which salvation became possible and actual.

Only one human being has ever kept the covenant of works. That person was Jesus. His work as the second or new Adam fulfilled all the terms of our original covenant with God. His merit in achieving this is available to all who put their trust in Him.

Jesus is the first person to get into heaven by His good works. We also get into heaven by good works—the good works of Jesus. They become “our” good works when we receive Christ by faith. When we put our faith in Christ, God credits the good works of Christ to our account. The covenant of grace fulfills the covenant of works because God graciously applies the merit of Christ to our account. Thus by grace we meet the terms set forth in the covenant of works.

Summary

1. God entered into a covenant of works with Adam and Eve.

2. All humans are inescapably related to God’s covenant of works.

3. All human beings are violators of the covenant of works.

4. Jesus fulfilled the covenant of works.

5. The covenant of grace provides us with the merits of Christ by which the terms of the covenant of works are satisfied.

Biblical passages for reflection:

Genesis 2:17

Romans 3:20-26

Romans 10:5-13

Galatians 3:10-14