救贖歷史的「達陣區」經文The Redemptive-Historical EndZone Verse
作者：Nicholas T. Batzig
譯者：駱鴻銘
對於約翰福音三章16節，有許多人提出了眾多的解釋。我們可以用一種懷舊的心情，將這節經文稱為「達陣區」的經文。下這樣的結論可以說是安全的，因為西方世界大部分宣認自己是基督徒的人，都是有意或無意地與亞米念陣營結盟的。他們堅持認為，這節眾人所愛的經文是在教導我們，神愛每個人，每個個體；因此，父差遣子來，是為每個人、所有的人而死。然而，即使在改革宗神學家當中，對於在這節經文當中，我們的主所說的「世人/世界」（world）這個詞的意思，也提供了各式各樣的解釋。
Legion
have been the proposed explanations of John 3:16–what we may nostalgically
call, “the end-zone verse.” It is safe to conclude that the better part of
professing Christians in the Western world have consciously or unconsciously
aligned themselves with the Arminian camp–insisting that this much beloved
verse teaches us that God loves each and every individual; and, that,
therefore, the Father sent the Son to die for each and every one. Yet, even
within the Reformed tradition theologians have offered a variety of
explanations concerning the meaning of the word “world” in our Lord’s
statement.
上個世代的偉大普林斯頓神學家華腓德（B. B. Warfield）解釋了採用這種看法的人所遇見的主要難題。他寫到：
B.B.
Warfield, the great Princetonian theologian of a previous generation, explained
what he saw as a large part of the hang up for so many who have adopted this
view when he wrote:
「雖然這聽起來很奇怪，沒有錯，有許多——或許是大多數人——用這個偉大的宣告來餵養他們靈魂的人，似乎訓練自己這樣認為，當這節經文出現在他們的耳朵時，至少是在第一刻，他們想到的不是『神的愛』有多偉大——多麼長闊高深，而是『世人（世界）』有多偉大。」
“Strange
as it may sound, it is true, that many—perhaps the majority—of those who feed
their souls on this great declaration, seem to have trained themselves to
think, when it falls upon their ears, in the first instance at least, not so
much of how great—how immeasurably great—God’s love is, but rather of how great
the world is.”
改革宗神學家針對亞米念主義者的立場，當然已經提出了許多有力的反駁。約翰歐文在他的巨著《基督的死吞滅了死亡》（The Death of Death
in the Death of Christ）中，解釋了神學家所謂的「特定救贖（particular
redemption）」或「有限贖罪（limited atonement）」（即：神的兒子只為選民捨命）。他寫到：
The
Arminian position has, of course, has been solidly refuted by the Reformed.
John Owen, in his prodigious work The Death of Death in the Death of Christ,
explained the biblical rationale for what theologians have called particular
redemption or limited atonement (i.e. the teaching that the Son of God only
laid down his life for the elect). He wrote:
「祂用自己的血所買來的是『教會』（徒廿28）；基督所愛，並為之捨命的，要藉著道將之洗淨，成為聖潔，可以獻給自己，作個榮耀的教會的，是祂的『教會』（弗五25～27）。祂為之捨命的，是祂的『羊』（約十15）；要顯在神面前的，也是『我們』（來九24）。在聖經裏，沒有提到中保的工作是為了其他人。看看祂的道成肉身。是因為『兒女』，才既同有血肉之體（來二14）；主耶穌說，是『為他們的緣故』（他們是指：『你所賜給我的人』，約十七24），而不是為所有世人的緣故，祂將『自己分別為聖』（約十七19）；也就是說，使自己成為貢物，那是祂當時手中的工作。看看祂的復活：『耶穌被交給人，是為我們的過犯；復活，是為叫我們稱義』（羅四25）」。看看祂的升天：祂說，『我去』『我父的家裏』『是為你們預備地方』（約十四2）。看看祂永遠的代求。祂能『拯救到底』的，不是那些『靠著祂進到神面前的人』嗎（來七25）？聖經完全沒有提到這個中保工作是為了全部的世人……祂用清楚的話否認作全人類的中保。祂說，我『不為世人祈求，卻為你所賜給我的人祈求』（約十七9）。」（註1）
“It
was his ‘church’ which he ‘redeemed with his own blood,’ Acts 20:28; his
‘church’ that ‘he loved and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to
himself a glorious church,’ Eph. 5:25–27. They were his ‘sheep’ he ‘laid down
his life for,’ John 10:15; and ‘appears in heaven for us,’ Heb. 9:24. Not one
word of mediating for any other in the Scripture. Look upon his incarnation. It
was ‘because the children were partakers of flesh and blood,’ chap. 2:14; not
because all the world were so…’For their sakes,’ saith he, (‘those whom You
have given me,’) ‘do I sanctify myself,’ John 17:19; that is, to be an
oblation, which was the work he had then in hand. Look upon his resurrection:
‘He was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our
justification,’ Rom. 4:25. Look upon his ascension: ‘I go,’ saith he, ‘to my
Father and your Father, and that to prepare a place for you,’ John 14:2. Look
upon his perpetuated intercession. Is it not to ‘save to the uttermost them
that come unto God by him?’ Heb. 7:25. Not one word of this general mediation
for all…he denies in plain terms to mediate for all: ‘I pray not,” saith he,
“for the world, but for them which thou hast given me,’ John 17:9.”1
當主耶穌以毫不含糊的字眼說明祂來捨命，是要「作多人的贖價」（可十45），祂的身體和血是為「多人」捨的，使罪得赦，就總結了這個觀念。再加上，舊約先知和使徒清楚教導，神已經指定一些人遭永恆的遺棄（箴十六4；羅九22；彼前二8）。如此，使徒約翰在寫這節經文時的意思，是指神拯救了每個人、一切曾經活過的人或將來一切會活著的人，就是匪夷所思的。
Jesus
summarized this idea when he stated in no uncertain terms that he came to give
his life “a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45) and that his body and blood were
given “for many” for the remission of sin. Add to this, the fact that the OT
prophets and the Apostles clearly teach that God has appointed some to eternal
perdition (Prov. 16:4; Romans 9:22; 1 Peter 2:8). It is unthinkable that the
Apostle John would then mean that God savingly loves each and every person who
has every lived or who will ever live.
許多人為了回應那些支持亞米念主義者對約翰福音三章16節的解讀，都主張說，約翰在這裏所考慮到的只是選民。他們的邏輯是：若耶穌只為選民而死，那麼神所愛的就只有選民。因此，既然約翰福音三章16節說，「神愛世人，甚至將祂的獨生子賜給他們……」那麼，我們就必須下結論說，「世人」必定是「選民」的縮寫。對我來說，這似乎是一個在邏輯上說得通，但卻是對經文的一種短視的解讀。
Many,
in reaction to those who espouse an Arminian reading of John 3:16, have
suggested that John only has the elect in view. The logic runs thus: If Jesus
only died for the elect, then it is only the elect God loves. Therefore, since
John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son…”
then we must conclude that the world is shorthand for the elect. This, it seems
to me is a logically tenable yet textually shortsighted reading.
那麼，我們應該如何理解約翰福音三章16節的「世人」（世界）呢？在新約聖經裏，「κόσμος (kosmos)」這個詞有好幾種用法。聖經的作者有時候用它來通指「宇宙」（見徒十七24），有時候是指這個物理世界（約十三1；弗一4），有時候是指這個墮落的世界體系及其住民（約十二31，十五18；羅三6；約壹五19），有時候是在救贖歷史意義上的萬民[nations]（約一29，六33；林後五19；約壹二2）。最後的這個說法似乎是最接近約翰福音三章16節前後文的意思。這和那些堅持將它解讀為是指「無一例外的世人」（the world without
exception）的人有稍許的不同。應當說，這裏所考慮的，是「沒有分別的世人」（the world without
distinction）。這不必然是在教導，耶穌只為選民而死（儘管這和這節經文所教導的，在邏輯上當然是有關的），而是教導父賜下耶穌，是為了要拯救在萬民中一切會信祂的人。神所愛的是萬民，祂也為他們賜下祂的獨生子，作為救恩的途徑。
What
then are we to make of the language of the world in John 3:16? There are many
ways in which the word κόσμος (kosmos) is used in the NT. The authors of
Scripture sometimes use it to refer to the Universe in general (see Acts
17:24), sometimes of the physical world (John 13:1; Eph. 1:4), sometimes of the
fallen world system and its inhabitants (John 12:31; 15:18; Romans 3:6; 1 John
5:19), sometimes of the nations in a redemptive historical sense (John 1:29;
6:33; 2 Cor. 5:19; 1 John 2:2). It is this latter sense that seems to most closely
fit the context of John 3:16. This distinguishes it a bit from those who insist
on interpreting it as meaning “the world without exception.” Rather, it is “the
world without distinction” that is in view. It is not necessarily teaching that
Jesus only died for the elect (though that is certainly logically tied to what
it is teaching); rather, it is teaching that Jesus was given by the Father for
the salvation of all those among the nations who would come to believe in him.
It is the nations that God has loved and for whom He has given His Son as a way
of salvation.
耶穌是用杆子上的銅蛇這個預表，來介紹這節經文的，這是從民數記二十一章4～9節取出來的。耶穌知道，這是祂要在十字架上成就之工作的一個預表，因此用銅蛇的故事來教導尼哥底母，舊約和新約的救贖有一種連續性。本質上，耶穌在約翰福音三章15～16節是在教導以下的救贖歷史真理：正如神愛以色列，以至於祂賜給他們一條因信得救的道路（藉著仰望杆子上的銅蛇），同樣，神也愛萬民，並為凡以信心仰望基督並祂釘十字架的人，提供了一條因信得救的道路。藉著這個過渡，也就是從杆子上的銅蛇到十字架上的愛子，以凸顯出救贖歷史的一種轉移與應驗。對我來說，這就是理解救主在約翰福音三章16節的「世人」最好的方法。這個用法和使徒約翰在約翰壹書二章2節的用法，有同樣的含義，他在那裏寫到：「祂為我們（即有信心的猶太人）的罪作了挽回祭，不是單為我們的罪，也是為普天下人的罪（即：來自萬民的信徒）。」在這層意義上，我們可以說，在這兩處經文裏的「世人」，和聖經的教導是一致的。聖經教導，在整個「新約」（New Covenant）時代，神要在萬民中救贖祂的選民，其焦點放在福音無條件的邀約（free offer of the
Gospel）。在考慮這節經文的教導時，我再也找不到其他更忠於經文的解讀了。事實上，它完美地通過了球門的門柱，避開了兩邊的錯誤。
Jesus
introduces this verse with the typology of the serpent on the pole–which he
drew out of Numbers 21:4-9. Knowing that this was a type of the work that he
would accomplish on the cross, Jesus taught Nicodemus about the continuity of
redemption in the Old and New Testament by appeal to the bronze serpent. In
essence, Jesus taught the following redemptive-historical truth in John
3:15-16: Just as God loved Israel so that he offered them a way of salvation by
faith (by means of looking at the serpent on the pole) so God has loved the
nations and offers a way of salvation by faith to everyone who will look
believingly on Christ and him crucified. There is a redemptive-historical shift
and fulfillment highlighted in the transition from the serpent on the pole to
the Son on the cross. This, it seems to me, is the best way to understand the
Savior’s use of the word world in John 3:16. It is used there in the same sense
in which the Apostle John used it in 1 John 2:2, when he wrote: “He himself is
the propitiation for our (i.e. believingJews) sins, and not for ours only but
also for the whole world (i.e. believers from among the nations). In this
sense, we can say that world in these two places are in keeping with the
Scripture’s teaching on the redemption of the elect from among the nations
throughout all of the New Covenant era–only with a focus on the free offer of
the Gospel. I find no more textually faithful reading to adopt when considering
the teaching of this verse. It fact, it sails perfectly through the goal posts,
avoiding error on both sides.
註1：Owen, J. (n.d.).
The works of John Owen. (W. H. Goold, Ed.) (Vol. 10, pp. 189–190). Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
