於2014-07-04發佈

大使命 25

合一

前面我們談過,基督的身體無法擁有基督的心,或是完全代表基督,直到每一部份就定位連結在一起。只要我們還在分裂,我們便無法認識祂的本質和代表祂的本相。

基督在地上的最後一晚,也就是祂以人子身份來代求的最後一晚,祂不斷為祂子民的合一來禱告:

使他們都合而為一。正如你父在我裡面,我在你裡面,使他們也在我們裡面,叫世人可以信你差了我來(約翰福音17:21

當基督肢體合一在一起,全世界都會知道祂確實是天父所差來的。我們可以期待此發生,因為倘若有誰的禱告會蒙應允,耶穌的禱告一定會蒙應允。倘若我們要與祂合一,這是我們應該持續禱告的事,委身自己來看見此事發生,盡我們可能來為祂子民的合一努力。

耶穌所禱告的合一不單是在教義上合一,它遠大過此。耶穌為我們禱告能合而為一,就像祂和父一樣。教義的合一似乎看起來不太可能,而且牽涉到人,但在神沒有難成的事。祂會回應祂兒子的禱告;倘若我們有智慧,我們應當完全委身在祂子民的合一。

即便如此,這是多元性的合一,而不是一致性的合一。一個對合一最大的阻礙就是企圖要過多的一致性。以色列只被要求在二件事上一致:按神所渴望與規定的來敬拜祂,當有一族受到攻擊時要彼此合一防禦。這也可能是我們合而為一的方式。

這並不表示要妥協我們的信仰或教義,我們應當看重真理,絕不妥協我們的信念。然而,我們不需要妥協信念才能合一,莫拉維亞弟兄會的格言可能是其中最有智慧的:『在基礎上合一,但在其他方面自由,在凡事上慷慨給予。』

因為我們現在所知道的有限』(參考哥林多前書13:9,沒有人擁有完整的圖畫。要擁有完整的圖畫,我們必須學習將基督身體不同部分放在一起。他們可能無法完美契合,但當我們放在一起成熟時,他們會越來越契合。

所以,何為基督教世界觀的基礎?在我們繼續詳細說明它與其他世界觀如何不同前,下週先讓我們來檢閱基督教世界觀的重要基礎。 

(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week25, 2014)
 

Unity - The Great Commission, Part 25

Week 25, 2014
Rick Joyner

As we covered, the body of Christ cannot have the mind of Christ, or fully represent Christ, until it comes together with every part taking its rightful place. As long as we are divided, we will fall short knowing Him as He is and representing Him as He is.

The last night that Christ was on the earth as a man, the last night that He would be able to intercede as the Son of Man, He repeatedly prayed for the unity of His people:

that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me (John 17:21).

When the body of Christ comes together in unity, the whole world is going to know that He was indeed sent by the Father. We can count on this happening, because if anyone will have His prayers answered, Jesus will. If we want to be in unity with Him, this is a prayer we should pray constantly, while devoting ourselves to seeing it come to pass, by working for the unity of His people in any way we can.

This unity that Jesus prayed for was not merely a unity in doctrine. It is far more than that. Jesus prayed for us to be one as He and the Father are one. Doctrinal unity may seem impossible, and it is with men, but nothing is impossible with God. He will answer the prayer of His Son. If we have any wisdom, we should be absolutely committed to the unity of His people.

Even so, this is a unity of diversity, not a unity of conformity. One of the greatest hindrances to unity has been the attempt to unify around too much. Israel was only required to be unified around two things—the worship of Jehovah as He desired and prescribed it to be, and also the unity and defending of one another when a tribe is under attack. This may also be the way that we will come into unity.

This is not to imply that we compromise our beliefs or doctrines in any way. We should esteem the truth enough to never compromise our convictions. However, we do not have to compromise our convictions to come into unity. The Moravian motto may be the wisest of all, “In the basics there must be unity, but in all others there must be liberty, and in all things charity.”

Because “we know in part” (see I Corinthians 13:9), no one has the complete picture. To have the complete picture, we must learn to put the different parts of the body together. They may not fit perfectly, but as we mature by coming together, they will fit better and better.

So then, what are the basics of a Christian worldview? We will review the essentials next week before continuing to elaborate on how it contrasts with other worldviews.