於2016-01-26發佈



基督的僕人─啟示錄

上週我們談到瞭解啟示錄的第一個關鍵,記載在一開頭的第一句話:耶穌基督的啟示。這也是瞭解所有的最基本關鍵,一切都關乎耶穌,萬有都歸於祂。因此,智慧人每天尋求更多認識祂,住在祂裡面。

瞭解啟示錄的第二個關鍵也在開頭的第一句話:

就是神賜給祂…指示祂的眾僕人

根據聖經的定義,很少基督徒成為門徒,更少符合聖經定義的僕人。啟示錄的第一句話聲明:這是給祂眾僕人的啟示。若沒有成為基督真實僕人並活出祂旨意的想法,便無法對此啟示有太多的瞭解。

正如主在約翰福音七章17節說:人若立志遵著祂的旨意行,就必曉得這教訓或是出於神,或是我憑著自己說的。』瞭解此教導或聖經啟示的根基在於我們願意遵行祂的旨意,我們能瞭解祂的教導或預言的層級,取決於我們活出僕人生命的程度。

在教會歷史上的二位重要教師阿柏拉德(Abelard)和阿奎那(Aquinas)曾爭論,是否一個人需要在能夠瞭解前就相信,還是需要先瞭解才相信。從主在約翰福音七章17節對約翰所說的話來看,我們必須在瞭解前先相信,並願意順服祂。

僕人是一個被他人所擁有的人,他們並沒有屬於自己的東西─甚至連時間都屬於主人。他們每天早上醒來便要知道並遵行主人的旨意超乎一切。我們有遵行主的旨意,為著福音的緣故來行萬事嗎?我們有每天背起十字,向著我們自己的渴望死去,尋求做祂要我們做的事嗎?

這並不表示沒有活出真實門徒或僕人生命者將沒有永生,凡是相信祂的十架救贖者將會得救。然而,當我們在這世上誕生,我們便開始成為我們將成為的樣子,對重生得救的人也是如此─他們開始成為他們蒙召所要成為的樣式。只單單停留在重生得救的層級將有毀滅性的結果,我們的信心道路越膚淺或越不成熟,就越難明白主的道路或在要來的時候存活,未來我們會談到此。

主說:『當那些日子,懷孕的和奶孩子的有禍了』(參考馬太福音24:19)。我們也可以將此詮釋為『讓他們百姓不成熟,還有讓自己不長大成熟的有禍了』。在基督裡長大成熟始於決心先尋求祂的旨意並且遵行。認識主、相信主並跟隨主的根基在於知道祂才是主。倘若我們以祂是主來看祂,我們將相信祂遠勝過我們自己個人的瞭解、意見或渴望。

讓我們再次讀啟示錄一開始的二節經文,以便連結到下一個陳述:

耶穌基督的啟示,就是神賜給祂,叫祂將必要快成的事指示祂的眾僕人。祂就差遣使者曉諭祂的僕人約翰。 
約翰便將神的道和耶穌基督的見證,凡自己所看見的都證明出來。

再一次,我們看見啟示錄是耶穌的啟示,為了曉諭祂的僕人,約翰見證此為耶穌的啟示,將他所看見的都證明出來了。因此,我們必須在此異象所看見的每一件事中尋找耶穌。當我們這樣做時,會帶領我們在生命的每一件事上看見祂。讓我們定意成為祂的僕人,看中遵行祂的旨意超越我們自己,並喜悅於如此做是何等可畏的殊榮。

(摘自喬納 word for the week,Week3, 2016)

 

 
Bondservants of Christ- The Book of Revelation
Week 3, 2016
Rick Joyner

     Last week we covered the first key to understanding the Book of Revelation found in its first sentence: a revelation of Jesus Christ. This is also the most basic key to all understanding. It’s all about Jesus and all things will be summed up in Him. Therefore, the wise seek every day to know Him better and to be found in Him.

     The next key is also found in the first sentence of Revelation—the revelation:

“that God gave to Him to show to His servants….”

     Just as few Christians are disciples according to the biblical definition, there are fewer that conform to the biblical definition of a bondservant. As the first sentence in Revelation declares, this is a revelation for the bondservants. Without the mentality that comes from being a true servant of Christ and living to do His will, not much of this revelation can be understood.

     As the Lord said in John 7:17, “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.” Fundamental to understanding the teachings or revelations of Scripture is our willingness to do His will. The degree that we live the life of a bondservant is the level that we can understand His teachings or prophecy.

     Two significant teachers of church history, Abelard and Aquinas, argued whether one must believe before they could understand or whether they needed to understand in order to believe. From what the Lord said in John 7:17, before we can understand we must believe and be willing to obey Him.

     A bondservant is one owned by another. They do not have anything that is their own—even their time belongs to their master. They wake up each day seeking to know and do the will of their master above all else. Do we live to do the Lord’s will, doing “all things for the sake of His gospel”? Do we take up our crosses each day, dying to our own desires and seeking to do what He gives us to do?

     This does not mean that those not living as true disciples or bondservants do not have eternal life. Those who trust in His atonement by His cross are redeemed. However, when we are born into this world we just start to become what we will be, and so it is with those born again—they are just beginning to become what they are called to be. To stay at that spiritual level has devastating consequences. The more shallow or immature we are in our faith walk, the more difficult it is to comprehend the ways of the Lord or to survive in the unfolding times, as we will see later in this study.

     The Lord said, “Woe to those who nurse babes” (see Matthew 24:19) in these times. I interpret this as being bad for those who keep their people in immaturity, as well as those who have been kept in immaturity. Maturity in Christ begins with the resolve to seek His will first and to do it. Fundamental to knowing the Lord, believing in Him, and following Him is to know that He is Lord. If we see Him as He is, we will believe in Him more than in our own understanding, opinions, or desires.

     To connect the next statement, let’s read again the first two verses of the Revelation:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,

who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

     Again, we see that this is a revelation of Jesus to be communicated to His bondservants. He bore witness that this was a revelation of Jesus in “all the things that he saw.” So we must look for Jesus in everything in this vision. As we do this, it will carry over to us seeing Him in everything in our life. Let us resolve to be His bondservants, valuing doing His will above our own and delighting in the awesome privilege of doing so.