结语 神 赐 予我 们 的恩典，在于 祂 借着耶 稣 基督的仆人 传扬 福音，使我 们 能因信主耶 稣 基督而 称 义 。 换 言之，我 们 唯 独 因信耶 稣 而得 称 为义 。如今我 们既属 于基督耶 稣 ，便不再 处 于神的震怒或 审 判之下，而是活在 祂 那不可 动摇 的 爱 中—— 这爱 已 浇 灌在我 们 的心里。因此，我 们 成了 爱 神的人，也成了彼此相 爱 、彼此接 纳并乐 于分享 与 关 怀 的人。 简 而言之，我 们 已成 为 一 个 充 满 主 爱 的群体。 借着主耶 稣 基督在十字架上的死，我 们 罪得赦免；借着 祂 的 复 活，我 们 在神面前被算 为义 。我 们 因此蒙受了 极 大的福分， 获 得了救恩 与 永生。 这 救恩是源于耶 稣 基督恩典的 礼 物，也是至高无上的 礼 物。作 为这 至高 礼 物的 领 受者，我 们 必 须 活出合乎主心意的生命。我 们 要 怀 着 对 救恩之恩的感恩之心敬拜神， 并 经历 生命的更新 与 改 变 。我 们 要 将 自己的意愿放下在十字架前，同心 寻 求主的旨意， 并 按此旨意生活；我 们 要 过 一 种 蒙神喜 悦与悦 纳 的事奉生活。 我 们 都是蒙恩的 债户 ，因此必 须顺 服主的主 权 ，活出 为 神 结 果子的生命。我 们 要勇敢 传扬 福音 与 信心的信息，毫不羞愧。神若 帮 助我 们 ， 谁 能 敌挡 我 们 呢？我 们既 是 真 正的基督徒，就必 须 追求 灵 命的成熟。我 们 要凭信心生活——那是一 种 在看似毫无指望 时 仍存盼望的信心。在 属灵争 战 中，我 们 要 过 得 胜 的生活， 坚 信凡在基督里的人就不被定罪 这 一 真 理。愿我 们 都能活出 与 福音相 称 的生命。
The Word became flesh
(1)
[John 1:1-4, 9-14]
We should all want to know more about Jesus. I hope and pray that we all grow in the
knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord and realize that the knowledge of Jesus is
of the highest value (Phil. 3:8). May we
be assured as we come to know Jesus more deeply (especially His death and
resurrection).
Who
is Jesus? Look at John 1:14 – “And the
Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the
only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is the
Word made flesh. Here, “the Word” refers
to Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of Heavenly Father. Look at John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Here “the beginning” is different from “the beginning”
mentioned in Genesis 1:1. ‘The beginning’
spoken of in Genesis 1:1 refers to the beginning of all things (“the heaven and
the earth”) [the Chinese Bible translates it as “the beginning,” which means “the
foundation”]. Because we also belong to
all things, we have a beginning (birthday).
‘The beginning’ spoken of in John
1:1 does not refer to the beginning of all things. It means that there was “the Word”. When was “the Word”? The Word existed before all things existed
(vv. 2-3). Look at John 17:5 – “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory
which I had with You before the world was.”
Jesus the Son, the Word, shared
glory with God the Father while he was before the foundation of the world. Look at Colossians 1:17 – “He is before all
things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Here, “He” refers to the Son of God, Jesus. Jesus the Son, the Word, is the one who is
before all things. Here, the phrase “In
the beginning was the Word” (Jn. 1:1) does not mean that Jesus, God the Son,
existed from “the beginning”. The existence of God, that is, the being of God,
has no beginning. In other words, God
has no beginning in existence. The
reason is because God is self-existent.
Look at Exodus 3:13-14: “Then Moses said to God, ‘Behold, I am going to
the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me
to you. Now they may say to me, 'What is
His name?' What shall I say to them?’ God
said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of
Israel, I AM has sent me to you.’” These
words are the words of God's calling Moses. In order to fulfill the promise God made to
Abraham, He called Moses and sent him to Egypt with the mission to bring Abraham's
descendants and lead them to the promised land of Canaan. Then Moses asked God, “Behold, I am going to
the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me
to you. Now they may say to me, 'What is
His name?' What shall I say to them?’” (v. 13), God’s answer was “I AM WHO I AM’;
and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you”
(v.14). The Son Jesus (Jn. 10:30), who
is the Word who is one with God the Father, is also “I AM WHO I AM.” Here, the word “was” (1:1) does not mean that
the Son Jesus, the Word, existed from then on, but rather that He existed
before Himself and existed even in the beginning. Here, “the Word was with God” (v. 1) means
that God the Father, who is the only one, is with God the Son (Triune God). Here, “the Word was God” (v. 1) refers to the
equality of God the Father and the Son Jesus, who are equal with God. Look at Philippians 2:6 – “who, although He
existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be
grasped.”
We
must think of the triune God. Look at
Matthew 28:19 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” This word is
the basis for pastors to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit” when baptizing. Look
at 2 Corinthians 13:14 – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” This word is the basis for pastors to bless
us with benediction. Look at John 1:4 – “In
Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” The Word (v. 1) is “the life” (v. 4). In other words, Jesus is the life. Look at John 6:48 – “I am the bread of life.” Look at John 11:25 – “Jesus said to her, ‘I
am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he
dies.’” Look at John 14:6 – “Jesus said
to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father
but through Me.’” The life is the Light of men (1:4) means that the Son Jesus is the
Light. God the Father is Light. Look at 1 John 1:5 – “This is the message we
have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is
no darkness at all.” God the Father and Jesus the Son are
the Light (Triune God). Let us all
commit ourselves to getting to know Jesus. We must all grow in the knowledge of Jesus
Christ. I sincerely hope and pray that the
Holy Spirit will become our teacher and teach us the truth so that we can come
to know Jesus through the Word of God. Our
lifelong wish is to earnestly know the ransomed love of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the Word made flesh (Jn. 1:14). Jesus, who became the Word, is self-existent
(Exod. 3:14) and was with God the Father, and this Word is God (Jn. 1:1). God the Father and Jesus the Son are one (10:30)
(Triune God). Jesus the Son is the Life
and the Light. I earnestly hope and pray
that the Holy Spirit will convince us all of these words.
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