Covenant-Keeping God (1)
守約的神（一）
By Dr. Greg Bahnsen
柯思炫/譯 誠之/校
原文鏈結：
http://www.salemreformed.org/pages/articles/bahnsen-articles/covenant-theology.php
（感謝Salmen Reformed Church惠允翻譯；中文版權歸歸正網絡翻譯團契RITF所有）
我們之所以能夠認識神，是因為神會向我們啟示祂自己。作為人，特別是有罪的人，我們沒有能力、也沒有權利為自己決定神會像什麼。祂必須向我們顯明祂自己——而祂也已經明確地這麼作了：藉著祂創造的秩序、聖經的話語，以及最終極的是藉著祂的兒子，主基督耶穌。
What we know about God we know because of His own self-disclosure to us. As men, and especially as sinful men, we have no ability and no prerogative to determine for ourselves what God would be like. He must reveal Himself to us - which He has clearly done through the created order, the words of Scripture, and supremely in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
從聖經中，我們對上帝所啟示的關於祂自己的事，已經了解甚多。我們知道祂創造萬有，是所有人都需要倚靠的、個人化的神。我們了解到祂的無所不能、自有永有。我們知道祂的聖潔和公義。我們還明白了祂的愛與憐憫——還有其他很多的事。當神學家們聚集在一起，就聖經中關於上帝的教導做出總結時，他們通常會訴說神的個性和屬性，以及祂的作為。只有從上帝個性和屬性的亮光中，才能正確理解上帝的作為，諸如創造、救贖、歷史的成全；同樣的，上帝的作為亦詮釋了祂的屬性。
We learn a great deal about God from His revelation of Himself in the Bible. We learn that He created all things, that He is personal, and that all men depend upon Him. We learn of His omnipotence and eternality. We learn of His holiness and justice. We learn of His love and mercy - and many other things. When theologians gather together all that the Bible teaches us about God and offer a summary of it, they usually speak about His person and attributes, as well as about His works. The works of God, such as creation, redemption and consummation, are properly understood only in the light of God's person and attributes; likewise, the attributes of God are illustrated and explained in His works.
我們通過聖經所能認識關乎上帝的許多事其中的一件——而往往被福音派神學家們所忽略或淡化的——就是祂是守約的上帝。這是聖經所啟示的上帝的主要屬性之一，這一屬性與上帝已經成就的和繼續要做的——祂的作為，是密切相關的。因此要想了解那位特別透過祂自己話語啟示的神——聖經中的上帝——我們就必須根據祂的聖約來理解祂。
Of the many things which we can know about God from the scriptures - something which is too often ignored or played down by evangelical theologians - is that He is a covenant-keeping God. This is one of the primary attributes of God which the Bible reveals, an attribute which is intimately involved with what God has done and continues to do - with His works. Thus to know God as He is specifically revealed in His word - to know the God of the Bible - we must think of Him in terms of His covenant.
從聖經一開始，我們就會發現：上帝，這位造物主，和人這個被造物之間，就存在着個人化的關係。這種關係不是任意或偶然發生的，它有其特定的性質和內容。身為創造人類的造物者，上帝以至高的主權，建造並保持了這個關係。在這個關係中，上帝賜福予人，而這個福分嚴格來說，不是人“賺來的”，或是有任何的功勞。
From the very outset of the Bible we find God, the Creator, in a personal relationship with man, the creature. This relationship was not arbitrary or haphazard; it had a specific character and content. God sovereignly established and transacted the relationship, in virtue of being man's Creator. In this relationship God granted blessings to man which were not, strictly speaking, "earned" or meritorious.
這種存在的賜福，以及神維持生命的眷護，不是靠亞當和夏娃努力掙得的。根據聖經，上帝創造亞當和夏娃之後的所做的第一件事，就是：“賜福給他們”（創 1：28）。上帝最初的話語是應許、祝福的話語，而不是要求或審判。這是滿有恩典的關係，在我們始祖尚未行善或做惡之先，神就先賜福給他們。進一步來說，亞當並不是等到完成了特別有價值的事之後，才被賜予與神同行、與神對話、與神親密交流的福份，而是從他被造的那一刻起，就開始享有這一切。而且即使亞當能夠完全遵守上帝后來的誡命（例如創1：28；2：16；24），他也不能憑此從上帝那裡得到更特殊的恩惠，就如同一隻鐘錶不會因其正常工作，就配從它製造者那裡得着額外獎賞一樣 （畢竟它只是恪盡天職而已）。
The blessings of existence and providential sustaining were not somehow earned by Adam and Eve. The very first thing God did after creating Adam and Eve, according to the Bible, is this: "And He blessed them" (Gen. 1:28 ). God's first word was a word of promise or favor, not one of demand or judgment. This was a gracious relationship, one which blessed our first parents before they had done anything good or evil. Further, the blessing of walking and talking with God in intimate communion did not wait until Adam had accomplished certain meritorious works, but was granted from the moment of his creation. And even if Adam had perfectly obeyed God's subsequent commandments (e.g., Gen. 1:28 ; 2:16-17 , 24 ) he would not have merited any special favor from God - any more than a watch which works properly deserves anything from its maker (it is, after all, only doing what it is made to do).
亞當被呼召要相信上帝的話語，並且要單純信靠上帝的權柄。在這個信靠的關係裡，包含了順服上帝，這可以從順服祂的誡命中得見——比如禁止吃分辨善惡樹上的果子。 上帝的誡命中帶有祝福（繼續與神交往）與咒詛的條款——“因為你吃的日子必定死。” （創2：17）。上帝自己也同亞當夏娃一樣被此約定所束縛。上帝的公義不會允許祂違背自己的話語，從而做出責罰順服、忽略（甚至祝福）悖逆的事。然而當我們的始祖違犯禁令，從樹上偷吃禁果之後，他們就把自己與生命之源（在所有方面：靈性，肉體等）隔絕了。根據上帝的話語及其屬性，他們必須死。“罪的工價就是死。 ”（羅6：23）
Adam was called upon to trust the word of the Lord, and to trust it simply on the authority of God. This relationship of trust entailed submission to God, seen in obedience to His commandments - such as the prohibition of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God's command carried the sanction of blessing (continued communion with God) and curse - "in the day that you eat from it you will surely die" (Gen. 2:17 ). God was bound to this compact as much as were Adam and Eve. God's justice would not allow Him to reverse His word, condemning obedience but overlooking (or even blessing) disobedience. When our first parents transgressed the prohibition of eating from the tree, they separated themselves from the Source of life (in all its facets: spiritual, physical, etc.). According to God's word and character, they had to die. "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23 ).
聖經中把這種上帝和亞當的關係或安排稱為“聖約”（covenant）。我們可以把“聖約”定義為：對上帝和祂子民都具約束力的合同（compact），完全由上帝至高主權所發起，其中有上帝的應許，呼召祂的子民信靠祂，並包含順服的義務，也就是帶有條件的祝福和咒詛。查考一下前面的討論，我們就會發現在上帝和亞當的關係中涵蓋了關於“聖約”概念的所有神學要素。此外，聖經也明確用“聖約”的措辭來描述上帝與亞當的關係。例如何西阿書6：7，先知指出他們這悖逆的一代，正如第一個悖逆違抗上帝的人，亞當一樣。注意何西阿是這樣描述亞當的：“他們卻如亞當背約”。聖經敘述亞噹噹時是在與上帝的“聖約”里；正如何西阿同時代的人一樣，亞當被證明是個背約者，而非守約者。事實上，聖經中的教導是：我們所有人都可追溯其源地違背了那起初的“聖約”，就是上帝那位創造者與我們始祖亞當夏娃所立的約。以賽亞書24：5-6 說：“地被其上的居民污穢。因為他們犯了律法，廢了律例，背了永約。 所以地被咒詛吞滅，住在其上的顯為有罪。”
The Bible terms the kind of relationship or arrangement which existed between God and Adam a "covenant." We can define "covenant" as a mutually binding compact between God and His people, sovereignly transacted by the Lord, wherein a promise is made by God which calls for trust on the part of His people and entails obligations of submission which are sanctioned by blessings and curses. By checking the preceding discussion we can find all of these theological elements of the concept of a covenant in the relationship between God and Adam. Moreover, the Bible explicitly speaks of Adam's relationship to God in covenantal terms. For instance, in Hosea 6:7 the prophet indicts the rebels of his generation by likening them to the first man, Adam, who rebelled against God. Notice what Hosea says Adam transgressed: "But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant." Scripture speaks of Adam being in "covenant" with God; like Hosea's contemporaries, Adam proved to be a covenant-breaker, rather than a covenant-keeper. In fact, the Bible teaches us that all men are covenant-breakers, where presumably the covenant which they violate is the one transacted between God the Creator and their first parents, Adam and Eve. Isaiah 24:5-6 says: "The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants therefore because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore has the curse devoured the earth, and they who dwell in it are found guilty."
從聖經的開篇故事，就能闡明這裡要敘述的重點，即我們發現上帝啟示祂是立約的上帝。從文學的角度來看，任何人若打開聖經從頭——創世記——開始，都不應該會錯過上帝這個重要的屬性和作為。上帝是守約的上帝。僅在記述了人類的被造與墮落的之後的幾章，也就是洪水危機過後，我們就讀到：“我與你們和你們的後裔立約， 並與你們這裡的一切活物，就是飛鳥，牲畜，走獸，凡從方舟里出來的活物立約。”（創9：8-10）在隨後亞伯拉罕的日子裡，上帝呼召他與地上其他家庭分別出來，作祂的子民。祂向亞伯拉罕顯現，並做出應許和提出要求（創12：1-3），下面這段話說明了此事：“耶和華向他顯現，對他說，我是全能的神。你當在我面前作完全人， 我就與你立約，使你的後裔極其繁多。” （創17：1-2）。
The point to be made here is that from the very outset of the Biblical story, we find God revealed as the God of the covenant. From a literary standpoint, anybody reading the Bible from the start - from the book of Genesis forward - should not miss this important aspect of God's character and actions. God is the covenant-keeping God. Just a few chapters beyond the account of man's creation and fall, after the crisis of the flood, we read that "God spoke unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying: 'And I, behold I, establish my covenant with you and with your seed after you and with every living creature" (9:8-10). Then in the days of Abraham God called a people to be His own, from among the other families on earth. God appeared to Abraham and uttered both a promise and demands (12:1-3), which are later explained in these words: "Jehovah appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am God Almighty; walk before me and be perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and you..." (17:1-2).
上帝持守了祂與亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各的約。這些人的子孫最後下到埃及，並生養眾多，然而卻最終悲慘地淪落為奴。使《出埃及記》的故事以及後來征服應許之地得以成立的，究竟是什麼？我們在出埃及記2:24讀到：“ 神聽見他們的哀聲，就記念祂與亞伯拉罕，以撒，雅各所立的約。” 在埃及得到救贖的背景——和聖經中其餘的故事——精準地顯明了上帝守約的屬性。祂是“聖約”的上帝。因此，上帝通過摩西所啟示的律法，其實是具體的“聖約”的誡命（出埃及記34：27-28）。而且就在以色列人要準備進入應許之地的時候，摩西提醒上帝的子民之所以能得到祝福的根本及特性：“所以，你要知道耶和華你的神，祂是神，是信實的神。向愛祂、守祂誡命的人守約、施慈愛，直到千代。” （申7：9）
God kept covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Their family eventually went down into Egypt and multiplied greatly, but at last came under miserable slavery. What is it that sets up the story of the exodus and conquest of the promised land? We read in Exodus 2:24 , "And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob." The background for the redemption from Egypt - and the rest of the Biblical story - is precisely the covenant-keeping character of God. He is the God of the covenant. Accordingly, what God revealed through Moses was the law, but specifically the law "of the covenant" (Ex. 34:27-28 ). And as Israel prepared to enter the promised land, Moses reminded God's people of the basis and character of their blessing: "Know therefore that Jehovah your God, he is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and loving kindness with them that love him and keep his commandments..." (Deut. 7:9 ).
當我們通讀聖經，上帝這一屬性及其行作為特點貫穿全書，引人注目。上帝與大衛及其子孫立約（撒下23：5；詩89）。此約立定多年之後，在以賽亞的日子裡，耶和華宣告：“我必與你們立永約，就是應許大衛那可靠的恩典。”（賽55：3）。在先知耶利米服事上帝子民的時代裡，上帝啟示那一天—— “新約”的時代（正如你所期待的）——終必來到，所有祂先前的應許都會實現和應驗（耶31：331-34）。
As we read through the Bible this feature of God's character and actions continually comes to our attention. God made a "covenant" with David and his seed (2 Sam. 23:5 ; Ps. 89). Many years later, in the days of Isaiah, Jehovah declared "I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David" (55:3). When Jeremiah the prophet ministered to God's people, God revealed the coming of that day when all of His previous promises would come to realization and fulfillment - in the days (just as you would expect) of a "new covenant" (31:31-34).
沒有“聖約”的概念，我們就無法正確理解耶穌基督的救贖大工。耶穌的降生就是上帝宣告祂紀念“祂的聖約”的開始(路1：72)。在耶穌出去為祂的百姓的罪釘十字架之前，祂擎起了“新約”的杯。（路22：20）。祂的復活和救贖大工是“上帝與你們[猶太]祖宗所立的約”的特別祝福。（徒3：25-26）。新約福音書裡，不僅明確稱呼耶穌是“新約的中保”（來12：24），更是從聖約的角度來解讀祂的救贖大工：“但願賜平安的神，就是那憑永約之血，使群羊的大牧人我主耶穌，從死里復活的神，……”（來13：20）
We cannot properly understand the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ without a covenantal perspective. The birth of Jesus was an open declaration that God had remembered "his holy covenant" (Luke 1:72 ). Before going out to be crucified for the sins of His people, Jesus ordained the cup of the "new covenant" (Luke 22:20 ). His resurrection and redemptive work were specifically the blessing of "the covenant God made with your [Jewish] fathers" (Acts 3:25-26 ). The New Testament explicitly calls Jesus "the Mediator of the New Covenant" (Heb. 12:24 ) and views His work of salvation in covenantal terms: "Now the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant..." (Heb. 13:20 ).
