4. 上帝 創造者
從主在地上時至今, 基督徒教會經歷了從嬰兒期到年邁期幾個不同的階段。使徒們在世時是基督徒教會的嬰兒期。那時他們走遍全世界傳悔改和信主上帝拯救之道。在『使徒行傳』中可明顯看到他們所傳的內容:(保羅)又向猶太人和希利尼人證明當向上帝悔改, 信靠我主耶穌基督(使徒行傳20:21)。
需要大家注意的事件發生了！就在幾個月前(本書完成於1771年), 主呼召祂那如今已為天人的十二個門徒, 差遣他們往心靈世界(與物質世界相對應的精神世界, 包括天國,地獄以及二者之間的靈界, 詳見『天國與地獄』一書), 命他們在各處傳揚全新的福音。因為主通過這些門徒曾建立的教會, 時至今日已經臨近終結, 幾乎無餘民存在。這樣的結局會發生, 是因為聖三一已被割裂為三個位格, 其中每一位是上帝和主。
[2]結果, 這種思想如同腦膜炎在整個神學領域蔓延, 而且侵蝕了這個按主命名為"基督徒"的教會。之所以稱為腦膜炎, 是因為人們的思想因它而錯亂, 以至於不知道到底是一位上帝還是三位上帝。嘴上說一位上帝, 但頭腦思想的卻是三位。最終, 頭腦和嘴巴, 也就是思維和言辭產生分歧。這樣分歧的結果只會是:根本沒有上帝！自然主義在今時如此盛行, 就是因為這個緣由。如果你願意, 請想想, 口中說一而腦中想三, 當二者相遇, 是否其中之一並不能消除另外一個？結果, 當一個人思想上帝時, 倘若他思想的僅僅上帝這個名字, 而沒有任何關於這個名字所表示的意義, 未涉及上帝的任何知識, 那就如同什麼都沒思想一樣。
[3]對上帝以及其它一切關於祂的想法, 已被全然破碎。現在, 需要按"三"的次序——上帝創造者,主救贖者,聖靈運行者, 以及三如何為一, 來逐一說明, 為的是將已被破碎的重塑完整。要達到這樣的目的, 需要人的理性因著聖言,以及從聖言而來的亮光來確信:聖三一在主上帝拯救者耶穌基督之中, 就如同靈魂,身體以及二者發出的活動在一個人之中。因此『亞他尼修信經』中所說的這一條是真實的:在基督裡, 上帝和人,或神性與人性, 並非二, 而是一位; 如同靈魂和肉體是一個人, 因而上帝和人是一位基督。
4. Chapter 1: God the Creator
SINCE the time of the Lord, the Christian church has passed through various ages; it has gone from infancy to extreme old age. Its infancy occurred when the apostles were alive and were preaching two things throughout the whole world: repentance and faith in the Lord God the Savior, as one can see from these words in the Acts of the Apostles: "To both Jews and Greeks Paul proclaimed repentance before God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts of the Apostles 20:21).
It is worth noting that several months ago the Lord called together his twelve disciples, who are now angels, and sent them out to the entire spiritual world with the command to preach the gospel there anew, since the church established by the Lord through those disciples is so close to its end today that scarcely any of it remains in existence. Also worth noting is that the church's deterioration was the result of its splitting the divine Trinity into three persons, each of whom is God and Lord.
[2] As a result, a kind of brain fever spread throughout the whole theology and infected the church that calls itself Christian from the name of the Lord. I call it a brain fever because this development has so deranged human minds that they do not know whether there is one God or three. The mouth says there is one, but the mind thinks there are three. The mind, then, is at cross-purposes with its own mouth, and thought with its own speech; this results in no knowledge of God at all. The materialist philosophy that rules today has no other source. As long as "one" is what the mouth is saying and "three" is what the mind is thinking, do they not inwardly meet halfway and obliterate each other? Then if thinking about God occurs at all, it scarcely goes beyond thinking the word "God. " The word is denuded of any meaning that would entail actually having a concept of him.
[3] Because the idea of God and every notion of him has been torn to pieces, I intend to discuss in sequence God the Creator, the Lord the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit the Effecter, and then to discuss the divine Trinity, with the purpose of mending what has been torn. This mending will occur when human reason is convinced from the Word and its light that there is a divine Trinity; that it exists within the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ like the soul, the body, and the effect of one person; and that the following statement in the Athanasian Creed is valid:
In Christ, God and a human being, or the divine nature and the human nature, are not two; they are in one person. Just as the rational soul and the flesh is one human being, so God and a human being is one Christ.
4. CHAPTER ONE
GOD THE CREATOR
The Christian church has from the Lord's time passed through all the stages of life, from infancy to extreme old age. Its infancy was during the lifetime of the Apostles, who preached all over the world repentance and belief in the Lord God the Saviour. It is clear that these were their two main points from a passage in the Acts of the Apostles:
Paul proclaimed both to Jews and Greeks repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, Acts of the Apostles 20:21.
It is a notable fact that several months ago the Lord called together his twelve disciples who are now angels, and sent them out throughout the spiritual world with orders to preach the Gospel there anew, since the church the Lord established through their ministry is to-day so close to its end that hardly any remains survive. This has come about because the Divine Trinity has been divided into three persons, each of whom is God and Lord.
[2] As a result the whole of theology, and so the church which is named Christian after the Lord, has been pervaded by a kind of insanity. I say 'insanity' because it has driven people's minds to such a pitch of delirium that they do not know whether there is one God or three. One is what they say, three is what they think. So there is a conflict between the mind and the lips, the thought and its expression, and this conflict ends by their thinking that there is no God. This alone is the source of the nature-worship prevalent to-day. Pray consider whether, when the lips speak of one God and the mind thinks of three, each idea does not annihilate the other when they clash midway. Thus if anyone thinks of God at all, he does so as hardly anything but a bare title, with no feeling of knowing Him.
[3] Since the idea of God and all knowledge of Him has been so fragmented, I propose to discuss in turn God the Creator, the Lord the Redeemer, the Holy Spirit the Active Force, and finally the Divine Trinity, so that what has been broken into fragments may be put together again. This happens when a person's reason is convinced from the Word and the enlightenment it gives that there is a Divine Trinity, and that this is in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ, just as the soul, the body and the activity coming from them form a trinity in man. This article in the Athanasian creed is therefore valid:
In Christ, God and Man, or the Divine and the Human, are not two, but in one person; as the rational soul and the flesh are one man, so too God and Man are one Christ.
4. CHAPTER 1. GOD THE CREATOR.
Since the Lord's time the Christian Church has passed through the several stages from infancy to extreme old age. Its infancy was in the lifetime of the apostles, when they preached throughout the world repentance and faith in the Lord God the Savior. That this is what they preached is evident from these words in the Acts of the Apostles:
Paul testified, both to the Jews and to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts of the Apostles 20:21).
It is a noteworthy fact that some months ago the Lord called together His twelve disciples, now angels, and sent them forth throughout the spiritual world, with the command to preach the gospel there anew, since the church that was established by the Lord through them has at this day become so far consummated that scarcely a remnant of it survives; and this has come to pass, because the Divine trinity has been divided into three persons, each one of whom is God and Lord.
[2] Because of this a sort of frenzy has invaded not only all theology, but also the church that from the Lord's name is called - Christian. It is called a frenzy because men's minds have been made so demented by it as not to know whether there is one God or three. On the lips there is one God; but in the thought of the mind there are three; consequently the mind and lips, that is, the thought and speech, are at variance; and the result of this variance is that there is no God at all. The naturalism that prevails at this day is from no other source. Consider, if you will, with the lips speaking of one and the mind thinking of three, whether one of these statements does not, when they meet within, cancel the other. Consequently when a man thinks about God, if he thinks at all it is nothing more than thought from the mere name God, unaccompanied by any sense of the meaning of the name that involves any knowledge of God.
[3] The idea of God, with all conception of Him, having been thus rent asunder, it is my purpose to treat, in their order, of God the Creator, of the Lord the Redeemer, and of the Holy Spirit the Operator, and lastly of the Divine trinity, to the end that what has been rent asunder may be again made whole; which is done when the reason of man is convinced by the Word and by light therefrom that there is a Divine trinity, and that the trinity is in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ, like the soul, the body, and what goes forth from these, in man; and that thus this article in the Athanasian Creed is true:
In Christ God and man, or the Divine and the Human, are not two, but are in one person; and as the rational soul and the flesh are one man, so God and man are one Christ.
4. CHAPTER I. GOD THE CREATOR
The Christian Church from the time of our Lord has passed through the various stages from infancy to extreme old age. Its infancy was in the time of the Apostles, when they preached throughout the whole world repentance and faith in the Lord God the Savior. That this was the substance of their preaching is evident from these words in the Acts of the Apostles, in which Paul testified:
"both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" Acts 20:21.
It is worthy of note that several months ago 1 the Lord called together His twelve disciples, now angels, and sent them forth into the whole of the spiritual world, commanding them to preach the Gospel there anew, since the Church He had established through their labors has to-day so nearly reached its consummation that scarcely anything of it remains. This has come to pass because the Divine Trinity has been separated into three Persons, each of whom is God and Lord.
[2] In consequence of this, a kind of insanity has pervaded the whole of theology, and also the Christian Church, so called from the name of the Lord. The term "insanity" is used because it has rendered men's minds so confused that they do not know whether there is one God or three; one is on their lips, but three are in their minds, so that their minds and their lips, or their thought and their speech, are at variance. The result of this confusion is the denial that there is a God. This is the source of the materialism prevalent to-day. For while the lips speak of one God, and the mind thinks of three, does not the one idea destroy the other?
[3] Consequently if a man thinks at all, he thinks of God as a mere name without any definite meaning. Since the idea of God, with every conception regarding Him, has been destroyed I propose to treat in due sequence of God the Creator, of the Lord the Redeemer, and of the Holy Spirit the Operator, and finally of the Divine Trinity, in order that what has been destroyed may be restored. This will happen whenever human reason is convinced by enlightenment from the Word that there is a Divine Trinity, and that this Trinity is in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ, just as the soul, the body and the operating energy are in man; and therefore that this article in the Athanasian Creed 2 is true:
In Christ, God and Man, or the Divine and the Human, are not two, but are in one Person; and as the rational soul and body is one man, so God and Man is one Christ.
Footnotes:
1. This was written A.D. 1771.
2. Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
4. CAPUT PRIMUM - DE DEO CREATORE.
Ecclesia Christiana a tempore Domini transierat aetates ab Infantia ad ultimam Senectam; Infantia ejus fuit tempore quo vixerunt Apostoli, et in toto Mundo praedicaverunt Poenitentiam et Fidem in Dominum Deum Salvatorem, quod duas illas, constat ex his in Actis Apostolorum,
"Paulus contestatus est et Judaeis 1 et 2 Graecis Poenitentiam ad Deum, et Fidem in Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum," 20:21. Memorabile est, quod Dominus ante aliquot Menses convocaverit duodecim suos Discipulos, nunc Angelos, ac illos in Universum Mundum Spiritualem emiserit, cum mandato ut Evangelium e novo ibi praedicarent, quoniam Ecclesia a Domino per illos instaurata hodie in tantum consummata est, ut vix aliquae reliquiae ejus supersint; et quod hoc evenerit, quia Divinam Trinitatem in tres Personas, quarum unaquaevis est Deus et Dominus, partiti sunt;
[2] et quod inde emanaverit sicut phrenesis in universam Theologiam, et sic in Ecclesiam, quae a nomine Domini Christiana vocatur; dicitur phrenesis, quia mentes humanae, per id in tale delirium actae sunt, ut non sciant Numeri Deus unus sit, vel num tres sint, unus est in oris loquela, sed tres in mentis cogitatione, quare dissidet mens ab ore suo, seu cogitatio a loquela sua; ex quo dissidio resultat, quod nullus Deus sit; naturalismus 3 hodie regnans non aliunde est; expende, si libet, dum os loquitur unum, et mens cogitat tres, annon intus in media via unum expungit alterum vicissim; inde homo vix aliter de Deo cogitat, si cogitat, quam ex nuda voce Deus, absque aliquo sensu qui involvit cognitionem ejus.
[3] Quoniam idea de Deo, cum omni notione ejus, ita discerpta est, volo in suo ordine de Deo Creatore, de Domino Redemptore, et de Spiritu Sancto operatore, et demum de Divina Trinitate, agere, ob causam, ut discerptum resarciatur, quod fit, dum Ratio humana ex Verbo et inde lumine convincitur, quod Divina Trinitas sit, et quod haec sit in Domino Deo Salvatore Jesu Christo, sicut Anima, Corpus, et Procedens in homine; et quod sic valeat hoc in Symbolo Athanasiano, Quod in Christo Deus et Homo, seu Divinum et Humanum, non sint duo, sed in una Persona; et quod sicut Anima rationalis et Caro unus est homo, ita Deus et Homo unus sit Christus.
Footnotes: