Exhortation for 4/4/04 - Reading 1 John 1
2004年4月4日 劝勉词 读经：约翰一书一章
Dear Brethren and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ.
主耶稣基督内亲爱的弟兄姐妹：
This morning we will consider the
first chapter of John's first epistle, and in so doing come closer to
understanding that wonderful description of Jesus as "the Word of
life".
今天早晨我们聚集在一起，思考约翰一书第一章，让我们更好的来理解耶稣为什么会被描述为“生命之道”，也就是“生命的话语”。
There are two particular topics that John wishes us to understand in this first
chapter.
在约翰一书的第一章中，作者希望我们能够明白两个主题：
*
The first is that "the Word of life" has been manifest and that they
had seen that "life" manifest in Christ
* 首先是“生命之道”是被显现出来的，“生命”是通过基督表现出来的。
* The second relates to the fellowship that is available with the Father and His
Son, Jesus Christ.
*
第二个主题是和一种关系联系在一起的，这种亲密的关系存在于父和他的子，耶稣基督之间。
It is very appropriate that we consider these things as we come around the table
of our Lord to examine ourselves in the light of Christ's example.
在我们来到主的桌前，按照基督的榜样查验我们自己的时候，我们来考虑这些事情是非常合适的。
The chapter begins: "That which was from the beginning, which we have
heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our
hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we
have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was
with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)" (1 John 1:1-2).
约翰一书的第一章是这样开始的：论到从起初原有的生命之道，就是我们所听见所看见，亲眼看过，亲手摸过的。
（这生命已经显现出来，我们也看见过，现在又作见证，将原与父同在，且显现与我们那永远的生命，传给你们）。（约翰一书１：１－２）
John's opening comment relates to hearing. The Jews as a nation were very slow
to hear the words of Christ-instead they wanted to see the marvellous signs and
miracles he did. The disciples themselves were also rebuked for not listening to
his words-remember the comments Christ made to two disciples after his death and
resurrection: "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets
have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into
his glory?" (Luke 24:25-26).
约翰讲的话一开始就和“听见”这个行为有关。作为一个民族，犹太人在听基督的话语方面非常迟钝——反而，犹太人只想看耶稣行的神迹奇事。同样，门徒们因为没有听基督的话语也曾受到他的责骂，我们都还记得，在基督死了并复活之后，他对两个门徒说了这样的话：“耶稣对他们说，无知的人哪，先知所说的一切话，你们的心，信得太迟钝了。基督这样受害，又进入他的荣耀，岂不是应当的吗？（路加福音24：25-26）
There were many in Israel who saw the miracles of Christ and heard his words but
never understood the true import of the one they looked at-most saw him as a
miracle worker and preacher. However John says that he and the other disciples
close to him had "heard, seen and handled" the Word of Life. As they
followed him, slowly the true import of what they were witnessing sunk into
their minds. They realised that this was "the Word of God made flesh"
(John 1:14).
在以色列，有很多人都见证了基督所行的神迹，也听过他的话语，可是他们根本不理解他们眼前看到的这个人的本质——大多数人仅仅将耶稣看成是一个行神迹的人，或是一个普通的传道人。
但是，在约翰一书中，约翰说他和其他的门徒已经“听见，看见，
并亲手摸过“生命之道”。在他们追随耶稣的时候，慢慢的，他们所见证的耶稣的真正含义已经渗透到他们思想中。他们逐渐意识到耶稣就是“道成肉身”（神的话语的显现）（约翰福音1：14）
Christ indeed was "the Word made flesh", the personification of the
purpose of God. And because the words that he spoke were life-giving words it is
only correct that he bears the title, "the Word of life". This is why
Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are
life" (John 6:63); and Peter says, "Being born again, not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and
abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the
flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But
the word of the Lord endureth for ever" (1 Peter 1:23-25).
基督的确是“道成肉身“，
是神的目的和计划的化身。又因为他所说的话都是赐给人生命的话，所以他有“生命之道”的称号就是自然的了。这也就是为什么耶稣会说：“叫人活着的乃是灵，肉体是无益的。我对你们所说的话，就是灵，就是生命。”（约翰福音6：63）使徒彼得也说：“你们蒙了重生，不是由于能坏的种子，乃是由于不能坏的种子，是借着神活泼常存的道。
因为凡有血气的，尽都如草，他的美荣，都像草上的花。草必枯干，花必凋谢。
惟有主的道是永存的。所传给你们的福音就是这道。”（彼得一书1：23-25）
What a marvellous thing it must have been for the disciples to walk with the
Lord, to hear him speak and see all that he did-to realise they had witnessed
one who completely lived the spirit of the Word of God. He revealed that life
that we all strive to live. We try to manifest God in all our words and ways,
but when we see Jesus we see one who did this perfectly. He was in that sense
"God with us"-Emmanuel.
对门徒来说，能够和主同行，听他说话，见证他所做的每一件事——意识到自己见证的是一为完全活在神话语的灵里面的耶稣，这是是多么好的一件事啊！他显现了我们努力想去活的那种生命。我们也努力在我们的行为和话语上将神显现出来，当我们看到耶稣的时候，我们看到一位可以完美的显现神的人。从这个角度来说，我们可以说，耶稣就是“神与我们同在”——以马内利。
John goes on to say, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto
you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with
the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3). What then was the
fellowship with the apostles, and with the Father and the Son? This is a theme
that John explores further in this chapter. In verse 6 we have the declaration
that "walking in darkness" is incompatible with this fellowship.
However in verse 7 he says that "walking in light" is the foundation
of fellowship.
约翰接着说：“我们将所看见，所听见的，传给你们，使你们与我们相交。我们乃是与父并他儿子耶稣基督相交的。”（约翰一书1：3）什么是与使徒，与父，与子的相交呢？这正是约翰在这章书里要讲的。在第六节里我们看到这样的宣言：“若是行在黑暗里”，就和这种相交不协调了。然而，在第7节中，约翰告诉我们“行在光明中”就是这种相交的基础。
The word fellowship literally means "sharing, having things in common, a
partnership". This sharing was the central thread to the
"fellowship" of the first century as we read in Acts 2:42-47:
"They continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in
breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many
wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were
together, and had all things common. And they, continuing daily with one accord
in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with
gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the
people".
“相交”这个词从字面上来说意味着“分享某种共同的东西，或同伴关系”。这种“分享”就是第一世纪时的“相交”的主线。在使徒行传2：42-47中，我们读到：“都恒心遵守使徒的教训，彼此交接，掰饼，祈祷。众人都惧怕。使徒又行了许多奇事神迹。信的人都在一处，凡物公用。并且卖了田产乙担崭魅怂栌玫姆指魅恕?
他们天天同心合意，恒切地在殿里且在家中掰饼，存着欢喜诚实的心用饭，
赞美神，得众民的喜爱。主将得救的人，天天加给他们。”
The fundamentals spoken of here are simple-
在这里提到的这些基本的原则都很简单——
* breaking of bread
from house to house, * 在彼此家中掰饼
* prayer, * 祷告
* all things in
common, 、 * 凡物公用
* with one accord in the temple, *
在圣殿中同心合意
* with gladness and singleness of heart. * 欢喜诚实
* praising God. * 赞美神
This is a fellowship of brethren and sisters with
the Father and Christ-it is not a fellowship of individuals. And why is it that
this is so important? John explains in the next verse: "And these things
write we unto you, that your joy may be full" (1 John 1:4).
这就是弟兄姐妹和父与基督之间的一中相交——这并不是个人独自的相交。这一点为什么如此重要呢？约翰在下一节经节中做了解释：“我们将这些话写给你们，使你们（有古卷作我们）的喜乐充足。”（约翰一书1：4）
It would appear that John has in mind the words that Christ spoke to them in the
upper room: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as
I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I
spoken： unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be
full" (John 15:10-11). Here we see the complete fellowship that existed
between Christ and the Father and which we can share if we abide in that love,
keeping his commandments. If we do this then our joy will be full.
显然我们可以看出，约翰记住了耶稣当时在楼房中所说的话：“你们若遵守我的命令，就常在我的爱里。正如我遵守了我父的命令，常在他的爱里。
这些事我已经对你们说了，是要叫我的喜乐，存在你们心里，并叫你们的喜乐可以满足。（约翰福音15：10-11）在这里我们看到了基督和他的父之间的那种相交。如果我们心里常存着爱，遵守神的诫命，我们也可以分享这种相交。如果我们这样做，我们也就会得满足。
John now moves to a very fundamental message that they had heard from their
Lord-so fundamental that John wants to now pass it on to all who wish to share
that wonderful fellowship with God and His Son: "This then is the message
which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him
is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5).
约翰接着讲到了他们从他们的主那里听到的一个重要的信息——这一点非常重要，约翰想把它和所有愿意和神及他的儿子相交的人分享，他说：“神就是光，在他毫无黑暗。这是我们从主所听见，又报给你们的信息。”（约翰一书1：5）
John is not speaking of physical light but moral light. This declaration lays
the foundation for everything that follows: "If we say that we have
fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth"
(v6). Here then is our first test of fellowship. Do we walk in the light or in
darkness? John says if we walk in darkness then "we do not the truth".
So the Truth is not just a list of doctrinal facts but a way of life based on
those truths. What is walking in darkness? John goes on to say: "He that
saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of
stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in
darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded
his eyes." (1 John 2:9-11).
这里约翰讲的并不是自然的光，而是道德精神的光。这一点为一切打好了基础，下面说到：“我们若说是与神相交，却仍在黑暗里行，就是说谎话，不行真理了。”（第6节）这是关于相交给我们的第一个测试。我们是否是行在光明中呢，还是行在黑暗中呢？约翰说如果我们行在黑暗中，“我们就没有真理”。因此，真理并不仅仅是一系列的教义，而是一种建立在真理上的一种生活方式。
那么，什么是行在黑暗中呢？约翰接着说：“人若说自己在光明中。却恨他的弟兄，他到如今还是在黑暗里。
爱弟兄的就是住在光明中，在他并没有绊跌的缘由。
惟独恨弟兄的是在黑暗里，且在黑暗里行，也不知道往哪里去，因为黑暗叫他眼睛瞎了。”（约翰一书2：9-11）
Walking in darkness, which means we are not walking in the light of God's ways,
shows that in fact we are not in fellowship with God at all. We are not in
fellowship with His Son either or those who are walking in the light of God's
revealed ways. We are not trying to manifest that "life" which was
seen manifest in Christ.
行在黑暗中，就意味着我们没有行在神的道的光明中，这表明我们根本也就没有和神相交，我们也就没有和他的儿子相交，也没有那些行在神显现的光明中的人相交。这同样意味着我们没有努力的显现在基督身上显现出来的“生命”。
This "fellowship" John is speaking of is based on genuine and true
"love"-a love of God and love of the children of God. So John says,
"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he
that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath
not seen?" (1 John 4:20).
约翰所提到的这种“相交”是建立在诚实和真挚的“爱”上面的——这是一种对神的爱，也是对神的儿女的爱。所以约翰说：“人若说，我爱神，却恨他的弟兄，就是说谎话的。不爱他所看见的弟兄，就不能爱没有看见的神。”（有古卷作怎能爱没有看见的神呢）。（约翰一书4：20）
There is really a very powerful lesson here-if we hate our brethren, while
claiming to love God, then we lie, and as such we find ourselves walking in
darkness, whereby it is impossible to have fellowship with God and Christ.
这是一个很有力的功课——如果我们恨自己的弟兄，而另一方面又宣称自己爱神，我们就是在撒谎。我们也会发现我们仍然行在黑暗中，这样我们也就不可能和神和基督相交。
However John does not dwell on the negatives. He now states the positive basis
of "fellowship": "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his
Son cleanseth us from all sin" (v7).
当然，约翰并没有一直在强调消极的一面，他提到了“相交”积极的基础：“我们若在光明中行，如同神在光明中，就彼此相交，他儿子耶稣的血也洗净我们一切的罪。”（约翰一书1：7）
There can be no half-measures-either we walk in the light with God and
Christ, or we walk in the darkness, and in so doing deny our Lord. Our way of
life is linked with our fellowship-and that is linked with God, Christ and one
another.
对此，没有任何折中的办法——我们要么和神和基督一起行在光明中，要么就行在黑暗中，否认我们的主。我们生活的方式直接和我们的相交联系在一起——而这一点又和神，基督及我们自己联系在一起。
That which hindered our fellowship with God was our sins, as the prophet said:
"Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins
have hid his face from you, that he will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2). While a
person is in that state then there can be no fellowship with God. They have not
been walking in the light but in darkness. But the wonder of the love of God is
seen in the providing of Jesus Christ that through his life and death there has
been provided a way for the forgiveness of our sins (1 John 4:9-10). This is
spoken of in Revelation 1:5: "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from
our sins in his own blood". This is what we have come here this morning to
remember. Here in the wine before us we have the symbol of his life blood which
he gave that through him we may have our sins forgiven as he said: "This is
my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of
sins" (Matthew 26:28).
我们的罪阻止了我们和神相交，就像先知以赛亚说的那样：“但你们的罪孽使你们与神隔绝，你们的罪恶使他掩面不听你们。”（以赛亚书59：2）如果一个人处于一种罪的状态中，他和神就没有相交。他们就不可能行在光明中，而是行在黑暗中。然而，通过耶稣的生命，死亡，以及他给我们提供的赦免罪的道路上，我们就可以看到神那奇妙的爱。（约翰一书4：9-10）在启示录1：5中写到：“并那诚实作见证的，从死里首先复活，为世上君王元首的耶稣基督。有恩惠平安归与你们。他爱我们，用自己的血使我们脱离罪恶。”这就是我们大家今天早晨来到这里要纪念的。摆在我们面前的酒代表了基督的生命和他为我们流出的血。正是这样我们的罪才得到赦免，基督说：“因为这是我立约的血，为多人流出来，使罪得赦。”（马太福音26：28）
As we sit here in fellowship this morning we will all examine ourselves and
remember those sins we have committed or things we should have done and have
not. Now is the time to seek forgiveness through Christ. His blood cleanses us
from all sin.
今天我们聚集在这里，我们彼此相交。我们要查验自己，警记自己犯的罪，记住我们本不该做却又做了的事。
现在是我们通过基督寻求神赦免的时候，因为基督的血让我们从罪中变得洁净。
However John now warns against self deceit. We need to be honest with ourselves:
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (v8-9).
然而，使徒约翰也劝勉我们不要自欺。我们需要诚实的面对自己：“我们若说自己无罪，便是自欺，真理不在我们心里了。我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。”（约翰一书1：8-9）
Here is our test.-are we true with ourselves in matters concerning our thoughts
and actions? Do we excuse sin as if it really is not sin?
考验我们的是——在我们所行所做的每一件事上，我们是否诚实的面对我们自己？我们是否为我们的罪找借口，把它说成不是罪？
In all ages there have been those who have deceived themselves by justifying
their conduct, even though it is contrary to God's ways. There are those who
have maintained that they had a right to do what they pleased. John reaffirms
that great elementary truth-"all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God" (Romans 3:23). We are all sinners.
在历史的各个时代都有那些自欺欺人的人，尽管他们的行为违背了神，但他们还是为自己辩白。也有些人坚持认为他们可以做任何他们喜欢的事情。使徒约翰在此重申了真理的基础——“世人都犯了罪，亏缺了神的荣耀”（罗马书3：23）我们所有人都是罪人。
So in conclusion John writes, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we
say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us"
(v9-10). The Proverb sums up this principle very clearly: "He that covereth
his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have
mercy." (Proverbs 28:13).
在结束的时候，约翰说：“我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。
我们若说自己没有犯过罪，便是以神为说谎的。他的道也不在我们心里了。”（约翰福音1：9-10）箴言将这一个原则清楚的总结为“遮掩自己罪过的，必不亨通。承认离弃罪过的，必蒙怜恤。”（箴言28：13）
If we confess our sins and seek forgiveness then our God is merciful and will
forgive. When we seek forgiveness we are acknowledging God's way is right and
our own was wrong-we are acknowledging His righteousness. This is the basis upon
which God will extend forgiveness. What a wonderful consolation it is to know
that "he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness". What a great burden is lifted from our minds and
conscience by our merciful Father.
如果我们承认我们的罪并寻求赦免，我们的神是怜悯的神，他必会饶恕我们。当我们寻求神的赦免的时候，我们就是承认神的道是正确的，而我们的道是错误的——我们也是在承认神的公义。神要扩大他对人的赦免是有基础的。我们知道“神是信实的，公义的，他必会赦免我们的罪，洗尽我们一切的不义”，这是多么令人安慰的一件事！正是这样，我们慈爱的天父除去了我们生活的重担。
How foolish it would be for us to say "we have not sinned". If we do
this then John's closing words are just so true: "we make Him (God) a liar,
and His word is not in us".
如果我们说：“我们没有犯罪”，我们将会是多么的愚蠢。如果我们这样做的话，使徒约翰在结束时说的话对我们就再合适不过了：“我们若说自己没有犯过罪，便是以神为说谎的。他的道也不在我们心里了。”
Let us now very reverently examine ourselves as we partake of the bread and
wine. Let us determine to "walk in the light" so that that life which
we have seen and heard in our Lord may become our way of life. If we do this we
will have fellowship with the Father and His Son in truth.
在我们掰饼喝酒的时候，让我们虔诚的查验我们自己。让我们决定在“光明中行”，这样我们在我们主身上看到并听到的“生命”才可以成为我们自己生活的道。如果我们这样做的话，我们就能够和天父和他的儿子在真理中相交。
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