2018年4月25日 星期三

Great Doctrines of the Bible—God the Father, God the Son/ Martyn Lloyd Jones

24. Evidence for the Deity and Humanity of Christ

Firstly, Christ is divine. 
1). Certain divine names are ascribed to him: Son of God, his Son, my Son, Son, the only begotten Son of God, the first and the last, Alpha and Omega, Holy One, the Lord, the Lord of glory, Emmanuel, great God and Saviour Jesus Christ (266-267). 
2). The Bible ascribes to Him certain divine attributes: omnipotence (Hebrews 1:3), omniscience (Matthew 11:27), omnipresence (Matthew 18:20; Matthew 28:20; Eph. 1:23), eternity (John 1:1), immutability (Hebrews 13:8), pre-existence (Colossians 1:17; Philippians 2:6). To sum up, “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). (267-268). 
3). There are certain divine offices which He is said to hold and to fill: He creates (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews (1:10), He preserves everything (Hebrews 1:3), He claimed the power to forgive sins (Mark 2:5), He also claimed power to raise the dead (John 6:39-44), He has the power to transform our bodies (Philippians 3:21), judgment is committed to Him (John 5:22-3; 2 Timothy 4:1). (268-269). 
4). Statements in the Old Testament which are made distinctly of Jehovah are, in the New Testament, ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ (269). 
5). The way in which the named of God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son are coupled together (269). 
6). Divine worship is ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ (270). 
7). Our Lord’s own self-consciousness and His own specific claims to deity (270). 
8). The virgin birth (271). 
9). His resurrection (Romans 1:4).

2018年4月21日 星期六

道成肉身的上帝直接向人說話

耶穌看見許多人,就上山,開口教訓眾人。這些跟隨耶穌的人,其實是站在上帝的面前,上帝沒有透過任何一個中間的傳話的人,上帝是直接道成肉身在眾人的當中,直接對他們說話。也就是說,耶穌是道成肉身的上帝直接向人說話,沒有經過任何中間的媒介。這是何其浩大的恩典!道成肉身的上帝直接向人說話,耶穌首先就非常堅定地向人宣告怎樣的人才是有福的人,並且整個登山寶訓教導我們如何成為一個合神心意的人,因而登山寶訓也是關乎我們生命之意義與價值的完整教訓。「登山寶訓」是非常寶貴的信息~

每週日09:00「解經講座:登山寶訓的訊息」東海大學校牧室B1/ 柯志明教授

2018年4月18日 星期三

Great Doctrines of the Bible—God the Father, God the Son/ Martyn Lloyd Jones

23. The Incarnation

There are nine important statements concerning the doctrine of the incarnation: 
1). “the doctrine of the person of our Lord, and the doctrine of the incarnation in particular, show us again the all-importance of the doctrine of the Trinity” (256). 
2). “the doctrine of the incarnation asserts not that the eternal triune God became flesh, but the second Person in the triune God became flesh” (256). 
3). “the doctrine of the incarnation does not say that it was merely an appearance or a form that was taken on by the second Person in the Trinity, but that it was indeed a true incarnation; He did come in the flesh” (256). 
4). “The doctrine of the incarnation does not say that it was the divine nature that somehow became united with human nature and so formed a person”; instead, “it teaches that He took to Himself flesh and appeared in this world in the likeness of man—not a new person, but this eternal Person” (257). 
5). “the doctrine of the incarnation does not teach, neither does it involve the idea, that a change took place in the personality of the Son of God” (257). 
6). “we must never so state the doctrine of the incarnation as to give the impression, therefore, that we say that the Son of God was changed into a man” (257). We should say, “He became flesh, or that took on flesh” (257). 
7). “our Lord did not merely take the appearance of human nature; it was true human nature” (258). (See Hebrews 2:14, 16; 2 John 7). 
8). “The doctrine of the incarnation asserts that our Lord took unto Himself a full human nature. It was not merely partial, it was complete” (258). 
9). “He took on this complete human nature from the Virgin Mary” (259). (See Matthew 1:1; Hebrews 2:14-18). 

2018年4月9日 星期一

Great Doctrines of the Bible—God the Father, God the Son/ Martyn Lloyd Jones

22. The Lord Jesus Christ 

Jones points out the Lord Jesus Christ is not only central but also vital: “The truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ is the central and the most stupendous fact in the history of redemption. It stands out as the unique event in all history. This truth concerning Him is the biggest and most as astounding event of all” (245). All history points to Him, and He is indeed the turning point of history: the birth of Jesus Christ divides up history into BC and AD. Add that, Jones says the “Bible itself makes it very plain and clear that the whole essence of the Christian is dependent upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ” (245). Jesus Christ is vital in Christianity: “The Christian faith is entirely concerned about Him, who He is, what He has done, and what He has made available and possible for us” (246). 

Firstly, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies and promise. 2 Corinthians, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory” (1:20). Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the promise that was given in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15). There are some other passages regarding to the prophecy of Jesus: 
* “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:1). 
* “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,/ who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,/ from you shall come forth for me/ one who is to be ruler in Israel,/ whose coming forth is from of old,/ from ancient days” (Micah 5: 2). 
* “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 5.6). 
* “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). 
* For to us a child is born,/ to us a son is given;/ and the government shall be upon his shoulder,/ and his name shall be called/ Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,/ Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace./ Of the increase of his government and of peace/ there will be no end,/ on the throne of David and over his kingdom,/ to establish it and to uphold it/ with justice and with righteousness/ from this time forth and forevermore./ The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this” (Isaiah 9:6-7). 
* “Who has believed what he has heard from us?/ And to whom has the arm of/ the LORD been revealed?/ For he grew up before him like a young plant,/ and like a root out of dry ground;/ he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,/ and no beauty that we should desire him./ He was despised and rejected by men,/ man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;/ and as one from whom men hide their faces/ he was despised, and we esteemed him not./ Surely he has borne our griefs/ and carried our sorrows;/ yet we esteemed him stricken,/ smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:1-4). 
* “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;/ I will take you by the hand and keep you;/ I will give you as a covenant for the people,/ a light for the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). 
* Psalms 22. 

2018年4月4日 星期三

Great Doctrines of the Bible—God the Father, God the Son/ Martyn Lloyd Jones

21. The Covenant of Grace in the New Testament 

We must remember that there is only one covenant, but there are differences in the two dispensations. 

“First, -we must emphasis the superiority of new dispensation of the one covenant over the old dispensation of the same covenant. The old was mediated through the servants, Abraham and Moses, but the new has been mediated through the Son of God” (24). 

“Second, the truth in the old dispensation was partly revealed and partly hidden in the types and shadows. But in the new dispensation it is clearly revealed in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, in what He said, taught and accomplished and in the work of the Holy Spirit” (240). 

Third, “in the new dispensation it is not only clearly revealed, but the revelation has been, of course, increased and made clear by the incarnation of the Lord Himself and the work of the Spirit” (241). 

Fourth, “the new dispensation is superior to the old. Under the old dispensation the revelation was largely carnal and material in form, whereas now it is entirely spiritual” (241). You will see in Hebrew, “but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (9:10-12). 

你為何倒下:給摯友鄭榮洲的一封信/ 柯志明教授



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2018年4月3日 星期二

Great Doctrines of the Bible—God the Father, God the Son/ Martyn Lloyd Jones

20. The Covenant of Grace in the Old Testament 

Covenant is “an agreement or a pact which is entered into by two parties, the two parties generally being more or less of equal standing,” and “in the covenant two sides bind themselves to the fulfillment of certain promises given on the basis of certain conditions” (224). Jones underscores that “the thing that we must keep in mind is that the priority of God must be emphasised. The covenant is a gift of from God which has been ushered in by the death of Christ, and because it comes from God it is something which is certain, and inviolable, and unbreakable” (226). Originally God made a covenant with Adam, but he failed, so “from there on God made a new covenant, which is called the covenant of grace” (226). First of all, God has “promised to be a God unto man,” “certain temporal as well as spiritual blessings,” and “a way of justification” which includes “the promise of life eternal, the giving of the Spirit, and the full application and working out of redemption in my sanctification and ultimate glorification” (227). And “we are called upon to respond by faith, by the desire for all this, and by faithfulness and obedience to God in these new conditions” (227). 

For Jones, Genesis 3:15 is the announcement of the gospel: “I will put enmity between you and the woman,/ and between your offspring and her offspring;/ he shall bruise your head,/ and you shall bruise his heel.” Humans cannot be saved if they are friends of devil and enemy of God, so they must first become an enemy of the devil. Besides, God promised to help man to fight against the enemy. And the real seed of the woman is the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Secondly, the covenant God made with Noah in Genesis 9 tells us that God promised that the force of nature would be bridled, and man was protected against the violence both of man himself and beasts. This is “simply a temporary legislation,” “common grace” (230). 

Thirdly, “there was the covenant made with Abraham” in Genesis 17 (230). It was by Abraham’s faith that he entered in to the covenant and began to receive the blessings. Not only the promise concerning the land, there was “the great promise of a spiritual seed, that all the nations of the world were going to be blessed in Him” (231). Romans tells us that “Abraham was justified by faith, justified in a spiritual sense—justified from sin, he was forgiven, he was adopted into God’s family, and made the father of the faithful, the father of all believers” (231). 

2018年4月2日 星期一

Great Doctrines of the Bible—God the Father, God the Son/ Martyn Lloyd Jones

19. Redemption: the Eternal Plan of God

It is necessary to take a general view of the doctrine of redemption.

Firstly, “redemption is entirely of God” (214). It is emphasized that the Bible “is an account of what God has done about the redemption of man” (214). It is not that the Lord Jesus Christ needs to placate God for us, for we know 2 Corinthians tells us, “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (5.19). Jones clarifies, “[t]he biblical case is not that Christ, as it were, has to appeal to God to change His mind. It was God who sent Christ; it was God Himself who took the initiative” (215).

Secondly, “salvation if all of grace. It was done in spite of man’s rebellion, in spite of man’s arrogance, in spite of his folly and sin” (216).

Thirdly, redemption “was all planned before the foundation of the world” (216). We are bound by time, so it is impossible for us to grasp it. “But God is outside time. God sees the end from the beginning and all things are always in His presence” (217).

2018年4月1日 星期日

Great Doctrines of the Bible—God the Father, God the Son/ Martyn Lloyd Jones

18. Original Pollution

Original pollution means, firstly, “the absence of that original righteousness which Adam had” (200). Add that, “[w]e are also born with the presence within us of a positive evil” (201). It is not “merely a disease; “it is a sinful and, therefore, a guilty condition. We are guilty because we are polluted” (201). It is not merely a deprivation; it is something which is positive, a positive inherent disposition towards sin” (201). 

“How, then, does this condition, this absence of original righteousness and the presence of positive evil, manifest itself in fallen humanity?” (201). It shows in total depravity and total inability. 

a). Total depravity: 
This idea is often attacked even by Christians because people invariably attach a false meaning to it. Total depravity “means that man in his fallen condition has an inherently corrupt nature, and the corruption extends through every part of his being, to every faculty of his soul and body”; “[i]t also means that there is no spiritual good in him” (202). To elaborate more: that means someone “is at enmity against God and God’s holy law” (202). To put it another way, “all that person’s powers are misused and perverted” (202), and “what we are told about our state in a condition of total depravity is that we are in the flesh and acting according to it” (205). What does flesh mean? “[F]lesh in the Scripture is almost invariably opposed to the spirit, and especially to the Holy Spirit within us. So flesh means the working of that nature which we have inherited from Adam, that which is entirely natural, and which is entirely without the influence of the Holy Spirit upon it” (205). Another definition is that flesh “is the principle, or the seat of the principle, which in fallen human nature resists the divine law and wars against the spirit” (205). Thus, the characteristics of life are these: “The condition of being ‘in the flesh’ means that the balance has gone” (206). We are “controlled by self instead of by God” (207). We misuse all out faculties. We are “all slaves of Satan” (209).