(3) 圣经: 神的话 / Bible

圣经：神的话

就像我们在“洗礼”那一章所说的，现在你有了一个属灵的新生命。和你的血气生命一样，你的属灵生命同样需要营养。马太4：4 耶稣却回答说、经上记着说、『人活着、不是单靠食物、乃是靠　神口里所出的一切话。』。血气生命需要食物，属灵生命需要神的话语。诗篇119:105 你的话是我脚前的灯、是我路上的光。没有光，你在黑暗里将跌跌撞撞，很容易迷失方向，神的话对你是很有必要的。

倪柝声强调过，要真正理解圣经，信徒首先需要准备他们的心（使自己的心先柔软下来），一个人如果心肠刚硬，是很难正确理解圣经的，圣经里多次说到这个话题，其中一个例子就是：马太13:14 （耶稣说）在他们身上、正应了以赛亚的预言、说、『你们听是要听见、却不明白．看是要看见、却不晓得．』这里，耶稣引用的是以赛亚6:9。

在林前2:14然而属血气的人不领会　神圣灵的事、反倒以为愚拙．并且不能知道、因为这些事惟有属灵的人才能看透。2:15属灵的人能看透万事、却没有一人能看透了他。

基于上面这些圣经段落，一个非信徒是无法真正理解圣经的，甚至对于信徒来说，我们的罪也经常会妨碍我们理解圣经的真义。要确定你理解圣经的真义，而不是你的想当然。这是一个渐进的过程。只要你更多地接受神的话语，更多地顺服神，你就能更多地理解圣经。有一个类似的金币袋子的比喻，马太（耶稣说）25:29因为凡有的、还要加给他、叫他有余．没有的、连他所有的、也要夺过来。如果你的属灵生命长进，神将更加祝福你，使你更了解神的话语。

神是恒久不变的，所以，神今天对我们说的话，和过去对我们说的话是息息相关的。除非我们花时间和努力去理解圣经，否则无法知道今天神要对我们说些什么。同时，神的话语也在改变我们，提摩太后书3:16圣经都是　神所默示的、于教训、督责、使人归正、教导人学义、都是有益的。我们不能单靠通过自己的努力得到义，而是通过信神的话。

我们吃东西，不能先饱餐一顿，然后饿上好几天吧？我们需要经常读圣经，最好每天都读。你应该制定一个读经计划，然后严格执行。下面有几个读经的方法：首先是一本接着一本地读。你可以从简单易懂的开始，读新约，从某个福音书开始，建议先读马可，在福音书里最短；读旧约，创世纪和出埃及记至少在表面上都不难懂。如果有可能，每天读2-3章。

其次，参加读经小组也很有用，一个读经小组，通常有几个成熟的基督徒，可以帮助显出圣经段落亮光，指出理解上的错误，和进行见证分享。初信者在好的读经小组里，将会学到很多。但这些并不能取代你个人的读经，在尽量参加读经小组的同时，也要自己努力学习圣经。

如何解经也是非常重要的，在以后的文章里，我会再探讨这个问题。在目前，你应该要知道圣经是如何写成的，下面两本是圣经的基本介绍，这参考书非常好，现在已售完，但你可以买到二手书（如在美国可以通过EBAY或AMAZON买），这书绝对物有所值。

注释：

1）Robert R. Hann, “The Bible, an owner's manual” : Paulist Press, c1983.

2）George A. Buttrick (Author), Charles M. Laymon (Editor) , "The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary on the Bible," Abingdon Press, 15th edition, 1971.

Bible:Word of God

John (J L) Han

As we mentioned in Baptism, you now have a new life received from the Holy Spirit. Like your physical life, your spiritual life needs nourishment. Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Just as you need food for your physical life, you also need word of God for your spiritual life. Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Without light you will grope in the dark and may easily get lost. Word of God is essential to you.

Watchman Nee emphasised that in order to truly understand the Bible it is essential for a believer to prepare one’s heart. If one’s heart is hard (In the Bible hard heart refers to refusing listen/obtain God. See, for example, Exodus Chapter 7 Pharaoh’s heart became hard; also Hebrew Chapter 3), he/she will not understand the Bible properly. The Bible mentions this several times. One example appears in Matthew 13:14 (Jesus said) In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

Here Jesus quoted from Isaiah 6:9. Also in I Corinthians 2:14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, Based on these passages, a non-believer cannot truly understand the Bible. Even for believers, our own sins often are obstacles for us to understand the real meanings of the Bible. Make sure that you understand the true meaning of the Bible not what you think what it says. This is usually a gradual process. As you are open more to the word of God, obedient to God, you will understand the Bible more. This is similar to the Parable of Bag of Gold, Matthew (Jesus said) 25:29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. If you take care of your spiritual life, God will bless you with more understanding of His word.

God is consistent throughout the ages. Thus, what God says to us today is related to what God had said in the past. Unless we spend time and effort to understand the Bible, we will not able to understand what God tells us now. God’s word also will transform us. II Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, We do not have righteousness by our own effort but through faith in Word of God.

Just like eating meals you should not feast one day then starve several days, you should read Bible regularly, if possible everyday. You should make a Bible reading plan and have discipline to keep it. There are several approaches to read the Bible. One is to read book by book. At the beginning, you might start with books easier to understand. In the New Testament, you may start with one of the gospels. Mark is the shortest gospel and could be a good choice. For the Old Testament, Genesis and Exodus are not difficult to understand, at least superficially. If possible, you may want to read 2 or 3 chapters every day.

Joining a Bible study group is often helpful. A Bible study group usually has a few mature Christians who can shed light on Bible passages, correct mistakes, and share experiences. A new believer can learn much from a good Bible study group. This does not replace your own Bible reading. If possible, both participate a Bible study group and have your own study time.

Pay Attention to Details

Sometimes one word can make a huge difference. As an example, the verse John 3:16 is often regarded as the center of the Bible. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. In the popular Chinese version, the in behind the believes is not translated. This is a mistake. Someone can believe an object, a theory, etc. This word in implies that a person not only believes but is also transformed. In the Old Testament era, in God’s view all peoples were divided into two groups: Israelis and non-Israelis. In the New Testament era, God divides peoples into two groups: either in Christ or out of Christ. A person has eternal life because he/she not only believes Jesus but also is in the body of Christ.

Watchman Nee had written a book 《初信造就》http://www.fellowshipinmontreal.org/CH/Pursuing/WaterArticles/Article3.php in which there is a chapter on Bible study. This book is good. If you can read Chinese, you are encouraged to read it. Below is an excerpt. The Bible only says in the Lord, in Christ, in Christ Jesus but not in Jesus or in Jesus Christ. Watchman Nee wants the reader to pay attention when these are used.

Jesus is His name on the earth while Christ is His name after he was resurrected and anointed by God. In Romans, Christ Jesus means that today’s Christ is Jesus in the past. These have different meanings. We can be in Christ but not in Jesus. We can be in Christ Jesus but cannot in Jesus Christ.

Interpretation of the Bible

How to interpret the Bible is critically important. I will address this issue in a separate article. For now, you should know how the Bible was formed. A brief account is given in Basics of the Bible. The reference book in which is also very good. The book is out of print. But if you can get a used one (in the US you may find one on Amazon or eBay), it is well worth it.

References:

[1] Robert R. Hann, “The Bible, an owner's manual” : Paulist Press, c1983.

Questions to consider:

(1) Why Word of God is important to you?

(2) What are important prerequisites in order to understand the Bible?

(3) Why it is so important for a Christian to understand the Bible?

(4) What will the effect of the Bible on us?

(5) Why should you have a Bible reading plan?

(6) Why paying attention to details of Bible is important?