- 安泰博是华盛顿特区安纳科斯塔河教会的牧师。在此之前，他在大开曼岛第一浸信会担任牧师长达七年。他是福音联盟的理事会成员。他的著作有：《复活的黑人教会》，《健康的教会成员》。
Thabiti Anyabwile is pastor of Anacostia River Church in Washington, DC. Prior to that, he served as the pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman for seven years. He is a council member of The Gospel Coalition (TGC). Among his other books, he has written Reviving the Black Church and What Is a Healthy Church Member? - 阿利斯泰·贝格是位于俄亥俄州克利夫兰附近的帕克赛德教会的主任牧师，并且是福音联盟的理事会成员。他写了几本书，最近的作品是：《持续的爱：如何避免婚姻失败》。每天和每周都能听到他的广播节目「真理生活」。
Alistair Begg is senior pastor of Parkside Church near Cleveland, Ohio, and a TGC council member. He has written several books, most recently Lasting Love: How to Avoid Marital Failure. Begg can be heard daily and weekly on the radio program Truth for Life. - 大卫·毕思固是曼哈顿救赎主长老会西区堂点的主任牧师。在成为牧师之前，他曾从事医疗财务和行政管理的工作。
David Bisgrove is lead pastor for the Westside congregation of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. Before becoming a pastor, he worked in healthcare finance and administration. - 唐·卡森是位于伊利诺伊州迪尔菲尔德的三一福音神学院的新约教授。他也是福音联盟的主席。他写了很多书，包括：《宽容的不宽容》，《再思解经错谬》，《尼布尔文化观再思》。
D. A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is also president of The Gospel Coalition. He has written numerous books, including The Intolerance of Tolerance, Exegetical Fallacies, and Christ and Culture Revisited. - 布莱恩·柴培尔是伊利诺伊州皮奥里亚的恩典长老会的主任牧师。他曾担任圣约神学院院长达十六年。柴培尔写了许多书，包括：《以基督为中心的讲道》和《以基督为中心的崇拜》。他是福音联盟的理事会成员。
Bryan Chapell is senior pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois. He previously served as president of Covenant Theological Seminary for sixteen years. Chapell has written numerous books including Christ-Centered Preaching and Christ-Centered Worship. He is a TGC council member. - 狄马可是华盛顿国会山浸信会教会的主任牧师，九标志事工的主席以及福音联盟的理事会成员。狄马可著有许多书籍，包括《健康教会九标志》。
Mark Dever is senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and president of 9Marks, as well as a TGC council member. Dever is the author of many books, including Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. - 凯文·德扬是北卡罗来纳州马修斯基督圣约教会的主任牧师，福音联盟的董事会主席。他著有许多书，包括：《我们圣洁的空穴》和《按神的话来对待祂》。
Kevin DeYoung is senior pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan, and a TGC council member. His many books include The Hole in Our Holiness and Taking God at His Word. - 里根·邓肯是改革宗神学院的校长兼首席执行官，并且是认信福音派联盟的主席和福音联盟的理事会成员。他撰写或参与了许多书的撰写，其中包括《不随之改变的福音》。
Ligon Duncan is chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, president of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, and a TGC council member. He has written or contributed to many books, including The Unadjusted Gospel. - 米卡·埃德蒙森是位于密歇根州大急流城的新城市团契的创办牧师。他以一篇关于马丁·路德·金的苦难神学论文获得了系统神学的博士学位。
Mika Edmondson is founding pastor of New City Fellowship in Southeast Grand Rapids. He completed a doctorate in systematic theology with a dissertation on Martin Luther King Jr.’s theology of suffering. - 柯林·汉森是福音联盟的主编，他此前是《今日基督教》的副主编。他最近写的一本书是《盲点：成为一个勇敢、仁慈和受托的教会》。
Collin Hansen is editorial director for The Gospel Coalition and was previously an associate editor for Christianity Today. His most recent book is Blind Spots: Becoming a Courageous, Compassionate, and Commissioned Church. - 肯特·修斯是费城威斯敏斯特神学院的实践神学教授，并且是福音联盟的理事会成员。二十七年来，他在伊利诺斯州惠顿市担任大学教会的主任牧师。他撰写了三十多本书，其中包括：《属灵人的操练》和《走出成功的阴影》，他还是《讲道注释》系列的资深编辑。
R. Kent Hughes is professor of practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and a TGC council member. For twenty-seven years he served as senior pastor of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois. He has written more than thirty books, including Disciplines of a Godly Man and Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome, and is senior editor of the Preaching the Word commentary series. - 提摩太·凯勒是曼哈顿救赎主长老会的主任牧师，并且是福音联盟的副主席。他写了很多书，包括：《为何是祂》和《婚姻的意义》。
Timothy Keller is senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and vice president of The Gospel Coalition. He has written numerous books, including The Reason for God and The Meaning of Marriage. - 约翰·林是曼哈顿救赎主长老会城区堂的主任牧师。在来到救赎主教会之前，他在韩裔美国教会担任英文事工的牧师。
John Lin is lead pastor for the Downtown congregation of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. Before coming to Redeemer, he served as the English-ministry pastor at a Korean-American church. - 佛蒙·皮尔是在亚利桑那州凤凰城的罗斯福社区教会担任讲道和布道的牧师，并且是福音联盟理事会成员。他是《福音塑造的生活》的作者，这本书的内容也是《福音塑造教会》课程的一部分。
Vermon Pierre is lead pastor for preaching and mission at Roosevelt Community Church in Phoenix, Arizona, and a TGC council member. He is the author of Gospel Shaped Living, part of the Gospel Shaped Church curriculum. - 约翰· 派博是渴慕神网站（desiringGod.org）的创建者和教师，并且是明尼苏达州明尼亚波利市伯利恒学院和神学院的院长。他担任伯利恒浸信会的牧师长达三十三年。他是福音联盟的理事会成员，著有五十多本书，其中包括《十点十分的盛宴》。
John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church for thirty-three years. He is a TGC council member and the author of more than fifty books, including Desiring God. - 胡安·桑切斯是得克萨斯州奥斯汀市的高点浸信会的主任牧师，也是福音联盟的理事会成员。他是《你的彼得前书》的作者。
Juan Sanchez is the senior pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, and a TGC council member. He is the author of 1 Peter for You. - 里奥·舒斯特是休斯敦城市教会的主任牧师。他之前曾担任曼哈顿救赎主长老会的教牧同工。
Leo Schuster is lead pastor of City Church Houston. He previously served on the pastoral staff of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. - 萨姆· 斯托姆斯是俄克拉荷马州的Bridgeway 教会的负责讲道和异象的主任牧师，并且是福音派神学学会的会长。他是福音联盟的理事会成员，并著有许多书籍，其中包括《巴刻谈基督徒生活》和《永恒的喜乐》。
Sam Storms is lead pastor for preaching and vision at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City and president of the Evangelical Theological Society. He is a TGC council member and the author of many books, including Packer on the Christian Life and Pleasures Evermore. - 司提反·严是波士顿城市生命长老会的主任牧师，并且是救赎主城市到城市机构的培训总监。他是福音联盟的理事会成员，并著有《为什么城市很重要》，以及在Crossway 讲道系列中的《哥林多前书》。
Stephen Um is senior minister of City Life Presbyterian Church in Boston and associate training director for Redeemer City to City. He is a TGC council member and the author of Why Cities Matter, as well as 1 Corinthians in Crossway’s Preaching the Word series. - 约翰·叶慈是北弗吉尼亚州圣公会瀑布教会的校长。他是福音联盟的理事会成员，并一直活跃在美国的圣公会更新运动中。
John Yates is rector of The Falls Church Anglican in Northern Virginia. He is a TGC council member and has been active in the Anglican renewal movement in the United States.
分类： 《新城要理问答》
- 亚历山大的亚他那修（296-373）是一位早期教会主教，由于他领导了对抗阿里乌斯派（亚流派）异端，故被称为「正统信仰之父」。他参加了第一次尼西亚会议（325），并且由于政治和神学上的争议，五次遭到流放而离开了家乡和牧职。
Athanasius of Alexandria (296–373) was an early church bishop who has been called the “Father of Orthodoxy” because he led the fight against the Arian heresy. He took part in the First Council of Nicaea (325) and was exiled from his home and ministry five different times because of political and theological controversies. - 希波的奥古斯丁（354-430）曾任罗马时期北非城市希波的主教，是一名哲学家和神学家。他在自己最著名的作品《忏悔录》中描述了他归信的过程。而且，他还是存留作品最丰富的拉丁作家之一，其中有许多独立的著作（包括护教作品，基督教教义和注释）以及存留的350 多篇讲道。
Augustine of Hippo (354–430) was bishop of Hippo in Roman North Africa, a philosopher, and a theologian. He wrote an account of his conversion in his Confessions, his best-known work. But he was also one of the most prolific Latin authors in terms of surviving works, with hundreds of separate titles (including apologetic works, texts on Christian doctrine, and commentaries) and more than 350 preserved sermons. - 理查德·巴克斯特（1615-1691）是一位英国清教徒，曾担任奥利弗·克伦威尔的随军牧师，也是基德明斯特的牧师。詹姆士二世被推翻时，巴克斯特遭到迫害，并被监禁十八个月。之后他继续讲道，后来他写道：「我讲道时就像我没有机会再讲了一样，就像一个将死之人讲给将死之人一样」。除了神学作品之外，他还写了诗、赞美诗和他自己的《家庭要理问答》手册。
Richard Baxter (1615–1691), an English Puritan, served as a chaplain in the army of Oliver Cromwell and as a pastor in Kidderminster. When James II was overthrown, Baxter was persecuted and imprisoned for eighteen months. He continued to preach, later writing, “I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.” In addition to his theological works, he wrote poems, hymns, and his own Family Catechism. - 亚伯拉罕·布斯（1734-1806）是一位英国浸信会牧师，在伦敦怀特查佩尔担任普雷斯科特街教会牧师三十五年。他还在牛津创建了现在的摄政公园学院，以用于牧师培训。他最著名的作品是《恩典作王》。
Abraham Booth (1734–1806), an English Baptist minister, served as pastor of Prescot Street Church in Whitechapel, London, for thirty-five years. He also founded what is now Regents Park College for ministerial training in Oxford. He is most known for his work The Reign of Grace. - 约翰·布拉德福德（1510-1555）是一名英国改教者，曾在剑桥大学学习，并被设立为国王爱德华六世的皇家牧师。当天主教玛丽·都铎女王继位时，布拉德福德与主教拉蒂默和雷德理以及大主教克兰麦一起被捕。布拉德福德是一个享有盛名的传道人，很多人来到他死刑的现场。他最为人铭记的是他的一句话：「布拉德福德在此，只为神的恩典」。他的一些作品是在监狱里完成的，包括信件、劝勉、颂词、冥想、讲道和散文。
John Bradford (1510–1555) was an English Protestant Reformer who studied at Cambridge University and was made royal chapHistorical lain to King Edward VI. When Catholic Mary Tudor came to the throne, Bradford was arrested along with Bishops Latimer and Ridley and Archbishop Cranmer. Bradford had a great reputation as a preacher, and a vast crowd came to his execution. He is most remembered for his statement “There but for the grace of God goes John Bradford.” His works, some of which were written from prison, include letters, exhortations, eulogies, meditations, sermons, and essays. - 约翰·班扬（1628-1688）被称为爱尔斯多的补锅匠，他经历了戏剧性的归信，成为了一名重要的清教徒牧师。随着他知名度的增长，班扬成为了诽谤和诬蔑的目标，最终被监禁。在监狱里，他开始写作他最著名的作品《天路历程》，于1678 年首次印刷。
John Bunyan (1628–1688), known as the tinker of Elstow, underwent a dramatic conversion and became a leading Puritan preacher. As his popularity grew, Bunyan became a target for slander and libel and was eventually imprisoned. While in prison he commenced his bestknown work, The Pilgrim’s Progress, first printed in 1678. - 约翰·加尔文（1509-1564）是一位神学家、行政官和牧师。他出生于法国一个严格的罗马天主教家庭。加尔文一生大部分时间都在日内瓦工作，并组织了改革宗教会。他写了《基督教要义》、《日内瓦要理问答》以及大量的圣经注释。
John Calvin (1509–1564), a theologian, administrator, and pastor, was born in France into a strict Roman Catholic family. Calvin worked most of his life in Geneva and organized the Reformed church. He wrote the Institutes of the Christian Religion, the Geneva Catechism, and numerous commentaries on Scripture. - 奥斯瓦尔德·章伯斯（1874-1917）是一名苏格兰牧师，以灵修经典《竭诚为主》而闻名。他在伦敦创立了一所圣经学院，并在第一次世界大战期间担任了基督教青年会的牧师。他在开罗执行任务中死亡后，他的遗孀通过整理他的讲道录音文字，编辑并出版了《竭诚为主》。
Oswald Chambers (1874–1917) was a Scottish minister, best known for the devotional classic My Utmost for His Highest. He founded a Bible college in London and served as a YMCA chaplain during World War I. After he died on assignment in Cairo, his widow compiled and published My Utmost for His Highest based on her transcriptions of his sermons. - 约翰·屈梭多模（347-407）是君士坦丁堡的大主教。他出生于安提阿，由于非凡的讲道才能，被称为「金口」。他被东正教会和天主教会认定为教会的圣徒。屈梭多模以《圣约翰·屈梭多模的圣餐仪式》和他大量的讲章作品而闻名，其中包括六十七篇创世记讲章、九十篇马太福音讲章和八十八篇约翰福音讲章。
John Chrysostom (347–407) was archbishop of Constantinople. Born in Antioch, he was given the title Chrysostom, which means “golden mouth,” because of his eloquent preaching. He is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church as a saint and doctor of the church. Chrysostom is known for his Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and his vast homiletical works, including sixtyseven homilies on Genesis, ninety on the Gospel of Matthew, and eighty-eight on the Gospel of John. - 托马斯·克兰麦（1489-1556）是英国改教家和坎特伯雷大主教，当时的英国教会在亨利八世的带领下脱离了罗马天主教。他在改革教会礼拜仪式时，写了《公祷书》，如今仍作为圣公会崇拜的根据。
Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556) was an English Reformer and the archbishop of Canterbury when the Church of England, under Henry VIII, broke away from Roman Catholicism. In his work to reform the liturgy of the church, he wrote The Book of Common Prayer, which still serves as the foundation for Anglican worship today. - 约拿单·爱德华兹（1703-1758）是美洲殖民地的牧师、神学家和哲学家。爱德华兹于1726 年成为马萨诸塞州北安普敦教会的牧师。他被众人所知的是他的讲道「落在忿怒之神手中的罪人」，以及许多的书籍，包括《神创造世界的结局》和《宗教情感》。爱德华兹在新泽西州立大学（后来的普林斯顿大学）担任校长不久之后，因接种天花而身亡。
Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) was a colonial American preacher, theologian, and philosopher. Edwards became pastor of the church in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1726. He is widely known for his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” as well as his many books, including The End for Which God Created the World and A Treatise concerning Religious Affections. Edwards died from a smallpox inoculation shortly after beginning the presidency at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University). - 乔治·赫伯特（1593-1633）是威尔士出生的英国圣公会牧师，后来成为十七世纪最受欢迎的诗人之一。他放弃了杰出的职业生涯，成为了一名小礼拜堂的乡村牧师。在牧会期间，他创作了大量的宗教诗歌，在他死后，这些诗歌以题为《圣殿》的诗集出版。
George Herbert (1593–1633) was a Welsh-born Anglican priest who posthumously became one of the most beloved poets of the seventeenth century. He gave up a prominent career in oratory to become a rural pastor. Throughout his ministry, he wrote devotional poetry, which was published in a collection titled The Temple after his death. - 钟马田（1899-1981）是一名威尔士医生和更正教牧师。钟马田以在伦敦威斯敏斯特教堂讲道和教学三十年之久而闻名。他通常要花好几个月甚至几年来逐节解释圣经中的一章经文。他最著名的书是《灵性低潮》以及十四卷罗马书注释。
Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899–1981) was a Welsh medical doctor and Protestant minister. Lloyd-Jones is best known for preaching and teaching at Westminster Chapel in London for thirty years. He would take many months, even years, to expound a chapter of the Bible verse by verse. He is best known for the book Spiritual Depression, as well as a fourteen-volume set of commentaries on Romans. - 马丁·路德（1483-1546）是一位德国牧师和神学教授。他的家人打算让他成为一名律师，但是他却做了修道院的修士。1517 年10 月31 日，路德将《九十五条论纲》钉在德国维滕堡教堂的大门上，引发了宗教改革。他因拒绝教皇利奥十世和皇帝查理五世令其撤回的要求而被逐出教会。路德写了许多作品，包括他的大小要理问答，并在教会和大学里讲了上百篇讲道。
Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German pastor and professor of theology. His family intended for him to become a lawyer, but he took monastic orders. On October 31, 1517, Luther nailed The Ninety-Five Theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, sparking the Protestant Reformation. His refusal to retract his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X and Emperor Charles V resulted in his excommunication. Luther wrote many works, including his small and large catechisms, and preached hundreds of sermons in churches and universities. - 约翰·欧文（1616-1683）是一名英国清教徒神学家。他十二岁去牛津大学，十九岁获得硕士学位，并在二十一岁成为牧师。几年后，他被任命为大学副校长。在国王查理一世被处决后的第二天，他向国会讲道，没有直接提及此事就完成了任务。他撰写了大量的长篇巨作，包括关于宗教的历史论文以及关于圣灵的研究。
John Owen (1616–1683) was an English Puritan theologian. He went to Oxford University at age twelve, gained an MA at nineteen, and became a pastor at twenty-one. Years later he was appointed vice chancellor of the University. He preached to Parliament the day after the execution of King Charles I, fulfilling the task without directly mentioning that event. He wrote numerous and voluminous works, including historical treatises on religion and several studies on the Holy Spirit. - 莱尔（1816-1900）是利物浦的第一位圣公会主教。他是在本杰明·迪斯雷利首相的推荐下被任命的。除了是一名作家和牧师，莱尔还是一名牛津大学划船和打板球的运动员。他负责建立了四十多个教会。
J. C. Ryle (1816–1900) was the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool. Ryle’s appointment was at the recommendation of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. As well as being a writer and pastor, Ryle was an athlete who rowed and played cricket for Oxford University. He was responsible for building more than forty churches. - 弗朗西斯·薛华（1912-1984）是美国长老会牧师和哲学家，他最著名的是他的作品和他在瑞士建立的（「庇护所」）社区。他写了二十二本书，最著名的是三部曲《永在的神》,《理性的规避》,《前车可鉴》，另外还有《基督教宣言》。
Francis Schaeffer (1912–1984) was an American Presbyterian pastor and philosopher and is most famous for his writing and his establishment of L’Abri (“The Shelter”) community in Switzerland. He wrote twenty-two books, the best known being the trilogy The God Who Is There, Escape from Reason, and He Is There and He Is Not Silent, as well as A Christian Manifesto. - 理查德·薛伯斯（1577-1635）是一位英国清教徒神学家，被称为「天上的医生」。他是伦敦格雷律师学院的牧师，剑桥凯瑟琳会堂的主人，著有一些宗教书籍，最著名的是《压伤的芦苇》。
Richard Sibbes (1577–1635), an English Puritan theologian, was known as “the Heavenly Doctor Sibbes.” A preacher at Gray’s Inn, London, and master of Catherine Hall, Cambridge, he was the author of several devotional works, most famously The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax. - 查尔斯·西缅（1759-1836）四十九年来担任剑桥三一教会的校长。在他准备大学毕业时被赋予教会领袖的职任。刚开始，会众频繁地打断他并锁上长椅上的小门，使得没人能就坐，以此来表达对他讲道的不满。西缅以他二十一卷的《解经讲道大纲》而闻名，这是圣经全部六十六卷书展开的讲道大纲集。
Charles Simeon (1759–1836) was rector of Trinity Church, Cambridge, for forty-nine years. Simeon was offered the leadership of the church as he was preparing to graduate from the university. At first, the congregants showed their displeasure at his preaching by frequent interruptions and by locking the small doors of their pews so that no one could sit down. Simeon is best known for his twenty-one-volume Horae Homilecticae, a collection of expanded sermon outlines from all sixty-six books of the Bible. - 司布真（1834-1892）是一位英国浸信会牧师，二十岁时成为伦敦新公园街教会（后来的大都会会堂）的牧师。他经常在没有电子扩音器的情况下对一万多人讲道。司布真是一位多产的作家，他的作品都是长篇巨作。他宣讲了近三百六十次，发表了四十九卷注释、名言、赞美诗和祈祷文集。
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892), an English Baptist preacher, became pastor of London’s New Park Street Church (later Metropolitan Tabernacle) at twenty years old. He frequently preached to more than ten thousand people with no electronic amplification. Spurgeon was a prolific writer, and his printed works are voluminous. He preached nearly thirty-six hundred sermons and published forty-nine volumes of commentaries, sayings, hymns, and devotions. - 查理·卫斯理（1707-1788）是英国教会的牧师和许多受欢迎的圣诗的作者，这些圣诗包括《基督今复活》，《奇异的爱》和《新生王歌》。他与他的兄弟约翰·卫斯理都是循道运动的早期领袖。
Charles Wesley (1707–1788) was a pastor in the Church of England and the writer of many beloved hymns, including “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” “And Can It Be That I Should Gain?” and “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.” With his brother John, he was an early leader in the Methodist movement. - 约翰·卫斯理（1703-1791）是一位英国牧师和神学家，很大程度上建立了英国循道运动。他骑马去讲道，每天讲道两到三次，据说已经传讲了四万多次。他也是一位著名的赞美诗作家。
John Wesley (1703–1791), an English preacher and theologian, is largely credited with founding the English Methodist movement. He traveled on horseback, preaching two or three times each day, and is said to have preached more than forty thousand sermons. He was also a noted hymn writer.
问题52：永生给我们带来什么盼望？
答：它提醒我们，目前这个堕落的世界并不是事实的全部；很快，我们将在新城、新天新地里与神同住，以祂为乐，直到永远。在那里，我们将完全、永远地脱离一切罪恶，带着更新、复活的身体，住在一个更新、恢复的创造中。
儿童版：我们将在新天新地与神同住，以祂为乐，直到永远。在那里，我们将永远脱离一切罪恶，住在更新、恢复的创造中。
Question 52: What Hope Does Everlasting Life Hold for Us?
Answer: It reminds us that this present fallen world is not all there is; soon we will live with and enjoy God forever in the new city, in the new heaven and the new earth, where we will be fully and forever freed from all sin and will inhabit renewed, resurrection bodies in a renewed, restored creation.
For Kids: That we will live with and enjoy God forever in the new heaven and the new earth, where we will be forever freed from all sin in a renewed, restored creation.
歌谱 Lead Sheet
经文
《启示录》21 章1 节至4 节：
我又看见一个新天新地，因为先前的天地已经过去了，海也不再有了。我又看见圣城新耶路撒冷由神那里从天而降，预备好了，就如新妇妆饰整齐，等候丈夫。我听见有大声音从宝座出来说：「看哪，神的帐幕在人间。祂要与人同住，他们要作祂的子民；神要亲自与他们同在，作他们的神。神要擦去他们一切的眼泪，不再有死亡，也不再有悲哀、哭号、疼痛，因为以前的事都过去了。」
注解
莱尔
让我们首先明确一件事，就是得救的人将来会拥有永恒的幸福。尽管我们对此了解得不多，但这是没有尽头的：它永远不会结束，不会变旧，不会衰残，不会死亡。在神的「右手中有永远的福乐」（诗16:11）。一旦进入天堂，神的圣徒就不再离开。这基业是「不能朽坏，不能玷污，不能衰残的」，他们将要「得那永不衰残的荣耀冠冕」（彼前1:4，5:4）。他们的仗已打完，赛也比完，工也做成了。他们将不再饥渴。他们正走向一份「极重无比永远的荣耀」，一处永不会破碎的家园，一次不说再见的会面，一场没有离别的家宴，一个没有黑夜的白天。信心要成为眼见，盼望要归为确据。他们要看见和认识主，如同主已经看见和认识他们一样，并要「和主永远同在」。当使徒保罗补充说「你们当用这些话彼此劝慰」（帖前4:17-18）时，我并不感到奇怪。
默想
提摩太·凯勒
要理问答的答案告诉我们即将到来的荣耀未来的两件事，这是福音向我们保证的。
首先，我们将永远以神为乐，因为神是三位一体的，在祂里面，圣父、圣子、圣灵荣耀彼此，喜悦彼此，尊崇彼此，深爱彼此，因此，神自身拥有无限的喜乐，而我们被造是为了分享这些喜乐。我们被造是为了荣耀祂，并且参与到这荣耀与喜乐之中。但我们之中没有人，就算是今日最刚强的基督徒，也未曾经历过完美的、浩瀚的、无限的、永不停歇增长的喜乐，因为我们所有人都崇拜与喜爱其他的事情。但总有一天，我们将从罪中得释放，我们将会明了并经历那样的荣耀与喜乐，我们将以祂为乐，直到永远。
第二，我们将在一个新城中永远以祂为乐，就是新耶路撒冷城，就是新天新地。我们绝非纯粹的在精神层面经历那浩瀚无边的喜乐，而是在重新受造的身体上经历那喜乐，我们将会有像耶稣一样复活的身体。我的意思是，正如基督教所认为的，身体与灵魂、物质与属灵的部分会在完美的和谐中永远联合在一起。没有其他的宗教是这样认为的。我们不会是漂浮不定的游魂，我们可以在神的国中舞蹈、跑跳、拥抱、饮食，这意味着我们最深的渴望都会被满足，最大的哀伤都会被吞没。
还有什么比这更好呢？这是我们去往的地方，绝不落空。
祷告
永活的神，我们急切期待祢国度的降临，我们盼望祢擦干我们一切的眼泪，我们渴望不再与肉体交战的那一天。求祢赐予我们对永生确实的盼望，给我们面对今生试炼的勇气。阿们。主耶稣啊，我愿祢来！
Scripture
REVELATION 21:1–4
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Commentary
J. C. RYLE
Let us settle it then in our minds, for one thing, that the future happiness of those who are saved is eternal. However little we may understand it, it is something which will have no end: it will never cease, never grow old, never decay, never die. At God’s “right hand are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11). Once landed in paradise, the saints of God shall go out no more. The inheritance is “incorruptible, undefiled, and fadeth not away.” They shall “receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Pet. 1:4; 5:4). Their warfare is accomplished; their fight is over; their work is done. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. They are travelling on towards an “eternal weight of glory,” towards a home which shall never be broken up, a meeting without a parting, a family gathering without a separation, a day without night. Faith shall be swallowed up in sight, and hope in certainty. They shall see as they have been seen, and know as they have been known, and “be for ever with the Lord.” I do not wonder that the apostle Paul adds, “Comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:17–18).
Devotional
TIMOTHY KELLER
The catechism answer tells us two things about the glorious future that the gospel assures us is coming.
First, we are going to enjoy God forever. Because God is triune within himself, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have been glorifying each other, delighting in each other, adoring each other, loving each other. Therefore, God within himself has infinite joy. And we were created to share in that joy. We were created to glorify him and to participate in that glory and joy. But none of us, even the strongest Christians today, have ever experienced what that joy is—perfect, cosmic, infinite, endlessly growing—because all of us worship and adore other things. Someday we will be freed from sin, and then we will know and experience that glory and joy. We will enjoy him forever.
Second, we will enjoy him forever in the new city, in the New Jerusalem, in the new heavens and new earth. We will experience this cosmic joy not in a purely immaterial condition. But, rather, we will be in a restored material creation. We will have resurrection bodies like Jesus’s body—physical bodies. And what that means is, as Christianity envisions, the body and the soul, the physical and the spiritual, are together in perfect harmony forever. No other religion envisions that. We will not float about as disembodied spirits, but we will dance. We will march. We will hug. We will be embraced. We will eat, and we will drink in the kingdom of God. It means all of our deepest longings will be fulfilled. All of our greatest sorrows will be swallowed up.
What could be better than that? And that’s what we’re in for. Nothing less.
Prayer
Eternal God, we eagerly await the fullness of your kingdom. We long for every tear to be dried. We groan for the day when we no longer struggle against the flesh. Let the sure hope of everlasting life give us courage to face the trials of this life. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
问题51：基督的升天对我们有什么益处？
答：基督为了我们而以肉身升天，正如祂为了我们而以肉身来到地上。祂如今在祂父的面前为我们代求，为我们预备地方，并差遣祂的灵到我们这里来。
儿童版：基督如今在祂父的面前为我们代求，并差遣祂的灵到我们这里来。
Question 51: Of What Advantage to Us is Christ’s Ascension?
Answer: Christ physically ascended on our behalf, just as he came down to earth physically on our account, and he is now advocating for us in the presence of his Father, preparing a place for us, and also sends us his Spirit.
For Kids: Christ is now advocating for us in the presence of his Father and also sends us his Spirit.
歌谱 Lead Sheet
经文
《罗马书》8 章34 节：
谁能定他们的罪呢？有基督耶稣已经死了，而且从死里复活，现今在神的右边，也替我们祈求。
注解
查理·卫斯理
我灵，奋起！奋起！摆脱定罪恐惧，
恩主流血舍命，献祭将我救赎，
作我中保神前代求，
我名刻记在祂圣手。
我主永活在天，代我向父祈求，
完全救赎大爱，宝血为我淌流，
宝血洒遍施恩座前，
为赎神百姓众罪愆。
救主在各各祂，创伤为我忍受，
钉痕仿佛发声，迫切为我祈求，
大声呼喊赦免他们，
救赎罪人脱离死荫。
上主与人和好，赦罪慈声呼召，
接纳我为儿女，今我不再畏惧，
充满信心与主相近，
欢欣呼求「阿爸，父亲」。
默想
布莱恩·柴培尔
基督升天就是做王了，统管万有。升天表明，死亡服在了祂的权下，祂继续主宰全地。创造了世界的这一位仍在用祂权能的命令统管这个世界。
今天，我们说基督掌权，意思是，祂升天后承接了祂来到地上以前的王权。在地上的时候，祂仍在维系万物，成就祂的一切旨意，直到死而复活。但如今祂升到天上，就成了万有的主。祂掌管万有，使万事都互相效力，叫爱祂的人得益处。
但祂不只是君王。祂升天以后，就在神的右边做我们的中保。祂继续履行祭司的职责，在父的面前为我们代祷。当我们认罪悔改，向神祷告时，祂的儿子，我们的祭司，就赦免我们的罪，又为我们代求，使神听我们的祷告，并帮助我们。
耶稣不仅是君王和祭司，祂还持续地透过圣灵的工作使祂的话进入到我们的心里。要记得，圣灵是为基督作见证的。我们之所以能从逻辑上和重要性上明白神的话，都是因为基督亲自差派的圣灵打开了我们的心。既然神的话是基督借着圣灵赐给我们的，那么耶稣也是我们的先知，祂赐下神的话语，使我们能与神同行，认识神和神的恩典。
这就是说，基督升天是为了我们现在的福祉。祂掌管我们今天所处的环境，祂为在其中的我们代求，祂使祂的话进入我们的心，帮助我们应对我们眼前的环境。但祂的工作还不止于此。
作为先知、祭司和君王，祂也在预备我们的将来。基督统管万有，照着祂的旨意运作万事，都是为了最大限度地彰显神的荣耀。作为君王，祂在为我们预备一个蒙神极大祝福的地方。作为祭司，祂要确保我们借着祂宝血的清洁，在神的审判座前得称为义。当我们跪拜在神的羔羊面前，耶稣作为祭司的本质将再次被凸显，祂用自己的血从各族、各方、各民、各国中买了人来，叫他们归于神。基督为我们预备将来也是在履行祂祭司的职责。最后，祂要借着祂的灵保守一切属祂的人。所以，神借着祂的灵成就祂的旨意，不仅是在现今的世界，也是在永恒里。神借着圣灵成全祂一切的旨意，这灵是耶稣基督凭着祂的旨意、权能和终极之爱所差来的。
这位升天的主，是我们的先知、祭司和君王，祂治理我们的当下，也预备我们的将来。
祷告
为我们代求的救主，祢从未停止怜悯祢的百姓。祢和我们一样凡事受过试探，当我们遇到试探时，祢就为我们代求。求祢为我们恳求祢的父，因为在审判全地的主面前，祢是我们的中保。阿们。
Scripture
ROMANS 8:34
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Commentary
CHARLES WESLEY
Arise, my soul, arise! Shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding Sacrifice in my behalf appears.
Before the throne my Surety stands;
My name is written on his hands.
He ever lives above, for me to intercede,
His all-redeeming love, his precious blood to plead.
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.
Five bleeding wounds he bears, received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers, they strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, oh, forgive!” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die.”
My God is reconciled; his pardoning voice I hear.
He owns me for his child; I can no longer fear.
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba Father!” cry.
Devotional
BRYAN CHAPELL
The ascension is Christ’s enthronement as King over all. When he ascended, he showed that he ruled over death and that he continues to assume his place of authority over all the world. The very One who created the world is the One who continues to rule it by the word of his power.
Now when we say that Christ rules, we mean that in his ascension he assumed the office of King that he had before he came to earth. While on this earth, he continued to maintain all things and accomplish all his purposes, even to his death and resurrection. But as now the ascended Lord, he is Lord over all. He is the One who controls all things so that they are working for the good of those who love him.
But he’s not simply King. He, in his ascension, is interceding for us at the right hand of God. He continues to fulfill the office of a priest as well, providing what is needed as advocacy and intercession before the Father. As we repent of our sins, as we pray to God, our sins are taken by the Son of God, acting as a priest on our behalf, as the One who now intercedes for us, so that God will listen and act in our behalf.
Not only is Jesus acting as that King and as Priest in our behalf, he continues to send his Word into our hearts by the work of his Spirit. The Holy Spirit, remember, was to testify of Christ. The very reason that we can understand God’s Word—not just its logic but its significance—is that the Holy Spirit sent by Christ himself is opening our hearts to it. This means that as that Word comes from Christ and is given to us by his Spirit, Jesus continues to operate as a prophet on our behalf, giving us the Word of God so that we can walk with him, understand him, and understand his grace.
All this means that Christ in his ascension is operating for our present good. He’s ruling our present circumstances. He’s advocating for us in our present circumstances. He’s sending his Word into our hearts so that we can handle our present circumstances. But that’s not the end of his job.
As Prophet, Priest, and King, he’s also preparing for our future. All things are being worked toward a divine end, a culmination, a consummation of the glory of God by the One who rules over all for the purposes that he has designed. He, as King, is preparing a place for us of God’s great blessing. As Priest he is going to ensure that when we stand before the throne of judgment, we will be made right before God by the cleansing work of his blood. Jesus’s priestly nature will again come to the fore as we bow before the Lamb of God, who by his blood purchased men and women for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. That priestly role Christ will also fulfill as he prepares a future for us. And, ultimately by his Spirit, he will secure all who are his own. So that God by his Spirit is accomplishing his will not only in the present world but also in eternity. He is securing by the power of the Spirit all that God intends, sent by the purposes, power, and ultimate love of Jesus Christ.
That ascended Lord is the One who, by being Prophet, Priest, and King, is ruling over our present and preparing for our future.
Prayer
Interceding Savior, you have not stopped showing compassion for your people. You were tempted in every way as we are, and you now intercede for us when we are tempted. Plead for us to your Father, for you are our advocate before the judge of all the earth. Amen.
问题50：基督的复活对我们意味着什么？
答：基督借着身体的复活，战胜了罪和死亡，使一切信靠祂的人都在今世获得新生命，并在来世获得永生。正如我们有一天要复活，这个世界有一天也会被复兴。但那些不信靠基督的人将被复活进入永死。
儿童版：基督战胜了罪和死亡，使一切信靠祂的人都在今世获得新生命，并在来世获得永生。
Question 50: What Does Christ’s Resurrection Mean for Us?
Answer: Christ triumphed over sin and death by being physically resurrected, so that all who trust in him are raised to new life in this world and to everlasting life in the world to come. Just as we will one day be resurrected, so this world will one day be restored. But those who do not trust in Christ will be raised to everlasting death.
For Kids: Christ triumphed over sin and death so that all who trust in him are raised to new life in this world and to everlasting life in the world to come.
歌谱 Lead Sheet
经文
《帖撒罗尼迦前书》4 章13 节至14 节：
论到睡了的人，我们不愿意弟兄们不知道，恐怕你们忧伤，像那些没有指望的人一样。我们若信耶稣死而复活了，那已经在耶稣里睡了的人，神也必将他们与耶稣一同带来。
注解
钟马田
到末日审判时，受造之物都将脱离败坏的辖制，得享「神儿女自由的荣耀」（罗8:21）。一切都将得着荣耀，包括自然界本身。在我看来，圣经所讲的永恒的样子似乎就是：人类活在这个被更新了的完美的世界中，这是神原本就计划好了的。我们称之为天堂。祂最初将亚当放在「天堂」里，随后亚当犯罪堕落，一切受造之物也一同堕落了。但在这个完美的世界中，男人和女人都要活在身体里，并且是以一个荣耀的身体活在一个荣耀的世界里，有神与他们同在。
默想
唐·卡森
耶稣基督的复活带来许多美妙的结果：首先，证明了耶稣是无罪的。有些人认为耶稣死在十字架上一定是罪有应得。罗马法庭判祂有罪，旧约本身主张凡挂在木头上的都在神的咒诅之下。但事实证明，祂不是一个因为自己的罪而死的人。相反，祂背负他人的罪孽，神如此喜悦这牺牲，所以神使祂从死里复活。因此，祂的复活是祂无罪的证明。耶稣临死前说「成了」的时候，铁证如山。神认定了，天父认定救赎之工完成了。天父通过使耶稣复活来证明祂无罪。
复活也体现出福音对于人实实在在的关怀。有些人认为人死后就成了虚无缥缈的灵魂，与肉体无关了。但基督教基要的真理包括新天新地，就是我们最终的归宿，是义人的居所。不会只有属天的存在，也有属世的存在。有新天，也会有新地，我们会有像基督一样复活的身体，这是《哥林多前书》15 章一个重大的论点。保罗认为，如果基督从死里带着复活的身体复活，有些地方很奇特、引人注目：复活的身体能够被触摸、与之握手、交谈、肉眼可见，祂也吃人的食物。而当我们在末后的日子复活时，我们也会有像祂一样复活的身体，这是我们最终的归宿。因此，在这世代的末了，祂的复活被称为全体复活中初熟的果子。所有人都将复活，或进入永生，或被定罪，因为我们本质上都是有血有肉的人。
而与这一同来到的是超越于今生的进入永生的异象。我们不应当认为基督教仅仅只是解决我们今生的问题，基督教终极的目的是超越今生的生命。当我们日渐衰老，头发一根根地掉光，得了关节炎和老年痴呆，我们都将面对衰老年岁的软弱，突然，复活对于我们来说实在是好得无比的事情。因为我们的指望不是活到七八十岁，甚至是九十岁，我们最终指望的是一个如同基督复活后的身体。祂是初熟的果子，我们已经蒙祂保守，我们也将跟随祂一起复活。我们在复活中与祂连结，住在新天新地中，那里是义人的居所。这就是为何《帖撒罗尼迦前书》4 章，这个关于复活的伟大章节，要用这样的话来作结：「你们当用这些话彼此劝慰。」
祷告
使人复活的神，求祢让我们牢记，死亡并不是我们的终点。救我们脱离应得的审判，使我们忠心，恳切劝人逃避祢将来的忿怒。我们在盼望中等候那将来的喜乐，就是我们借着基督的功劳得脱离忿怒，并要穿上复活的身体，治理一个更新的天地。阿们。
Scripture
1 THESSALONIANS 4:13–14
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Commentary
MARTYN LLOYD-JONES
The whole creation will have been delivered from the bondage of corruption and will be enjoying “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). Everything will be glorified, even nature itself. And that seems to me to be the biblical teaching about the eternal state: that what we call heaven is life in this perfect world as God intended humanity to live it. When He put Adam in Paradise at the beginning Adam fell, and all fell with him, but men and women are meant to live in the body, and will live in a glorified body in a glorified world, and God will be with them.
Devotional
D.A. CARSON
The resurrection of Jesus Christ carries with it many, many wonderful implications. The first is that it vindicates Jesus. In other words, some people thought that if Jesus died on the cross, it could only be because he deserved it. He was declared guilty by a Roman court. And the Old Testament itself insists that anyone who hangs on a tree is under the curse of God. But as it turns out, he did not die as a damned man because of his own sin. Rather, he was bearing the sin of others, and that sacrifice so pleased God that God raised him from the dead. Thus, his resurrection is a form of vindication. It is proof positive that when Jesus said with his dying words, “It is finished,” God agreed. His Father agreed. The work of redemption had been accomplished, and the Father vindicates Jesus through the resurrection.
The resurrection also demonstrates the gospel’s concern for human beings embodied. In other words, some people think of our ultimate state as kind of ethereal spirit beings without any connection with bodies. But part of elementary, fundamental Christian truth is that in the new heaven and the new earth, the ultimate goal, the home of righteousness, there will not be just heavenly existence. It’s earthly existence. It’s a new heaven and a new earth, and we will have resurrection bodies like Christ’s. That’s one of the great arguments of 1 Corinthians 15. Paul argues that if Christ rose from the dead in a resurrection body—which, however strange in some ways and remarkable it was, could be touched and handled, could be spoken to, could be seen, and could actually eat human food—then when we, who are finally resurrected on the last day, come into that final state, we will have resurrection bodies like his resurrection body. That is our destination. So his resurrection is the firstfruit of what is often called a general resurrection at the end of the age. All human beings will be resurrected, whether to life or to condemnation, because we are essentially embodied people.
And with this comes also a vision of life and existence beyond this life. We should not think that Christianity merely sorts out some problems in our lives here. Rather, the ultimate goal is beyond this life. When we get older and more hairs fall out and arthritis kicks in, or we slink away into dementia, suddenly resurrection existence begins to look very good indeed because our hope is not to survive to seventy or eighty or even ninety. Our hope finally is a body like Christ’s resurrection body. And his is the firstfruit; ours has been secured by him, and we are coming along behind him to join him in resurrection existence: full-bodied resurrection existence in the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness. That’s why 1 Thessalonians 4, the great resurrection chapter, ends with the words “Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
Prayer
Resurrecting God, make us mindful that death is not the end for us. Save us from the judgment we deserve, and make us faithful to implore others to flee from the wrath to come. We look in hope to the joy that will be ours when, saved from that wrath through the merits of Christ, we will be clothed with resurrected bodies to reign on a renewed earth. Amen.
问题49：基督现在在哪里？
答：基督的身体在死后第三天从坟墓中复活，坐在父的右边，统管祂的国度、并为我们代求，直到祂再来审判和更新整个世界。
儿童版：基督的身体在死后第三天从坟墓中复活，坐在父的右边。
Question 49: Where is Christ Now?
Answer: Christ rose bodily from the grave on the third day after his death and is seated at the right hand of the Father, ruling his kingdom and interceding for us, until he returns to judge and renew the whole world.
For Kids: Christ rose bodily from the grave on the third day after his death and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
歌谱 Lead Sheet
经文
《以弗所书》1 章20 节至21 节：
就是照祂在基督身上所运行的大能大力，使祂从死里复活，叫祂在天上坐在自己的右边，远超过一切执政的、掌权的、有能的、主治的，和一切有名的，不但是今世的，连来世的也都超过了。
注解
查理·卫斯理
称颂祂复活的日子，
是我们期盼的眼神！
基督，一朝披肉身
今已回天家！
看哪，天门翘首待，
万丈光辉迎凯旋，
荣耀主，已得胜！
天使环绕高声唱。
祂打败罪和死，
荣耀主，已得胜！
虽直上九霄，归王位，
仍心念，地和其上的。
看哪！祂把手举起！
看哪！那爱的钉痕！
听哪！祂慈爱声音，
倾福于普世教会！
为我们，祂乃愿死；
为万人，祂仍代求。
在天堂，祂预备了地方，
人要与祂同住。
万世之主啊，
今日在我们眼前被提。
看看祢忠实的仆人，请看！
我们都不住地仰望祢。
虽眼看不见，
祢在高高的天上，
求使我心上腾，
跟随祢飞到云端。
让我们往上飞，
乘着那爱之翼；
期盼我主快来，
思乡心切。
当那日，
与祢肩并肩，
治理到万代；
与祢面对面，
徜徉在乐园。
默想
大卫·毕思固
毫无疑问，你曾经听过「相忘于江湖」这句话。当有些人你很久不见，没有太多生活交集时，他们对你日常生活的影响就会减弱。圣经告诉我们，当耶稣复活后祂升天了，消失在人们的视野之中。但我们也被教导，因着祂现在的所居之地，我们可以确信祂与我们的日常生活息息相关。
耶稣现在在哪里？祂坐在天父的右边。但这会使我们的日常生活有什么不同呢？首先，这提醒我们，耶稣掌管所有的受造之物。《诗篇》110 篇描绘出一幅美丽的画面：耶稣坐在天父的右边，所有神的仇敌是祂的脚凳。你能从中看到带给你日常生活的安慰吗？当你正处于沮丧或失望中，或对未来生活产生苦毒时，或当你对世界上所有的不公和邪恶感到沮丧和愤怒时，就如大卫在《诗篇》37 篇里的情形， 当你试图说，为何邪恶如此兴盛？这时想想耶稣如今在哪里。祂坐在天父的右边，就在那儿仇敌是祂的脚凳。祂是征服死亡，如今统治世界的那一位。《以弗所书》1 章说，神赐给耶稣所有的权柄，当祂再来的那日，会使一切弯曲的变笔直。所以，希望你知道耶稣现今在哪里，这能赐给你希望与勇气，去相信祂并跟随祂，所有的仇敌都已作了祂的脚凳。
但耶稣还不只是统治的君王，祂也是代求的大祭司。《希伯来书》10 章告诉我们，耶稣是伟大的大祭司，在十字架上为我们的罪献上自己作为终极的赎罪祭，而祂如今在天父右边为我们代求与祷告。祂成为我们完美的代求者，所以耶稣在神的右边做大祭司，提醒了我们将不再会因罪被定罪了。耶稣牺牲祂自己，使我们可以与祂联合，于是作为神的孩子，我们有了这样的权利。
是的，耶稣不在这世上，我们没办法用肉眼看见祂。但祂主动地参与我们的日常生活，既在这个世界，也坐在天父的右边，像君王般统治我们，像祭司般为我们代求，等待着那日的再临。祂会擦干我们的每一滴眼泪，将刀打成犁头，并且将祂的荣耀与恩典充满在整个世界。
祷告
复活升天的主，虽然祢已不在地上，祢却在宝座上统管我们。一切的权柄和能力都在乎祢，祢的名在万名之上。求祢在末日叫我们复活，让我们在祢的国中与祢同住。阿们。
Scripture
EPHESIANS 1:20–21
He raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
Commentary
CHARLES WESLEY
Hail the day that sees Him rise,
Ravish’d from our wishful eyes!
Christ, awhile to mortals given,
Re-ascends His native heaven!
There the pompous triumph waits:
“Lift your heads, eternal gates,
Wide unfold the radiant scene,
Take the King of Glory in!”
Circled round with angel powers,
Their triumphant Lord, and ours,
Conqueror over death and sin,
Take the King of Glory in!
Him though highest heaven receives,
Still He loves the earth He leaves;
Though returning to His throne,
Still He calls mankind His own.
See! He lifts His hands above!
See! He shows the prints of love!
Hark! His gracious lips bestow
Blessings on His church below!
Still for us His death He pleads;
Prevalent, He intercedes;
Near Himself prepares our place,
Harbinger of human race.
Master, (will we ever say,)
Taken from our head to-day;
See Thy faithful servants, see!
Ever gazing up to Thee.
Grant, though parted from our sight,
High above yon azure height,
Grant our hearts may thither rise,
Following Thee beyond the skies.
Ever upward let us move,
Wafted on the wings of love;
Looking when our Lord shall come,
Longing, gasping after home.
There we shall with Thee remain,
Partners of Thy endless reign;
There Thy face unclouded see,
Find our heaven of heavens in Thee!
Devotional
DAVID BISGROVE
No doubt you’ve heard the phrase “out of sight, out of mind.” Some- one who’s not around, whom you haven’t seen in a long time, doesn’t have much impact or relevance in your day-to-day life. The Bible tells us that after Jesus’s resurrection, he ascended into heaven, disappearing from view, out of sight. But we’re also told that because of where he now resides, we can be assured that he’s relevant in our daily lives.
So where is Jesus now? He’s seated at the right hand of God the Father. But what difference does that make to us in our day-to-day lives? First, it reminds us that Jesus rules over all creation. Psalm 110 paints a beautiful picture of God’s enemies as a footstool of Jesus as he sits at the Father’s right hand. Can you see the comfort of that in your daily life? When you struggle with discouragement or disappointment or bitterness about the way your life is going, or when you’re discouraged and angry about all the injustice and evil in the world, and like David in Psalm 37 you’re tempted to ask why the wicked seem to flourish, consider where Jesus is now. He’s at the right hand of God the Father. See him there. Enemies are his footstool. The One who conquered death is now ruling the world. Ephesians 1 says that Jesus was given all authority and will one day return and make the crooked places straight. So let where Jesus is now give you hope and courage to trust and follow him.
But there’s even more. Not only is Jesus the King who rules, but he is the Priest who intercedes. Hebrews 10 tells us that Jesus is the great High Priest, who on the cross offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. He is now interceding and praying for us at the Father’s right hand. He is our Advocate in every sense of that word. So to see Jesus at God’s right hand as our High Priest is to remember that there is no condemnation for our sin, that Jesus sacrificed himself so that we could be united with him. We have the full rights, therefore, as God’s children.
So, yes, Jesus is out of sight. We can’t physically see him. But he is active in our day-to-day lives and in this world at the right hand of God the Father ruling as our King, interceding as our Priest, and waiting to return, when he will wipe away every tear, beat swords into plowshares, and flood the world with his glory and grace.
Prayer
Risen and Ascended Lord, though you no longer walk this earth, you rule over us from your throne. All authority and power are in you. Your name is above all names. Raise us up at the last day to live with you in your kingdom. Amen.
问题48：什么是教会？
答：神为自己选择并保留的一个被拣选得永生、因信联合的群体，他们在一起爱神、跟随神、效法神、敬拜神。神差派这个群体去传扬福音，并借着他们共同生活和彼此相爱的品质，来预表基督的国度。
儿童版：一个被拣选得永生、因信联合的群体，他们在一起爱神、跟随神、效法神、敬拜神。
Question 48: What is the Church?
Answer: God chooses and preserves for himself a community elected for eternal life and united by faith, who love, follow, learn from, and worship God together. God sends out this community to proclaim the gospel and prefigure Christ’s kingdom by the quality of their life together and their love for one another.
For Kids: A community elected for eternal life and united by faith, who love, follow, learn from, and worship God together.
歌谱 Lead Sheet
经文
《帖撒罗尼迦后书》2 章13 节：
主所爱的弟兄们哪，我们本该常为你们感谢神，因为祂从起初拣选了你们，叫你们因信真道，又被圣灵感动，成为圣洁，能以得救。
注解
司布真
弟兄们，你们时刻要像基督，公开效法祂。我们大多数人都活在一定的公共空间里，我们中的许多人每天都要在人前工作。人们会看我们的行为，听我们口里说的话，细细考究我们的生活。世人会用无数双鹰眼观察我们所做的一切，会尖锐地批评我们。让我们当着众人活出基督的生命来，让我们留心彰显我们的主，而不是我们自己，所以我们可以说：「现在活着的不再是我，乃是基督在我里面活着。」（加2:20）谨慎自己在教会也要如此行……在教会里也要有基督的样式。你们中有多少人想高抬自己？有多少人想凌驾于其他基督徒之上，却不记得教会内是人人平等，大家亲如弟兄，同为神所收纳的？所以，无论你在哪个教会，都要活出基督的生命来，让其他基督徒谈到你时说，「有耶稣与祂同在」。
默想
约翰·叶慈
教会是神的家，在新约中被称为新盟约的群体。基督是头，教会是祂的身体，教会是基督的新妇。我们被称为圣徒，圣洁的国度、君尊的祭司。教会由属神的人组成，就是在耶稣基督里被神收养的人；教会由各种文化、各民族、各年龄段的人所组成，就是认耶稣基督为主的人。
在我们圣公会的传统中，我们有自己的信仰告白，叫做《三十九条信纲》。在《三十九条信纲》中，是这样描述教会的：
「凡是诚心相信的人，聚集成会，传讲神的正道，遵守基督的命令以施行圣礼，不遗弃圣礼中的要事，那么这会便是基督有形的教会……
「……教会不可设立与圣经相反的礼仪，也不可讲解一处经文的意义，与其他经文相违。」
古旧的信经如此描述教会：「合一、圣洁、大公并使徒传承。」合一，是因为教会是以基督为元首的一整个身体；圣洁，是因圣灵内驻于教会之中，使之圣化，引导教会的肢体成为神的工作；大公，意味着教会是普世性的，向所有人宣扬由使徒所传承的完整信仰，直到世界的末了；使徒传承，意味着我们持续使徒的教导与团契，我们因基督的使命而被差遣进入万民。
我们不能决定谁应该在教会中，这是神的拣选，就像我们无权决定谁是我们的兄弟姐妹。无论他们属于何种宗派、团体，他们都属于教会的一部分，也是我们的弟兄姊妹。塞缪尔·史东写了一首关于教会的诗歌，让我来读其中几段：
「教会唯一的根基，
是主耶稣基督；
圣言圣水所造成，
是主的新创作；
主从天上来寻她，
为主圣洁新妇，
甘愿流自己宝血，
舍身将她买赎。
教会虽召自万邦，
信徒却成一体，
同有救恩的凭证，
一主一信一洗。
同尊独一的圣名，
同餐唯一天粮，
同怀专一的希望，
同蒙恩爱久长。」
祷告
统管一切的君王，祢把我们聚到一起，成为祢的家。求祢保守我们忠实、合一地敬拜，彼此相爱，互相供应对方的需要。让我们真诚地团契相交，帮助我们在信仰上彼此勉励。阿们。
Scripture
2 THESSALONIANS 2:13
But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
Commentary
CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON
My brethren, let me say, be ye like Christ at all times. Imitate him in public. Most of us live in some sort of publicity; many of us are called to work before our fellow-men every day. We are watched; our words are caught; our lives are examined, taken to pieces. The eagle-eyed, argus-eyed world observes everything we do, and sharp critics are upon us. Let us live the life of Christ in public. Let us take care that we exhibit our Master, and not ourselves—so that we can say, “It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me.” Take heed that you carry this into the church too. . . . Be like Christ in the church. How many there are of you . . . seeking pre-eminence? How many are trying to have some dignity and power over their fellow Christians, instead of remembering that it is the fundamental rule of all our churches, that there all men are equal—alike brethren, alike to be received as such. Carry out the spirit of Christ, then, in your churches, wherever ye are; let your fellow members say of you, “He has been with Jesus.”
Devotional
JOHN YATES
The church is the family of God. In the New Testament it’s called the community of the new covenant. It’s the body of which Christ is the Head. It’s the bride of Christ. We’re called a holy people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. The church is the people who have been made God’s children, adopted by God through Jesus Christ. And the church consists of all cultures, all ethnic groups, people across the ages, all those who have come to know Jesus Christ as Lord.
In my tradition, the Anglican tradition, we have a statement of faith called the Thirty-Nine Articles. They describe the church this way:
The local, visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men and women, in which the pure Word of God is preached and the Sacraments are duly ministered according to Christ’s ordinance. . . .
The church has no authority except in submission to Christ, and it is not lawful for the church to ordain anything that is contrary to God’s Word written, and neither may it so expound one place of Scripture that it be repugnant to another.
The ancient creeds describe the church as “one holy catholic and apostolic.” It is one because the church is one body under one head. It is holy because the Holy Spirit indwells it and consecrates it, directing the members of the church in the work of God. It is catholic, meaning worldwide, proclaiming the whole apostolic faith to all people to the end of time. And it’s apostolic. That means we continue the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, and we’re sent out on Christ’s mission to all people.
We don’t choose who is going to be in the church, just as we have no say in who our brothers and sisters or cousins are. God chooses. Whatever particular denomination or group they may belong to, God’s people are part of the church and our brothers and sisters.
The church is summed up in this wonderful old hymn by Samuel J. Stone:
The church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation
by water and the word.
From heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.
Elect from every nation,
yet one o’er all the earth;
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.
Prayer
King Over All, you have brought us together as the family of God. Keep us faithful to worship together, to love one another, and to pro- vide for each other’s needs. Let our fellowship be genuine, and help us to spur one another on in the faith. Amen.
问题47：主的晚餐对基督的救赎工作有什么补充吗？
答：不，基督只死一次，就成就了一切。主的晚餐是庆祝基督赎罪工作的立约之餐，也是当我们仰望祂时增强我们信心的一种方式，还是对将来筵席的预尝。但那些怀着不悔改的心参与的人，却是在吃喝对自己的审判。
儿童版：不，基督只死一次，就成就了一切。
Question 47: Does the Lord’s Supper Add Anything to Christ’s Atoning Work?
Answer: No, Christ died once for all. The Lord’s Supper is a covenant meal celebrating Christ’s atoning work; as it is also a means of strengthening our faith as we look to him, and a foretaste of the future feast. But those who take part with unrepentant hearts eat and drink judgment on themselves.
For Kids: No, Christ died once for all.
歌谱 Lead Sheet
经文
《彼得前书》3 章18 节：
因基督也曾一次为罪受苦，就是义的代替不义的，为要引我们到神面前……
注解
莱尔
让我们牢记在心，圣餐并不是用来使人称义或使人归主的。它不是在没有恩典的地方赐下恩典，或在罪未得赦的时候赦罪。人若没有在神面前悔改和对主耶稣基督的信心，是不可能通过圣餐来弥补的。这个圣礼是为那些已经悔改、归信的人准备的，而不是那些还没有悔改、归信的人。尚未转变归主的人以为领圣餐是上天堂的一条捷径，使他不必走悔改和信心的老路，但总有一天他会吃到苦头，发现自己完全被骗了。圣餐并不能赐予人恩典，而只是加增和坚固一个人已经得着的恩典。它绝不是用来使我们与神和好、使人称义或使人归主的。
最简单地说，一个忠实的信徒通过领受圣餐得到的好处就是灵魂的稳固与更新。信徒领受圣餐的益处主要是：更清楚地认识基督和祂的救恩，以及祂作为中保的角色；更加知道祂在十字架上替我们死已经使我们完全得救赎，知道神全然地接纳在基督里的我们；觉得更有必要追求深刻的悔改、活泼的信心和有基督样式的圣洁生活。以一个正确的态度吃饼喝杯的人会发现自己与基督的关系变得更加亲密，也觉得对祂的认识和了解得更多了……
通过领圣餐，有正确态度的人会更深地悔改，他的信心会增强，认知会扩大，圣洁生活会得到巩固。他的内心会更多地感受到基督「真实的同在」。因着信，吃主的饼、喝主的杯，他会感到与基督的身体和血有更紧密的交流和联系；会更清楚地看到基督对他意味着什么，他对基督又意味着什么；会更透彻地明白何为「他与基督，基督与他联合」；会感到灵命的根得到了灌溉，恩典的工作在他的心里扎根、生长和繁茂起来。在一个活在自己罪性中的人看来，这些都很愚蠢，但对一个真正的基督徒来说，这些却是光明、健康、生命和平安。
默想
里奥·舒斯特
我最近看到一则餐厅广告，其实就是餐厅的名字「spiritual dining」（心灵餐厅）。这让我想到进食是很好的，不仅仅只是物质上的体验。这也让我想起圣餐，真属灵食物以及圣餐所能做的与不能做的。实际上，圣餐的果效体现在三个维度：过去、现在与未来。
当耶稣设立圣餐，就是最后的晚餐，祂告诉门徒：「你们也应当如此行，为的是记念我。」（路22:19）强调了祂敦促他们去做的，将会指向祂已经为他们所做的。记得耶稣为我们所做的，我们的生命是以祂为我们所完成的工作为根基的。圣餐不是一种你可以赚取救恩的方式，但对于那些得救的人来说是属灵上的进食。它并没有在基督一次性牺牲，所完成的工作上加添任何东西，但它确认并加强了我们在祂里面的信心。它成了一个简略表明福音的方式，正如一位古代作家写道，首先我们听到福音，然后我们品尝福音，所以福音在我们的生命中两腿并行着走。保罗在《哥林多前书》中写道：「你们每逢吃这饼，喝这杯，是表明主的死，直等到祂来。」（林前11:26）人们喝酒是为了忘记难处；而基督徒喝主杯是为了记念耶稣的胜利。这是圣餐过去的果效。
保罗在《哥林多前书》中提到，关于圣餐当下的维度：「我们所祝福的杯，岂不是同领基督的血吗？我们所擘开的饼，岂不是同领基督的身体吗？」（林前10:16）「同领」这个词，也可以被翻译为「团契」或「融为一体」（圣餐），这就是圣餐（communion）一词的来历。我们仔细想，圣餐并不只是象征性地提示耶稣为我们所做的，也是当下与耶稣并与其他人的联合相交。
知道饼与杯不会以任何方式改变是很重要的，耶稣不是以肉体的方式出现在圣餐中，当圣灵借信心向我们展示基督时，祂以属灵的方式与我们同在。对于那些不属灵的人而言，圣餐是呼召他们接受基督，而不是去吃那顿饭。通过基督徒的见证，他们能听到耶稣爱的呼召：「我就是生命的粮，到我这里来的，必定不饿，信我的，永远不渴。」（约6:35）当我们基督徒借着信心领取主餐时，耶稣与我们相会，把我们联成教会，以祂自己来滋养我们，使我们更加爱祂并顺从祂。这是圣餐现在的果效。
当耶稣将杯递给祂的门徒时，祂说：「从今以后，我不再喝这葡萄汁，直到我在我父的国里同你们喝新的那日子。」（太26:29）祂用这句话将圣餐指向未来的维度。这是一个象征，指向将来预定的那个大日。这是预尝羔羊的婚宴，在永恒中与主一同在荣耀中喜乐的信徒，因罪败坏了的创造物，借着基督破碎的身体而重新得以完全。在今生，我们会在堕落的状态中持续经历破损，但圣餐未来的维度为我们带来了希望。在那天，我们将变得彻底完全；当我们与我们的救主和其他人一同享用饮食时，那将是极其美好的。
祷告
战胜死亡的主，我们领受圣餐来庆祝祢做成的大工。这是我们信仰的告白。我们虽然不配，但已经与基督的生命联合。愿我们带着悔改的心来到祢的桌前，放下自己的骄傲和自负，来享受祢白白赐给我们的恩典。阿们。
Scripture
1 PETER 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. . . .
Commentary
J. C. RYLE
Let us settle it firmly in our minds that the Lord’s Supper was not given to be a means either of justification or of conversion. It was never meant to give grace where there is no grace already, or to provide pardon when pardon is not already enjoyed. It cannot possibly provide what is lacking with the absence of repentance to God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an ordinance for the penitent, not for the impenitent, for the believing, not for the unbelieving, for the converted, not for the unconverted. The unconverted man, who fancies that he can find a shortcut road to heaven by taking the Sacrament, without treading the well-worn steps of repentance and faith, will find to his cost one day that he is totally deceived. The Lord’s Supper was meant to increase and help the grace that a man has, but not to impart the grace that he has not. It was certainly never intended to make our peace with God, to justify, or to convert.
The simplest statement of the benefit which a truehearted communicant may expect to receive from the Lord’s Supper . . . is the strengthening and refreshing of our souls. Clearer views of Christ and His atonement, clearer views of all the offices which Christ fills as our Mediator and Advocate, clearer views of the complete redemption Christ has obtained for us by His vicarious death on the cross, clearer views of our full and perfect acceptance in Christ before God, fresh reasons for deep repentance for sin, fresh reasons for lively faith, fresh reasons for living a holy, consecrated, Christ-like life,—these are among the leading returns which a believer may confidently expect to get from his attendance at the Lord’s Table. He that eats the bread and drinks the wine in a right spirit will find himself drawn into closer communion with Christ, and will feel to know Him more, and understand Him better. . . .
In eating that bread and drinking that cup, such a man will have his repentance deepened, his faith increased, his knowledge enlarged, his habit of holy living strengthened. He will realise more of the “real presence” of Christ in his heart. Eating that bread by faith, he will feel closer communion with the body of Christ. Drinking that wine by faith, he will feel closer communion with the blood of Christ. He will see more clearly what Christ is to him, and what he is to Christ. He will understand more thoroughly what it is to be “one with Christ, and Christ one with him.” He will feel the roots of his soul’s spiritual life watered, and the work of grace in his heart established, built up, and carried forward. All these things may seem and sound like foolishness to a natural man, but to a true Christian these things are light, and health, and life, and peace.
Devotional
LEO SCHUSTER
I recently saw a restaurant advertisement that simply had the name of the restaurant and the words spiritual dining. It made me wonder about whether dining, at its best, is more than a mere material experience. And it made me think about the Lord’s Supper, the spiritual meal, and what it does and doesn’t do. There are actually three dimensions to what the Lord’s Supper does: past, present, and future.
When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, he told his disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19), underscoring that what he was urging them to do would point back to what he had done for them. When we remember what Jesus did for us, we ground our lives in his finished work. The Lord’s Supper isn’t a way you can earn your salvation; it is spiritual dining for those who are saved. It doesn’t add anything to the finished work of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, but confirms and strengthens us in him. It becomes a sort of gospel shorthand where, as an ancient writer put it, first we hear the gospel, then we taste the gospel, and so the gospel goes forward in our lives on two legs. As Paul put it in 1 Corinthians, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (11:26). As Christians we eat and drink to remember Jesus’s triumph. That’s the past dimension.
Paul points to the present dimension of the Lord’s Supper when he writes in 1 Corinthians, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (10:16). That word participation could also be translated “fellowship” or “communion.” It’s where we get the term communion. Think of what that means—the Lord’s Supper is not only a symbolic reminder of what Jesus has done for us; it’s also a present communion with one another and with Jesus.
It’s important to note that the bread and wine don’t change in any way. Jesus isn’t present physically, but he’s present spiritually as the Holy Spirit exhibits him to us by faith. Now for those who are spiritually unresolved, the Lord’s Supper is a call to them to receive Christ rather than to participate in the meal. By witnessing Christians partaking, they’re encouraged to hear the echo of Jesus’s loving call: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). And when we as believers take communion by faith, Jesus meets with us, uniting us as a community, nourishing us with himself, and strengthening us to love and obey him. That’s the present dimension.
When Jesus gave his disciples the cup he said, “I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29). With these words he directed them to the future dimension of the Lord’s Supper, as a sign pointing forward to the great day of anticipation. It’s a foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb and the everlasting feast believers will enjoy with Christ in glory. Now we’re broken creatures due to sin. Through Christ’s broken body we’re made whole again. Yet in this life we continue to experience the brokenness of our fallen condition. The future dimension of the Lord’s Supper points us forward in hope to a day when we will be made completely whole and when we’ll enjoy, with our Savior and with one another, dining at its very best.
Prayer
Conqueror of Death, we celebrate your finished work when we take the Lord’s Supper. May our eating be a confession of faith, that though we are unworthy, we have been joined together with the worthiness of Christ. May we come to your table with repentant hearts, putting away pride and self-sufficiency, enjoying the free grace you offer to us. Amen.
问题46：什么是主的晚餐？
答：基督命令所有的基督徒存着感恩的心吃饼、喝杯，以记念祂和祂的死。主的晚餐是庆祝神在我们中间的同在，使我们与神、与彼此相交，喂养和滋养我们的灵魂。它也预示着我们将和基督一起在祂父的国里吃喝的那日。
儿童版：基督命令所有的基督徒存着感恩的心吃饼、喝杯，以记念祂。
Question 46: What is the Lord’s Supper?
Answer: Christ commanded all Christians to eat bread and to drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of him and his death. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the presence of God in our midst; bringing us into communion with God and with one another; feeding and nourishing our souls. It also anticipates the day when we will eat and drink with Christ in his Father’s kingdom.
For Kids: Christ commanded all Christians to eat bread and to drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of him.
歌谱 Lead Sheet
经文
《哥林多前书》11 章23 节至26 节：
我当日传给你们的，原是从主领受的，就是主耶稣被卖的那一夜，拿起饼来，祝谢了，就擘开，说：「这是我的身体，为你们舍的。你们应当如此行，为的是记念我。」饭后，也照样拿起杯来，说：「这杯是用我的血所立的新约。你们每逢喝的时候，要如此行，为的是记念我。」你们每逢吃这饼，喝这杯，是表明主的死，直等到祂来。
注解
理查德·巴克斯特
圣餐礼向我们呈现了多么难以言说的奥秘和丰富的怜悯！在此，我们得与神相交，借着基督这位伟大的中保进到祂的面前；在此，我们与赐福给我们的救赎主相交，祂在十字架上得了荣耀，将自己献上做我们的头，保守和坚固我们，使我们灵里苏醒；在此，我们与圣灵相交，祂使我们的灵魂得着救恩的好处，吸引我们到子的面前，并将从祂而来的光明、生命和力量传递给我们，加增和激发祂给我们的恩赐；在此，我们与基督的身体，祂所分别为圣要承受永生的人相交。当受基督所托付的执事借着圣餐的饼和酒，将被钉十字架的基督活化在我们眼前时，我们就仿佛看到基督在我们面前被钉十字架，我们的信心就会抓住祂，我们也就能明白这救赎的真理，并将我们的灵魂建造在这磐石上。当这位执事因着基督的委托，把基督的身体、血和救恩的好处给我们时，就像是从基督本人的口中发出的一样，坚定而有效。当我们的灵魂借着圣灵所生发的信心领受祂时，这种灵里的相交就和我们的身体领受代表基督的饼和酒一样的真实。
默想
里根·邓肯
圣餐是盟约的表征与保证。这是指它表明并确认神借着耶稣基督赐给我们的宝贵应许。祂是我们的神，我们是祂的子民。在圣餐中，我们记念并庆贺主的同在，经历与主的交通。我们也拥有一些滋养我们的事物，并且在圣餐中我们预尝将来的荣耀。让我们来思考一下这些事。
首先，在圣餐中我们记念（主）。在圣餐中，耶稣告诉门徒这宣讲祂的死，直到祂再来。圣餐中的饼和酒，对应基督的身体与血，代表着一种盟约中的牺牲，这两部分表明耶稣的死是祂慎重考虑后的行为，祂是为赦免我们的罪而献上自己成为祭物。所以每次我们领受圣餐时，我们要记住耶稣基督为我们而死的意义和重要性，我们要记念祂。「你们也应当如此行，为的是记念我。」（路22:19）宣讲我的死，直到我的再来。我们记念耶稣基督为我们完成的荣耀的赎罪之工。
圣餐同时也庆祝神的同在。我们被邀请在神的餐桌前屈膝，这不是很奇妙吗？尤其是我们还在悖逆之中。在《创世记》3 章，撒但对夏娃与亚当说，你们拿这果子来吃。他们吃下果子，违反了神的命令，而结果怎样？结果是满足感与成就感吗？不是，结果是从神的同在中被驱逐了。但在圣餐桌前，主自己邀请我们重回与祂的同在，一起坐在桌旁。耶稣对门徒说，你们拿来吃。祂是翻转了在伊甸园中蛇说的话。德里克·康德（Derek Kidner）有过这样精彩的叙述：「在你们『拿来吃』成为救恩的行动之先，神会亲自预尝贫穷和死亡的滋味。」而我们每次在圣餐桌前都经历了这些。当我们听到牧师说，「你们所有人拿来吃」，这是在庆祝我们重新与神联合，祂与我们同在，我们享受与祂亲密的团契。
圣餐的第三件事是，这是一个团契相交，这是神与祂百姓的团契相交。我们不只是因着恩典与永活的神相交，我们不只是因着耶稣在十字架上为我们所做的与永活的神相交，当我们与主耶稣基督联合时，我们与其他人也能团契相交。我们和与耶稣基督联合的每一个人联合，这就是为何保罗在《哥林多前书》说，「若不分辨是主的身体。」（林前11:29）祂不是在告诉哥林多人需要明白圣餐中一些神秘元素的事，而是在谈论身体是什么。基督的身体是教会，教会是信徒的团契。
圣餐也在属灵上滋养我们，这是蒙恩之道，这是神所指定的造就与喂养我们的方式，以坚固我们的信心，增加我们的属灵成长。而且圣餐也让我们期待将临的荣耀，耶稣在被卖的那晚，洗净祂门徒们的脚，并且在圣餐中服侍他们。非常有趣的是，在《路加福音》12 章37 节，当主耶稣谈到祂荣耀的再来，众人都承认祂是王，举行圆满荣耀的羔羊婚宴时，祂说，当那日，祂会让我们靠在祂身上，就像圣餐那夜的门徒们一样，而祂将束上带子服侍我们。
是的，在圣餐中，我们预尝了羔羊的婚宴，我们与其他人在荣耀中一同坐席，而我们的救主将再次服侍我们，供给我们一切的所需。来到主的桌前领受圣餐，是何等喜乐的一件事啊！
祷告
生命的粮，我们恭敬顺服地领受圣餐，并带着悔改和信心，因为我们不想空空地领受。求主帮助我们赦免人对我们犯下的罪，尤其是那些与我们在饼和杯上有份的信徒。愿我们分领圣餐并宣告你为救赎我们所做的牺牲，让我们知道我们是何等的需要它。阿们。
Scripture
1 CORINTHIANS 11:23–26
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Commentary
RICHARD BAXTER
O what unspeakable mysteries and treasures of mercy are here presented to us in a sacrament! Here we have communion with a reconciled God, and are brought into his presence by the great Reconciler. Here we have communion with our blessed Redeemer, as crucified and glorified, and offered to us, as our quickening, preserving, strengthening Head. Here we have communion with the Holy Ghost, applying to our souls the benefits of redemption, drawing us to the Son, and communicating light, and life, and strength from him unto us; increasing and actuating his graces in us. Here we have communion with the body of Christ, his sanctified people, the heirs of life. When the minister of Christ by his commission representeth a crucified Christ to our eyes, by the bread and wine appointed to this use, we see Christ crucified as it were before us, and our faith layeth hold on him, and we perceive the truth of the remedy; and build our souls upon this rock. When the same minister by Christ’s commission, doth offer us his body, and blood, and benefits, it is as firm and valid to us, as if the mouth of Christ himself had offered them. And when our souls receive him, by that faith which the Holy Ghost exciteth in us, the participation is as true as that of our bodies receiving the bread and wine which represent him.
Devotional
LIGON DUNCAN
The Lord’s Supper is a covenant sign and seal. That means that it both represents and confirms to us the precious promise of God that, through Jesus Christ, he will be our God, and we are his people. In the Lord’s Supper we have a remembrance, a celebration of God’s presence, and an experience of communion. We also have something that nourishes us, and in the Lord’s Supper, we anticipate the glory to come.
First, we have a remembrance in the Lord’s Supper. In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus told his disciples that they were going to proclaim his death until he comes. The bread and the wine, the body and the blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, is a representation of a covenant sacrifice. The two constituent parts indicate that Jesus’s death was a deliberate act on his part. He gave himself as a sacrifice in our place for the forgiveness of our sins. And so every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we are to remember the meaning and significance of the death of Jesus Christ on our behalf. We are to remember him. “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). We celebrate the glorious work of atonement that Jesus Christ accomplished for us.
Second, the Lord’s Supper is also a celebration of God’s presence. Isn’t it amazing that we’re invited to slide our knees up under the table of God? That is especially amazing in light of our rebellion. In Genesis 3, Satan said to Eve and to Adam, “Take and eat this fruit.” They ate the fruit against God’s command, and what was the result? Did it result in their satisfaction and fulfillment? No. It resulted in their being driven away from the presence of God. But at the Lord’s Table the Lord himself invites us back into his presence. When Jesus says to his disciples, “Take and eat,” he reverses the words of the Serpent in the garden. Derek Kidner has this wonderful line: “God will taste poverty and death before ‘take and eat’ become verbs of salvation.” We experience that every time we come to the Lord’s Table, every time we hear the minister say, “Take and eat, all of you.” It’s a celebration of our reunion with God, his presence with us, and our enjoyment of his near fellowship.
Third, the Lord’s Supper is a communion. It’s a communion with God and with his people. We not only commune with the living God by grace, we not only commune with the living God by what Jesus has done for us on the cross, but we commune with one another. When we’re united to the Lord Jesus Christ, we’re united to everyone who is united to the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why Paul says to the Corinthians, “You must discern the body” (1 Cor. 11:29). He’s not telling them that they need to understand some mystical thing about the elements in the Lord’s Supper. What’s the body that he’s talking about? The body of Christ, the church, the fellowship of believers.
Finally, the Lord’s Supper is spiritual nourishment. It’s a means of grace. It’s one of God’s appointed ways by which he builds us up and nourishes us, confirms our faith, and strengthens us for growth. And the Lord’s Supper is an anticipation of the glory to come. Jesus washed his disciples’ feet on the night that he was betrayed, and he served them the elements of the Lord’s Supper. Interestingly, when Jesus speaks of the marriage supper of the Lamb in consummation (Luke 12:37), in glory, when the great end has come and all have acknowledged him to be King, he says that on that day he will bid us all to recline, just like the disciples reclined on the night of the Lord’s Supper, and he will gird himself and serve us.
Yes, in the Lord’s Supper, we anticipate the marriage supper of the Lamb, where we will sit down with one another in glory, and our Savior will serve us again everything that we need. What a joy it is to come to the Lord’s Table.
Prayer
Bread of Life, we take the Lord’s Supper in reverent obedience. We do not want to receive it unworthily, so we come in repentance and faith. Help us to forgive the sins of those who have sinned against us, especially the believers with whom we share the bread and the cup. May our partaking of this meal proclaim your saving death and our desperate need of it. Amen.
问题45：洗礼本身能洗净罪吗？
答：不，只有基督的血和圣灵的更新才能洗净我们的罪。
儿童版：不能，只有基督的血才能洗净我们的罪。
Question 45: Is Baptism with Water the Washing Away of Sin Itself?
Answer: No, only the blood of Christ and the renewal of the Holy Spirit can cleanse us from sin.
For Kids: No, only the blood of Christ can cleanse us from sin.
歌谱 Lead Sheet
经文
《路加福音》3 章16 节：
约翰说：「我是用水给你们施洗，但有一位能力比我更大的要来，我就是给祂解鞋带也不配。祂要用圣灵与火给你们施洗。
注解
约翰·加尔文
「祂要用圣灵与火给你们施洗」。有人问，约翰为什么没说基督独自用祂的血就可以洗净灵魂？这是因为，使灵魂得洁净是圣灵大能的工作，约翰认为仅用「圣灵」这一个词就足以表达洗礼的全部果效。这句话的意思很清楚，就是一切恩典都是从基督那里来的，外在的洗礼形象地表明了这一点，因为是祂用自己的血「洒去我们心中天良的亏欠」（参见来10:22）。也是祂克制我们的老我，赐下使人重生的灵。「火」是修饰「圣灵」的，因为祂除去我们的罪污，就像火炼净金子一样。
默想
肯特·修斯
《哥林多前书》12 章13 节是一段为信而受洗、归入基督所发出的伟大颂赞和宣告：「我们不拘是犹太人，是希腊人，是为奴的，是自主的，都从一位圣灵受洗，成了一个身体，饮于一位圣灵。」这是讲到圣灵如何动工，将我们带到基督的身体里。这件事发生在我身上时我只是个十二岁的男孩。那时我从来没听说过圣灵的洗，但我的确是被圣灵所洗的。如今，随着岁月的流逝，快60 年了，这个客观事实在我生命中成了主观经历过的实际。
我被圣灵施洗的时候就是我重生，或者说获得新生的时候。我从圣灵而生，正如《约翰福音》3 章所说的一样。这是幅美丽的画面，我必须得说，重生就好像一次神圣的生产，我从黑暗中被带出，进入光明之中，使我开始有了属灵的看见。
我重生了，圣灵内住在我里面。耶稣在《约翰福音》14章说圣灵会「与你们同在」，也要「住在你们里面」。我在孩童时就失去了我的父亲，自此一直感觉自己在世上像是孤单一人。当圣灵内住我里面时，我有了拥有父亲的感觉，我被收纳成为了天父的儿女。我也知道，我被圣灵标上记号，盖上印记了，就像《以弗所书》1 章13 节至14 节所说：「……也信了基督，既然信祂，就受了所应许的圣灵为印记，这圣灵是我们得基业的凭据……」这让我有了一种受保护的感觉，也品尝到这一事实：当我被圣灵施洗时，我也在永恒中受了圣灵的印记。
当圣灵给我施洗时，圣灵也为我祷告。《罗马书》8 章26节至27 节说：「况且我们的软弱有圣灵帮助，我们本不晓得当怎样祷告……」所以，圣灵开始为我祷告，亲自用说不出来的叹息替你我祷告，这一切从我们受圣灵的洗开始。因为祂知道我们的心。
同时，我也蒙了光照。我还记得我小时候参加营会，回到自己的小屋后，我拿出圣经，在经文下面划线。这经文对我来说变得活生生，并且在我生命中始终是鲜活的。当施洗约翰指出，「我是用水给你们施洗……祂要用圣灵与火给你们施洗」时（路3:16），祂是在说耶稣施洗的超越性。水只能够洗净外表，但圣灵和火更新并洗净内在。所以被圣灵与火施洗，是如此伟大恒久的真实与喜乐，圣灵使这一切被更新了，并不断地塑造我们成为基督的样式。
祷告
神的羔羊，洗礼表明我们得救是因为祢的义，这义并非出于我们自己。求主不要让我们把洗礼作为信心的对象，而是让我们仰望美好洗礼背后祢洁净罪的工作。阿们。
Scripture
LUKE 3:16
John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Commentary
JOHN CALVIN
“He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” It is asked, why did not John equally say, that it is Christ alone who washes souls with his blood? The reason is, that this very washing is performed by the power of the Spirit, and John reckoned it enough to express the whole effect of baptism by the single word Spirit. The meaning is clear, that Christ alone bestows all the grace which is figuratively represented by outward baptism, because it is he who “sprinkles the conscience” with his blood. It is he also who mortifies the old man, and bestows the Spirit of regeneration. The word fire is added as an epithet, and is applied to the Spirit, because he takes away our pollutions, as fire purifies gold.
Devotional
R. KENT HUGHES
The great classic text that celebrates and announces the believer’s baptism into Christ is 1 Corinthians 12:13: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” That speaks of the Spirit’s initiating us into the body of Christ, and that happened to me when I was just twelve years old. I’d never heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but I was indeed baptized by the Holy Spirit. And now as the years have gone by, what was an objective fact has become a subjective reality in my life.
When I was baptized by the Spirit, I was regenerated, born again. I was born of the Spirit, John 3 says. What a beautiful picture. The metaphor of being born again describes a divine obstetrics because I was taken out of darkness and I was brought into light, and I began to see things.
At the same time I was regenerated, I was indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Jesus says in John 14 that the Spirit “will live with you” and “will be in you.” I lost my father when I was a little boy and had a sense of being alone in this world. When I became indwelt, a sense of paternity overtook my soul, of being adopted. I didn’t know that I’d been tagged by the Holy Spirit or sealed by the Holy Spirit. As it says in Ephesians 1:13–14: “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” That further gave me a sense of protection and reality, that I was tagged for eternity by the Holy Spirit when I was baptized by the Spirit.
When I was baptized in the Spirit, I was also prayed for. Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought.” The Holy Spirit prays with groanings that cannot be uttered because he knows our hearts (Rom. 8:26).
And then, at the same time, I was enlightened. I can remember as a boy at a camp going back to my cabin, getting out my Bible, underlining in it, and having the Word come alive to me, as it has continued to come alive in my life. Now when John the Baptist pointedly said, “I baptize you with water, but [Christ] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire,” he was talking about the superiority of Jesus’s baptism. Water can wash only the outside, but the Spirit and fire regenerate and cleanse the inside. And so that is the great abiding reality and joy of being baptized with the Spirit and fire. The Holy Spirit is making all things new and constantly conforming us to the image of Christ.
Prayer
Lamb of God, our baptism is a sign that we are saved not by our own righteousness, but because we have been given the righteous- ness of Christ. Let us not make baptism the object of our trust, but look instead to the cleansing work of Jesus, beautifully depicted in baptism. Amen.
高贵林国语教会 