ST 1-7. 背诵金句 / 预习 / 参考资料

References

one.Acts Transmission Theory

1.有关使徒行传的背景研究、神学内容与路加福音的关系，请参阅：袁天佑著《使徒行传导论》，香港，基道出版社，2005年。

2.使徒行传大纲［见本课程附录二（二），30页］。  

two.John's Baptism Jesus contrasts the baptism of John with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, demonstrating their fundamental similarities yet also their differences. The similarity lies in the power they both bestow. John's baptism is a baptism that "proclaims repentance and forgiveness of sins" (Luke 3:3), possessing the power to forgive sins. It signifies that sincere repentance and acceptance of John's baptism result in forgiveness of sins. Furthermore, those who receive John's baptism are empowered to bear fruit worthy of repentance (Luke 3:8). The baptism of the Holy Spirit, however, grants believers the power to witness for Christ to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).  

three.Baptism of the Holy Spirit 新约中有七段经文提到用／受／借圣灵施洗。当中出现不同的介词正好反映出一个事实，就是圣灵既是施行洗礼的那一位，人就必须在衪里面领受洗礼。其中六段经文均是出于施洗约翰将自己用水施洗，与耶稣将来在圣灵中给人施洗互相对比的教训。第七段经文是哥林多前书十二章13节，那里指出所有哥林多信徒都是从一位圣灵受洗，才得以进入教会。 在马太福音三章11节和路加福音三章16节，约翰预言在他以后来的那位弥赛亚，将要用圣灵与火给人施洗。这句话可理解为圣灵的洁净行动：它一方面赐福信徒，另一方面又定非信徒的罪；它还包括圣灵始自五旬节直至最后审判为止的工作。马可福音一章8节和约翰这番话的对象，似乎没有人完全知悉这些话的确实含义。 可是，在使徒行传一章5节，当耶稣准备升天时，衪重提约翰的话，并且预言约翰所言的会在不多几日内应验。大概在约七天的时间后，当门徒守五旬节时，他们便得着圣灵的浇灌；约珥书二章28至32节的预言获得应验（徒二1-41,特别是17-21节）。 数年后，彼得在哥尼流家中讲道，圣灵亦再次以类似的戏剧性方式显明自己，以致后来的人一般称这事件为“外邦人的五旬节”。这些近似之处，使彼得再次想起耶稣在升天之前所讲的话，而当他在耶路撒冷面对犹太基督徒指控他与外邦人为伍是件丢脸的事时，他亦引用耶稣那句话来抗辩（徒十一16）。 这六次提到用圣灵施洗的经文，明显以类似五旬节的经历作为主要概念。可是，哥林多前书十二章13节却没有暗示哥林多信徒在受洗时，曾经历圣灵以某种戏剧性和客观可见的形式临在；此处所讲的现象，反而是成为教会一分子的仪式。正如用水施洗乃象征悔改、相信基督、进入信徒群体和与基督的身体联合的仪式，同样地，用圣灵施洗指圣灵在信徒生命中发挥作用的最初一刹那。圣灵降临并没有特定的模式；衪可以在人几乎不能察觉的情况下悄然临到，亦能以极富戏剧性和让人清晰可辨的状态来临。 五旬节的经历还有以下的演变：他们当时生活在由旧约转至新约的过渡时期，连串复杂的事件由耶稣被钉十字架和复活开始，逐渐推演至基督升天和五旬节的圣灵降临。我们必须注意，门徒虽然不是在五旬节那天才第一次经历圣灵（约十四17,二十22）,可是，这不等于说圣灵的洗就是信徒的“第二次祝福”，即悔改信主之后另一次对圣灵更强烈的经历。五旬节对于门徒来说是第二次祝福，因为他们在耶稣生前和死后都一直是门徒。但经文却没有显示哥尼流和他的朋友的经历是第二次领受圣灵；他们在悔改信主的同时，便立即经历圣灵的洗。 另外，哥林多前书亦没有说信徒曾有两个阶段的经历。倘若哥林多教会——包括保罗在别处经文所斥责的“属肉体”基督徒（林前三1-4）——都曾经受过圣灵的洗，那么，圣灵的洗显然不能保证信徒一定已达致某层次的成熟或圣洁的程度。又倘若没有任何一种属灵恩赐是保留不给予每一位哥林多信徒的（林前十二2-30）,那么，圣灵的洗也不可能绝对地等同于获得任何一种属灵的恩赐。 以上并非要否定基督徒在信主之后，会有一次或数次重新经历圣灵的同在或能力。路加用“被圣灵充满”这句话来形容这种情况；尤其是当使徒放胆传讲福音之后，听道的人便迅速信从（例如：徒二4，四8、31，十三9）。假使当中任何一次事件似乎特别成为基督徒信仰体验中展开另一新阶段的里程碑，那么，如格连（Green）所言，把它形容为“圣灵的释放”可能是适当的。但是，如果我们希望忠于圣经对“用圣灵施洗”这句话的用法，我们需要把它的解释局限于信徒在得救那刻，神借着圣灵住在他／她心里的经历。 （节自：CraigL.Blomberg著“圣灵的洗”，杨庆球主编《证主圣经神学辞典》，香港，福音证主协会，2001年，978-979页）  

Four.Who ultimately replaced Judas as apostle, Matthias or Paul? 近年不少圣经学者质疑补选使徒这种做法是否合理，主要原因，是后来耶稣亲自选召了保罗。究竟是否保罗才是代替犹大的使徒呢？不同的圣经学者有不同的立场。 支持马提亚的学者认为，拣选马提亚是合情合理的事情。首先，彼得他们对于作使徒的要求非常严格；其次，并不是十一个使徒自作主张，而是120位信徒共同选举出两个人来；第三，抽签的方式也是旧约时代寻求明白神心意的合理方式；而马提亚是唯一一个被清楚记载”和十一个使徒同列”（26节），所以马提亚代替犹大是合理的。 支持保罗代替犹大的学者则认为，保罗是耶稣亲自拣选的。保罗在加拉太书一开始就指明自己作为使徒，并“不是由于人，也不是借着人，乃是借着耶稣基督与叫衪从死里复活的父神”，而且保罗对教会的贡献甚大，应该是更合乎使徒的职分。 自然，两方面都有各自的解释。但我们要明白的是，一方面，彼得提出补选使徒的目的，是为了维持见证使命与以色列传统的连系，以色列的十二支派，相对十二使徒，而个人的成就并不重要；另一方面，耶稣亲自拣选保罗，不一定表示要以他取代犹大。保罗也提出耶稣乃是拣选他作为“外邦人的使徒”，与彼得他们作为“受割礼之人的使徒”有所分别（加二8），显示出保罗的使徒身份与彼得等十二使徒的使徒身份目的不同，不需要比较。 使徒的身份，是指一个奉主差遣的人，不论是十一个使徒、马提亚，还是保罗，重要的是他们从主领受的使命；个人的身份，反成了次要的事。正如保罗在腓立比书三章8节指出：“我为衪已经丢弃万事，看作粪土，为要得着基督。”可见保罗虽然重视主的使命，却没有以使徒的身份为个人非要不可的事业目标。所以，究竟是谁取代了犹大，在神的国度中看来并不是重点。  

5.Drawing lots Regarding whether it was appropriate to use lot to select Matthias as a substitute for Judah, please see: Davids, The New Testament of the Bible, translated by Xu Chengde, Campus Bookstore Publishing House, Taiwan, 1996, pp. 31-33.  

6.Apostles and Disciples “The term "apostolos" (Greek: apostolos) refers to a messenger, ambassador, or agent sent by a commissioner to carry out instructions… The term Apostolos appears 79 times in the New Testament (10 times in the Gospels; 28 times in the Acts of the Apostles; 38 times in the Epistles; and 3 times in Revelation). It appears most frequently in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles (34 times in total), and in the Pauline Epistles (34 times), referring to those commissioned by Christ to assume special responsibilities in the church. Their unique position is that they not only saw the resurrected Lord but were also commissioned and empowered by Him to proclaim the gospel to all nations. The New Testament uses Apostolos to refer to Jesus as the one sent by God (Hebrews 3:1) or God sent to preach the gospel to the Israelites (Luke 11:49), to those sent by the church (2 Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25), and most often to individual figures commissioned by Christ to preach the gospel of the kingdom. However, the New Testament authors had different understandings of this final category. For example, the term "apostle" in Luke and Acts almost exclusively refers to the twelve disciples, but Paul's usage is broader. The "apostles" in 1 Corinthians 15:7 seem to include those beyond the twelve mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:5; James is considered an apostle in both this passage and Galatians 1:19; Barnabas is called an apostle in Acts 14:14 (compare Acts 11:22-24, 13:1-4); and Paul refers to Andonicus and Junia as apostles in Romans 16:7. In this broader sense, an apostle is someone who witnesses to the resurrection of Christ and is sent by Christ to make disciples of all nations… Jesus had many disciples during his time on earth, but not all of them were apostles. The twelve disciples were chosen from a larger group to live with Jesus; those who became apostles were sent to preach the word. The New Testament lists the twelve disciples in four passages: the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16) and the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:13). These lists are largely the same, representing four different forms of an early oral tradition. Matthew and Mark refer to the twelve disciples as apostles only once, in the context of their missionary journeys (Matthew 10:2; Mark 6:30), indicating a role rather than a status. Luke, however, frequently and almost exclusively refers to the twelve disciples as "apostles" (Luke 6:13, 9:10, 17:5, 22:14, 24:10; Acts 1:26, 2:43, 4:35, 36, 37, 5:2, 12, 18, 8:1). Except for Luke 11:49 and Acts 14:14, Luke generally uses "apostolos" only for the twelve disciples. Because they were called by Jesus, constantly with Him in His ministry, and witnessed His resurrection, they were probably most familiar with His words and deeds. Commissioned by the resurrected Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, they witnessed God's redemptive work in Christ. The view that the twelve disciples are equivalent to apostles has two bases: besides the use of this title for them in the Gospels, Jesus gave them responsibilities after His resurrection (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:48-49; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8). Therefore, the basic qualification for an apostle is being called and sent by Christ. We see additional qualifications in Matthias's account: besides having God's calling, the person must have followed Jesus from John's baptism to Jesus' ascension and be a witness to Jesus' resurrection (Acts 1:21-22). Jesus chose the twelve disciples and made them the core of His followers to symbolize that Jesus came to build a new nation of Israel. The twelve disciples form the core of God's new people, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel, symbolizing God's work of redemption through Jesus and His disciples. Their number suggests their work among the Israelites; although the mission of the twelve disciples was not limited to the Jews, it was particularly relevant to the twelve tribes of Israel, as emphasized in the promise of Matthew 19:28. (Excerpt from: R. David Rightmire, ”The Apostles' and “The Twelve Disciples,” *Dictionary of Bible Theology*, Hong Kong: Evangelical Witness Association, 2001, pp. 484-485)    

7.The Kingdom of Heaven is Coming Based on the lessons of Jesus Christ concerning the future, we can say that the resurrection of Jesus Christ marks the time of His formal reign, and the descent of the Holy Spirit and the destruction of Jerusalem are manifestations of His authority. However, this interpretation does not preclude the fact of His second coming to rule. According to Luke, the destruction of Jerusalem did not immediately usher in the end times; rather, it brought with it a "time for the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24). Matthew also records, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). Moreover, the first three Gospels all mention a period of upheaval and the second coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-27). Therefore, we can say that the time when Jesus Christ reigns over the whole earth is the time of His second coming. The following simplified diagram illustrates the relationship between the process of the kingdom's coming and the life of Jesus: