哥林多前書 第6章 中英摘要

  在台灣我們常請許多國外的牧者來分享如何成為一個榮耀神的教會,其中提到一個興旺的教會是很重視培訓的,有培訓就能有紀律,我們都是神國的軍隊,培訓能使我們知道做事的方法,何時何人該做什麼事,也不會亂了章法,在舊約利未記中,神很清楚地記錄每一支派該當的職分,所以,身為神的子民在服事神時,我們都該經過有系統的培訓,預備好自己。

  在教會中的牧者和同工們,更需要有從神而來的智慧去用人,我們常常必須面對三種人,一種是惡人,就像那些試探耶穌的人,想盡辦法令你跌倒;另一種是愚昧人,他們做事常常有自己的想法,怎麼勸說都聽不進去,但自己也沒辦法處理;最後一種就是智慧人,他們清楚知道神所要他們做的事,會抓住神的話語,使自己定睛在神。我們都希望遇到智慧人,但是惡人和愚昧人並非不能使用,而是需要給他們機會,透過教導、培訓等仍能成為教會的幫助。

  哥林多教會的狀況也是包含了各樣的人,保羅藉著這封書信提醒他們不宜爭訟,不要弟兄間彼此相告,特別是告到外邦人面前,勸勉他們要在主內弟兄中找智慧人來判斷。在神眼中我們原都為不義之人,但因耶穌基督,並藉神的靈,我們一切的過犯都已潔淨,成聖,稱義了。所以,不要為一些事相爭,我們的問題常常都是不願吃虧,不情願受欺,而且反倒是去欺壓虧負自己的弟兄們。

  保羅特別提到姦淫的罪,在書信中提到十項罪,無論何罪,都在身體之外,但唯有行淫是得罪自己的身子,因我們都是用耶穌的寶血重價買來的,我們的身體就是神的居所、神的殿,所以保羅特別把犯姦淫這件事拿出來說明,勸戒哥林多教會要在身體上榮耀神。

  最後,保羅再提到「凡事我都可行,但不都有益處。凡事我都可行,但無論哪一件,我總不受它的轄制。」《林前6:12》提醒不要被世上的事物轄制,因這一切有形的物體都會毀壞,唯有看不見的神,才是永恆的。

2016/2/18  葉長老 風美小組信息/宜薰 摘錄整理    

1 Corinthians 6

  In Taiwan, we often invite foreign pastors to share with us how to run a glorious church. Many of them mentioned that for a church to thrive, it has to put much emphasis on trainings, because with good trainings comes discipline. Since we are all in God’s army, we need to be trained to know what we should do and when we should act; a well-trained soldier will do everything in orderly ways. In Leviticus, God listed the duties of every tribe in details. Therefore, as God’s people, we should all acquire proper training and prepare ourselves when we serve God.

  Pastor and staffs in every church should seek the wisdom of God in using people. There are three kinds of men that we often have to deal with: 1) The wicked ones, like the ones who put Jesus into tests. They will try everything and every way to make you fall. 2) The foolish ones, the ones who have their own thoughts and never listen to your cautions and suggestions. Usually, they can’t get themselves out of troubles they make. 3) The wise ones, who know what God wants them to do. They will seize the words of God and focus only on God. We all want to have wise people around, but we need to understand that the wicked and the foolish ones are not unusable. We need to give them a chance. They may require a lot of teachings and trainings, but they can still be of great help to the church.

  In the church of Corinth, there were all kinds of people. Paul reminded them that it is inappropriate to take any dispute among them to the ungodly for judgment; Paul suggested that they should seek wise people among them to solve the matter. We are all unrighteous in the eyes of God, but through Jesus Christ and the spirit of God, all of our sins were washed away. We are now pure, holy, and righteous! Hence, do not fight against each other. Our problems, usually, are that we are unwilling to get the short end of the stick, and unwilling to be fooled. Instead, we cheat and do wrong to our brothers and sisters.

  There were 10 sins mentioned in the letters, but Paul wrote specifically on adultery because “all other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body” . We are brought by the blood of Jesus Christ, so now are bodies are the temple of God! This is way Paul cautioned the church of Corinth about adultery and asked the people to glorify God with their bodies.

  Finally, Paul wrote “I have the right to do anything … but not everything is beneficial”. Paul reminded us that we should not be controlled or mastered by anything in this world, because everything will perish; only the invisible God is everlasting!

2016/2/18 Message by Elder Yeh