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Manna issue 75 - A Mature Church—the Church in Antioch 成熟的教會 - 安提阿教會

Taking the gospel with us wherever we go.

無論去那裡都帶著福音

Samuel Kuo—Flushing, New York, USA

美國紐約法拉盛(皇后區) 郭霈信 傳道

The immigrant experience is familiar
to some readers of Manna, many of
whom are of Asian descent, living
in western countries such as the
USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, or
elsewhere. Some of us personally
made the decision to migrate; others
followed our parents and experienced
the highs and lows of settling in a new
country; and the rest, while born in a
western country, are no more than
one or two generations removed
from the relatives who decided to
immigrate there.

對於嗎哪雜誌的一些讀者，移民經驗是非常熟悉的，他們有許多人是亞裔，但卻是住在各個西方國家，
例如美國，加拿大，英國，澳洲或是其他國家。
我們之中有一些人是自已作決定要移民的；
而其他人則是隨著我們的父母，在新的國家裡體驗各種安置上的高潮和低潮；
而剩下的一些人，一出生就在西方國家了，他們不會超過一或二代，都會因為要移民到這裡，與他們的親朋好友疏離了。

According to the Bible, shortly
after the church in Jerusalem was
established, many Jewish-Christians
decided to emigrate because of severe
persecution (Acts 8:1; 11:19). One of
the churches established through this
migration was the church in Antioch.
In many regards, this church serves as
an example for churches everywhere.
Even if we relocated to wherever we
are for better opportunities, rather
than to escape persecution, and even
if our church was not established by
immigrant believers, development
in the church in Antioch serves as a
vision for every church. Antioch grew
to be a mature church. It behooves
us to follow her footsteps.

跟據聖經，在耶路撒冷教會建立不久之後，因為外在嚴重的逼迫，許多猶太裔的基督徒就決定要移民出去(徒 8：1；11：19)。
在這樣移民情況下，其中一間教會就是安提阿教會。
而在許多方面上，這間教會成為各地教會的模範。
即使如果我們要重新搬家到任何有更好機會的地方，而不是像他們一樣要來逃避逼迫，
即使我們的教會並不是由移民信徒所建立的教會，但是安提阿教會的發展，仍然就像是每一間教會未來的展望。
安提阿教會已經成長為一間成熟的教會。
對我們而言，是有必要來追隨她的步伐。

CARRY THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD 帶著福音到全世界

One of the characteristics of the
early church was that her members
brought the gospel wherever they
went (Acts 8:4). Though persecution
caused them to flee for their lives, the
gospel was never silenced. Samaria
received the gospel because of this
evangelistic spirit (Acts 8:5), as did
Antioch, the third largest city in the
Roman Empire at the time.

早期教會其中的一個特色，就是信徒把福音帶往他們去的地方(徒 8：4)。
雖然逼迫讓他們為了性命而逃跑到其他的地方，但是傳播福音的聲音從來沒有止息過。
像安提阿一樣，這個當時羅馬帝國的第三大城，領受了福音，也因為這種佈道的精神，撒馬利亞也領受了福音，(徒 8：5)。

When the evangelizing members
reached Antioch, the Bible purposely
indicates a contrast between two
types of Christians. The first only
preached to their own people—the
Jews. They were comfortable with
them. They knew the vernacular.
They knew the culture. This is natural.
However, the second group was
marked by their willingness to preach
to people who were different from
them. They spoke to the “Hellenists,”
the Greek-speaking non-Jews (Acts
11:19–20).

當傳福音的信徒到達了安提阿，聖經特意指出了有兩種不同類型基督徒的對比。
第一類的信徒是只有向他們自已的同胞來傳道 - 猶太人。
他們對自已的同胞感到很自然。
他們說同樣的話。
他們互相了解文化和習慣。
這是自然而然的。
然後，第二類的信徒特別是樂意向與他們不同的其他人種來傳福音。
他們向說希臘話的人傳福音，特別是只會說希臘話的非猶太其他人種(徒 11：19-20)。

The spirit in which they witnessed
for Christ stands out in a number of
ways. First, their personal evangelism
wasn’t just directed at family, relatives,
and people they already knew. They
preached to non-Jews—people very
different from them. It required
them to overcome their timidity
and shyness. Second, they were in a
brand-new environment, in a brandnew
country, confronted with foreign
customs. They had to adapt quickly.
Third, preaching to non-Jews was a
very new, even revolutionary, idea
at the time. (Peter had just preached
to Cornelius in the previous chapter
of Acts. It is possible that Cornelius’
conversion had not even happened
yet). They had to overcome their
prejudice and traditions.

他們見証基督的精神，在各種不同的方式表現出來。
首先，他們個人宣道並不是只有向家人，親戚，或者是他們已經認識的人來傳。
他們向非猶太人傳道 - 這些人和他們是非常不一樣的。
他們需要克服自身的膽小和羞怯。
第二，他們身處於一個嶄新的環境，嶄新的國家，要想如何來應對外來的習俗。
他們需要很快去適應。
第三，向非猶太人傳道是非常新穎的作法，甚至在當時也是革命性的想法。
(彼得才剛剛在使徒行傳前一章，向哥尼流一家人傳道。
或許很有可能，哥尼流一家人的信主，甚至都還沒有發生。)
他們必須要克服自已本來的偏見和傳統。

In other words, their immigrant
status did not serve as an excuse
for them not to preach to the locals.
Instead, they were so moved by the
message of the gospel that they had
to share it with everyone. And God
was pleased, so “the hand of the
Lord was with them, and a great
number believed and turned to the
Lord” (Acts 11:21).

換句話說，他們身為外來移民的身份，並沒有成為一種他們的藉口，而不去向當地人來傳道音。
相反地，他們被福音的訊息所深深的感動，所以他們就很想要把福音分享給任何人。
因而，神也很高興，所以"主與他們同在，信而歸主的人就很多了"(徒 11：21)。

Today the True Jesus Church in
many countries is following the
same blueprint. Just like the church
in Antioch, many of our churches
were planted through immigration.
And over the decades, the church
has grown further through personal
evangelism. But we must place more
effort into reaching out to those who
have different backgrounds, cultures,
and ethnic origins. It is easier to
stay within our Asian social circles,
but our call is not only to them. We
were called to preach to the ends of
the earth (Acts 1:8; 13:47). Let us
grow into maturity. Let us overcome
timidity and habit. Let us take the
gospel with us wherever we go.

今日真耶穌教會，在許多國家裡也追隨同樣的藍圖。
就像安提阿教會的信徒一樣，我們許多的真耶穌教會被建立，也透過了移民才開始的。
經過幾十年之後，教會透過個人佈道有更進一步的成長。
但是，我們要放更多心力，來接觸不同背景，不同文化，不同族裔的人，向他們傳福音。
要是只有停留在亞裔社會交友圈裡是相對容易的，但是神對我們的呼召，是要我們不只是向亞裔人種傳福音而已。
我們被召是要傳福音到地極(徒1：8；13：47)。
讓我們變得長大成熟。
讓我們克服膽怯和個人舊習慣。
讓我們無論去那裡都帶著福音。

BE KNOWN AS CHRISTIANS 讓別人也知道我們就是基督徒

When the church in Jerusalem heard
of the growth in Antioch, they sent
a worker to visit and encourage the
members. You can see the unity,
fellowship, and organization of
the early church, which we aim to
emulate today. The worker they chose
was Barnabas, “a good man, full of
the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts
11:24a). The primary criteria used
were not of talents or eloquence, but
of spiritual character. Additionally,
he had a more encouraging and
accepting personality—when all the
other disciples were afraid of the
newly-converted Saul, Barnabas was
the first to accept him (Acts 9:26–27).

當耶路撒冷的教會聽到安提阿教會的成長，他們派了一位工人去探訪和鼓勵信徒。
你可以看到他們同心合意，彼此聯合，以及早期教會的組織發展的情況，這就是今日我們想要去效法的。
他們所選擇的工人是巴拿巴，"這巴拿巴原是個好人，被聖靈充滿，大有信心"(徒 11：24a)。
被主用來選擇工人的標準，不是才能和口才，而是靈性上的特質。
除此之外，因為他很會鼓舞別人，而且讓人感覺平易近人 - 那個時候也正是，所有使徒都還很害怕剛信主掃羅的時候，巴拿巴是第一個能夠去接納掃羅的人(徒 9：26-27)。

So when Barnabas arrived in
Antioch, he “encouraged them all
that with purpose of heart they
should continue with the Lord” (Acts
11:23b). God was pleased and “a
great many people were added to
the Lord” (Acts 11:24b). Most likely
because of the growing needs of the
church, Barnabas went to seek out
Saul in Tarsus. With the arrival of Saul,
and their ensuing year-long ministry,
the church was greatly edified.

當巴拿巴到達安提阿的時候，他"勸勉眾人，立定心志，恆久靠主"(徒 11：23b)。
神喜悅這樣的事，"於是有許多人歸服了主"(徒 11：24b)。
很有可能是因為教會成長的需求，巴拿巴去尋找身在大數的掃羅。
隨著掃羅的到達，以及接下來他們一年之久的事奉，教會大大的得到造救。

It is at this point in the narrative that
the Bible records a most remarkable
statement: “And the disciples were
first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts
11:26b). This is significant for several
reasons: the statement immediately
follows the description of Barnabas
and Saul teaching in the church,
indicating the importance of sending
faithful workers to developing areas.
It was through their labor that the
members could truly manifest Jesus
Christ in their lives, so much so that
outsiders called them “Christians.”

就在這個時候，聖經就變成敘述的記載了，也記錄了一段非常值得留意的陳述："門徒稱為基督徒是從安提阿起首"(徒 11：26b)。
因為有很多理由，就讓這件事變得很重要：這個敘述立刻就接著描寫，巴拿巴和保羅在教會裡教導信徒，指出要派遣有信心的工人到教會正在發展中的地區，是一件非常重要的事。
透過他們的勞心勞力，信徒才能在生活中，真正展現基督耶穌的特質，因為有這些好表現，才會讓未信主的人稱呼他們是基督徒。

The fact that they used
“Christians” is significant as well.
The term “Christian,” from the Greek
Χριστιαν??, Christianos, literally
means one who is associated with
Christ; a Christ-partisan. Therefore, it
serves as a commentary of how the
believers carried themselves within
Antiochian society. They weren’t
a secret, hidden assembly; there
were many actions that people saw
them doing naturally. Perhaps they
witnessed how often the believers
gathered for fellowship and services,
how they ceased from working on
the Sabbath, and how they would
proclaim Christ wherever they went.
To outsiders, it was obvious that the
members in Antioch followed Christ.
“Christians” fitted perfectly.

他們使用基督徒稱號的事實，也是一件很重要的事。
"基督徒"這個名詞，是來自於希臘文"Χριστιαν??"， Christianos，字面上來說，就是代表和基督有關係的人；一眾相信基督是救主的信徒。
所以，這個字就成為信徒他們自已，在安提阿社會中，被別人所標記的代表名詞。
他們並不是一個秘密結社，或是隱匿的組織；人們自然而然會看到，他們在日常生活中的許多行為。
或許，他們見識到，這些信徒常常聚集在一起團契和聚會，在安息日時，他們會停止工作，無論他們去那裡，都會宣揚基督的事。
對未信主的人而言，很明顯的是，這些安提阿的信徒是基督跟隨者。
"基督徒"的稱呼是完完全全很合適的。

Finally, the statement in verse 26
is a commentary on the diversity
of the church. The church in
Antioch comprised members from
many nationalities, ethnicities, and
languages—Jews and non-Jews
together in one assembly. It wasn’t
possible to identify the group by only
one category, because they were not
a homogeneous group of people. The
world had never seen anything like
this before, so they had to coin a new
term in order to classify them. They
decided to call them “Christians.”

最後，在26節的敘述中，一句有關教會多元化的詮釋。
安提阿教會，由許多不同國家，不同種族，不同語言的信徒所組成 - 猶太人和非猶太人一起聯合聚會。
所以不可能用一種分類的標準，來區分這個群體，因為他們不是由同一族群的人所組成的團體。
世界上，以前也從來沒有看過有這種組成的團體，所以他們必須要創造出一種新的詞彙，可以用來區分和定義這一群人。
他們自已決定叫自已是"基督徒"。

So a pressing question for all of us
is: can others see Christ in our lives?
Or is Christ completely hidden from
our public lives? When we gather,
would others call us Christians? Or
do they only see our ethnic origins?
When we “remain true to the Lord”
(Acts 11:23; NIV), people will be able
to tell.

所以對我們而言，緊接下來的問題是：其他人在我們身上可以看到基督嗎？
或者其他人在我們的日常生活中，完全看不到有基督活在我們的身上？
當我們聚集在一起，其他人會說我們是基督徒嗎？
或者他們只會看到，我們只是一群亞裔人種？
但是，若我們有"立定心志，恆久靠主"(徒 11：23；NIV)，其他人一定能夠分辨得出來。

GENERATE RESOURCES FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD 為神國創造更多資源

More workers eventually visited
Antioch. One of them, Agabus, was
a prophet from Jerusalem who spoke
of a famine that would spread across
the Roman Empire (Acts 11:28).
The Bible did not elaborate on what
Agabus said, only that he prophesied
that hardship was coming. It did not
state he called for specific action.
However, the members in Antioch
had an immediate response. Even
though the famine would affect them
too, they considered their brothers in
Judea; they prepared financial aid,
each giving according to their own
ability. This was an act of immense
love.

最後有許多的工人都會訪問安提阿教會。
其中一人，就是亞迦布，是一位從耶路撒冷來的先知，預言了大饑荒，並且在整個羅馬帝國的領土，傳揚神的福音(徒 11：28)。
聖經並沒有詳細描述亞迦布所說的話，只記載了，他預言將會有苦難日子的來臨。
聖經也沒記載，他有提出要因應這種情況，所需要來因應執行的特別行動。
然而，安提阿教會的信徒立刻就有了回應。
即使這個大饑荒對他們也會有影響，他們依然認為猶太地的信徒就是他們的兄弟姐妹；
所以他們提供了財務的協助，每一個人都依造著自已能力許可的範圍內來提供捐獻。
這真是一個具有偉大慈愛的行動。

Every so often, we hear of church
news from around the world.
Developing areas often express
financial need. When we hear such
news, we might not respond; but on
the other hand, we could empathize
and help with what we can. This
is what the church in Antioch did,
even when it wasn’t asked of them.
Eventually, Barnabas and Saul
brought the aid to their brethren in
the south (Acts 11:30).

常常有時候，我們總會聽到世界各地教會的消息。
教會發展中的地區，常常會提出財務上的需求。
當我們聽到這樣的消息時，我們可能沒有回應；
但是另一方面，我們可能會轉移到自已能力範圍內可以幫助的地方。
這就是安提阿教會所作的事，即使有時候，這些請求並沒有向他們來提出。
最後，巴拿巴和掃羅將這些捐助帶給那些住在南方地區的弟兄姐妹。

Presumably, Antioch started as a
church in need. But in the end, they
were not only self-sufficient, they
could also help other churches. This
is often the trajectory of our churches
around the world. Typically, each
local congregation begins in financial
deficiency, requiring funds to build,
purchase, and to furnish their church
facilities. But through God’s abundant
grace, after reaching sufficiency, they
are able to help others in need. We
should strive to continue this culture
of giving and supporting one another.

我們可以推測，安提阿一開始也是一間需要別人幫助的教會。
但是後來，他們不只能夠自給自足，也能夠幫助其他教會。
這種情況也常常和我們教會在世界各地發展的軌跡相似。
一般情況而言，每一間地方教會一開始財務上比較拮据，需要建堂，採買和裝潢會堂設備的基金。
但是透過神豐富的恩典，在一切足夠之後，他們就能夠幫助其他有需要的教會了。
我們應該要努力保存這種施予和互相扶持的文化。

Just like the church in Antioch, many of our churches were
planted through immigration. And over the decades, the church
has grown further through personal evangelism. But we must
place more effort into reaching out to those who have different
backgrounds, cultures, and ethnic origins. It is easier to stay
within our Asian social circles, but our call is not only to them.
We were called to preach to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8;
13:47). Let us grow into maturity. Let us overcome timidity and
habit. Let us take the gospel with us wherever we go.

就像安提阿教會的信徒一樣，我們許多的真耶穌教會被建立，也透過了移民才開始的。
經過幾十年之後，教會透過個人佈道有更進一步的成長。
但是，我們要放更多心力，來接觸不同背景，不同文化，不同族裔的人，向他們傳福音。
要是只有停留在亞裔社會交友圈裡是相對容易的，但是神對我們的呼召，是要我們不只是向亞裔人種傳福音而已。
我們被召是要傳福音到地極(徒1：8；13：47)。
讓我們變得長大成熟。
讓我們克服膽怯和個人舊習慣。
讓我們無論去那裡都帶著福音。

However, financial resources are
not the only means by which we give;
we should aim to contribute human
resources. In Acts 13:1, we see that
within a short number of years,
the church in Antioch gained many
powerful workers. The diversity of
this list is noteworthy. Barnabas was
born in Cyprus (Acts 4:36); Simeon,
who was called Niger, likely received
this nickname because of his darker
skin (niger being Latin for black or
dark); Lucius was from Cyrene, the
northern part of Africa; Manaen
grew up with royalty; and Saul was
from Tarsus, the southern part of
Asia Minor. In the end, the Holy Spirit
chose and sent two of them to other
areas for ministry work. This was the
first of many missionary journeys that
Saul (or Paul) embarked on.

然而，財務上的資助不會只是我們所能給予的協助；
我們應該設定目標在能夠貢獻更多的人力資源。
在使徒行傳13章第一節裡，我們可以看到在短短的幾年內，安提安教會獲得許多有能力的工人。
這一連串各式各樣的人材名單中，有些是非常值得我們特別注意的。
巴拿巴生在居比路(賽普勒斯)(徒 4：36)；
稱呼尼結(黑人)的西面，有這個小名，可能是因為他的黑皮膚(Niger尼結是拉丁文，黑色或深色的意思)；
古利奈人路求，來自北非利比亞的古城；
與分封之王希律同養的馬念；
而掃羅是來自大數，小亞細亞(土耳其)的南方。
到最後，聖靈選取並且派遣他們，兩個兩個到其他的地區去傳福音。
這也正是掃羅(保羅)在他開始許多外出佈道旅程其中的第一次。

This is the aim of every church
that strives for maturity. Where do
the workers come from? At first,
they may come from other areas,
like Barnabas who was first sent to
Antioch from Jerusalem. But after
a period of time, they should come
from within. We cannot persistently
rely on outside help; we must aim to
support ourselves. Eventually, after
reaching self-sufficiency in workers,
we must seek to generate help for
other needy areas. Therefore, in order
to meet this aim, each church has to
emphasize comprehensive training of
her members. Antioch’s contribution
to the church was incredible—think
of all the wonderful works Barnabas
and Saul (Paul) did to expand the
kingdom of God in the Roman world!

這就是每一間教會要努力成熟的目標。
要從那裡找到工人呢？
首先，他們可能會來自其他的地方，就像巴拿巴是一開始被從耶路撒冷送到安提阿。
但是在一段時間之後，工人就會從教會內部來產生。
我們不可能一直依靠外面其他教會的協助；
我們必須要有目標能夠自立自養。
最後，一旦工人能夠達到自給自足之後，我們一定要找尋機會，為其他地區需要工人的教會，來提供協助。
所以為了能夠達到這個目標，每一間教會都一定要，著重對所有的信徒給予綜合性的訓練
安提阿對其他教會的貢獻是難以置信的 - 讓我們回頭想想看巴拿巴和掃羅(保羅)，他們在羅馬帝國的領土內，為了擴展神的國度，而施行的各樣奇妙聖工。

Consider a final illustration.
Conspicuously, China and India
routinely fail to qualify for the FIFA
World Cup every four years, even
though they are the two most
populous countries in the world.
This raises the question: can they
not find eleven men to field a worldclass
team among their billion-plus?
Then again, where will the players
come from? Surely, from among
themselves; it is not as if they can
hire non-nationals to play for them.
Therefore, more investment and
interest is needed within their own
national soccer leagues.

讓我們來看看最後一個例子。
很明顯地，中國和印度就一般而言，都無法獲得每四年 FIFA 國際足球聯合協會所舉辨的世界盃比賽資格，即使他們是世界上人口最多的兩個國家。
這裡就會產生一個問題：難道他們不能從幾十億的人口中，找到11個有世界盃等級實力的選手，放在場上一起來比賽？
接下來我們又會問，這些球員都會來自那些地區呢？
理所當然地，會由他們內部自行挑選出來；
這是不可能採用聘雇外國藉的選手來為他們比賽。
所以在他們自已國內的足球聯盟裡，需要有更多的投資和關注。

So it is with the church. Are there
needs within our local churches?
Are we short of pianists? Bible study
leaders? Visitor attendants? Sermon
deliverers? Interpreters? It seems like
we often lack manpower. But where
do we think workers will come from?
Surely from amongst ourselves. As
individuals, we may also have to look
within. But beyond these local needs,
if local churches can contribute
human resources to full-time ministry,
as the biblical precedent has shown,
it would greatly aid the expansion of
the kingdom of God.

而教會發展也是一樣的。
在我們自已的地方教會裡，有什麼需求呢？
需要會帶領查經的人？
需要有能夠幫忙接待信徒訪問的幫手？
能夠領會的人？
會翻譯的人材？
看起來我們好像常常會缺乏人力。
就個人來說，我們或許也要好好作一下內部的檢視。
但是除了這些本地教會的需求之外，如果本地教會也能提供一些人力資源來支持教會的全職事奉，就像聖經裡面的例子已經告訴我們的，
這將能夠對擴展神的國度有大大的幫助。

CONCLUSION

As the remaining chapters of Acts
unfold, the story of the church in
Antioch fades into the background
of the narrative. We are only told
that she continued to serve as a base
for Paul’s missionary journeys (Acts
14:26; 18:22). Nevertheless, she left
an indelible example for us all.
May our churches continue to
mature and grow more in the grace
and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. And may we
establish little churches of Antioch
everywhere.

接下來隨著其他使徒行傳章節的展開，安提阿教會的故事就漸漸消失於使徒行傳其他故事的背景中了。
我們只被告知，她成為保羅對外傳福音旅行的一個基地(徒 14：26；18：22)。
不只是這樣而已，她也為我們全部人，留下了一個難以忘記的模範。
希望我們的教會可以繼續成熟，在神和救主耶穌基督的恩典和知識上大大長進。
但願我們能夠把安提阿的小教會，在各個地方到處建立。

小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com

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