16. Manna issue 85 - I Know Whom I Have Believed 我知所信的是誰
Paul’s unfailing faith that
God would revive the church
and complete His work.
保羅的信心始終如一，相信神會復興教會，完成聖工
KC Tsai—Toronto, Canada 加拿大多倫多 蔡恆忠
In what was probably his last epistle,
Paul encouraged Timothy not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, nor of him, Paul, a prisoner.
He asked Timothy, by the power of God, to join him in his suffering for the gospel
(2 Tim 1:8).
在他可能是最後的書信中，
保羅鼓勵提摩太，不要為神，或保羅他自已身為囚犯的見證感到羞恥。
他藉著神的能力要求提摩太，與他一同為福音受苦。
（提後 1：8）。
But why would the power of God cause Timothy to suffer?
How could Timothy be ashamed of witnessing for the Lord?
If Paul were imprisoned for the Lord’s sake, why would Timothy be ashamed of him?
Without understanding Paul’s experiences, it is difficult to answer these questions.
但是，為什麼神的能力，會導致提摩太受苦呢？
提摩太怎會為神作見證，而感到羞愧？
若保羅是為神的緣故而受到監禁，為什麼提摩太會為他感到丟臉呢？
若是不了解保羅的經歷，就很難回答這些問題。
Paul wrote 2 Timothy during his second imprisonment in Rome, shortly before he was martyred.
This second imprisonment was very different from the first,
where he was under house arrest in Rome.
Though he had been confined to a rented house,
he could still receive guests and preach the gospel of Christ freely.
However, in this second imprisonment, the conditions were not as good.
Onesiphorus, a co-worker, searched for him and eventually found him in a dungeon (2 Tim 1:17),
where preaching opportunities were sparse.
保羅在殉難前不久，於第二次監禁在羅馬期間，寫了《提摩太后書》。
第二次監禁與第一次監禁有很大不同，
第至次他在羅馬是被軟禁。
儘管他被限制在一所出租房屋中，
他仍然可以接待客人，並自由傳講基督的福音。
但是，在第二次監禁中，條件並不是很理想。
同工阿尼色弗 Onesiphorus 尋找他，並最終在地牢中找到了他（提後 1:17），
而講道的機會很少。
Furthermore, after presenting his first defense in court, Paul anticipated his own death (2 Tim 4:16, 6).
Perhaps he knew this epistle would be his final testimony.
To Paul, preaching the gospel and bringing as many people as possible to salvation was his life’s sacrifice.
Knowing his life was ending, he willingly gave it to the servitude of God,
like a drink offering, with no regrets (Phil 2:17):
此外，保羅在出庭接受首次辯護後，就預料到了自己的死（提後 4:16，6）。
也許他知道，這封書信將是他的最後見證。
對於保羅而言，傳福音，並盡可能讓更多的人得救，是他終身犧牲奉獻的目標。
知道自己的生命即將結束，他願意將生命奉獻在服事神的事上，
就如同奠祭澆下，毫無懸念（腓 2:17）：
[For the gospel,] I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that
He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (2 Tim 1:11–12)
[為了福音]
11我為這福音奉派作傳道的，作使徒，作師傅。
12為這緣故，我也受這些苦難。然而我不以為恥；
因為知道我所信的是誰，也深信他能保全我所交付他的
（或作：他所交託我的），直到那日。
(提後 1：11-12)
To appreciate the meaning behind Paul’s words,
and why he encouraged Timothy not to fear or be ashamed,
we need to understand that, at that time, being identified as a Christian was a life-threatening situation.
為了領會到保羅話話背後的含義，
以及為什麼他鼓勵提摩太，不要懼怕或羞愧，
我們需要了解的是，當時被確認為基督徒，是一種會威脅生命的情況。
In A.D. 64, a devastating fire broke out in Rome;
it raged for days and destroyed ten of the fourteen city quarters.
Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (A.D. 56–120),
a Roman senator and historian who was a child at the time,
later wrote:
公元64年，羅馬發生了毀滅性大火；
它肆虐了幾天，摧毀了十四個城市區中的十個區域。
蓋烏斯·哥尼流·塔吉突士 Gaius Cornelius Tacitus（主後56-120），
當時還是個孩子的羅馬參議員和歷史學家，
後來寫道：
Therefore, to stop the rumor [that he had set Rome on fire],
[Emperor Nero] falsely charged with guilt, and punished with the most fearful tortures,
the persons commonly called Christians, who were [generally] hated for their enormities.
Christus, the founder of that name, was put to death as a criminal by Pontius Pilate,
procurator of Judea, in the reign of Tiberius, but the pernicious superstition
—repressed for a time, broke out yet again, not only through Judea
—where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also,
whither all things horrible and disgraceful flow from all quarters,
as to a common receptacle, and where they are encouraged.
Accordingly first those were arrested who confessed they were Christians;
next on their information, a vast multitude were convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the city,
as of “hating the human race.” [1] [2]
因此，為了制止謠言（他曾在羅馬縱火的謠言），
[尼祿皇帝] 惡意誤判基督徒有罪，並用最可怕的酷刑折磨他們，
就是那些通稱為基督徒的人，而他們 [常常] 被誤控的暴行而受到仇視。
基督徒名稱的創始人，克里斯多（Christus），
被提比略（Tiberius）統治時期的猶大（Judea）檢察官，
本?·彼拉多（Pontus Pilate）判處死刑，
，但他說，這是讓人致命的迷信
- 在被壓制了一段時間後，就再一次爆發，不僅遍及猶太地(災禍的起源地)，也擴散到羅馬城市，
無論在那裡，到處可見都是一切可怕而可恥的事情在傳播著，
就如一個普通常見的容器一樣，無論在哪裡，基督徒都受到鼓勵。
因此，首先被逮捕的那些人，他們承認自己是基督徒；
接著，根據他們的信息，有大量群眾被定罪，
們不僅要為燒毀城市負責，
而且被依“厭惡人類”而受審。 [1] [2]
Paul’s second letter to Timothy was likely to be written in A.D. 66–67,
when Christians were severely persecuted following Nero’s smear campaign.
It was very difficult to justify the act of preaching at the time.
Witnessing for Jesus and proclaiming one’s faith would expose oneself to grave danger.
Paul had preached the gospel with fervency and faithfulness,
yet the result was imprisonment and impending execution?
how could the Almighty God allow this to happen, and how could Paul continue pressing forward?
A person of insufficient faith would be overcome by such challenges and give up witnessing for the Lord.
This is why Paul encouraged Timothy not to be ashamed of testifying for the gospel,
nor of he who was imprisoned.
Paul’s martyrdom would testify to the world
that the gospel he preached was worth the sacrifice of one’s life.
保羅寫給提摩太的第二封信，很可能寫於公元66-67年，
在尼祿（Nero）的抹黑運動之後，基督徒遭到了迫害。
當時要合理化傳教行為，是非常困難。
若見證耶穌，並開誠佈公自己的信仰，會使自己面臨死亡的危險。
保羅一直都以熱誠和忠心宣揚福音，
所得到的後果，卻是監禁，以及即將迫近的執行死刑？
全能的真神如何允許讓這種情況發生，保羅要如何繼續向前進呢？
若身為信心不足的人，就會被這樣的挑戰攻克打敗，因而放棄為主作見證。
這就是為什麼，保羅要鼓勵提摩太，不要以為福音作見證，
也不要因為保羅他被囚禁，而感到羞恥。
保羅的殉道，將向全世界證明
他所傳講的福音，值得拋棄個人的生命來犧牲。
Faith Overcomes Fear 信心戰勝恐懼
God does not give His loved ones a spirit of fear (2 Tim 1:7).
If the purpose of our faith were only so that we can have a smooth and easy life,
we would simply give up at the first sign of trouble.
As life is always filled with challenges,
a person pressing forward without being rooted in the faith
or without holding on to the hope of salvation (2 Tim 1:10) will inevitably succumb to a spirit of fear.
However, God gives His loved ones a spirit of power, love and self-control.
With these qualities, one is empowered to endure hardships beyond what man can endure (Heb 11:35–38)
and beyond what the world deems tolerable.
神並不會給祂疼愛的子女，帶著畏懼的意念（提後 1：7）。
如果我們信仰的目的，僅僅是為了使我們能過著輕鬆自在的生活，
我們只會在遇到麻煩的第一個跡象時，就放棄。
由於生活總是充滿挑戰，
若一個人不紮根於信仰，而向前進，
或是不持守救贖的盼望（提後 1：10）將不可避免地屈服於恐懼的情緒。
然而，神賦予了祂所疼愛的人，帶有一種充滿力量，慈愛及自制的意志。
憑藉這些特質，人們就有能力承受讓人無法承受的艱苦困境（來 11：35-38）
甚至可超越世界上認為，人們可以容忍的上限。
Paul proclaimed: “I know whom I have believed.”
Despite the severe persecution of believers,
despite heresies disrupting the church’s core beliefs (2 Tim 2:16–18),
despite many deserting him (2 Tim 1:15; 4:16),
and even despite his own impending death, Paul boldly held on to his faith.
The church might have appeared to be at the brink of crisis and destruction,
yet Paul acknowledged that the God he believed is the only Potentate (1 Tim 6:15),
the Absolute Ruler, the Author and Master of the beginning, the process and the end of all things.
保羅宣稱：“我知道我相信的是誰。”
儘管信徒受到嚴重的迫害，
儘管異端侵擾了教會的核心信仰（提後 2：16-18），
儘管有許多人拋棄離他而去（提後 1：15； 4：16），
即使到了他自己即將死去的時刻，保羅還是剛強壯膽堅持自己的信仰。
教會的情況，似乎已經處於危機和毀滅的邊緣，
保羅卻認為，他相信的神是唯一的有能力的人（提前 6：15），
絕對統治者，萬物的開始，過程和結束的創造者和主人。
But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed,
and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. (2 Tim 1:12b, ESV) [3]
但是我並不羞愧，因為我知道我相信的是誰，
我深信他能夠守護那所交託我的事，直到那日。 （提後 1：12b，ESV）[3]
The Lord had entrusted to Paul the truth of salvation and the ministry to preach to the Gentile world.
As Paul wrote his final letter to Timothy, he knew he had completed his race;
it was time to bid the world farewell.
The ministry handed to him would never die.
He harbored no regrets over his life;
he had done his utmost to serve his Master and wholeheartedly trusted in Him, the ultimate owner of the ministry.
Paul knew that even if the church were diminished in his time,
it would not be a failure, because at a pre-determined time, God would rekindle the true church.
This true church of the end time would continue the work Paul had left behind,
and preach the complete truth of salvation to the ends of the earth.
神已將救贖的真理，以及要傳福音給外邦世界的事奉，託付給保羅。
保羅書寫給提摩太的最後一封信時，他知道自已已經完成了該跑的路程。
是時候向全世界告別的時候。
交給他的事工永遠不會消失。
他對自已的一生，絲毫沒有遺憾；
他竭盡所能，為天主服務，並全心全意地信任祂，祂才是福音事工真正的主人。
保羅知道，即使教會在他的時代消失了，
這並不是失敗，因為在預定的時間，神會重新點燃真教會。
這個末日的真教會，將繼續保羅所留下的工作，
並傳講救恩完備的真理直到地極。
[1] “Nero Persecutes The Christians, 64 A.D.,” EyeWitness to History, accessed January 30,
2018, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/christians.htm.
[1]“尼祿（Nero）迫害基督徒，主後64年”，《歷史見證》，1月30日，2018年，
www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/christians.htm。
[2] On July 19–27, 64, Rome was destroyed by a great fire:
only four of its fourteen quarters remained intact.
The emperor Nero was blamed by the Roman populace, and in turn, he blamed the Christians.
The Roman historian Tacitus explains what happened.
The translator of Annals, 15.44 is not known.
[2] 公元64年7月19日至27日，羅馬被大火摧毀：
其十四個城區中，只有四個區域保持完好。
尼祿皇帝被羅馬民眾指責，而他反過來又指責基督徒。
羅馬歷史學家，Tacitus 塔吉突士 解釋了發生了什麼。
《 Annals 編年史》（15.44版）的翻譯者未知。
[3] The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
ESVR Text Edition: 2016. Copyright c 2001 by Crossway Bibles,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
[3]聖經，英文標準版。
ESVR (英文標準版) 版本：2016年。
CrosswayBibles 版權所有c 2001，
好消息出版社的出版部。
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
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