0. Manna issue 87 - Editorial Feed My Lambs Tend My Sheep 餵養羊群
KC Tsai—Toronto, Canada 加拿大多倫多 KC Tsai
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another;
as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (Jn 13:34a)
34我賜給你們一條新命令，乃是叫你們彼此相愛；我怎樣愛你們，你們也要怎樣相愛。
(約 13：34)
But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)
8惟有基督在我們還作罪人的時候為我們死，神的愛就在此向我們顯明了。
(羅 5：8)
In the above verses, the word “love” is translated from the Greek agap?,
which is associated with the selfless love of God.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul describes this type of love
as something that is greater than giving away all our possessions to feed the poor,
or even delivering one’s body to be burned.
Truly, Jesus’ love is beyond human comprehension;
how can we love one another on the same scale?
在以上經文中，“愛”一詞是從希臘語 ag`ap-e 翻譯而來的，
這與神的無私之愛有關。
保羅在哥林多前書13章，描述了這種愛，
這種愛，比捐出我們全部財產來幫助窮人，
甚至解救某人身體免於被火燒焚燒，更加偉大。
的確，耶穌的愛是人類無法理解的。
我們怎麼能有同等程度的彼此相愛呢？
Agap? is also the word Jesus used when He asked Peter before His ascension,
“Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” (Jn 21:15b).
ag`ap-e 一詞，也是耶穌升天前，詢問彼得所使用的語詞，
"約翰（在太16：17稱約拿）的兒子西門，你愛我比這些更深麼？"
(約21：15b)
Simon Peter was not so sure in his reply:
“Yes, Lord; You know that I love You” (Jn 21:15c).
Here, instead of agap?, he used phile?, which denotes brotherly love.
西門彼得不確定要怎麼回答：
"主阿，是的，你知道我愛你。"
(約21：15c)
Jesus asked the question again, using the word ag`ap-e.
But on the third asking, He used the word that Peter was more comfortable with: phile?
(Jn 21:16–17).
Jesus knew His beloved disciple was not yet ready to comprehend His love,
or the love He wants him to have.
Jesus was willing to wait for Peter to mature in his spiritual understanding, as He knew he would.
Later, Peter exhorts fellow believers
to become partakers of the divine nature by diligently adding to their faith,
eventually progressing from brotherly kindness to love
(2 Pet 1:5–7).
By this time, Peter was able to distinguish between brotherly love and the true agap? love
that comes only from knowing the Lord Jesus.
耶穌再問了這個問題, 用 ag`ap-e 來發問。
但是在第三次發問時，他使用了彼得更喜歡的詞彙：phile 兄弟之愛？
（約 21：16-17）。
耶穌知道, 他心愛的門徒還沒有準備好明白祂的愛，
或祂希望門徒所具備的愛。
耶穌願意等待彼得在屬靈上更加成熟，就像祂知道的，彼得會改變。
後來，彼得勸勉眾信徒，
要藉由加添這種愛於自已的信仰中，成為具有天國美德的人，
到最後，能從兄弟之間的慈愛，發展為天國神聖的大愛
（彼後 1：5-7）。
到了這個時候，彼得已能區分兄弟之間的慈愛 及和真正神聖的大愛了，
而大愛僅來自認識主耶穌。
When Peter replied that he loved his Lord,
Jesus told him to feed His lambs, and to tend and feed His sheep.
This is Jesus’ primary command to those who love Him.
He not only wants His disciples to love one another,
but to love the little ones the way He loved them
(Jn 13:35; Mt 25:40, 45).
We carry this out by feeding the pure milk of God’s word
to those who belong to the Lord (1 Pet 2:1–2).
當彼得回答，他愛他的主的時候，
耶穌告訴他，要餵食小羊，撫養羊群。
這是耶穌對那些愛他之人，所給予的主要命令。
他不僅希望自已的門徒，能夠彼此相愛，
也要像神愛小孩子一樣，愛他們
（約 13:35;太 25:40，45）。
我們通過餵養神純淨的聖言，來達成這一目標
給那些屬於主的人（彼前 2：1–2）。
Today, we all rightly yearn for the name of our Lord Jesus
to be glorified through church expansion.
However, the growth of the church is measured not only by membership and the number of church locations.
The true growth of the church is in elevating the quality of faith in the hearts of all members.
If members possess the true knowledge of the Lord Jesus,
through diligent Bible study and practice of its teachings,
their faith will be rooted and they will know how to seek God’s will.
Then the evangelistic work will naturally progress.
When the members’ faith is sound,
the entire church will enjoy the grace of being in the Lord,
underpinned by the members’ urge to share.
今天，我們都有正確的渴望，讓我們的主耶穌的聖名，
可以通過教會的擴張而得到榮耀。
但是，教會的成長，不僅取決於信徒的增長，及聚會點的數量。
教會的真正成長，在於能夠提高所有信徒心中信仰的品質。
如果信徒，擁有了真實認識主耶穌的知識，
經由認真的研經和實踐，
他們的信仰將能深深紮根，也將知道如何尋求神的旨意。
這樣，宣道工作自然就會有所進展。
當信徒有健全的信心，
整個教會，就會由於信徒想要彼此分享，而大家共同享受在主裡的恩典。
This issue’s theme articles discuss how to care for the “little ones”
and reach out to the lost sheep,
pointing out how precious these are in the Lord’s eyes.
One article stresses the importance of taking care of the elderly members
—a pastoral work that should not be neglected.
Since we are blessed to be in the True Jesus Church community of faith,
where we have the truth, the spirit of God, and a supportive family in Christ,
we are encouraged to look to the future with great anticipation.
本期主題文章，討論如何照顧“小孩子”
向外觸及那些迷失的羊隻，
點出了這些人，在主眼中是多麼的寶貴。
有一篇文章，強調照顧信徒長輩的重要性
-這是一項不容忽視的牧養工作。
既然我們有幸，身處於真耶穌教會的信仰社區裡，
在其中我們擁有真理，神的聖靈，也是一個基督裡相互扶持的家庭，
就會得到感動，以充滿盼望的心，來展望未來。
Read on, and prepare to be motivated!
繼續看下去，並準備好得到感動！
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
歡迎主內同靈來信加入翻譯
