| 1 Peter 2:9–10 |
彼得前书2:9-10 |
| 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. |
9 然而你们是蒙拣选的族类，是君尊的祭司，是圣洁的国民，是属 神的子民，为要叫你们宣扬那召你们出黑暗入奇妙光明者的美德。10 “你们从前不是子民，现在却是 神的子民；从前未蒙怜恤，现在却蒙了怜恤。 |
| [Introduction: Identity Stolen] I remember the terrifying feeling when I thought my identity had been stolen. I had requested my free credit report, and as I opened it, I saw credit card after credit card that I had not opened. I saw car loans that did not belong to me. I saw debts that I never initiated. It had my name on it, but all the records, debts, and numbers were not mine. That terrifying feeling turned to relief when I realized that even the Social Security number was wrong. In fact, I had the credit report of a different “Steven Lee” that lived in the apartment directly next door. True story. |
[引子：身份被盗]我记得有一次我意识到自己的身份被盗了，当时我吓死了。我申请了免费查看我的信用报告。当我打开报告时，我看到了一张又一张不是我自己开通的信用卡。我看到了不属于我的车贷。我看到了我从未借过的债。名字是我的，但所有的记录、债务和数字都不是我的。当我发现连社保号都错了的时候，那种恐怖的感觉变成了解脱。事实上，我看到的是另一个“李司提反”的信用报告，他就住在我隔壁的公寓里。这是真实的故事。 |
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| [Uniqueness of Identity] Identity theft is one of those things that feels so personal. Almost an attack on who we are. Why? It’s not just the unethical and illegal use of someone’s Social Security number or credit card information, but it attempts to steal our most precious and unique quality: our identity. |
[身份的独特性]身份盗窃是一种入侵私密的事情。几乎是对我们身份的攻击。为什么？它不仅仅是不道德和非法地使用别人的社会安全号码或信用卡信息，而是试图窃取我们最珍贵和独特的品质：我们的身份。 |
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| [Identity: Essential for Life] Our identity are so vitally important for life. In it we find the answer to the age old question, “Who are you and why do you exist?” Knowing our identity is essential to living a life with meaning and purpose. It functions as our operating framework, and the foundational circuitry of our lives. |
[身份：生命的根本]我们的身份对生命是如此的至关重要。我们看到了有关身份的一个古老问题：“你是谁，你为什么存在？”了解我们的身份是生活的意义和目的的关键所在。身份的作用是作我们的操作框架，也是我们生活的基础电路。 |
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| [FCF] If we don’t understand who we are, then we lack purpose and meaning. Without a clear sense of our identity leads to despondency, aimlessness, and perhaps a wasted life. Peter understands how important it is for his readers to know without a shadow of doubt their identity, which leads to living out their purpose. |
[聚焦堕落状态]如果我们不明白自己是谁，那么我们就缺乏目标和意义。如果对自己的身份没有明确的认识，就会意志消沉，漫无目的，也许还会虚度一生。彼得明白对他的读者来说，确信不疑地知道自己的身份是多么重要，从而活出自己的目的。 |
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| [Main Point] Believers have been given a new identity and purpose as God’s people who proclaim his excellencies. |
[要点]信徒被赋予了新的身份和目的，成为神的子民，宣扬神的卓越。 |
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| [Context & Flow] Peter has already touched on identity throughout his letter: elect exiles (1:1), born again (1:3), obedient children (1:14), newborn infants (2:2), and living stones (2:4). In our passage, 1 Peter 2:9–10, he zooms in on their identity, contrasted with those who stumble over Jesus the cornerstone. Verse 9 indicates this contrast with “But you are a chosen race…” There are those who stumble over Jesus and who disobey the word. In contrast to those people, you are those who do not stumble, but have believed in him, built your life upon this cornerstone, and do in fact obey the word of God. |
[语境和思路]彼得在信中已经触及到身份的问题：蒙拣选的寄居者（1:1），重生的（1:3），顺服的儿女（1:14），新生的婴孩（2:2），活石（2:4）。在我们的经文中，彼得前书2:9-10，他拉近镜头观察他们的身份，与那些绊倒在耶稣这块房角石的人形成对比。第9节用“然而你们是蒙拣选的族类……”来对照有的人在耶稣身上跌倒，不顺从这道。与那些人相比，你们没有跌倒，而是信了祂，把自己的生命建立在这块房角石上，事实上也顺从了神的话。 |
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| [Plan] So in verses 9–10, we get five descriptions of Christian identity and one purpose. Our plan is to walk through those five descriptions, ask how does this identity produce, and then end with the purpose. |
[计划]所以在9-10节，我们看到了对基督徒身份的五种描述和一个目的。我们的计划是通过这五种描述，问这个身份是如何产生的，最后讲目的。 |
| 1. What is the Believers New Identity? |
1.信徒的新身份是什么？ |
| ◦ You are a Chosen Race |
◦你们是蒙拣选的族类 |
| ◦ You are a Royal Priesthood |
◦你们是君尊的祭司 |
| ◦ You are a Holy Nation |
◦你们是圣洁的国民 |
| ◦ You are a People for God’s Special Possession |
◦你们是属神的子民 |
| ◦ You are a People Who Have Received Mercy |
◦你们是蒙怜恤的子民 |
| 2. What does this New Identity Produce? |
2.这个新的身份产生了什么？ |
| 3. What is the Purpose of this New Identity? |
3.这个新身份的目的是什么？ |
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| What is the Believers’ New Identity? |
信徒的新身份是什么？ |
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| (1) You are a Chosen Race |
(1) 你是蒙拣选的族类 |
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| [Themes & Language from Isaiah] Peter begins by drawing upon language from the book of Isaiah, which recounts Israel’s deliverance from exile in Babylon as a forerunner of deliverance that Jesus would bring. The phrase “chosen race” echoes Isaiah 43. Let look at two passages. |
[来自以赛亚书的主题和语言]以赛亚书叙述了以色列人从巴比伦的流放地获救，作为耶稣将带来的救赎的先驱。彼得首先引用了该书中的语言。“蒙拣选的族类”这句话与以赛亚书43章相呼应。我们来看两段经文。 |
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| • Isaiah 43:2–3a “[2] When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. [3] For I am the LORD your God…” |
• 以赛亚书43:2-3a “[2] 你从水中经过的时候，我必与你同在；你渡过江河的时候，水必不淹没你； 你从火中行走的时候，必不会烧伤； 火燄也不会在你身上烧起来。 [3] 因为我是耶和华你的 神……” |
| • Isaiah 43:20–21 “[20] The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, [21] the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.” |
• 以赛亚书43:20–21 “[20] 野地的走兽必尊重我，野狗和鸵鸟也必这样， 因为我使旷野有水， 使荒地有江河， 好使我拣选的子民有水喝，[21] 就是我为自己所造的子民，好使他们述说讚美我的话。” |
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| [Chosen by God] Though Israel experienced trials and suffering in the Babylonian exile—waters, rivers, fire, desert wanderings—God protects and provides for his chosen people. Peter takes that imagery, and applies it to believers because Israel is a foreshadowing of the greater deliverance that would come in the person and work of Jesus. In the same way we look back to the Exodus, or to exile, Peter says, we have a better deliverance and rescuer today in Christ. Therefore, whatever you’re going through, Peter says—waters, rivers, fire, desert wanderings—don’t forget that you are God’s chosen people. |
[蒙神拣选]尽管以色列人在巴比伦流亡中经历了试炼和苦难--水、河、火、沙漠流浪--但神保护和供应祂的选民。彼得把这个意象，应用在信徒身上，因为以色列预表一个更大的救赎，将在耶稣的位格和工作中降临。同样我们回顾出埃及，或者流亡，彼得说，今天我们在基督里有更好的救赎和拯救者。所以，无论你经历什么，彼得说--水、河、火、沙漠流浪--不要忘记你是神的选民。 |
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| [One New People] Peter is also showing them that Christians—no matter their ethnic identity, racial identity, or regional identity—they are form one new race among humanity who are born again. All those who believe in Jesus—Jew, Gentile, Greek, Roman, Cappadocian, Bithynian or whatever else—are part of God’s new people. Not physical bloodlines, but spiritual bloodlines in Christ. |
[一个新人]彼得还向他们表明，基督徒--无论他们的民族身份、种族身份或籍贯身份如何，他们都是人类中重生的一个新族类。所有信耶稣的人--无论是犹太人、外邦人、希腊人、罗马人、卡帕多西亚人、比提尼人或其他什么人--都是上帝新子民的一部分。不是肉体的血统，而是在基督里的属灵血统。 |
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| [Illustration: Ancestry] Tracing one’s lineage has recently come in vogue with various companies where you get your DNA with a cheek swab, and then send it in, and they trace it back to discover your ancestry, genealogy, and family tree. Or there are companies where you send in your DNA, and they’ll do genetic testing and show you what diseases you might be predisposed to or reveal any hereditary traits. That is all good and fine, but Peter is saying what is more important than your genetic material, is the spiritual family and the spiritual heritage that you now possess in Christ. You follow in the footsteps of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, Jesus, and the Apostles. |
[例证：认祖]近来很多公司时兴追溯一个人的血统，用脸颊拭子获取你的DNA，寄过去以后，他们就会追溯你的祖先、世系和家谱。还有一些公司，你把你的DNA寄过来，他们会做基因检测，告诉你你可能易患什么疾病，或者揭示你的遗传特征。这一切都很好，但彼得说的是，比你的遗传物质更重要的，是你现在在基督里拥有的属灵家庭和属灵产业。你跟随亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各、大卫王、耶稣和使徒的脚步。 |
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| [Transcend Race] In a world fractured along ethnic and racial lines, the church has an opportunity to display the unifying power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church of Jesus Christ transcends all ethnicity, race, class, and culture to establish new bonds held together by shared allegiance to Christ, composing a new Christian community. |
[超越种族]在这个因民族和种族而分裂的世界里，教会有机会展示耶稣基督福音合一的力量。耶稣基督的教会超越了所有的民族、种族、阶级和文化，通过对基督的共同效忠，建立了新的纽带，组成了一个新的基督教团体。 |
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| [Corporate Identity] Your identity, Peter says—more than your color, more than your ethnic heritage, more than your immigration status, more than anything else—is that you are new chosen race in Christ. This identity is not an individualistic identity, but a corporate identity along with all of God’s people. Peter’s point is that though you’re all exiles, you are part of this singular global race united under the Lordship of Christ. |
[集体身份]彼得说，你的身份--比起你的肤色，比起你的民族血统，比起你的移民身份，比起其他任何东西都重要--就是你在基督里是新拣选的族类。这个身份不是个人主义的身份，而是和所有神的子民共同享有的集体身份。彼得的意思是，虽然你们都是寄居者，但你们是这个在基督的主宰之下联合起来的全球性新族类的一部分。 |
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| (2) You are a Royal Priesthood |
(2)你们是君尊的祭司 |
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| [Echo Exodus 19:5–6] Peter harkens back to language from 1 Peter 2:5 where believers are living stones and holy priests who mediate God to the nations. He also echoes language from Exodus 19:5–6, which reads, “[5] “‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; [6] and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” |
[呼应出埃及记19:5-6]彼得回顾了彼得前书2:5中的语言，在那里，信徒是活石，是圣洁的祭司，在神面前作万国的中保。他也呼应了出埃及记19:5–6的语言，其中写道：“[5] 现在你们若是实在听我的话，遵守我的约，你们就必 在万民中作属我的产业，因为全地都是我的。 [6] 你们要归我作 君尊的祭司和圣洁的国民。” |
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| [Royal and Priestly] Peter reiterates that God’s people are both royal and priestly. Israel failed to reveal God’s glory and holiness because of their disobedience. But now, in Christ, all believers embody the holiness of God as those who are set apart for his glory. For a people asking questions about their identity and calling, this would have been a stunning image. You have been consecrated and ordained by God to a role of royalty and priestly duties in service of God together with fellow believers. |
[君尊和祭司]彼得重申，神的子民既是君尊，又是祭司。以色列人因着他们的不顺服，未能彰显神的荣耀和圣洁。但现在，在基督里，所有的信徒都体现了神的圣洁，为祂的荣耀而被分别为圣。对于一个对自己的身份和呼召提出疑问的族类来说，这本是一个令人惊叹的画面。你已被神分别为圣，并且命定与其他信徒一起担任君尊和祭司的角色，一起来服事神。 |
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| [Royalty] The only way to become part of the royal lineage or the priestly tribe is through birth right. You have to be born into the right family. But not anymore. Gentiles, exiles, and sojourners, you too now become priests who minister in a new kingdom of great glory and whose reign will never end. |
[君尊]要想成为君尊血统或祭司族的一员，唯一的办法就是通过出生权。你得出生在正确的家庭里。但现在不一样了。外邦人、流亡者、寄居者，你们现在也成了祭司，在大荣耀的新国度里服侍，祂的统治永远不会结束。 |
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| [All Serve As Priests] God’s kingdom of priests, now comprised of the church, mediate God’s blessings to the nations through proclaiming the gospel. We have a corporate calling to reflect God’s glory. And because we are all priests through Jesus—the Great High Priest—all believers now all have full and unfettered access to God. |
[人人皆祭司]神的祭司国度，现在由教会组成，通过宣讲福音，作神的中保赐福给万民。我们有一个集体的呼召，就是要反映神的荣耀。因为我们都是藉着耶稣--大祭司--成为祭司，所以现在所有的信徒都可以完全不受限制地来到神面前。 |
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| [Broadening in Scope] In each of these descriptions of believers’ identity there is a broadening effect. What was once true of the nation of Israel, ethnic Jews only, through birthright, and highly exclusive, has now become broad in scope. God’s people are comprised of all believers, through the blood of Jesus, from every ethnicity, no matter your physical bloodline, you can be grafted in through Jesus’ blood to be one new people. |
[扩大范围]在这些对信徒身份的描述中，每一种都有一种扩大化的效果。以前的以色列国，只属于犹太人族裔，由出生决定，具有高度的排他性，现在这个范围扩大了。神的子民是由所有的信徒组成的，藉着耶稣的宝血，来自各个民族，不管你的肉身血统如何，你都可以通过耶稣的宝血嫁接进来，成为一个新的族类。 |
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| (3) You are a Holy Nation |
（3）你们是圣洁的国民 |
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| [Exodus Typology] Drawing upon Exodus typology, Peter shows that the church now becomes the new Israel. Israel was rescued from Egypt and God established a covenant with them at Sinai. But now, through Christ, the new Israel is under a new covenant, comprised of Jew and Gentile, to be a singular new nation. This new nation is called holy, to reflect God through their obedience and sanctification. They are set apart. |
[出埃及的预表]根据出埃及所预表的，彼得表明，教会现在成为新的以色列。以色列人被救出埃及，神在西奈山与他们立约。但现在，通过基督，新的以色列人在新约之下，由犹太人和外邦人组成，成为一个统一的新国族。这个新的国族被称为圣洁，要通过他们的顺服和成圣来反映神的形像。他们被分别为圣。 |
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| [New Nation, Not Treasonous] This identity of being a holy nation combats the possible accusation that Peter’s readers were hearing. It’s likely that their suffering is partly due to appearing treasonous to the culture and nation around them. Christians in Peter’s day abstained from commonly held social practices such as idol worship, offering sacrifices, gladiatorial combat, and other pagan rituals or practices. The society around them hate them because faith in Christ takes precedent over their national allegiances. Peter reminds them, your allegiance is to this new holy nation under God. |
[新国民，不叛国]这种作为圣洁国民的身份，打败了彼得的读者可能听到的指控。他们的痛苦很可能部分是由于他们叛逆了周围的文化和民族。彼得时代的基督徒戒除了常见的社会习俗，如拜偶像、献祭、角斗，以及其他异教的仪式或习俗。他们周围的社会讨厌他们，因为他们对基督的信仰高于他们对本民族的忠诚。彼得提醒他们，你们效忠的是神统治之下的这个新的圣洁国度。 |
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| [Christ First] Christians today are called to be Christ-first people. Not America first, not globalization first, not capitalism first, and not security and protection first. We live to display that Christ is first. Our obedience to Christ may someday be seen as treasonous to America. This is already true of believers in places like China, Russia, North Korea, and many other nations around the world. Will you be loyal to your country or to Christ first? Peter is reminding his audience that Christians—no matter the accusation—are to have Christ and his kingdom as their first and superior allegiance. |
[基督至上]今天的基督徒蒙召成为基督至上的人。不以美国为先，不以全球化为先，不以资本主义为先，不以安全和保护为先。我们活着是为了彰显基督居首位。我们对基督的顺从有一天可能会被视为对美国的背叛。中国、俄罗斯、朝鲜等地的信徒，以及世界上许多国家的信徒都已经如此。你是先忠于你的国家还是先忠于基督？彼得是在提醒他的听众，基督徒--无论受到什么指责，都要以基督和祂的国度为第一和至上的效忠。 |
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| [Dual Passports] In a sense, each of us holds dual citizenship. One passport from our earthly country, and one passport from our heavenly dwelling place. We are exiles, aliens, and sojourners on an extended stay, but never forgetting where we are headed. There may be a point of crisis where we must relinquish one of our passports in allegiance to the other. Will we hand over our US passports or our kingdom passports? Don’t forget brothers and sisters, we are true and lasting citizens of a heavenly country. |
[双重护照]从某种意义上说，我们每个人都拥有双重国籍。我们有一本人间国度的护照，还有一本天上居所的护照。我们是流亡者，是异乡人，也是长期逗留的寄居者，但永远不会忘记我们要去的地方。可能会有那么一个危机时刻，我们必须放弃其中一本护照，效忠于另一本护照。我们是交出美国护照还是神国护照？兄弟姐妹，不要忘记，我们是真正的、永久的天国公民。 |
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| (4) You are a People for God’s Special Possession |
（4）你们是属神的子民 |
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| [A People for his Own Possession] The idea here is that we are God’s special people, his possession. We belong to God. Like Israel, God’s chosen people, now applied to all believers, enjoying his presence and favor. Again there are echoes from Exodus 19:5 where he calls them “my treasured possession among all peoples.” |
[专属于祂的子民]这里的理念是，我们是属神的特殊子民，祂的私人财产。我们属于神。就像以色列人一样，神的选民，现在适用于所有的信徒，享受祂的同在和恩宠。这又是呼应出埃及记19:5 神称他们为“在万民中作属我的产业。” |
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| [Deuteronomy 7] Remember what God says to Israel when he called them out of Egypt to be his chosen people? Let me read Deuteronomy 7:6–9. |
[申命记7章]还记得神呼召以色列人出埃及做祂的选民时，对他们说了什么吗？让我来读一下申命记7:6-9： |
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| [6] For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. [7] It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, [8] but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. [9] Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations… |
[6]因为你是归耶和华你的 神作圣洁的子民的；耶和华你的 神从地上的万族中，拣选了你作他自己的产业，自己的子民。[7] 耶和华喜爱你们，拣选你们，并不是因为你们的人数比别的民族多，其实你们的人数在万族中是最少的；[8] 而是因为耶和华对你们的爱，又因为他遵守他向你们的列祖所起的誓，他才用大能的手把你们领出来，把你们从为奴之家，从埃及王法老的手里拯救出来。[9] 所以你要知道耶和华你的 神，他是 神，是信实可靠的 神；他向爱他和守他诫命的人，守约并且施慈爱，直到千代…… |
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| [Identity] What is God doing here in Deuteronomy 7? He tells them their new identity—people holy to Yahweh, chosen treasured possession, beloved by God—and tells them of his identity—God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love to those who love him. Peter now says you have that glorious and exalted place through union with Christ, now as God’s especially beloved people. Nothing is more important than know who God is and who God has called us to be in Christ. Believer, you together with all believers, are a treasured possession.. |
[身份]神在这申命记第7章里做什么？祂告诉他们他们的新身份—归耶和华作圣洁的子民，被拣选的宝物，被神所爱的人，并告诉他们祂的身份--神是神，是信实的神，对爱祂的人守约施慈爱。彼得现在说，你们因着与基督的联合，现在作为神特别喜爱的子民，就有了那荣耀尊贵的地位。没有什么比知道神是谁，以及神在基督里呼召我们成为谁更重要。信徒，你和所有的信徒，都是神所珍贵的财产。 |
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| (5) You are a People Who Have Received Mercy |
（5）你们是蒙怜恤的子民 |
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| [Not a People, Now a People] Let’s for a moment skip over the purpose clause that we see in verse 9 and we’ll come back to that. In verse 10 we get the fifth description of the identity of God’s people. This draws upon the book of Hosea, a stunning and disturbing story. The prophet Hosea was to portray and live out a parable to convey God’s judgment on the nation of Israel. Hosea marries an unfaithful wife Gomer, has three children who are named Jezreel, No Mercy, and Not My People. The naming of his children was commentary on Israel and the judgment God was bringing because of their unfaithfulness and idolatry. |
[从前不是子民，现在却是神的子民]我们先跳过第9节中的目的句，我们稍后再来讨论这个问题。在第10节，我们看到了关于神子民身份的第五个描述。这引用了何西阿书中一个惊人而令人不安的故事。先知何西阿刻画并活出一个比喻，以传达神对以色列国的审判。何西阿娶了一个不忠的妻子歌篾，生了三个孩子，他们的名字叫耶斯列、不蒙怜悯、非我子民。给他的孩子起名是作为对以色列人的评论，也是对神因他们的不忠和拜偶像而带来的审判。 |
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| [I will have mercy on No Mercy] The stunning image in the book of Hosea is that God is the faithful husband that will win back his faithless bride, sanctify her, and restore her in righteousness, justice, steadfast love, and mercy. It is a living parable of God’s love that stoops low to save an undeserving people that have been faithless and idolatrous. In Hosea 2:23 the Lord says, “And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people.’” The rejected children of Israel will be restored through the undeserved mercy and grace of God. |
[这不蒙怜恤的，我必怜恤]何西阿书中令人惊叹的意象是，神是信实的丈夫，祂要赢回祂不信实的新娘，使她成圣，在公义、正义、坚贞的爱和怜悯中恢复她。这是一个活生生的比喻，说明上帝的爱俯下身子，拯救一群不配得的、不忠信、拜偶像的百姓。在何西阿书2:23中耶和华说：“素不蒙怜恤的，我必怜恤，本非我民的，我必对他说：‘你是我的民。’”被拒绝的以色列子孙因着神的怜悯和恩典而得恢复。 |
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| [Shown Mercy in Christ] For Peter’s audience of Jews and primarily Gentiles, formerly living in darkness, objects of wrath, who were to stumble over the cornerstone, God graciously and gloriously displayed his mercy to save them. They have been wondrously brought into God’s family to be recipients of mercy, objects of God’s grace, and not of his wrath. Peter already mentioned mercy in 1 Peter 1:3, saying “according to his great mercy, he has cause us to be born again to a living hope…” Our identity is those who are his people and have been shown mercy. |
[在基督里施慈爱]彼得的听众，犹太人，主要是外邦人，以前生活在黑暗中，是神震怒的对象，他们要被房角石绊倒，神恩典而荣耀地显出祂的怜悯来拯救他们。他们被奇妙地带入神的家庭，成为怜悯的接受者，神恩典的对象，而不是祂震怒的对象。彼得在彼得前书1:3已经提到了怜悯，他说：“祂曾照自己的大怜悯，藉耶稣基督从死里复活，重生了我们，叫我们有活泼的盼望……”我们的身份是祂的子民，已经得了怜悯。 |
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| What Does this New Identity Produce? |
这个新的身份产生了什么？ |
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| [What’s the Point?] If these five things describe our new identity, so what? What is this new identity supposed to do? What is supposed to produce in us? Identity informs our living. Our identity produce in us attitudes in step with our new identity. Let me mention a two things. |
[意义何在？]如果这五件事描述了我们的新身份，那又如何？这个新的身份应该做什么呢？我们身上应该产生什么？我们的身份让我们知道我们该怎样活。我们的身份使我们的态度与我们的新身份步调一致。让我提两件事。 |
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| [Produces Humility] Christians should be some of the most humble people you know. We were chosen apart from anything we could do to earn God’s favor. We didn’t save ourselves. We didn’t deserve salvation. We didn’t earn our rescue. God alone saved us. There is no room for arrogance, no room for pride, no room for being judgmental of those without Christ or of those struggling. We are recipients of mercy! |
[产生谦逊]基督徒应该是你所认识的最谦虚的人。我们是蒙拣选的，与我们能做什么赢得神的眷顾无关。我们不是自己救自己。我们不配得救恩。我们没有赢得拯救。神单方面救了我们。没有傲慢的余地，没有骄傲的余地，也没有余地论断不认识基督的人或在挣扎中的人。我们是蒙怜悯的！ |
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| [Arrogance] Let me try to illustrate. When Stephanie and I first started dating, I took her to one of the fanciest restaurants I could afford in La Jolla. We were young college kids. So when the waiter comes by, it’s clear to me he’s a little annoyed with us, probably thinking we’re college kids who will give him a small tip (he wasn’t wrong). So for the night, his service was a bit arrogant and impatient, because we were not the typical cliental he was accustomed to. But for Christians, who serve as priests to our God, we are to possess the attitude of those who are stunned and amazed that we have these privileges. No arrogance or pride, thinking we’re better than others. Are you overwhelmed with humility that God would save you and then be willing to use us for his glory and purposes. O Christian, be amazed and stunned afresh that God would set his love upon you! |
[傲慢]让我来举个例子。当斯蒂芬妮和我第一次约会时，我带她去了拉霍亚我吃得起的一家最豪华的餐厅。我们都是年轻的大学生。所以当服务员过来的时候，我清楚地知道他对我们有些不满，可能认为我们是大学生，只会给他一点点小费（他没有错）。所以那天晚上，他的服务有点傲慢和不耐烦，因为我们不是他习惯的典型客户群。但对于我们基督徒，我们作为神的祭司，我们应该对我们所享有的特权感到震惊和惊奇，从而具备相应的态度。不骄不躁，不自以为比别人强。你是否被神拯救你并愿意为祂的荣耀和意旨而使用我们的那种谦卑所折服？基督徒啊，你要对神竟会把祂的爱放在你身上而重新感到惊奇和震惊! |
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| [Produces Amazement] Christians should never outgrow stunned amazement at God’s undeserved mercy. We were not a people. We did not deserve mercy. But God showed it to us. Consider how you would have made a complete shipwreck of your life if God had not intervened, gripped your heart by grace, and arrested your affections so that you would belong to Christ. I think of all the pitfalls of this life: alcoholism, sexual sin and adultery, greed, deception, anger, seeking vengeance, oppressing others, dulling our fears and anxieties with chemicals, the relentless pursuit of power, fame, and recognition, or deep despondency, feelings of being overwhelmed, and being paralyzed with fear. I can see myself shackled by any one of them, with my life in a tailspin. But God showed his great mercy to me. God showed his great mercy to you. What does our identity produce? A humble and amazed people. |
[产生惊奇]基督徒永远不应该对我们所不配得的，神却施予我们的怜悯失去最初的惊奇和震惊。我们原非神的子民。我们不配得怜悯。但神对我们施怜悯。想想看，如果不是神介入，用恩典抓住你的心，捕获你的感情，使你属于基督，你的生命会遭遇如何彻底的船难。我想到了今生所有的陷阱：酗酒、性罪和通奸、贪婪、欺骗、愤怒、寻求报复、压迫他人、用化学物质来消磨我们的恐惧和焦虑，对权力、名声和认可的不懈追求，或者深深的绝望、不知所措的感觉，以及被恐惧吓得瘫倒。我可以看到自己被它们中的任何一个所捆绑，生活陷入崩溃。但上帝向我显出祂的极大怜悯。上帝向你施行了极大的怜悯。我们的身份产生了什么？一个谦卑而且被神的恩典震惊的族类。 |
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| [Unbeliever: Come Experience Amazement] For those who have no categories of stunned amazement when it comes to religion, Christianity, or Jesus, we want to welcome you in. Come and see. There are hundreds and thousands and millions of believers across the ages that have built their entire lives upon this cornerstone. We invite you to come and see the superior satisfaction that is found in a life given over to Christ. All you have to do in come to Jesus and ask for him to show you mercy, and to surrender your own way of living. We want nothing more than for you to be called out of darkness into God’s marvelous light, filling your heart with unspeakable joy. |
[不信者：快来体验这份惊奇]对于那些在宗教、基督教、耶稣方面无感的人，我们要欢迎你加入。来看看吧古往今来有成百上千、千千万万的信徒，把自己的一生建立在这块房角石上。我们邀请你来看看在将生命交给基督的生活中所发现的超胜满足感。你所要做的就是来到耶稣面前，求祂向你施怜悯，并放弃依靠自己的生活方式。我们不想别的，只想让你从黑暗中被呼召出来，进入上帝奇妙的光中，让你的内心充满难以言喻的喜乐。 |
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| What is the Purpose of this New Identity? |
这个新身份的目的是什么？ |
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| [To Proclaim His Excellencies] So I said we could come back to the purpose clause in verse 9, which reads, “that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Our new identity is for this purpose: the proclamation of Christ’s greatness and glory. If awe, wonder, praise, and amazement are to characterized our lives and faith, it should overflow in proclamation of Christ’s good news. |
[宣扬祂的美德]所以我说，我们可以回到第9节的目的从句：“为要叫你们宣扬那召你们出黑暗入奇妙光明者的美德。”我们的新身份就是为了这个目的：宣扬基督的伟大和荣耀。如果敬畏、惊奇、赞美和震惊是我们生命和信心的特征，那么它就应该洋溢出来宣扬基督好消息。 |
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| [Excellencies?] “Excellencies,” could be translated as “wonderful deeds” or “praises.” The perfections of God are to be enjoyed and declared. Our identity in Christ transforms how we speak, think, and live. We have been given a purpose: to declare and proclaim the goodness, beauty, and glory of God in Christ. |
[美德？]“美德”也可以翻译为“奇妙的作为”或“赞美”。神的本性就是要被享受和宣扬。我们在基督里的身份改变了我们说话、思考和生活的方式。我们被赋予了一个目的：在基督里宣告和宣扬上帝的良善、美善和荣耀。 |
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| [Isaiah 43:21] We actually saw this earlier in Isaiah 43:21 where it says “my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.” The point is to declare Yahweh’s praise through being a newly chosen people for God. This isn’t to be narrowly understood as singing songs, but an expansive image of declaring God’s greatness through praise, worship, evangelism, and spreading the good news of God’s saving work near and far. |
[以赛亚书43:21]其实我们前面在以赛亚书43:21中也看到了这一点： “我拣选的子民，也就是我为自己所造的子民，好使他们述说赞美我的话。”要点在于通过成为神新拣选的子民，来宣告耶和华的赞美。这并不是狭隘地理解为唱歌，而是通过赞美、敬拜、传福音，远近传播神救赎工作的好消息，来宣扬神的伟大形象。 |
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| [Darkness to Light] We also get the stunning language of darkness and light, echoing creation. Paul uses this same imagery in 2 Corinthians 4:6 where God shines the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” We are those who have been transferred and rescued out of deep debilitating darkness, where sin hides and evil kills, to now walking in the light of the knowledge of Christ. We dwell in this light—and someday we will bask in the light not of the sun, but of the Son for there will be not more need for the sun. |
[从黑暗到光明]我们也看到了黑暗与光明的奇妙语言，与创造大工相呼应。保罗在哥林多后书4:6中使用了同样的意象，在那里，神照出了“使人可以认识那在基督脸上的荣光”。罪恶就隐藏在黑暗中，在那里行杀害。而我们是从那里面被转移和拯救出来的人，现在走在认识基督的光中。我们住在这光中--有一天我们要沐浴在光中，不是太阳的光，而是圣子的光，因为那时不再需要太阳了。 |
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| Conclusion |
结语 |
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| [How Do You Define Yourself?] How do you define yourself? What comes to mind first? Is it our ethnic identity, our vocational identity (engineer, factory worker, educator, stay-at-home mom/dad, student, medical worker, consultant, landscaper), age and stage of life (single, married, parent, grandparent, widow/er, retiree, teenager), national identity, political identity, or generational identity (Boomer, Gen X, Millenial). |
[你如何定义你自己？]你如何定义你自己？你第一个念头想到的是什么？是我们的种族认同，我们的职业认同（工程师、工厂工人、教育工作者、家庭主妇/主男、学生、医务工作者、顾问、园艺师），年龄和生活阶段（单身、已婚、父母、祖父母、寡妇/鳏夫、退休者、青少年），民族认同、政治认同，还是代际认同（婴儿潮、X代、千禧一代）？ |
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| [God Defines Us] Christians don’t define themselves. God defines them. Christ ransoms us from futility not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. Our rescue by Jesus is what defines us for all eternity. Our identity is obtained by being in union with Christ, united and gathered together with this one people across time and space. We do not live for ourselves, we do not define ourselves, we do not have to create our own identities, but they are gloriously given to us by Jesus. You are beloved, chosen, precious, holy, special, God’s people, shown mercy, so that we could declare his praises and proclaim his excellencies, so that many might likewise receive a new identity and purpose in Christ. |
[神定义我们]基督徒不会给自己下定义。而是神定义他们。基督不是用金银等易朽之物，而是用祂的宝血，如那没有残疾和瑕疵的羔羊之血，将我们从劳苦重担中赎出来。我们被耶稣拯救，就是我们永远的定义。我们的身份是通过与基督联合而获得的，并与这一族类联合、聚集，跨越时空。我们不为自己而活，不为自己而定义，我们不必创造自己的身份，而这身份却是耶稣荣耀地赐给我们的。你们是被爱的，蒙拣选的，宝贵的，圣洁的，特别的，是神的子民，是蒙了怜恤的，使我们可以宣告对祂的赞美，宣扬祂的美德，使许多人可以同样在基督里得到新的身份和目的。 |
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