The Greatest Mystery 最大的奥秘

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Dexu Xia

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Feb 12, 2020, 11:46:26 PM2/12/20

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The Greatest Mystery

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15

Today's Scripture & Insight: Colossians 1:15–22

Before I came to faith in Jesus, I’d heard the gospel preached but wrestled with His identity. How could He offer forgiveness for my sins when the Bible says only God can forgive sins? I discovered I wasn’t alone in my struggles after reading J. I. Packer’s Knowing God. Packer suggests that for many unbelievers the “really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man . . . as truly and fully divine as He was human.” Yet this is the truth that makes salvation possible.

When the apostle Paul refers to Christ as “the image of the invisible God,” he’s saying Jesus is completely and perfectly God—Creator and Sustainer of all things in heaven and earth‒but also fully human (Colossians 1:15–17). Because of this truth, we can be confident that through Christ’s death and resurrection, He’s not only carried the consequences for our sins but has also redeemed human nature, so that we—and all of creation—can be reconciled to God (vv. 20–22).

In an amazing, initiating act of love, God the Father reveals Himself in and through Scripture by the power of God the Holy Spirit and through the life of God the Son. Those who believe in Jesus are saved because He is Emmanuel—God with us. Hallelujah!

最大的奥秘

爱子是那不能看见之上帝的像，是首生的，在一切被造的以先。-歌罗西书1章15节

在我相信耶稣之前，虽然经常听到人传讲福音，但我总是搞不清楚耶稣的身分。因为圣经说，只有上帝能赦免人的罪，那么耶稣怎能赦免我的罪呢？直到我读了神学家巴刻（J. I. Packer）所写的《认识神》之后，才知道对此感到困惑的大有人在。巴刻认为，对许多非信徒来说，“基督教真正惊天动地的宣言，是拿撒勒人耶稣是神成为人……全然是真神，又全然是真人。”然而，这却是让全人类得到救赎的真理！

使徒保罗称基督为“不能看见之上帝的像”，清楚表明耶稣就是上帝，是天地万物的创造者和主宰，但同时祂也是完全的人（歌罗西书1章15-17节）。因为这个真理，我们可以确信，基督已藉由受死和复活，为我们承担了罪的惩罚，祂救赎了全人类，让我们能脱离恶行，使我们和一切受造物都能与上帝和好（20-22节）。

这位天父上帝因着祂无与伦比的爱，藉由圣灵所默示的圣经，以及祂爱子在世上的生活显明祂自己，主动地让人可以认识祂。凡相信耶稣的人都会得着拯救，因为耶稣的名为以马内利──上帝与我们同在，哈利路亚！

慈爱的上帝，感谢祢向我们显明祢自己，
也谢谢祢藉着耶稣，使我们能与祢和好。