| 選讀亞歷山卓主教聖濟利祿《格林多後書釋義》 | Ex Commentário sancti Cyrílli Alexandríni epíscopi in Epístolam secúndam ad Corínthios (Cap. 5, 5 — 6, 2: PG 74, 942-943) |
| 天主藉基督與我們和好 | Deus nos per Christum reconciliavit et ministerium reconciliationis nobis attribuit |
| 凡擁有聖神的保證，並滿懷對復活的希望的人，就好像他們已經擁有他們所期待的。他們說：從今以後，我們不再憑血肉之見觀察任何人。我們都是屬神的人，與血肉的腐朽絕緣。因為，我們為唯一聖子所光照，便在那使萬物生活的聖言內、起了變化。當罪惡從前統治我們時，我們曾被死亡的鎖鏈所俘虜，現在我們被引入基督的義德，便擯棄了腐朽。 這樣，再沒有人處於血肉之中了，就是說，處於軟弱的境況中。這是在人肉身的許多屬性中，腐朽所有的一層意義，保祿加上一句說：「雖然我們曾經按血肉之見認識基督，但是現在不再這樣認識祂了。」這好像他要說：「聖言成了血肉，住在我們中間」；祂為了做我們眾人的生命，在肉身上受死，而「我們就這樣認識了祂」，可是「現在我們不再這樣認識祂了。」雖然祂仍有血肉之身，由於祂在第三天復活了，並在天堂上生活在父那裡，我們認識祂超越血肉：因為祂死了一次，「就不會再死，死亡再也不能統治祂了。因為祂死，是死於罪惡，僅有一次。祂活著，是為天主而活。」 既然祂以這種方式作了我們生活的嚮導，我們就必須「追隨祂的足跡」，並令人看出來，我們不是按肉體而生活，而是超越肉體。聖保祿說得很對：「如果有人在基督內，他就是新的受造物。舊的已經過去，你看，都成了新的。」因為我們藉對基督的信德而成義，詛咒已毫無力量。基督在踐踏了死亡的勢力之後，為我們復活了。我們承認祂就本性而論是天主，也確實是天主。聖子從聖父那裡，將天上的恩澤廣施給世人，我們是靠身為中保的聖子，「以精神並按真理敬拜聖父」。 因此，聖保祿極明智的說：「一切都是出於天主，祂藉著基督，使我們與祂自己和好。」誠然，降生的奧蹟，和隨之而來的更新，都無非是天主的聖意。正是透過基督，「我們才能接近聖父」，如同祂親自說過，不經過祂，誰也不能到父那裡去。所以「這一切都出於天主：祂藉著基督，使我們與祂自己和好，並且把這和好的職務賜給了我們。」 | Qui Spíritus arrham habent, et spe resurrectiónis sunt prǽditi, hi rem exspectátam tamquam præséntem tenéntes, áiunt se néminem abhinc agnóscere secúndum carnem: cuncti enim spiritáles sumus, et carnáli corruptióne aliéni. Etenim illucescénte nobis Unigénito, in ipsum quod ómnia vivíficat Verbum transformámur. Nempe sícuti mortis vínculis erámus obstrícti regnánte peccáto, ita Christi subintránte iustítia corruptélam abiécimus. Nemo ítaque iam est in carne, id est in infirmitáte carnáli, cuiúsmodi iure meritóque corrúptio inter cétera intellegénda est, addit: Nam etiámsi novérimus secúndum carnem Christum, nunc tamen iam non nóvimus. Tamquam si dícere vellet: Verbum caro factum est et habitávit in nobis, et pro nostrum ómnium vita mortem secúndum carnem súbiit, atque ita ipsum nóvimus; verúmtamen abhinc iam non agnóscimus. Etiámsi enim carnem rétinet, quippe qui tértia die revíxit, et apud Patrem in cælis versátur, nihilóminus supra carnem esse intellégitur: semel enim mórtuus, iam non móritur, mors illi ultérius non dominábitur. Quod enim mórtuus est, peccáto semel est mórtuus; quod autem vivit, Deo vivit. Igitur si huiuscémodi ille est qui se fecit vitæ nobis antesignánum, prorsus opórtet nos quoque vestígiis eius insisténtes, non tam in carne quam supra carnem esse reputári. Ergo rectíssime divus Paulus: Si qua in Christo, inquit, nova creatúra, vétera transiérunt, ecce nova facta sunt. Iustificáti enim fúimus per fidem in Christo, et maledictiónis vis désiit. Quandóquidem ille nostri grátia revíxit, calcáta mortis poténtia; verúmque et suápte natúra Deum agnóvimus, cui in spíritu et veritáte cultum impéndimus, mediatóre Fílio, qui supérnas a Patre benedictiónes mundo impertítur. Quámobrem sapientíssime divus Paulus: Omnia autem, inquit, ex Deo qui sibi nos reconciliávit per Christum. Reápse enim haud præter Patris voluntátem est incarnatiónis mystérium et consectánea huic renovátio. Quippe per Christum nacti áditum sumus cum nemo ad Patrem véniat, ut ípsemet ait: nisi per ipsum. Igitur ómnia ex Deo sunt, qui nos per Christum reconciliávit et ministérium reconciliatiónis attríbuit. |
From the commentary on the second letter to the Corinthians by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, bishop
God has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation
Those who have a sure hope, guaranteed by the Spirit, that they will rise again lay hold of what lies in the future as though it were already present. They say: “Outward appearances will no longer be our standard in judging other men. Our lives are all controlled by the Spirit now, and are not confined to this physical world that is subject to corruption. The light of the Only-begotten has shone on us, and we have been transformed into the Word, the source of all life. While sin was still our master, the bonds of death had a firm hold on us, but now that the righteousness of Christ has found a place in our hearts we have freed ourselves from our former condition of corruptibility.”
This means that none of us lives in the flesh any more, at least not in so far as living in the flesh means being subject to the weaknesses of the flesh, which include corruptibility. Once we thought of Christ as being in the flesh, but we do not do so any longer, says Saint Paul. By this he meant that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; he suffered death in the flesh in order to give all men life. It was in this flesh that we knew him before, but we do so no longer. Even though he remains in the flesh, since he came to life again on the third day and is now with his Father in heaven, we know that he has passed beyond the life of the flesh; for having died once, he will never die again, death has no power over him any more. His death was a death to sin, which he died once for all; his life is life with God.
Since Christ has in this way become the source of life for us, we who follow in his footsteps must not think of ourselves as living in the flesh any longer, but as having passed beyond it. Saint Paul’s saying is absolutely true that when anyone is in Christ he becomes a completely different person: his old life is over and a new life has begun. We have been justified by our faith in Christ and the power of the curse has been broken. Christ’s coming to life again for our sake has put an end to the sovereignty of death. We have come to know the true God and to worship him in spirit and in truth, through the Son, our mediator, who sends down upon the world the Father’s blessings.
And so Saint Paul shows deep insight when he says: This is all God’s doing: it is he who has reconciled us to himself through Christ. For the mystery of the incarnation and the renewal it accomplished could not have taken place without the Father’s will. Through Christ we have gained access to the Father, for as Christ himself says, no one comes to the Father except through him. This is all God’s doing, then. It is he who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
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