【双语灵修】普世教会 The Universal Church

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“〔我〕见有许多的人，没有人能数过来，是从各国、各族、各民、各方来的，站在宝座和羔羊面前。” - 启 7:9

基督教信仰是非常个人化的信仰，但它同时也是一个注重集体生活的信仰。在使徒信经中，我们宣告“我信圣而公之教会”时，我们是在表明，教会－基督的身体，包括了历史上所有归属上帝的人。

不过，我要清楚说明，这个声明没有在相信基督的众肢体中特别挑选或宣扬某一间具体的教会。在这里，“公”这个字的意思是“普世”，它指出基督的教会包括历史上任何时候所有上帝的子民。启示录中壮观的异象，捕捉了基督的教会“从各国、各族、各民、各方来”的盛况。你能否想像到有比这异象中更令人惊叹的情景吗？

是什么促使这许多来自不同年代和地域的人彼此联合起来的呢？从初期的教会开始，像使徒信经这样的教义宣言，在促进基督徒的合一上，扮演了一个重要的角色，而基督徒的合一，是围绕圣经这一核心，在此基础上、领受其中所默示的关于三位一体的上帝－圣父、圣子、圣灵的真理。

惟愿普世教会的见证能安慰、激励、挑战你，去更深地爱和服侍这位在历代历世受到无数信徒尊崇的上帝。

祷告

主啊，我们属于你的教会，深感不配和感恩，我们期待永远赞美和服侍你。阿们。

启示录 7:9-11

9此后我观看，见有许多的人，没有人能数过来，是从各国、各族、各民、各方来的，站在宝座和羔羊面前，身穿白衣，手拿棕树枝，
10大声喊着说：“愿救恩归于坐在宝座上我们的神，也归于羔羊！”
11众天使都站在宝座和众长老并四活物的周围，在宝座前面伏于地，敬拜神，

The Universal Church

“There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” - Revelation 7:9

The Christian faith is deeply personal. At the same time, it is also deeply communal. When we say, with the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in . . . the holy catholic church,” we are declaring that the church, the body of Christ, includes all who belong to the people of God throughout history.

Let’s be clear, though, that this statement does not single out or promote a particular church within the body of all who believe in Christ. The word “catholic” here means “universal,” indicating that the church of Christ includes all of God’s people from all times in history. The breathtaking vision in Revelation captures the scope of Christ’s church gathered “from every nation, tribe, people and language.” Can you imagine a more awe-inspiring sight?

And what unites this astonishing multitude of people from every time and place? Since the early centuries of the church, the teaching of statements like the Apostles’ Creed has played a central role in uniting Christians around the true faith anchored in Scripture and inspired by the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

May the truth and witness of the universal church comfort, encourage, and challenge you to love and serve the God whom countless believers have served through the ages.

Prayer

Lord, we are humbled and grateful to belong to your church, and we look forward to praising and serving you forever. Amen.