卷一信仰的宣認 - 天主的獨生子/THE ONLY SON OF GOD
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第二章 我信耶穌基督、天主的獨生子喜訊：天主派遣了祂的兒子 422. 「但時期一滿，天主就派遣了自己的兒子來，生於女人，生於法律之下，為把在法律之下的人贖出來，使我們獲得義子的地位」(迦迦 5)。這就是有關「天主子、耶穌基督」(谷 1:1)的喜訊：天主眷顧了自己的民族，實現了祂向亞巴郎和他的子孫們所作的許諾，而且超越了所有的期待：竟派遣了自己的「愛子」(谷 1:11)來。 423. 我們相信和宣認：納匝肋人耶穌，在黑落德王和凱撒奧古斯都時代，是一位在白冷出世的猶太人，生於以色列的女子，他從事木匠工藝。後來於提庇留為王、般雀比 拉多總督執政時，在耶路撒冷被人釘死。祂確是降生成人的天主永遠之子，祂「來自天主」(若 13:3)，「自天降下」(若 3:13; 6:33)，「且在肉身內降世」(若一 4:2)，因為「聖言成了血肉，寄居在我們中間；我們見了祂的光榮，正如父獨生子的光榮，滿溢恩寵和真理……從祂的滿盈中，我們都領受了恩寵，而且恩寵上 加恩寵」(若 1:14,16)。 424. 受了聖神恩寵的感動和聖父的吸引，我們相信耶穌並宣認：「祢是基督，永生天主之子」(瑪 16:16)。這是聖伯多祿所宣認的信仰，在這信仰的磐石上，基督建立了祂的教會。 「宣布……基督那不可測量的豐富福音基督那不可測量的豐富福音」(弗 3:8) 425. 傳授基督徒信仰，主要是宣講耶穌基督，好能引人信奉祂。首批門徒一開始就滿腔熱忱地要宣講基督：「我們不得不說我們所見所聞的事」 (宗 4:20)。他們邀請各時代的人，都要進入與基督共融的喜樂： 論到那從起初就有的生命的聖言，就是我們聽見過、我們親眼看見過、瞻仰過、以及我們親手摸過的生命的聖言——這生命已顯示出來，我們看見了，也為祂 作証、且把這原與父同在，且已顯示給我們的永遠的生命，傳報給你們——我們將所見所聞的傳報給你們，為使你們也同我們相通；原來我們是同父和祂的子耶穌基 督相通的。我們給你們寫這些事，是為叫我們的喜樂得以圓滿(若一 1:1-4)。 教理講授的中心：：基督 426. 「在教理講授的中心，我們主要是講那一位，祂就是納匝肋人耶穌、聖父的獨生子……祂曾為我們受苦而死；復活後，如今時常同我們一起生活……講授教理就是揭 開在基督身上天主的整個永恆計劃……這就是設法了解基督的言行舉止和祂所行奇跡的意義」。教理講授的目的是：「使人……與耶穌基督共融：只有祂能在聖神內 引導我們歸向聖父的愛，使我們分享天主聖三的生命」。 427. 「在教理講授中，所教導的是降生的聖言、天主子基督——其他一切都是以祂為依據的……只有基督施行教導，其他的人不過是祂的代言人，讓基督藉他的口教導……每個傳道員應把耶穌奧妙的話貼合在自己身上：『我的教訓不是我的，而是派遣我來者的』(若 7:16)」。 428. 所以那奉召「講解基督」的人，首先應尋求「認識基督」的崇高價值，也要準備損失一切，「為賺得基督，為結合於祂」，並要「認識基督和祂復活的德能，參與祂的苦難，相似祂的死，也希望得到由死者中的復活」(斐 3:8-11)。 429. 從這種對基督的認識與愛慕，自然地湧出一種願望：去宣講基督及「傳播福音」，並引導別人信奉耶穌基督而說：「是」，同時，使人感到需要日益深入地認識這信仰。為此，依照信經的次序，首先介紹耶穌的主要名號：基督、天主子、主(第二條)。然後信經宣認基督生平的主要奧跡：就是祂的降生(第三條)、祂的逾越奧跡(第四及第五條)和祂的受顯揚 (第六及第七條)。 |
CHAPTER TWO I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD The Good News: God has sent his Son 422 'But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.'1 This is 'the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God':2 God has visited his people. He has fulfilled the promise he made to Abraham and his descendants. He acted far beyond all expectation - he has sent his own 'beloved Son'.3 423 We believe and confess that Jesus of Nazareth, born a Jew of a daughter of Israel at Bethlehem at the time of King Herod the Great and the emperor Caesar Augustus, a carpenter by trade, who died crucified in Jerusalem under the procurator Pontius Pilate during the reign of the emperor Tiberius, is the eternal Son of God made man. He 'came from God',4 'descended from heaven',5 and 'came in the flesh'.6 For 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. . . and from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace.'7 424
Moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit and drawn by the Father, we believe in
Jesus and confess: 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'8 On
the rock of this faith confessed by St. Peter, Christ built his
Church.9 425 The transmission of the Christian faith consists primarily in proclaiming Jesus Christ in order to lead others to faith in him. From the beginning, the first disciples burned with the desire to proclaim Christ: "We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."11 It and they invite people of every era to enter into the joy of their communion with Christ: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us - that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. and we are writing this that our joy may be complete.12 At the heart of catechesis: Christ 426 "At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son from the Father. . .who suffered and died for us and who now, after rising, is living with us forever."13 To catechize is "to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of God's eternal design reaching fulfilment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ's actions and words and of the signs worked by him."14 Catechesis aims at putting "people . . . in communion . . . with Jesus Christ: only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity."15 427 In catechesis "Christ, the Incarnate Word and Son of God,. . . is taught - everything else is taught with reference to him - and it is Christ alone who teaches - anyone else teaches to the extent that he is Christ's spokesman, enabling Christ to teach with his lips. . . Every catechist should be able to apply to himself the mysterious words of Jesus: 'My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.'"16 428 Whoever is called "to teach Christ" must first seek "the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus"; he must suffer "the loss of all things. . ." in order to "gain Christ and be found in him", and "to know him and the power of his resurrection, and (to) share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible (he) may attain the resurrection from the dead".17 429 From this loving knowledge of Christ springs the desire to proclaim him, to "evangelize", and to lead others to the "yes" of faith in Jesus Christ. But at the same time the need to know this faith better makes itself felt. To this end, following the order of the Creed, Jesus' principal titles - "Christ", "Son of God", and "Lord" (article 2) - will be presented. the Creed next confesses the chief mysteries of his life - those of his Incarnation (article 3), Paschal mystery (articles 4 and 5) and glorification (articles 6 and 7). |
第二條「耶穌基督、天主的獨生子、我們的主」
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ARTICLE 2 "AND IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD" I. Jesus 430 Jesus means in Hebrew: "God saves." At the annunciation, the angel Gabriel gave him the name Jesus as his proper name, which expresses both his identity and his mission.18 Since God alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man, "will save his people from their sins".19 in Jesus, God recapitulates all of his history of salvation on behalf of men. 431 In the history of salvation God was not content to deliver Israel "out of the house of bondage"20 by bringing them out of Egypt. He also saves them from their sin. Because sin is always an offence against God, only he can forgive it.21 For this reason Israel, becoming more and more aware of the universality of sin, will no longer be able to seek salvation except by invoking the name of the Redeemer God.22 432 The name "Jesus" signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son, made man for the universal and definitive redemption from sins. It is the divine name that alone brings salvation, and henceforth all can invoke his name, for Jesus united himself to all men through his Incarnation,23 so that "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."24 433 The name of the Saviour God was invoked only once in the year by the high priest in atonement for the sins of Israel, after he had sprinkled the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies with the sacrificial blood. the mercy seat was the place of God's presence.25 When St. Paul speaks of Jesus whom "God put forward as an expiation by his blood", he means that in Christ's humanity "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself."26 434 Jesus' Resurrection glorifies the name of the Saviour God, for from that time on it is the name of Jesus that fully manifests the supreme power of the "name which is above every name".27 The evil spirits fear his name; in his name his disciples perform miracles, for the Father grants all they ask in this name.28 435 The name of Jesus is at the heart of Christian prayer. All liturgical prayers conclude with the words "through our Lord Jesus Christ". the Hail Mary reaches its high point in the words "blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." the Eastern prayer of the heart, the Jesus Prayer, says: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Many Christians, such as St. Joan of Arc, have died with the one word "Jesus" on their lips. |
二、基督436. 基督一詞來自希伯來語「默西亞」的希臘譯文，解作「受傅者」。若非因為耶穌完全實現了這詞所表達的神聖使命，它將不會成為 祂的專有名字。因為在以色列，那些為執行天主賦予的使命而奉獻於主的人，才因天主的名而被傅油。例如：君王、司祭、以及少數的先知。而默西亞的情況應是最 傑出的，因天主派遣了祂，是為正式建立祂的神國。默西亞應被上主的神所傅油，在同一時刻中成為君王、司祭和先知。耶穌以其司祭、先知和君王的三重功能，實 現了以色列對默西亞的期望。 437. 天使向牧人們報告那誕生的耶穌，乃是天主向以色列所預許的默西亞：「今天在達味城中，為你們誕生了一位救世者，祂是主默西亞」(路 2:11)。從起初祂就是「父所祝聖並派遣到世界上來的」那一位(若 10:36)，祂是貞女瑪利亞所懷孕的「聖者」(路 1:35)。若瑟被天主召是出於聖神」(瑪 1:20)，務使那「號稱基督」的耶穌，生於達味默西亞後裔中的若瑟的妻子(瑪 1:16)。 438. 耶穌被祝聖為默西亞顯露了祂的神聖使命。「這是祂的名字所指示的。因為在基督的名字內，已暗示了那位傅油的、那位被傅油的以及那位傅油本身：那傅油的就是 聖父，那被傅的就是聖子，且是在聖神內被傅，聖神本身就是傅油」。祂從永遠被祝聖為默西亞，在其現世生活中顯露出來，就是當若翰給祂授洗時，就是當天主 「以聖神和德能傅了祂」(宗 10:38)，「使祂顯示於以色列」(若 1:31)，作為他們的默西亞。祂的工作和說話將顯示祂是「天主的聖者」(谷 1:24;若 6:69;宗 3:14)。 439. 許多猶太人，甚至一些懷有與他們共同期望的其他民族，在耶穌身上看到了天主許給以色列的默西亞、「達味之子」的基本特徵。耶穌接受了祂應得的默西亞名號，但有某種保留，因為當時一部分的人，用一種過分人性的觀念去看此名號，主要是政治性的觀念。 440. 耶穌接受了伯多祿承認祂為默西亞的信德宣認，並預告人子那已迫近的苦難的日子。祂藉「自天降下的」(若 3:13)人子的超然身分，揭露了祂默西亞王權的真正內容，正如祂藉受苦僕人的救贖使命所揭露的：「人子來不是受服事，而是服事人，並交出自己的生命，為 大眾作贖價」(瑪 20:28)。為此，祂的王權的真正意義只有在祂高懸在十字架上時才顯示出來，但只有當祂復活後，祂的默西亞王權才能由伯多祿在天主的子民前當眾宣布： 「所以，以色列全家應確切知道：天主已把你們所釘死的這位耶穌，立為主，立為默西亞了」 (宗 2:36)。 |
II. Christ 436 The word "Christ" comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which means "anointed". It became the name proper to Jesus only because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission that "Christ" signifies. In effect, in Israel those consecrated to God for a mission that he gave were anointed in his name. This was the case for kings, for priests and, in rare instances, for prophets.29 This had to be the case all the more so for the Messiah whom God would send to inaugurate his kingdom definitively.30 It was necessary that the Messiah be anointed by the Spirit of the Lord at once as king and priest, and also as prophet.31 Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet and king. 437 To the shepherds, the angel announced the birth of Jesus as the Messiah promised to Israel: "To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord."32 From the beginning he was "the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world", conceived as "holy" in Mary's virginal womb.33 God called Joseph to "take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit", so that Jesus, "who is called Christ", should be born of Joseph's spouse into the messianic lineage of David.34 438 Jesus' messianic consecration reveals his divine mission, "for the name 'Christ' implies 'he who anointed', 'he who was anointed' and 'the very anointing with which he was anointed'. the one who anointed is the Father, the one who was anointed is the Son, and he was anointed with the Spirit who is the anointing.'"35 His eternal messianic consecration was revealed during the time of his earthly life at the moment of his baptism by John, when "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power", "that he might be revealed to Israel"36 as its Messiah. His works and words will manifest him as "the Holy One of God".37 439 Many Jews and even certain Gentiles who shared their hope recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the messianic "Son of David", promised by God to Israel.38 Jesus accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve because it was understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense, as essentially political.39 440 Jesus accepted Peter's profession of faith, which acknowledged him to be the Messiah, by announcing the imminent Passion of the Son of Man.40 He unveiled the authentic content of his messianic kingship both in the transcendent identity of the Son of Man "who came down from heaven", and in his redemptive mission as the suffering Servant: "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."41 Hence the true meaning of his kingship is revealed only when he is raised high on the cross.42 Only after his Resurrection will Peter be able to proclaim Jesus' messianic kingship to the People of God: "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."43 |
三、天主的獨生子441. 天主子在舊約裡，是給予天使、特選的民族、以色列的兒女以及他們君王的一個名號。它表示一種義子的名分，即指在天主與受造 物之間，建立特殊親切的關係。當所許的默西亞君王被稱為「天主子」時，按照這些章節的字面意義，並不一定意味著祂是超越人性的。那些以此觀念指耶穌為以色 列的默西亞的人，大概他們所想說的也不外如此。 442. 但當伯多祿承認耶穌「是默西亞，永生天主之子」(瑪 16:16)時，卻是另一回事，因為耶穌隆重地回答他說：「不是肉和血啟示了 你，而是我在天之父」(瑪 16:17)。同樣，保祿在說到自己在大馬士革路上的歸化父時，也說：「從母胎中已選拔我，以恩寵召叫我的天主，卻決意將祂的聖子啟示給我，叫我在異民中 傳揚祂……」(迦 1:15-16)。「他即刻在各會堂中宣講耶穌，說祂是天主子」(宗 9:20)。耶穌的神聖身分，自始就是宗徒信仰的核心 ，並首先由作為教會基礎的伯多祿所宣認。 443. 伯多祿所以能辨認耶穌默西亞天主子的超越特性，是因為耶穌清楚地讓主子了？」耶穌回答說：「你們說了，我就是」(路 22:70)。很久以前，祂就自稱是認識父的「子」，有別於天主過去給自己子民所派遣的「僕人」，且超越天使。祂把自己作兒子的身分跟門徒的分開，而從不 說「我們的父」除非命令他們：「所以你們應這樣祈禱：我們在天的父」(瑪 6:9)；並強調了這種區別說：「我的父和你們的父」(若 20:17)。 444. 福音敘述了在兩個隆重的時刻：基督受洗和顯聖容時，聽到了父的聲音，稱祂為自己的「愛子」。耶穌自稱為「天主的獨生子」(若 3:16)，並用這稱號肯定祂先前存在的永恆性。祂要求人們信「天主獨生子的名字」(若 3:18)。基督徒的這種宣認，已在百夫長面對十字架上的耶穌而發出的驚歎中出現：「這人真是天主子」(谷 15:39)；因為只有在逾越奧跡中，信徒才能給予「天主子」這稱號終極的意義。 445. 是祂復活後，祂那天主子的身分，在其受顯揚的人性的大能中才顯露出來：「按至聖的神性，由於祂從死者中復活，祂被立為具有大能的天主之子」(羅 1:4)。宗徒們可以承認：「我們見了祂的光榮，正如父獨生者的光榮，充滿恩寵和真理」(若 1:14)。 |
III. The Only Son of God 441 In the Old Testament, "son of God" is a title given to the angels, the Chosen People, the children of Israel, and their kings.44 It signifies an adoptive sonship that establishes a relationship of particular intimacy between God and his creature. When the promised Messiah-King is called "son of God", it does not necessarily imply that he was more than human, according to the literal meaning of these texts. Those who called Jesus "son of God", as the Messiah of Israel, perhaps meant nothing more than this.45 442 Such is not the case for Simon Peter when he confesses Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God", for Jesus responds solemnly: "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."46 Similarly Paul will write, regarding his conversion on the road to Damascus, "When he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles..."47 "and in the synagogues immediately [Paul] proclaimed Jesus, saying, 'He is the Son of God.'"48 From the beginning this acknowledgment of Christ's divine sonship will be the centre of the apostolic faith, first professed by Peter as the Church's foundation.49 443 Peter could recognize the transcendent character of the Messiah's divine sonship because Jesus had clearly allowed it to be so understood. To his accusers' question before the Sanhedrin, "Are you the Son of God, then?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am."50 Well before this, Jesus referred to himself as "the Son" who knows the Father, as distinct from the "servants" God had earlier sent to his people; he is superior even to the angels.51 He distinguished his sonship from that of his disciples by never saying "our Father", except to command them: "You, then, pray like this: 'Our Father'", and he emphasized this distinction, saying "my Father and your Father".52 444 The Gospels report that at two solemn moments, the Baptism and the Transfiguration of Christ, the voice of the Father designates Jesus his "beloved Son".53 Jesus calls himself the "only Son of God", and by this title affirms his eternal pre-existence.54 He asks for faith in "the name of the only Son of God".55 In the centurion's exclamation before the crucified Christ, "Truly this man was the Son of God",56 that Christian confession is already heard. Only in the Paschal mystery can the believer give the title "Son of God" its full meaning. 445 After his Resurrection, Jesus' divine sonship becomes manifest in the power of his glorified humanity. He was "designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead".57 The apostles can confess: "We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."58
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四、主446. 在舊約經書的希臘文譯本中，天主啟示給梅瑟的那無可言喻的名字「雅威」(YHWH)，譯成了 «Kyrios»「主」。由那時起，主就成了最通用的名字，來表示以色列的天主的神性。新約利用「主」的這個圓滿意義的名字稱呼父，但新穎的是，也用來稱呼耶穌，藉以承認祂是天主。 447. 當耶穌跟法利塞人辯論聖詠第一百一十篇的意義時，祂含蓄地把這名號歸給自己，但對祂的宗徒們卻明顯地披露自己這名號。在祂的公開生活中，祂以行動克服自然、疾病、魔鬼、死亡及罪惡，都顯示了祂天主性的至高權能。 448. 在福音中，很多次，有些人走到耶穌跟前，稱祂為「主」。這個名號表示那些親近耶穌的人，對耶穌的一種尊敬和信賴，期待著祂給予他們援助和痊癒。在聖神的感 動下而發出此種稱呼，則表示對耶穌天主性奧跡的承認，與復活的耶穌相遇，則成了朝拜：「我主，我天主！」 (若 20:28)因此，這稱呼帶有一種喜愛與傾慕的色彩，成了基督徒傳統的特點：「是主！」(若 21:7) 449. 教會把「主」的神聖名號歸於耶穌， 在初期的信仰宣辭一開始就確認：天主父應享有的德能、尊崇和光榮，也適合於耶穌，因為祂「具有天主的形體」(斐 2:6)，而聖父也顯示了耶穌這種尊威，使祂從死者中復活，並在自己的光榮中顯揚祂。 450. 基督徒從其歷史的開始，在肯定耶穌為世界和歷史之主的身分時，也要求我們承認：人不該絕對地把自己個人的自由，屈服於任何地上的權力下，而只應屈服於天主 聖父和主耶穌基督：凱撒並非「主」。「教會深信，人類整個歷史的樞紐、中心和宗旨，就是在於她的主和導師身上」。 451. 基督徒的祈禱也以「主」的名號作為特色，無論在邀請祈禱時：「願主與你們同在！」或在結束祈禱時：「因我們的主耶穌基督」。甚或在充滿信賴與希望的呼喚中：«Maran atha»「主已來了！」或 «Marana tha»「主，請來吧！」(格前 16:22)，「阿們，主耶穌，祢來吧！」(默 22:20)。 |
IV. Lord 446 In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses,59 is rendered as Kyrios, "Lord". From then on, "Lord" becomes the more usual name by which to indicate the divinity of Israel's God. the New Testament uses this full sense of the title "Lord" both for the Father and - what is new - for Jesus, who is thereby recognized as God Himself.60 447 Jesus ascribes this title to himself in a veiled way when he disputes with the Pharisees about the meaning of Psalm 110, but also in an explicit way when he addresses his apostles.61 Throughout his public life, he demonstrated his divine sovereignty by works of power over nature, illnesses, demons, death and sin. 448 Very often in the Gospels people address Jesus as "Lord". This title testifies to the respect and trust of those who approach him for help and healing.62 At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, "Lord" expresses the recognition of the divine mystery of Jesus.63 In the encounter with the risen Jesus, this title becomes adoration: "My Lord and my God!" It thus takes on a connotation of love and affection that remains proper to the Christian tradition: "It is the Lord!"64 449 By attributing to Jesus the divine title "Lord", the first confessions of the Church's faith affirm from the beginning that the power, honour and glory due to God the Father are due also to Jesus, because "he was in the form of God",65 and the Father manifested the sovereignty of Jesus by raising him from the dead and exalting him into his glory.66 450 From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ's lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Caesar is not "the Lord".67 "The Church. . . believes that the key, the centre and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in its Lord and Master."68 451 Christian prayer is characterized by the title "Lord", whether in the invitation to prayer ("The Lord be with you"), its conclusion ("through Christ our Lord") or the exclamation full of trust and hope: Maranatha ("Our Lord, come!") or Maranatha ("Come, Lord!") - "Amen Come Lord Jesus!"69
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撮要 452. 「耶穌」這名字，意指「天主拯救」。那位生於童貞瑪利亞的嬰孩名叫「耶穌」，「因為祂要把自己的民族，由他們的罪惡中拯救出來」(瑪 1:21)。「在天下人間，沒有賜下別的名字，使我們賴以得救的」(宗 4:12)。 453. 「基督」這名號，意指「受傅者」、「默西亞」。耶穌是基督，因為天主「以聖神和德能傅了祂」(宗 10:38)。祂是要來的那一位，是「以色列所希望的」對象(宗 28:20)。 454. 「天主子」這名號，意指耶穌基督與天主聖父的唯一及永遠的關係：祂是聖父的獨生子，祂本身也是天主。要成為基督徒，必須相信耶穌基督是天主子。 455. 「主」這名號，意指天主的至高權威。宣認及呼號耶穌為主，就是相信祂的天主性。「除非受聖神感動，沒有一個人能說：『耶穌是主』」 (格前 12:3)。 |
IN BRIEF 452 The name Jesus means "God saves". the child born of the Virgin Mary is called Jesus, "for he will save his people from their sins" (⇒ Mt 1:21): "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (⇒ Acts 4:12). 453 The title "Christ" means "Anointed One" (Messiah).Jesus is the Christ, for "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (⇒ Acts 10:38). He was the one "who is to come" (⇒ Lk 7:19), the object of "the hope of Israel" (⇒ Acts 28:20). 454 The title "Son of God" signifies the unique and eternal relationship of Jesus Christ to God his Father: he is the only Son of the Father (cf ⇒ Jn 1:14, ⇒ 18; ⇒ 3:16, ⇒ 18); he is God himself (cf ⇒ Jn 1:1). To be a Christian, one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (cf ⇒ Acts 8:37; ⇒ 1 Jn 2:23). 455 The title "Lord" indicates divine sovereignty. To confess or invoke Jesus as Lord is to believe in his divinity. "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit'" (⇒ I Cor 12:3). |
第三條 「耶穌基督因聖神降孕,由童貞瑪利亞誕生」
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Article 3 "HE WAS CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY" Paragraph 1. THE SON OF GOD BECAME MAN I. WHY DID THE WORD BECOME FLESH? 456 With the Nicene Creed, we answer by confessing: "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man." 457 The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God, who "loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins": "the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world", and "he was revealed to take away sins":70 Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in the darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Saviour; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state?71 458 The Word became flesh so that thus we might know God's love: "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him."72 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."73 459 The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me." "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me."74 On the mountain of the Transfiguration, the Father commands: "Listen to him!"75 Jesus is the model for the Beatitudes and the norm of the new law: "Love one another as I have loved you."76 This love implies an effective offering of oneself, after his example.77 460 The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":78 "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God."79 "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God."80 "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."81 II. THE INCARNATION 461 Taking up St. John's expression, "The Word became flesh",82 The Church calls "Incarnation" the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. In a hymn cited by St. Paul, the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. and being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.83 462 The Letter to the Hebrews refers to the same mystery: Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, Lo, I have come to do your will, O God."84 463 Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith: "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God."85 Such is the joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning whenever she sings "the mystery of our religion": "He was manifested in the flesh."86 III. TRUE GOD AND TRUE MAN 464
The unique and altogether singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God
does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply
that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. He
became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true
man. 465 The first heresies denied not so much Christ's divinity as his true humanity (Gnostic Docetism). From apostolic times the Christian faith has insisted on the true incarnation of God's Son "come in the flesh".87 But already in the third century, the Church in a council at Antioch had to affirm against Paul of Samosata that Jesus Christ is Son of God by nature and not by adoption. the first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325 confessed in its Creed that the Son of God is "begotten, not made, of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father", and condemned Arius, who had affirmed that the Son of God "came to be from things that were not" and that he was "from another substance" than that of the Father.88 466 The Nestorian heresy regarded Christ as a human person joined to the divine person of God's Son. Opposing this heresy, St. Cyril of Alexandria and the third ecumenical council, at Ephesus in 431, confessed "that the Word, uniting to himself in his person the flesh animated by a rational soul, became man."89 Christ's humanity has no other subject than the divine person of the Son of God, who assumed it and made it his own, from his conception. For this reason the Council of Ephesus proclaimed in 431 that Mary truly became the Mother of God by the human conception of the Son of God in her womb: "Mother of God, not that the nature of the Word or his divinity received the beginning of its existence from the holy Virgin, but that, since the holy body, animated by a rational soul, which the Word of God united to himself according to the hypostasis, was born from her, the Word is said to be born according to the flesh."90 467 The Monophysites affirmed
that the human nature had ceased to exist as such in Christ when the divine
person of God's Son assumed it. Faced with this heresy, the fourth ecumenical
council, at Chalcedon in 451, confessed:
We confess that one and the same Christ, Lord, and only-begotten Son, is to be acknowledged in two natures without confusion, change, division or separation. the distinction between the natures was never abolished by their union, but rather the character proper to each of the two natures was preserved as they came together in one person (prosopon) and one hypostasis.92 468 After the Council of Chalcedon, some made of Christ's human nature a kind of personal subject. Against them, the fifth ecumenical council, at Constantinople in 553, confessed that "there is but one hypostasis [or person], which is our Lord Jesus Christ, one of the Trinity."93 Thus everything in Christ's human nature is to be attributed to his divine person as its proper subject, not only his miracles but also his sufferings and even his death: "He who was crucified in the flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ, is true God, Lord of glory, and one of the Holy Trinity."94 469 The Church thus confesses that Jesus is inseparably true God and true man. He is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother: "What he was, he remained and what he was not, he assumed", sings the Roman Liturgy.95 and the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom proclaims and sings: "O only-begotten Son and Word of God, immortal being, you who deigned for our salvation to become incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, you who without change became man and were crucified, O Christ our God, you who by your death have crushed death, you who are one of the Holy Trinity, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us!"96 IV. HOW IS THE SON OF GOD MAN? 470 Because "human nature was assumed, not absorbed",97 in the mysterious union of the Incarnation, the Church was led over the course of centuries to confess the full reality of Christ's human soul, with its operations of intellect and will, and of his human body. In parallel fashion, she had to recall on each occasion that Christ's human nature belongs, as his own, to the divine person of the Son of God, who assumed it. Everything that Christ is and does in this nature derives from "one of the Trinity". The Son of God therefore communicates to his humanity his own personal mode of existence in the Trinity. In his soul as in his body, Christ thus expresses humanly the divine ways of the Trinity:98 The Son of God. . . worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved. Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all things except sin.99 Christ's soul and his human knowledge 471 Apollinarius of Laodicaea asserted that in Christ the divine Word had replaced the soul or spirit. Against this error the Church confessed that the eternal Son also assumed a rational, human soul.100 472 This human soul that the Son of God assumed is endowed with a true human knowledge. As such, this knowledge could not in itself be unlimited: it was exercised in the historical conditions of his existence in space and time. This is why the Son of God could, when he became man, "increase in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man",101 and would even have to inquire for himself about what one in the human condition can learn only from experience.102 This corresponded to the reality of his voluntary emptying of himself, taking "the form of a slave".103 473 But at the same time, this truly human knowledge of God's Son expressed the divine life of his person.104 "The human nature of God's Son, not by itself but by its union with the Word, knew and showed forth in itself everything that pertains to God."105 Such is first of all the case with the intimate and immediate knowledge that the Son of God made man has of his Father.106 The Son in his human knowledge also showed the divine penetration he had into the secret thoughts of human hearts.107 474 By its union to the divine wisdom in the person of the Word incarnate, Christ enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal.108 What he admitted to not knowing in this area, he elsewhere declared himself not sent to reveal.109 Christ's human will 475 Similarly, at the sixth ecumenical council, Constantinople III in 681, the Church confessed that Christ possesses two wills and two natural operations, divine and human. They are not opposed to each other, but co-operate in such a way that the Word made flesh willed humanly in obedience to his Father all that he had decided divinely with the Father and the Holy Spirit for our salvation.110 Christ's human will "does not resist or oppose but rather submits to his divine and almighty will."111 Christ's true body 476 Since the Word became flesh in assuming a true humanity, Christ's body was finite.112 Therefore the human face of Jesus can be portrayed; at the seventh ecumenical council (Nicaea II in 787) the Church recognized its representation in holy images to be legitimate.113 477 At the same time the Church has always acknowledged that in the body of Jesus "we see our God made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see."114 The individual characteristics of Christ's body express the divine person of God's Son. He has made the features of his human body his own, to the point that they can be venerated when portrayed in a holy image, for the believer "who venerates the icon is venerating in it the person of the one depicted".115 The heart of the Incarnate Word 478 Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony and his Passion, and gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God. . . loved me and gave himself for me."116 He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation,117 "is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that. . . love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings" without exception.118 IN BRIEF 479 At the time appointed by God, the only Son of the Father, the eternal Word, that is, the Word and substantial Image of the Father, became incarnate; without losing his divine nature he has assumed human nature. 480 Jesus Christ is true God and true man, in the unity of his divine person; for this reason he is the one and only mediator between God and men. 481 Jesus Christ possesses two natures, one divine and the other human, not confused, but united in the one person of God's Son. 482 Christ, being true God and true man, has a human intellect and will, perfectly attuned and subject to his divine intellect and divine will, which he has in common with the Father and the Holy Spirit. 483 The Incarnation is therefore the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one person of the Word.
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