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“To say that we are able by our own efforts to think good thoughts or give God spiritual obedience before we are spiritually regenerate is to overthrow the gospel and the faith of the universal church in all ages.”
“若说我们在属灵重生之前，能凭自己的努力思想美善，或向上帝献上属灵的顺服，就是推翻福音和历代普世教会的信仰。”
- John Owen
——约翰·欧文
中文下载
All men can be divided into two groups.
所有的人都可以分为两类。
They are either regenerate or unregenerate.
他们要么是重生的，要么是未重生的。
All men are born unregenerate (John 3:3-8).
所有人生来都是未重生的（约翰福音 3:3-8）。
…Spiritual darkness is in all men and lies on all men until God, by an almighty work of the Spirit, shines into men’s hearts, or creates light in them (Matt 4:16; John 1:5; Act 26:18; Eph 5:8; Col 1:13; 1 Pet 2:9).
……属灵的黑暗存在于所有人里面，也笼罩着所有人，直到神藉着圣灵大能的工作，光照人心，或在他们里面创造光明（马太福音 4:16；约翰福音 1:5；使徒行传 26:18；以弗所书 5:8；歌罗西书 1:13；彼得前书 2:9）。
…The nature of this spiritual darkness must be understood.
……必须理解这种属灵黑暗的本质。
When men have no light to see by, then they are in darkness (Exod. 10:23).
当人没有光可以看见时，他们就在黑暗中（出埃及记 10:23）。
Blind men are in darkness, either by birth or by illness or accident (Psa. 69:23; Gen 19:11; Acts 13:11).
瞎眼的人在黑暗中，无论是天生的，还是因疾病或意外造成的（诗篇 69:23；创世记 19:11；使徒行传 13:11）。
A spiritually blind man is in spiritual darkness and is ignorant of spiritual things.
属灵瞎眼的人处于属灵的黑暗中，对属灵的事物一无所知。
If the Holy Spirit does nothing more than present reasons, arguments and motives to conversion, the will of the unregenerate person will remain unmoved.
如果圣灵仅仅提供归信的理由、论据和动机，那么未重生之人的意志仍将纹丝不动。
If it is up to the unregenerate first to repent and believe before the Holy Spirit will do his work of regeneration, then this denies salvation to be of the sovereign grace of God.
如果未重生者必须先悔改和相信，圣灵才会施行重生的工作，那么这就否定了救恩是出于神至高无上的恩典。
It is indeed true that the will of the unregenerate can resist and refuse the gospel and the grace that accompanies its preaching.
未重生者的意志确实可以抗拒并拒绝福音及其传讲所伴随的恩典，这是千真万确的。
But it is false to say that God is unable to effect a work of grace in us that cannot be resisted and will infallibly lead to conversion.
但若说神不能在我们里面施行一种无法抗拒、并必然引向归信的恩典工作，那是错误的。
It is false to say that the only work of grace God can do in us is that which can be resisted and rejected.
若说神在我们里面唯一能做的恩典工作，就是那种可以被抗拒和拒绝的工作，那是错误的。
It is false to say that the will of the unregenerate can make use of that grace of God or not, as it chooses.
说未重生者的意志可以选择是否利用神的恩典，这是错误的。
It is false to say that the power of conversion lies alone with the sinner, and that God cannot regenerate the sinner and bring him to conversion without the sinner first giving his consent.
说归信的能力单单在于罪人，神若非罪人首先同意，就不能重生罪人并使他归信，这是错误的。
This is Pelagianism.
这是伯拉纠主义。
These things are false because this gives all the glory of our regeneration and conversion to ourselves and not to the sovereign grace of God.
这些说法是错误的，因为这将我们重生和归信的全部荣耀归于我们自己，而不是归于神至高无上的恩典。
It is false also because it leaves man to decide who will be in heaven and who will not.
它也是错误的，因为它让人来决定谁将上天堂，谁将不上。
In spite of God’s purpose to save, and in spite of Christ’s incarnation and redemption, nobody could be saved and God would be frustrated and disappointed of his sovereign will and purpose.
尽管神有拯救的目的，尽管基督道成肉身和救赎，没有人能够得救，神也会因祂至高的旨意和目的受挫而失望。
If regeneration is nothing more than persuading a person to be good, then no new, real, supernatural strength has been conferred on the soul, though prejudices may have been removed from the mind.
如果重生仅仅是说服一个人向善，那么灵魂就没有获得新的、真实的、超自然的力量，尽管偏见可能已从头脑中除去。
According to this teaching, man has no need to such supernatural power, because he has been able by his own power, the power of his own will, to overcome his depraved, sinful, corrupt nature, remove all errors and prejudices from his mind and bring himself to such holiness of life as to make himself wholly acceptable to God.
根据这种教导，人不需要这种超自然的力量，因为他已经能够凭藉自己的力量，凭藉自己意志的力量，克服他堕落、有罪、败坏的本性，除去他头脑中所有的错误和偏见，并使自己达到如此圣洁的生命，以致使自己完全蒙神悦纳。
This is the power of free will which some have believed and taught.
这就是某些人所相信并教导的自由意志的力量。
Such people deny that man must first be born again before he can do anything pleasing and acceptable to God.
这些人否认人必须先重生，然后才能做任何讨神喜悦和蒙神悦纳的事。
Some teach that grace enlightens the mind, and that all man has to do is to choose the good which God’s grace has shown him, and then that grace will work along with his choosing and willing and so bring the soul to new birth.
有些人教导说，恩典光照心智，人所要做的就是选择神恩典所指示他的善，然后那恩典就会与他的选择和意愿一同作工，从而使灵魂获得新生。
But all the grace of God is doing here is enlightening the mind, exciting the desires and helping the will, and this only by persuading the person to repent and believe.
但神在此所施行的所有恩典，仅仅是光照心智，激发欲望，帮助意志，而这仅仅是藉着说服人悔改和相信。
No real strength is imparted to the soul.
灵魂没有得到真正的力量。
The will is left perfectly free to cooperate with this grace or not, as it chooses.
意志完全可以自由选择是否与此恩典合作。
This also denies the whole grace of Christ and to make it of no use at all in salvation.
这也否定了基督的全部恩典，并使其在救恩中毫无用处。
It ascribes to man’s free will the honor for his conversion.
它将人归信的荣耀归于人的自由意志。
It makes a man give birth to himself which is nonsense.
这使人自己生出自己，这简直是胡说八道。
It destroys the analogy between the work of the Holy Spirit in forming the natural body of Christ in the womb and the work of the Holy Spirit in the forming of his mystical body in regeneration.
它破坏了圣灵在母腹中形成基督肉身的工作，与圣灵在重生中形成祂奥秘身体的工作之间的类比。
It makes the act of living to God by faith and obedience to be a mere natural human act and not the result of Christ’s mediation.
它使凭信心和顺服向上帝而活的行为，成为一种纯粹属乎人的自然行为，而非基督中保工作的结果。
It allows the Spirit of God no more power in regenerating us than is in a minister who preaches the Word or an orator who eloquently and feelingly persuades a person to turn from evil to doing good.
它赋予神的灵在我们重生中的能力，不超过一位传讲神话语的牧师，或一位雄辩而感人地劝人弃恶从善的演说家所具有的能力。
In regeneration a person the Holy Spirit makes use of the law and the gospel.
在重生中，圣灵使用律法和福音。
There is not only a moral but also a direct nature-changing work of the Spirit on the minds or souls of men in regeneration.
在重生中，圣灵不仅在人的心思或灵魂上作道德性的工作，也作直接改变本性的工作。
This is what we must hold on to, or all the glory of God’s grace is lost, and the grace which comes to us by Christ will be neglected.
这是我们必须持守的，否则神恩典的全部荣耀都将丧失，藉着基督临到我们的恩典也将被忽略。
Paul tells us of this direct work of the Spirit: “That you may know … what s the exceeding greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the work of his mighty power which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead’ (Eph 1:18:- 2).
保罗告诉我们圣灵的这种直接工作：“好叫你们知道……祂向我们这信的人所显的能力，是何等浩大，就是照祂在基督身上所运行的大能大力，使祂从死里复活”（以弗所书 1:18-20）。
The power here mentioned has an exceeding greatness attributed to it, because by this power Christ was physically raised from the dead.
这里提到的能力，被赋予了极大的浩瀚，因为藉着这能力，基督从死里肉身复活了。
Paul would have us know that the same mighty power which God worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead is the same mighty power which the Holy Spirit works when he raises us from spiritual death to spiritual life in regeneration.
保罗要我们知道，神在基督从死里复活时所运行的大能大力，与圣灵在重生中使我们从属灵的死亡中复活，进入属灵的生命时所运行的大能大力，是相同的。
By this same mighty power we are kept by God to the day of salvation.
藉着这同样的大能，我们蒙神保守，直到得救的日子。
It is because of his mighty power continually working in Christians that they are kept from ever falling away so as to be eternally lost.
正是因为祂的大能不断在基督徒里面作工，他们才得以保守，免于永远失丧。
Before the work of grace the heart is ‘stony’.
在恩典工作之前，心是“石心”。
It can do no more than a stone to please God.
它除了像石头一样，什么也不能做来讨神喜悦。
A stony heart is obstinate and stubborn.
石心是顽固倔强的。
But God says that he will take away this stony heart (Ezek 11:19).
但神说祂要除去这石心（以西结书 11:19）。
He does not say he will try and take it away, or give us some power so that we can take it away ourselves, but that he will take it away.
祂没有说祂会尝试除去它，或者给我们一些能力让我们自己除去它，而是说祂会除去它。
When God says he will take it away, he means that he will infallibly take it away and that noting can stop him taking it away.
当神说祂要除去它时，祂的意思是祂必毫无差错地除去它，没有任何事物能阻止祂除去它。
He promises to give us a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek 36:26).
祂应许赐给我们一颗新心和一个新灵（以西结书 36:26）。
There is an ‘eye’ in the understanding of man.
在人的悟性中有一只“眼睛”。
This eye is the ability to see spiritual things.
这只眼睛是看见属灵事物的能力。
It is sometimes said to be blind, darkness, shut.
它有时被称为瞎眼的、黑暗的、关闭的。
By these descriptions we are taught that the natural mind cannot know God personally for salvation, and nor can it see, that is, discern spiritual things.
藉着这些描述，我们得知自然的头脑无法为得救而亲自认识神，也无法看见，也就是分辨属灵的事物。
It is the work of the Spirit of grace to open this eye (luke 4:18, Acts 26:18).
开启这只眼睛乃是恩典之灵的工作（路加福音 4:18，使徒行传 26:18）。
He does this, firstly, by giving us the spirit of wisdom and revelation.
祂这样做，首先是赐给我们智慧和启示的灵。
Secondly, he gives us a heart to know him (Jer 24:7).
其次，祂赐给我们一颗认识祂的心（耶利米书 24:7）。
We are enabled to obey God firstly by an inward, spiritual, ruling principle of grace … by virtue of the life and death of Jesus Christ according to the terms of the new covenant… by which God writes his laws in our hearts and enables us to obey them by the Holy Spirit.
我们得以顺服神，首先是藉着一个内在的、属灵的、主导性的恩典原则……藉着耶稣基督的生与死，按照新约的条款……神藉此将祂的律法写在我们心里，并使我们藉着圣灵能够顺服它们。
Table of Contents
目录
CHAPTER I: WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE NEW CREATION BY REGENERATION
第一章 圣灵藉着重生在新创造中的工作
CHAPTER II: WORKS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT PREPARATORY UNTO REGENERATION
第二章 圣灵预备重生的工作
CHAPTER III: CORRUPTION OR DEPRAVATION OF THE MIND BY SIN
第三章 罪对心智的败坏
CHAPTER IV: LIFE AND DEATH, NATURAL AND SPIRITUAL, COMPARED
第四章 生命与死亡，属世的与属灵的，之比较
CHAPTER V: THE NATURE, CAUSES, AND MEANS OF REGENERATION
第五章 重生的本质、原因和途径
CHAPTER VI: THE MANNER OF CONVERSION EXPLAINED IN THE INSTANCE OF AUGUSTINE
第六章 以奥古斯丁为例解释归信的方式
Excerpt from The Works of John Owen Volume 3
摘自《约翰·欧文著作集》第三卷