第45条｜教会的合一与真理的界限 / Statement 45: The Unity of the Church and the Boundary of Truth

信仰条文｜Statement

45. 我们相信，古今中外凡蒙恩得救的信徒都同属一个身体，一灵、一召、一望、一主、一信、一洗、一神（弗4:4–6），教会在基督里都应该合而为一（约17:11）。但我们也相信，教会在圣经所启示的基要真理上必须毫不妥协（犹3），不能与异教搞合作、与异端搞联合（约壹2:19；4:6），以免最终沦为属灵的淫妇（启2:20），得罪了神。

We believe that all believers who have been saved by grace, in every age and every nation, belong to one body: one Spirit, one calling, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God (Ephesians 4:4–6). The church should be one in Christ (John 17:11). But we also believe that the church must not compromise the essential truths revealed in Scripture (Jude 3). It must not enter into religious unity with false religions or heresy (1 John 2:19; 4:6), lest it become spiritually unfaithful (Revelation 2:20) and sin against God.

一、所有真正得救的信徒同属一个身体

I. All True Believers Belong to One Body

以弗所书 4:4–6

Ephesians 4:4–6

中文｜和合本

4 身体只有一个，圣灵只有一个，正如你们蒙召，同有一个指望。

5 一主，一信，一洗，

6 一神，就是众人的父，超乎众人之上，贯乎众人之中，也住在众人之内。

English｜WEB

4 There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling;

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in us all.

简要解释｜Brief Explanation

保罗连续强调七个“一”，说明真正教会的合一不是人组织出来的，而是神在基督里已经建立的属灵事实。

Paul repeatedly emphasizes “one,” showing that the unity of the true church is not created by human organization but is a spiritual reality established by God in Christ.

不论时代、国家、民族或宗派，凡真正属于基督的人，都属于基督的一个身体。

Regardless of age, nation, ethnicity, or denomination, everyone who truly belongs to Christ belongs to the one body of Christ.

所以改革宗基督徒不能认为只有自己的宗派才有真正的基督徒。

Therefore, Reformed Christians should not think that true Christians exist only within their own denomination.

二、基督的教会应当合而为一

II. Christ’s Church Should Be One

约翰福音 17:11

John 17:11

中文｜和合本

11 从今以后，我不在世上，他们却在世上；我往你那里去。圣父啊，求你因你所赐给我的名保守他们，叫他们合而为一，像我们一样。

English｜WEB

11 I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are.

简要解释｜Brief Explanation

这是主耶稣被钉十字架以前为门徒所作的祷告。

This is part of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples before his crucifixion.

耶稣不是鼓励信徒彼此分裂，而是祈求父保守他们，使他们合而为一。

Jesus does not encourage believers to divide from one another; he asks the Father to keep them and make them one.

因此，维护教会合一不是可有可无的事情，而是基督徒应当认真追求的。

Therefore, preserving the unity of the church is not optional; it is something Christians should seriously pursue.

三、教会不能为了合一而牺牲真理

III. The Church Must Not Sacrifice Truth for Unity

犹大书 3

Jude 3

中文｜和合本

3 亲爱的弟兄啊，我想尽心写信给你们，论我们同得救恩的时候，就不得不写信劝你们，要为从前一次交付圣徒的真道竭力地争辩。

English｜WEB

3 Beloved, while I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I was constrained to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

简要解释｜Brief Explanation

这里的“真道”，英文是 the faith。它不是指“我的个人感觉”，而是神借着使徒交付给教会的福音真理。

Here the faith does not mean “my personal feelings”; it means the truth of the gospel delivered by God through the apostles to the church.

而且犹大说这是“一次交付圣徒的”。

Jude says this faith was “once for all delivered to the saints.”

所以教会没有权柄为了迎合时代而重新发明福音。真正的合一必须建立在真道之上。

Therefore, the church has no authority to reinvent the gospel in order to accommodate the culture of its age. True unity must be built upon the faith once delivered to the saints.

四、不是所有自称基督徒的人都真正属于基督

IV. Not Everyone Who Claims to Be Christian Truly Belongs to Christ

约翰一书 2:19

1 John 2:19

中文｜和合本

19 他们从我们中间出去，却不是属我们的；若是属我们的，就必仍旧与我们同在；他们出去，显明都不是属我们的。

English｜WEB

19 They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us.

简要解释｜Brief Explanation

约翰面对的是已经进入教会、后来显出错误信仰的人。

John is dealing with people who had been among the church but later revealed their false belief.

所以，“曾经在教会里”或者“自称基督徒”，本身并不能证明一个人真正属于基督。

Therefore, having once been in a church or calling oneself a Christian does not by itself prove that a person truly belongs to Christ.

判断的标准最终必须回到基督和使徒所启示的真理。

The final standard must be the truth about Christ revealed through the apostles.

约翰一书 4:6

1 John 4:6

中文｜和合本

6 我们是属神的，认识神的就听从我们；不属神的就不听从我们。从此我们可以认出真理的灵和谬妄的灵来。

English｜WEB

6 We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn’t listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

简要解释｜Brief Explanation

这里的“我们”在上下文中首先指约翰和使徒的见证。

The “we” here refers first to John and the apostolic witness.

因此，判断真理和谬误的标准，不是人数、名气或个人感觉，而是一个人的教导是否忠于基督借使徒所启示的真理。

Therefore, truth and error are not determined by numbers, popularity, or personal feelings, but by whether teaching is faithful to the truth of Christ revealed through the apostles.

这也是为什么教会需要教义和信条。

This is also why the church needs doctrine and confessions.

五、教会不可“容让”明知错误的教导

V. The Church Must Not Tolerate Teaching It Knows to Be False

启示录 2:20

Revelation 2:20

中文｜和合本

20 然而，有一件事我要责备你，就是你容让那自称是先知的妇人耶洗别教导我的仆人，引诱他们行奸淫，吃祭偶像之物。

English｜WEB

20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate your woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols.

简要解释｜Brief Explanation

这里最值得注意的是“容让”。

The key word here is “tolerate.”

主耶稣责备推雅推喇教会，不仅因为错误存在，也因为教会容让错误的教师继续引诱神的百姓。

Jesus rebukes the church in Thyatira not merely because error existed, but because the church tolerated a false teacher who continued to lead God’s people astray.

因此，“包容”本身并不永远是一种美德。

Therefore, “tolerance” is not always a virtue.

对弟兄的软弱，我们需要忍耐；对次要教义的差异，我们需要谦卑。

We need patience toward the weaknesses of our brothers and sisters, and humility regarding differences over secondary doctrines.

但是对破坏福音的异端，教会不能以“爱”和“合一”为理由加以接受。

But the church must not accept gospel-destroying heresy in the name of “love” or “unity.”

六、需要特别分清的一点

VI. One Important Distinction

“不同宗派”不等于“异端”。

“A different denomination” does not mean “heresy.”

这一点非常重要。

This distinction is very important.

长老会、改革宗浸信会、一些福音派教会，在洗礼、教会治理、末世论等问题上可能存在明显差异。

Presbyterians, Reformed Baptists, and some evangelical churches may disagree significantly about baptism, church government, or eschatology.

这些差异可以很重要，但不能因为不同意我们的改革宗立场，就自动称别人为异端。

These differences may be important, but we should not automatically call someone a heretic simply because he disagrees with our Reformed position.

真正的异端触及的是基督教信仰的根基，例如否认三位一体、否认基督的神性、否认基督真实复活，或根本改变圣经的救恩之道。

True heresy attacks the foundations of Christianity—for example, denying the Trinity, denying Christ’s deity, denying Christ’s true resurrection, or fundamentally changing the biblical way of salvation.

七、总结

VII. Summary

这条信仰告白实际上要求我们同时守住两件事情：

This statement requires us to hold two things together:

合一，但不是没有真理的合一。

Unity, but not unity without truth.

持守真理，但不是因为所有次要差异都彼此分裂。

Faithfulness to truth, but not division over every secondary difference.

凡真正属于基督的人，我们都应当视为弟兄姐妹；凡破坏基督福音的教导，我们都不能为了表面的合一而妥协。

We should receive all who truly belong to Christ as brothers and sisters, but we must never compromise with teaching that destroys the gospel of Christ merely for the sake of outward unity.