Douglas Koskella: "The Bible ultimately serves a transformative purpose."

圣经作为圣餐

道格拉斯·M. Koskela,
神学助理教授

When we consider the Bible in sacramental terms, we use a metaphor that helps us to understand the function of Scripture within the life of the church. Both Scripture and the sacraments are central elements of the “canonical heritage” of the church —those materials and 实践s that serve as means of grace in the Christian life. 事实上, they are very different pieces of the Christian heritage and are employed in distinct ways by the community of faith. By reflecting on certain dimensions of the nature and function of the sacraments, 然而, we can illuminate several features of the Bible’s formative role.

借用，借用. Augustine, a sacrament is “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” In a similar fashion, the Bible mediates God’s grace to us by means of the “stuff” of this world. 在圣灵的默示下, human words to God and to each other — a narrative told by the Chronicler, 诗人的祷文, an exhortation from the Apostle Paul to a fledgling congregation — become God’s word to us. Through the church’s 实践 of proclaiming and hearing this word, 上帝仁慈地挑战, 激发, 教, 并维持他的人民.

The Christian tradition has long recognized one of the sacraments, 圣餐, as a crucial 实践 that nourishes and awakens believers. By regularly p艺术aking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, God’s people are “fed” for the purpose of their spiritual growth. Likewise, the Bible ultimately serves a transformative purpose within the community of faith. While we recognize that God’s nature and purposes are revealed in and through Scripture, biblical texts provide far more than just information. 圣经教导赌博十大靠谱软件, 指正, 纠正, and trains us in righteousness so that we might be “proficient” and “equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). 教会’s canon of Scripture helps us not only to 知道 more but also — and perhaps more important — to be 形成 有基督的样式.

当会众庆祝圣礼时, its collective vision is oriented toward the actions of God in the past and the promises of God for the future. 圣餐, 例如, recalls the sacrifice of the crucified Christ in a manner that brings the saving power of Christ into the present. That same meal simultaneously serves as a “foretaste” of the kingdom of God as believers anticipate the full realization of God’s reign. Scripture also serves to orient our vision toward God’s saving action in the past and God’s promises for the future. 教会 continually remembers the biblical witness to God’s gracious work and to the promises that this work will be fulfilled (Philippians 1:6). 这样拥抱圣经会带来希望, 意义, and encouragement for the community of faith in the present.

根据定义，圣礼是 公共 实践. One cannot, 例如, baptize oneself or p艺术ake in 圣餐 alone. While the 实践 of reading Scripture on one’s own is deeply valuable — some would say crucial —in the Christian life, significant problems emerge when one’s reading of the Bible is disconnected from the community of faith. Just as the sacraments are celebrated in community, the 实践 of reading Scripture is most faithfully carried out in conversation with other Christians of the present and past. 教会, 在圣灵的指引下, 招待会的最终背景是什么, 解释, 以及圣经的宣讲. Not only does this go a long way toward preventing the misappropriation of biblical texts, but congregational 实践s of studying the Bible together safeguard the gifts, 美惠三女神, 并经历基督的整个身体.

Finally, the sacraments are always characterized by an element of mystery. While the material elements of the sacraments make visible the “inward and spiritual grace” of God, 圣礼的庆祝永远不会 尾气 那恩典的实相. There is always more to recognize and there is always more to receive, even from a sacrament that is administered only once to each person. 而一个人只受洗一次, 例如, one’s entire life is a 实践 of “living into” one’s baptism. The Bible also reveals or “makes visible” the gracious and saving work of God. Yet the 实践 of reading Scripture also involves an encounter with an inexhaustible mystery (1 Corinthians 13: 9–12). This mystery draws us in and provokes us to return continually to the sacramental 实践 of reading the Bible with an eye to our life with God and each other.

迈克·西格尔拍摄

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