我们的上帝一诺千金。

Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7

凡你们所愿意的，祈求就给你们成就。-约翰福音15章7节

My friend’s brother (when they were both children) assured his sister an umbrella had enough lift to hold her up if she would only “believe.” So “by faith” she jumped off a barn roof and knocked herself out, suffering a minor concussion.

我朋友小的时候，她的哥哥也还是小孩子，但他再三向我朋友保证，只要她愿意“相信”，一把打开的雨伞就足以撑起她的重量。所以她就“凭信心”从谷仓的屋顶上跳下来，结果不但摔得不醒人事，还有轻微的脑震荡。

What God has promised, He will do. But we must be sure we stand on God’s actual word when we claim a promise, for only then do we have the assurance that God will do or give what He’s promised. Faith has no power in itself. It only counts when it’s based on a clear and unambiguous promise from God. Anything else is just wishful thinking.

凡是上帝所应许的，祂一定会成就。然而，当我们要求上帝实现应许时，就必须先确定上帝的话的确是这么说。唯有如此，我们才能肯定上帝必会按祂所应许的来成就。信心必须建立在上帝清楚且毫无疑义的应许上，这样的信心才有力量，否则就不过是妄求而已。

Here’s a case in point: God has promised, “Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit” (John 15:7–8). These verses are not a promise that God will answer every prayer we utter, but rather a promise that He will respond to every longing for personal righteousness, what Paul calls “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22–23). If we hunger and thirst for holiness and ask God for it, He will begin to satisfy us. It will take time; for spiritual growth, like human growth, is gradual. Don’t give up. Keep asking God to make you holy. In His time and at His pace “it will be done for you.” God doesn’t make promises He doesn’t keep. 

举例来说，上帝应许我们：“凡你们所愿意的，祈求就给你们成就。你们多结果子，我父就因此得荣耀”（约翰福音15章7-8节）。这段经文并不是指上帝会应允我们所有的祈求，而是每当我们努力追求圣洁公义，即渴慕保罗所说的“圣灵的果子”（加拉太书5章22-23节），祂会乐意赐给我们。若我们渴望成为圣洁，并向上帝祈求，祂也会帮助我们。属灵生命的成长和人的成长一样都需要时间，必须循序渐进。我们别轻言放弃，只要不断向上帝祈求成圣，祂就会按着预定的时间为我们成就。因为凡出于上帝的应许，就绝不落空！

亲爱的天父，感谢祢将祢的应许—我们生命的基础，都明载于圣经之内，也感谢祢差遣圣灵，使我们能够明了领悟。

John15:5-8  NIV

15 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

约翰福音 15:5-8

15 我是葡萄树，你们是枝子。常在我里面的，我也常在他里面，这人就多结果子；因为离了我，你们就不能做什么。 6 人若不常在我里面，就像枝子丢在外面枯干，人拾起来扔在火里烧了。 7 你们若常在我里面，我的话也常在你们里面，凡你们所愿意的，祈求，就给你们成就。 8 你们多结果子，我父就因此得荣耀，你们也就是我的门徒了。

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

The context of abiding in the vine (John 15:1–8) is vital to understanding this passage, but it’s even more helpful to take a step back and look at the entire scene. It’s the night before Christ will be crucified. Judas has already gone to betray Jesus (John 13:30). Jesus and His disciples have just departed the upper room where they shared the Last Supper. As they walk, the Lord refers to two metaphorical groups: branches that bear fruit and those that don’t. The good branches abide in the vine and are pruned (disciplined).Unfruitful branches don’t abide and are cut off.

要理解“常在葡萄树上”这段经文（约翰福音15章1-8节），不仅要看上下文，还要考虑当时的背景。那时，正是基督被钉十字架的前一个晚上，犹大已离开众人准备要出卖耶稣（约翰福音13章30节）。耶稣和门徒刚离开享用最后晚餐的地方，正走在路上，主耶稣用葡萄树的枝子来比喻两种人：结果子的枝子和不结果子的枝子。结果子的枝子常连在葡萄树上，且常会被修剪（管教）；不结果子的枝子不常连在树上，就会被剪下来。

Bible scholar William Hendriksen points out the significance of Judas’s recent departure in light of Jesus’s words here. Judas did not abide in the vine. Jesus encouraged the remaining disciples to abide and “bear much fruit”(v. 8). Significantly, the eleven who remained were all persecuted for defending the faith. Ten of them died for it (tradition says John died peacefully in his old age after returning from Patmos). Yet God kept His promise to them. Although He did not deliver them from physical attacks, He gave them boldness to proclaim the truth. We who “abide in the vine” will be “pruned.” What might that mean for us? 

圣经学者韩威廉（William Hendriksen）指出，若以耶稣所说的这段话来看犹大的提前离席，犹大显然没有常连在葡萄树上。耶稣鼓励其余的门徒要常在葡萄树上，并“多结果子”（8节）。值得注意的是，剩下的十一个门徒最后都因捍卫信仰而受到迫害，其中更有十人殉道（传统的说法是，约翰从拔摩岛返乡之后，在年迈时安然去世）。然而，上帝持守了赐给他们的应许，虽然祂没有救他们免受酷刑磨难，但却让他们有勇气能放胆传讲真理。我们这些“常在葡萄树上”的人会被“修理干净”，这对我们意味着什么呢？

整理：于姊妹