标题：圣灵降临。肆拾叁
年份：2020
尺寸：327 x 490 cm
Title: The Advent of the Holy Spirit. 43
Year: 2020
Dimension: 327 x 490 cm
「圣灵降临」系列作品。
"The Advent of the Holy Spirit" Series.
43 / 490.
「圣灵降临」系列一共四百九十幅作品，探索神学上的“双重属灵现实”。
当圣灵降临到信徒身上，信徒便有了两个人格，面临一个“双重属灵现实”：“旧自我”与“新创造”之间的斗争。
从宇宙观的角度讲，黑是宇宙的本质，即宇宙的真实面目。颜料如果吸收光谱内的所有可见光，不反射任何颜色的光，人眼的感觉是黑色的。因此，黑色的"本质性"在此系列代表着由圣灵而生的“新创造”——信徒的“本质”。
“新创造”所占比重越大，则预表着信徒越来越脱去“旧自我”，穿上“新创造”，在成圣之路上越来越多地成长。
然而，成圣的荆棘之路遥远而漫长，信徒总会有跌倒和失败的时刻，面对自己的不圣洁的行为，信徒甚至会时常软弱、怀疑自己。
圣灵虽然在信徒身上孕育了“新创造”的新生命，但信徒的“旧自我”仍然存在。当信徒体贴“旧自我”（或称“肉体”）时，圣灵会担忧和责备信徒。只要“旧自我”依然存在，信徒就不可能做到完全圣洁，甚至想要做不圣洁的事。这种矛盾，即为“双重属灵现实”。
正如使徒保罗所说：
「因为我所作的，我自己不明白。我所愿意的，我并不作；我所恨恶的，我倒去作。若我所作的，是我所不愿意的，我就应承律法是善的。既是这样，就不是我作的，乃是住在我里头的罪作的。我也知道在我里头，就是我肉体之中，没有良善。因为立志为善由得我，只是行出来由不得我。故此，我所愿意的善，我反不作；我所不愿意的恶，我倒去作。若我去作所不愿意作的，就不是我作的，乃是住在我里头的罪作的。我觉得有个律，就是我愿意为善的时候，便有恶与我同在。因为按着我里面的意思（原文作“人”），我是喜欢神的律；但我觉得肢体中另有个律和我心中的律交战，把我掳去叫我附从那肢体中犯罪的律。我真是苦啊！谁能救我脱离这取死的身体呢？感谢神！靠着我们的主耶稣基督就能脱离了。这样看来，我以内心顺服神的律，我肉体却顺服罪的律了。」
因此，当信徒用“新创造”的圣徒的眼光看“旧自我”不圣洁的行为时，他会自己责备自己，忧伤痛苦。这就是圣经所说的信徒“在肉身受苦”了。
但是——
成圣之路是“一”到“一百”的过程，然而从“零”到“一”是本质的变化。只要有了“一”，便永远不会归“零”。
不管信徒跌倒多少次，无论“新创造”有多小，“新创造”都将永远不会消失。
「耶稣说：“我对你说：不是到七次，乃是到七十个七次。”」
七在圣经中是一个完全的数字，耶稣让彼得饶恕他弟弟“七十个七次”，其实际意义是要彼得无限期地完全宽恕他人。因此，此系列的“四百九十” 虽等于七十个七，但预表着“无限的饶恕”。当圣灵降临到信徒身上，无论在“旧自我”与“新创造”之间的战斗中“新创造”占上风或下风，不管信徒如何跌倒，祂总不会消失，也无限次地给予饶恕。
此系列，我试图阐述自身对此神学概念的理解，以及探索和思考生命，成长，圣洁，宽恕和永恒的动态关系。
"The Advent of the Holy Spirit" series has a total of 490 works, exploring theological "Dual Spiritual Reality".
When the Holy Spirit comes to the believer, the believer has two personalities, facing the "Dual Spiritual Reality": the battle between the "flesh" and the "new creation."
From the perspective of the universe, black is the essence of the universe, that is, the true face of the universe. If the pigment absorbs all visible light in the spectrum and does not reflect the light of any color, the human eye feels black. Therefore, the black "essentiality" type in this series typifies the "new creation" born of the Holy Spirit - the "essence" of believers.
The greater the proportion of the "new creation", it indicates that the believer is more and more detached from the "flesh", put on "new creation", and grows up more and more on the road to sanctification.
However, the thorny road to sanctification is long and distant. Believers will always have moments of fall and failure. Facing their unholy behavior, believers will often be weak and doubt themselves.
Although the Holy Spirit gave birth to a new life of "new creation" in the believer, the believer's "flesh" still exists. When a believer is considerate of the "flesh”, the Holy Spirit will worry and blame the believer. As long as the "flesh" remains, believers cannot be completely holy and they even want to do unholy things. This contradiction is "Dual Spiritual Reality".
As Saint Paul said:
"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.(Or my flesh) For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature(Or in the flesh) a slave to the law of sin."
Therefore, when the believer looks at the unholy behavior of the "flesh" with the eyes of the "new creation" saint, he will blame himself and be sad. This is what the Bible says believers "suffer in the body."
But -
The path to sanctification is the process from "one" to "one hundred", but from "zero" to "one" is a fundamental change. As long as there is "one", it will never return to "zero."
No matter how many times a believer falls, and no matter how small the "new creation" is, the "new creation" will never disappear.
"Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times (Or seventy times seven).'"
Seven is a complete number in the Bible. Jesus asked Peter to forgive his brother "seventy times seven", the practical significance was to ask Perter to completely forgive others for unlimited times. Therefore, although the "490" of this series is equal to “seventy times seven”, it indicates the "unlimited forgiveness". When the Holy Spirit comes to the believer, no matter how much "new creation" prevails or loses in the battle between the "flesh" and the "new creation", no matter how the believer falls, He will never disappear and give infinitely forgiveness to the believer.
In this series, I try to elaborate my understanding of this theological concept, as well as explore and think about the dynamic relationship between life, growth, holiness, forgiveness and eternity.
- Boshan Zhou
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©️ Boshan Zhou.
