来一5~6　神曾对哪一个天使说过，“你是我的儿子，我今日生了你”？又说，“我要作祂的父，祂要作我的儿子”？再者，神再带长子到世上来的时候，就说，“神的众使者都要拜祂。”

　　主耶稣有两次出生。首先，祂由马利亚生为人子。然后，在三十三年半以后，祂被钉十字架、埋葬并从死人中复活。借着复活，祂有了第二次的出生。作为人，祂在复活里生为神的儿子。因此，在祂的第一次出生里，祂是由马利亚生为人的儿子；在祂的第二次出生里，祂是在复活里由神生为神的儿子（新约总论第九册，二八一页）。

　　Heb. 1:5-6 For to which of the angels has He ever said, "You are My Son; this day have I begotten You"? And again, "I will be a Father to Him, and He will be a Son to Me"? And when He brings again the Firstborn into the inhabited earth, He says, "And let all the angels of God worship Him."

　　The Lord Jesus had two births. First, He was born of Mary to be the Son of Man. Then thirty-three and a half years later He was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. Through resurrection He had a second birth, for as a man He was born in His resurrection to be the Son of God. Therefore, in His first birth He was born of Mary to be the Son of Man, and in His second birth He was born in resurrection to be the Son of God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2994)

　　在主耶稣的第二次出生里，祂生为神的长子。按照新约，祂在两方面是神的儿子。第一，祂是神的独生子；第二，祂如今是神的长子。“独生”一辞指明神只有一个儿子。约翰一章十八节和三章十六节说到神的独生子。就永远来说，基督是神的独生子，这是祂永远的身分。但是借着复活，祂乃是人而生为神的长子。“长子”一辞指明神如今有许多儿子（来二10）。罗马八章二十九节和希伯来一章六节都说到基督是长子。我们这些相信基督的人，是神许多的儿子，是主许多的弟兄，神长子的许多弟兄（罗八29）（新约总论第九册，二八一页）。

　　当然，基督的成为肉体也是出生，但那个出生使祂成为人子。基督并不是借着成为肉体而成为神的儿子。在已过的永远里，在基督成为肉体与复活之前，祂已经是神的儿子。圣经启示，这位神子基督乃是永远的。神是三一的—父、子、灵，而三者都是永远的。父神是永远的（赛九6），子神是永远的（来七3），灵神也是永远的（九14）。

　　永远的意思是无始无终。有的时候，圣经学者常用一个圆来表征永远。圆无始也无终，很难说圆上的一点是在另一点之前或之后。同样，父、子、灵都是永远的，无始也无终。希伯来七章三节告诉我们，神的儿子是永远的，既无时日之始，也无生命之终。圣经的启示不是说父存在于子之前，子出现在父之后，或是灵在子之后来到。圣经乃是说这三者都是永远的。

　　神的儿子是永远的，而这位永远的神子却在大约二千年前生为人子。在祂的成为肉体里，祂由马利亚所生，借着那个出生，祂成为人子。所以，祂的成为肉体是祂第一次出生。但是圣经也告诉我们，基督有第二次出生。基督第一次出生是生为人子，而祂第二次出生是生为神的长子。一面，约翰三章十六节说，“神爱世人，甚至将祂的独生子赐给他们。”这节指明基督是神独一的儿子。另一面，罗马八章二十九节说，“……使祂儿子在许多弟兄中作长子。”你曾否想过，基督在两方面作神的儿子？第一面，祂是神的独生子；第二面，祂乃是众子中的长子。二十九节说，信徒乃是要模成神长子的形像，而不是要模成独生子的形像（李文集一九八○年第二册，六三九至六四○页）。

　　参读：撒母耳记生命读经，第二十七篇。

　　In His second birth the Lord Jesus was born to be the firstborn Son of God. According to the New Testament, He is the Son of God in two aspects. First, He was God's only begotten Son; second, He is now God's firstborn Son. The words only begotten indicate that God has only one Son. John 1:18 and 3:16 speak of the only begotten Son of God. Eternally speaking, Christ is the only begotten Son of God. This is His eternal status. But through resurrection He, as a man, was born to be the firstborn Son of God. The word firstborn indicates that God now has many sons (Heb. 2:10). Romans 8:29 and Hebrews 1:6 both speak of Christ as the Firstborn. We who believe in Christ are the many sons of God and the many brothers of the Lord, the many brothers of the firstborn Son of God (Rom. 8:29). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2994)

　　Of course, Christ's incarnation was also a birth, but that birth made Him the Son of Man. Christ did not become the Son of God through incarnation. In eternity past, before His incarnation and before His resurrection, Christ was already the Son of God. The Bible reveals that Christ, the Son of God, is eternal. God is triune—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—and all three are eternal. God the Father is eternal (Isa. 9:6), God the Son is eternal (Heb. 7:3), and God the Spirit is eternal (9:14).

　　To be eternal means to have no beginning and no ending. Students of the Bible sometimes use a circle to signify eternity. A circle has no beginning and no ending, and it is difficult to tell whether one point on a circle comes before or after another point. In the same way the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all eternal, having no beginning or ending. Hebrews 7:3 tells us that the Son of God is eternal, having neither beginning of days nor end of life. The revelation in the Bible is not that the Father existed before the Son, that the Son came into being after the Father, or that the Spirit came after the Son. Rather, the Bible says that all three are eternal.

　　The Son of God is eternal, yet this eternal Son of God was born as the Son of Man about two thousand years ago. In His incarnation He was born of Mary, and by that birth He became the Son of Man. Therefore, His incarnation was His first birth. But the Bible also tells us that Christ had a second birth. In His first birth Christ was born as the Son of Man, and in His second birth He was born as the firstborn Son of God. On the one hand, John 3:16 says, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." This verse indicates that Christ was God's only Son. On the other hand, Romans 8:29 says, "That He might be the Firstborn among many brothers." Have you ever considered that Christ is the Son of God in two ways? In the first way He was God's only begotten Son, and in the second way He is the firstborn Son among many sons. Romans 8:29 says that the believers are to be conformed not to the image of the only begotten Son but to the image of God's firstborn Son. (CWWL, 1980, vol. 2, "The Secret of Experiencing Christ," pp. 470-471)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 27