林后五18~21 ……（神）借着基督使我们与祂自己和好，又将这和好的职事赐给我们；……且将这和好的话语托付了我们。所以我们为基督作了大使，……我们替基督求你们：要与神和好。神使那不知罪的，替我们成为罪，好叫我们在祂里面成为神的义。

　　保罗在林后五章十八至二十节接着说到和好的职事。……保罗在二十节有关与神和好的话，不是对罪人说的，乃是对哥林多信徒说的。这些信徒已经局部与神和好了，但是他们还没有完全与神和好。……保罗在林前一章提到他们是圣徒，是蒙神呼召进入祂儿子交通里的一班人；因此，他们必定多多少少与神和好了（哥林多后书生命读经，三七六、三七八页）。

　　2 Cor. 5:18-21 …God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation;…and has put in us the word of reconciliation. On behalf of Christ then we are ambassadors…; we beseech you on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God. Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

　　In 2 Corinthians 5:18 through 20 Paul goes on to speak of the ministry of reconciliation…. Paul’s word in verse 20 about being reconciled to God is not directed to sinners; it is directed to the believers in Corinth. These believers had already been reconciled to God partially. However, they had not been fully reconciled to Him…. In 1 Corinthians 1 Paul refers to them as saints, as those who had been called by God into the fellowship of His Son. Therefore, they surely had been reconciled to God to some degree. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 321-322)

　　哥林多信徒与神局部和好之后，仍旧活在肉体里、活在外面的人里。他们与神之间，有肉体、天然的人这层分隔的幔子。这层幔子并不等于圣所入口处的帘子，而是相当于会幕里面的幔子，就是隔开圣所与至圣所的幔子。哥林多信徒也许是在圣所里面，但他们不是在至圣所里面。……他们与神所在的地方仍是隔离的。因此，他们并没有完全与神和好。

　　林后五章十九节是叫世人与神和好，二十节是叫已经与神和好的信徒，进一步与神和好。这清楚指明，人与神完全的和好有两步。第一步是罪人脱离罪与神和好；为这目的，基督为我们的罪死了（林前十五3），使我们的罪蒙神赦免。这是基督的死客观的一面。在这一面，祂在十字架上担当我们的罪，替我们受了神的审判。第二步是活在天然生命中的信徒脱离肉体与神和好。为这目的，基督替我们这个“人”死了，使我们能在复活的生命里向祂活着（林后五14~15）。这是基督的死主观的一面。在这一面，祂替我们成为罪，受神审判，被神剪除，使我们能在祂里面成为神的义。借着祂死的这两面，祂就使神所拣选的人，完全与神和好了。

　　这两步的和好，由会幕的两层幔子清楚地描绘出来。头一层幔子称为帘子（出二六37）。罪人借着赎罪之血的和好被带到神这里，就经过这帘子进入圣所。这预表和好的第一步。但还有第二层幔子（31~35，来九3），将他与在至圣所里的神隔开。这层幔子需要裂开，使他能被带到至圣所里的神这里。这是和好的第二步。哥林多的信徒已经与神和好，经过头一层幔子进入了圣所；但他们仍活在肉体里，还需要经过已经裂开的第二层幔子（太二七51，来十20），进入至圣所，在他们的灵里与神同活（林前六17）。哥林多后书的目的就是要带他们到这里，使他们成为在灵里（林前二15），在至圣所里的人。使徒说，“求你们：要与神和好，”就是这意思。

　　哥林多人虽然已经得救，局部地与神和好，但是他们仍活在肉体里，也就是活在魂里，活在外面的人、天然的人里。肉体、天然人的幔子仍然使他们与神隔开。这意思是说，他们天然的人是阻隔的幔子。因此，他们需要第二步的和好（哥林多后书生命读经，三七八至三八○页）。

　　参读：哥林多后书生命读经，第三十七篇；诗篇生命读经，第十一篇。

　　The believers at Corinth, after being reconciled to God partially, still lived in the flesh, in the outward man. Between them and God there was the separating veil of the flesh, of the natural man. This veil corresponds to the veil inside the tabernacle, the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, not to the veil at the entrance to the Holy Place. The Corinthian believers may have been in the Holy Place, but they were not in the Holy of Holies, …where God is. Therefore, they had not been reconciled to God in full. In 2 Corinthians 5:19 it is the world that is to be reconciled to God. In verse 20 it is the believers, those who have already been reconciled to God, who are to be reconciled to Him further. This clearly indicates that there are two steps for people to be fully reconciled to God. The first step is as sinners to be reconciled to God from sin. For this purpose Christ died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3) that they may be forgiven by God. This is the objective aspect of Christ’s death. In this aspect He bore our sins on the cross that God might judge them upon Him for us. The second step is as believers living in the natural life to be reconciled to God from the flesh. For this purpose Christ died for us—the persons—that we may live to Him in resurrection life (2 Cor. 5:14-15). This is the subjective aspect of Christ’s death. In this aspect for us He was made sin to be judged and done away with by God that we may become the righteousness of God in Him. By the two aspects of His death He has fully reconciled God’s chosen people to God.

　　These two steps of reconciliation are clearly portrayed by the two veils of the tabernacle. The first veil is called the screen (Exo. 26:36). A sinner was brought to God through the reconciliation of the atoning blood to enter into the Holy Place by passing this screen. This typifies the first step of reconciliation. The second veil (Exo. 26:31-35; Heb. 9:3) still separated him from God who is in the Holy of Holies. This veil needed to be rent that he might be brought to God in the Holy of Holies. This is the second step of reconciliation. The Corinthian believers had been reconciled to God, for they had passed through the first veil and had entered into the Holy Place. But they still lived in the flesh. They needed to pass the second veil, which has already been rent (Matt. 27:51; Heb. 10:20), to enter into the Holy of Holies to live with God in their spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). The goal of this Epistle is to bring them here that they may be persons in the spirit (1 Cor. 2:14), in the Holy of Holies. This is what the apostle means by saying, “Be reconciled to God.”

　　Although the Corinthians had been saved and reconciled to God halfway, they still lived in the flesh; that is, they lived in the soul, the outward man, the natural being. The veil of the flesh, of the natural man, still separated them from God. This means that their natural being was a separating veil. Therefore, they needed the second step of reconciliation. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 322-324)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 37; Life-study of the Psalms, msgs. 11, 20-21