以賽亞九6
John Gill
The everlasting Father; which does not design any relation of Christ in the Godhead; and there is but one Father in the Godhead, and that is the first Person; indeed Christ and the Father are one, and the Father is in him, and he is in the Father, and he that has seen the one has seen the other, and yet they are distinct, Christ is not the Father; the Son and Spirit may be considered with the first Person as Father, in creation and regeneration, they being jointly concerned therein, but not in the Trinity: it is easy to make it appear Christ is not the Father, but is distinct from him, since he is said to be with the Father from eternity, to be the Son of the Father in truth and love, his own Son, his only begotten and beloved Son; Christ frequently calls the first Person his Father, prayed to him as such, and is our advocate with him, as well as the way unto him; he is said to be sent by the Father, to come from him, and to go to him; and many things are said of Christ that cannot be said of the Father, as his being made flesh, suffering and dying in the room of his people; and the Father is said to do many things unto him, as to anoint him, to seal him, to show him all he did, to commit all judgment to him, and give him to have life in himself as he had: but Christ is a Father with respect to chosen men, who were given him as his children and offspring in covenant; who are adopted into that family that is named of him, and who are regenerated by his Spirit and grace: and to these he is an "everlasting Father"; he was so from everlasting; for regeneration and faith do not make men children, but make them appear to be so; God's elect are children previous to the Spirit's work upon them, and even to the incarnation and death of Christ; adoption is an act of the will of God in covenant from eternity: and Christ is a Father to these unto everlasting; he will never die, and they shall never be left fatherless; he and they will ever continue in this relation; he as such supplies them with everlasting provisions, he clothes them with everlasting raiment, he gives them an everlasting portion, promotes them to everlasting honour, saves them with an everlasting salvation, bearing an everlasting love to them. Some render the words, "the Father of eternity" (s); the author of eternal life, who has procured it for his people, and gives it to them; or to whom eternity belongs, who inhabits it, and is possessed of it, is the everlasting I AM, was before all persons and things, was set up in an office capacity from everlasting, and had a glory with the Father before the world was, in whom eternal election, and with whom the everlasting covenant, were made. The Septuagint version is, "the Father of the world to come" (t); of the Gospel dispensation; so called, Heb_2:5 the legal dispensation, when in being, was the then present world, at the end of which Christ came; this is now at an end, and a new state of things has taken place, which with respect to the Old Testament saints was the world to come, and of this Christ is the Father or author; as the law came by Moses, and he was the father of the legal dispensation, grace and truth are come by Christ, the Father and author of the Gospel dispensation; the doctrines of it are from him, and the ordinances of it by him; and he is the father of that state or world to come after the resurrection, the New Jerusalem church state, and also of the ultimate glory.
永在的父（the everlasting Father）；並不是用來描述基督在神格中的關係；在神格裡面只有一位父，祂乃是第一個位格；基督與父確實是一，父在祂裡面，祂也在父裡面，凡看見其中一位的，就是看見了另一位，然而祂們卻又是不同的，基督不是父；在創造和重生聖徒的工作中，子和聖靈可以被認為是同著第一個位格－父，祂們可以被認為都在其中，但不是在三位一體裡面。這使得基督很容易看起來不是父，而是於父不同，因為祂被稱為從永遠就與父同在，在真理和愛中為父的兒子，父自己的兒子，祂獨生並所愛的兒子；基督常常稱第一個位格為祂的父，也向父禱告，與父一同作為我們的辯護者，也做為向著父的道路；祂也被稱作父所差遣的，從父而來，並向著父而去；許多論到基督的事物不能被用來論及父，如同子成為肉身，受苦並為了祂的百姓受死；父也為了子做了許多事，如同膏祂，印祂，向子表明祂所做的一切，並將審判託付給子，並將自己所有的生命給了子：但是基督對於選民而言是一位父，在約中被賜給祂的兒女和後裔；兒女們被認養進入那以祂為名的家庭之中，他們藉著聖靈和恩典被重生：對著那些人祂就是「永恆的父（everlasting Father）」；祂確實也是從永恆來的；因為重生與信心並無法讓人成為兒女，但只能讓他們看起來像是兒女；神的選民需要先有聖靈的工作在他們身上，甚至還需要基督的道成肉身和死亡的工作；認養則是神從永恆、在祂的約中、根據祂意志的行為：基督對著那些向著永恆而去的人就是一位父；祂也不會死，使得他們變為無父的孤兒；祂與他們的關西永遠不會中斷；祂也用永恆的供備供應他們，祂也為他們穿上了永恆的義袍，祂也賜予他們永遠的份，將他們提高到永遠的尊榮中，用永遠的救贖拯救了他們，並將永遠的愛賜給他們。有些人認為「永恆的父（everlasting Father）」這些話；永遠生命的作者，以這個生命來醫治祂的百姓，並將這個生命賜給百姓；或，永遠屬於祂，祂也住在生命裡面，也擁有這個生命，也是那永遠的我是（I AM），在一切的人與事之前，祂在永遠中就被立為職事，並在世界之前就與父有同一個榮耀，永遠的揀選也在祂裡面，也是帶著祂立了永約。七十士譯本的翻譯是，「要來世界的父（the Father ofthe world to come）」；福音的分賜（the Gospel dispensation）；希伯來書二5中的「合法的分賜（thelegal dispensation）」，不但存在於今世，也會存留到基督再來的時候；如今就是末世了，萬物都進入了新的狀態，從舊約聖徒的角度而言，就是要來的世界中基督就是父或其作者；根據摩西頒布的律法，祂就是藉著基督這位父和福音的分賜而來的，合法的分賜、恩典和真理的作者；關於這一切的教義也是從祂來的，也是被祂所制定的；祂乃是在復活之後要來的世界，或國度－新耶路撒冷的教會國，以及終極的榮耀的父與作者。