第三条：全能者
Paragraph 3: The Almighty
268在神一切属性中，信经只称名他的全能：对这能力的宣认与我们的生活大有关联。我们相信他的能力是普遍的，因为创造万有的神也统管万有、能行万事。神的能力是慈爱的，因为他是我们的父；也带着奥秘，因为只有在它「在人的软弱上显得完全」的时候，信心才能分辨它。创 1:1；约 1:3；太 6:9；林后 12:9；参 林前 1:18。
268Of all the divine attributes, only God’s omnipotence is named in the Creed: to confess this power has great bearing on our lives. We believe that his might is universal, for God who created everything also rules everything and can do everything. God’s power is loving, for he is our Father, and mysterious, for only faith can discern it when it “is made perfect in weakness”.Gen 1:1; Jn 1:3; Mt 6:9; 2 Cor 12:9; cf. 1 Cor 1:18.
「都随自己的意旨行事」诗 115:3。 { }
“He does whatever he pleases”Ps 115:3.
269圣经一再宣认神普世性的权能。他被称为「雅各的大能者」、「万军之耶和华」、「大有能力的」。神之所以在「天上地下」全能，是因为他造了天与地。在神没有难成的事；他按着自己的旨意安排一切作为。他是宇宙的主，建立了宇宙的秩序，使之完全顺服于他、归他所用。他是历史的主，按着自己的旨意掌管人心与万事：「你随时都能显示你大能的手臂；谁能抵挡你臂膀的权势？」智 11:21；参 斯 4:17下；箴 21:1；多 13:2。
269The Holy Scriptures repeatedly confess the universal power of God. He is called the “Mighty One of Jacob”, the “LORD of hosts”, the “strong and mighty” one. If God is almighty “in heaven and on earth”, it is because he made them. Nothing is impossible with God, who disposes his works according to his will. He is the Lord of the universe, whose order he established and which remains wholly subject to him and at his disposal. He is master of history, governing hearts and events in keeping with his will: “It is always in your power to show great strength, and who can withstand the strength of your arm?”Wis 11:21; cf. Esth 4:17b; Prov 21:1; Tob 13:2.
「你怜悯一切，因为你无所不能」智 11:23。 { }
“You are merciful to all, for you can do all things”Wis 11:23.
270神是父、是全能者；他的父性与权能彼此阐明：神借着眷顾我们的需要，来启示他为父的全能；也借着收纳我们为子女（「我要作你们的父，你们要作我的儿女。这是全能的主说的」），林后 6:18；参 太 6:32。最后也借着他无限的怜悯——因为他在自由赦罪时，最极致地显出他的能力。
270God is the Father Almighty, whose fatherhood and power shed light on one another: God reveals his fatherly omnipotence by the way he takes care of our needs; by the filial adoption that he gives us (“I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”);2 Cor 6:18; cf. Mt 6:32. finally by his infinite mercy, for he displays his power at its height by freely forgiving sins.
271神的全能绝非任性：「在神里面，能力、本质、意志、理智、智慧与公义都是同一的。因此，凡不合乎他公义之旨意，或不合乎他智慧之理智的，就不可能在他的能力之中。」圣托马斯阿奎那，《神学大全》I,25,5, ad I。
271God’s almighty power is in no way arbitrary: “In God, power, essence, will, intellect, wisdom, and justice are all identical. Nothing therefore can be in God’s power which could not be in his just will or his wise intellect.”St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I,25,5, ad I.
神表面无力的奥秘
The Mystery of God's Apparent Powerlessness
272对全能圣父之神的信心，会在罪恶与苦难的经历中受试炼。有时神似乎不在场，似乎不能阻止恶事。然而，圣父在最神秘的方式里，藉着他儿子的自我谦卑与复活来启示他的全能，并借此战胜了罪恶。被钉的基督于是就成了「神的能力、神的智慧。因神的愚拙总比人智慧，神的软弱总比人强壮。」林前 1:24-25。正是在基督的复活与被高举上，父显明了那「向我们这信的人所显的能力是何等浩大」。弗 1:19-22。
272Faith in God the Father Almighty can be put to the test by the experience of evil and suffering. God can sometimes seem to be absent and incapable of stopping evil. But in the most mysterious way God the Father has revealed his almighty power in the voluntary humiliation and Resurrection of his Son, by which he conquered evil. Christ crucified is thus “the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”1 Cor 1:24-25. It is in Christ’s Resurrection and exaltation that the Father has shown forth “the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe”.Eph 1:19-22.
273唯有信心能拥抱神全能之作为的奥秘。这信心因自己的软弱而夸口，为要引来基督的能力。参 林后 12:9；腓 4:13。童贞马利亚是这信心的最高典范，因为她相信「因为出于神的话，没有一句不带能力的」，并且能尊主为大：「那有权能的为我成就了大事；他的名为圣。」路 1:37，49。
273Only faith can embrace the mysterious ways of God’s almighty power. This faith glories in its weaknesses in order to draw to itself Christ’s power.Cf. 2 Cor 12:9; Phil 4:13. The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of this faith, for she believed that “nothing will be impossible with God”, and was able to magnify the Lord: “For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”Lk 1:37, 49.
274「最能坚固我们信心与盼望的，莫过于把『在神没有难成的事』牢牢记在心里。一旦理性把握了神全能的观念，它就会容易且毫不犹豫地接纳［信经］随后要我们相信的一切——即便那些事极其伟大奇妙，远远超越自然常则。」《罗马教理》I,2,13。
274“Nothing is more apt to confirm our faith and hope than holding it fixed in our minds that nothing is impossible with God. Once our reason has grasped the idea of God’s almighty power, it will easily and without any hesitation admit everything that [the Creed] will afterwards propose for us to believe – even if they be great and marvelous things, far above the ordinary laws of nature.”Roman Catechism I,2,13.
综述
In Brief
275我们与义人约伯一同宣认：「我知道，你万事都能作；你的旨意不能拦阻。」（伯 42:2）
275With Job, the just man, we confess: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).
276教会忠于圣经的见证，常在祈祷中称呼「全能永恒的神」（omnipotens sempiterne Deus…），坚信「在神没有难成的事」（创 18:14；路 1:37；太 19:26）。
276Faithful to the witness of Scripture, the Church often addresses her prayer to the “almighty and eternal God” (“omnipotens sempiterne Deus…”), believing firmly that “nothing will be impossible with God” (Gen 18:14; Lk 1:37; Mt 19:26).
277神借着使我们从罪中回转，并以恩典使我们重获与他的友谊，来彰显他的全能。「神啊，你主要在怜悯与宽恕中显示你的全能……」（《罗马弥撒经书》，常年期第二十六主日，集祷经）。
277God shows forth his almighty power by converting us from our sins and restoring us to his friendship by grace. “God, you show your almighty power above all in your mercy and forgiveness…” (Roman Missal, 26th Sunday, Opening Prayer).
278如果我们不相信神的爱是全能的，我们怎么能相信圣父能创造我们、圣子能救赎我们、圣灵能使我们成圣呢？
278If we do not believe that God’s love is almighty, how can we believe that the Father could create us, the Son redeem us and the Holy Spirit sanctify us?