WEEK 7 — DAY 2
Morning Nourishment
John 5:30 "I can do nothing from Myself; as I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will but the will of Him who sent Me."
Rom. 15:32 "So that coming to you in joy through the will of God, I may refresh myself and rest with you."
In order to put on the new man in an experiential way, we need to take Christ as our person (Eph. 3:17a; Gal. 2:20). The church is the new man, and in this new man there is only one person—Christ (Matt. 17:5; Col. 3:10-11).The old man must be put off, and we must live by our new person (vv. 5-9;Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:22-24). When we live by taking Christ as our person, especially in making decisions, our living will be the living of the new man (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; Rom. 15:32; James 4:13-15). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3615-3616)
Today's Reading
The new man is not for moving; the new man is for decision-making and for living. As a human being you may not move at all, but you still must live. The Body is for moving, and the new man is for living. Concerning the new man, Ephesians 4:24 says that it was created according to God in righteousness and holiness. Righteousness and holiness are conditions of our living. Thus, living is entirely a matter of the new man. The new man is for living, and eighty to ninety percent of our living is in making decisions. Therefore, you can see two things: the church as the Body is for moving,and the church as the new man is for living by making decisions. On the one hand, the church is the Body of Christ, and we take Christ as our life to act, to work, and to bear responsibilities. On the other hand, the church is the new man, and we take Christ as our person to make plans and to decide on how we should live.
I must take the opportunity at this time to speak a word on taking care of the universal new man in our daily walk. If we have all seen the vision of the new man and have seen that all the churches are not merely individual local churches but the one new man, we will be willing to say, “Lord, I want to receive grace and mercy with all the saints as the one new man, taking You as the person in all of us.” If you take Christ in this way as the person of this corporate new man, you will not decide anything in your life by yourself. Because you see that you are a part of the churches as the new man, you will not be able to decide anything merely by yourself. Since you are a part of the new man, your decisions and your living should not be yours; they should be the decisions and the living of the corporate new man. Dear brothers and sisters, this is the ultimate requirement.
We say that we are in the Lord's recovery, but if the Lord were to come among us, would He find this new man? This is not merely a matter of individual localities and individual churches; it involves all the churches on earth corporately. Are all the local churches on the earth in the Lord's recovery today truly the one new man? Because the church is a lampstand,you may say that each locality is a lampstand. However, concerning the church being the new man, can you say that each locality is a new man? No,you cannot! All the churches on the earth are the one new man.
Whether it is the Body or the new man, whether in working and moving or in living and in deciding, everything is corporate; nothing is individual.You must see that your living today is the living of the new man, a corporate living, and your decisions are corporate decisions and not your personal decisions. For example, you may be trying to decide and to conclude whether you should open a factory or become an educator. There is a kind of living here. If you see that you are a part in the new man, you will not want to decide by yourself as the person. You will want to take Christ as your person together with all the other parts in the new man. (One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man, pp. 64, 72-73, 64-65)
Further Reading: Taking Christ as Our Person for the Church Life, chs.8-11
Morning Nourishment
John 5:30 "I can do nothing from Myself; as I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will but the will of Him who sent Me."
Rom. 15:32 "So that coming to you in joy through the will of God, I may refresh myself and rest with you."
In order to put on the new man in an experiential way, we need to take Christ as our person (Eph. 3:17a; Gal. 2:20). The church is the new man, and in this new man there is only one person—Christ (Matt. 17:5; Col. 3:10-11).The old man must be put off, and we must live by our new person (vv. 5-9;Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:22-24). When we live by taking Christ as our person, especially in making decisions, our living will be the living of the new man (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; Rom. 15:32; James 4:13-15). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3615-3616)
Today's Reading
The new man is not for moving; the new man is for decision-making and for living. As a human being you may not move at all, but you still must live. The Body is for moving, and the new man is for living. Concerning the new man, Ephesians 4:24 says that it was created according to God in righteousness and holiness. Righteousness and holiness are conditions of our living. Thus, living is entirely a matter of the new man. The new man is for living, and eighty to ninety percent of our living is in making decisions. Therefore, you can see two things: the church as the Body is for moving,and the church as the new man is for living by making decisions. On the one hand, the church is the Body of Christ, and we take Christ as our life to act, to work, and to bear responsibilities. On the other hand, the church is the new man, and we take Christ as our person to make plans and to decide on how we should live.
I must take the opportunity at this time to speak a word on taking care of the universal new man in our daily walk. If we have all seen the vision of the new man and have seen that all the churches are not merely individual local churches but the one new man, we will be willing to say, “Lord, I want to receive grace and mercy with all the saints as the one new man, taking You as the person in all of us.” If you take Christ in this way as the person of this corporate new man, you will not decide anything in your life by yourself. Because you see that you are a part of the churches as the new man, you will not be able to decide anything merely by yourself. Since you are a part of the new man, your decisions and your living should not be yours; they should be the decisions and the living of the corporate new man. Dear brothers and sisters, this is the ultimate requirement.
We say that we are in the Lord's recovery, but if the Lord were to come among us, would He find this new man? This is not merely a matter of individual localities and individual churches; it involves all the churches on earth corporately. Are all the local churches on the earth in the Lord's recovery today truly the one new man? Because the church is a lampstand,you may say that each locality is a lampstand. However, concerning the church being the new man, can you say that each locality is a new man? No,you cannot! All the churches on the earth are the one new man.
Whether it is the Body or the new man, whether in working and moving or in living and in deciding, everything is corporate; nothing is individual.You must see that your living today is the living of the new man, a corporate living, and your decisions are corporate decisions and not your personal decisions. For example, you may be trying to decide and to conclude whether you should open a factory or become an educator. There is a kind of living here. If you see that you are a part in the new man, you will not want to decide by yourself as the person. You will want to take Christ as your person together with all the other parts in the new man. (One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man, pp. 64, 72-73, 64-65)
Further Reading: Taking Christ as Our Person for the Church Life, chs.8-11
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