We need to Allow the Peace of Christ to Arbitrate in our Hearts for the One New Man

For the living and practical expression of the one new man, we all need to allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts so that the presiding peace rule within us and have the final word.

This week is the last week in the morning revival on, The goal of the Lord’s recovery – to bring for the one new man, and the topic for this week is, Allowing the Peace of Christ to Arbitrate in Our Hearts, Letting the Word of Christ Dwell in Us Richly, and Persevering in Prayer for the One New Man.

The one new man is the highest aspect of the church, and it is also the aspect most neglected among Christians today.

We may hear and appreciate that the church is the Body of Christ, and that we all have Christ as life for us to function in our measure in the Body, but what about the church as the one new man?

Christ created the one new man on the cross (Eph. 2:15) so that this new man would fulfill God’s purpose in creating man.

Genesis shows that God’s intention is to gain man; so He created man in His image and according to His likeness, so that man would express God and represent Him. However, because of Satan’s work, man rebelled against God, man became sinful, and mankind became divided and scattered.

Out of one man many races came forth, and since then, man was divided into many cultures, skin colors, langues, and nations, and man was scattered all over the earth; the one man that God is after was divided and scattered.

But God still wants to gain a man in His purpose, so He Himself became a man to be the Head of the one new man. Unlike the old man who had only the outer image and likeness of God but not the divine life, this new man has God’s life within Him, and Christ was God and man – the Son of God and the Son of Man.

He lived thirty-three and half years on earth, and His living became a model, a mold, a prototype, a pattern to show how the new man lives; He lived one with God the father, and in His speaking, actions, and living God was being manifested in man.

Then, He went to the cross where He dealt with all the problems between God and man; the old man was terminated, redemption was accomplished, and peace was made so that God and man may be reconciled, dwell together, be mingled together, and be one.

Furthermore, on the cross Christ abolished all the different ordinances which separated man and created in Himself one new man, so making peace. Christ created the one new man who is being renewed according to the image of Him who created him, and this one new man will fulfill God’s purpose.

We are here for the bringing forth and the practical existence of the one new man. For this, we need to put off the old man and put on the new man; we need to put off the old man with its living, behavior, culture, and background, and put on the new man.

We put on the new man by being renewed in the spirit of our mind, by growing into Christ in all things, by learning Christ as the reality is in Jesus, and by taking Christ as our life, our person.

This week we want to see three more matters concerning the new man in a very practical way, which are presented by Paul after he spoke of the new man: allowing the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts, letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly, and persevering in prayer for the one new man.

We need to Allow the Peace of Christ to Arbitrate in our Hearts for the One New Man

After Paul presented the one new man in Col. 3:10-11, he went on to speak of allowing the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts for the one new man (Col. 3:12-15).

In Eph. 2:15 we see that on the cross Christ made peace and created the one new man in Himself; the bringing forth of the one new man is in peace, and the new man is peace.

The real peace is Christ Himself. Peace doesn’t mean that there’s no more problems; rather, according to the Greek word, peace denotes a gathering and joining together, something that has been separated or divided is now put together, bound together, and joined together.

We were God’s enemies, and there was no peace between us; through the death of Christ on the cross, we are reconciled to God, we are put together, and we are joined together with Christ – this joining is the peace.

The peace of Christ denotes that Christ Himself created this peace and He Himself is our peace; we need to allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts for us to maintain the living of the one new man.

We need to continue to experience the renewing of our mind, taking Christ as our person, growing up into Christ in all things, and learning Christ as the reality is in Jesus, and for all these we need to allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts.

The Greek term for “arbitrate” can also be rendered “umpire, preside, or be enthroned as a ruler and decider of everything”; the arbitrating peace of Christ dissolves our complaint against anyone (Col. 3:13).

Because we still have our natural man and are of different cultures, we have different points of view and different opinions; so in the church life it is easy to complain and have different opinions, even to argue, if we live in the old man.

For the living of the one new man we need an umpire, someone who is the arbitrator, the decider of everything. Who is this arbitrator? It is the peace of Christ. The peace of Christ needs to be the boss, the chairman, so that whatever the peace says, it counts – and not what I say or you say.

Today in the local churches there may still be separation and division yet with a temporary cease-fire agreement, similar to the situation between North and South Korea.

We may have a temporary agreement not to argue, but do we allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts? How can we be one and in peace if we don’t allow Christ’s peace to arbitrate in us?

Even in the family life, the husband and wife may look so sweet and nice when they are with the saints in the meetings, but when they get back in the car to go home, they may not talk to one another and may return back to disputes and differing opinions. Oh Lord Jesus!

For the living of the new man, we all need to allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts.

Lord Jesus, we want to allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts for the living of the one new man. Thank You for becoming our peace and for making peace for us on the cross, so that we who were enemies with God and with one another may be brought together in oneness in one Body. Lord, we enthrone Your peace in us as the umpire, the arbitrator, in all situations and all things, that this peace would be the ruler and decider of everything. May Your arbitrating peace dissolve our complaint against anyone and keep us in peace in the one new man practically.

There’s the Need for Inward Arbitration to Settle the Dispute within us

Before we were saved, we may have regarded that doing good is better than doing evil, and we may have tried to do that to a certain degree; but after we are saved, we became persons who are even more complicated.

Often we are conscious of three parties within us: a positive party, a negative party, and a neutral party; these are always fighting and arguing within, and there’s the need for inward arbitration to settle the dispute within us.

If we don’t have the peace of Christ we don’t have peace; we all need to allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts.

Before we were saved we could indulge in worldly amusements and entertainments without any sense of controversy within, but now after we are saved, one party within us may encourage us to do one thing and another party may encourage us to do something else.

There’s the need for inward arbitration in our being, to settle any disputes within us. This presiding one in our being should be the peace of Christ. We need to allow the peace of Christ to be the arbitrator in our being, the umpire, to decide all things and all matters.

All the different parties need the word of an arbitrator, the decision of the referee. Whenever we sense that different parties within our being are arguing or quarreling, we need to give place to the presiding peace of Christ and allow this peace – which is the oneness of the one new man – to rule within us.

The peace of Christ is the oneness of the one new man, which is composed of different peoples. What keeps the peace and oneness in the church as the one new man is nothing else but the peace of Christ; through His death Christ made peace, and this has produced oneness.

Within us we have the oneness of the one new man, and this oneness – which is the peace of Christ – should be allowed to arbitrate in our hearts. We need to let the peace of Christ to function as a referee to settle the disputes in our being and between us and the saints.

For this, we should not quarrel or express our opinion, but simply turn to the Lord and let His peace arbitrate in us by making the final decision.

Whenever we have the sense or feeling that we have an opinion, we feel “hot” inside, for our concept, logic, and philosophy influences us and causes us to be opinionated.

We then need to contact the Lord and learn to drop our opinions and feelings, allowing the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts and have the final word. This will maintain the peace and oneness in the one new man in a practical way.

Lord Jesus, how we need Your peace to arbitrate in our hearts and settle the disputes within us! We turn to You, Lord, and we want to learn to drop our opinions and concepts, and listen to the word of the indwelling Referee. Thank You Lord, You are in us as peace to maintain the oneness of the one new man. We enthrone You, and we give You the preeminence, so that You as peace may arbitrate in our heart and settle the dispute within us. Lord, we want Your peace to have ground in us. May You be the chairman to rule over everything in our being and in the church life!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message given by Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 28-29, 32 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Goal of the Lord’s Recovery – to Bring Forth the One New Man (2018 ICSC), week 5, Allowing the Peace of Christ to Arbitrate in Our Hearts, Letting the Word of Christ Dwell in Us Richly, and Persevering in Prayer for the One New Man.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # And let the peace of Christ / Arbitrate in your hearts, / To which also / You were called / In one Body; / And be thankful. (Scripture Song)
  # May the peace of Christ my Savior / Rule my life in every thing, / That I may be calm to comfort / Sick and sorrowing. (Hymns #401)
  # I take Thee for my peace, O Lord. / My heart to keep and fill / Thine own great calm, amid earth’s storms / Shall keep me always still; / And as Thy kingdom doth increase, / So shall Thine ever-deep’ning peace. (Hymns #521)