We need to Grow up into Christ in All Things and our Growth has to be in the Body

For God to gain the corporate living of the one new man on earth, we need to grow up into Christ in all things, and our growth has to be in the Body of Christ.

As we focus on the topic of the one new man (which is the goal of the Lord’s recovery), this week we want to look at the matter of, Growing up into Christ in all Things and Learning Christ as the Reality is in Jesus for the corporate Living of the One New Man.

There are two main epistles in the Bible that speak of the vision, experience, and practice or the one new man, and these are Ephesians and Colossians.

Colossians is a book concerning the matter or Christ being the Head of the Body, and this Christ is all-inclusive – He’s the Head over all things, the mystery of God, the life and constitution of the saints, the hope of glory, and the reality of all the positive things in the universe.

In this book we are told that Christ is all and in all. In Ephesians we see the Body of Christ with Christ as the Head for us to live the church life; this book concerns the church, the mystery of Christ, the Body of Christ, to be the fulness of Christ becoming the fulness of God.

There are seven main aspects of the church revealed in Ephesians: in 1:22 the church as the Body of Christ, in 2:15, the one new man, in 2:19 the kingdom of God, the household of God, in 2:21-22 the church is the dwelling place of God and the temple of God, in ch. 5 the church is the bride of Christ to be the wife of Christ, and in 6:11-12, the church is the warrior.

The term “church” means the assembly of the called out ones, the gathering of the saints. Paul however goes further to show us that the church is the kingdom of God, the house of God, the temple of God, and the dwelling place of God.

Even more, in Paul’s writings we see that the church is the Body of Christ. In Eph. 2:15 Paul says that the church is the one new man, which is the highest aspect of the revelation of the church.

When we say that the church is the one new man, we speak of the highest, ultimate, and consummate revelation of the church, for the church as the one new man expresses God in his image and deals with God’s enemy to accomplish God’s purpose.

The church as the Body of Christ having Christ as its life is for moving and working, and the church as the one new man has Christ as its person for its living and decision-making.

For Christ to be the unique man, His will needs to be done, and He is the One who decides what kind of living the new man should have. In both of these aspects – the church as the Body of Christ and the church as the one new man – this is something corporate, not individualistic.

We need to put off, as regards to our old manner of life, the old man, and put on the new man, the corporate living of the new man. The living of the new man is the corporate living or the perfected God-men.

For us to have the corporate God-man living is for us to live the church life. For us to have the practical living of the one new man we need to grow up into Christ in all things, that is, grow into the Head in big things and in small things.

We need to Grow up into Christ in All Things, and our Growth has to be in the Body

For the corporate living of the one new man we all need to grow up into Christ in all things (Eph. 4:14-16, 24).

In Eph. 4:13-15 we see that we all need to arrive at the oneness of the faith, at the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, that we may no longer be little children tossed about by waves of teaching…but holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Christ in all things, who is the Head.

In Eph. 2:15 we see the creation of the one new man on the cross, and in Eph. 4:14-15 we see the growing up into the Head, Christ; through our growing up into Christ, the Head, we put on the new man.

How can we put on the corporate living of the one new man? How can we be no longer children tossed about by waves of teaching? The secret is that we need to grow. We need to grow up into Christ in all things.

The goal of the Lord’s recovery is to bring forth the one new man, and among us there’s an urgent need that we would grow up into Christ in all things; we need to grow into Christ, the Head of the Body.

To grow up into Christ in all things is to care for Christ and the church, so that we may be under Christ as the Head and in the Body. We grow by caring only for Christ and the church, that is, by handling the truth in love.

Our need is to grow in Christ, but this growth is not individualistic but in the Body of Christ. Some Christians have some sort of growth, but the result is that they become more critical and more dissenting.

It seems that the more they grow, the more dissenting and critical they become; this is not the growth in the Body. When some are new in the church life, they may not cause problems but are really open, but the more they grow, the more they seem to cause a problem.

The key to growing up into Christ in all things is that we need to grow in the Body of Christ. Our growth has to be into the Head, Christ; if we don’t grow up into Christ in all things – who is the Head, then we don’t have the growth that is for the Body of Christ.

To grow up into Christ is to have Christ increase in us in all things until we arrive at a full-grown man (Eph. 4:13-15).

As members of the Body of Christ, we need to hold to Christ as the Head, and let Him grow in us, increase in us, and spread in us; the result will be that we will grow into Christ under His headship, and our growth is in the Body and for the Body.

We need to grow up into Christ in all things, and this is not something of individual spirituality, holiness, or overcoming; growing into Him – the Head – in all things indicates that our growth should be in the Body and for the Body, and this is a corporate matter.

Our growth in life should be in the Body and for the Body. May we grow in the Body of Christ for the one new man, and may we all pursue the growth in life.

Lord Jesus, show us that we need to grow up into Christ in all things, and that our growth has to be in the Body and for the Body! Save us from pursuing individual growth and development as something that is apart from the Body. Lord, may we grow up into Christ by having Christ increase in us in all things, until we all arrive at a full-grown man! Amen, Lord, increase in us for the Body and for the one new man! We want to have the corporate living of the one new man by growing up into Christ in all things!

We need to Grow up into Christ in All Things – in Every Single Thing, Whether Big or Small

What does it mean for us to grow up into Christ in all things? It means that in all things – whether big or small – we need to grow up into Christ, the Head of the Body.

There are some things that we have grown into Christ, but there may be many other things that we still need to grow up into Christ. In small things and in big things we need to come to the Lord and let Him grow in us until we grow up into Christ in all things!

We need to bring this matter to the Lord, asking Him to show us what are the things that we need to let Him grow in us, and we need to cooperate with Him for Him to grow in us day by day.

When we open to the Lord concerning His growth in us in all things, we will be touched in our heart and we will be freshly turned to the Lord.

When we consider the matter of the one new man, we need to realize that the putting on of the one new man in Eph. 4:24 is equal to the growing into Christ in all things in v. 15. The way for us to put on the new man is to put on the one new man.

To put on the new man is to be in the proper church life; for us to be in the proper church life, we need to grow up into Christ in all things – in both small things and big things.

We may let the Lord grow in us in big things such as big decisions of where to study, whom to marry, etc…but do we grow into Christ in the matter of our shopping or talking on the phone? Do we allow the Lord to grow in us in the way we use our smart phone?

Often our use for our smart phone, with access to the internet in the palm of our hands, is natural and devoid of Christ. Often our speaking with others is Christless and even gossip. The way for us to be free from a natural way of speaking and using our phones is by growing out of it by growing up into Christ.

When we grow up into Christ in a particular matter, we spontaneously put on the new man. In this thing and that thing, in all things, as we grow up into Christ, we grow out of anything natural, and we put on the new man until we arrive at a full-grown man.

We need to have many conversations with the Lord concerning the details of our daily life, our habits, our talking, our friendships, our relationships, and everything related to us, and we need to ask Him to grow in us in thing after thing.

We need to hold to truth in love; only Christ and the church are the truth – and everything else beside this is just emptiness and vanity.

In the details of our conversations with others, in speaking with the saints, in using our electronic devices, in using the convenience of the modern technologies, in all things, we need to be saved from being devoid of Christ and grow up into Christ in all things, both big and small.

In the way we dress, in our manner of living, in our demeanour, in our attitude, in our speaking and communications, in all things we need to grow up into Christ.

Lord Jesus, grow in us in all things – in both big things and small things – until we arrive at a full-grown man, the one new man. We want to put on the new man by allowing You to grow in us in thing after thing until You grow up in us in all things. Lord, what about our speaking, our using the internet, our using Facebook, and our time spent on our smart phone? Grow in us in these things, Lord. Grow in us in the matter of our speaking, our using the technology, and in all our relationships and communications. Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to cooperate with You to grow in us more and more each day for the Body, for the one new man!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message given by the brothers for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 45, 80 (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 2, Being Renewed in the Spirit of the Mind for the Practical Existence of the One New Man.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Lord, grant me today’s supply of grace; / May Your divine life grow apace; / Little by little, day by day, to grow / More and more, into You. / Lord, grant me a heavenly, corporate view; / That all of my growth and prayers to You, / Little by little, day by day, / Would cause building up into the New Jerusalem. (Song on, Lord, grant me today’s supply of grace)
  # But holding to truth in love / We may grow up in all things / Into Him who is the Head / Christ is the Head / Out from Whom all the Body / Being joined together and / Being knit together through / Ev’ry joint of the rich supply / And through the operation / In the measure of each one part / of each one part / Causes the growth of the Body unto the / building up of itself in love, / in love, in love. (Scripture song)
  # Oh, what a preeminent Christ! / My center, my hope, and my joy! / The power and wisdom of God! / The One I uniquely enjoy. / To grow up in You in all things, / I ask You to shepherd my soul. / Whatever You wish, Lord — amen. / I give You my heart as a whole. (Song on, Oh, What a Preeminent Christ)