The living of the one new man should be exactly the same as the living of Jesus; we need to live according to the spirit of our mind, and we will have a living that corresponds to the reality in Jesus.
As believers in Christ we have been put into Christ as the mold for us to be conformed to His image, and He has come into us as the life-giving Spirit to transform us metabolically so that we may have the same expression as Christ.
We need to put off the old man with its old way of living, its old community life, and the living in the vanity of the mind, and put on the new man with its new way of living, the church life today.
We put off the old man and put on the new man by learning Christ as the reality is in Jesus. The reality in Jesus refers to the actual condition of the life of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels; the living of Jesus, His human life on earth, was a life of reality.
On the one hand we lived in the vanity of the mind, and on the other through regeneration we have been put into Christ to have the living of the one new man, which is exactly the same as the living of Jesus.
The God who created the universe and who is the reality of the universe passed through a process and became the Spirit of reality, and now He has come into our spirit to become the truthfulness lived out of us for God’s corporate expression.
We should therefore no longer live in the vanity of our mind but set our mind on our mingled spirit and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to live according to the spirit of the mind.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, in every aspect of His living there was the shining of light; His life was a life of reality, a life of the shining of God Himself, a life that was the expression of God.
Such a One became the mold, the pattern, into which we were put by God, and such a One has come into us to live the same kind of life in us in a corporate way, and this living is the living of the one new man – a living that is exactly the same as the living of Jesus.
This is what God is after, this is what He will obtain, and when such a reality is gained on earth, He can return!
The Living of the One New Man should be Exactly the same as the Living of Jesus
The new man was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality (Eph. 4:24); this reality is the very reality in Jesus, the real situation of the life of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels, a life filled with truth and reality.
Our standard of living today shouldn’t be merely according to morality, ethics, the law, or the standards of today’s society; our standard should be according to the truth in Jesus, the reality lived out by Jesus when He was on earth.
The life of Jesus should be our life today in the church, and the living of the one new man should be exactly the same as the living of Jesus – it should be Jesus living again in a corporate way.
The way that Jesus lived on earth should be exactly the way that the new man should live today. We need to come to the Lord and learn from Him, and we will find rest for our souls; His living will become our living, and His life will be our life.
How do we learn Christ as the reality is in Jesus? It is simple: as seen in John 6:57, we need to eat the Lord and we will live because of Him, for He Himself ate the Father and lived because of the Father.
The living of the Lord Jesus – which was reality – was because of the Father; for us to have the same kind of living, we need to eat Christ to live because of Christ.
The living of the one new man should be exactly the same as the living of Jesus; this can be done only by eating Jesus to live because of Him.
When we eat Jesus, we will not do things for ourselves, in ourselves, seeking our own glory, or speaking our own word, but we will take Christ as our life, center, goal, and everything.
May we become the reproduction of Christ through eating and drinking Him so that we may live because of Him, so that the living of the one new man would become exactly the same as the living of Jesus!
The way that the Lord Jesus lived on earth is the way that the new man should live today (Matt. 11:28-30; John 6:57; 4:34; 5:17, 19, 30; 6:38; 17:4).
He was one with God, and He lived a life in which He did everything in God, with God, and for God. The old man’s living is empty and full of vanity and corruption because it doesn’t have God; the living of the one new man has God, is with God, and is for God.
The human living of Jesus was according to the reality, that is, according to God Himself, full of righteousness and holiness (v. 24). We need to learn Christ and be taught in Him to live a life of reality (vv. 20-21; 2 John 1; John 4:23-24).
As a corporate person, the one new man should live a life of reality, as the reality is in Jesus, which is a life of expressing God (Eph. 4:21).
We need to have such a life and such a living, living a life of reality – as the reality in Jesus, by eating Christ and living because of Christ. He is in us to live the same kind of life today, the living of the one new man.
Lord Jesus, may our living be the living of the one new man, a living that is exactly the same as the living of Jesus! May the real situation of the life of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels be our food and constitution, that Jesus may live again in us and through us on earth. Amen, Lord, may our standard of living today be exactly the same as the living of Jesus. We want to eat You, Lord, that we may live because of You. May You live in us, and may the living of the one new man corporately be exactly the same as the living of Jesus when He was on earth!
Living According to the Spirit of our Mind to have a Living that Corresponds to the Reality in Jesus
The key to the church life as the living of the one new man is the spirit of our mind; if we live according to the spirit of the mind, the church life will be the expression of the divine character.
If we merely live a good Christian life with a good, righteous, and kind character, we are a failure; the flavor of our living should be Christ, and our expression should be the expression of God.
When we live according to the spirit of our mind, the church life will be filled with the aroma and flavor of Christ and with the character of God, and such a living will be the living of the Triune God through our humanity, the living of the one new man.
We should not live according to the vanity of the mind but according to the spirit of the mind (Eph. 4:23); this is the key to the daily living of the corporate one new man.
Our mind used to be filled with vanity, leading us to live a life full of vanity, but now the mingled spirit is spreading into our mind and saturating our mind to fill it. In this way the daily walk of the one new man is in the spirit of the mind.
The secret of the church life is living according to the spirit of the mind; when we live in this way, our living will be corporate (and not individualistic), and the expression will be divine (and not natural).
The living of the one new man is not simply what happens when we come together in the meetings to sing, pray-read, praise the Lord, and prophesy; the church life is the daily walk of a corporate man, and this walk is according to the spirit of the mind.
If we live according to the spirit of our mind, we will have the living of the corporate new man — a living that corresponds to the reality in Jesus.
This is not an outward imitation but Christ Himself living in us as the Spirit of reality to become the mingled spirit, who further spreads into our mind to become the spirit of our mind, and as we live according to the spirit of the mind, we have a corporate living, a living that corresponds to the reality in Jesus.
The church life is the daily walk of the corporate one new man, a walk that is absolutely new in nature and in manner; everything related to the one new man is new (Eph. 3:17-32).
The church life as the living of the one new man is living in nature because it is in God, and it is of God for only God is there; this God is the processed and consummated Triune God to be the life-giving Spirit in our spirit spreading into our mind.
Since the one new man is according to God Himself, with God’s life and nature, the one new man must have the life that is divine; such a life will be corporate, not individualistic.
May we take grace today and enjoy the Triune God as grace, so that the Body of Christ would be the one new man, and we would have the living of the one new man – the corporate God-man living, a living that corresponds to the reality in Jesus.
Lord Jesus, we want to live according to the spirit of our mind so that we may have a living that corresponds to the reality in Jesus! Amen! May we have the living of the corporate new man, a corporate God-man living that corresponds to the Lord’s living on earth. Amen, Lord, mingle Yourself more with us and saturate our mind so that we may live no longer in the vanity of our mind but according to the spirit of our mind! Gain the living and walk that is absolutely new in nature and manner, and the living that is divine and corporate – the living of 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, msg. 94 (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, teach me how to exercise / My spirit now to contact Thee, / That in Thy Spirit I may walk / And live by Thy reality. (Hymns #493)
# God and man will have one living, / Always in the mingled spirit; / We two are incorporated / One organic entity! / This the vision of the ages / Will control our daily living / That the Lord may have His Body / Shining as the holy city. (Song on, God has Called us for His Purpose)
# As the product, the fulfillment, / Will the church in glory stand, / Consummation of the purpose / In eternal ages planned. / God will have His corporate vessel, / All His glory to contain; / Lord, we’re wholly for Thy purpose / All Thy goal in us attain. (Hymns #1325)
About aGodMan
Amen Lord Jesus….every time we meet we eat physical food which in reality is the leftover from the abundance of our spiritual food which has no end insight…..
Eat Christ- drink Christ- enjoy Christ- Amen Lord Jesus…Thank your Brother Amen…
Grow up into Him, learning by growing
Oh Hallelujah!
On the one hand we lived in the vanity of the mind, and on the other through regeneration we have been put in into Christ to have the living of the one new man, which is exactly the same as the living of Jesus amen! <3
Amen amen! Most of the masses cannot “see” this.
To remember our own beauty, we must look at our True Mirror, Yeshua The Messiah. Amen!
Fully God and fully Human, we see in Him our own beauty. Amen!
Just as Almighty God became human, so the human must become like God Almighty. Amen amen amen!
Messiah mirrors to us what we shall become. Glory!
We are destined to a new beauty, sharing in the glorious life of The Father, what we see in Messiah is a pure and clear mirror of our selves- we will be raised to a new beauty for we shall be clothed with the glory and immortality of The Son. Hallel-Yah! A’MEIN!🔯
Blessings and shalom
Amen Lord Jesus …Thank You Lord we Live You….
The key to the church life is the spirit of the mind. If we live according to the spirit of the mind, there will be in the church life the expression of the divine character. Then we shall be a corporate people with the flavor of Christ and the expression of God. If we simply give others the impression that we are good, righteous, and kind, our church life is a failure. There must be in our goodness, righteousness, and kindness the expression of the Triune God. The church life must be filled with the aroma and flavor of Christ and with the character of God. Such a living is the living of the Triune God through our humanity. For centuries, God has been longing for such a church life.
In the church as the new man, we should live not according to the vanity of the mind, but according to the spirit of the mind (Eph. 4:23). This is the key to the daily living of the corporate one new man. Formerly, our mind was filled with vanity; now it must be permeated with the spirit. We need to walk according to the spirit that is spreading into our mind and filling it. In this way the daily walk of the new man will be in the spirit of the mind. This is the secret of the church life.
In verse 24 Paul says that the new man is according to God. This means that the new man is according to God Himself, with God’s life and nature. Since the new man is according to God, it must have a life that is divine. Such a life will not be individualistic; it will be corporate.
We do not have the church life simply by coming together in the meetings to sing, pray-read, praise the Lord, and give testimonies. The church life is the daily walk of a corporate man, a walk that is absolutely new in nature and in manner. If we walk according to the spirit of our mind, we shall be those who live such a corporate life. We shall have the proper community life in which everything is new. May the Lord hasten the day when concerning this matter our sky is clear and we are fully in the light! (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 781, 792, 783-784, 779, by Witness Lee)