Hallelujah, Christ terminated all negative things in His flesh on the cross, and He created the one new man in Himself!
Through the death of Christ on the cross, all the ordinances and negative things have been terminated in His flesh, and the one new man has been created in His resurrection to be the masterpiece of God, the poem of God. Wow!
If we put together Eph. 2:10 and 15-16 we realise that on the cross not only the negative things and persons were terminated and put to death, but also Christ created a masterpiece, the one new man.
We need to have a renewed and refreshed impression concerning the one new man created by Christ on the cross.
There’s something in this universe that God in His word, the Bible, calls as, His masterpiece; this is not merely the church as the assembly of God or the Body of Christ, but the church as the one new man.
This means that, after Christ lived a perfect human life as a God-man on earth by expressing the Father and representing Him in His living, on the cross He terminated Satan and all the negative things in His flesh, and He created the one new man in Himself – a poem, a masterpiece.
Hallelujah, the one new man is the masterpiece of God in this universe! A masterpiece is the highest work of an artist or a painter; God as a divine and mystical Artist in this universe created something, an entity, called the one new man, and this new man is His masterpiece.
If we see this, we will be so willing to cooperate with the Lord to gain His new man in reality today!
In Eph. 2:10 we are told that we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works; then in v. 15 we are told that Christ created the two in Himself into one new man.
This “created” in v. 10 is the same as “created” in v. 15, and both refer to one and the same thing – the one new man as the masterpiece of God.
In this same portion the word, created, is used twice; first it speaks of the creation of the masterpiece, and then it details to say that Christ created the one new man in His death on the cross.
How we praise and thank the Lord for not only coming to save us from eternal perdition and redeem us back to God, but also make us His masterpiece, the one new man!
The church as the one new man fulfills the eternal intention of God in His creation of man; this is what God is after, this is what He longs to obtain in reality, and this is the goal of the Lord’s recovery today.
May we realise that God is after obtaining His masterpiece in reality, that is, the church being the one new man in reality on earth today!
Christ Terminated All the Negative Things – including the ordinances – in His flesh on the cross
We need to pay careful attention to two phrases in v. 15: in His flesh, and, in Himself. Christ terminated in His flesh all the negative things in the universe, and He created the one new man in Himself.
“In His flesh” Christ terminated all the negative things in the universe, such as Satan, the devil, the enemy of God (Heb. 2:14); sin (Rom. 8:3; John 1:29); the flesh of fallen man (Gal. 5:24); the world, the cosmos, the evil system of Satan (John 12:31); the old creation, represented by the old man (Rom. 6:6); and the separating ordinances of the law (Eph. 2:15).
We can see at least six categories of things that Christ terminated in His flesh on the cross – first He terminated Satan, destroying him and taking away his power.
Second, Christ terminated sin – He not only bore our sin and took away our sin, but He also terminated sin on the cross.
Furthermore, on the cross in His flesh Christ terminated the flesh of the fallen man; He came in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, and He terminated the flesh on the cross.
In His flesh Christ terminated the world, the evil system of Satan; Satan created this evil system to usurp all men, but on the cross Christ terminated the world.
Furthermore, in His flesh on the cross Christ terminated the old creation, as represented by the old man; the old man has been crucified with Christ, and it has been terminated on the cross! Amen!
We may know and agree with the fact that all these negative things were terminated by Christ on the cross in His flesh, but are we aware that He also terminated the ordinances?
Many believers are aware that Christ terminated Satan and sin on the cross; some believers who are more seeking realise that Christ’s death dealt with the world and the old man.
But do we realize that the ordinances – the ways of living and worship which separate us and set us aside from the others – were also terminated on the cross?
The reason we do not see this in full is that we are short in our appreciation for God’s desire to gain His masterpiece, the one new man.
Satan, sin, the flesh, the world, and the old creation, these touch us and we are aware of them, for they are negative; but the ordinances may not be considered as something that needs to be terminated.
Christ’s death dealt with sin for our redemption, with the old man and the world for our sanctification, and with Satan for our victory. But even if all these are taken care of, still God’s desire is not accomplished, for if the ordinances remain, there will be no new man.
Praise the Lord in His flesh on the cross Christ dealt with and terminated all the negative things and all the ordinances so that He may create in Himself the one new man, the masterpiece of God!
Lord Jesus, we praise You for Your all-terminating death on the cross! Hallelujah, in His flesh on the cross Christ terminated all the negative things in the universe! Praise the Lord, Satan has been terminated, sin is finished, the flesh is put to death, the world is terminated, and the old creation with the old man has been crucified and put to death! Thank You Lord for terminating all the ordinances that separate us and divide us. Thank You for creating us as the one new man in Yourself to make us the masterpiece of God! Hallelujah!
Christ Created in Himself the Jews and the Gentiles into One New Man, God’s Masterpiece
On the negative side, Christ terminated in His flesh on the cross all the negative things (including the ordinances); on the positive side, Christ created in Himself the Jews and the Gentiles into one new man (Eph. 4:15).
This means that Christ is not only the Creator of the one new man, the church, but also the sphere in which this man was created, and He is also the element with which this one new man was created.
Hallelujah, Christ is the very element and essence of the one new man, making God’s divine nature one entity with humanity (Col. 3:10-11)!
This wonderful first God-man who accomplished God’s purpose through His incarnation and His living, He went to the cross, terminated all the negative things, and He became the life-giving Spirit so that He can impart Himself into us as the essence and element of the one new man.
In the new man, according to Col. 3:10-11, there is NO other person but Christ; He terminated everything and everyone, and He is the unique person in the one new man.
So in the church as the one new man there is no place for Jew and Greek, and there’s no place for Indian, Chinese, British, Australian, German, American, French, Spanish, or any other nationality – in the new man there’s place only for Christ!
The one new man is not what we see today in Christianity as “the ecumenical movement”, in which we try to accept each other, even though we are different, for there’s a place for everyone here…
The Lord’s recovery is not an ecumenical movement; in the Lord’s recovery there’s place for no one except Christ. Amen!
So in the church life we need to realise that, on the one hand, we were regenerated with Christ as our element and essence to be part of the one new man, for He created the one new man in Himself on the cross; on the other hand, we need to realise that Christ is the only One in the one new man!
In the creating of the new man, first our natural man was crucified by Christ, and then through the crossing out of the old man, Christ imparted the divine element into us, causing us to become a new entity, a new invention of God – the one new man (Rom. 6:6; 2 Cor. 5:17). Wow!
In Christ we are a new creation; all the old things have passed away – behold, they all have become new!
The one new man created through the creating death of Christ equals the Body formed in Christ’s resurrection and ascension; hence, “the one new man” and “the Body of Christ” are synonymous terms and may be used interchangeably (see Eph. 2:15-16; Col. 2:19; 3:10-11).
When we speak of the Body of Christ, the emphasis is on life, while with the one new man the emphasis is on the person.
In Christ we are a new creation; we have been created to be the new man with God’s nature wrought into us; such a work is something new, a new creation.
In the old creation God didn’t work His nature in any of His creatures – not even into man; but in the creation of the one new man, His nature has been wrought into man to make His divine nature one entity with humanity.
The enemy knows this; he fears the one new man, and he does his best to keep us blinded with so many other things and not see the creation of the one new man that took place.
We must fight the battle for the truth of the creation of the new man, praying for a clear and sober mind to perceive not only that we have been terminated on the cross, but that we have been transferred into Christ!
We need to realise that, before we were born we were created into the one new man, and that a new essence has been wrought into our being! Amen!
Apart from being in Christ, we could not have been created into the new man, because in ourselves we don’t have the divine essence which is the element of the one new man.
Lord Jesus, give us a clear and sober mind to perceive that we have not only been terminated on the cross, but we have also been transferred into Christ to be part of the one new man! Hallelujah, we have been regenerated with the divine essence and we are members of the one new man! All the old things have passed away – behold, everything has become new! We are now a new creation in Christ, and He is both our life and our person for the practical living and expression of the one new man!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Ricky Acosta for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 23-24, 70-71, 85-87 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The One New Man Fulfilling God’s Purpose in Creating Man (2019 fall ITERO), week 3, The Creation and Bringing Forth of the One New Man.
- Hymns on this topic:
– First, Thou to the cross didst go, / Our old man to terminate; / Then, in resurrection, come, / Thy new man to germinate. / Now Thou in our spirit art, / As the inner man within; / As our heart becomes Thine home, / Thou dost live and rule therein. (Song on, Lord, Bring Forth the One New Man)
– We, once dead in our offences, / Walking in the worldly course, / Lusts of flesh and mind fulfilling, / Satan and his hosts their source, / God with Christ has resurrected, / Seated in the heavenlies; / We, His masterpiece, created / In Christ Jesus, Him to please. (Hymns #823)
– Only Christ, our Person, must remain; / From our aims, our goals we must refrain, / Till the church be only Christ Himself / Built up as the one new man, / Thus fulfilling God’s great plan of— / Mingling fully with the human race / To obtain a proper dwelling place, / ’Stablishing His kingdom’s rule and grace; / Over all the earth. (Hymns #1180)
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