Knowing Others Not According to the Flesh but According to the Spirit

The ambassadors of Christ are those who don’t live by their human life but by the divine immortal life in their spirit, and they have the ambition to please God by living to Him and no longer to themselves.

Another qualification of an ambassador of Christ is that he no longer knows people according to the flesh but according to the spirit (2 Cor. 5:16).

It is easy to be deceived in thinking you know someone by his / her outward appearance and speaking, but the Lord looks at the heart, the inward constitution, and an ambassador of Christ needs to know others not merely according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

We need to be spirit-exercising people, those who live not by their feelings and thoughts but who allow God to fill their inward being with His feelings, thoughts, desires, and purpose, so that we would be one with Him in His knowing others and relating to them.

Lord, make us spirit-exercising people, those who live according to their mingled spirit. Save us from knowing others merely according to the flesh. Turn us again and again to our spirit that we may know You, the saints, and all people according to the spirit!

No Longer Knowing Others According to the Flesh

We think we “know someone” as we have a chat with them, or we listen to them speak.

If a brother or a sister shares something in the meeting, and their speaking is eloquent, we get the point they are conveying, and we have an overall impression that everything is so good about this person.

This doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with anyone – it means that we are naturally inclined to know people according to the flesh. We look at outward appearance, and what hits the eye is what impresses us the most.

Samuel the Prophet in the Old Testament was corrected by God when he appreciated Jesse’s oldest son as being the one surely chosen by God, “God looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).

We need to learn to deny our tendency to know people outwardly and rather turn to our spirit to know them according to the spirit.

We need to know others not merely according to what we see or hear – we need to realize whether there’s something of Christ wrought into the others, and cooperate with Christ to minister life to them.

Even in working for God, if anyone functions and does something for God according to the old creation just because he CAN DO IT, God is not satisfied. What He desires is our function and knowing one another coming out of the new creation, the mingled spirit, the part in us born of God.

Representing Christ by Knowing Others According to the Spirit

In the world people appreciate you and know you according to your outward achievements, your eloquence, your expression, your talents, your profession, your capabilities, and what they see outwardly (especially the clothing).

But in the church life, in our daily living in the church of God, we need to know one another according to the spirit, our inward man.

For us to properly represent Christ as His ambassadors, we need to learn to know people and even Christ Himself not according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

In Christ, we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) – everything that is old, anything of the old creation and the natural man, has passed away. When we live in the old creation we appreciate the old creation, but when we live according to the spirit, our inward man, we appreciate the real thing – the new creation!

What we see outwardly or in people’s behavior is not real – what is real is the measure of Christ and of God wrought into people.

As God’s people, the new creation, our system of valuation has changed, and we appreciate much more what God sees in people, so that we may cooperate with Him to minister Christ to them for their growth in life.

In all we do for God, in our service and in our living, we need to live and do things according to the divine life.

In the world people may be known by and appreciate others according to their profession, position, talents, abilities, etc, but in the church we should know one another according to the inner man, according to the spirit!

Lord, we want to be Your representatives on earth by living according to our inward man in the new creation! Thank You for regenerating us with the divine life and coming into us to be our life and our person. May we know others according to the spirit and not according to the natural man or the flesh.

Being an Ambassador of Christ

In 2 Cor. 5 we see at least 4 characteristics of the ambassadors of Christ: they live by the immortal life in their spirit (v. 4), they desire to be well-pleasing to God (v. 9), they live to Christ (vv. 14-15), and they know others according to the spirit (vv. 16-17).

We need to be those who live and work no longer according to the natural man but by the spirit, our inward man. Our desire is to be pleasing to God, and Christ’s love constrains us to no longer live to ourselves but to Him who loves us.

The result is that we no longer know others according to the flesh but according to the inward man, our regenerated spirit! All these are qualifications of the ambassadors of Christ, those who represent Him on earth.

Lord, make us those who willingly choose to turn to their spirit and live by the divine life habitually. Our ambition is to be pleasing to You in everything we are and do. Constrain us with Your love, Lord, that we may no longer live to ourselves but to You who love us. Make us those who know the saints and even Christ not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. Lord, we want to have the honor of being Your ambassadors!

References and Further Reading

• Sharing inspired from brother Benson’s sharing in the message and portions in Life-study of 2 Corinthians (msgs. 36-37), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Unique Work in the Lord’s Recovery, week 4 (entitled, Ambassadors of Christ with the Ministry of Reconciliation and Co-workers of God with an All-fitting Life).
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Lord, to know Thee as our Person, / Earnestly we seek and pray; / To experience Thy fulness / In a constant inner way. / Never longer only outward / Or with soulish thoughts obsessed, / But, O Lord, in realest contact / We by Thee would be possessed.
  # On the outside, it may seem that there’s / No change in me— / But I’m not the same, / ‘Cause as the seed grows in me, / Inside I’m becoming God! Did you know I’m a God-man?
  # And now I’m walking by the Spirit / Step by step, day by day, / O Lord, I love You. / You’re the precious One to me. / As I do this and that / Lord, remind me where You’re at; / You’re in my spirit, / Dispensing grace to me.
• Picture credit: awesome sunshine through the clouds (from a friend on facebook).