Col. 4:16 and when this letter is read among you, cause it be read in the church of the Laodiceans also, and that you also read the one from Laodicea.
As we practice the church life daily by eating, drinking, and breathing in Jesus with all the saints, we need to do so with a consciousness of the one new man. With the Apostle Paul there was such a consciousness – in his writings and in his living we could see that this faithful steward in God’s economy was conscious of the one new man and not only of the particular local churches which he help set up or visited.
Especially at the end of the epistle to the Colossians, we see a practical illustration of the revelation of the one new man and of the consciousness of the one new man. We praise the Lord for showing us a vision of the church, and we worship Him for giving us the feeling for and the consciousness of the Body of Christ.
However, we need to go further: in all the local churches we need to practice the church life in our mingled spirit with a consciousness of the one new man. In the one new man there’s no Jew, no Greek, no free man, no slave, no race, no nationality, no culture, and nothing that would distinguish us or separate us – in the new man there is only Christ, and this One is our life and person.
We may meet with brothers and sisters of different backgrounds, colors, races, and dispositions, but we need to see Christ in them and realize that it is only Christ that matters.
Furthermore, even though we love the local church the Lord put us in, we need to practice the church life with the consciousness of the one new man. We need to be blended, travel, fellowship, and seek to know and be one with all the members of the Body and all the other local churches, especially the ones in our region, country, continent, and in the whole world.
Slowly but surely, the Lord is working Himself into all the saints and He is becoming their life and person to the extent that, no matter in what local church we meet (because of God’s sovereign arrangement), we will eventually become the practical one new man on the earth which speaks the same thing with one mouth and one mind!
Paul had a Consciousness of the One New Man
After writing to the saints in Colossae concerning the all-inclusive Christ who is all and in all, in Col. 4:7-17 Paul concludes his epistle with a practical illustration of the one new man. In this portion, Paul mentions many names of the saints either in Colossae or with him, some of which were Jews, Greeks, of the circumcision, of the uncircumcision, some were slaves, and some were masters.
Tychicus was sent specifically to those in Colossae to tell them the things concerning Paul and bring news to Paul concerning the saints. Onesimus was a runaway slave converted to be a brother in the Lord (a Gentile). Aristarchus was a Gentile and fellow prisoner with Paul. Mark was the cousin of Barnabas, and Jesus (called Justus) was also with him – they were of the circumcision (Jews, like Paul).
Epaphras was one from Colossae and he was struggling on their behalf in his prayers so that the saints in Colossae would stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. Luke the physician was a Gentile and a brother, and so was Demas.
Paul knew a lot of the saints and through his speaking, he gives us a sense of his consciousness not only of the saints but of the one new man. To him, the one new man that Christ created on the cross was real and practical. Though the saints were from different social classes, backgrounds, races, and nationalities, to Paul it was clear: all were brothers and sisters in the one new man, and Christ is all and in all in all of them.
In vv.15-16 Paul greets the church in Laodicea (a neighboring church) and encourages the saints to have the letter he sent to Colossae be read in Laodicea and vice-versa. This shows us that he was blending the saints and the churches, bringing them into a sweet fellowship, oneness, harmony, and intimate contact.
He was genuinely interested in the saints and the churches, and the churches were interested in his situation – so he sent them Tychicus to tell them of his situation. In his life-study of Colossians (msg. 31), brother Witness Lee says,
Those in Colossae also had the consciousness of the new man. If they were not conscious of the new man expressed at that time in the Mediterranean area, they would have considered Paul’s affairs his own personal business and would not have been interested in hearing of them. But both the saints in Colossae and Paul, and those with him, were members of the one new man in actuality. In spite of all the differences among nationalities, races, and classes, there was on earth in a practical way the one new man created in Christ Jesus. There were not merely local churches in various cities—there was one new man in a real and practical way….By these verses we see [the portrait of the living and] the practical expression of the new man.
Living the Church Life with the Consciousness of the One New Man
Paul was a faithful steward in God’s economy (1 Cor. 4:1-2; 9:16-17) who through his writings gave us a clear illustration of the one new man. We also in all the local churches need to live and practice the church life with the consciousness of the one new man.
In Paul’s heart, there was not only a particular local church or a certain saint – he blended the saints and the churches for the one new man (see Col. 3:10-11; 4:7-17). In our heart today, as we live in the local churches according to the way ordained by God, we need to have a view of blending and fellowship not only with the saints in our local church but with the neighboring churches and even abroad.
We should not be sectarian, paying attention and being only for our local church, but we should be widened in our heart and view to embrace all saints from all cultures and races for the one new man. Even though there are many churches all over the earth, we should be conscious not only of our own local church but of all the churches as the Body of Christ.
In the church life, the saints have different backgrounds and cultures, but by enjoying the Lord as grace, His grace swallows up any race and culture. We learn to drop our culture and take Christ as our person.
The whole world is becoming “smaller” with the internet and communications available, but the culture of people still stands as a separating line. You can’t explain the cultural differences – you simply have them, and in the church life we are being exposed of our culture.
The key is to turn to our spirit, enjoy Christ as grace, and take Christ as our person! What matters is not the way we eat, dress, speak, or do things – what matters is Christ! In the one new man the Lord is reversing the curse at Babel – we even speak the same thing!
As we practice the church life with the consciousness of the new man we will become color-blind – the color, race, nationality, and culture of the saints will no longer matter! We simply need to stay under the dispensing of Christ as life and take Him as our person, enjoying Christ as our allotted portion together with all the saints, and we need to be open to fellowship and blend with other saints and other local churches in the Body of Christ.
Let the enjoyment of Christ as grace swallow up any race and aspect of the culture, and we will little by little become in reality the one new man.
The Lord is working tirelessly today by both arranging the outward environment and working within the saints so that He may produce and bring into being the reality of the one new man among all the local churches. This full-grown new man will fulfill God’s purpose, and before He returns, the Lord wants the reality of the new man in all the churches.
Lord Jesus, thank You for our brother Paul who had such a consciousness of the one new man. Lord, enlighten and enlarge our heart in the church life. We don’t want to be sectarian individually or as a local church. We are all members of the Body and all the churches are part of the one new man. Lord, keep us enjoying You as grace until grace swallows up race! Keep us under Your divine dispensing, taking You as our life and person, until all the cultural differences and all races will be swallowed up! Keep us blending with the saints and with the churches in the Body until You gain the reality of the one new man practically lived out among us on earth!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Andrew Yu’ speaking in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Colossians (msg. 31), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Entering into the Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life to Arrive at a Full-Grown Man for the Fulfillment of God’s Purpose, week 9 / msg 9, Arriving at a Full-grown Man (3) Carrying Out the Stewardship of God to Present Every Man Full-grown in Christ and Practicing the Church Life in the Consciousness of the One New Man.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Oh, Jesus is blending us together; / He is the reason why we’re here. / We will be one in Him forever, / And we will build according to this vision clear.
# Oh, how we enjoy the blending, / With the saints along the way, / Singing, praising, and enjoying, / Fill our spirits ’til we say: / Hallelujah for the blending! / It’s the way to live today. / So we’re standing and proclaiming, / “In the church is where we’ll stay.”
# Blend us, Lord, blend us, Lord, ’til we are in one accord. / Hallelujah—the saints going on! / Blend us, Lord, blend us, Lord, open hearts we can afford. / Hallelujah—the churches go on! / As the members of / His organic Body, / We need the others to go on. / As local churches, / We do also need / One another for our going on.
# As the members of one Body, Built up in love, support in spirit each, / Christ dispensing, Spirit minist’ring, Blending until we’re all made one in Him.
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