The one new man created by Christ on the cross is complete organically, but this new man needs to be perfected through the growth in life so that it may become a full-grown man expressing God.
Our growth in the divine life is for the perfecting of the one new man.
We need to grow up into Christ in all things, whether big or small, so that Christ may gain more ground in our being, and He may become the Head into whom we are growing. Then, out of Him, we receive the growth and we are being perfected to be the one new man to express Him and represent Him.
We need to put off the old man and put on the new man; as regards to our former manner of life, we need to put off both the individualistic life we lived and the communal life, the social life that we had as a person.
Although we are fallen persons, within us there’s a desire to have a corporate social living; Paul therefore exhorts us to put off the old way of living, the old communal life, the old man, and put on the new man, the life of the new man, which is the church life.
This living of the one new man is nothing else but the corporate living of the perfected God-men. For us to have such a living is for us to live the church life.
When we were regenerated by the Lord, we received a higher and more corporate life, which is the life of the new man.
We need to have a clear sky between us and the Lord to be brought into His light so that, for the sake of the corporate living of the one new man, we would put off – as regards to our former manner of life – our old man, and put on the corporate new man life.
For the corporate living of the one new man, we as believers in Christ and members of the Body of Christ must grow up into Christ in all things (Eph. 4:14-16).
We need to grow up into Christ in all things; He is the Head of the Body, and our growth as members of the Body should be into Him, the Head. This means that in all things – both small and big, both important and trivial, both personal and corporate, we need to grow up into Christ.
The way we can put on the corporate living of the one new man is for us to pursue the growth in life. The way the one new man is perfected for the corporate living and function of the new man is by our growth in the divine life.
We need to pursue the growth in life, and our growth has to be in the Body and for the Body. There are still many things in which we have not grown up into Christ; in these things we are not in Christ but we are outside of Christ.
When we all grow up into Christ in all things, we all will be one with Christ, and this will be the universal one new man.
The New Man Created by Christ needs to be Perfected through the Growth in Life
The one new man was created by Christ on the cross, when He abolished in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace (Eph. 2:15).
How comes then that Paul says that we need to arrive at a full-grown man (Eph. 4:13) and that we need to put on the new man (Eph. 4:24)?
We need to see that on the cross the one new man was created by Christ and was complete organically, but then this new man needs to be perfected until it arrives at a full-grown man, and for this we need to put on the new man.
We may regard the creation of the new man as the birth of the new man; just as a child is complete organically (it has all the necessary organs that it needs for living on earth) but needs to be perfected for its function, so the new man needs to be perfected through the growth in life.
We can say that the one new man created by Christ on the cross was complete organically, but this new man has to be perfected for its function. The way the one new man is being perfected for its function is through the growth in life.
For the practical existence of the one new man, the growth in life is of utmost importance. Ephesians 4 speaks of the perfecting of the new man through the growth in life; the one new man created by Christ two thousand years ago on the cross must be perfected in order to function.
If we look at a child, he is born as a baby and has all the necessary organs – he is born complete organically; however, his function is not manifested until he grows in life and is being perfected. As the baby grows, gradually he is able to sit, then stand, walk, speak, and do many things.
It is the same way with the one new man; he was created by Christ on the cross, but the organic new man has to grow in life and be perfected so that he may have its organic function, until he becomes a full-grown man.
In Eph. 2:15 we see the creation of the new man organically, and in 4:13-16 we see the perfecting of the new man in relation to his function.
Through our growth in life into Christ, the Head of the Body, we develop our function, and from Christ the Head we receive the function for the building up of the Body.
We need to go a further step every day and pursue the growth in life, so that the one new man may be perfected and come into function.
When we say something concerning the growth of the new man, this means we need to grow up into the Head, Christ; when we speak of the function of the new man, it comes from the Head, Christ, through every joint of the rich supply, and the operation in the measure of each one part.
The more we grow in life, the more our function in the Body is manifested. What is the growth of the Body? It is Christ continually spreading in the Body until the Body builds itself up in love.
The Body of Christ grows not through teachings, doctrines, or organisational methods, but through the growth in life of all the members of the Body.
Lord Jesus, we want to grow in life in the Body for the perfecting of the one new man. May our growth in life contribute to the perfecting of the new man so that he may function in a proper way. We want to pursue the growth in life in the Body and for the Body, so that the one new man may come into existence practically. Amen, Lord, may we all grow up into the Head, Christ, and may we all receive from the Head the function that we should have for the building up of the Body in love and for the perfecting of the one new man!
Fulfilling our Responsibility to Perfect the New Man through Cherishing and Nourishing
One of the deepest thoughts in the book of Ephesians is that the one new man needs to be perfected in relation to his function only through receiving the proper nourishment for its growth.
The creation of the one new man is God’s responsibility alone, and He has created the new man in Christ complete organically; we have nothing to do with this, and we cannot contribute to this.
However, we must fulfill our responsibility to perfect the new man through cherishing and nourishing, so that the saints may grow in life and the one new man may develop, grow, and function properly.
As the one new man is being perfected through cherishing and nourishing, he grows and becomes perfect functionally. How can the one new man grow and be perfected? it is only through receiving the proper nourishment.
The Body of Christ doesn’t become functionally perfect through teaching of doctrine or human organization; actually, doctrine and human organization can distract us from growing in life if they are not done in the Body and for the Body.
In Eph. 5:29 Paul says that no one hates his own flesh, but nourishes it and cherishes it, even as also Christ the church.
To nourish is to feed us with the living word of the Lord. To cherish is to nurture us with tender love and foster us with tender care, outwardly softening us through tender warmth that we may have soothing, comfortable rest inwardly.
This is the way Christ cares for the church, His Body. (see note 1 on this verse). Christ today nourishes us with His living word, and He softens us through tender warmth, that we may be soothed and comfortably at rest inwardly.
Today the Body of Christ needs to grow so that the new man would become a full-grown man; the only way the Body can grow is through cherishing and nourishing for the growth in life.
We all need to fulfill our responsibility to perfect the one new man through cherishing and nourishing. The more the one new man grows through receiving the proper nourishment, the more he will function normally.
Christ gave some gifts to the church, which is His Body, and these are not to replace the function of the members of the Body but to cherish them and nourish them, so that they may be perfected to function in their measure and do the same work as the gifted members.
The way to perfect the saints it by nourishing and cherishing. We need to be saturated with the divine truth and filled with the Word of God, and we need how to soften the saints heart, make them feel comfortable by expressing the humanity of Jesus, so that the saints may rise up and be perfected to function in the new man.
We all the have the responsibility to perfect the new man through cherishing and nourishing the saints so that the Body may grow and the new man may function properly.
Lord, may we be those who fulfill our responsibility to perfect the new man through cherishing and nourishing the saints so that they may grow in life and function in the Body of Christ. Amen, Lord, may the one new man grow through receiving the proper nourishment so that he may function normally. Fill us with Yourself, Lord, and saturate our entire being so that we may learn how to cherish the saints in Your humanity and nourish them in Your divinity for the perfecting 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. 92 (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:
# Until we all arrive / At the oneness of the faith / And of the full knowledge / Of the Son of God, / At the oneness of the faith, / At a full-grown man, / At the measure of the stature / Of the fullness of Christ, / Until we all arrive. (Scripture Song)
# God would have a group of people / Built together in His plan, / Blended, knit, coordinated / As His vessel—one new man. / God would come into this vessel / With His nature, life and ways, / Mingling Spirit with our spirits / For His joy and to His praise. (Hymns #1325)
# Perfected and nourished from house to house meeting, / We speak one by one that the church may be built. / As little by little ev’ry enemy’s fleeing, / More and more surpassingly with glory we’re filled. (Song on, Here a little, There a little)
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Amen Lord Jesus …truth in Love, Lord that we may grow in You….
Amen. Brother Stefan. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Come New Man in our experience. Praise the Lord always.
Amen. Oh we must see the burden and the need to grow up in Christ! Lord cause us to grow. Only through you can we have the genuine growth!
Brother we all need to grow in life through feeding not by teaching or doctrine. This is so the new man can be perfected in function!
In Ephesians 2:15 we see the creation of the new man organically, but in 4:13-16 we see the perfecting of the new man in relation to his function.
May the Lord grow in all the saints today!
The One New Man created on the cross has to grow into full manhood. Creating the One New Man was done by Christ alone, however we need to cooperate with Christ the Head, for His Body to be nourished and cherished until we all all arrive at a full grown man.
Ephesians 4:16 is an extremely important verse….Our growth in life is to grow into the Head, Christ, but our function in the Body is to function out from Him. The phrase each one part refers to every member of the Body. Every member of the Body of Christ has its own measure which works for the growth of the Body. The Body causes the growth of itself through the supplying joints and working parts. The growth of the Body is the increase of Christ in the church, which results in the building up of the Body itself.
In Ephesians 2 we have the birth of the new man but not the function of the new man. At birth, the new man is organically perfect; however, he is not yet able to function. Just as a child needs to be perfected through nourishing and cherishing, so the organically perfect new man needs to be perfected through the growth of life in order to function in a proper way.
Our physical life portrays this. Only God can create a being that is organically perfect….[Then] the more the child is nourished and grows, the more he will function normally.
In the same principle, the new man created by Christ must be perfected in order to function. Through the growth spoken of in chapter 4, the new man comes into function. Through the operation in the measure of each part, the Body grows unto the building up of itself in love. The creation of the new man was the responsibility of the Lord alone. We have nothing whatever to do with this. But we must fulfill our responsibility to perfect the new man through nourishing and cherishing. As the new man is perfected in this way, he grows and becomes perfect functionally.
The new man can become perfect in relation to his functions only through receiving the proper nourishment. This…is not a superficial matter. On the contrary, it is one of the deepest concepts in…Ephesians….The Body does not become functionally perfect through the teaching of doctrine. Actually, in Ephesians 4, a chapter that speaks of the perfecting of the new man through the growth of life, doctrine is depreciated. Paul says that when we are no longer children, we shall no longer be carried about by winds of teaching. What is needed for the building up of the Body and for perfecting the new man functionally is the growth of life. This comes only through feeding. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 767-769, by Witness Lee)