Our mind needs to be renewed for the one new man; we need to be transformed by the renewing of the mind for the Body life, for the Lord to gain the full existence and real practice of the one new man.
Many times, however, we still live in our old man, according to our natural being, and we express what we are by birth and what we have accumulated by training or experience; instead of expressing Christ, we still live in the old man.
Too many times we believers still live and behave and speak like those in the world; we may be called “Christians” and we may read the Bible and go to the meetings, but in our behavior, living, and speaking we are just like them, because we are not renewed in our mind.
And when we hear concerning putting off the old man with its old social life, we may ask God for help, and we may try it a bit…but then we give up, saying that we can’t really change our ways, we need help to change things…Oh Lord Jesus!
There is so much division and separation in the church and among the brothers and the sisters because we simply do not put off the old man and do not put on the new man, which is being renewed day by day.
Paul didn’t say that we should pray for the Lord to help us to put off the old man; he simply said that we should put off the old man and put on the new man, being renewed in the spirit of our mind. Amen!
How do we put off the old man? It is by being renewed in the spirit of the mind. How do we put on the new man? It is by the renewing of the mind.
May we no longer make any excuses for ourselves; may we no longer live a life of compromise, living in the natural man and also trying to live in the new man.
May we learn the secret of contacting the Lord and cooperating with Him to have our mind renewed for the one new man!
Christ has already created the one new man; the one new man is right now in our spirit, and we simply need to first put off the old man (as we put off an old garment) and put on the new man in our spirit!
This means that, on one hand, we need to apply the cross to ourselves, and on the other, we need to live and magnify Christ through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Amen! We need to eat the Lord, drink Him, and breathe the Spirit in; we need to be filled and saturated with the Spirit, for the more we enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the more in reality we put on the one new man!
For the New Man to come into Full Existence, we must be Renewed in our Mind from our Natural and National Mentality
The renewal of our mind is not merely for us to be better people or to be more proper in our daily living; being renewed in our mind is for the full existence of the one new man on earth.
Our mind needs to be renewed not only for our spiritual conduct or for our personal, ethical behavior, but also for the existence of the one new man.
May we not be fashioned according to this age but be transformed by the renewing of the mind. Being renewed in our mind is not just to make us think better, to make us proper persons, or to make us more spiritual and balanced; more than that, being renewed is for the Body life.
The focal point of our being renewed in the spirit of our mind is the one new man (Eph. 4:23-24). Throughout our life, our national and racial mentality has been built up, and for the existence of the one new man, this mentality must be renewed.
We were all born in a certain family in a certain country, and we all have a natural life with its mentality.
We grow up in a certain society, in a particular environment, and in a certain country, picking up the culture of that country; all these mold us in a certain way, and we become British or French or Chinese or Korean or American, etc.
We pick up and build up a certain racial mentality, a national mentality; if we are Chinese, we may boast of our five thousand years of culture and heritage, and if we are British, we may boast of our history and heritage.
Every country has something to boast about, and we all treasure something in our heart from our culture and background; this may also cause us to consider others as being lower than us, thus boasting of what we have and others don’t.
Our thoughts – many of which are due to our nationalism and racial mentality – are causing us to have walls of separation, so we have some distance between us and the other saints. Oh Lord!
Our natural and national mentality was educated and built up according to our racial and cultural background; this is the greatest hindrance to the existence of the new man.
We have our own ordinances – which may be good, for they keep us on the right path – but these cause a separation between us and the other people.
Praise the Lord, in Eph. 2:15 we see that Christ on the cross abolished all the ordinances – He brought us to the same level, and none can boast of being higher or lower!
In order for the one new man to come into full existence, we all must experience a thorough renewal of our mind, which has been built up according to our nationality and culture (Col. 3:10-11). In the new man there is no room for the natural man; there’s no possibility for any natural person.
The new man is not American, British, Japanese, French, English, German, or Chinese; the new man is Christ, for He is all and in all in the new man.
For the practical existence of the one new man, we need to be renewed in our mind; if we are not in the constant process of being renewed, we cannot be the one new man in reality and practicality.
Yes, the one new man was created on the cross, but the renewal of the new man still needs to go on. Our mind is the biggest problem to the practical existence and manifestation of the new man.
It is easier for people from different races and nationalities to be saved than to be renewed in their way of living.
Those in Japan have their own ordinances and customs, those who are Chinese have their own ordinances, and the British have their own ordinances, and whenever you go somewhere, each have their own ordinances. Oh Lord Jesus! How much we need to be renewed in our mind!
Lord Jesus, we give ourselves to You to be renewed in our mind not only for our spiritual conduct or improvement of behavior but for the existence of the one new man! Amen, Lord, we yearn for the full existence and real practice of the one new man, so come to You in Your word with the exercise of our spirit to have our mind renewed again and again! Amen, Lord, we don’t want to be fashioned according to this age but be renewed in our mind for the Body life, for the one new man!
Being Renewed in our Mind is for the Full Existence of the One New Man on Earth
The only way for the one new man to be realized practically is by our mind being renewed day by day, continually (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23-24; Col. 3:10-11).
If our mind is not being renewed, we can talk all we want about the one new man, it will not happen. This means that we need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind actually and daily in our living; if we are not renewed, there’s no way for the Lord to have the new man.
It is not only when we come together in big gatherings a few times a year that we are the new man; rather, we need to be renewed in our mind daily, and in this renewing we become the new man in reality.
We don’t become the new man by being corrected or taught but by the Spirit of God permeating our mentality.
We need the Spirit to penetrate our mentality and saturate us, permeate us, and soak us with Himself. We become the new man not by correction, learning, political manoeuvres, or by setting up ordinances, but by allowing the Spirit to permeate us.
God needs the corporate man He created on the cross to grow, be perfected, and come into practical existence on earth today, for this man fulfills His eternal purpose.
But man is fallen, divided, and scattered. So we should not be conformed to this age, that is, we should not follow the way of divisions, but be renewed in our mind for the Body life, for the Lord to gain the one new man practically.
Our being renewed in our mind is for the Body life. In the new man there’s no room for Greeks, Jews, circumcision, uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free man – in the new man Christ is all and in all!
The Greeks are for philosophical wisdom, the Jews are for miraculous signs, circumcision refers to the Jewish rituals, uncircumcision refers to those who don’t care for the Jewish religion, a barbarian is an uncultured person, Scythians are the most barbarous, slaves are those sold in slavery, and free men are those set free from slavery.
In the new man there’s no high nor low, no this or that, but only Christ. Christians today have been divided by race, nationality, language, and religious matters; almost anything can divide Christians, and especially the religious opinions divide the members of the Body.
But we need to be renewed in our natural mind, that is, we need to have our mind filled up and saturated with the Spirit!
The Spirit needs to permeate every fiber of our mentality! So in our prayers we need to have a desire to enter into the practicality of the one new man, asking the Lord to renew our mind and transform our inner being.
Lord Jesus, transform us for the one new man! Renew our mind for the Body life! We do not hold on to any cultural preferences or national background; we put aside our natural characteristics and any ordinances, and we want to be renewed in our mind for the practical existence of the one new man! May we realise that the only way for the one new man to be realized practically is by our mind being renewed, and may we daily be renewed in our mind for the new man! Amen, Lord, we choose to be renewed in our mind for the Body life, for the practical existence of the new man!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. James Lee for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1977, vol. 3, “The One New Man,” chs. 3, 5-7, 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 7, Being Renewed in the Spirit of Our Mind for the Practical Existence of the One New Man.
- Hymns on this topic:
– And do not be fashioned according to this age, / But be transformed by the renewing of the mind / That you may prove what the will of God is, / That which is good and well pleasing and perfect. (Scripture song)
– From the center to circumference / God would saturate each part; / Feeling, mind, and will renewing, / Making home in all our heart. / Thus in life we’re built together, / Then in love we’re knit as one; / God is now His plan fulfilling, / Finishing what He’s begun. (Hymns #1325)
– Lord, transform us to Thine image / In emotion, mind, and will; / Saturate us with Thy Spirit, / All our being wholly fill. (Hymns #750)
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