THE GENUINE CHURCH LIFE
Message Six
Practicing the Church Life
in the Consciousness of the One New Man
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
And have put on the new man, which is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him，Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all and in all.- Col3:10~11
For God is my witness how I long after you all in the inward parts of Christ Jesus. -Phil1:8
Word of Appetizer
Thousands of Christians have read Ephesians 2:15; 4:24; and Colossians 3:10, and they have seen the term the new man, … but they do not know what the new man is. Do you know who the new man is?
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. In the church as the one new man, Christ is all and in all.
Spiritual Burden
The goal of the Lord’s recovery is to bring forth the one new man, and this requires that we practice the church life in the consciousness of the one new man by taking Christ as our person, being constituted with Christ, and being renewed in the spirit of the mind.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The church, the Body of Christ, is the one new man to accomplish God’s eternal purpose—a universal, corporate God-man.
We need to practice the church life in the consciousness of the one new man；In Colossians 4:7-17 we have a practical illustration of the revelation of the one new man and of the consciousness of the one new man.
In order to practice the church life in the consciousness of the one new man, we need to live in the inward parts of Christ Jesus and take Christ’s inward parts as our own.
The Experience of Life
The one new man comes into being as we are saturated, filled, and permeated with Christ and replaced by Him through an organic process; The new man is Christ in all the saints, permeating us and replacing us until all natural distinctions have been removed and everyone is constituted of Christ.
Practice and Application
In order to practice the church life in the consciousness of the one new man, we need to live in the inward parts of Christ Jesus and take Christ’s inward parts as our own; in His tender and delicate feelings.
Like Paul, we should take Christ’s feeling as our own feeling; this is most necessary for our living corporately in the one new man and practicing the church life in the consciousness of the one new man.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
Abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He mightcreate the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace, And might reconcile both in one Body to God through the cross, having slain the enmity by it.-Eph2:15-16.
And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, And put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality.-Eph4:23-24.
I. The church, the Body of Christ, is the one new man to accomplish God’s eternal purpose—a universal, corporate God-man
• God’s intention in His creation of man was to have a corporate man to express Him and to represent Him; eventually, the church as the one new man is the corporate man in God’s intention, and this new man will fulfill the twofold purpose of expressing God and dealing with God’s enemy.
• The one new man equals the Body of Christ; Christ and we together form a universal man.
•The one new man was created by Christ on the crosswith two kinds of materials—the redeemed created man and the divine element; on the cross Christ put these materials together to produce a new man.
• The goal of the Lord’s recovery is to bring forth the one new man.
•In the church as the one new man, Christ is all and in all.
Key Verses (2)
And have put on the new man, which is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all and in all. -Col3:10~11
For I had much joy and encouragement over your love, because the inward parts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. -Philem1:7
II. We need to practice the church life in the consciousness of the one new man
•In Colossians 4:7-17 we have a practical illustration of the revelation of the one new man and of the consciousness of the one new man.
• If we are conscious of the one new man, we will realize that all the local churches in the different countries are one new man.
•The Epistle to Philemon should be regarded as a continuation of Colossians 4 and considered as an illustration of the believers’ equal status in the new man.
Key Verses (3)
Hearing of your love and the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and to all the saints, -Phil1:5
No longer as a slave, but above a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.- 16
For God is my witness how I long after you all in the inward parts of Christ Jesus.-Phil1:8
III. In order to practice the church life in the consciousness of the one new man, we need to live in the inward parts of Christ Jesus and take Christ’s inward parts as our own
•Theinward parts signify inward affection, tenderheartedness, and compassions.
•As a man, Christ had the human inward parts with their various functions, and Christ’s experiences in His inward parts were His experiences in His mind, emotion, will, soul, heart, and spirit, including His love, desire, feeling, thought, decision, motive, and intention.
• Paul was a person who continually experienced Christ in His inward parts.
•To live Christ requires that we remain in the inward parts of Christ.
• Paul took the inward parts of Christ Jesus as his own inward parts in caring for the church as the Body of Christ and the one new man.
•In the book of Philemon, we have a picture of the church life as the one new man lived in the inward parts of Christ Jesus.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1God’s intention in His creation.(Gen1:26)
(Please illustrate that The old man did not fulfill God’s dual purpose. However, the new man does fulfill the twofold purpose of expressing God and dealing with God’s enemy.)
T2The new man was created through Christ’s death on the cross. (Eph2:15)
(What are the two materials which Christ used to create the one new man on the cross.)
D2
T1 there no natural person in the new man, (Eph2:11)
(Please illustrate that In the one new man, but there is no possibility, no room, for any natural person.)
T2The new man does not come into existence by ta king Christians from various countries and bringing them together. (2Cor3:18)
(Please illustrate that the new man comes into being as we are saturated, filled, and permeated with Christ and replaced by Him through an organic process.)
D3
T1Christ is all the members and is in all the members. (Col. 3:11)
(Illustrate how we can experience Christ as the reality of all the members of the one new man through the experience.)
T2 the examples of the living of the one new man(Col.4:7-17)
(In Colossians 4:7-17 we have a practical illustration of the revelation of the one new man and of the consciousness of the one new man.)
D4
T1 the consciousness of the one new man. (Col4:7-17)
(Please explain how does the Col.4:7-17 describe the apostle Paul has the consciousness of the one new man?)
T2all the local churches are one new man.(Col4:16)
(Please illustrate that we need to practice the church life in the consciousness of the one new man)
D5
T1in the new man all the believers have an equal status.(Philem10-19)
(Please illustrate that according to the case of Onesimus and Philemon illustrates that in the new man all the believers have an equal status.)
T2in the new man the believers love one another in faith.(Titus3:15)
( Illustrate the equal status of the believers is a matter of love which is mentioned by the book of Philem.)
D6
T1inward parts of Christ. (Phil. 1: 8)
(Illustrate what is the meaning of the phrase of the inward parts of Christ.)
T2Experienced Christ in His inward parts.(Philem:12,Phil. 1:8,2:5; 2 Cor.11:10; 1Cor16:24)
(Please illustrate that according to the verse Paul was a person who continually experienced Christ in His inward parts.)
