Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2)
Message Ten
The Creator of the One New Man
as the Masterpiece of God
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture Reading:
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
Eph 2:14-15 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition, the enmity, in His flesh, abolishing the law of commandments in ordinances, that He might create the one new man in Himself out of the two, thus making peace.
I. God’s purpose in creating man was to obtain a corporate man to express Him and to represent Him—Gen 1:26: (Monday)
A God created man according to His own image to express Him and gave man His authority so that man could represent Him to deal with His enemy—Gen 1:26.
B The church as the new man in the new creation has God’s image for God’s expression and for God’s kingdom to fight against God’s enemy—Col 3:10-11, Eph 2:15, 4:24, 6:10-11.
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II. The new man as God’s poem, God’s masterpiece, is created through the death of Christ and in His resurrection—Eph 2:10, 15-16: (Tuesday)
A Christ “in His flesh” abolished all negative things in the universe; Christ “in Himself,” that is, with Himself as the sphere, the element, and the essence, created the Jews and the gentiles into one new man—Heb 2:14, Rom 8:3.
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B In the creation of the new man, first our natural man is crucified by Christ; then through the putting off of the old man, Christ dispenses the divine element into us that we may become the masterpiece of God’s work—Rom 6:6. (Wednesday)
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III. Christ on the cross, in His flesh, abolished the law of commandments in ordinances, which is the middle wall of partition, and in Himself created one new man—Eph 2:14b-15: (Thursday)
A The law mentioned in verse 15 is not the commandment of the law concerning morals but the commandment of the law concerning ceremonies—Eph 2:15.
B Ordinances are forms or practices of life and worship which cause enmity and division; Christ has done away with all the ordinances concerning life and worship, which are the ordinances that have divided all the peoples—v. 15, Col 2:14, Gen 11:1-9.
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IV． For the new man and in the new man, we need to let the peace of Christ arbitrate in our hearts—Eph 2:14a, 15b, Col 3:12-15, Rom 5:1, Matt 18:21-35: (Friday)
A The peace of Christ which arbitrate in our hearts removes any offense we have toward anyone—Col 3:13-15.
B If we let the peace of Christ arbitrate in our hearts, this peace will settle all the disagreements among us, causing the church life to be sweetly preserved and the reality of the new man to be maintained—Eph 4:3, Isa 9:6-7.
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V． In the one new man, Christ is all and in all—Col 3:10-11: (Saturday)
A Because Christ is all the members of the new man, there cannot be a natural man in the one new man, and there is no place for the natural man—Col 3:10-11.
B For the new man, we all need to take Christ as our person—Eph 2:15, 3:17a.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Eph. 2:15-16 Abolishing 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, and might reconcile both in one Body to God through the cross, having slain the enmity by it.
Col. 3:15 And let the peace of Christ arbitrate in your hearts, to which also you were called in one Body; and be thankful.
Word of Appetizer
How is the new man as the poem, the masterpiece, of God was created?
The new man as the poem, the masterpiece, of God was created through Christ’s death and in His resurrection.
“In His flesh” Christ terminated all the negative things in the universe: Satan, the devil, the enemy of God; sin ; the flesh of fallen man; the world, the cosmos, the evil system of Satan; the old creation represented by the old man; and the separating ordinances of the law.
“In Himself” as the sphere, element, and essence, Christ created the Jews and the Gentiles into one new man.
Spiritual Burden
On the cross Christ created the new man in Himself by abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, the middle wall of partition. For and in the one new man, we need to allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts. For the new man we all need to take Christ as our person. For the practical existence of the one new man, the total person of the old man must be put away, and we must live by our new person.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
God’s intention in His creation of man was to have a corporate man to express Him and to represent Him.
The new man as the poem, the masterpiece, of God was created through Christ’s death and in His resurrection.
On the cross Christ created the new man in Himself by abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, the middle wall of partition.
In the one new man Christ is all the members and is in all the members.
The Experience of Life
He is our sanctification (for our present), by which we are being sanctified in our soul, that is, transformed in our mind, emotion, and will, with His divine life.
Through the arbitration of the peace of Christ, our problems are solved, and the friction between the saints disappears; then the church life is preserved in sweetness, and the new man is maintained in a practical way.
Practice and Application
For and in the one new man, we need to allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts. Whenever we sense that different parties within our being are arguing or quarreling, we need to give place to the presiding peace of Christ and allow this peace, which is the oneness of the new man, to rule within us and have the final word.
For the new man we all need to take Christ as our person. We need to live a life in the new man by taking Christ as our person, with Him as the One making all the decisions in us.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 God’s purpose in creating man was that man might have His image to express Him and have His dominion to represent Him (Gen. 1:26)
(Please illustrate what the purpose of God giving man dominion is.)
T2 What was divided and scattered in the old man is fully recovered in the new man (Eph. 2:15)
(Please illustrate that in the old man, people are divided and scattered; but in the new man, people are gathered together as one.)
Day 2
T1 Christ abolished in His flesh the law of commandments in ordinances (Eph. 2:15-16)
(Please illustrate that negative things were terminated in Christ’s flesh, and the new man had a new beginning in Christ Himself.)
T2 Christ created in Himself one new man (Eph. 2:15-16)
(Please illustrate that Christ is not only the Creator of the new man, but He is also the element of this new man.)
Day 3
T1 The one new man is corporate and universal (Eph. 2:10; 3:10)
(Please illustrate that the church is not only God’s church and the Body of Christ, but it is also one new man.)
T2 The church is God’s masterpiece and a poem, expressing God’s infinite wisdom and divine design (Eph. 2:10; 3:10)
(Please illustrate that the church is God’s masterpiece, a totally new thing in the universe, and a new invention of God.)
Day 4
T1 To insist on any kind of practice is to cause division (Eph. 2:14; Col. 2:14)
(Please illustrate that although we may not approve of certain practices, for the sake of not giving any position to ordinances, we should comply.)
T2 Practice being subject to others (Eph. 2:14; Col. 2:14)
(Please illustrate that as long as a certain practice does not involve fornication or immoral things, there is nothing wrong with it.)
Day 5
T1 There is the need for inward arbitration to settle the dispute within us (Col. 3:15; Eph. 4:3)
(Please illustrate that we need the peace of Christ to arbitrate, to adjust, and to decide all things in our heart in our relationship with the members of His Body.)
T2 Christ also dealt with all the negative things between us and God on the cross (Eph. 2:14; 4:3)
(Please illustrate that Christ, on the cross, has abolished all the distinctions caused by ordinances.)
Day 6
T1 As far as the new man is concerned, we must consider ourselves to be nothing (Col. 3:10-11)
(Please illustrate that in the new man, only Christ has a position; any natural person has no position.)
T2 In the local church, there must be one mouth (Col. 3:10-11)
(How the entire church can have only one mouth?)
