THE GOAL OF THE LORD'S RECOVERY—TO BRING FORTH THE ONE NEW MAN
Message Two
Being Renewed in the Spirit of the Mind for the Practical Existence of the One New Man
Scripture Reading: Eph. 2:15-16; 4:22-24; Col. 3:10-11; Rom. 12:2
I. Everything that the Lord is doing in this present age is to usher in the practical existence of the one new man; this is the Lord's move on earth today—Eph. 2:15; 4:24; Col. 3:10-11.
II. In our experience as believers in Christ, we should cooperate with the Triune God to put off the old man, which was terminated on the cross, and put on the new man, which was created through Christ's death and resurrection—Eph. 2:15; 4:22, 24:
A. Regarding our former manner of life, we must put off the old man—v. 22:
1. In baptism we put off the old man; our old man was crucified with Christ and was buried in baptism—Rom. 6:4a, 6.
2. The former manner of life was a walk in the vanity of the mind—Eph. 4:22, 17:
a. The former manner of life includes everything related to us, especially the community life of the old man—v. 22.
b. To put off regarding the "former manner of life, the old man" is to put off our way of living—v. 22.
3. The old man "is being corrupted according to the lusts of the deceit"—v. 22:
a. The article before deceit is emphatic, and the deceit is personified.
b. The deceit refers to the deceiver, Satan, from whom come the lusts of the corrupted old man.
B. We need to "put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality"—v. 24:
1. In baptism we put on the new man—Rom. 6:4b.
2. The new man is of Christ; it is His Body created in Him on the cross—Eph. 2:15-16.
3. To put on the new man is to put on the community life of the one new man—4:24:
a. To put on the church life as the one new man is to put on a corporate entity produced by the mingling of the divine Spirit with the regenerated human spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b; 6:17.
b. Since we are part of the one new man, our living should be the living of the one new man as the corporate God-man—Eph. 4:17-32.
4. The reality in Ephesians 4:24 is the personification of God; the reality is God; it was in the righteousness and holiness of the reality that the one new man was created.
III. The key to putting off the old man and putting on the new man is in being renewed in the spirit of our mind—v. 23:
A. Christ as the life-giving Spirit is now in our spirit, and these two spirits mingle together to form the spirit of the mind—2 Tim. 4:22; 1 Cor. 6:17.
B. When the life-giving Spirit, who dwells in and is mingled with our regenerated spirit, spreads into our mind, this mingled spirit becomes the spirit of the mind; it is by this mingled spirit that our mind is renewed—Eph. 4:23.
C. To be renewed in the spirit of our mind is inward and intrinsic; the renewing in the spirit of our mind revolutionizes our logic, philosophy, thought, concept, and psychology—Rom. 12:2.
D. The only possibility of God's purpose being fulfilled in this age is that we all would be willing to be renewed in the spirit of our mind—Eph. 3:11; 4:23.
IV. The renewal of the mind is for the practical existence of the one new man—vv. 22-24; Col. 3:10-11:
A. The only way that the one new man can be realized practically is by our mind being renewed—Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23-24; Col. 3:10-11.
B. We need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind actually and daily in our living; otherwise, there is no way for the Lord to have the one new man.
C. Our mind needs to be renewed not only for our spiritual conduct or for our personal, ethical behavior but for the existence of the one new man—Eph. 4:24.
D. The focal point of our being renewed in the spirit of our mind is the one new man—vv. 23-24.
E. 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—v. 23:
1. Our natural and national mentality was educated and built up according to our racial and cultural background; this is the greatest hindrance to the practical existence of the one new man—Col. 3:10-11.
2. In order for the one new man to come into full existence, we must experience a thorough renewal of our mind, which has been built up according to our nationality and culture—Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23-24; Col. 3:10-11.
F. In our prayer we need to have a desire to enter into the practicality of the one new man, and thus, we need to ask the Lord to renew our mind and transform our inner being—Rom. 12:2.
G. Daily we need to put off the old man and put on the new man; for this we need to drink of the one Spirit so that we may be renewed in the spirit of our mind in every area of our daily life—1 Cor. 12:13:
1. When we drink of the Spirit, He saturates every part of our being; the first part of our soul that He saturates is our mind—v. 13; Rom. 12:2.
2. If we drink of the Spirit, we will be renewed in the spirit of our mind, and this renewing will make us all into one new man—Eph. 4:23-24.
3. When our mind has been renewed, the one new man will come into existence in a practical way, and Christ will truly be all and in all—Col. 3:10-11.
H. "All those who love Him, pursue Him, and follow Him on the entire earth today must be renewed in the spirit of their mind to become the one new man, taking Him as their person and living by Him. This is what the Lord wants today" (One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man, p. 101).