THE GOAL OF THE LORD'S RECOVERY—TO BRING FORTH THE ONE NEW MAN
Message Four
Experiencing Christ as Our Life, Our Person, for the One New Man
Scripture Reading: Col. 3:1-4, 10-11
I. In order to experience Christ as our life, our person, we need to see that we have one position, one life, one living, one destiny, and one glory with Christ—Col. 3:1-4; cf. 1 Cor. 6:17:
A. Our position is that we are in Christ; because we are in Him, we are where He is—sitting at the right hand of God—Col. 3:1; John 17:24; Eph. 2:6:
1. The Son's position is in the Father (John 10:38; 14:10); we are in the Son (1 Cor. 1:30a), so we are in the Father (John 14:20; 1 Thes. 1:1; 2 Thes. 1:1).
2. It is when we are in the spirit that we are in Christ, in the Father, and in heaven practically and experientially:
a. There is a transmission taking place from Christ in heaven to us on earth by means of the all-inclusive Spirit in our spirit—Eph. 1:19, 22-23; 2:22.
b. The very Christ who is sitting on the throne in heaven (Rom. 8:34) is also now in us (v. 10), that is, in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22), where the habitation of God is (Eph. 2:22).
c. Since today our spirit is the place of God's habitation, it is now the gate of heaven, where Christ is the ladder that joins us to heaven and brings heaven to us—v. 22; Gen. 28:12-17; John 1:51.
d. Whenever we turn to our spirit, we enter through the gate of heaven and touch the throne of grace in heaven through Christ as the heavenly ladder; our spirit is the receiving end of the divine transmission, whereas the throne of God is the transmitting end—Heb. 4:16.
B. The life of God is the life of Christ, and the life of Christ has become our life—John 5:26; Col. 3:4:
1. For Christ to be our life means that He is subjective to us to the uttermost—John 1:4; 14:6a; 10:10b; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:10, 6, 11.
2. It is impossible to separate a person from the life of that person, for a person's life is the person himself; thus, to say that Christ is our life means that Christ has become us and that we have one life and living with Him—John 14:6a; Phil. 1:21a.
3. With Christ as the believers' life, there are three characteristics that distinguish this life from the natural life:
a. This life is a crucified life—Gal. 2:20.
b. This life is a resurrected life—John 11:25.
c. This is a life hidden in God—Col. 3:3-4; Matt. 6:1-6, 16-18.
C. To seek the things which are above and set our mind on them is to join ourselves to the Lord in His heavenly ministry, His divine enterprise; this is to live Christ, to have a living that is one with Christ's living for the one new man—Col. 3:1-2, 10-11:
1. In His heavenly ministry Christ today is living as the High Priest to intercede for the churches—Heb. 8:1; 4:14; 7:25; 4:16; Col. 4:2.
2. In His heavenly ministry Christ today is living as the heavenly Minister to supply the saints with the riches of Christ—Heb. 8:1-2; Eph. 3:8.
3. In His heavenly ministry Christ today is living as the universal Administrator of God's government for the accomplishment of God's purpose—Rev. 4:1-2, 5; 5:6; 1:10-11:
a. From the throne in the heavens, the divine transmission brings the things above into the local churches—Eph. 1:19, 22-23.
b. In Revelation 4 and 5 we have a vision of our central government, and in Revelation 1 through 3 we have a vision of the local churches as the "embassies"; through the seven Spirits what is in the heavenly headquarters is transmitted into the churches as the embassies.
c. What takes place in the local churches should be under the direction of the throne of God in heaven; in order for the recovery to be the Lord's recovery, it must be under His direction—Col. 1:18; 2:19; Rev. 4:2-3.
D. Our destiny is glory; Christ is leading us into glory for us to be manifested with Him in glory—Heb. 2:10; Col. 3:4.
II. Our life is the Christ who dwells within us, and this life is hidden with Christ in God; the Christ hidden in God is typified by the manna hidden in the golden pot—vv. 3-4; Exo. 16:32-34; Rev. 2:17:
A. Christ as the hidden manna is in God the Father as the golden pot; the Father is in Christ as the Ark with His two natures, divinity and humanity; and Christ as the indwelling Spirit lives in our regenerated spirit to be the reality of the Holy of Holies—cf. John 14:16-20; 2 Tim. 4:22.
B. When we eat Christ as the hidden manna, we are incorporated into Him for the mutual abode of God and man—John 15:5, 7; 8:31; 6:57, 63; 14:23.
III. That Christ is our life is a strong indication that we are to take Him as life and live by Him, that we are to live Him in our daily life—Col. 3:4a:
A. Christ must be our life in a practical and experiential way; day by day we need to be saved in His life—v. 4a; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 5:10:
1. To be saved in the divine life from the slavery of sin, the law of sin, is by the release of the law of the consummated Spirit—8:2.
2. To be saved in the divine life from the present age of the world is by the sanctification of the consummated Spirit—12:2a; 6:19b, 22b.
3. To be saved in the divine life from our natural being is by the transformation of the life-giving Spirit—12:2b.
4. To be saved in the divine life from individualism is by being built up in the Body of Christ—v. 5.
5. To be saved in the divine life from self-likeness is by the conformation of the life-imparting Spirit—8:29.
6. To be saved in the divine life from our body of humiliation is by the transfiguration in the virtue of the divine life—v. 30; Phil. 3:21; Rom. 8:11.
7. To be saved in the divine life is to reign in the divine life—5:17.
8. To be saved in the divine life will result in the victory over Satan—16:20.
B. The new man is the spontaneous issue of our taking Christ as our life and living Him—Col. 3:3-4, 10-11.