THE GOAL OF THE LORD'S RECOVERY—TO BRING FORTH THE ONE NEW MAN
Message Five
Allowing the Peace of Christ to Arbitrate in Our Hearts, Letting the Word of Christ Dwell in Us Richly, and Persevering in Prayer for the One New Man
Scripture Reading: Col. 3:15-17; 4:2-3
I. We need to allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts—Col. 3:12-15; Eph. 2:14-18; Rom. 5:1; Matt. 18:21-35:
A. The Greek term for arbitrate can also be rendered "umpire, preside, or be enthroned as a ruler and decider of everything"; the arbitrating peace of Christ dissolves our complaint against anyone—Col. 3:13.
B. Often we are conscious of three parties within us: a positive party, a negative party, and a neutral party; hence, there is the need for inward arbitration to settle the dispute within us:
1. 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.
2. We need to set aside our opinion, our concept, and listen to the word of the indwelling Referee.
C. If we allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts, this peace will settle all the disputes among us; we shall have peace with God vertically and with the saints horizontally:
1. 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.
2. The arbitrating of the peace of Christ is Christ working within us to exercise His rule over us, to speak the last word, and to make the final decision—cf. Isa. 9:6-7.
3. If we stay under the ruling of the enthroned peace of Christ, we shall not offend others or damage them; rather, by the Lord's grace and with His peace we shall minister life to others.
4. This peace should bind all the believers together and become their uniting bond—Eph. 4:3.
II. We need to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly—Col. 3:16-17:
A. When the peace of Christ arbitrates in us and keeps us in a situation full of oneness and harmony, we become the place of God's speaking, His oracle—vv. 15-16; Rev. 2:1, 7:
1. God's speaking requires oneness; division causes God's speaking to diminish, even to cease altogether—Lev. 1:1.
2. Since oneness is a necessary condition for God's speaking, we need to let the peace of Christ arbitrate in our hearts—Col. 3:15.
3. For the word of Christ to dwell in us richly means that it has adequate room in us to permeate and saturate our whole being; it is crucial for us to let the word of Christ enter into us, dwell in us, prevail in us, and replace our concepts, opinions, and philosophies—Psa. 119:130; cf. Rev. 21:23; 22:5.
B. We need to allow the word of the Lord to have the first place in us so that we may experience the functions of the word of God operating within us and ministering the riches of Christ into our being—Col. 3:16:
1. The word of God enlightens (Psa. 119:105, 130), nourishes (Matt. 4:4; 1 Tim. 4:6), and waters us to quench our thirst (Isa. 55:8-11).
2. The word of God strengthens (1 John 2:14b; Prov. 4:20-22), washes (Eph. 5:26), and builds us up (Acts 20:32).
3. The word of God completes, perfects (2 Tim. 3:15-17), and edifies us by sanctifying us (John 17:17).
C. By allowing the word of God to inhabit us, we can become a proper human being, a God-man filled with Christ as the reality of the attributes of God—Col. 3:17-25; Phil. 4:5-8.
III. We need to persevere in prayer—Col. 4:2-3:
A. We need to allow adequate time for prayer, which will enable us to absorb more of the riches of Christ as the all-inclusive land—1:12; 2:6-7; 4:2:
1. We need to take time to absorb the Lord, contacting Him in a definite and prevailing way—Luke 8:13; Matt. 14:22-23; 6:6.
2. To meet with God in the morning is not only to meet with Him early in the day; it is also to meet with God in a situation that is full of light; we should go to God alone, without any persons, matters, or things to distract or occupy us—Prov. 4:18; Exo. 33:11a; 34:3-4; Mark 1:35.
3. When we pray, coming forward to the throne of grace, grace will become a river flowing in us and supplying us—Heb. 4:16; cf. Rev. 22:1.
B. In order to fight on God's side against Satan, we need to persevere in prayer—Dan. 6:10:
1. As those who take sides with God, we find that the whole fallen universe is against us and, in particular, against our prayer; resistance to prayer lies not only outside of us but even within us—Matt. 26:41.
2. To pray is to go against the current, the trend, in the fallen universe—Luke 18:1-8.
C. We need to set aside definite times for prayer; our attitude should be that prayer is our most important business and that nothing should be allowed to interfere with it—Dan. 6:10; Acts 12:5, 12.
D. We need to remain in an atmosphere of prayer by continually exercising our spirit—Eph. 6:18; 1 Tim. 4:7; 2 Tim. 1:7; Col. 1:3, 9:
1. We need to pray without ceasing, to persevere in prayer, keeping ourselves intimately connected to the Lord—1 Thes. 5:17; Matt. 26:41; Col. 2:19.
2. Even in the smallest details we need to inquire of the Lord; to do this is to persevere in prayer and thereby to live Christ—cf. Josh. 9:14; Phil. 4:7-8.
IV. As we are ruled by the peace of Christ and inhabited by the word of Christ through persevering in prayer, He permeates and replaces us with Himself until all our natural distinctions have been eliminated, and we become the new man in reality—Col. 3:15-17; 4:2-3; 3:10-11.