总题：一个新人成就神创造人的定旨
THE ONE NEW MAN FULFILLING GOD'S PURPOSE IN CREATING MAN TABLE OF CONTENTS
Message Nine
Practicing the Church Life, Speaking the Same Thing, and Doing the One Work in the Consciousness of the One New Man
Scripture Reading: Col. 3:10-11; 4:7-17
I. 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:
A. Both the saints in Colossae and Paul and those with him were members of the one new man in actuality and had the consciousness of the one new man.
B. Paul's word regarding the reading of the letters proves that there was no difference between the church in Laodicea and the church in Colossae; his word implies fellowship, oneness, harmony, and intimate contact—v. 16.
C. In spite of all the differences among nationalities, races, and classes, there was on earth in a practical way the one new man created in Christ Jesus; there were not merely local churches in various cities—there was the one new man in a real and practical way.
D. "It is shameful for the church in any locality to isolate itself from other churches… This is utterly contrary to the consciousness of the new man. Any church that holds such an attitude has a consciousness only of itself, not of the totality of the new man. Those who insist on this attitude cause the new man to be fragmented, to be broken into pieces…Those who have this attitude lack the sense, the consciousness, of the one new man" (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 260-261).
II. All the local churches in the different countries are one new man; thus, they need to practice the church life in the consciousness of the new man—Eph. 2:15, 21-22:
A. All the churches are not merely individual local churches but are the one new man—Col. 3:10-11; 4:15-16:
1. We cannot say that each local church is a new man; rather, all the local churches on earth are the one new man.
2. The one new man is a matter not merely of individual localities and individual churches but of all the churches on earth corporately.
B. When the one new man has been brought into full existence, we will not speak of the differences between the churches or of the jurisdiction and autonomy of the local churches—1 Cor. 1:2; 4:17; Rev. 2:1, 7a; 22:16a:
1. At that time we all will be taking Christ as our person and living Christ; thus, only Christ will be among us, and only Christ will be manifested—Phil. 1:20-21a.
2. If we take Christ as our person and as our life, spontaneously we all will speak the same thing; then in a practical way we will be the one new man.
C. Since the local churches are one new man, in deciding a matter in our local church, we need to consider the churches throughout the whole earth—Rev. 22:16a; 1 Thes. 2:14; Rom. 16:4; 2 Cor. 11:28.
D. The churches will progress in the divine life to such an extent that eventually they all will be absolutely the same—Rev. 1:4, 11-12; 1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 14:33b:
1. "We may not want to be the same as the other churches because of our pride, but according to the divine economy, the more that we are the same, the more glorious we are. It is glorious to imitate others, to follow others, and to be one with others in the spirit. We must learn from one another, be adjusted by one another, and receive grace from one another" (The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1984, vol. 3, "The Divine Economy," pp. 105-106).
2. "I do expect that the day will come when all the local churches look alike, and I believe that when that day comes, the Lord will return" (The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1975–1976, vol. 2, "The Church—the Reprint of the Spirit," p. 459).
E. What is here in the Lord's recovery is nothing but Christ, and this Christ is all and in all; this vision will rescue us from all things other than Christ—Col. 1:18b; 3:10-11.
F. The Lord intends to raise up His believers throughout all the world to seek Him, and when we seek Him, we will see that what He wants is the one new man expressed in the local churches—Phil. 3:7-16; Eph. 4:24.
III. For the church as the universal one new man, we all need to take Christ as our person in the matter of speaking; we need to consider one new man in Ephesians 2:15 together with one mouth in Romans 15:6 and speak the same thing in 1 Corinthians 1:10:
A. In the one new man there is one person with one mouth to speak the same thing—Rom. 15:6; 1 Cor. 1:10.
B. There is only one new man, and the one new man has only one person, so the one new man speaks with one mouth and says the same thing.
C. In the past there were too many mouths because there were too many persons.
D. With one accord and with one mouth (Rom. 15:6) mean that even though we are many and all are speaking, we all "speak the same thing" (1 Cor. 1:10):
1. The church is the one new man with only one person—Christ—and this person controls our speaking; thus, whatever He speaks is surely "the same thing."
2. When we are about to speak, we need to resolve a basic question: In this matter of speaking, am I the person, or is Christ the person?
3. If in our speaking we do not take ourselves as the person but allow Christ to be the person, then there will be one mouth, and everyone will speak the same thing.
E. In the one new man there is only one person, and only this person has the freedom to speak; the Lord Jesus has the absolute freedom to speak, and our natural man has absolutely no freedom to speak—Matt. 17:5.
F. Although we are many and come from many places, we all have one mouth and we all speak the same thing; this is because we all are the one new man having only one person—Eph. 2:15; 4:22-24; 3:17a; Rom. 15:6; 1 Cor. 1:10.
G. If we take Christ as our person and as our life, spontaneously we all will speak the same thing; then we will be the one new man in reality and practicality.
IV. There should not be several works in the Lord's recovery; all the co-workers in all the regions should do the same one work for the unique Body, the universal one new man—Col. 4:11; 1 Cor. 15:58; 16:10; Phil. 2:30:
A. "I hope that we will consider our present situation before the Lord. Are we doing the same one work for the recovery? If not, we should let the Lord have the freedom to adjust us" (The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1991–1992, vol. 1, "Elders' Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3)," p. 239).
B. "In the Lord's move in His recovery, there should be only one work, not different works. Our situation is different from this. We have different works without any consciousness. This is dangerous" (pp. 239-240).
C. As God's fellow workers, working together with Him, we should do only one work—the work of the Lord—2 Cor. 6:1a; 1 Cor. 3:9a; 15:58; 16:10:
1. Although Paul and Peter worked in different regions, they did not carry out two works; instead, they had only one work; the regions of the work should not divide the churches.
2. Concerning the work, the New Testament does not have the consideration of geographical regions; to bear a regional flavor is not scriptural, because all the members of the Body of Christ should bear the same flavor.
D. "You must have the assurance that, wherever you are and whatever you do, you are building up the center, the reality, and the goal of the eternal economy of God, which will attain the New Jerusalem" (The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997, vol. 2, "The Practical Way to Live a Life according to the High Peak of the Divine Revelation in the Holy Scriptures," p. 81).
E. "Today on this earth…God wants to have another man, the new man…He wants to gain the one new man on earth…So we all need to rise up to take Christ as our corporate person. If we want to make a decision or live a certain kind of life, we cannot decide merely in ourselves; instead, we must take Christ as our person in the new man and with the new man. This requirement is great and high. In this way the new man grows and matures, and we will arrive at a full-grown man" (The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1977, vol. 3, "One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man," p. 325).
F. This will be the ultimate church life—a universal new man taking Christ as his person and living out Christ; this will conclude this age, usher in the kingdom, and bring the Lord back—Eph. 4:24; Phil. 1:20-21a; Rev. 11:15.