Eph 4:24 And put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality. Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, (11) Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all.
The new man is of Christ. It is His Body, created in Him on the cross (2:15-16). It is not individual, but corporate. The new man is a composition of many different peoples. In this corporate new man there is no Greek or Jew, no bond or free, no barbarian or Scythian, but Christ is all and in all. In Colossians 3:11 the word "all" refers to people. This means that in the new man Christ is all the people and is in all the people. Therefore, in the corporate new man Christ is all and in all. The Greek word for church, ekklesia, means those called out for a gathering, hence, an assembly. This is the initial aspect of the church. From this the apostle goes on to the aspects of fellow-citizens of the kingdom of God and members of the household of God. These are higher than the initial aspect, but not as high as the aspect of the church as the Body of Christ. Yet the new man is still higher than the Body of Christ. As the Body of Christ, the church needs Christ as its life; whereas as the new man, the church needs Christ as its person. This new corporate person should live a life as Jesus lived on earth, that is, a life of truth, expressing God and causing God to be realized as the reality by man.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 402,403. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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