Ⅱ
Since the new man in Ephesians 2:15-16 is a corporate man, the new man in 4:24 must also be corporate; according to Ephesians 4:24, we need to put on the very new man that has already been created in Christ:
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In baptism we put off the old man, which was crucified with Christ and buried; it was also in baptism that we put on the new man—vv. 22-24; Rom. 6:6, 4.
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The putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new man are accomplished facts; now we must experience and realize these facts by being renewed in the spirit of our mind—Eph. 4:23:
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To put off the old man is to deny and renounce our old self by applying the cross to the self—v. 22; Matt. 16:24.
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To put on the new man is to live and magnify Christ through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19-21a); this is to apply what Christ has accomplished in creating the new man (Eph. 2:15; 4:24).
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Our spirit mingled with the Spirit of God must become the spirit of our mind (v. 23); then all our living will be by the spirit, and whatever we do will be according to the spirit; as we are renewed by this spirit, we put on the new man.
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We need to walk according to the mingled spirit that is spreading into our mind and filling it; in this way the daily walk of the new man will be in the spirit of the mind; this is the secret of the church life—v. 23.
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The new man is in our spirit; the way to put on the new man is for our spirit (which is mingled with the Spirit), in which are found God, God’s dwelling place, and the new man, to become the spirit of our mind—2:22; 4:23:
１
For the spirit to become the spirit of our mind means that the spirit directs, controls, dominates, overrules, and possesses our mind (cf. 1 Cor. 2:15-16; 2 Cor. 2:13; 10:4-5); when the spirit directs our mind, our whole being is under the control of our spirit.
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How much we put on the new man depends on how much our spirit directs our being (1 Cor. 2:15); when our spirit dominates and directs us, there is no ground for culture, for opinions, or for ordinances; there is no room for our way because our whole being is dominated, controlled, governed, and directed by our spirit.
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The more the mingled spirit penetrates, saturates, and possesses our mind, the more we let Christ’s mind become our mind—Phil. 2:5; 1 Cor. 2:16; Rom. 12:2.
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When we believed in the Lord Jesus, the life-giving Spirit came into our spirit, bringing with Him the new man as a finished product; now the new man must saturate and spread into every part of our being; this spreading is both the putting on of the new man and the renewing.
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We should not live according to the vanity of the mind but according to the spirit of the mind; this is the key to the daily living of the corporate one new man, the secret to having a church life filled with the character of God, the aroma of Christ, and the oneness of the Spirit—Eph. 4:3-4, 17-18, 23-24.
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By our loving the Lord and by the exercise of our spirit in prayer and in reading the Word day by day, our mind is filled with the mingled spirit; this changes and renews our mind; for us to be renewed in our mind is to get rid of all the old concepts concerning the things of the human life and be made new again by the teaching of the Holy Scriptures and the enlightening of the Holy Spirit—Psa. 119:105, 130; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Deut. 17:18-20.
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The only possibility of God’s purpose being fulfilled in this age, to have the one new man in reality, is if we would all be willing to be renewed in the spirit of our mind.
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 4:17 This therefore I say and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk in the vanity of their mind.23 …Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
[“The Gentiles” in Ephesians 4:17] are the fallen people, who have become vain in their reasonings (Rom. 1:21). They walk without God in the vanity of their mind, controlled and directed by their vain thoughts…. Hence, the basic element in the daily life of fallen mankind is the vanity of the mind.
In the church as the new man, we should live not according to the vanity of the mind, but according to the spirit of the mind (Eph. 4:23). This is the key to the daily living of the corporate one new man…. We need to walk according to the spirit that is spreading into our mind and filling it. In this way the daily walk of the new man will be in the spirit of the mind. This is the secret of the church life. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 783-784)
Today’s Reading
In Ephesians 3:16 Paul… speak[s] of the inner man: “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man.” The inner man is our regenerated spirit with God’s life as its life…. We need to be strengthened into our inner man… so that Christ will be able to make His home in our hearts…. Since our heart is the totality of all our inward parts and the center of our inward being, when Christ makes His home in our heart, He is able to control our entire inner being and supplies and strengthens every inward part with Himself.[In] chapter 4, we see that the strengthened spirit must become the renewing spirit in our mind. In 4:23 Paul says, “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”… The spirit here is the regenerated spirit of the believers mingled with the indwelling Spirit of God. Such a mingled spirit spreads into our mind and thereby becomes the spirit of our mind. It is in such a spirit that we are renewed for our transformation (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18). Our strengthened spirit is the means for our entire being to be renewed. When our spirit has become strong, it will spread into our mind and cause it to be renewed. When our spirit renews our mind, it proceeds to renew our emotion and our will. By such a renewing spirit the church has the proper living as the one new man.
As we walk according to the spirit of our mind, we are renewed. To be renewed is not to be adjusted, corrected, or improved in a mere outward way. It is to have a new element, the divine element, wrought into us. This means that in the church life we should not care for outward correction or adjustment; we should care for inward renewing. If we would be renewed, we need to put off the old man and put on the new man. Notice that Paul does not say that we should try to improve the old man. Many saints do not have the intention of putting off the old man and of putting on the new man. Instead, their intention is to improve themselves, even to perfect themselves. They may try to adjust themselves in order to adapt to the church life. This is a mistake. In the genuine church life there is no adjustment or correction; there is simply the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new man. Actually, this putting off and putting on is the renewing.
For something to be renewed means that the old element is replaced by a new element. Our spirit is a renewing spirit because it is indwelt by the living Christ as the renewing element. Because we have the element of newness in our spirit, we can be renewed in the spirit of the mind as the renewing spirit spreads into our mind. The more we turn to the spirit of the mind and walk in the spirit of the mind, the more our mind will be renewed. Then in a practical way the old element is replaced by the new element. In this way we put off the old man and put on the new man. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 785-786, 789-790)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 47, 94; Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 37, 58-59