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The renewing of the new man depends on our seeking the things which are above—Col. 3:1-2; Eph. 2:5-6:
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To seek the things which are above is to respond to and reflect Christ’s activities in His heavenly ministry—Heb. 2:17; 4:14; 7:26; 8:1-2; Rev. 5:6; Col. 3:1-2:
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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:
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Our spirit is the receiving end of the divine transmission, whereas the throne of God in heaven is the transmitting end—Rev. 5:6.
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By turning to our spirit, we are lifted into heaven; because of the transmission from the throne of God in heaven into our spirit, when we experience and enjoy Christ here on earth, we are simultaneously in heaven—4:1-2.
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In His heavenly ministry Christ is shepherding people, and we need to cooperate with Him by shepherding people; if this fellowship is received by us, there will be a big revival on the earth to bring the Lord back—1 Pet. 5:1-4; cf. Matt. 9:36; 10:1-6; John 21:15-17; 1 Pet. 2:25; Heb. 13:20.
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If we turn to the heavenly Christ with all His activities and set our mind on these things, the renewing of the new man will take place spontaneously—8:1-2; 12:2; Col. 3:2.
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This consummates God’s intention in making the believers the new man as the new creation to consummate in the New Jerusalem; the new man as the masterpiece of God’s work is an absolutely new item in the universe, a new invention of God—vv. 10-11; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15-17; Eph. 2:10, 15.
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God’s goal is to have the one new man that ultimately will consummate in the New Jerusalem, which will be the final consummation of the one new man.
Morning Nourishment
Col. 3:1-2 If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things which are above, not on the things which are on the earth.Colossians 3:1 indicates clearly that we have one position with Christ. How could we seek the things which are above if we were not above also?
The way to seek the things which are above is to turn to the spirit and call on the name of the Lord. 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)…. Because of the transmission from the throne of God in heaven into our spirit, when we enjoy the Lord here on earth, we are simultaneously in heaven. Then in our experience we are in Christ, in the Father, and in heaven. Then in the spirit we are one in position with Christ, seeking the things which are above. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3604)
Today’s Reading
Speaking for the Lord, speaking forth the Lord, and speaking the Lord into others is for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. With only one man speaking and the rest listening, a congregation can be built up, but the Body of Christ as an organism can never be built up…. For us to come together to build up the Body of Christ organically, the practice of one man speaking and the rest listening is not prevailing. All the members need to speak for the Body of Christ to be built up. One saint can speak for two minutes, another for five minutes, and another for three minutes.Suppose that…two hundred meet together for ninety minutes, and everyone bears the responsibility to have something to speak for the Lord. If each one speaks for three minutes, thirty saints will be able to speak. This will be a refreshing meeting. Whenever a new one speaks, his speaking is especially fresh and refreshing. Everyone will say Amen to his speaking. To build every part of the Body of Christ, we all need to rise up to speak for the Lord.
Our church meetings should be a feast of the riches of Christ. When we are invited to a feast, we do not partake of only one dish…. If we had many kinds of dishes in a meeting, how wonderful that would be! None of us would get bored of such a meeting. Our meetings need to be feasts full of enjoyment.
A meeting in which all the saints are speaking for the Lord is full of nourishing, cherishing, adjusting, and correcting. A brother may be in the meeting who has a habit that is not so fitting for the church life. With only one person speaking and the rest listening, a message may never be given that touches this brother’s habit. But if twenty or thirty saints speak in the meeting, eventually someone will speak something that touches this brother’s habit. Because many portions are presented in the meeting, many things can be touched. In such a meeting, the saints get corrected without anyone knowing. Furthermore, the saints get built up, supplied, furnished, and equipped. This is why the apostle Paul had the burden to stress prophesying.
In building up the Body of Christ, you are not excelling if you do not prophesy. Prophesying is the excelling gift for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Our prophesying is so that “all may learn” (1 Cor. 14:31). If we do not learn first, how can we say something for others to learn?… We learn to prophesy through experiences, by being equipped with the Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17), by praying unceasingly (1 Thes. 5:17-20), by praying ourselves into the Spirit, by living and walking by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25), and by practicing. If we do these things, we will learn to speak in a particular way for the Lord. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “The Excelling Gift for the Building Up of the Church, ” pp. 449-452)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 31, 75-76, 357; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John, ” ch. 13; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups, ” chs. 4, 11