B
In our experience we are in the process of becoming a new creation by being broken and renewed—5:17; 4:10-12, 16; Eph. 4:22-24:
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In the sense of being in Christ, we are a new creation, but in actuality in our daily life, we are not that new because we do not yet have Christ as the only One who occupies us, fills us, and is our life, nature, appearance, and expression—Gal. 2:20; 4:19; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 3:16-17.
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We have been regenerated, but still there is a mixture in our daily living because our living is partly the new creation and even more the old creation—2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 8:4, 14.
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Although our spirit has been regenerated, our soul with its faculties of mind, will, and emotion remains in the old creation and needs to be renewed—12:2; Eph. 4:23.
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The cross is the greatest help to accomplish the renewing for us—Matt. 16:24; 2 Cor. 4:10-12.
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To be renewed is to have God's ever-new essence dispensed into us to replace and discharge our old element—v. 16; Rom. 12:2; Titus 3:5.
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Through the process of renewing, we are transferred from the realm of the old creation into the realm of the new creation to become the New Jerusalem—Col. 3:10; Rev. 21:2.
Morning Nourishment
2 Cor. 5:17 So then if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, they have become new.Eph. 4:23 And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Anything created by God that does not have God in it as its life, nature, appearance, and expression is old, but anything that has God within it as its life, nature, appearance, and expression is a new creation. Before we were regenerated, we were the old creation. After we were regenerated, we became a new creation. To be regenerated is to be made a new creation [cf. 2 Cor. 5:17]…. In the sense of being in Christ, we are the new creation, but in actuality in our daily life, we are not that new because we do not have Christ as the only One who occupies us, who fills us up, and who is our life, nature, appearance, and expression. Even though we have been regenerated to be made a new creation, we are still the old creation most of the time according to our daily walk in actuality. Regardless of how long we have been in the Lord, we still keep our old habits. Sometimes we live in the spirit to live Christ, but most of the time we still live in our old habit, our old nature. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 2, “Being Renewed DAY by Day,” pp. 355-356)
Today’s Reading
We have God doctrinally, but we may lack God as our life and nature in our daily life. We may be slow in our disposition, but many times God’s nature is to do things immediately, especially in the meetings. We may be quiet in our nature, but God wants us to be a new creation to utter something in the meetings against our natural habit. God desires that we all be His new creation, having Him as our nature. He also wants us to express Him. God is our portion, but can we say that He is our new habit? We all have to be brought out of our old habit into taking God as our new habit.After we have been regenerated, we have God, but we do not have much of God. This is why Colossians 2:19 says that we need to grow with the growth of God, or increase with the increase of God. This means that we grow by the increase of God within us. If we have little increase of God, we grow little. If we have much increase of God, we grow much. When we have God in us to the fullest, we will have the full growth. God has to be increased within us. When God is increasing within us, His new element is being added into us. When the divine element comes into us, it renews us regardless of whether we are slow or quick in our natural disposition. As we are contacting God, God infuses Himself as the divine element into our being. This new element is added into our existing element. When this new element is added into us, something is worked out within us.
God desires to add Himself into our being, but He does not increase in us when we do not contact Him. We may go through a period of time in which we do not contact God or pray to Him. Instead, we are doing everything by ourselves and in ourselves. During this time, God is not added into our being, and we are not increasing with the increase of God. This is why we encourage all the saints to have morning watch. Our morning watch with the Lord is not just for us to exercise our mind to read the letter of the Bible, but it is for us to exercise our spirit. This is why we have to say “O Lord Jesus.” Our calling on the Lord is our spiritual breathing. We have to contact God by praying to Him and calling on Him. Then He adds Himself into us. When we contact Him, He is adding more and more of the divine element into our being. As the new element of God is being added into our being, this new element metabolically renews us. I may be a quick person naturally, but because God’s element comes into my being, this element renews my natural habit. I may be slow in my natural disposition, but God renews me with His element to discharge my old element. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 2, “Being Renewed DAY by Day,” pp. 356-358)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1989, vol. 2, “Being Renewed DAY by Day,” chs. 1-2; Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 47, 94