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In this message we shall begin to see that, through the experience of the dispensing of the divine Trinity, the believers have the highest standard of morality and virtues.
In the New Testament salvation is based on the principle of faith; it has nothing to do with the law. We all have been saved through faith, not through the keeping of the law. But after we are saved, we must live a life that has a standard of morality higher than that of the old law. We should not think that, just because God does not deal with us according to the principle of the law but according to the principle of faith, we should not care for the moral commandments of the law. On the contrary, after we have been saved, our standard of morality should be far higher than that of the requirements of the law.
It is important that we understand clearly what we mean by the highest standard of morality. In Genesis 1 we see that man was created in God’s image and according to God’s likeness. God is love and light. Love is the nature of God’s being, and light is the nature of God’s expression. Furthermore, God is holy and righteous. God is holy in His nature and righteous in His actions. These four attributes — love, light, holiness, and righteousness — are revealed in the law of God.
To say that man was created in the image of God means that man was created according to what God is. Man was created according to the God who is love and light and who is also holy and righteous. However, at the time of his creation man did not have God within him. For this reason, God placed the man created by Him in front of the tree of life. This indicates that it was necessary for the God-created man to take God into him as his life. If man had taken God into him as life, then the divine attributes of love, light, holiness, and righteousness would have come into man. The man created by God had only the appearance of God’s love, light, righteousness, and holiness. Man cannot have the reality of these attributes unless he receives God into him as life.
One day God Himself became a man named Jesus. This man was conceived of the divine essence and born of the human essence, the very essence God created in man. Therefore, the Lord Jesus, the God-man, was a composition of the divine essence with all the divine attributes and the human essence with all the human virtues. When He was on earth, He lived a life that was a composition of the divine attributes and the human virtues. This is the highest standard of morality.
When we speak of the highest standard of morality, we are not using the word “morality” in a traditional way. By morality we mean the standard of life God requires. The highest standard of morality is the living of the One — the Lord Jesus Christ — whose life was a composition of God with the divine attributes and man with the human virtues.
Although the man created by God failed to live a life in the highest standard of morality, the Lord Jesus lived such a life on earth with the attributes of God expressed in the virtues of man. God’s intention in His New Testament economy is that all the believers in Christ become a reproduction of Christ, the God-man. In order to become such a reproduction, we need to be reborn of the pneumatic Christ in our spirit (John 3:6), and then we need to be transformed gradually by the pneumatic Christ in our soul (2 Cor. 3:18). Then spontaneously we shall live Christ (Phil. 1:21), the God-man, by the bountiful supply of His Spirit (Phil. 1:19), taking His mind (Phil. 2:5) and shining the word of life as luminaries reflecting His brightness (Phil. 2:15b-16a). We shall also be found in Christ (Phil. 3:9) as our surpassing righteousness in the power of His resurrection. Then we shall express Him in all the human virtues created by God for man. With the divine attributes of the God-man these virtues are strengthened, enriched, uplifted, and filled. This is what it means for the believers, through the dispensing of the processed Triune God, to have the highest standard of morality and virtues.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God before prepared that we should walk in them.” The Greek word “workmanship” here may also be rendered “masterpiece.” The Greek word poiema means something which has been made, a handiwork, or something which has been written or composed as a poem. Poetry does not consist only of poetic writings; any work of art that expresses the maker’s wisdom and design may be considered a poem. We, the church, the masterpiece of God’s work, are the highest poetry, expressing God’s infinite wisdom and divine design.
As God’s workmanship, we have been “created in Christ Jesus.” This means that as the masterpiece of God’s work, we are an absolutely new item in the universe, something newly originated by God. We have been created by God in Christ through regeneration to be His new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
Furthermore, the believers who compose God’s masterpiece are absolutely new because they are the mingling of God and man. God’s masterpiece, His greatest workmanship, is the working of Himself into man and the constituting of man into oneness with Himself to produce the church.
As God’s masterpiece created in Christ Jesus through the mingling of God and man, we have been created in Christ “for good works, which God before prepared that we should walk in them.” The good works for which God created us are not merely the good things according to our general concept but the definite good things which God pre-planned and previously ordained for us to walk in. These good things include the doing of His will to live the church life and bear the testimony of Jesus, as revealed in the entire book of Ephesians. Therefore, we need to do God’s will, live the church life, and bear the testimony of Jesus. These are the good works prepared beforehand by God for us, His masterpiece, to walk in. According to Ephesians 2:4-10, we have been saved by grace to be God’s masterpiece that we may walk in the good works prepared before by God.
In Titus 2:14 Paul tells us that Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all lawlessness and purify to Himself a people for His own possession, zealous of good works.” The words “for us” here mean on our behalf. They do not mean instead of us. To redeem means to buy with a price (1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 Tim. 2:6). Christ gave Himself for us not only that He might redeem us from all lawlessness but also that He might purify to Himself a people for His own possession. A people for His possession are a peculiar people. This expression is borrowed from the Old Testament (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18) and denotes a people privately possessed by God as His peculiar treasure (Exo. 19:5), His own possession (1 Pet. 2:9). As such a people, we should be zealous of good works. We, the believers in Christ, have been created in Christ for good works and redeemed by Christ to be His people, zealous of good works.
Now we need to see that, in order to have the highest standard of morality and virtues, we need to be regulated by four governing principles.
First Corinthians 6:12a says, “All things are lawful to me, but not all things are expedient.” The Greek word rendered “lawful” here literally means “under my power of choice to do”; hence, permissible, allowable, lawful. The word for “expedient” means profitable (not merely convenient), advantageous, good, worthwhile. This Greek word means profitable, economical, convenient, helpful in reaching the goal quickly. It also refers to things that are good. Here Paul’s thought may be that all things are lawful but not all things help us to remain in the central lane of God’s economy. All things are lawful, but not all things help us in bearing the cross or are profitable in experiencing Christ.
If we would understand Paul’s use of the word expedient here, we need to have a proper realization concerning the book of 1 Corinthians as a whole. All things are lawful to us, but not all things help us to gain the profit revealed in this Epistle. Not all things help us to live the Body life. Yes, you may be free to do certain things, but those things will not help you in the church life, and they will not strengthen your prayer life. If we apply what Paul says in 6:12a according to the context of the entire book of 1 Corinthians, we shall see that Paul’s word here is all-inclusive. Paul is saying that all things are lawful to us, but not all things are good, profitable, convenient, or economical for us to live the Christian life, the church life, and the Body life.
In 1 Corinthians 6:12b Paul says, “All things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of anything.” In verse 12 Paul twice says, “All things are lawful to me.” The first use of these words is somewhat objective; the second use is very subjective.
Literally the Greek words rendered “be brought under the power of” mean to be brought under the authority of. All things are under my power, but I will not be brought under the power (authority) of anything. All things are permissible, allowable, lawful, to me, but I will not be ruled (enslaved) or brought under the authority, the control, of any.
When we consider whether or not to do a certain thing, we should ask if we are under the power or control of that thing. If a particular thing controls us or has power over us, we should not do it. For example, we may wonder if we should eat certain foods. It may be all right to eat those foods, but they should not have any power over us. We must fully deal with anything that has power over us.
First Corinthians 10:23b says, “All things are lawful, but not all things build up.” The parallel verse, 6:12, ends with not being under the power of anything. This verse ends with not building up. The former concerns ourselves; the latter concerns others. In 6:12 Paul’s concern is personal, but in 10:23 it is corporate. In 10:23 the words “build up” refer not only to the edification of individual believers but also to the building up of the corporate Body of Christ (1 Cor. 14:4-5, 12; Eph. 4:16). First Corinthians emphasizes the matter of building up (3:9-10, 12; 8:1).
In all that we do we must take care of things, ourselves, and others. Concerning things, everything we do must be a profit. Concerning ourselves, everything we do should not be a bondage, a slavery, to us. Concerning others, anything we do must build up others.
First Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether therefore you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Glory is the expression of God, God expressed in splendor. Whatever we do must be to the glory of God, that is, to God’s expression. This means that, in particular, we need to glorify God in our body (1 Cor. 6:20b). To glorify God in our body is to let God who dwells in us (1 John 4:13) occupy and saturate our body and express Himself through our body as His temple, especially in the two matters of eating and marriage, according to the context of 1 Corinthians from 6:13 through 11:1. For this, we need to exercise a severe and strict control over our body, bringing it into subjection (9:27) and presenting it to God as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1).
In 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23 and 31 we have four basic principles for regulating the conduct of the New Testament believers. First, all things are lawful to the believers, but all the things they do must be expedient. This means that the things must be profitable, that is, not causing the suffering of any loss. Second, the believers must not be brought under the power, the control, the authority, of anything. Third, all things the believers do must build up others. Fourth, whatever the believers do, they must do to the glory of God. Otherwise, nothing is permissible or acceptable. If a certain matter does not pass the test of these four principles, we should not do it.
As believers in Christ, we are free, for we are not under law. Nevertheless we still need to be regulated by the four governing principles. Concerning any particular matter, we need to consider if that thing is profitable, if it has power over us, if it builds up others, and if it glorifies God. In practice, we may find it very difficult to live according to these principles. This is why we need the dispensing of the processed Triune God. To live according to these principles is to take the narrow way that leads to life (Matt. 7:14). In order to walk this narrow way we need Christ. Therefore, we need to learn to take Christ and apply Him to every situation. Because it is difficult for us to be released from our habits, we need the Triune God, and we need His dispensing.
