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In the foregoing message we saw that the new man was created by Christ in Himself on the cross by His abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances. In this message we shall first see that the new man was created according to God and in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Then we shall go on to consider other aspects of the church as the new man.
Ephesians 4:24 says, “And have put on the new man, which according to God was created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” The old man was created according to the image of God outwardly without God’s life and nature (Gen. 1:26-27). But the new man was created according to God Himself inwardly, with God’s life and nature.
Actually, for the new man to be created according to God is for the new man to be created according to God’s image. To be created “according to God” means to be created according to the image of God.
Because the new man has been created in Christ and with Christ according to God, the new man bears the image of God. Eventually, the new man will bear the image of God in holiness and righteousness of the reality.
Ephesians 4:24 tells us that the new man was created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Righteousness is being right with God and with man according to God’s righteous way; the denotation of the word “holiness” here in Greek, different from that of the word “holy” in Romans 1:2, is being godly and devout before God. Righteousness is mainly toward men, and holiness mainly toward God.
Righteousness and holiness here refer to the two main characteristics of the life of Jesus in His humanity as indicated in verse 21. The new man is created according to God in both of these aspects.
The righteousness and holiness of the new man are of “the truth.” The article before “truth” in verse 24 is emphatic. As the deceit in verse 22, related to the old man, is the personification of Satan, so truth here, related to the new man, is the personification of God. This truth was exhibited in the life of Jesus, as mentioned in verse 21. In the life of Jesus righteousness and holiness of truth were always being manifested. It was in the righteousness and holiness of this truth, which is God realized and expressed, that the new man was created.
Dean Alford says that in 4:24 truth denotes the essence of God, for God is truth. This is in contrast to the lusts of the deceit mentioned in verse 22. Deceit is the essence of Satan, who is a liar, but truth is the essence of God, who is truth. Thus, the lusts are of Satan, who is the deceit, whereas righteousness and holiness are of God, who is the truth. M. R. Vincent points out that in these verses deceit and truth should be personified. The new man is created according to God in righteousness and holiness, two aspects of God’s essence.
Righteousness, holiness, and the truth in 4:24 are actually God Himself. All these are embodied in Christ. Therefore, righteousness is Christ, holiness is Christ, and the truth is Christ. When Christ created the new man on the cross through His death, He did this according to God in Himself as righteousness, holiness, and the truth. This is marvelous. In the present age we cannot exhaust the experience of Christ as righteousness, holiness, and the truth. When we are in the New Jerusalem, however, we shall realize and understand how Christ created us into the new man through His cross according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth. We shall understand that all these are attributes of Christ. Christ created us according to God in Himself as all these attributes. He is the model, the mold. In His work of creation on the cross, He molded us in Himself. As a result, we shall bear His image; that is, we shall bear His righteousness, holiness, and the truth.
Whereas Ephesians 4:24 says that the new man was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth, Colossians 3:10 says that the new man is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. The image of Christ in Colossians 3:10 is the righteousness and holiness of the truth in Ephesians 4:24. Christ is the image of God and the embodiment of God (Col. 1:15; 2:9). When He was on earth, He was a man who was righteous and holy and full of love and light. This was God’s image expressed in the Man Jesus. Today the church as the new man bears the image of God; that is, the new man bears God’s righteousness and holiness and also His love and light.
The new man is of the two peoples — the Jews and the Gentiles. This is the reason Paul in Ephesians 2:15 speaks of Christ’s creating “the two in Himself into one new man.” The word “two” in this verse refers to the Jewish and the Gentile believers.
Ephesians 2:16 says, “And might reconcile both in one Body to God through the cross, slaying the enmity by it.” The word “both” refers to the Jews and the Gentiles. Not only the uncircumcised Gentiles but also the circumcised Jews needed reconciliation to God through the redemption of Christ accomplished on His cross.
Originally, we were not only sinners but also enemies of God. Enmity is the greatest problem between man and God. Through the redeeming death of Christ, God has justified us, the sinners, and has reconciled us, His enemies, to Himself. We were reconciled to God when we believed in the Lord Jesus. By faith we have received God’s reconciliation.
Ephesians 2:16 says that the Jews and the Gentiles have been reconciled in one Body. This one Body, the church (1:22-23), is the one new man in the previous verse. It was in this Body that both the Jews and the Gentiles were reconciled to God through the cross. We, the believers, both Jews and Gentiles, were reconciled not only for the Body of Christ but also in the Body of Christ.
We usually regard reconciliation as an individual matter; we do not often think of corporate reconciliation. However, the proper and genuine reconciliation is in the Body. The Body is the instrument, the means, by which we were reconciled to God.
This corporate concept of reconciliation pervades the New Testament. Our concept, however, is that we were reconciled to God as individuals. But in the sight of God, we have been reconciled to Him in the one Body. The exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt is a clear picture of this. In Egypt the children of Israel were, in a sense, far off from God. After they were brought out of Egypt and had passed through the Red Sea together, at Mount Sinai they were reconciled to God as one congregation, not as individuals. That was a type of our being reconciled to God in the one Body. We need to have this corporate concept. Instead of thinking that we have been reconciled individually, we need to see that we have been reconciled to God corporately in one Body.
Because the Jews and the Gentiles have been reconciled to God, they have been brought into peace. By Christ’s abolishing in His flesh the separating ordinances and creating the Jewish and Gentile believers into one new man, peace was made between all believers. For this reason, in Ephesians 2:15 Paul speaks of Christ’s “making peace.” Christ has abolished on the cross all the differences due to ordinances. In so doing, He has made peace for His Body. Now this peace should bind all believers together and thus become the uniting bond (Eph. 4:3).
Before Christ was crucified, there was no peace between the Jews and the Gentiles. According to 2:15, by Christ’s abolishing in His flesh the separating ordinances and creating the Jewish and Gentile believers into one new man, peace was made between all believers. Furthermore, on the cross, Christ dealt with all the negative things between us and God. This means that He also made peace between man and God. Now there is no longer a separation between the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers nor between us and God. However, at the time Ephesians was written, some of the Jewish believers still held the concept that they should be separate from the Gentile believers. For this reason, Paul said that the middle wall of partition has been broken down and that the Jewish and Gentile believers must be one. Otherwise, there can be no oneness, and without oneness there cannot be the one Body. If we would be brought into peace and stay in the peace, we need to realize that the differences between the Jews and the Gentiles have been abolished on the cross.
The new man equals the one Body. The new man, the Body, is of Christ. Hence, it is not individual but corporate (Col. 3:10-11).
The creating death of Christ created not the Body but the new man. The Body was formed in Christ’s resurrection and ascension. Eventually, however, the new man created by the creating death of Christ equals the Body formed in Christ’s resurrection and ascension. Ephesians 2:16 clearly indicates that the new man created out of two collective peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles, is the Body of Christ. Hence, the new man and the Body are synonymous terms and may be used interchangeably.
The fact that the new man is the Body and that the Body is the new man is a strong indication that the new man is not an individual entity but a corporate entity. Therefore, it is a serious mistake for some versions of the Bible to speak of putting on the new self. The New American Standard Version makes this very error in Ephesians 4:24 by adopting the rendering “put on the new self.” The Greek word does not mean self; it means man. According to Ephesians 4:24, what we have put on is the new man, not the new self.
In the church as the new man there is no room for Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian and Scythian, slave and freeman. After referring to the new man in Colossians 3:10, Paul goes on to say in verse 11a, “Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman.” The word “where,” referring to the new man in verse 10, means in the new man. There is no natural person in the new man. Furthermore, there is no possibility, no room, for any natural person.
M. R. Vincent says that in the Greek language the words translated “cannot be” are very strong and mean that there is no possibility. In the new man there cannot be Greeks, who are for philosophical wisdom, and Jews, who are for miraculous signs (1 Cor. 1:22). There cannot be circumcision and uncircumcision. Circumcision refers to the observers of the Jewish religious rituals; uncircumcision refers to those who do not care for the Jewish religion. Furthermore, in the new man there cannot be barbarian, Scythian, slave, or freeman. A barbarian is an uncultured person, the Scythians were considered the most barbarous people, the slaves were those sold into slavery, and the freemen were those who had been freed from slavery. No matter what kind of person we may be, as far as the new man is concerned, we must regard ourselves as nobodies. In the new man there is room only for Christ, not for any kind of natural person.
In saying that there cannot be any natural person in the new man, Paul in verse 11 is very strong. It is a great mistake, therefore, to translate the Greek here as “the new self,” as is done in the New American Standard Version. It is foolish to say that in the new self there is no Greek and Jew, no circumcision and uncircumcision. According to the context, the new man in Colossians 3:10 certainly does not denote the new self, for the new man is made up of believers from many different cultural backgrounds. This is not true of the so-called new self. No doubt, the new man here is a corporate man, the church, Christ’s Body. Although many different kinds of people make up the new man, all are part of Christ. They are no longer the natural person.
In Colossians 3:11 Paul says not only that in the new man there is no room for any natural person but that in the new man “Christ is all and in all.” In the new man there is room only for Christ. He is all the members of the new man, and He is in all the members. He is everything in the new man. This means that actually He is the new man.
The word “all” in verse 11 refers to all the members who make up the new man. Christ is all these members. Because Christ is all the members of the new man, there is no room in the new man for any race, nationality, culture, or social status. For us to experience the reality of Christ being all the members of the new man, we need to take Christ as our life and person and live Him, not ourselves. If Christ is the living of all the saints, all the members of the new man, then in reality only He will be in the new man. When all the saints, whatever their nationality may be, live Christ, then in a real and practical way Christ will be all the members of the new man.
In 3:11 Paul also says that Christ is in all. On the one hand, Christ is all the members of the new man; on the other hand, He is in all the members. It is very significant that Paul said both that Christ is all and that He is in all. If Paul did not say that Christ is in all, only that He is all, we may think that in the new man Christ is needed and that we are not needed. We should not think that, because Christ is all the members in the new man, we are nothing and are not needed. On the one hand, Paul does say that in the new man there is no place for the natural person because Christ is all the members. Nevertheless, he also says that Christ is in all the members. The fact that Christ is in all the members of the new man indicates that the members continue to exist.
When we take Christ as our life and person and live together with Him, we shall have the sense deep within that we are one with Christ and that Christ is us. However, simultaneously we shall also sense that Christ is in us. Therefore, it is true to say that Christ is both in us and that He is us. We are parts of the new man with Christ in us. We continue to exist, but we do not exist without Christ. Rather, we exist as those who are indwelt by Christ. This is what it means to say that in the new man Christ is everyone and that He is also in everyone. It is crucial for us to see that in the new man Christ is everyone and in everyone. In the new man there is nothing but Christ.
