(2)
Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 4:10-18
In 4:10 Paul says, “Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be manifested in our body.” In this verse Paul speaks of “the putting to death of Jesus.” Why does he use this expression here? To answer this question, we need to consider once again who Jesus is.
The origin, the source, of the man Jesus is God. Jesus is God incarnate, God conceived in a virgin’s womb. Outwardly, Jesus is a man, but inwardly He is God. Thus, Jesus is not simple. This Nazarene is a wonderful person. When He was on earth, outwardly He was lowly in every respect. He was born in a manger, and He grew up in the home of a poor carpenter in the despised town of Nazareth. Nevertheless, inwardly Jesus was glorious, for the most high God was in Him. Outwardly Jesus was a lowly man; inwardly He was the most high God. Truly Jesus is wonderful.
Now we must go on to see something concerning the death of Jesus. When many Christians mention the death of Christ, their understanding is limited to redemption. According to their concept, the death of Jesus was only for redemption. Often they quote the verse which says, “Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). It is absolutely true that the death of Christ was for redemption. We believe this just as much as other Christians do, if not more. However, redemption is just one aspect of Christ’s death. His death also has many other aspects.
In 2 Corinthians 4 we see the aspect not of redemption and not of the imparting of life, but of destroying, consuming. According to this chapter, the death of Jesus is for the consuming, the wearing out, of our outward man. For this reason, Paul says in 4:16 that “our outward man is decaying.”
Although the man Jesus was God incarnate, God becoming a man, it was necessary even for His outward man to be consumed. According to the outward condition, the Lord Jesus was lowly. But in a spiritual sense, the Lord Jesus was not an insignificant man. On the contrary, Jesus equaled the entire old creation. When He was crucified, it was not only a man from Nazareth who died on the cross. When Jesus was crucified, the entire old creation, including all of us, was crucified also. The Lord Jesus died for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, not merely for the accomplishment of redemption.
The first goal in God’s eternal purpose is to terminate the old creation. The Lord Jesus, as God becoming man, was part of the old creation. It was not through incarnation that He became a man in the new creation. Rather, through incarnation He became a man in the old creation, a man who needed to be consumed.
At the age of thirty the Lord Jesus came forth to minister. During the three and a half years of His ministry, He was constantly being put to death. As a mature man of thirty, He was continually under the process of killing. Do not think that Jesus was crucified only for the six hours He was on a material cross. No, for at least three and a half years He was crucified daily. Every day He lived a crucified life.
The Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross daily. Sometimes He was crucified by His mother. Other times He was crucified by Peter or some other disciple. Jesus was nailed to the cross even by His disciples’ love. For example, the more Peter loved the Lord Jesus, the more he crucified Him. Thus, before He was literally crucified by the Romans, Jesus had been repeatedly crucified by His mother, His brothers, and His disciples. In John 7 we have an example of the Lord’s being crucified by His brothers.
Actually, during the three and a half years of His ministry the Lord Jesus was not mainly living — He was dying. He was living a crucified life. This is what Paul means by the putting to death of Jesus. It is a slow, gradual, and continual crucifixion.
Now we can understand that the Lord Jesus was crucified not only during the six hours He was on a literal cross. For at least three and a half years, He was crucified continually, gradually, and slowly. In the words of Paul, this gradual crucifixion is the putting to death of Jesus.
The apostles were appointed by the Lord to be His followers. They were appointed by Him not to do a great work, but to live a certain kind of life. Therefore, they were not to accomplish a work by following a Christ who was great outwardly. They were to follow the man Jesus to live the life of this small man. This is not a life that is welcomed; it is a life that is rejected, a life that is always crucified, always put to death. Jesus lived this kind of life, and His followers, the apostles, did also. This is the reason Paul says that they were always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus.
To follow Jesus of Nazareth is to be killed; it is not to accomplish a great work. Moreover, to be martyred in an instant is rather easy. But to be killed gradually, slowly, and constantly is extremely difficult. To die gradually involves more suffering than being martyred instantly. For at least three and a half years the Lord Jesus was gradually put to death. This was also Paul’s experience for an extended period of time. Wherever he went, he experienced in his body the putting to death of Jesus. Referring to this in 1 Corinthians 15:31 he says, “Daily I die.” Here Paul seems to be saying, “Instead of living, I am actually dying day by day. I am undergoing a slow, gradual, and continual killing.” This continual killing is what Paul means by the putting to death of Jesus.
The putting to death of Jesus is for consuming the old creation in us. When Jesus, the Son of God, became a man, He had both an outward part signifying the old creation and an inward part signifying the everlasting God. The outward part was consumed, put to death, but the inward part was raised up, resurrected. This was true of the Lord Jesus, it was true of the apostles, and it is also true of all the believers.
Through our natural birth we became persons of the old creation, and through regeneration we have become persons of the new creation. As regenerated ones, we still have an outward part signifying the old creation. This part needs to be consumed, done away, worn out. But at the same time we have an inward part signifying the everlasting God. This part should be developed, resurrected, and renewed.
The putting to death of Jesus is related to the outward man, which needs to be consumed. As genuine believers, we all have a part of our being which Paul describes as the outward man. This outward man is decaying; it is being consumed, being wasted away, being worn out. This wearing out of the outward man is the putting to death of Jesus. Hence, the putting to death of Jesus is actually a synonym for the consuming of the outward man. In the Lord’s recovery we are experiencing the putting to death of Jesus for the consuming of the outward man. We are undergoing a process of killing, a process of putting to death the outward man.
Suppose a certain young brother is very intelligent. In many Christian groups such an intelligent young man might be admired and even exalted. However, in the church life in the Lord’s recovery, instead of being enthroned, he will experience the putting to death of Jesus. In the recovery it seems that the smarter a person is, the more he is nailed to the cross.
This crucifying work is often accomplished by the Lord through those around us, particularly those in our family life. For example, before a young sister came into the church life, it may have been seldom that her husband gave her a difficult time. Now that she is in the recovery, it seems that her husband is quite difficult. This sister should not blame her husband. The almighty Lord on the throne is using this sister’s husband to consume her old creation, her outward man. It seems that the Lord has given him the assignment of carrying out the work of nailing his wife to the cross. The sister may weep and cry out to the Lord, telling Him that she cannot bear this. However, there will be much more of this crucifying work to come, and the sister needs to be ready for it. The Lord may use her husband to drive in one nail, but He may use the brothers and sisters, even the elders, in the church, to drive in many more nails. Then the sister may say, “I cannot tolerate the situation with my husband or with the church. Why are the elders giving me such a difficult time?” The reason is that the Lord is using different persons to nail this sister to the cross, that is, to consume her outward man.
When some saints are not happy with the church in their locality, they may want to move elsewhere. Because the saints are nailing them to the cross, putting them to death, they would like to go to a church where they think the situation would be different. Actually, if they move for the purpose of avoiding the putting to death of Jesus, they may experience even more of this in a different locality.
If you are not able to get through with the church in one locality, this indicates that you cannot get through in any local church. Instead of moving from one place to another, simply stay where you are and allow the saints to put you to death.
Furthermore, weeping over your situation is an indication that you have not yet been crucified. A dead person sheds no tears. If you are still crying about the experience of being consumed, this indicates that you need more of the putting to death of Jesus. Remain where you are until you have been fully crucified.
When some hear this word concerning the putting to death of Jesus, they may say, “Oh, what a terrible destiny is ours in the Lord’s recovery! We are being crucified, consumed, put to death.” The putting to death of Jesus may be our destiny, but it is not our destination. Our destination is resurrection. Those who are not willing to be crucified may suffer. But those who are willing to be crucified will experience joy. They will rejoice in resurrection.
In 4:14 Paul makes it clear that our destination is resurrection: “Knowing that He Who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will present us with you.” Here Paul does not speak of being buried with Jesus or crucified with Jesus, but of being raised, resurrected, with Jesus. This is a victorious declaration. It indicates that our destination is resurrection.
The church life in the Lord’s recovery may seem to be an altar, a place of slaughter. Actually the church life is an enjoyment in resurrection. From the very moment you become willing to be crucified, you may have this rejoicing in resurrection. Then you may regret the fact that in the past you refused to be nailed to the cross. You may say to yourself, “If I had been willing to receive more nails, how much more joy I would have today!” Since our destination is resurrection, we should not weep because we are being put to death. Instead, with a strong spirit we should rejoice in resurrection.
Second Corinthians 4:13 says, “And having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, therefore I spoke; we also believe, therefore also we speak.” The spirit here is the mingled spirit, the divine Spirit mingled with the regenerated human spirit.
In their comments on this verse, both Alford and Vincent spoke concerning the mingled spirit, but their speaking was somewhat vague. Alford said, “Not distinctly the Holy Spirit, — but still not merely a human disposition: the indwelling Holy Spirit penetrates and characterizes the whole renewed man.” On the one hand, Alford speaks of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, he indicates that something human, signified by the word disposition, is also involved. Actually, what Alford was referring to was the human spirit. Vincent says, “Spirit of faith: not distinctly the Holy Spirit, nor, on the other hand, a human faculty or disposition, but blending both.” Vincent’s remarks are an improvement upon those of Alford. The word faculty is certainly an improvement over disposition. Furthermore, Vincent speaks of a blending of the Spirit with a particular human faculty. This blending is actually the mingling of the Holy Spirit with our human spirit.
Today we have a more clear and definite utterance. We do not need to use the word disposition or faculty to describe the spirit of faith in 4:13, for we know that this spirit is our spirit mingled with the Holy Spirit. We must exercise such a spirit to believe and speak, as the psalmist did (Psa. 116:10), the things we have experienced of the Lord, especially His death and resurrection. Faith is in our spirit, which is mingled with the Holy Spirit, not in our mind. Doubts are in our mind. The spirit here indicates that it is by the mingled spirit that the apostles lived a crucified life in resurrection for carrying out their ministry.
