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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 verse 16 Paul goes on to say, “Wherefore we do not lose heart, but if indeed our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is being renewed day by day.” The experience of the putting to death of Jesus results in the renewing of the inward man.
What is the inward man? It is difficult to explain what the inward man is. For more than forty years I have been considering and studying the meaning of the outward man and the inward man in 4:16. Some writings have said that the outward man denotes our natural man and that the inward man denotes our spiritual man. I do not say that this understanding is wrong; however, it is somewhat vague.
If you consider the context of this chapter, the outward man primarily means the physical body. In verse 10 Paul speaks of “bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus,” and in verse 11 he mentions the mortal flesh. Bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus is equal to the consuming, the wasting away, of the outward man. Therefore, the outward man in verse 16 must mainly refer to the body.
Likewise, the inward man in this verse must refer to our regenerated spirit, as indicated in verse 13, where Paul uses the expression “the same spirit of faith.” As we have pointed out, the spirit here is the mingled spirit, the regenerated human spirit mingled with the Holy Spirit. The body is to be consumed, but the regenerated spirit is to be renewed day by day. According to the context, the outward man is mainly the body, and the inward man is mainly the regenerated spirit.
The outward man includes our body and our soul, with the body as its organ and the soul as its life and person. The inward man includes our regenerated spirit and our renewed soul with the regenerated spirit as its life and person and the renewed soul as its organ. The life of the soul must be denied (Matt. 16:24-25), but the functions of the soul, the mind, will, and emotion, must be renewed and uplifted by being subdued (2 Cor. 10:4-5) to be used by the spirit, which is the person of the inward man.
According to Paul’s word in verse 16, the outward man is being consumed, being wasted away, being worn out. By the continued killing, the working of death, our outward man, that is, our material body with its animating soul (1 Cor. 15:44), is being consumed and worn out. The outward man, with the body as its organ and the soulish life as its life and person, must be consumed.
We all have an outward man. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He too had an outward man. His outward man needed to be consumed.
In verse 16 Paul also says that our inward man is being renewed day by day. This renewing of the inward man takes place as the inward man is nourished with the fresh supply of resurrection life. As our mortal body, our outward man, is being consumed by the killing work of death, our inward man, that is, our regenerated spirit with the inward parts of our being (Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:10; Rom. 7:22, 25), is being metabolically renewed day by day with the supply of resurrection life. As the inward man is renewed, the functions of the soul — the mind, the emotion, and the will — are also renewed.
Let us now apply this matter to our daily living, especially to our family life and church life. Suppose a young brother and sister in the church life get married. The brother is strong, healthy, intelligent, and energetic. It will not take very long for the sister to discover that her husband is a strong person with a strong natural life. His outward man is composed of his energetic body and his strong soul. This outward man must experience the putting to death of Jesus. The Lord will use this brother’s wife to consume his outward man. At the same time, He will use the brother to consume the sister’s outward man.
The outward man does not deserve to be edified, strengthened, exalted, or enthroned. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He did not need to have His outward man enthroned. On the contrary, what He needed was for the outward man to be put to death. Because we all have a strong outward man, we need to experience the putting to death of Jesus.
In the church life I have discovered that the outward man of the sisters is even stronger than that of the brothers. For this reason, it is usually much more difficult for a sister to be put on the cross than it is for a brother. It seems that more nails are required in the case of sisters. The outward man of the brothers can be compared to glass, but the outward man of the sisters can be compared to rubber. It is much easier to break glass than it is to break rubber. But whether our outward man is like glass or rubber, none of us is easily broken. It seems that certain saints need a crucifixion that is everlasting, since their outward man is so enduring. Some brothers and sisters have been in the church life for twenty years, and still their outward man has not been broken. They do not have any intention of being broken. It seems that they are always able to avoid being put on the cross.
The more we experience the consuming, the putting to death, of the outward man, the more our inward man is renewed. Our regenerated spirit with our renewed mind, emotion, and will needs to be resurrected, developed, enlarged, and refreshed. Therefore, as the outward man is being consumed, the inward man is being resurrected, renewed, and developed.
The life that can carry out the ministry of the new covenant is a life of having the outward man put to death and the inward man renewed and resurrected. Actually this kind of life is the new covenant ministry. This life and this ministry are needed for the Lord’s recovery today. Only this kind of ministry can impart life to others, can minister Christ to others as the life-giving Spirit and as righteousness. Gifts, ability, energetic activity, diligent works — none of this avails. The only thing needed is a crucified life, the life with the outward man continually experiencing the putting to death of Jesus so that the inward parts of our being may rise up, be refreshed, and be developed.
I hope that we all shall be impressed with the fact that the new covenant ministry is not a matter of talent or ability. This ministry is altogether a matter of life. In this kind of life the natural being is put to death so that the spiritual being may be resurrected, renewed, and developed. This life is needed in a crucial way for the Lord’s recovery today.
In the foregoing messages and in this message we have had much to say concerning the putting to death of Jesus. I am deeply concerned that some of the saints may have a mistaken understanding regarding this matter. They may think that every kind of suffering is an experiencing of the putting to death of Jesus. When they sing a hymn such as “Each Blow I Suffer” (Hymns, #626), they may not have the proper understanding either of this hymn or of what Paul means by the putting to death of Jesus. Therefore, in order to avoid misunderstanding, I wish to point out that not all of the sufferings experienced by Christians are of the same category. Actually there are at least three kinds of sufferings Christians may experience. Let us now consider these categories.
The first kind of suffering is that which is common to all human beings. Christians, of course, are not the only ones who suffer. Everyone suffers. Suffering is universal because of the fall of man. Due to the fall, creation has become old. This is a very negative condition, for oldness in creation indicates that creation is fallen, corrupt, and decaying. With the old creation and fallen man, there are a great many calamities and illnesses. Because we live in the fallen, old creation, we are subject to disease. Someone may contract tuberculosis. Someone else may develop cancer. We should not think that a person becomes a victim of diseases such as these because he is evil. No, sickness is one of the calamities common in this fallen universe. Believers and unbelievers are human beings, and as human beings we cannot avoid calamities.
When some hear this word about illness and calamity, they may say, “Doesn’t God protect us?” Yes, God does protect us. Nevertheless, when a calamity strikes, everyone, believer and unbeliever alike, may suffer.
This first kind of suffering is surely not what Paul means by the putting to death of Jesus. Do not apply the suffering caused by calamities in the old creation to the putting to death of Jesus in 2 Corinthians 4. If you apply the putting to death of Jesus in this way, then all unbelievers experience the putting to death of Jesus, for they also suffer from illness and calamity. It is a serious mistake to understand the putting to death of Jesus to mean the sufferings common to everyone because of calamities in the old creation.
The second kind of suffering Christians experience is suffering that comes from sins and mistakes. If we are careless or foolish in the exercise of our responsibilities, we may suffer a certain kind of loss. For example, a brother may have a job that requires him to be at work at a certain time. However, he may consistently come to work quite late. As a result, he is fired from his job. This may be regarded as a kind of suffering. But it is a suffering that results from carelessness. Should a brother lose his job for such a reason, he should not say that this suffering is the putting to death of Jesus. This suffering has nothing at all to do with the putting to death of Jesus. It comes from the failure to fulfill one’s responsibility.
In 4:10 Paul speaks of the putting to death of Jesus. Then in verse 11 he says, “For we who live are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake.” I would call your attention to the words “for Jesus’ sake.” The putting to death of Jesus in verse 10 is used interchangeably with being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake in verse 11. This means that the putting to death of Jesus involves suffering that is for Jesus’ sake. A brother who loses his job because of carelessness and irresponsibility does not get fired for Jesus’ sake. He should not ascribe this to Jesus. He was fired for the sake of his carelessness. It would absolutely not be fair to regard that kind of suffering as the putting to death of Jesus, as suffering for Jesus’ sake. Suffering because of sins or mistakes is not the experience of the putting to death of Jesus.
To make this matter even more clear, let us use another illustration. Suppose you do not lock the door of your house when you leave home for the church meeting. In fact, you even forget to close the door. While you are in the meeting, someone enters your home, steals many things, and causes a great deal of damage. When you survey the damage and the loss, you should not say, “Praise the Lord, this is an experience of the putting to death of Jesus.” Once again, that kind of suffering and loss is not the putting to death of Jesus. You should not ascribe that kind of loss to Jesus, or think that you are experiencing the putting to death of Jesus. When you suffer purely for Jesus’ sake and for the sake of the church, the Body, that is the putting to death of Jesus.
When we sing a hymn such as “Each Blow I Suffer,” we need to be careful not to unconsciously bring in asceticism. Asceticism involves gradual suicide, a slow, steady self-killing like that described in the book The Imitation of Christ. That book contains a strong element of asceticism. When those who practice asceticism talk about bearing the cross, they are actually talking about self-killing. We should not have an ascetic concept when we sing the hymn “Each Blow I Suffer.” Actually, to sing this hymn in relation to the putting to death of Jesus may indicate that our understanding of the putting to death of Jesus is not accurate. The putting to death of Jesus is not a matter of common suffering. In fact, to cause us to suffer is not the purpose of the putting to death of Jesus; it is to consume our outward man.
The third category of suffering experienced by Christians is the putting to death of Jesus. Paul did not experience this because he was wrong. On the contrary, he was right in every way. Nevertheless, he was afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and cast down. But all this was for the sake of Jesus, for the sake of the Body, and for the sake of the new covenant ministry.
Paul and the other apostles were not wrong, and these particular sufferings were not related to any mistakes of theirs. But they still had the outward man, and this outward man needed to be consumed.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He did not make any mistakes, and He was not wrong in anything. But He had an outward man that needed to be consumed. Therefore, the putting to death of Jesus is not punishment, correction, or discipline. These are related to the second category of Christian suffering. To correct us, punish us, or discipline us is not the goal of the putting to death of Jesus. Neither is it a matter of natural calamities. Instead, it is a kind of persecution, operation, or dealing that comes upon us to consume our natural man, our outward man, our flesh, so that our inward man may have the opportunity to develop and be renewed.
