In the foregoing message we saw that the believers enjoy the dispensing of the divine Trinity in the divine transformation for the divine conformation by being filled in their spirit with the processed Triune God and letting the word of Christ dwell in them richly (Eph. 5:18b; Col. 3:16a). In this message we shall consider two aspects of the living that issues from this filling and indwelling.
The believers are filled in their spirit with the Spirit and let the word of Christ dwell in them richly to live a life that matches the new man in grace and truth (Eph. 4:24, 29, 21). In Ephesians 4:24 Paul tells us that we “have put on the new man, which according to God was created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” The new man is of Christ. It is His Body created in Him on the cross (Eph. 2:15-16). It is not individual but corporate (Col. 3:10-11). The fact that the new man is created of two peoples proves that it is corporate. Furthermore, Colossians 3:10 and 11 reveal that the new man is a composition of many different peoples. In this corporate new man there is no Greek or Jew, no bond or free, no barbarian or Scythian, but Christ is all and in all. In Colossians 3:11 the word “all” refers to people. This means that in the new man Christ is all the people and is in all the people. Therefore, in the corporate new man Christ is all and in all.
As the Body of Christ, the church needs Christ as its life, but as the new man, the church needs Christ as its person. This new corporate person should live a life as Jesus lived on earth, that is, a life of truth (Eph. 4:21), expressing God and causing God to be realized as the reality by man.
The article before truth in Ephesians 4:24 is emphatic. The righteousness and holiness of the new man are of the truth. 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. 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.
The believers’ daily living described in Ephesians 4:17-32 has truth and grace as its basic elements. In these verses Paul indicates that we should live as Jesus did, a life full of grace and truth (John 1:14, 17). Grace is God given to us for our enjoyment, and truth is God revealed to us as our reality. When we live and speak truth (Eph. 4:21, 24), we express God as our reality, and others receive God as grace for their enjoyment (v. 29).
Grace is the enjoyment of the Triune God in all that He is to us. When He is life to us, that is grace. When He is power to us, that also is grace. Grace is whatever Christ is to us subjectively as our enjoyment. We need grace daily, even hourly. We need the enjoyment of Christ as our life, our power, and everything to us. Grace is the Triune God becoming our enjoyment. He has come to us so that we may gain Him, experience Him, and enjoy Him. When we experience Him as our enjoyment, He becomes grace to us.
In Paul’s exhortation in 4:17-32 truth is clearly mentioned, but grace is somewhat hidden, being especially implied in Paul’s mention of the details related to our daily living. If we are short of grace, we cannot meet the standard in relation to these details. The principles for our learning of Christ (v. 20) are related to the truth, whereas the details are related to grace. If we would be conformed to the image of Christ, that is, if we would learn Christ, we need both the principles and the details. If we have the truth, we have the principles. If we have grace, we shall succeed in meeting the standard in all the details. Because the details of our daily living are related to grace, we need grace in every aspect of our life.
Grace is God Himself in Christ as our enjoyment. We need to allow this enjoyment to remove from us the negative elements mentioned in verse 31. One of these negative elements is bitterness. Without grace, we cannot let go of our bitterness. But when we have God in Christ as our enjoyment, our bitterness will disappear. When we have sufficient grace, we shall be filled with Christ as our enjoyment, and there will be no room in us for bitterness of any kind. Only when we are filled with grace will the negative things be removed from us.
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