In verse 11 Paul says not only that Christ is all but also that He is in all. In other words, on the one hand, Christ is all the members, and on the other hand, He is in all the members. Since Paul says that Christ is all, why is there the need for him to say that Christ is in all? If Paul did not say that Christ is in all, only that He is all, then 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, the Bible does say that in the new man there is no place for the natural person, because Christ is all the members. Yet on the other hand, Paul says that Christ is in the members. The fact that Christ is in the members of the new man indicates that the members still exist.
When we take Christ as our life and live together with Him, seeking the things which are above, we have the sense deep within that we are one with Christ and that Christ is us (Gal. 2:20). But simultaneously we have an even deeper 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 part of the new man with Christ in us. We continue to exist, but we do not exist without Christ; we are those indwelt by Christ. Now we can rejoice and say to the Lord, “Lord Jesus, when I take You as my life and live together with You, You are me. I am altogether one with You. But, Lord, I am still here, for You are in me. I am here, but I am here with You.” According to our experience, we all can give such a testimony. When we live Christ and are one with Him, we say, “Lord Jesus, this is not me—it is You.” However, at the same time, we have the sense that we are with the Lord and that He is in us.
God’s ultimate goal in His economy is to gain this new man constituted with the preeminent, all-inclusive Christ wrought into a corporate people. The new man is Christ constituted into us. On the one hand, the new man is Christ. On the other hand, we the believers are the new man. For this reason, in the new man Christ and we are one. We all need to have such a high view of God’s economy. According to this view, we and Christ are one, for we and He have one life with one living.
In Colossians 3:10 and 11 we see that in the new man Christ is all and in all. Christ is all the members and in all the members. In the new man there is no room for any natural person. Rather, Christ is everyone and is in everyone. To say that Christ is all and in all in the new man indicates that we are one with Christ and that Christ is one with us. We may even say that Christ is us and that we are Him. This points to our union with Christ. Therefore, the living of the saints must be a living that is in union with Christ, a living that is identified with Him. If we live in such a way, we and Christ, Christ and we, are one. We live, and Christ lives in our living.
In such a union we and Christ, Christ and we, are one. In a very practical sense, Christ is us and we are Christ, for we live as one. His life is our life, and our living is His living. Therefore, Christ lives in our living. This is the normal Christian living, the living that is up to God’s standard and that fulfills the requirements of His economy.
In the new man Christ is everyone, and He is also in everyone. This is to experience Christ not only as the reality of our daily necessities but to have Him as our life and to be one with Him in the divine enterprise. When we are one with Him in this way, He becomes us, and we live with Him in us. We live not alone but with Christ in us. Day by day we should have more experience of this—taking Christ as our life, living together with Him, seeking the things which are above, and coordinating with Him for the carrying out of God’s eternal purpose. Then we will all be able to say that to us to live is Christ and that Christ lives in us (Phil. 1:21; Gal. 2:20). Because Christ is the unique constituent of the new man, there should be no differences among the believers who are part of this new man. In the new man, all the room is for Christ. Christ is all and in all. This means that Christ is every part of the new man and is in every part. The goal of this extensive revelation of Christ is that we would all live Christ.
Moreover, in the renewing of the new man, Christ is all things, and He is in all the members. This indicates that in the renewing of the new man, Christ truly is all-inclusive. On the one hand, He is in all the persons, the members of the new man; on the other hand, He is all things in the renewing of the new man, including all virtues and attributes such as love, patience, and humility (Col. 3:12-14). All these virtues are Christ Himself. In the renewing of the new man, Christ is all the wonderful virtues, all the good things, and all the positive attributes.
If we would live Christ as the constituent of the new man, we need to be ruled by the peace of Christ (vv. 12-15) and inhabited by the word of Christ (vv. 16-17). The peace of Christ must arbitrate within our being, and the word of Christ must dwell in us richly. As Christians, we have different backgrounds and different concepts. These differences lead to disagreements among us; therefore, there is the need for an arbitrator. This arbitrator is the peace of Christ. It is crucial that the peace of Christ be allowed to preside in our hearts and to speak the final word regarding any controversy among us. The arbitrator should not be our opinions, concepts, choices, or preferences; it should be the peace of Christ, to which we are called in one Body.
The peace of Christ is the peace to which Paul refers in Ephesians 2:15, where we are told that Christ abolished “in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace.” This peace is the oneness of the new man, the Body. By abolishing the ordinances, Christ has created the different peoples into one new man. Now within us as members of the new man there is something which Paul terms the peace of Christ. Hence, the peace of Christ is the oneness of the new man composed of different peoples. Apart from the work of Christ on the cross, there can be no oneness among the different peoples. But through His death Christ has made peace; that is, He has produced oneness. This oneness of the new man is now within us. This oneness, the peace of Christ, must now be permitted to arbitrate in our hearts. It should function as a referee to settle the disputes among various parties. We need to set aside our opinion, our concept, and listen to the word of the indwelling referee. There is no need for us to quarrel or to express our opinion. We should simply let the peace of Christ make the final decision.
As those who are part of the new man, we should not only let the peace of Christ arbitrate within us but also let the word of Christ inhabit us, dwell in us, make home in us. We must be willing to set aside our concepts, our opinions, and give place to the word of Christ. If we want the word of Christ to inhabit us, we need to empty our entire inner being. All our inward parts—our mind, emotion, will, heart, and spirit—must be empty, available to be filled with the word of Christ. This word should not only dwell in us; it should also inhabit us, making its home in every part of our inner being. May every room and corner of our being be inhabited by the word of Christ! If we would live Christ as the constituent of the new man, the peace of Christ must be the arbitrator in our heart, and the word of Christ must be the content of our inner being. We all need to give place to the arbitrating peace of Christ and to the inhabiting word of Christ.
Furthermore, we need to persevere in prayer (Col. 4:2). When we enter into genuine prayer, we are far away from our culture, for we are one with the living Lord. When we pray in this way with others, we are truly one in the praying spirit. Then we touch the reality of the one new man, where there is no Greek or Jew, barbarian or Scythian, circumcision or uncircumcision. We realize that the new man is constituted with Christ alone and that in this realm there are no differences of culture. However, when we stop praying, we come back to our natural life with its opinions and striving.
In 3:3 and 4 we see that the Christ who is the focal point of God’s economy and the reality of all the positive things is our life. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. This means that we today are living in God. As our life, Christ is the constituent of the new man. In the new man the Christ who is our life is all and in all.
The desire of God’s heart is to have the new man. This was His plan in eternity past, and this was the reason He created the universe and accomplished redemption for us in Christ. Our preaching of the gospel and our being the new creation are likewise for the new man. The time has come for God to have the new man expressed on earth. If we take Christ as our life and live together with Him, the new man will come forth to satisfy God’s desire.
When we enjoy Christ as the reality of all positive things, we become Body-conscious. This indicates that the enjoyment of Christ issues in the Body of Christ. Then as we go on to experience Christ as our life and to have one living, destiny, and glory with Him, the issue is not just the church as the Body of Christ but the church as the one new man.
In 1:9—3:11 we see seven major aspects of Christ: Christ is the portion of the saints (1:9-14), He is the first both in creation and in resurrection (1:15-23), He is the mystery of God’s economy (1:24-29), He is the mystery of God (2:1-7), He is the body of all the shadows (2:8-23), He is the life of the saints (3:1-4), and He is the constituent of the new man (3:5-11). These aspects of Christ are presented in a marvelous sequence. First we see that Christ is the portion of the saints and last that He is the constituent of the new man. This indicates that the ultimate issue of enjoying Christ as our portion is that we experience Him as the content and constituent of the new man. Whenever we enjoy Christ, there is a definite result, an issue, of this enjoyment. To say that the enjoyment of Christ as the portion of the saints results in the experience of Christ as the constituent of the new man indicates that the enjoyment of Christ results in the church life. Christ is the all-inclusive portion of the saints, typified by the good land. If we enjoy Christ as such a portion, the result will be the new man with Christ as the content. Ultimately, the Christ we enjoy as our portion becomes the constituent of the new man. In this new man Christ is all and in all. Hence, it is crucial for us to learn to live Christ as the constituent of the new man.