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.