As we read through these eleven verses, we find that they are a detailed portrait of the new man living in the Mediterranean area. The existence and living of the new man in a practical way is a matter of tremendous significance. The Roman Empire covered a vast area and embraced many different peoples. In the attempt to unify the people culturally, the Roman Empire used the Greek language. However, the Roman Empire was not successful in uniting the various peoples. The differences among the nations, races, and social classes remained. The Jews were still Jews, and the Greeks were still Greeks. The distinction between slaves and masters was by no means eliminated. But in spite of all the differences among nationalities, races, and classes, there was on earth in a practical way the one new man created in Christ Jesus. There were not merely local churches in various cities—there was one new man in a real and practical way.
It is shameful for the church in any locality to isolate itself from other churches. How wrong it is for us to have the attitude of standing apart from other local churches, fearing that others may interfere with our affairs or otherwise trouble us. This is utterly contrary to the consciousness of the new man. Any church which holds such an attitude has a consciousness only of itself, not of the totality of the new man. Those who insist on this attitude cause the new man to be fragmented, to be broken into pieces. Nevertheless, many churches and many individual believers as well have the attitude that they will leave others alone if others in turn will leave them alone. They do not care about the churches in other places, and they do not want other churches to be involved with them. Those who have this attitude lack the sense, the consciousness, of the one new man. Praise the Lord for the portrait of the living of the new man in these verses! By these verses we see the practical expression of the new man.
Many saints secretly think more highly of the church in their locality than of the churches elsewhere. They do not have the realization that, although they are located in a specific church, they belong to the church everywhere. I can testify that if you ask me where my church is, I shall reply that my church is everywhere. My church is in whatever locality I am at a particular time. Presently I am in Anaheim. Thus, my church is in Anaheim, but in a few days I may be in another locality. Then my church will be the church in that place.
In 1977 I paid a visit to the church in Tokyo. As the brothers were showing me their new meeting hall, they pointed out that right next door was an available plot of land. I immediately encouraged them to pray about acquiring that property for use by the church. Although I live in Anaheim and am part of the church in Anaheim, my concern at that time was for the church in Tokyo. I encouraged them by saying that the Lord would surely provide them the means to construct a larger meeting hall in Tokyo, even though in that city land is extremely expensive. When I became aware of the need in Tokyo, my heart was full of feeling. The reason for this is that my church is the church everywhere. All the churches on earth make up the one new man.
As we read the conclusion of the book of Colossians, we see that what was in Paul’s heart was not simply a particular local church or a certain saint, but the one new man. Paul knew a great many saints. But in the verses devoted to fellowship, he mentions certain ones as representatives of the various peoples who, with Christ as their constituent, compose the new man. In this way he presents a full picture of the living of the new man. My burden in this message is that we would be impressed with this crucial point.
If we are conscious of the one new man, we should no longer think that the churches in our country have nothing to do with the churches in other nations. Instead, we shall realize that all the churches are the one new man today. May we look to the Lord that we may not be sectarian in any way. We would not be sectarian either individually as believers or corporately as local churches. On the contrary, all of us, all the saints in all the churches, are just one new man. If at the time of Paul, when travel was not convenient, there could be traffic among the churches, how much more should there be today with all the modern conveniences? By means of the traffic among the churches, we experience in a practical way the living of the new man.
After his fellowship, the Apostle Paul greets the saints by his own hand and asks them to remember his bonds (v. 18). He concludes this Epistle with the words, “Grace be with you.” This indicates that the saints need grace in order to realize and participate in the all-inclusiveness of Christ as their portion for the practical life of the new man.