In the new man Christ is every member. Concerning this, Paul says in 3:11, “Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all and in all.” This means that in the new man there is no place, no room, for any natural person. There is no place for regional, cultural, or national distinctions. For example, in the new man there cannot be Chinese or Americans, Californians or Texans. Likewise, in the new man there is no room for Jew or Greek, for religious ones or nonreligious ones, for cultured ones or uncultured ones, for freemen or slaves. There is no room for any race, nationality, culture, or social status. In the one new man there is room only for Christ. Christ surely is all the members of the new man.
Perhaps you are wondering how Christ can be all in the new man. For this to be a reality, we must take Christ as our life and live Him, not ourselves. If Christ is the living of all the saints, then only He will be in the new man. Those from America will no longer live an American life, and those from Japan will no longer live a Japanese life. All the saints, whatever their nationality may be, will live Christ. Then in a way that is real and practical, Christ will be all the members of the new man. Christ will be you, and Christ will be me. Because we all live Christ, not ourselves, Christ will be all of us, every member of the new man.
In the local churches we are not concerned with helping others improve their natural life. We would rather help them to crucify their natural person and bury it so that they may live Christ. The death of our natural person will usher us into resurrection, where we can take Christ as life. I can testify that the more I experience crucifixion with Christ, the more I take Christ as my life in resurrection and live Him.
No matter how much opposition we receive from religion, I have the assurance that the new man will come forth. The saints are learning to live Christ, and they are becoming constituted of Him. Meeting after meeting, Christ is being wrought into the saints. I can testify of certain brothers whom I have known for years that they are being gloriously constituted of Christ. They are truly experiencing the Lord’s transformation. Nothing makes me more joyful than to see the saints taking Christ as life, living Him, and seeking the things which are above for the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose.
In 3:11 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. 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.
In the new man Christ is everyone and He is also in everyone. How wonderful! 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, but we live not alone, but with Christ in us. I believe that the Lord’s intention is that day by day we 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 shall all be able to say that to us to live is Christ and that Christ lives in us.