The result of such a daily living is that we have the image of God. This means that our life becomes the expression of God. In 4:24 Paul says that the new man is according to God. This means that the church life is according to God Himself and is God’s expression. God’s goal is to gain a people through whom He can express Himself. In the church as the new man according to God, this divine goal is fulfilled. This is altogether different from religion, which teaches people to behave themselves outwardly. God’s intention is not simply to get a people who are outwardly kind, gentle, and humble. His intention is to have a Body, the new man, for His expression. In order for this goal to be attained, the new man must firstly be created in Christ. Paul speaks of this in chapter two. Then, according to Paul’s word in chapter four, the new man must grow and live by walking in the spirit of the mind and must be renewed daily. The result is that the corporate new man will become the image of God, His expression. In this way God’s intention is fulfilled.
In 4:24 Paul says that the new man was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Righteousness is a matter of being right with God and man according to God’s righteous way; holiness is a matter of being separated unto God from anything common and of being saturated with God’s holy nature.
In this verse the Greek word rendered holiness is hosiotees. It denotes a genuine piety. Hence, some versions adopt the rendering “piety.” If we consider this verse in context, we shall see that the church life is a life of genuine piety. Unfortunately, this word has been damaged by traditional use and given a religious meaning. In the New Testament, this word sometimes translated piety is virtue according to the divine character expressed through humanity. On the one hand, it involves human virtue; on the other hand, it expresses the divine nature and character. We need to have a daily walk in which the divine character is expressed through our virtue.
This kind of living is very different from mere human virtue. As human beings, we have certain virtues. But these virtues need to become the expression of the divine character. For example, the New Testament teaches wives to submit to their husbands. Confucius also taught this. Actually Confucius taught a threefold submission: to the father, to the husband, and, if the husband should die, to the son. What is the difference between submission according to the teaching of Confucius and submission according to the teaching of the Bible? The submission that is according to the teaching of Confucius is nothing more than a human virtue. In this kind of submission there is nothing of the flavor of Christ and nothing of the divine character. But if a sister in the Lord is filled in spirit and submits to her husband out of this filling, there will be in her submission some amount of the flavor of Christ. This means that in her submission there will be the expression of the divine character.
Let us take another example, the matter of honoring our parents. The Bible surely teaches us to honor our parents. Confucius taught the same thing. But the difference between the honoring of parents that is in accord with the teaching of Confucius and that which is in accord with the Bible is that in the former there is no flavor of Christ, whereas in the latter there is both the flavor of Christ and the expression of the divine character. When we are filled in spirit unto all the fullness of God and honor our parents out of such an infilling, there will be the expression of God in our relationship to our parents. Our behavior will not be a mere human virtue; it will be a virtue with the divine character and with the flavor of Christ. As we honor our parents, there should be the sweet savor of Christ. This is the expression of God through human virtue. Suppose a young man honors his parents from a spirit filled unto all the fullness of God. In this virtue there will be the divine character. This is the expression of God in humanity.
This expression of God is absolutely different from mere ethical behavior. Although the followers of Confucius may attain a high ethical standard, there is no flavor of Christ in their virtue. I repeat, in our virtue there needs to be the character of God and the flavor and taste of Christ. Such a divine expression through human virtue is conveyed by the Greek word for holiness in 4:24. The church life must be filled with such an expression of divine character through human virtue.
In our honesty and generosity there needs to be the expression of the divine character. There are two kinds of honesty and two kinds of generosity: an honesty and a generosity that are mere human virtues, and an honesty and a generosity that express the character of God. In the church life our honesty and generosity must have the flavor of Christ. As others contact us, they should not only have the sense that we are virtuous; they should be able to sense in our virtue the flavor of Christ and see the expression of the divine character.
The key to the church life is the spirit of the mind. If we live according to the spirit of the mind, there will be in the church life the expression of the divine character. Then we shall be a corporate people with the flavor of Christ and the expression of God. If we simply give others the impression that we are good, righteous, and kind, our church life is a failure. There must be in our goodness, righteousness, and kindness the expression of the Triune God. The church life must be filled with the aroma and flavor of Christ and with the character of God. Such a living is the living of the Triune God through our humanity. For centuries, God has been longing for such a church life. We pray that before long this kind of church life will be fully practiced among us in the Lord’s recovery. May the Lord be satisfied by seeing such an expression of Himself through the corporate new man on earth!