How do we know that we have Christ within us? Many times we may have argued with the Lord. At such times He tried to subdue and convince us, and we on our part tried to convince Him. Furthermore, many times we desired to do something, such as go to the movies, yet He did not agree with us. Have you had this kind of experience? If not, you are merely an empty vessel, but if so, this is wonderful and glorious, for it proves that there is a treasure, Christ, within you (2 Cor. 4:7). You have been born anew, and there is something new within you. The divine life, which is God Himself, is not merely a source but also a course. This means that we have a new beginning, a new course to follow, and a new life to live. This new source, course, and life is God Himself, that is, God the Son, who is called God the Father, who is also God the Spirit, and who is mingled with man.
What then is the new creation? The new creation is an old man who has been born anew. His old history, course, source, and life have been put to an end and buried, and now within him there is a new beginning, source, course, and life, which is the Triune God mingled with man. We cannot exhaust what the Triune God-man is. He is everything: light, life, love, the way, the truth, power, strength, and everything we need. Furthermore, He is omnipotent, unlimited, infinite, and all-inclusive. Do you need light? He is light (1 John 1:5). Do you need comfort? He is comfort (2 Cor. 1:3). Do you need joy? He is joy (Psa. 43:4; Neh. 8:10). Do you need strength? He is strength (Psa. 118:14; Phil. 4:13). Do you need clothing? He is the real clothing (Luke 15:22; Gal. 3:27). Do you need a house? He is the house, the dwelling place, for Psalm 90:1 says, “O Lord, You have been our dwelling place / In all generations.” He is everything to us (cf. Col. 2:16-17). This is wonderful, yet the most wonderful thing is that this all-inclusive Triune God-man has mingled Himself with us.
He is also the One who bears all our burdens (Matt. 11:28; 1 Pet. 5:7). Five years ago, when I was in Copenhagen, Denmark, a co-worker asked me why I never seemed to be anxious even though there was a large work under my care in Taiwan with many co-workers, burdens, responsibilities, and troubles. I replied that although there was indeed a large work, my secret was that I did not consider it to be my burden but His burden. I was not alone; I had Christ as my Partner. I was one with Christ, and Christ had mingled Himself with me.
The new creation is nothing less than the Triune God-man entering into our spirit and joining Himself with us and mingling Himself with us. Through Christ’s redeeming death we have been put to an end. We are finished, we are nothing, and now we have Christ within us as a new life, source, course, and origin (Gal. 2:20).
John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Formerly, we were born of our parents to be flesh. Now we have been born anew of the Holy Spirit to be spirit, so that we may have a new start, a new course to run, and a new life to live.
Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “So then if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, they have become new.” The new creation was created by the Triune God-man and with the Triune God-man mingled with us. It is a new man, who was an old man but who is now in Christ, is one with Christ, and is mingled with Christ (Eph. 2:15).
Christians today may be classified into one of three categories. First, there are the many nominal Christians who take Christianity merely as a religion, not knowing what Christianity is or what it teaches. I was this kind of person before I was saved. At sixteen or seventeen years of age I took Christianity as my religion without knowing what it actually was. I had been taught that every person in society needs a religion. Since I considered Christianity to be the best religion, I chose Christianity as my religion. However, I neither knew nor cared who Christ was, who God was, whether I would go to hell or heaven, or that I was sinful. I went to church, sang hymns, and had a pleasant time inside some fine church buildings. I took Christianity as my religion like the many so-called Christians who are in this category.
The Christians in the second category are much improved over those in the first category. They study in order to know the doctrines and teachings of Christianity, including the creeds. They know that God is the Triune God who is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit and that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God incarnated to be a man. However, although they are knowledgeable concerning the teachings and doctrines of Christianity, they know neither where Christ is nor what He has to do with man. The most they are able to say is that Christ is in the heavens. They are Christians of Christian teachings and doctrines, not Christians of Christ Himself. They do not know Christ in a living way and have little to do with Christ Himself.
However, there is a third category of Christians, a minority, who not only take Christianity as their religion and learn the teachings and doctrines of Christianity, but even more, take Christ as the living One into them and have a living relationship with Christ. They know Christ as One who lives within them in a living way.
Christ is real, present, near, and available. He is more available than the air. We know that in order to breathe in air, there is no need to go to a supermarket or to go to our kitchen to cook. Air is always available and handy. However, Christ is even more handy than the air, because today He is in us. Everywhere we go, He goes with us and in us. At a certain time I had a desire and an intention to visit a certain person. At that time I hoped that Christ would not go with me. It was as if I said to Him, “Lord, would You leave me alone for a while? Please stay here and allow me to go there just by myself.” On such an occasion I received no answer from the Lord. Nevertheless, when I went, He went. I discovered that He is rather troublesome and bothersome. If we have this kind of experience, we are blessed. Although He is the troublesome One, He is also the One who is a blessing. The more we are troubled by Him, the more we are blessed by Him. Christ is living, real, available, ready, and near to us. Even though there may be times when we regret being a Christian because of the trouble caused by our sinful nature and our old man, we cannot get rid of Christ. He is always within us, bothering us.
If we do not have this kind of experience, we are not Christians in the third category. As what kind of Christian do you classify yourself: a Christian of Christianity, a Christian of Christian teachings, or a Christian of Christ? A Christian of Christ is one who can testify, “Christ is within me. He talks with me, He walks with me, and He works with me. He is always bothering me.” It is a blessing to be bothered by Christ. The more we are bothered by Him, the more we are blessed. This shows that we are not merely Christians of Christianity, nor Christians of Christian teachings, but Christians with Christ, of Christ, in Christ, and mingled with Christ as one. We are the new creation. We have Christ as the Triune God-man within us and mingled with us as one. We can never exhaust the telling of Christ to others. The more we speak Christ forth, the more Christ flows in, because we have the living Christ within us as the living fountain, source, and course.
Galatians 6:15 says, “For neither is circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation is what matters.” We need to forget about rules, rituals, teachings, regulations, and forms, which are indicated by the terms circumcision and uncircumcision; none of these are anything. We must remember that we are a new creation, a person mingled with the Triune God-man. As a new creation we do not have Christian teachings, rules, or regulations. We have Christ as the Triune God-man, who is living and powerful within us.
Ephesians 2:15 says that in His crucifixion Christ abolished in His flesh the ordinances of the law that separated the Jews and the Gentiles “that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace.” The two refers to the Jewish and Gentile believers. Christ created these two parties in Himself into a new man, and this new man is the new creation. This new man, according to verse 16, is also the Body of Christ. The one new man, which is the new creation, is the one Body, and this one Body is the church (1:22-23; Col. 1:18). Moreover, this church is the genuine church. It does not include those Christians who are just of Christianity, nor does it include those Christians who are just of Christian teachings without Christ. Rather, this church includes only those Christians who are of Christ, the real and true Christians, the Christians who have the living Christ within them. These Christians are the Body, the new man, and the new creation. Therefore, in Ephesians 2:15-16 we see that the new man is the new creation because this new man is created by Christ, in Christ, and with Christ as the element.
Furthermore, these verses tell us that the new man was created of two peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles. Of these two peoples Christ created a new man in Himself, by Himself, and with Himself, and this new man is the Body. Therefore, we should not think that we as individuals are new men. There are not many new men; there is only one new man. We are the parts, the members, of the one new man, the one Body, which is a universal man including all genuine Christians.
In this chapter we have seen clearly what the new creation is. The new creation is a composition of all the genuine believers, those who are born anew, regenerated with Christ, and mingled with the Triune God-man. Corporately, they are all one universal man, one Body, the church of Christ. Hence, in speaking concerning the relationship of God with man in His new creation, we are referring to the new man, the Body of Christ.