In the new man Christ is all the members and in all the members; thus, there is no room for race, religion, culture, or social rank. After Colossians 3:10 speaks of the new man, verse 11 continues, “Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all.” Where refers to the new man in verse 10. In the new man there are no natural persons; moreover, there is no possibility and no room for any natural person to exist. In the new man there are no Greeks, who seek philosophical wisdom, and no Jews, who seek miraculous signs (1 Cor. 1:22). Also, in the new man there is no circumcision or uncircumcision. Circumcision refers to those who observe the Jewish religious rituals, and uncircumcision refers to those who do not care for the Jewish religion. Furthermore, in the new man there is no barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free man. A barbarian is an uncultured man, a Scythian was considered the most barbarous, a slave is one who has been sold into slavery, and a free man is one who has been freed from slavery. In the new man there is room only for Christ; there is no room for any natural person.
In the new man “Christ is all and in all.” In the new man there is room only for Christ. He is all the members of the new man and in all the members. He is everything in the new man. Actually, He is the new man. In the new man He is the centrality and universality. He is the constituent of the new man, and He is all in all in the new man.
The word all in verse 11 refers to all the members who constitute the new man. Christ is all these members, and He is in all the members. If we want to experience the reality of Christ being all the members, we need to take Christ as our life and our person and live Him, not ourselves. If the living of all the saints is Christ, He will truly and practically be all the members of the new man. Christ will be all of us, that is, every member of the new man, because we all will live Christ and not ourselves.
The believers can corporately experience the dispensing of the processed Triune God by putting on the new man. The ultimate and uttermost aspect of the church is that it is the new man for the accomplishing of God’s eternal purpose. Christ, who worked God’s nature into humanity, created the new man with Himself as the element. In the universe there is only one new man constituted with all the believers. Although the new man has already been created, the believers still need to put off the old man and put on the new man created in Christ.
The believers need to first put off the old man with its corrupted living in the lusts of the deceit and then put on the new man. To put off the old man is not only to put off the old nature, but even more, it is to put off the former manner of life. This is not only to put off the self of the old man; it is also to put off the old worldly social relationships. The Lord desires not only to gather believers together, but even more, He wants them to completely have the daily living of the new man, according to the new nature and the new manner of life and practice.
The believers also put on the new man by being renewed in the spirit of their mind. The purpose of the believers’ transformation is to be renewed into the image of Christ and for the fulfillment in experience of what was accomplished in baptism—the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new man. The way to put on the new man is for the mingled spirit—the spirit of the believers mingled with the Spirit—to become the spirit of the believers’ mind. In this way the spirit is able to guide, control, direct, and possess their mind and to rule their entire being so that they may put on the new man experientially. Therefore, with regard to experience, the putting on of the new man is a continual matter that takes place throughout the entire life of the believers; it is a continual and gradual process in the life of the believers.
The believers’ putting on of the new man is according to God, who created the new man in His own image in righteousness and holiness of the reality so that they can express God. The new man is created inwardly according to God, having God’s life and nature; thus, it bears the image of God in righteousness and holiness of the reality. This means that the new man possesses God’s righteousness and holiness as well as His love and light; hence, the believers who put on the new man are able to express God.
In the new man, Christ is all the members and in all the members; there is no room for race, religion, culture, or social rank. In the new man there is room only for Christ; He is the centrality and the universality, and there is no room for any natural person, thing, or matter. Therefore, for the believers to experience the reality of Christ as all the members of the new man, they need to take Christ as their life and person, and they need to live Him, not themselves.