PUTTING ON THE NEW MAN BY BEING RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF OUR MIND
Ephesians 2:15 tells us that the new man was created on the cross, yet Ephesians 4:22 tells us that we have to put off the old man. Because the new man in Ephesians is corporate, the old man, in the same principle, must also be a corporate man. We need to put off the old man, not by being taught, corrected, trained, educated, or instructed but by being renewed in the spirit of our mind (4:23). When we are being renewed in the spirit of our mind, we do not only put off the old man but also put on the new man “which according to God was created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (4:24). The one new man was created in Christ, but on you nothing of the new man may exist. Thus, we have to put on, to wear, the new man which has already been created in Christ. The way we put on the new man is by being renewed in the spirit of our mind.
Man is a tripartite being, composed of spirit and soul and body (1 Thes. 5:23). The soul is composed of the mind (Psa. 13:2; 139:14; Lam. 3:20), the emotion (1 Sam. 18:1; 2 Sam. 5:8; Psa. 86:4), and the will (Job 7:15; 6:7; 1 Chron. 22:19). When we were regenerated, the Spirit of God came into our spirit. Romans 8:16 tells us that the Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God. This verse strongly testifies that the regenerating Spirit indwells our spirit. The divine Spirit dwells in our human spirit and now “he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17). This indicates the mingling of the Lord as the Spirit with our spirit. The more that we pray, fellowship with the Lord, call on His dear name, and open our entire being to Him, the more such a mingled spirit spreads into our mind, thus becoming the spirit of our mind. It is in such a spirit that we are renewed for our transformation.
BEING FILLED IN SPIRIT BY DRINKING THE SPIRIT FOR THE RENEWING OF THE MIND
Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be filled in spirit. To be drunk with wine is to be filled in the body, whereas to be filled in the spirit (our regenerated spirit, not God’s Spirit) is to be filled with Christ (Eph. 1:23) unto the fullness of God (3:19). The Lord wants to spread from our spirit first into our mind and then into our emotion and will. Our regenerated spirit mingled with the indwelling Spirit of God spreads into our mind. It is in this mingled spirit of our mind that we are renewed. To drink of the Spirit is to open ourselves to the Lord by praying to Him, calling upon His name, and fellowshipping with Him. The Spirit of God today is the drinking water. The more we drink of the Spirit, the more He fills us with Himself, and the more He saturates our mind to renew it for transformation.
THE RENEWING OF THE MIND FOR THE ONE NEW MAN
When I was a young believer I thought that the renewing in the spirit of our mind was just for our Christian behavior. We can get our mind renewed by allowing it to be filled, possessed, and taken over by the Spirit of God. We have to pray, to fellowship with the Lord, to call on His name, and even to make a thorough confession of our sins. Then we will be transformed, and our behavior will be changed. Although this is true, the focal point of being renewed in the spirit of our mind is for the one new man.
Colossians 3:10-11 tells us that we need to “put on the new man, which is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him; where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all and in all.” In the new man Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and freeman have no place. The renewal is not merely for our behavior. The renewal is even more to get rid of our racial ordinances and to get rid of the natural persons. Not only is there no natural person in the new man, but there is no possibility, no room, for any natural person. In the new man there is only room for Christ. The new man is not Chinese, Japanese, French, English, German, or American. The new man is Christ. Christ is all and in all with the new man. In the new man there cannot be any Jew or Greek. There cannot be any Chinese or any Japanese. In the new man there cannot be any white or any black. We all need to be renewed for the existence of the one new man.
(The One New Man, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee)
