THE HEAD AND THE BODY
By the Lord’s mercy, now we know who this child, this man, is. This man is the very new man spoken of in Ephesians 2:15: “Having abolished in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, making peace.” This new man includes Christ as the Head and all the believers as the Body. The Head is the firstborn Son of God, and the Body is a composition of all the many sons of God, the many brothers of the Lord. This new man, this child, was born through Christ’s death and resurrection.
THE SECOND MAN
Before the Lord’s resurrection, there was only one man— Adam, including all his descendants as the components of this one man. But now, since the resurrection of Christ, there are two men in the sight of God—Adam and Christ. Adam is the first man, and Christ, including the church, is the second man. We should rejoice over the birth of the new man in resurrection much more than we do over the incarnation of Christ.
Adam, the man created by God, became sinful. As a result, he was a failure and became useless to God. Because of the fall, all the components of the first man are under God’s judgment and headed for the lake of fire. This means that, in the sight of God, the first man is finished.
God surely desires to have a second man. Through the death and resurrection of Christ, the second man was born. This was the reason the Lord could say to the disciples that they would rejoice when they saw Him again: “And you therefore now indeed have sorrow; but I shall see you again and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you” (John 16:22). We also need to rejoice at the birth of the new man.
A WONDERFUL SIGN
The man in John 16 is a wonderful sign. The sign of the new man indicates that the old man, the first Adam, has been terminated. The first Adam was terminated by the death of Christ. But in resurrection the crucified Jesus and God’s chosen people were born to be the new man.
We need to have God’s view concerning this matter. According to our view, we were not born when Christ was resurrected, but we were to be born centuries later. However, according to God’s view, the divine view, all His chosen people were born together with Christ in His resurrection. This resurrection was the birth of a corporate child. Therefore, when Christ came back in resurrection, in the sight of God He was a new man, a newborn child.
REJOICING AT THE BIRTH OF THE NEW MAN
In John 16 the Lord told His disciples that they would rejoice when they saw Him again. This word was fulfilled in John 20. Verse 19 says, “When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, Peace be to you.” The disciples were disheartened, but suddenly the Lord as the newborn child was in their midst saying, “Peace be to you.” Here the Lord Jesus seemed to be saying, “Don’t be troubled or sorrowful. The newborn child is here. Did I not tell you that this child would be born? Now we all should rejoice at the birth of the new man.” Thus, verse 20 says, “The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”
We also should rejoice that on earth today there is another man, the new man, that includes all the believers. This new man, who is born through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is now spreading and growing throughout the earth. Praise the Lord that we are part of this new man!
THE HOUSE, THE VINE, AND THE NEW MAN
In chapter fourteen we have the Father’s house, in chapter fifteen we have the vine, and in chapter sixteen we have the new man. The Father’s house, the vine, and the new man all refer to one thing. As the vine is the explanation of the Father’s house, so the new man is the explanation of the vine. In other words, as chapter fifteen defines chapter fourteen, so chapter sixteen defines chapter fifteen. These three chapters are sections of one long message. The first section is on the Father’s house, the second is on the vine, and the third is on the new man. The new man is the definition of the vine, and the vine is the definition of the Father’s house. If we see this, we shall understand that the Father’s house is an organic entity, that it is the organism of the Triune God, the vine that is growing and spreading. According to chapter sixteen, this vine, this organism, is a man. Certainly the Father’s house is not a heavenly mansion. The Father’s house is a growing, spreading vine, and this vine is the vast, universal corporate new man.
Once again I say that we should celebrate the birth of this corporate new man with rejoicing. Oh, another man, the new man, has been born on earth through Christ’s death and resurrection! This is the second man, the Triune God mingled with His redeemed ones.
This new man was born not through the incarnation of Christ, but through the death and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, we should rejoice over Christ’s resurrection even more than over His incarnation. What a wonderful sign is this sign of the new man! It is a great matter that this man, the newborn child, has been born into the world. The Lord told His disciples that they would rejoice, and they did rejoice. We also should rejoice over the birth of the corporate new man.
(The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John, Chapter 47, by Witness Lee)
