Read and Pray: “And you have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him; where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:10-11).
THE NEW MAN
In Colossians 3:10 and 11, Paul speaks of the new man: “And you have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him; where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.”
Here we see that in the new man, there is only room for Christ. In verse 11, "all" refers to all the members who make up the new man. Christ is all the members of the new man and is in all of them. He is everything in the new man. What a tremendous revelation this is! According to Paul’s word in Colossians 3:10-11, there is no longer any basis for Judaism.
THE SINGLE OFFERING
The book of Hebrews reveals that Christ is everything. He is both God and man and is superior to Moses, Joshua, and Aaron. As our High Priest, He, as the single offering, replaced all the offerings of the Old Testament. He is the only offering with which God is concerned, of which all the offerings of the Old Testament were merely types.
Now that Christ has come, all the other offerings should cease, and indeed, they have been replaced and come to an end. Hebrews 10:14 says, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” And verse 18 continues, “Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.” Moreover, the old covenant has been replaced by the new covenant. Thus, the things of the Old Testament have ended.
I would like you to compare the revelation in Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews with James’ word in Acts 21. In 21:20, James said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.”
Then James asked Paul to pay the expenses for four men who had taken the Nazarite vow: “There are four men who have taken a vow. Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that the things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law” (Acts 21:23-24).
What a contrast there is between James’ words and Paul’s revelation regarding God’s New Testament economy! This comparison should enable us to have a clear vision of Paul’s situation in these chapters of Acts.
THE MISUSE OF EPHESIANS, PHILIPPIANS,
COLOSSIANS, AND HEBREWS
What messages have you heard about the book of Ephesians before coming into the Lord's restoration? The favorite verse of those who emphasize the preaching of the gospel is Ephesians 2:8. This verse tells us that by grace we are saved, through faith. There are also many messages on Ephesians 5:22-25 about the wife submitting to her husband and the husband loving his wife.
Often, in a marriage, the pastor quotes these verses from Ephesians 5. But have you ever heard a message saying that on the cross, Christ abolished all ordinances, particularly the differences between races? Although the ordinances and all racial differences were abolished by Christ on the cross, who preaches this today?
In fact, even in the twentieth century, racial differences are still promoted in order to maintain racial separation. From this, we see that Ephesians is not being used properly by many believers. They pick certain verses from this book without regard for God’s New Testament economy. Many have never seen that Ephesians is a book that emphasizes God’s New Testament economy.
On the negative side, Ephesians 2 reveals that the ordinances have been abolished. On the positive side, in Ephesians 3, we see that Paul preached the unsearchable riches of Christ so that Christ may dwell in our hearts (Eph. 3:8, 17). Have you ever heard a message on this before coming into the church life? Many who have been in Bible schools and seminaries can testify that they never learned that Christ, with His unsearchable riches, desires to dwell in our hearts. How lamentable is the situation today regarding the deep revelation of the book of Ephesians!
We have seen that in Philippians 3, Paul considered all religious things as refuse. However, today, few use these verses properly. Instead, it is common to choose verses from Philippians to teach believers to imitate the Lord Jesus by having the same mind that He had.
In Colossians 3, Paul says that Christ is everything in the new man. This is certainly not emphasized among Christians today. In fact, it is hard to say how most believers apply the book of Colossians.
Christians frequently quote Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Some even use this verse to argue against the truth that Christ today is the Spirit who gives life. According to the Bible, we teach that as God, Christ became a man, and then, as the last Adam, became the Spirit who gives life in resurrection (1 Cor. 15:45).
Some falsely accuse us of teaching that Christ is always changing and then quote Hebrews 13:8 to try to prove that Christ could not have become the Spirit who gives life in resurrection. The misuse of Hebrews 13:8 in this way shows that the current situation is miserable.
The books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews have not been used properly and positively by most Christians, taking up Paul’s charge in these Epistles regarding carrying out God’s New Testament economy.
Instead of using these books according to the author’s intention, many pick certain verses and interpret them, promoting a degraded situation. This is a sign of the poverty in the so-called churches. In fact, the current situation is worse than what existed in Jerusalem in Acts 21.
THE CHARGE TO CARRY OUT GOD’S
NEW TESTAMENT ECONOMY
You also need to consider your own situation: where do you stand in relation to carrying out God’s New Testament economy? What is in your heart? What have you seen as a heavenly vision concerning God’s economy? How will you carry out the vision you have gained? May we all have a time before the Lord to be filled with the charge of God’s New Testament economy. Once filled with this charge, we should, like Paul, be eager to carry it out.
We thank the Lord for the Epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews. Paul wrote them so that God’s New Testament economy would be carried out. I hope that all of us, through the help of the messages from the Life-Studies, will be saturated with these Epistles. I also hope that all of us will have a clear vision of the current situation and need.
As we will see in Acts chapters 27 and 28, Paul took a long time to go from Caesarea to Rome. In contrast, the situation today is very favorable for spreading God’s New Testament economy. May we all take up the charge of spreading God’s New Testament economy and faithfully carry it out.
Enjoy more: Hymn 268
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