I.　In Colossians 4:7-17 we have a practical illustration of the revelation of the one new man and of the consciousness of the one new man:

A.　Both the saints in Colossae and Paul and those with him were members of the one new man in actuality and had the consciousness of the one new man.

B.　Paul's Epistle to Philemon, who lived in Colossae (Philem. 2; cf. Col. 4:17; Philem. 10; cf. Col. 1:2; 4:9), is an illustration of the believers' equal status in the new man.

C.　Paul's word in Colossians 4:16 regarding the reading of the letters proves that there was no difference between the church in Laodicea and the church in Colossae; his word implies fellowship, oneness, harmony, and intimate contact.

D.　In spite of all the differences among nationalities, races, and classes, there was on earth in a practical way the one new man created in Christ Jesus; there were not merely local churches in various cities—there was the one new man in a real and practical way.

E.　By means of the traffic among the churches, we experience in a practical way the living of the new man with Christ as the reality—vv. 7-17; Eph. 6:21-22; cf. Rom. 15:26; Phil. 4:16-17; Rev. 14:4; 1 Thes. 5:25.

F.　"It is shameful for the church in any locality to isolate itself from other churches….This is utterly contrary to the consciousness of the new man. Any church which holds such an attitude has a consciousness only of itself, not of the totality of the new man. Those who insist on this attitude cause the new man to be fragmented, to be broken into pieces….Those who have this attitude lack the sense, the consciousness, of the one new man" (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 260-261).

II.　If we are conscious of the one new man, we will realize that all the local churches in the different countries are one new man—Eph. 2:15, 21-22:

A.　All the churches are not merely individual local churches but are the one new man; the one new man is a matter not merely of individual localities and individual churches but of all the churches on earth corporately—Col. 3:10-11; 4:15-16.

B.　When the one new man has been brought into full existence, we will not speak of the differences between the churches nor of the jurisdiction and autonomy of the local churches—1 Cor. 1:2; 4:17; Rev. 2:1, 7a; 22:16a:

1.　At that time we all will be taking Christ as our person and living Christ; thus, only Christ will be among us, and only Christ will be manifested— Phil. 1:20-21a.

2.　If we take Christ as our person and as our life, spontaneously we all will speak the same thing; then in a practical way we will be the one new man.

C.　Among the churches in the Lord's recovery, there should be no "nations"— Matt. 16:18; 1 Thes. 1:1; Rom. 16:16b; 3 John 9-10:

1.　The local churches are not "nations"—they are one new man—Eph. 2:15.

2.　We do not care to have a little "nation," an empire, in which we can be a little king; rather, we care to be in the one new man—Matt. 20:25-26a.

3.　There should not be several works in the Lord's recovery; all the co-workers in all the regions should do the same one work for the unique Body—Col. 4:11; 1 Cor. 15:58; 16:10; Phil. 2:30:

a.　"I hope that we will consider our present situation before the Lord. Are we doing the same one work for the recovery? If not, we should let the Lord have the freedom to adjust us" (Further Consideration of the Eldership, the Region of Work, and the Care for the Body of Christ, p. 19).

b.　"In the Lord's move in His recovery, there should only be one work, not different works. Our situation is different from this. We have different works without any consciousness. This is dangerous" (p. 19).

D.　Since the local churches are one new man, in deciding a matter in our local church, we need to consider the churches throughout the whole earth—Rev. 22:16a; 1 Thes. 2:14; Rom. 16:4; 2 Cor. 11:28.

E.　The churches will progress in the divine life to such an extent that eventually they will all be absolutely the same—Rev. 1:4, 11-12; 1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 14:33b:

1.　"We may not want to be the same as the other churches because of our pride, but according to the divine economy the more that we are the same, the more glorious we are. It is glorious to imitate others, to follow others, and to be one with others in the spirit. We must learn from one another, be adjusted by one another, and receive grace from one another" (The Divine Economy, p. 126).

2.　"I do expect that the day will come when all the local churches look alike, and I believe that when that day comes, the Lord will return" (The Church—the Reprint of the Spirit, p. 29).

III.　Today is the day to have a new man constituted of all the local churches, including all the saints as one in Christ, who is all and in all—Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10-11:

A.　What is here in the Lord's recovery is nothing but Christ, and this Christ is all and in all; this vision will rescue us from all things other than Christ—1:18.

B.　The Lord intends to raise up His believers throughout all the world to seek Him, and when we seek Him, we will see that what He wants is the one new man expressed in the local churches—Phil. 3:7-16; Eph. 4:24.

C.　"Today on this earth…God wants to have another man, the new man….He wants to gain the one new man on earth. Today's Christianity absolutely cannot meet this need. Christianity is full of divisions, and everyone is independent. The Lord's desire is to have the one new man on the earth, so we all need to rise up to take Christ as our corporate person. If we want to make a decision or live a certain kind of life, we cannot decide merely in ourselves; instead, we must take Christ as our person in the new man and with the new man. This requirement is great and high. In this way the new man grows and matures, and we will arrive at a full-grown man" (One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man, p. 76).