A Man in Christ
"I know a man in Christ" (2 Corinthians 12:2)
The object of our consideration is manhood in relation to the Lord's testimony, and for it we take a little phrase used by the apostle Paul about himself: "I knew a man in Christ". To it may be linked a few other simple phrases:
"I JESUS have sent my angel to testify unto you..." (Revelation 22:16)
"I JOHN, your brother and partaker with you..." (Revelation 1:9)
"Now I PAUL myself entreat you..." (2 Corinthians 10:1)
"I DANIEL understood by the books..." (Daniel 9:2)
These personal references were evidently inspired by the Holy Spirit, and therefore carry their own significance. Humanity is a divine conception, something taking its origin in the mind of God. Being, then, in the eternal thought of God, it has come to stay. There is nothing in all the Scriptures to indicate that God at some time, at some point, is going to finish that order of beings and replace it with another - angelic or otherwise. No, manhood has come to stay. In the divine thought, manhood is a very noble thing with a very great and high destiny.
THE DIGNITY OF MAN IN GOD'S THOUGHT
In this article we may have largely to be occupied with the correcting of faulty ideas in order to get at the true. Our ideas about man have become somewhat confused. Evangelical Christianity has placed great emphasis upon man's total depravity. I have nothing to take from that. We need to remember, however, that every truth runs close to error. It is just as true to affirm that man is a very wonderful creation, "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139.14). We are constantly discovering new realms within the human soul, and it is the soul of man which is the very core of humanity. From time to time we are surprised at what there is in us all of capability and capacity, of unsuspected forces at work. There are two sides to this matter of humanity; the one, which is perfectly true, of man's total depravity; the other, equally true, of the dignity of the human idea in the mind of God. These two must be properly balanced, or many evils may result. May we try to correct a few faulty ideas so that we can understand more of God's real thought concerning man?
OUR INDIVIDUALITY IS NOT ANNIHILATED BY THE CROSS
Running closely alongside of what is so often our unbalanced conception of man, there is our idea as to the meaning of the cross in his experience. We place a great deal of emphasis upon that side of the cross which relates to our identification with Christ in His death; not only the removal, by that death, of our sins, but also of ourselves. The cross wholly and utterly sets aside one kind of man. There is nothing to take from that, and nothing to add to it: it is true. But our individuality is not annihilated by the cross; the cross does not destroy our personal entity. It deals with the basis of that humanity upon which we are now living because of Adam, but it does not destroy us. We need to be very careful not to try to carry the cross into realms where it is never supposed to operate. We must not think that identification with Christ in death and burial somehow means that we cease to function as sensible beings. The cross is never meant to create or minister to asceticism.
OUR INDIVIDUALITY IS NOT LOST IN THE BODY OF CHRIST
Another faulty conception is related to membership of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is a great reality, a wonderful truth. We have nothing to take from the fact that we have a related life in Christ as members of His body. We must be careful, though, to avoid the false conception of the Church as Christ's body which regards the individual distinctiveness of each member as being destroyed so that all may be merged as it were into a general lump. Paul is very careful to point out the importance of the personal form of each member: "If the whole body were an eye... If the whole were hearing..." (1 Corinthians 12:17).
We have only to consider our own bodies, both inside and out, to know that the smallest organ has its own distinctiveness. Each has a specific form and a distinct function, and at times it is one of the effects of disease that it destroys the distinctive function of some organ. If this is true physically, it can be true spiritually. We must not confuse individualism with individuality. That is a mistake. Yes, individualism is unacceptable but individuality is of supreme importance.
The same truth obtains in the whole creation. One of the wonders of God's creation is its endless variety. Yet the whole of the creation is interdependent: every branch depends on another branch, the flower on the bee and the bee on the flower. This is a divine principle found everywhere, each individual living thing must have its own form, though being dependent on others for the justification of its existence and the realisation of its destiny.
