The Apostle Paul teaches us that we are to put on a new man who is created after the likeness of God in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24) As described by Paul and other witnesses of Jesus, this new self will not only be the image and likeness of Christ but will live a life that represents and reflects the true manifestation of God's will. He is a true believer who starts young and grows up into a glorified son of God.
The part I appreciate the most in this revelation is that God did not leave us alone to figure out how a new person in Christ lives; He gave us Jesus as the true example of what a new person looks and acts like. When we look at Jesus through spiritual eyes, we see a new creation. We see a man of God who walks not after the flesh but after the Spirit. His every desire is to live His life in the likeness of His Father, and that's what He did.
When we look at His earthly life, we can see the Spirit radiate from Him in everything He did. This great outward manifestation is because His inward man was connected directly to God; therefore, His outward flesh represented the works that glorified what was happening within Him.
When you look at Jesus beyond the flesh, you see some remarkable divisions working within Him. Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 that we are members of His body and should glorify Him with our bodies, which are members of His body, so there's that. But then Jesus Himself also had members of His body that represented Him as the body of God.
For example, His mind and heart, His eyes and ears, His mouth and loins, and His hands and feet were all members of His body. These divisions are like members of His body, and they all were sanctified and served God as individual members of His body. Each worked together in unity so that one body (with many members) could honor God and represent His one body as the kingdom of God in fullness.
This idea explains why Jesus said what He said in Matthew 5:27-30 (ESV),
"You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Each member of the body is held accountable before God, and Jesus was clear about how to treat a member that causes the whole body to perish in hell. The thing is, Jesus knew the secret to making sure the whole body remained joined in unity, together as one. Every member must serve God and represent the body as one. If any body member refuses to sanctify the Lord, that member is cut off for the body's sake. The way to ensure the body remains healthy and intact is to abide by the words that Jesus gives you. Some trees have branches that will not bear fruit, so Jesus prunes those branches to save the tree. (John 15:1-10)
Let's look closer at the members of Jesus.
The members of the body are the key to the body. The members of Jesus represented His body very well. Here are a few to look at.
Mind
His mind was one with His Father because His thoughts were heavenly and spiritual, not thinking on the earthly things; that is to say, His mind was actively thinking on the things that concerned the kingdom of God and the will of His Father. His thoughts were clean and pure.
Heart
His heart loved God first and stored up the word so He would not sin against Him. He loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore, His heart was clean and pure without any condemnation, and that's why He saw God.
Eyes
His eyes saw things according to the Spirit, not the flesh. He saw things through prophecy, which means He judged things by what God said and not what the flesh said.
Ears
His ears heard what the Spirit had to say and were tuned to listen to the truth and not lies. He knew His Father's voice and, therefore, had no problem discerning the truth or falsehood of words.
Mouth
His mouth spoke the revelation that His Father gave to Him in the beginning. His testimony was light and not darkness. His words were filled with eternal sayings that created new ideas for all who believed.
Loins
The loins is a term that represents reproduction (not sexually, though). Within Jesus are the seeds of eternal life, and He is the sower that sows the word of God, as demonstrated in the parable of the sower. (Matthew 13) In the gospels, He spoke His words as a way to reproduce Himself in others after His likeness.
Hands
His hands were for doing the works of God. When He laid His hands on others, He imparted the Spirit of Christ to those who would believe. The laying on of hands is a spiritual impartation of gifts and revelations that can be given when touched.
Feet
His feet were covered with peace, and He walked in the righteous path. He went about doing the good of the kingdom. His feet did not stray to the left or right of the one way His Father gave Him to walk.
The members of Jesus served His body in unity so that He, as the body of God, could please Him. Just like Jesus had members of His body, we also have members of our body that serve us in the kingdom. We are accountable to give worship to God in Jesus Christ, and this is accomplished by the members of our body who serve us in the Lord. These members make up our new man who has been created in righteousness and true holiness. When our members serve our new body, our new body can serve the kingdom of God in all things according to the will of God.
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