Life Study of 2 Corinthians

Message 34 -THE PUTTING TO DEATH OF JESUS AND THE

RENEWING OF THE INWARD MAN (2)
Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 4:10-18

In 4:10 Paul says, “Always bearing about in the

body the putting to death of Jesus, that the life also
of Jesus might be manifested in our body.” In this
verse Paul speaks of “the putting to death of Jesus.”
Why does he use this expression here? To answer
this question, we need to consider once again who
Jesus is.
The origin, the source, of the man Jesus is God.
Jesus is God incarnate, God conceived in a virgin’s
womb. Outwardly, Jesus is a man, but inwardly He is
God. Thus, Jesus is not simple. This Nazarene is a
wonderful person. When He was on earth, outwardly
He was lowly in every respect. He was born in a
manger, and He grew up in the home of a poor
carpenter in the despised town of Nazareth.
Nevertheless, inwardly Jesus was glorious, for the
most high God was in Him. Outwardly Jesus was a
lowly man; inwardly He was the most high God. Truly
Jesus is wonderful.

THE DEATH OF JESUS

Now we must go on to see something
concerning the death of Jesus. When many
Christians mention the death of Christ, their
understanding is limited to redemption. According to
their concept, the death of Jesus was only for
redemption. Often they quote the verse which says,
“Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of
the world!” (John 1:29). It is absolutely true that the
death of Christ was for redemption. We believe this
just as much as other Christians do, if not more.
However, redemption is just one aspect of Christ’s
death. His death also has many other aspects.
In 2 Corinthians 4 we see the aspect not of
redemption and not of the imparting of life, but of
destroying, consuming. According to this chapter,
the death of Jesus is for the consuming, the wearing
out, of our outward man. For this reason, Paul says
in 4:16 that “our outward man is decaying.”
 Although the man Jesus was God incarnate, God
becoming a man, it was necessary even for His
outward man to be consumed. According to the
outward condition, the Lord Jesus was lowly. But in a
spiritual sense, the Lord Jesus was not an
insignificant man. On the contrary, Jesus equaled the
entire old creation. When He was crucified, it was
not only a man from Nazareth who died on the cross.
When Jesus was crucified, the entire old creation,
including all of us, was crucified also. The Lord Jesus
died for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, not
merely for the accomplishment of redemption.
The first goal in God’s eternal purpose is to
terminate the old creation. The Lord Jesus, as God
becoming man, was part of the old creation. It was
not through incarnation that He became a man in the
new creation. Rather, through incarnation He
became a man in the old creation, a man who
needed to be consumed.
At the age of thirty the Lord Jesus came forth to
minister. During the three and a half years of His
ministry, He was constantly being put to death. As a
mature man of thirty, He was continually under the
process of killing. Do not think that Jesus was
crucified only for the six hours He was on a material
cross. No, for at least three and a half years He was
crucified daily. Every day He lived a crucified life.
The Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross daily.
Sometimes He was crucified by His mother. Other
times He was crucified by Peter or some other
disciple. Jesus was nailed to the cross even by His
disciples’ love. For example, the more Peter loved
the Lord Jesus, the more he crucified Him. Thus,
before He was literally crucified by the Romans,
Jesus had been repeatedly crucified by His mother,
His brothers, and His disciples. In John 7 we have an
example of the Lord’s being crucified by His brothers.
Actually, during the three and a half years of His
ministry the Lord Jesus was not mainly living—He
was dying. He was living a crucified life. This is what
Paul means by the putting to death of Jesus. It is a
slow, gradual, and continual crucifixion.
Now we can understand that the Lord Jesus was
crucified not only during the six hours He was on a
literal cross. For at least three and a half years, He
was crucified continually, gradually, and slowly. In
the words of Paul, this gradual crucifixion is the
putting to death of Jesus.

DYING DAILY
The apostles were appointed by the Lord to be
His followers. They were appointed by Him not to do
a great work, but to live a certain kind of life.
Therefore, they were not to accomplish a work by
following a Christ who was great outwardly. They
were to follow the man Jesus to live the life of this
small man. This is not a life that is welcomed; it is a
life that is rejected, a life that is always crucified,
always put to death. Jesus lived this kind of life, and
His followers, the apostles, did also. This is the
reason Paul says that they were always bearing
about in the body the putting to death of Jesus.
To follow Jesus of Nazareth is to be killed; it is not to
accomplish a great work. Moreover, to be martyred
in an instant is rather easy. But to be killed gradually,
slowly, and constantly is extremely difficult. To die
gradually involves more suffering than being
martyred instantly. For at least three and a half years
the Lord Jesus was gradually put to death. This was
also Paul’s experience for an extended period of
time. Wherever he went, he experienced in his body
the putting to death of Jesus. Referring to this in 1
Corinthians 15:31 he says, “Daily I die.” Here Paul
seems to be saying, “Instead of living, I am actually
dying day by day. I am undergoing a slow, gradual,
and continual killing.” This continual killing is what
Paul means by the putting to death of Jesus.

THE CONSUMING OF THE OUTWARD MAN

The putting to death of Jesus is for consuming
the old creation in us. When Jesus, the Son of God,
became a man, He had both an outward part
signifying the old creation and an inward part
signifying the everlasting God. The outward part was
consumed, put to death, but the inward part was
raised up, resurrected. This was true of the Lord
Jesus, it was true of the apostles, and it is also true of
all the believers.
Through our natural birth we became persons of
the old creation, and through regeneration we have
become persons of the new creation. As regenerated
ones, we still have an outward part signifying the old
creation. This part needs to be consumed, done
away, worn out. But at the same time we have an
inward part signifying the everlasting God. This part
should be developed, resurrected, and renewed.
The putting to death of Jesus is related to the
outward man, which needs to be consumed. As
genuine believers, we all have a part of our being
which Paul describes as the outward man. This
outward man is decaying; it is being consumed, being
wasted away, being worn out. This wearing out of
the outward man is the putting to death of Jesus.
Hence, the putting to death of Jesus is actually a
synonym for the consuming of the outward man. In
the Lord’s recovery we are experiencing the putting
to death of Jesus for the consuming of the outward
man. We are undergoing a process of killing, a
process of putting to death the outward man.
Suppose a certain young brother is very
intelligent. In many Christian groups such an
intelligent young man might be admired and even
exalted. However, in the church life in the Lord’s
recovery, instead of being enthroned, he will
experience the putting to death of Jesus. In the
recovery it seems that the smarter a person is, the
more he is nailed to the cross.
This crucifying work is often accomplished by the
Lord through those around us, particularly those in
our family life. For example, before a young sister
came into the church life, it may have been seldom
that her husband gave her a difficult time. Now that
she is in the recovery, it seems that her husband is
quite difficult. This sister should not blame her
husband. The almighty Lord on the throne is using
this sister’s husband to consume her old creation,
her outward man. It seems that the Lord has given
him the assignment of carrying out the work of
nailing his wife to the cross. The sister may weep and
cry out to the Lord, telling Him that she cannot bear
this. However, there will be much more of this
crucifying work to come, and the sister needs to be
ready for it. The Lord may use her husband to drive
in one nail, but He may use the brothers and sisters,
even the elders, in the church, to drive in many more
nails. Then the sister may say, “I cannot tolerate the
situation with my husband or with the church. Why
are the elders giving me such a difficult time?” The
reason is that the Lord is using different persons to
nail this sister to the cross, that is, to consume her
outward man.
When some saints are not happy with the church
in their locality, they may want to move elsewhere.
Because the saints are nailing them to the cross,
putting them to death, they would like to go to a
church where they think the situation would be
different. Actually, if they move for the purpose of
avoiding the putting to death of Jesus, they may
experience even more of this in a different locality.
If you are not able to get through with the church
in one locality, this indicates that you cannot get
through in any local church. Instead of moving from
one place to another, simply stay where you are and
allow the saints to put you to death.
Furthermore, weeping over your situation is an
indication that you have not yet been crucified. A
dead person sheds no tears. If you are still crying
about the experience of being consumed, this
indicates that you need more of the putting to death
of Jesus. Remain where you are until you have been
fully crucified.
OUR DESTINATION—RESURRECTION
When some hear this word concerning the
putting to death of Jesus, they may say, “Oh, what a
terrible destiny is ours in the Lord’s recovery! We are
being crucified, consumed, put to death.” The
putting to death of Jesus may be our destiny, but it is
not our destination. Our destination is resurrection.
Those who are not willing to be crucified may suffer.
But those who are willing to be crucified will
experience joy. They will rejoice in resurrection.
In 4:14 Paul makes it clear that our destination is
resurrection: “Knowing that He Who raised the Lord
Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will present us
with you.” Here Paul does not speak of being buried
with Jesus or crucified with Jesus, but of being raised,
resurrected, with Jesus. This is a victorious
declaration. It indicates that our destination is
resurrection.
The church life in the Lord’s recovery may seem
to be an altar, a place of slaughter. Actually the
church life is an enjoyment in resurrection. From the
very moment you become willing to be crucified, you
may have this rejoicing in resurrection. Then you
may regret the fact that in the past you refused to be
nailed to the cross. You may say to yourself, “If I had
been willing to receive more nails, how much more
joy I would have today!” Since our destination is
resurrection, we should not weep because we are
being put to death. Instead, with a strong spirit we
should rejoice in resurrection.

THE SPIRIT OF FAITH

Second Corinthians 4:13 says, “And having the
same spirit of faith, according to that which is
written, I believed, therefore I spoke; we also
believe, therefore also we speak.” The spirit here is
the mingled spirit, the divine Spirit mingled with the
regenerated human spirit.
In their comments on this verse, both Alford and
Vincent spoke concerning the mingled spirit, but
their speaking was somewhat vague. Alford said,
“Not distinctly the Holy Spirit,—but still not merely a
human disposition: the indwelling Holy Spirit
penetrates and characterizes the whole renewed
man.” On the one hand, Alford speaks of the Holy
Spirit. On the other hand, he indicates that
something human, signified by the word disposition,
is also involved. Actually, what Alford was referring
to was the human spirit. Vincent says, “Spirit of faith:
not distinctly the Holy Spirit, nor, on the other hand,
a human faculty or disposition, but blending both.”
Vincent’s remarks are an improvement upon those
of Alford. The word faculty is certainly an
improvement over disposition. Furthermore,
Vincent speaks of a blending of the Spirit with a
particular human faculty. This blending is actually the
mingling of the Holy Spirit with our human spirit.
Today we have a more clear and definite
utterance. We do not need to use the word
disposition or faculty to describe the spirit of faith in
4:13, for we know that this spirit is our spirit mingled
with the Holy Spirit. We must exercise such a spirit to
believe and speak, as the psalmist did (Psa. 116:10),
the things we have experienced of the Lord,
especially His death and resurrection. Faith is in our
spirit, which is mingled with the Holy Spirit, not in our
mind. Doubts are in our mind. The spirit here
indicates that it is by the mingled spirit that the
apostles lived a crucified life in resurrection for
carrying out their ministry.