2 Cor 5:16 So then we, from now on, know no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him so no longer.
[Part 2 of 2] When Paul was Saul of Tarsus, he knew Christ according to the flesh; he thought that Jesus was merely a little Nazarene. He did not realize that within Jesus was God. But one day on the road to Damascus the Lord Jesus said to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" When Saul asked the Lord who He was, He responded, "I am Jesus" [Acts 9:1-5]. On the road to Damascus Saul realized that Jesus of Nazareth was now in the heavens. Jesus seemed to be saying, "I was not only the flesh-- I was God, for the very God was in Me. Saul, you knew Me according to the flesh, not according to the spirit within." It is the same today. We need to know other Christians not according to outward things, not according to their country, language, parentage, education, or outward appearance or qualification. If we know Christians according to these things, we know them according to the flesh. But we should know Christians according to the spirit, because Christ is in them. Perhaps a certain brother cannot speak well and uses poor grammar. Yet whenever he opens his mouth, Christ comes out. Even when you are sitting in his presence, you realize that some amount of Christ is with him. In the church life...we do not care for the outward appearance; we care only for the spirit within, where Christ is. This is the way to know Christ, the way to know other Christians, and the way to follow the Lord.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Matthew, pp. 509-510. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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