
The church as the new man is being perfected through the growth in life by cherishing and nourishing, for the perfecting of the new man to be perfect not only organically but also functionally; the new man created by Christ was perfect organically but he must be perfected in order to function.
Lord Jesus, grow in us unto maturity today! Grow in us for the perfecting of the one new man so that You may gain a new man that functions in a perfected way! Hallelujah, we are all growing in life by being cherished and nourished so that God may gain the perfected new man for His corporate expression today! Praise the Lord! Amen!
The Lord Jesus told us that we shall be perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect. We are not perfect in ourselves, and we can never perfect ourselves; nothing we do of our natural man can cause us to be perfect.
Only God is perfect. He is perfect, and He has become our Father through our regeneration.
We need to realise that, by being born of God, we have become children of God, and as such persons, we can be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.
If the Lord were to say, You therefore shall be perfect, and He stops there, this would be something impossible. But He continued by saying, as Your heavenly Father is perfect, giving us the clear way for us to be perfect: we are perfect by the Father’s life and nature.
When we live by the divine life, when we exercise our spirit and contact the Lord, being in spirit, and living not by our life but by the divine life, we are perfect, even as our heavenly Father is perfect.
This is our Christian life. The Christian life is not a life of sinless perfection; God doesn’t want us to live in such a way that we never sin by our own striving and struggling.
What God desires is to regenerate us by coming into us as our life, so that He may live in us and be expressed through us.
So we, as children of our heavenly Father, are learning day by day to contact the Father in secret, spend time with the Lord daily, and remain in the organic union with Him, so that He may be expressed through us.
We have not arrived at this constantly, but we have touched this instantly many times.
On the one hand, we will be perfect individually as we live by the divine life; on the other hand, together we are the church as the new man, and we are being perfected to be the new man functionally.
May we daily remain under the divine dispensing of the divine life and nature and may we exercise to live by the divine life and nature so that Christ may be expressed through us.
The New Man was Created Perfect Organically but needs to be Perfected in Function

In Ephesians 2:15 we see that the Lord Jesus created the new man on the cross. He tore down the middle wall of partition and made one of two – the Jews and the Gentiles were joined organically with Christ to be the church as the one new man.
Hallelujah, in this universe there is a new man, in which we are all one by having the same life and nature, for in Christ we are one! The church as the new man was created perfect organically by Christ on the cross.
However, the church as the new man needs to be perfected in function to be the perfected new man, and this takes place by the growth in life of all the members of the Body.
There is a distinction between being perfect organically and being perfect functionally. We are perfect organically, for we have all the organs a human being requires, but we need to be perfected in our function.
When a child is born, he is perfect organically, and there’s nothing we can or should do to add any organs or anything organically.
Only God can create something perfect organically; He does this with us physically, when we are born, and He did this on the cross in Jesus Christ, creating the new man perfect organically.
But in order for the little baby who is perfect organically to also be perfected in his function, he needs to grow, mainly by being cherished and nourished by his mother, and by feeding.
There needs to be a lot of eating and drinking in order for the little one to grow and develop, even to be perfected and function in a proper way.
The church is not like a new man; the church is the new man, an organic entity.
The church as the new man is perfect organically; however, we all need to grow in life unto maturity until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:12-13).
In other words, the new man needs to be perfected through the growth in life. The new man was created by Christ, perfectly, organically, but the new man must be perfected in order to function.
Thank the Lord that we are the new man; we have a new heart and a new spirit, for we have the divine life and nature in our spirit. However, we are still in the process of being perfected as the new man to function in a proper way.
The way we are perfected is by growing in life. We need to grow in life and have the increase of the element of Christ in our being.
God needs to increase in us day by day, little by little. The more the Lord grows in us, the more we grow in life, and the more the new man is perfected in function.
Just as a little child needs to grow in life by feeding in order to arrive at maturity and be perfected in function, so we as believers in Christ are part of the new man and we need to grow in life by feeding on Christ so that we may be perfected in our function.
The more we grow in the divine life by eating Jesus, drinking Jesus, and breathing Jesus, the more we can function in our measure for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.
God alone has the responsibility of creating the new man; our responsibility is to perfect the new man through cherishing and nourishing so that both we and the saints with us would grow in life unto maturity.
As the new man is perfected through the growth in life of all the saints, the new man grows and becomes perfect functionally.
We need to bring this matter to the Lord and open to Him so that He may grow in us little by little, day by day, for the perfecting of the new man.
Lord Jesus, thank You for creating the new man on the cross, and we believers in Christ are part of the new man! Hallelujah, we have been regenerated with God’s life and we are members of the Body of Christ and parts of the one new man! Praise the Lord, the new man created by Christ on the cross was perfect organically, and there’s nothing more to be added to it! Amen, Lord, may we grow in life more today for the perfecting of the new man in function. May we remain in the process of growth in the divine life so that the new man can grow and become perfect functionally. Oh Lord, keep us eating You today! Keep us drinking You! Keep us feeding on the riches of Christ both personally and corporately for the perfecting of the new man! May all the saints be perfected unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ, until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ!
Grow in Life through Feeding for the Perfecting of the New Man in Function

A little baby can grow and become mature in order to be perfected in his function mainly by eating and drinking.
Similarly, the new man can become perfect in relation to his function only through receiving the proper nourishment.
What we need is not more teachings or doctrines; what we need is to eat more of Christ to be properly nourished with Himso that we may grow in life for the perfecting of the new man in function.
We need to grow with the growth of God (Col. 2:19); we need to grow in life day by day so that God may increase in us and we may decrease. As we grow in life unto maturity, the new man is being perfected.
The organically perfect new man needs to be perfected through the growth in life in order to function in a proper way.
One of the deepest concepts in the book of Ephesians, a book on the church, is that the new man can become perfect in relation to his function only through receiving the proper nourishment.
We need to eat Jesus. When we eat Him as the bread of life, the living bread, and the bread that came down out of heaven (John 6) we will also live because of Him (John 6:57).
When we eat Christ, when we are properly nourished with the riches of Christ, we grow in life; the more we grow, the more we spontaneously function according to the level of our growth unto maturity.
We all should fulfil our responsibility to perfect the new man through nourishing and cherishing (Eph. 5:29).
Not only are we perfected by God, but this life that is in us also needs to grow, and we can cooperate with the Lord for us to grow unto maturity.
Even more, we can cooperate with the Lord to perfect others also not by teaching them or correcting them outwardly but by dispensing the life and life-supply into them.
We are so short, we have many lacks, and we may think we cannot perfect others, for we ourselves are not perfect. But as we grow in life daily, our function is manifested, and we will minister something of Christ to others also for their perfecting.
Perfecting doesn’t come from correction or rebuke; we may think that this is how we perfect others, but perfecting comes from ministering life to others (1 John 5:16).
Yes, the Bible tells us to do many things, and we can recite the word of God to others to help them do this or that, but this is not real perfecting.
We perfect the new man by feeding on the Lord and by ministering Christ to others for their life supply.
On the one hand, we ourselves need to grow in life by feeding on the Lord. On the other hand, we need to learn to minister life to others by imparting the riches of Christ into them, and this will perfect them for the one new man.
In order to be perfected, we need to be constituted with Christ (Col. 3:10-11). This means that the all-inclusive Christ needs to be wrought into us to be our everything so that we may grow in life and be constituted with Christ.
In this way, the organically perfect new man becomes perfect functionally. We are experiencing this in the church life today. As we enjoy the Lord personally in His word, we eat Him and He grows in us.
We grow little by little, day by day, and there’s a development of our function; we simply function to minister life to the saints.
The more we grow by being nourished and cherished, the more we will function properly in the church life.
If we are absolute with the Lord regarding our personal life with Him, He has a way to increase in us in a good way, and our function in the church life will be manifested for the building up of the Body of Christ.
This is for the perfecting of the new man in its function.
As we function in the Body, releasing our portion according to our measure for the building up of the Body, others are perfected, for the life supply is imparted into them for their growth in life unto maturity.
When the new man is perfected, that will be the time for the Lord’s coming, and the perfected new man will be the bride of Christ (Rev. 19:7).
We may say that, on the cross, a baby new man was born, even as the Lord said in the gospels that a new child is born and everyone is happy. This new man, though little, has to grow and be perfected.
The Lord has done His part: He has created the new man, and He is the supply of the new man.
We now need to do our part; we need to grow in life unto maturity by feeding on the Lord, and we need to function in our measure for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry.
Today we are still in the process of being perfected, for the new man is still being perfected. When the Lord returns, the new man will be fully perfect, and this perfected new man will be the bride of Christ. Praise the Lord!
Lord Jesus, we want to feed on You day by day so that we may grow in life unto maturity for the perfecting of the one new man. Grow in us today. Grow in us by adding Yourself to us. May Christ increase in us and may we decrease. Oh Lord, we fully open to You. Grow in us and perfect us in our function. May the new man who is perfect organically grow and be perfected also in his function by each member growing in life and functioning in its measure. Amen, Lord, keep us in the process of being nourished and cherished so that we may grow in life unto maturity for the one new man to be perfected! May we grow in life in a normal way and may we be perfected in our function in the Body for the building up of the Body! Amen, Lord, release our function in the Body as we grow in life unto maturity! Gain the perfected one new man so that You may gain the bride of Christ when You return! May we be constituted with Christ! May the all-inclusive Christ be wrought into our being to be our everything for the perfecting of the one new man! Amen!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers on this topic, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 92-93, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crucial Aspects of Matthew 5 through 7 (2025 September ITERO), week 6, Being Perfect as Our Heavenly Father Is Perfect – day 2.
- Similar articles on this topic:
– God’s sovereignty for the perfection of the new man, a portion from, The One New Man, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee.
– What Does It Mean to Walk According to the Spirit in Romans 8? More via, Bibles for America blog.
– The appearing of the new man being entirely a matter of spiritual life, a portion from, One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man, Chapter 8, by Witness Lee.
– When Problems Arise in the Local Churches: Avoiding Two Errors, via, Shepherding Words.
– The secret to becoming the one new man, a portion from, One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee.
– Romans (Program #46) – Saved in Life from Self-Likeness (2), via, Bible study radio.
– Life-study of Ephesians, Message 25: The Two Created into One New Man, video message via, LSM YouTube channel.
– A New Man Created According to the Image of Christ, via, New Jerusalem blog.
– Growth by feeding for the building, a portion from, Life-Study of Ephesians, Chapter 89.
– Renewed in the Spirit of Your Mind – What does it mean and how do you experience it? More via, Holding to Truth in Love. - Hymns on this topic:
– Many gifts the Lord has given, / That His Body He may build, / That the saints may be perfected / And their ministry fulfilled. / Thus we must put off the old man / That we may put on the new; / Thus, renewed in mind and spirit, / We will bear God’s image true. (Hymns #823 stanza 7)
– By this Person being formed in me, / I’ll a member of His Body be, / No more acting individually, / But with the saints. / More and more our Person He must be; / That our natural personality / Be eliminated thoroughly / Till Christ is all. / Only Christ, our Person, must remain; / From our aims, our goals we must refrain, / Till the church be only Christ Himself / Built up as the one new man, / Thus fulfilling God’s great plan of— / Mingling fully with the human race / To obtain a proper dwelling place, / ’Stablishing His kingdom’s rule and grace; / Over all the earth. (Hymns #1180 stanza 2)
– For this cause Your Person, Lord, / We take and stand in one accord; / All the members self forsake, / And of the Body-Christ partake. / We in Christ as one new man / Now come forth to take this land. / For this cause Your Person, Lord, / We take and stand in one accord. (Hymns #1230 stanza 3)









Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 747-748, by Witness Lee
Dear brother, the Lord created the new man perfect organically on the cross, but this new man needs to grow and be perfected by our growing in life unto maturity and functioning in our measure.
May we eat the Lord and grow daily so that we may function in the Body for the perfecting of the new man.
Hallelujah for the one new man brother!
The new man can only function properly by being nourished & cherished. God doesn’t do the nourishing & cherishing Himself.
It’s our responsibility to nourish & cherish one another. Only through nourishing & cherishing can each & every member develop properly & function normally.
In this way, every member of the Body will eventually be a full-grown man at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
The perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry to build up the church as the Body of Christ issues in a full-grown man.
This one new man was created organically but needs to function properly through the feeding by cherishing and nourishing.
The organically perfect new man need to be perfected through the growth of life in order to function properly. We need the nourishing and cherishing of the Lord to be perfected through growth in life. The more we grow the more we function properly in the church life until we are all functioning ones. We must fulfill our responsibility.
There is a living responsibility on us all who constitute the organically perfect new man, created by Christ in His image, to seek spiritual growth in life, nourish and cherish the other, so that the new man may be perfected to function. (Eph.4:12-13).
For this, we need to open up to receive the proper nourishment, be constituted with the experiences and riches of the all-inclusive Christ into us, nourish and cherish each other until Christ be fully wrought into us with a view to arriving at a full-grown man.
This is to function “at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ!”
Oh, what a blessed charge! The Lord’s coming back depends on the readiness of the perfected full-grown man as His bride!
Ameeen!!!
Ephesians 2:15 we see the creation of the new man organically, Ephesians 4 we see the perfecting of the new man through the growth in life.
The new man created by Christ must be perfected in order to function. This perfecting of the new man in relation to his function only through receiving the proper nourishment; this is one of the deepest concepts in the whole book of Ephesians.
The creation of the new man was the responsibility of the Lord alone. But we must fulfill our responsibility to perfect the new man through nourishing and cherishing. As the new man is perfected in this way, he grows and becomes perfect functionally.
How we need to experience the crucified, resurrected, ascended, and descending Christ. This means that the all-inclusive Christ must be wrought into us to be our everything.
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