The Old Creation (The Old Man) VS. The New Creation (The New Man)

 

The Old Creation (The Old Man) VS. The New Creation (The New Man)

I. Integrated Comparison Table

In Adam – The Old Creation (The Old Man)	In Christ – The New Creation (The New Man)
Adam is the first man. He is the head of the old creation, representing the old creation in God's creation.	Christ is the second Man. He is the Head of the new creation, representing the new creation in resurrection.
The first creation is called the old creation.	The second creation is called the new creation.
The old creation has the living soul as its center.	The new creation in resurrection has the life-giving Spirit as its center.
Became a living soul.	Became a life-giving Spirit.
The first man.	The last Adam.
The first man.	The second Man.
Earthly, of the earth, corruptible, dishonorable, and weak.	Heavenly, incorruptible, glorious, and powerful.
Soulish (natural).	Spiritual.
First in Adam.	Later in Christ.
Condemnation.	Grace and justification.
Fallen.	Redeemed.
Sinning.	Overcoming and reigning.
The source of sin.	The source of life.
Death is the termination of the old creation.	Resurrection is the beginning of the new creation and its new birth.
Despair.	Hope.
Slaves.	Sons.
Bondage.	Freedom.
The old creation is the old man in Adam.	The new creation is the new man in Christ.
The old creation is an empty vessel, having no God as its content.	The new creation is a corporate vessel, having God as its content.
The old creation has the soul as its center and lifeline.	The new creation has the life-giving Spirit as its center and lifeline.
In Adam.	In Christ.
The descendants of Adam in the fall.	The new man composed of God's many sons.
The old man does not have God's life and nature.	The new man has the divine life and the divine nature.
In the old man, people are divided and scattered.	In the new man, people are recovered, gathered together, and made one.
To put off the old man is to put off the divided and scattered man.	To put on the new man is to put on the gathered and one new man.
Without divine content.	With divine content.
According to the old nature of the flesh.	According to the new nature of God's life.
God not only removes the old creation and all that hinders His eternal purpose.	God also brings in the new creation—His new man—and thereby obtains everything necessary for the fulfillment of His purpose.
The old man does not accomplish God's twofold purpose.	The new man in God's new creation indeed accomplishes the twofold purpose of expressing God and dealing with God's enemy.
The old creation is old because God is not a part of it.	The new creation is new because God is within it.
Living and conducting ourselves according to the flesh.	Living and conducting ourselves according to the Spirit.
Outside the organic union with the Triune God.	Brought into the organic union with the Triune God.
There is not even one element of God in the old creation.	The new creation contains God's element.
The old creation is the wisdom of God and the work of His hands.	The new creation is the result of God's life and the multiplication of God's life.
God can boast concerning the entire universe: "This is My wisdom!"	God can boast even more concerning us: "These are My children!"
God desires to boast concerning all the things He has created, saying: "This is where My wisdom is manifested!"	God also desires to boast concerning us, saying: "This is where I make My home; this is My testimony!"
In the old creation there are many things and matters.	In the new creation everything is a matter of life.
The kingdom of the old creation is a declining kingdom.	The kingdom of the new creation is an expanding kingdom.
The old creation operates according to the principle of decline.	The new creation operates according to the principle of expansion.
The old creation lives for itself.	The new creation lives for the Lord.

III. Central Spiritual Significance

The central contrast presented in the original document can be summarized as follows:

The Old Creation	The New Creation
In Adam	In Christ
The living soul	The life-giving Spirit
The old man	The new man
The flesh	The Spirit
The natural life	The divine life
Division and scattering	Gathering and oneness
Empty vessel	Corporate vessel filled with God
Decline	Expansion
Living for oneself	Living for the Lord
God's work of creation	The multiplication of God's life
Manifesting God's wisdom	Expressing God and defeating His enemy

One-sentence spiritual summary:

The old creation is God's work of creation, displaying His wisdom through His handiwork; the new creation is the multiplication of God's divine life in Christ, producing a corporate new man filled with God to express Him, accomplish His eternal purpose, and deal with His enemy.

Recommended Ministry References

The following references are retained from the original PDF.

1. The Holy Word for Morning Revival – The Intrinsic Significance of the Name New Jerusalem and the Dimensions of the Holy City , Monday.

2. The Holy Word for Morning Revival – Crystallization-Study of Genesis (3), Outline, Message Twelve: Image and Dominion—The Heart of Genesis , Friday, Reading Material.

3. 2019 International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones

General Subject: A New Man Fulfilling God's Purpose in Creating Man

Message Three: The Creation and Bringing Forth of the One New Man.

4. 2020 Thanksgiving Conference

General Subject: The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man

Message Four: Being Renewed Day by Day with the Fresh Supply of the Resurrection Life to Replace Our Culture and Becoming in Reality One New Man Who Is the Same as the New Jerusalem.

5. 2020 Winter Training – Crystallization-Study of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes

Message Nine: Reading Proverbs with a Prayerful Spirit So That It Becomes Gold Nuggets and Precious Stones to Us, Strengthening Our Pursuit of Christ for the Accomplishment of God's Economy.

6. 2024 Spring Training

General Subject: Being Empowered in the Grace in Christ Jesus to Become a Vessel unto Honor, a Fully Equipped God-man, for the Fulfillment of Our Ministry in the Unique Ministry of God's Economy.

Message Four: Christ Annulled Death and Brought Life and Incorruption to Light, and Our Remembering That Jesus Christ, the Seed of David, Was Raised from the Dead.

7. 2026 Fall Training for Elders and Responsible Ones

General Subject: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Message Four: Offering Up Isaac and Experiencing God as the God Who Raises the Dead (The Life at Beer-sheba Producing the Burnt Offering at Mount Moriah).

 

Isaac VS Ishmael

 

Isaac VS Ishmael

A Comparison Based on the Allegory of the Two Women

Galatians 4:22–31

Galatians 4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one out of the maidservant and one out of the free woman.

Galatians 4:23 However, the one out of the maidservant was born according to the flesh, but the one out of the free woman was born through promise.

Galatians 4:24 These things are allegorical; for these women are two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, bringing forth children unto slavery, which is Hagar.

Galatians 4:25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

Galatians 4:26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

Galatians 4:28 But you, brothers, in the way Isaac was, are children of promise.

Galatians 4:29 But just as at that time the one who was born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.

Galatians 4:30 But what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the maidservant and her son, for the son of the maidservant shall by no means inherit with the son of the free woman."

Galatians 4:31 So then, brothers, we are not children of the maidservant but of the free woman.

Integrated Comparison Table: Isaac VS Ishmael

Comparison Category	Isaac	Ishmael
1. Different Origins	Isaac was born of Sarah, the free woman (Gal. 4:22, 26).	Ishmael was born of Hagar, the maidservant (Gal. 4:22).
2. Different Lives and Births	Isaac was born according to God's promise (Gen. 15:4; 17:19; 18:10; 21:1; Gal. 4:23), that is, through the Spirit (Gal. 4:29). Today, there are many believers in the church who are born of the Spirit (John 3:5, 8; 1 John 3:9; 5:4, 18); however, those born according to the flesh are even more numerous (John 1:13; 1 Cor. 2:14).	Ishmael was born according to the flesh and according to man's will  (Gen. 16:1–4; Gal. 4:23).
3. Different Faith and Relationship with God	God appeared to Isaac repeatedly (Gen. 26:2, 24). Because of his faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come (Heb. 11:20).	Following an earthly mother (Hagar was an Egyptian woman), Ishmael could hardly avoid being associated with the worldly realm.
4. Different Dispositions	Gentle and peace-loving (Gen. 26; Matt. 11:19).	A hunter, inclined toward aggression and violence (Gen. 21:22).
5. Different Positions and Statuses	Isaac was the son born to Abraham's wife Sarah through God's promise. He represents God's true children in the church today (Gal. 4:26).	Hagar signifies Mount Sinai, and Mount Sinai represents the realm of the law. Therefore, she brought forth children into slavery (Gal. 4:24–25).
6. Different Ways of Living	The condition of the believers' life should be one of freedom and joy, living in God's love (John 8:32, 36).	Since Ishmael represents the position of being under the law, he has no freedom in anything and is continually subjected to Sarah's authority and mistreatment.
7. Different Order of Appearance	Believers are often placed last and regarded as the last of all (1 Cor. 4:9). This has frequently been the situation throughout the history of the church.	The most remarkable thing is that "the spiritual is not first but the soulish" (1 Cor. 15:46). For example, Cain was the elder brother and Abel the younger; Esau was the elder brother and Jacob the younger; and Edom established kings before Israel (Gen. 36:31).
8. Different Treatment by Others	All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12).	Ishmael mocked Isaac (Gen. 21:9) and persecuted him (Gal. 4:28). Throughout history, those who are according to the flesh have often persecuted those who are spiritual.
9. Different Outcomes	A slave cannot remain in the household forever, but the son remains forever (John 8:35).	Ishmael was cast out: "Cast out this maidservant and her son!" Likewise, every believer must cast out his or her own Ishmael—the fleshly element. We should not be troubled or distressed about this child (Gen. 21:10–12).
10. Different Inheritances	Abraham gave everything he had to Isaac (Gen. 25:5). As a son, Isaac was qualified to inherit the estate (Rom. 8:17, 32).	When Ishmael was sent away, he received only a bottle of water. Likewise, fleshly believers will ultimately have no inheritance in God's household. Those who rely on the law gain nothing.
11. Different Descendants	The stars of heaven signify the spiritual descendants. The stars of heaven and the sand of the seashore are distinctly different.	Spiritually speaking, the sand of the earth refers to the children Abraham begot according to the flesh. All Israelites who are not in Christ belong to this category.
12. Different Relationships with the World	The whole world has received the abundant grace of Jesus Christ.	Throughout history, those represented by Ishmael have been among the foremost influences affecting world peace and peace within people's hearts.

 

Central Spiritual Significance

The fundamental difference between Isaac and Ishmael is not merely their natural birth or family background. It concerns two different principles of living:

• Isaac: Living by God's promise, through the Spirit, in freedom, and as an heir of God's inheritance.
• Ishmael: Living according to the flesh, by man's effort, under the law, and in slavery.

One-sentence spiritual summary:

"Isaac represents the believers born according to the Spirit through God's promise, whereas Ishmael represents the believers who live according to the flesh through man's effort; therefore, we must live by grace and the Spirit, not by the flesh and the law."

References for Further Study

1.         Life-study of Romans, Message 8: The Subjective Experience of Justification (1).

2.         2026 Autumn International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones General Subject: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Message 3: The Allegory of the Two Women.