1. “The mind set on the spirit is life and peace” (Rom. 8:6).
To set the mind on the spirit is to obey the sense of life, and the result is life and peace. Life is satisfaction, and peace is rest. If we set our mind on the spirit and obey the sense of life, we will inwardly feel satisfaction and rest, and we will feel contented and peaceful. Otherwise, we will feel dissatisfied, as if we were missing something. We will feel restless and bothered, as if there were some problem. Obeying the sense of life is the only way for our life to be nourished and for our hearts and spirits to obtain rest. This is true even in the matters of preaching the Word and prayer. We must set the mind on the spirit to be able to touch the Lord’s presence, that is, to touch life and peace. When we obey the sense of life, the more we preach, the more we feel satisfied and receive the inward supply. The more we pray, the more we are at peace and feel watered in spirit. This sense of satisfaction and rest is the result of obeying the sense of life.
1. “As His anointing teaches you...abide in Him” (1 John 2:27).
If we walk according to the teaching of the anointing, we will abide in the Lord. To abide in the Lord means that we are not separated from Him and have constant fellowship with Him. If we desire this, we must act according to the anointing within, and we must obey the sense of life from the Holy Spirit. When we live in the anointing and obey the sense of life in our actions, we are kept in our fellowship with the Lord and we can constantly abide in Him. Abiding in the Lord is a result of obeying the sense of life.
1. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12).
We have received salvation, but after receiving salvation, we must work or live it out. If we want to live out our salvation, we must obey God, who is operating in us, with fear and trembling; that is, we must obey the sense of life that comes from God’s operation within us. If we are willing to obey, we will live out God’s salvation.
God’s salvation is God Himself. Therefore, for us to live out God’s salvation is to live out God Himself. Hence, in order for us to live out His salvation, He personally operates in us, causing us to live Him out. His operating in us gives us a sense of life and gives us feelings through this sense of life. Therefore, when we obey the sense of life, we obey God’s operation in us and we obey God. As we obey Him in this way, we spontaneously live Him out. Our living Him out is our living, our working out, of His salvation. Working out God’s salvation is another result of obeying the sense of life.
1. “It is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
God operates in us to accomplish His good pleasure. Therefore, when we obey His operating, that is, when we obey the sense of life, we can accomplish His good pleasure.
2. “God...for the doing of His will, doing in us that which is well pleasing in His sight” (Heb. 13:20-21).
God causes us to do His will, doing in us that which is well pleasing in His sight not merely through outward Bible teaching or environmental leading but even more through operating within us to let us know His will and to give us the strength to do that which is well pleasing to Him. We sense His will and His good pleasure through the sense of life given to us by His operation. When we obey the sense of life, we spontaneously obey the will of God and do that which is well pleasing to Him. Therefore, obeying the will of God and accomplishing His good pleasure are also certain results of obeying the sense of life.
We need to see the importance of obeying the sense of life. The supply of life and our growth in life, our intimacy with the Lord and fellowship with Him, the working out of our salvation and our expression of Him, our obedience to His will, and the accomplishment of His good pleasure all hinge on our obeying the sense of life. Every spiritual matter between God and us is entered into properly and carried out through this one matter—obeying the sense of life.