Today is the age of science, and every one of us knows what a law is. It is a natural, instinctive, and spontaneous power. The law of the Spirit of life as described by Paul is of the same principle. It exists by itself, and it operates in us spontaneously and functions instinctively. Paul said in Romans 6 that God gave the law to expose the real condition of man. Once man is placed under God’s law, he will suffer the condemnation of the law. However, everyone who fears God wants to be free from sin, to strive to keep God’s law, and to please God. Even Paul himself was no exception. While he was trying his best to keep God’s law and to avoid sin and evil, he discovered that in his members there was another law which was warring against his law of trying to do good. In the end, he did what he did not want to do, and he could not do what he wanted to do. He said, “But if what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that do it but sin that dwells in me” (Rom. 7:20). It seems as if Paul was putting off his responsibility when he spoke this word. He said that in his members, that is, in his flesh, there was another law, the law of sin and of death, which always warred against the law of good in his mind and which captured him, causing him to do that which he would not do. All the time he was defeated by this law, and he was indeed a wretched man.
The Chinese philosophers have also discovered that with man there is a battle between reason and lust. In other words, within man there is one part that is reasonable. But there is another part that has evil lusts and that fights with reason all the time. Reason is always overcome by lust. Take the example of the game of mahjong. Some who are addicted to it can play that game for three days and three nights. The more they play it, the more addicted they become. They can even go on without eating or sleeping, and there is nothing they can do to control themselves. This is like what Paul said in Romans 7, that in our flesh dwells a lust or an evil that we cannot overcome or understand. From this, we can see that what the Chinese philosophers said is very much the same as what Paul said.
Therefore, we can see that there is the law of God outside of us exposing our true condition. There is also the law of good created by God within our humanity which demands that we please God. In addition, in our fallen flesh, there is the law of sin and of death, which wars with the law of good in our mind and which captures us. The law of God outside of us is objective, and the law of good as well as the law of sin and death within us are subjective. These two within us always war with each other. This is why Paul cried: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” In the end, he had a greater and more wonderful discovery. He said: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord,” through whom he found his deliverance.
Paul discovered that after a man is saved, the Triune God comes in. When the Triune God comes in, He comes in to be man’s life. This life is a law, which is the law of the Spirit of life. It is not in man’s mind nor is it in man’s flesh; rather, it is in man’s spirit. In the beginning when God created man, He created for him not only a soul and a body, but also a spirit within his deepest part. The spirit is the highest and most excelling part of man. Paul discovered that when he believed into the Lord Jesus, the Triune God entered into his spirit to be his life. This life in his spirit was a law. Whenever he loved the Lord, prayed to Him, and drew near to Him, this law operated automatically. We who have the same experience can testify to this fact. Anytime and anywhere, as long as we draw near to God a little and call on Him, within the deepest part of our being there will rise up a desire to please God and to be one with Him.
Every genuine believer will discover that every time he draws near to God, deep within him there is a spontaneous power that enables him to honor his parents and to be humble and accommodating. He does not have to grit his teeth to do it. Rather, it is a spontaneous expression. Formerly, we liked to fight to win. Now the pride and the repugnance are gone; we do not fight with others any longer. This is not something that originates from us. Rather, it comes from the spontaneous law within us that supplies us with life, wisdom, and power. Hence, we do not have to make up our mind to be good and to please God. We need only to draw near to God and to fellowship with Him. Spontaneously, within us there will be a life-power that enables us to live a life that pleases God. This can be compared to the digestion in the human body. Once food comes into us, there is no need for us to struggle and to strive. Spontaneously, a law will be there doing the work of digestion gently and slowly, making the food our nutrients and our constitution.
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